Hello – it has been too long!

After our year long journey across the USA, we took our growth, what we learned, and settled back into Southern California for the 2014/2015 school year. The children all moved up a year in school and did great. They also jumped feet first back into sports – football, basketball, and baseball for Chuck Jr and basketball and softball for the girls, with FaithJean also trying volleyball for the first time. It was 9 months that brought us a football, basketball, and a softball championship, but MUCH busyness! Gia taught 4th grade at their school and I had the huge blessing to be able to support the middle school and children by coaching both basketball and softball and involving myself in a variety of other activities. We are blessed, beyond imagination. Our health is great and we thank God for each of these blessings. We also had the opportunity to reconnect with so many of our wonderful family and friends. We did miss connecting with some of you, as we were back in the so cal spin cycle with all of the above going on, but look forward to connecting with all those we missed once we return.

We also brought back some of our new habits that we picked up on the Jesus Journey. Such as routinely asking people we meet everyday in the store, running errands, restaurants, etc if we can pray for them. Handing out water bottles each Sunday in store parking lots – to let people know that Jesus loves them. Seeing need and hurt in the people in our communities and seeking out ways to fill it. These new habits have brought us to moments of deep personal connection with new people by the dozens the past few months and personal growth for each of us. Connections that prior to our Journey in our busy, busy, lives, we too often missed.

To be honest, we also became sucked back into the spin cycle again as well. Busy, busy, busy, still too busy at times for the life of relationships, worship, and service God has created us for. We are a work in progress, always.

We are now back on the road. Jesus Journey – Part 2. Two and a half months to places that we did not have the opportunity to visit and serve in our first 12 months on the road. To also learn and re-learn some of the perspective our time on the road taught us last year. Our path is flexible, but primarily it will take us through the middle of the USA – from Southern California out to Tennessee and Kentucky, then up North to Wisconsin, Minnesota, perhaps North Dakota, before heading back down to Southern California – all the time seeking God’s will and direction.

Please pray for us, let us know how YOU are doing, and how we can pray for YOU.

Love,

The Wandering Webers

Happy Easter!!!

This is an important day for the Weber family, as it is for people around the world.  It is a time when we highlight, celebrate, and thank the Creator for His mercy, grace, forgiveness, and love!  We continue our efforts to turn from our sins, mistakes, and harmful actions. We humbly ask for and accept God’s forgiveness and also ask for your forgiveness for harm that any of our sinful actions and mistakes may have caused you and others.  We lovingly lift you up in prayer that you have personally accepted the grace and forgiveness offered by God..which is what makes Easter, Happy! 

We are writing this Easter morning from the hospital room in Gettysburg Hospital in Pennsylvania that I have been staying in since Good Friday. Gia and the kids are staying hour and a half away in College Park, Maryland where our “traveling home” is located, but came here after enjoying morning worship at Easter services. We write with much thankfulness. I am being treated for cardiac related issues that ultimately culminated in my body saying “no mas” and a 911 trip from the Gettysburg Battlefield Museum to this excellent hospital.

We won’t bore you with details.  We know God will work all things for good and we are already better for this experience.  Please know we are all fine, my long term prognosis is great, and due to this experience have yet another blessed opportunity to learn and grow. For me, some personal poignant reinforcement for more needed adjustments! Not sure if this approach is considered negative or positive reinforcement…but Thank you God that I will be here to learn it nonetheless!

Thank you Jesus and Happy Easter!

Our niece Olivia, with Chuck Jr. and Hope!

We have added new pages capturing some of our memories and events from Jan 1-15, Jan 16-31, February 1-14, and February 15-28 and the writings of FaithJean, Hope, and Grace.  Chuck Jr is next!

Just click on the links for each page up above.  Please take a look and we hope you enjoy.  Love, The Wandering Webers.  In Charleston, South Carolina this week.

I know, here we are…leaving our “comfortable” lives in southern california, going on the road across the USA for a year and now we did this – shaving our heads!  No, we didn’t join a cult!  We only followed through on a pact Chuck Jr and I had made six months ago – to shave our heads together at one point on our journey across the USA!  Really, for no other reason to just do it for the adventure of doing so! Well, yesterday, Feb 15, became the day.

Here are a few pictures of the moment.  Ultimately, we also discussed a theme for us to remember as we look at this big change in our outward appearance. That the change we see on the outside can remind us of the change on the inside for us as we continue to learn and grow in our relationship with Jesus and seek to be like Him in love and service of God and others.

We also want to give a shout out to the Hair Shop for Men in Vero Beach.  He was amazing and supportive and skilled.  If in the area, you must stop by.  Thank you Scott!

Enjoy – in laughter, curiosity, love, and/or all three!

So…we are on this nature trail in the Everglades National forest and it is more amazing than any we have ever experienced before. Dozens of different species of birds and animals all around us….in their own home sharing the same path, including the many full length alligators swimming or sunbathing with us.

Most of the gators were just chilling in the water and canals next to us. However, some would move about. We had one very interesting encounter with one.

We came upon an alligator who had just captured a full size turtle in his mouth. The kids weren’t happy about this and started telling the alligator to let the turtle go. The alligator started swimming along the canal with his dinner and we followed alongside. I was thinking this may not be great for the kids to see, but then also thought it may be exactly what they should see.

As we followed the alligator alongside us with his prey in his mouth, the turtle would lift up his head out of the water from time to time to get air.

The kids kept saying to the alligator to let the turtle go as we followed.

Then a lady with her family who just joined up with the scene with her four year old, kept laughing and saying it is the circle of life!  Upon which after the fourth time Gia started getting agitated and said “Okay we get it, why do some people have to say it is the circle of life over and over. We get it…why not have some sensitivity” (after a few moments Gia then decided to hold back from the group to calm down a bit. 🙂

We continued to follow the gator and his prey when he suddenly came to a stop in the canal and turned toward us. My kids kept talking to the gator to let the turtle go and the lady’s four year old then started doing the same!

The gator then came up to the bank of the canal and was five feet from us. He suddenly rose up out of the water, looked at us, and flipped his whole head back and forth slamming the turtle against the water each time as if to knock him out.

Suddenly the turtle broke free and took off!  The kids cheered. The gator looked very mad and turned his whole attention to us. He took two steps up the bank toward us and we all stepped back to match. We were told that if we were 15 feet away we could probably out run them, because while fast, they can’t sustain it. Of course, we were only five feet away, but somehow felt we could handle it.

After a staring contest, the gator turned back to the canal and swam away.

The kids were excited and happy, and felt that yes, they had been part of the circle of life. However, one in which the turtle won to play another day!

Later we had another adventure with vultures when leaving. A group of a dozen vultures attacked a motor home in the parking lot chewing away at the rubber roof. Understanding the rv lifestyle and impact to the owners, we ran up screaming, chased them away, stood guard, and then searched the park and found the owners so they could continue their own journey from Michigan.

An interesting day for sure! Wanted to share it with you.

The Wandering Webers…Grace, Hope, FaithJean, Chuck Jr, and mom and dad.