From Roxana

Over a year ago, Tom felt called to make this trip. He has planned, prepared, recruited a team of helpers, and done everything he could think of with the purpose of raising donations for RETA, increasing awareness of abortion, and most importantly, sharing the hope available to everyone in Christ. Now that we are at the end of this journey and have arrived home, I want to write a few words in closing. Thanks Ty, for doing a great job keeping those who visited this blog up to date on our experience.
This trip has been quite an experience as I knew it would be. Each of us agreed that our favorite part was arriving at our destination and burying a bag which represented all women, men, and families hurt by abortion. So much work went into this and it was wonderful to have closure at our destination. It was an appropriate and heartfelt act for us. There were other memorable moments:
I’ll never forget:
• How difficult it is to follow my husband on a motorcycle through bumper to bumper big city traffic. Thank God Ty was much better at it than I!
• A conversation with a former truck driver, now a cook for the last 7 years at a truck stop just outside Death Valley. A House of Prostitution is connected to the back of the building with a large sign recruiting customers (legal in Nevada). I will never forget him reading the Bible we gave him as we drove away. Priceless.
• A 60 something year old man in Galena, Kansas. He answered questions from
Tom regarding the town 37 years ago when Tom was a student at nearby Ozark Christian College and graciously accepted a Bible. He immediately started looking at it and flipping through the pages.
• Giving a Jesus Film to a grandmother and her granddaughter who thanked me and said they would watch it while traveling in their SUV.
• Fixing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for two panhandlers during a truck stop and leaving Bibles with them before we said goodbye.
• The joy of making this trip with my family and the honor of doing it to help RETA. (Kariann, although you weren’t along in person, we knew you were praying and I love you for checking in with us every day!)
• Spending time along the way with Roy (a friend of Tom’s for 40 years!), and new friends, Anne, Carl, and Peter. It was great having four motorcycles riding together for a few days.
• God’s protection on several occasions. Your prayers for safety were heard…..on several occasions, what could have been a bad situation…..wasn’t! Thank you so much for your prayers!
• Conversations with people who asked about the signs on our vehicle; conversations informing people about partial birth abortion; conversations about our country and concerns about it’s current leadership.
• Receiving a picture message from my RETA family, the staff I love to work with….you all are the greatest!
• Leaving Bibles, Jesus Films, and a few dollars for a tip along with a note in each room where we stayed for the cleaning staff.
• How proud and thankful I am for Tom, my wonderful husband of almost 29 years who feels passionate about his God, his country, his family and “the unborn and the not forgotten” (which includes all members of all families hurt by abortion). I have never been more proud of him, more thankful for him and I have fallen in love with him all over again….:)
Thank you for “joining us” on this trip and thank you to those of you who have sent a financial gift. We so appreciate each and every donation. DVR T-shirts are also available for purchase by calling the RETA office at 574.522.3888. Please join us at Cici’s Pizza behind Applebee’s in Goshen on Tuesday, May 26 5:00 – 8:00pm. RETA receives a percentage of all proceeds that evening if you write RETA on the back of your receipt and we get to meet you!
I am sincerely grateful for your partnership and there are no words to express how thankful I am to God for everything He is, was, and forever will be to me personally and to all who know Him!

Roxana