After the Fire, We are Sent Out!

I woke this morning to dense fog shrouding my little Poustinia in quiet. 

"Poustinia" means desert place or hermitage in Russian, and it's what I put on my camper's license plate when I bought and registered it.



Looking out of the skylight above my bed at the mist-covered trees and listening to the plopping rain, I laid there for a while before rolling out and lighting my propane stove.

I turned the knob to get the propane flowing and then clicked a lighter to light the flame.  No dice.

Oh well, I thought, no big deal.  I'll forgo the hot cup of coffee I was imagining and have something cold instead.

Could the fire we generated so powerfully at the tent revival and FIRE Mass really be out so soon?!

 I decided to stay another day, though not going to the top of Sharp Top Mountain as I had planned.  (Notice I said "going" and not "hiking"!   I had been debating over and over about how to go up there to see the view:   I could hike 1.5 miles up (and 1600 feet altitude gain) followed by 1.5 miles down, take a shuttle up and back for $10, or take the shuttle up and hike down for $6.)  And as the weekend wore on, option number two was looking pretty good.   However the fog made it impossible to do.

So, I ended up making Sunday a day of prayer and reflection and keeping still in my little hermitage in the woods.   Not easy for me!  But it was nice.   And then on Monday morning I woke up once more to the sound of dripping rain.

As I packed up my things and began to pop down the camper so that I could hitch it to my car, a woman approached me and asked, "Are you alone?"

"Yes," I replied and smiled.

"You and I have the only two campers in this whole campground today and I felt better knowing you were nearby.  I had hoped you might have your husband with you and he could come over to help us.   Our camper broke down and my husband, who is a former mechanic, has been working on it for a day and a half!"

I had noticed them earlier: they had a very large camper and a car that they towed behind.   The bumper stickers on the back said, "Semper Fi!" so I gathered that her husband was also a Marine. 
  
And I thought how ironic that she was out here with all of those things to make her feel safe:  her husband, a mechanic, a Marine, a motorhome, and a car.....and she was saying how I, in my little popup camper with no electricity or propane, somehow made her feel safer!!  

I replied that though I didn't have a husband with me to help her, I did have some tools she could borrow.   When she declined I told her I had just come from a Tent Revival and was full of the Holy Spirit and so I would also pray for them.

Perhaps that is why God sent a little Franciscan monk in a brown robe and Birkinstock sandals to a big white tent in Bedford,VA....to remind all the people gathered there that God is with us, He loves us, and He desires to bring us home.  Our part is to repent and believe. 

She said, "Oh, you're a Christian?  I'm a Christian too."

"You've got to make due with what God has provided!" I said, realizing it's true that no matter how much material wealth we have, we cannot count on it to make us feel safe in this world.

About an hour later I was riding down the mountain with my little camper in tow, when I received a photo texted from home:

With all of my heart I replied, "Can't wait to be there!   See you soon!!! "

❤️ Ronda

Written Sunday Sept. 26, 2016 8:30 PM  

(I do not know what is wrong with these fonts....but am posting as it is....!)

The Holy Spirit Did Not Disappoint!!

Then next morning we came together to fill the tent once again.  People sang with the worship band, listened to testimonies of the workings of God in people's lives, we laughed and cried and stretched out our hands and prayed.  We experienced unity in the Holy Spirit, His Fire, and His Life.

And then in the evening we gathered for the last time...for a FIRE Mass not in the tent, but in the Holy Name of Mary church in Bedford, VA, and wouldn't you know that the sky was light blue right over the church as the sun set and Mass began?

In His Love,
Ronda

A Very Good Night's Sleep: Zzzzzzzzz

There's nothing quite like a rousing tent revival followed by a bear free night to make for a good night's sleep.  I am waking up feeling rested and ready to go for the full day of preaching, singing, praying, sharing, listening, and loving that lies ahead.

That is saying quite a lot, but there was such a spirit of unity that gathered the many people from all walks of life together under that huge white tent in Bedford, VA last night.

Colleen Criste, the woman who made it happen, began with a vision that she received in her sleep last December of a tent, the word "revival", the idea of ecumenism, the number 500, and the speaker "Fr. Dave" whom she had heard at Steubenville Youth Conferences, though had never met personally.   

As she gazed out at the crowd from the stage in the front of the tent, she was overcome by the fruition of that dream (exactly nine months later to the day) that we were all participating in.   God had foreseen and ordained it and through many mysterious circumstances, had brought each and every one of us together for this night of praise.

Tonight as I think back over the day and the message that God has for me, I am sure it is about His unstoppable love.

So many times in our lives we feel rejected, uncertain, reluctant, and dismayed.  These feelings are the result of wounds we receive when we encounter something other than the Love of God.   

Two days ago a woman who read my blog wrote, "I love you and am praying for you " as you attend this revival with Fr. Dave, whom I so admire too!  

And then last night as our revival was coming to a crescendo, the woman I had been sitting next to all evening suddenly grabbed my hand in praise and worship, smiled at me as she warmly squeezed it, and even kissed it before she let go....

How is it that these two women were able to be such channels of love for me at a time when I felt somewhat awkward and alone in this gathering of strangers in such a faraway place from home?  

These women were tapped into God's love and able to let it flow out of themselves and into me!

When I returned to my little camper in the woods I turned to my bible and read 1 John.  

"My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.  Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love."

Let us pray for those who hurt us or make us feel unwelcome and unloved.   

Let us turn not to them, but to God, the Source and Giver of all good things, especially life itself, to find our value and our place.  

It is in Him that we live, and move, and have our being, and indeed our very identity: Beloved Children of God.

Amen!

❤️ Ronda
Posted Sat. Sept. 24, 2016 7:30 AM

Perhaps It's All in my Head

When a park ranger stopped by my campsite this morning, I asked him what could have made my camper rock in the night.  

"Well, I don't know.  I wasn't out here," he so comfortingly replied.

Telling him what I feared it was, he offered that perhaps I have an overly active imagination.  

"No bears have been seen in the campground," he said, "but they have been a bit of a nuisance in the picnic area."

Well, I'm not the one who posted all of the bear warning signs...

With that reassurance, I asked him where I might go hiking today, saying that I did not want to be alone on the trail.

He suggested hiking to the top of Sharp Top, with a 1600 foot gain.  That seemed s little much to me, so I drove down to a visitor's station to ask about something easier and saw several school buses parked outside. 

"You might want to go a little later in the day," the volunteer offered.  

But to me, I was in luck!  Here was a group of eager first graders up here for a hike and a learning experience at the restored Johnson Family Farm.

So, I found the trail and headed off into the woods for a mile long uphill walk....with absolutely no one in sight.  Had they come and gone already?  Was I on the right trail?  Where was everybody....anybody?

After a while of climbing up while looking down the steep and wooded ravine, I tried to convince myself that surely I have my guardian angel with me, as I have learned that everyone does.

Before too much longer, this welcomed sight came into view:   

And soon I was walking back down the mountain, with a gaggle of six year olds chirping and chatting and meowing too, aaaallllll the waaaayyyyy home!    

Near the bottom I stopped to take a photo as the class began to pass me by, the teacher calling out, "Can't stand it anymore?!"

If only she knew...their noisy passage was music to my ears!

Next I returned to the campground, where this morning's ranger was joined by another who when I asked whether she had heard my news, looked into my face and excitedly said, "You were awakened by your camper being rocked in the night? Don't tell me that!!!"

She had been doing research on bear behavior, and found that one of the things they do when looking for food is stand on their hind legs and ....PUSH!

Oh.  

At that, the first ranger lowered his head down over his paperwork....and smiled.

😭 Ronda
Sent from my iPhone

Things That Go Bump in the Night

I have an irrational fear of being attacked by a shark which I think about every time I go swimming in the ocean.  Maybe it's there because I read JAWS as a teen. 

Then I read UNBROKEN, the impossibly amazing account of a WWII airman who was shot down over the Pacific Ocean and floated for more than a month in a limp life raft with two of his comrades. They were repeatedly circled and lunged at by sharks which they fought off with their oars.  At one point a Japanese fighter jet swooped down to shoot at them and the hero of the story jumped overboard, choosing the sharks over the bullets.    

My nightmare!  I think my heart would have given out before I ever became a meal for those sharks.

Hmmm....why am I thinking about sharks on this first sunny morning in the Blue Ridge Mountains?

It's the best analogy I can think of to describe what happened to me last night.

I had been asleep for about four hours in this deeply wooded and mostly deserted campground situated on the slope of lake.  When suddenly I was jolted awake, all my senses on high alert, a discordant tone playing again and again in my head.   I was trying to assess what was happening.   Had a group of people come up along side my camper and shoved it as hard as they could?   Why was it rocking?  

Then I realized, though I couldn't really see in the black night, that there was a low and rounded figure with some heft and a deliberate walk that was quickly circling the perimeter of my camper, and rubbing it with its (furry?) side as it went around.

I was on full alert in my little hut as I understood that a bear was outside and looking for food.  It clearly knew that there was someone (me!) inside.  Remembering that a window was opened near my head, I quickly reached up and slid it closed.  And then I just laid there, my heart racing, my mind listening, and my body keeping still.

I was aware that a bear was here only for a second or two, and after circling one time 'round, it was off in search of easier and tastier fare.

And though thankfully my brother turned out to be right this time, I  wondered if there would be more bears coming for a little sniff in the night.

Yikes!

Love,
Ronda

Posted Friday Sept. 23, 2016  9:15 AM

Let the Revival Begin!

I drove about four hours today to reach the Blue Ridge Parkway at Peaks of Otter in Virginia to get in place for tomorrow night's Tent Revival with Fr. Dave Pivonka.

There is a small lake surrounded by three mountain peaks here, an inn with a restaurant, and a mile long path for taking a stroll. 

Unfortunately, I am not staying at the inn, but at a campground up the hill from the lake, with warnings posted about bear activity in the area!

Just now I've finished eating a little dinner, locked up my food, pans, toiletries, and trash into the trunk of the car, and settled into my little A-frame camper for the night.

Drifting off to sleep, I'm thinking that there my still be a few things inside here that give off a scent...the food in the refrigerator, the soap near the sink, the food particles that went down the drain and under my camper, and of course, me.

My brother's words written to me a few weeks ago, when I told him I wouldn't be stopping at Mt. Mitchell due to bear warnings, are circling 'round in my head:

"Your camper is virtually bear proof!"

We shall see...!

God must know that I'm in need of a little adventure... :(

Love,

Ronda

-Written Thrs. Sept. 22, 2016 8:30 PM

Catching Fire

Tomorrow I'm going to pack up my camper and head out to do something I never thought I'd do....attend a Tent Revival in the hill country of Virginia!

I came across this idea quite innocently:  recently I was invited with my mother to our cousin's new lake house at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia for a few days.  We had a wonderful time visiting with family and enjoying the activities the location offered: swimming in a saltwater pool, pedaling (not paddling!) kayaks across the open water, gazing at stars in the darkened sky, and sharing a few wonderful dinners elbow to elbow while catching up on each other's lives.

When I returned home, I went online to see if there are any Catholic Churches near Smith Mountain Lake, when I suddenly saw this:    

This notice intrigued me because the preacher is Fr. Dave Pivonka....the same Fr. Dave who walked the Camino across Spain....500 miles...and then wrote about it and preached retreats to our Teen Youth Ministry Core Team with that for the theme.   

Fr. Dave is a Franciscan Friar who has been a part of Franciscan University Steubenville Youth Conferences http://steubenvilleconferences.com/youth/ for many years.  He is filled with the Holy Spirit and a wonderful zeal to bring the love and healing of Christ to all.   

In recent days he has begun an online ministry to share his preaching with more and more people....and has made his preached retreats available here:  http://thewildgooseisloose.com/ (once there, click on "view segments.")

I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for us under a great big tent at The Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church in Bedford, VA.  No doubt God will be there in power, bestowing His wonderful love and mercy on all who are gathered.    

Join us under the tent if you can!  Or watch Fr. Dave's videos if you prefer to have your own little revival right where you are.  

May God bless you and guide you into His peace!

In His Love,

Ronda