December 24, 2011Desert Hot Springs, California

Five months on the road.Six months living with five people in less than 400 square feet.Amazingly, that space is more than adequate when the sun is shining and it's not minus thirty outside.Five months and the only destination within that last five months that wasn't hinged on meeting with friends or family, or a work assignment was Prince Rupert in the first week.I have never considered myself to be an extrovert by nature - by choice yes, but not by nature - but have immensely enjoyed the people portion of the trip so far.We have renewed important relationships with important people in our lives, formed new (and also important) relationships with others we didn't know existed a short while ago, and acquired a legion of acquaintances who, while we may never see many of them again this side of eternity, have enriched both our trip and our lives in ways we hadn't imagined.

Of course all the fun we've had with people is partially responsible for the fact that it has taken us five months to count 3,000 of the expected 15,000 to 20,000 miles we anticipate adding to the wheel bearings of our trailer.However, over the next few months we expect to make more miles - if we stick to the plan. I say if because as we told ourselves when we set out, we intend to follow the wind and if something changes we're okay with that.Part of our goal for this trip together was to have the freedom to be flexible and open to change.

Roz stenciled a phrase on the wall of the living room in the trailer before we left that reads "sometimes in the winds of change we find our true direction."The three words that stand out in that phrase for me are "winds change direction"- if there is one thing we know to be true in the North country and in our lives it's that fact - winds change direction!Sometimes they change direction within minutes and sometimes gradually, but they never blow from the same direction for long.

2011 has brought some fairly major changes in direction for us and I can honestly say that it's been a great ride.Some years we survive, and other years we thrive.This has been one of the latter kind of years and we are immensely grateful for the tremendous opportunity we have been given.We look forward to 2012 with great expectancy of further change as our attitudes and ways of thinking are refined by this experience and anticipate good things to come, even if the wind doesn't blow in the direction we expect.

May you all know the peace of Christ during this celebration of him, and may the wind blow favorably upon you in the coming year.

Tim