How to Fill 40 Hours in a Van

Sixteen years ago I had the great privilege of teaching for a month at Rehoboth, a Christian school on the Navajo Reservation in NM.  Rehoboth is a true light in a dark place.  It ministers to all sorts of students and families dealing with poverty, broken homes, addictions, and bondage to Navajo "religion".  They do an amazing job of recognizing and honoring the culture, but also seeking to redeem it and claim it for Christ.  

 This community has always held a special place in my heart, so it was such a joy to be able to return all these years later with my entire family and an enthusiastic team of 18 students and leaders from our church's youth group.

About one week ago, we set our alarms for 3:00 am and departed on a life-changing mission trip to Rehoboth, NM.  We have many many stories and about 350 pictures, so I'll share this journey in pieces here on the blog and with a focus on just my family (as opposed to the stories and pictures of the 14 others on our team).  Since it was a literal journey to trek across 3 states to get to Rehoboth, I'll start there.

 We started by asking God to bless our travels and keep us safe.  God did this and more!  I can truthfully say that the rides there and back were filled with nothing but fun and good memories!  The part of the trip that gave me greatest pause was subjecting these poor high-schoolers to riding with my children for 16 hours straight, but THEY DID GREAT!  So, if you are planning a long road trip any time soon that involves starting in the middle of the night and riding with 9 others, here are 10 suggestions for you...

 1.  Relish watching the sun rise.  Greet it by belting out Lion King songs.

2.  Take in the scenery.  We had to drive through the Mojave Desert and the entirety of Arizona.  These were totally new landscapes for us.

 3.  Bring along the video player, but limit its use.  We actually only watched 4 movies total and they became whole-van experiences.  "Let it Go" was, of course, performed by everyone.

4.  Decorate the van with artwork.  Have drawing contests where one person picks a random subject (like "Monster truck driving through a ring of fire") and two people compete to draw it the best.

 5.  Bring along walkie-talkies. nickname your vehicles, and have some fun practicing your trucker talk with the other van.  Ella's birthday fell on our first day of travel.  She smiled huge when we heard the walkie crackling, "White Duck, do you copy?  We have a message for Ella" and the singing from the other van that followed.  Also, share the good news when you actually find a good radio station.  If it is playing "Bohemian Rhapsody", perform a 2 van duet!

6.  Play the licence plate game!  I found a great printout and by the end of the week, everyone was into it.  We found 38, missing mostly the Northeast states.  And Wisconsin.  Could not find darn Wisconsin!

7.  Let the guy with the best music on his iPod sit shotgun and play DJ.  Rock out for a few hours to classics like "Don't Stop Believin''" or "Ice Ice Baby."

8.  Play lots of games!  Cards, Old Maid and Auto Bingo fill the hours.  Would You Rather? gives you some interesting insight into the minds of the people you're with for the next week!

9.  Just read, if you don't get carsick.  Ella read 3 whole books. I think "The Fault in our Stars" was passed around to just about everyone this week.  Three people got it read entirely in the van.  We joked that we'd have to have a Book Group to discuss it!

10.  And of course, SLEEP!  The high-schoolers had no trouble doing this.  Unfortunately, my girls slept a total of 45 minutes in the vans and me, zero.  Too excited, I guess! :)