Next chapter

We are in Portland and we have refound our life here. The church, the jobs, and the responsibilities. Mexico was a chapter and we are starting a new chapter of our life. We have lived in an apartment for 5 months and in a few weeks we will be moving in a mobile home which will be our refuge.
Since I wrote last, life and death moved closer to gether.
July 3rd, 2007, my dad went to be with the Lord.
I want to do a memorial page, but I am not ready yet. Here is the obituary, though. and this is a start.
IN MEMORY OF


William "Bill" Backus went home to be with Jesus on July 2, 2007 while
surrounded by his loving family. Born Nov. 20, 1929 in Grand Rapids, MI as he began his career in television news as an investigative reporter and news photographer at WOOD-TV. Later, he was capitol news reporter in Lansing, MI for WILX-TV where Bill achieved awards and citations for his work. His heart was always for boys in trouble causing him to begin Christian boys' clubs and working in partnership with a judge in a probation program. Bill is survived by his wife of 57 years, Valerie, and sons ... Bill, Jerry, Rich, Scott, daughter Sandy and their spouses; 14 grands and 8 great-grands. Celebration of his life will be held July 7, at 11am at South Peoria Baptist Church, 9000 W. Olive Ave. in Peoria. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in his name to South Peoria Baptist Missions Fund.
Published in The Arizona Republic on 7/6/2007.

The last post of this chapter

This is the final chapter of Strangers arriving in a Stange Land.
We were led by God to return to the United States. The return trip was uneventful and God was ahead of us preparing our ways to an apartment, and jobs for both of us. We sold our truck and bought a Sazuki Areal. We will now assimilate ourselves back into the American culture. My wife is finding it easy and she is very satisfied our move back to the states. I am still having problems adjusting. Having had to say good bye to the chilren, my dog, my rabbit, my garden, the choir, my praise and worship ministry, has been difficult.
So I close this chapter of our life. A wonderful adventure and experience that I will never forget.
I have realized that my true home is in Heaven. When I meet with eternity, I will never move again. This earth is not my home.
Thank you Lord for giving me the oportunity to serve you with the children of Chapala.
I hope we made a difference. I look forward to making a difference with the new chapter you lay before us.
I have tears in my eyes as I say adios to my memories in Chapala.

Continuing our journey home

We stopped in Phoenix for a few days to rest and relax with my mom and dad. We had a nice visit with my son David, also. I talked to my brother Rich and my sister Sandy. My mother prayed for us as we left Tuesday morning. It was a good visit.
Today we struggled through Los Angeles. The exit to the freeway we wanted was closed so we had to find our way through the maze of freeways to find I - 5. After finding it and heading north, there was s long back up for over a mile due to an accident. After that we continued north to a nice motel near Visalia. Hopefully tomorrow, we will get to Medford, Oregon and spend the night at Ellen's sister's hosue.
I recieved a call on my new cell phone from the company that will interview me for a job. They have set it up for Tuesday. It is the same company I worked for beforfe I moved to Mexico. I ask you to pray for a successful interview Tuesday at 1:30.
We have been accepted in the apartment we applied for and will sign the paperwork and give them a bunch of money on Saturday. We have some very close friends that are waiting for us and are plotting our course as we drive up. God bless you Floyd and Judy.


Mystery kitty sleeps in his kennel while the truck is going. He gets to the motel and explores and is happy to be out of his cage. He used to meow for miles and hours when he first went on trips with us, but now he is used to it and realizes he will not be traveling forever. Mystery, I pray this is your last long trip.

somewhere in El Paso

Today was a very good travel day. After I figured that one cannot get from San Antonio to Phoenix in one day, we opted to go over half way and stay in El Paso. A nice surprise was that Texas has 80 mph speed limits on the freeways. Woooshhh. We made it over 600 miles in 9 hours. Tomorrow, Sunday, we have about 460 miles left.
Some observations. For the first time in 15 eyars of traveling (i.e chicago - flagstaff, flagstaff - phoenix, phoenix - astoria, astoria - portland, portland - chapala) there was no little dog to ride along. Today I was reminded of it when i saw others walk their dogs at rest stops and motels. :(
Another observation: It is a sort of culture shock to hear everyone speaking english in public places. like stores, restaurants etc.
And another observation: Mexican ladies here seem to wear make up and jewlery more then their counterparts in mexico.
One more: In Mexico, the store, restaurant and business owners don't seem to put so much of their money on appearance. From hotels, to hardware stores to restaurants, the b uilding is basic brick and may or may not have bheen painted recently. Every business I see in the USA is shiny, glossy and sharp and bright looking.

These are just some simple quick observations. Neither culture is right or wrong. It is just what we are used to.

Tomorrow onward to Phoenix, and Tuesday head out toour finaldestination, Portland.

Back in the USA

Leaving Wednesday morning, we arrived in Lorado, Tx on Friday afternoon at 3pm.
We still have Saturday and Sunday out on the road before we arrive at my parents house in Phoenix.

Driving in Mexico is very long and hard with signs that are hard to read and not very driver friendly. We realized this whenwe arrived across the boarder to a simple highway system. Our last night in Mexico was at a motel we found before it got dark. The price was right ($22) but it was small, dirty, and no heat with temps in the 30's. Motels are not easy to find on the highways. When you find one you stop because you dont know when you will see another one again for hours. It is also importanty to get off the roads before nigbt fall because it is not safe.
Tonight we stay at a very comfy motel 60 miles south of San Antonio. We are soaking our sore muscles in the first bath tub we have had in months.

Keep praying that our trip is safe and the truck continues to function well.

Returning as two different people

We are leaving Chapala Thursday for the long drive back. We are leaving the trailer behind and are taking whatever we can fit in the truck.
We have an apartment ready to move into when we arrive on the 1st of February. I also talked to the manager of the previous company I used to work for and they are starting intervies for a job opening at this time. She is holding a space for me to interview as soon as I arrive. Ellen also talked to ehr old manager and will be working where she used to. We will abe living in the apartmetns we moved into when we moved to Portland from Astoria. We are not sure of the church we will attend, however. We rae coming back to the same identical situation, so I have asked myself, why did we leave. Go back to last year in the blog archives and those reasons were true. It was God{s doing, not because we were running away from anything. I feel as we start ouir lives again, it will be two very different people starting over again. We have grown so much spiritually here and our faith has incrased greatly.
Pray for safety on our trip.

Returning as two different people

We are leaving Chapala Thursday for the long drive back. We are leaving the trailer behind and are taking whatever we can fit in the truck.
We have an apartment ready to move into when we arrive on the 1st of February. I also talked to the manager of the previous company I used to work for and they are starting intervies for a job opening at this time. She is holding a space for me to interview as soon as I arrive. Ellen also talked to ehr old manager and will be working where she used to. We will abe living in the apartmetns we moved into when we moved to Portland from Astoria. We are not sure of the church we will attend, however. We rae coming back to the same identical situation, so I have asked myself, why did we leave. Go back to last year in the blog archives and those reasons were true. It was God{s doing, not because we were running away from anything. I feel as we start ouir lives again, it will be two very different people starting over again. We have grown so much spiritually here and our faith has incrased greatly.
Pray for safety on our trip.

A day of good byes

We went to see the children one more time today. For some reason they welcomed us with a with excitement. Usually they are happy to see us when we arrive but today there was a little more hugging and holding. We have grown working with them and have learned so much. We hope we had some influence on their eternity.
I cry as i write this since they were our family and we bonded with many of them.
We also said good bye to oru pastor and Mexican friends today.

In Memory of Dusty

August 1992 - January 2007


Dusty was put to rest today due to his age.
He has lived with us for 15 years, giving us and our children joy and pleasure.
He will be truly missed