UPDATE ON NEW WHEELS CAMPAIGN

Well, it's almost the end of September which means the formal end to the New Wheels campaign. Many of you have been asking for an update, so here is the brief version:

We have been absolutely humbled and overwhelmed by the response we have seen. You have really stepped up to the plate and blessed us beyond what we could have imagined. From gifts of $10 and up, you have come together and made our dream of buying a bus a reality. The challenge at this point will be finding one that has many years left in it in our price range. With just over a week left in September, there is still plenty of time to give if you've been putting it off - click here (there is a "donate to the Downhere Foundation" button on our website).

There are a couple of wrap-up things happening in October as far as events/conversations taking place that others have organized to help raise money, but the major part of the campaign will be over the end of September.

Please continue to pray for wisdom and favor as we start looking for a bus. It is a major investment, and one we want to make prayerfully. And pray that the Lord would continue to be honored as this bus will be used in His service.

Once we find the bus we will provide you with some pictures so you can see what you were a part of. Again, thank-you so much - let's finish the campaign strong!

And we can breath now.

So we've been home for a week after a very long 25 day trip which included a tour in Canada from Toronto ON to Vernon BC as well as 3 U.S. festivals. Our Canadian tour with Building 429 was a great experience. 500 kids were sponsored through World Vision in the 13 shows we played!! That is incredible! Leaving a tour knowing that 500 lives have been directly impacted really helps making the time away from our families more bearable. Kudos to Jason Roy of B429 for doing a great job presenting the needs of these kids to our audiences.

Tim Horton's (a popular Canadian coffee and donut shop) is definitely better off because of our visit too. I'm pretty sure we stopped there at least once every day and often it was more than that. We did have one bizarre driving experience during the tour. During our trip across the west side of Ontario we decided to follow our GPS even though we knew which way to go. It's always the same argument.

"Well maybe it knows a faster way."

"No, that can't be faster, I've gone that way before."

"Then why would it suggest it?"

"Fine, let's try it."

Well next thing we knew we were on a dirt path (aka road) where the branches from the trees on either side were touching our van and we were traversing over massive bumps and puddles, trailer and all. This is the kind of road that only 4 wheel drive vehicles should be using but for

some reason the old Garmin had much confidence in our old trusty van and trailer. After a good 30-45 minutes of driving on this road we made it out to the "main" road. We stopped at a fishing outfitter/gas station and after talking to the owner gave up all hope of having lunch that day. The next gas station was hours away. Good thing we stopped. Eventually of course, we

made it to our destination and thankfully the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. Thanks for praying!!

After 14 shows in our home country where we got to see family or good friends every single night we left Vernon, British Columbia and headed for Montana. The reunions were not over

though because we were heading to Jeremy's in-laws to play a show at their church and spend a little time with them. I think most of us have recovered from our afternoon on the lake. Here

are a few pics. Jeremy's father-in-law successfully knocked all of us off the tube at least once! (Below, Glenn, Marc, Dave Jason)

After Montana it was festival time. Rock The Light in Kansas City was first. Beautiful location and thankfully the rain held off for the show. We reconnected with the Casting Crowns folks there too! Then it was off to LifeLight in Sioux Falls SD. We played the same night as our good friend and label mate Lanae Hale. I'm sad to say between traffic and a miscalculation in time we arrived slightly late but the festival and audience were really forgiving and we had a great show! From South Dakota we were headed to our last show in Peoria IL. This was a great way to end the tour. It was a free show and once again, even though it had rained on and off all day

the rain stopped for show time and they had over 2000 people there! Below are a couple of

pics that some of our Downhomies took. Thanks Mindy and Liz!

So it was a full trip and we had fun but we are all happy to be back in our own beds. So now we're taking some time to do some writing and tend to the myriad of things that were missed while we were away.

Glenn