The lot was cast last year as to where Followers of Yah would keep the Feast of Tabernacles 2008. The place... Sheridan County, Montana. This year, as with last year we had to walk by faith and not by sight. We had to lean not on our thoughts but fully trust Yahuah! There is a big difference in saying those words, "I trust Eloah", compared to actually living them. Putting that mustard seed of faith into action can be extremely difficult. Practicing and learning to hear His voice is necessary for all children of Yisra'el. This needs to be accomplished now, before the spirit of chaos is released on all the inhabitants of the earth. If believers cannot hear that silent voice now, while everything is calm, what will become of us when the storm is blowing?

     Our desire is that the following will inspire ALL believers to deeply seek Yahuah now, while He may still be found, trusting Him, despite what we see with our eyes. May our hearts get prepared for the coming, 'Great Distress!'

     We tell you a truth, this year's Feast of Tabernacles took us to a higher level of trusting the Mighty One of Yisra'el. With the economy on the brink of collapsing, we pondered on staying much closer to home. We had a few warm invites to keep the feast with other believers who lived closer to us. At the last minute, we decide to remain faithful to the original plans.

     To the average person, driving 1,700 miles cross the nation to sleep in a tent is not only stupid, but also crazy! Not to mention to the fuel costs needed to drive such a distance (Ohio to Montana)...yep sure sounds like a bunch of koo-koo's, huh? Let's face it...we had fallen off our rockers.

     Ahhh... but the flesh of ours can never see the full picture, unlike Yahuah who is able to see the end from the beginning. Eloah had plans for us that our wildest dreams could not even begin to fathom. So, the saying goes, "Getting there is half the fun". We took that to heart as we left seven days before the Feast began. We wanted to take our time getting there.

     Words cannot describe the beauty we beheld. The Indiana Dunes were remarkable. With no worries of sharks or salt water, in our opinion, Lake Michigan is far better than the ocean. Spending the day there was awesome! As the day ended, the sun just having set...we witnessed the big city of CHICAGO all lit up. Driving through this city, We felt like children in a candy store. We even saw real life Am trams. They look just like they do in the movies. What a surprise we had driving through the Twin City's. We spent a few hours visiting the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum. Since the only funds we had were enough for gas and a few odds in ends, we slept at rest areas. Before driving through the "Theodore Roosevelt National Park  -North and South Unit", we spent the night sleeping at "Painted Canyon" rest area, in South Dakota.

     Early in the morning, we awoke to a strange knocking sound. Peeping through the van curtains we saw nothing, yet wondered who our visitors were. The morning solved this mystery for us. Bison! We had Bison droppings all around the van. A common thing is for the Bison to come up out of the canyon. They just wander around. Painted Canyon is a very pretty place. 
               
                 
               Can you spot the bison we found in Painted Canyon?

   We had planned to drive through "Lake Sacagawea" on the "Lewis and Clark" trail but with the first major snowstorm coming in that area, we decided to drive onto our designation..."Medicine Lake, Montana". Our plans were to meet up with other Followers of Yah from Colorado. The snowstorm hindered them greatly. Therefore, we took it upon ourselves to check out our designated area, Sheridan County, MT. We soon discovered that our plans sometimes are not Yah's plans! Upon arriving at Medicine Lake, we found that this lake is a beautiful wildlife refuge. It is not open to camping or fishing. We pondered on what we were to do and where we were to go. Once again (as with last year), we learned we must fully trust in Yahuah! We cannot make our own plans. We must remain open, letting Him lead and guide us. 

     We began driving around Sheridan County looking for a place that we could stay. We stopped at this little rest area in Plentywood, MT. We had no clue that this little rest area in a small town such as Plentywood, would be the start of a chain reaction of one blessing after another! We are still amazed at how Eloah works. Waiting upon our beloved family in Mashiach to make it safely through the snowstorm, a few locals came by to clean the rest area. Our blessing would come by a simple local woman. Her name was Candy. She was in charge of the transit in town. She kindly offered to drive us around to the different campgrounds. Two were at the fairgrounds, right next to the rest area. Another one was located by the dam. The fourth one was in the parking lot at the local motel, open only to those with RV's. To our surprise, pheasant season had just opened that weekend. Hunters mostly filled these humble campgrounds.

     Watching the snowfall, as we sat at the rest area, major doubts began to rise within our hearts. What in the world were we doing? We had traveled this far for absolutely nothing...so we thought! I mean to the naked eye, it was a waste of time. There were no grand mountains... just a bunch of lazy hills scattered throughout this straight land. You could see down the road for at least 70 miles away. Finally, we comprehended why back in the day many believed the earth was F-L-A-T! This neck of the woods was filled with many oil drillings!  

     As we watched the snowfall, things were not looking very good for us. We wondered if the other believers would even make it. They were trying to drive through sixteen inches of snow. With Plentywood expecting six inches of snow, so many hunters, and all we had was a tent with a fire place... maybe it was best if we just headed back home. Besides all that, the reality was we were so low on our funds that if we had left that day, we might get within 100 miles within home, before running out of gas. Yeah..it was that bad! With all hope gone, we needed Eloah to intervene!

     Since Canada was only 17 miles away, and instead of going home, we decided to take a little ride further up North towards Canada. We had no clue we had crossed into Canada until talking to the border patrol. This turned out to be quite a trial in and of itself.

     On the way back into town, about seven miles outside of Plentywood, we noticed a sign that showed a campground. This campground was not on the map. With the roads now very hazardous, we could not get to the park. Our hearts were determined to get to that park though. One way or the other we were not going home until we saw that park. 

     Back in town, we were going to pay a local to take us there. Just when we were about to ask someone, Candy walks out of the convenient store. Happy to see her, she freely took us, despite her fear of driving in the snow. She did not think it would be safe at Raymond Park because it was outside of town and wild animals run amok. As for us... it was perfect. This was the place Yahuah wanted us to keep His Feast of Tabernacles! We eagerly waited for the other believers to show up.

     Late that night as we slept, our long awaited beloved family in Messiah got to the little rest area, outside of Plentywood. We awoke to much happiness. Candy stopped by telling us that she was about to open up the local Thrift Store, due to the fact taht we needed an oil lamp. To our surprise, she offered us a warm home cooked meal for all 17 of us, at the local meals on wheels. The High Sabbath of the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles was fast approaching. We needed to pitch our tents. Not knowing how the roads would be, we decided to try to get to Raymond Park. The travel was slow but we made it to the park with plenty of time. Praise be to Yahuah!

Raymond park gate-  as we were pulling out for the 'Last Great Day".
The snow was melted by then.

     By keeping Yahuah's Feast of Tabernacles where He wanted us to pitch our tents, we received many blessings. He used the small town of Plentywood. Being moved by the Ruach, I wrote a 'Letter to the Editor' of the local paper. The following appeared in, "Sheridan County News" under "Letters to the Editor":

     Sit back dear beloved ones and read how the following events could only have been accomplished through the Mighty One of Yisra'el, Yahuah! Many of you are aware how we at F.O.Y. have tried to always practice the following:  "for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me (Matthew 25: 35-40).

     We have done this physically and spiritually. We believe that the F.O.Y. free booklets will help feed the spiritually hungry. For man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of Eloah (Matthew 4:4). If you are thirsty, drink from the living water that Yahushua Ha Mashiach freely gives (John 4:10). For the native born and the stranger alike shall live by one Torah (Exodus 12:49). Let our hope be that the whole house of Yisra'el shall be dressed in white linen (Revelation 19:8). Let the whole house of Yisra'el have our sickness of blindness be removed with the anointing eye salve that Yahushua Ha Mashiach freely gives! (Revelation 3:18). Finally, let us not be a stiff-necked people wanting to return to the house of bondage! If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, you shall be free indeed (John 3:18).

     The Feast of Tabernacles this year brought those very verses to life! No one knew our situation except Yahuah. You see, we were cold and given free warm clothes, courtesy of Candy. The day we went to the "Glenwood Thrift Store" as we were about to pay for our merchandise (a coat and some sweaters) Candy walked by and said, "I'll take care of their order. It's on me." Looking at our surprised faces, she continued, "Let me do this for you!"

     Later on that same day, we were hungry and given a free warm homemade meal through "Nina and Leroy's Kitchen. Again courteous of Candy.

     We needed a place to stay. Even though Raymond Community Park is forty-eight hour parking only, we were able to stay for the whole Feast and for FREE!

     We were all alone with wild animals out at night, so the local sheriff  came every three days checking on us.

     We were strangers and yet a few of the townspeople came and visited us every day!

     Many did not know what to think about us, Followers of Yah. Why would we drive hundreds of miles to sleep in tents? With such harsh cold and snowing conditions, surely there must have been a better place, a warmer place to be.

     The reason why we did it is simple, we obeyed Him! Despite all the hardship we endured, He greatly blessed us! We were able to be witnesses and bring esteem to His Name! Clearly, Yahuah still does Mighty Wonders for His Children! Let us sing praises to His Qodesh Name, for He is worthy to be praised! Thank You Abba!