From the time we arrived in Lawson we were in a continual trial. The trials were not particularly related to the families that helped us; they were more aligned with the frustrations we faced in not knowing exactly what we were to do for a living, where we were to live, and the reason for coming to Lawson, Kansas. We were continually searching for the bridge that would get us from where we were, to the place where we were to be. We were totally at everyone’s mercy. 
The families that helped us became a necessary part of the bridge we needed in order to stay the course. Glen and Judy, the Wallers, the Cromwells, and Jim and Bonnie literally kept our family from perishing. Each home, each week, and the various contacts all proved to be working together for a purpose; we just had to trust God each step of the way. Our entire experience was totally foreign to us, and we were operating totally on faith and trust in God. I know that we were an enigma to those around us, but we were also an enigma to ourselves.
Has anyone ever had the feeling that you were under extreme scrutiny? It seemed as if everyone was trying to figure us out, and that’s somewhat to be expected. We were a large family, driving a $40,000 conversion-van, well dressed, educated, but homeless. We were a contradiction to the norm. The church members were always very friendly, but we could tell among the church leadership group that there had to be some closed-door discussion about our situation.
Our family was definitely under many sets of watchful eyes. “Where do you come from,” and “why are you here” were some of the questions we continually had to answer? There were all sorts of questions from people appearing to have a genuine interest in us. We were exposed and vulnerable, yet transparent concerning our situation; however, it did not seem to matter what we said or to whom we said it; the church leadership were never moved to any sort of action.
Janie and I heard all kinds of rumors about our family. One rumor was that our Mississippi license tag, which spelled WLKTOUT, meant that we had “Walked-out”, when in fact it meant, “Walk-it-out.” The two expressions have very different meanings. Walk-it-out was a favorite expression of our faith walk. It meant that in all of the things we experience through obedience to God, we cannot judge the end results from the middle of the situation; therefore, we must “walk it out” to the end to see how God will complete it and to see what He wants to teach us from it. Our van had an old Mississippi tag, so it should have been obvious, since the tags were purchased long before we had left, and we had not purchased a new Kansas tag, that we could not have had plates saying that we “walked out,” as some people supposed.