Photo Page

Here are a few photos of Bert Toornstra and Dirk Velthuizen as they prepared to leave with the fire truck on Wednesday morning for their trip to the mission in Mexico. Pastor Art wanted to drive the truck , but was told to stick to preaching. Check below the pictures for a daily up-date of their trip.

Hi All:

"Well Dirk and I have made it to the first leg of our trip safely, we are in a fire hall in Lethbridge, We arrived here around 4;30 this afternoon, my feet are thawing out , my toes were really cold from the cold air pouring in by my feet. The pump drove good, no problems, its sitting in this firehall nice and warm, the guys in the hall were expecting us, and have treated us so good, we are going to be staying in the firehall over night, the chief of the department left instructions with the captain to order Chinese food and they would pay for our meal,, they are so friendly its like being back at work all over again. Well maybe that's a bit of a stretch,, I am not going on any calls in here. We will leave in the morning for the border and on to Butte Montana, hope to keep you all informed if possible. Keep us in your prayers, we really miss having Luke along with us, hope everything works out with you Luke. Anyways that's all for now ." [Tomorrow they hope to drive to Butte, Montana]

Hi All:

"It's Friday morning and I have a chance to update you since no one is up yet, well Dirk is upstairs showering, I always have to get him up in the morning he is not used to firehall sleeping, We are in Butte Montana in an old firehall,, its just nice to have a place to stay at the end of a long drive. Yesterday we crossed the border, they took our papers then we had to drive the truck into this building where they X-Rayed the whole truck with both of us sitting in there, it worked out well, Dirk was not the same for awhile, but he seems fine now LOL, the weather through the pass was pretty slick, by the time we got there it was dark and the signs all said TRUCKS CHAIN IN DESIGNATED AREAS, well we didn't have chains so we drove a little slower. Dirk drove through the first part of the pass but it was still afternoon when we went through and it was snowing along that route, then we had to stop for fuel but lots of places are closed because of THANKSGIVING, so it was a challenge to find a place with DIESEL fuel, we had some trouble getting the bond at first because they had to check the VIN number on the truck with the registration and we showed him but he said it was not the right number , we looked for over an hour then I told him again that it was where we said it was on the side of the pump on the panel and when I read him the numbers off the truck while he was holding the registration he agreed that in fact it was the truck as indicated on the registration, he said are you CHRISTIANS? I told him we were and then he gave us the BOOK OF MORMON to read along the way. Dirk read it for awhile but was not convinced so we lost the book at the first trash receptacle. Well today is a new day hope to have a little easier day but the weather this morning here is pretty cold and snowy, much like I understand it is in Edmonton, but we are still heading south so were looking for warmer weather everyday. The truck is driving good but pretty cold,, we almost lost the tarp on the truck past Lethbridge because of the wind so we took it off . Anyways that's all for now, keep praying for us. Talk to you soon" DIRK AND BERT [Today they hope to drive to Pocatello, Idaho]

Received an email from Janet saying that their was no email access for them in Pocatello, but they arrived safe and sound. [Today they hope to drive to Provo City, Utah]

"Well we left Saturday from one of the nicest fire hall I have ever seen, the guys were so good to us there. We had a good breakfast and then on to Salt Lake City, Dirk insisted we stop at the temple in Salt Lake so we did a little side trip and made our way to the holy temple. Well it was a tough place to find a parking place and I was turning left at the intersection right by the temple when Dirk said " why not park over in front there by that hydrant?" It shouldn't matter should it? well I was sort of half making the turn left already so we turned the red flashing lights on and we did a sort of swing all the way across three lanes with the emergency lights on and pulled up along side the street and parked beside the fire hydrant. We both couldn't stop laughing, then we went into the temple and we have a pretty good story to tell about that....needless to say we didn't get to stay inside very long. If Dirk had of stayed close beside me we both could of been in the " holy of holies" but the lady dressed all in white said are you with someone, I turned and said yes and waved for Dirk to come but he couldn't get past the guy in the white suit, then she said " Do YOU HAVE AN ORDINANCE? I said NO, she escorted me out.... Dirk is walking around with a sweat shirt on that says on the back in big letters FIRE RESCUE. Oh well, we got some OUTSIDE pictures. Tomorrow is along drive to Boulder right by the Hoover Dam, I think the fire chief said you can see the Hoover dam outside our bedroom window . I can hardly wait. DIrk said he seen the Hoover once along time ago, but that's another story....Anyways we checked the odometer and were over 1100 miles away from you, so each mile we get closer to the end of the mission. Continue the prayers and we will be in touch. Take care from the drivers of the fire truck."

"Well it has been a long drive from Provo to Boulder City, and the stories to tell keep mounting.....the picture of (name withheld) in the back of the Las Vegas Police car is " PRICELESS".... We didn't see very many big trucks driving down the main street in Vegas either I am not sure why, and since the red lights along the "STRIP" as DIrk calls it seem to stay red for along time wellllllll I stepped out of the truck in the middle of the road and took a couple of pictures of the big Yellow FIRE TRUCK in front of some of the hotels with Dirk sitting in the fire truck this time. He really knows where everything is in VEGAS since he has been there before. He kept saying BERT YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS so I did and well the stories the stories, getting lost and DIRK is not to good at navigating so then we got a Police escort to the correct freeway. I am not sure if we were escorted out of VEGAS or not but were in Boulder City in a fire hall with a real nice bunch of guys who are cooking a great supper for us. Our backs are sore from the ride in the truck but were getting there. First time to day to drive with the windows open and heater off. Anyways take care will stay in touch." - BERT AND DIRK

"It's Tuesday morning here in Phoenix. We slept in the Taj Ma hall last night,, in all my years of being a firefighter I have never seen a fire hall like this one. Today is a real easy day for us, we will stop first for breakfast then to this store to buy a marker light for the pump that some how fell off and I want it to look nice for tomorrow when we meet Dirk in SAN LUIS, then on to Yuma where we will spend the night there, we will also wash the truck there so it will be nice and clean. The guys here wanted to wash the pump but I said it's ok. The days kind of are starting to run into each other, we have been on the road driving everyday and you start to forget one fire hall from the next. Everyone is so nice to us I cannot believe that , no matter what fire hall in the country that we show up at they just bend over backwards for us. I am so impressed, I would like to think that in Edmonton it would be the same. We drove yesterday through the HOOVER DAM, its cool to see the PUMP sitting there surrounded by the HOOVER DAM, pretty impressive. The problem is it's always so hard to find a place to park the pump, even when we go to eat or like at Walgreens for example we have to park in such a way that its easy for us to get out of the parking lot. Tricky sometimes. Dirk and I are really enjoying the trip in spite of the banging on the pump were hanging in there. I didn't think it would be as rough as it is but were on the home stretch now."

Today we have two reports for you to read - some of the information is the same, but I thought you would enjoy both. The first is an email that Janet wrote after a call from Bert and the second is Bert's email.

"They are safe and sound in the fire hall in Yuma and now very close to the Mexico border. In fact, Dirk Kos and Jorge are staying just over the Mexico side so they came to the fire hall in Yuma to visit. Jorge was very excited to see the fire truck (He is in charge of the fire department at the mission). Best I understand, tomorrow they will go to the border where the paperwork is already underway, and they have to wait for a time to cross. It could be right away, it could be in the afternoon or evening. Whatever time they are given is when they are allowed to cross. They could also be conceivably refused entry altogether. So please pray for first of all permission to cross, and secondly for an early time. Once across the border, they have a very long drive to the Mission. They have to go the long way because the shorter way has a very long steep hill which would be too hard on the truck. They were also thankful they were finally able to get some hose from Phoenix....the truck had been stripped of hose when it left here so they have been trying along the way to get some....Phoenix was their last chance...without hoses, there would be no training possible once they got to the mission...it would also be a little hard to fight fires with! Once again, they are being very well taken care of at this fire hall. Hope to hear from someone tomorrow when they arrive at the mission!"

Hi all:

"It's a hot morning here in Yuma Arizona, I apologize for not sending an email last day but it was a long and tiring day getting to Phoenix. We left yesterday from the Phoenix Fire hall where we stayed and were able to scrounge some equipment from them. ( hoses and connectors and stuff) Anyways last night we got to the Fire hall in Yuma but no one was there, the trucks were all out so i phoned the Dispatch people via the red phone that is on the side of the building at the front entrance,,, I am not sure what happened the Dispatcher couldn't hear me, she asked me what my emergency was, there is a button on that phone that you push to talk, I did that but it seemed I was talking into a dead phone, anyways when I let go of the button i heard the dispatcher calling a full response to PUMPER 2 saying " Respond to station #3 ( where we were) for UNKNOWN PROBLEM". Well I just put the phone down and the next thing you know you could hear " SIRENS " coming from every direction. I walked over to Dirk and said WOW this is a busy city listen to the sirens, next thing you know two fire trucks and an ambulance show up in front of the fire hall and all these guys jump off the truck asking " WHAT'S your EMERGENCY" DIRK said " OH PLEASEEEEE, just let me crawl into one of the compartments, so there's two guys from Canada standing in front of the fire hall looking a bit sheepish. I told DIRK not to convince me to pick up that phone :) IT'S DIRKS FAULT.

Anyways we washed the whole fire truck and it looks like a shiny new penny, and then DIRK AND JORGE the Fire chief show up, they couldn't wait to see the fire truck and WOW where they ever excited,, it was good to see DIRK and we had some good time together. They left to go back across the border on the Mexican side and will be waiting for a phone call from the ADMINISTRATOR for a YES or a no when to go , then a time we will be allowed to cross, DIRK and I will be waiting on the other side at the fire hall on the U.S side for the call from Dirk there, We pray now for a safe crossing, we feel a real sense that GOD will answer the prayers of many people, we look forward to a safe trip to the mission today and then some relaxing days in the sun pool side at the MISSION, OH wait a minute Dirk said there was no pool,, ohhhhhhhhhhh. Well friends we thank you for your prayers , TO GOD BE THE GLORY take care." DIRK AND BERT

HI all:

"Well this will be short, we are in San Luis on the American side of the border, we are waiting at the fire hall here, Dirk and Jorge are on the Mexican side of the border and they are waiting for the Administrator of the border crossing to give a yes or a no to allow us to cross, they will then give us a time when we will cross. it is already past noon we have been here now for a couple of hours without word from Dirk , the guys at the fire hall do not sound very positive about us crossing, but we remain optimistic, GOD can do all things,, just thought I would give a quick update, its very much now just a waiting game here, I am in a library behind the fire hall logged on a timed computer, so continue praying for us that this will go smoothly ." - Thanks to all Bert and Dirk

Permission to cross the border was given at 8:00 pm. Hopefully more details tomorrow!

November 30, 2006

Hi everyone,

"Well supposedly they were going to be allowed across at 8 p.m. but apparently there was more paper work they wanted. The rules seem to change on a whim....and depending on who is in charge. The office they needed to go through with the paper work is closed of course so all four of the guys (Dirk, Dirk, Jorge and Bert) went back to the firehall and are all staying there where the guys are being very good to them. They have been told ....again.that they can cross at 8 Thursday morning. So very frustrating to be sure. Anyhow, that is the latest. Please pray for continued patience and that they will be able to get to the Mission tomorrow." - Janet

8:20 PM Update!

"Well, I hoped that hearing nothing all day today was a good sign....and apparently it was. Mary Kos called Mary to let us know that the guys were in Ensenada, about 3 hours from the mission. That was around supper time I believe. So they did get away late morning or around noon today. That is really all we know at this point but we are just very thankful and relieved that the Mission is in sight! Thanks everyone for all your prayers". - Janet

"The guys all arrived at the Mission last evening. The road leading from the town to the mission was lined with people, police cars, and other vehicles. As they drove in, sirens wailed and lights flashed.....as Bert said "it was like a parade". Everyone was so excited and so thankful to God for this gift of a fire truck. I know you will hear more details and the stories will be much more colorful than what I can offer but I am not sure when Bert will get a chance to email (and hopefully send some pictures) so thought I would just update. When he called, they were enjoying a coffee at the Kos home. The next few days, they will be helping out at the mission as needed. Bert will be doing training on the truck for the firemen at the mission. Probably Dirk can help with that by now too! They have a flight home from San Diego on Tuesday. Thank-you all SO much for praying. God is faithful and He did do it!" - Janet

"Well I am not sure when the last day it was that I emailed but the days all seem to be running together, We left Yuma on Wednesday to go to the border crossing, Dirk and Jorge ( he is the fire chief of Vicente Gurerrero) were on the Mexican side of the border and were going to phone us when the time would be for us to cross the border, it was not till the afternoon that Dirk and Jorge showed up at the fire hall on the American side to tell us that we could cross at 8 pm. We went there at 7:30 because the American border people needed to stamp the bond that I had from Sweetgrass Montana, well the long and the short of the story is we couldn't cross the border because they would not stamp the bond until the morning, we went and slept in the fire hall on the American side, well sleeping is what one does when they close their eyes and dream dreams, Jorge the fire chief snores like a buzz saw in a lumber yard so the night was restless to say the least, Dirk of course had to be woken up because he sleeps through anything , and he eats everything too. Yeah I like it Dirk says. The next morning Dirk and I went to the border crossing again with the fire truck, and we waited and waited, then Jorge went to the Mexican side to see that everything was set to go, Dirk K. came and said he lost Jorge, I sent Dirk to go find him and Dirk V ends up on the Mexican side , now he is in Mexico, oh well maybe I will shop for a bit says Dirk V, Dirk K, goes to find Dirk V who is in Mexico but now walked back across to U. S. side ... DO U HAVE ANYTHING TO DECLARE,,, NOOOOOOOOOO says Dirk V,, how long have you been in Mexico?? a few minutes says Dirk V, now Dirk K says to Dirk V, ok you go back NOOOOOOOOOOO says Dirk V, Dirk K says ok you go sit in the van, Now Dirk V is sad so he goes to the van but he is nervous,, he looks nervous too, so now he is pacing,, you know Mary how Dirk V can pace when he is nervous,, Meanwhile Bert T is patiently and calmly getting the bond stamped, Dirk K shows up with Jorge who had wandered to the Mexican fire hall to say hi, now were set to go, Jorge is in the fire truck with Bert T. Dirk K is in the Van with Dirk V, and the there is tension in the van and nothing to DECLARE, the fire truck driven by Bert T goes slowly over the border and gets a red light he hands the paper to the man speaking Mexican and then he said go drive there I guess in Spanish he said that, then we start to turn the corner for them to check the fire truck and they all start waving to go straight , i turned and started driving straight < NO PROBLEMO says the fire chief Jorge so we drove across the border like we stole the truck and that got us across, with Dirk V and Dirk K behind us in the van, another day driving and it brought us to a spectacular reception on the road to the mission with the Police blocking the road off on both sides and the fire fighters from the mission all in their fire hall boots and coats standing in front of the old equipment with the siren on and lights on and clapping,, it was a really wonderful and moving experience to hear all of them thanking us and it really for that moment brought the reason why we did this home , they were so grateful and thankful, its a feeling I will never forget, It was wonderful to experience it , this email is long and I ask that someone could email it to Janet, and Janet when you read this could you forward it to the kids since I have to get going now, because its Ladies night here at Mary's house so Dirk V and Dirk K are waiting for me to finish, thank you all so much for your prayers and support they were all prayers answered. To GOD BE THE GLORY. P.S. The truck is now here we have been training with it all day today ( Friday) and so we hope to be home on Tuesday to some warm weather. Take care, love, Dirk and me!"

A Journey of a Thousand Miles...