Newsletter for:
May 2010
Dear Friends:
Since the conception of Steering Wheel Ministries on October 28, 1995 we have been praying for and working the vision God gave Steering Wheel Ministries which includes 18-wheel Mobile Chapels. After fourteen and a half years our first Mobile Chapel is just about finished and we are praying it will be ready for our Trucker’s Days Of Jubilee May 19-23 at Pollard Flat—just 35 miles north of Redding, CA at Exit 712 off I-5. Please be sure to stop by to see the Mobile Chapel and spend time with us. There will be a few things to be finished on the chapel such as the steps, painting the outside, lettering, installing the lights and a few other “little” things like that. During most of this finishing work the chapel will be in use. Here is a picture of the chapel as we were changing the clearance lights getting it ready to go to Klamath Falls:
Chaplain John McCann is anxious to get going on this chapel and I am anxious to spend time with John and his wife, Kathryn, in the truck stops here in the greater Roseburg area as we get the chapel completed and then send them out to the truck stops in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and California. The dedication of this new 18-wheel Mobile Chapel is tentatively set for noon on June 26 at the Rice Hill Pilot. This will be the start of our Trucker’s Afternoon Of Jubilee.
During my quiet days with the Lord in March I read in Oswald Chambers’ book, “So Send I You” page 166: “Thine they were, and thou gavest them me.—John xvii. 6” “It is this aspect of a disciple’s life that is frequently forgotten. We are apt to think of ourselves as our own, of the work as our work. A great point in spiritual nobility has been reached when we can really say, ‘I am not my own.’ It is only the noble nature that can be mastered—an unpalatable truth if we are spiritually stiff-necked and stubborn, refusing to be mastered. The Son of God is the Highest of all, yet the characteristic of His life was obedience. We have to learn that God is not meant for us, it is we who are meant for God.” (Emphasis mine)
I believe those of you who have known me and supported this ministry for a number of years, which for some has been since Debbie and I started in trucking ministry twenty-three years ago, know that I have always said that this is God’s ministry, I am only His conduit. That is why it has not been me holding up the progress of getting the Mobile Chapel on the road, instead it was all in God’s timing.
Sunday, May 2, I took the Mobile Chapel to the church in Klamath Falls, OR where they will build the chapel into the trailer, complete with self-contained living quarters - minus the shower since there are showers in every truck stop.
Every clearance and tail light on the trailer, plug included, had to be replaced and the lights on the bottom of the trailer still did not work. I then traced the problem back to a breaker in the cab. Now, I am still back in the "dark ages" when it comes to some of the new stuff so I know what to do with fuses but I had no idea what to do with the breakers - I could see they are not like breakers in your house that you turn back on when they are thrown. So, I disconnected from the trailer and drove the truck to the shop across from the Rice Hill Pilot where they had it fixed in just a few minutes.
When I got to the shop another truck driver, Noel, was waiting for them to get back so we got to talking. Turns out he is a pastor down in the Los Angeles area. He was trying to get back home because he had a class to teach to couples in his church on Saturday so with a blown tire and having to wait he was feeling a bit down because he was sure he was not going to be back to his church in time. We talked and prayed together and he told me how much better he felt and that this was a divine appointment.
On Saturday I took the chapel to a self-serve truck wash and talked to a driver, Charles, there who also said this meeting was not by chance but that God planned it. I put my hand on his shoulder and prayed for him as well.
It made me feel good to see both Noel and Charles brighten up as we talked and especially after we prayed.
I have often been asked how I think we can afford to put this 18-wheel mobile chapel on the road. Of ourselves we cannot do it but God can. God told me back in 1994 not to think about how the fuel, maintenance, insurance or anything else will be paid. He said I am to be obedient to Him, get the chapel on the road and He will take care of the expenses.
In fixing the clearance lights we had evidence of God keeping His promise. When I went to the Rice Hill Pilot to get the lights for the trailer they gave us a very good discount. When I went to the shop where they replaced two breakers they did not charge a cent. Now I am praying for the money for the insurance and fuel and I know God has that for us as well because He promised.
Already, without being converted into a chapel yet, this 18-wheel Mobile Chapel is doing the work God has called it to do. Here was Noel and Charles whom it opened the door for me to minister to.
I have to tell you about Sunday, May 2. One hour before the service I had two drivers come into the TV Room to wait for the service to start. By 7:45, fifteen minutes before service time, there were four drivers waiting for the service and having a great time of fellowship. Drivers are hungry for God’s Word and a stronger relationship with Him. One driver had asked me if he could talk to me privately after the service so I stayed with him and we talked and prayed together. As I was leaving another man came and said he needed to talk. My first thought was that I did not have time because I had to leave to get the chapel to Klamath Falls then God kinda punched me and said, “This is who you are here for”, so I was there at the truck stop until 1:00—though it gets tiring still I love being busy for the Lord. Debbie and I then left and took the chapel to Klamath Falls.
On May 3 we received permission to bring the Mobile Chapel into the truck stop in Weed, CA.
Thank you for your part in this great ministry that God has here. It is your prayers and financial support that keeps us going so we can be there for drivers like Noel, Charles and the other two whom I am withholding their names for privacy reasons. We now have monthly insurance on the chapel, and annual license fees, on top of our normal expenses that currently we are running behind in. Please pray about what God wants you to do in supporting Steering Wheel Ministries.
In Christ's service,
Merwin Johnson-Rhoades
Chaplain/President
Steering Wheel Ministries
Is recognized by the IRS as a 501[C](3) non-profit Ministry
Top of Page
