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MISSION: Share the love of Jesus with those living in the RV/Skoolie community.
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Currently in the US, a million people live full-time in their rv. [source-RVIA]
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Newest Video: We're Back!
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It’s been a long time coming but it’s finally here, our first public YouTube video in 2 years! This video explains a little of why we stepped back from posting as well as what is coming in the near future. Please check it out and share it with anyone you know that might like it!
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GOD IS SOOOO GOOD!
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We have been busy checking things off our bus To-Do list! However, it seems as though each time we check an item off the list, we add another one on. The wood stove project is finally done. We’ve made good progress on the basement bedroom, and we are halfway done installing the new carpet. However, a new bigger ticket item has come to light. A few weeks ago I was talking to my buddy Matt who owns a small trucking company. During the conversation I discovered the brakes on the bus are loooong overdue for being replaced, which sadly cost about $1,000 in parts, not including labor. I’ve had some concerns about their stopping power but I didn’t realize how bad they really are.
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I was pretty disappointed to be adding such a big thing to the To-Do list, but God is already providing in some big ways! Just this past week, I had the opportunity to share a little of my testimony at the church we used to youth pastor at, along with some of the exciting things God is doing with The Renegade Life. It was awesome to be able to see so many amazing people!
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After service I stayed at the front of the stage to pray with people and visit with anyone who wanted to say hi. I was blown away by how many people came up to offer encouragement and let me know our family is in their prayers. There were even a few people who said they felt led to sow into to what God is doing through us, and they even handed me money right there! And get this, it was enough money to cover over half of what the brakes on the bus are going to cost! Lia and I are incredibly humbled by the generosity that has been shown to us as we’ve stepped out in this new adventure. We can’t get over how amazing it is to see God provide every step of the way. God is good!
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ANOTHER BUS BUDDY?
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If you’ve read any of our promo material, you’ve probably seen our tag line “Faith, Family, Adventure”. These aren’t just some cute words we use to make people feel good about viewing our YouTube videos. They are our core values. We want everything we do to fall under these core values.
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JD had a possible opportunity to live out the “Adventure” a little more than usual.
We have some friends, Dave & Megan, that have been looking for a bus conversion for a while, but nothing seemed to work out. One morning in the middle of June, Dave texted me about an Eagle bus up on auction about 45 minutes away. To make a really long story, a little shorter, Dave, our buddy Matt, and myself, took off to check out this Silver Eagle bus and maybe have Dave buy it. (Side note, in just 9 days all of our families were going camping up on the North Shore of Lake Superior, and Dave was the only one who didn't have a rig to camp in. I'm sure that was a little bit of the motivating factor in wanting to buy this Eagle.)
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Sadly, the thing ended up being a complete rust bucket of a bus. I'd guess it'd go for about $3k if sold conventionally but since it was up on auction, the bus ended up selling for $9900! I feel a little sorry for the guy who ended up buying it…
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On the drive back from the auction yard, Dave offered to buy Matt and I lunch, which we graciously accepted, being the gentlemen we are. As we waited for our $3 hole-in-the-wall pub burgers to be made we started talking about how newer buses are going for incredibly cheap right now because motor coach companies are really hurting due to Covid19. Dave mentioned that he had a co-worker point out a 2007 MCI bus that was up for auction in Philadelphia with a “buy now” of $12k that would have sold a year ago for $30k easily. Dave showed us some pictures of the bus on his phone and it was in incredible shape. We started joking about him buying that bus, us packing some tools, flying out to Philly in 4 days to pick it up, rip the seats out of it on the drive back to MN, and have it ready for Dave's family to camp in for our North Shore trip coming up 2 days after we'd get back.
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The food arrived at our table and the bus discussion continued. As we stuffed our faces with burgers and fries, we explored the possibility of doing a fly-in bus mission. The possibility of the adventure grew a little dim when Dave informed us that he had a guys tent camping trip Friday thru Sunday so if we were to go get the bus he couldn't fly out until Sunday evening at the earliest. To compound the situation Matt informed us he absolutely had to be back at work on Tuesday. This left us with a narrow window of opportunity to fly out, pick up a bus that we essentially know nothing about, and drive it 19 hours back (fingers crossed it doesn't break down) all the while removing seats during the drive so Dave and his family can use it for camping coming up, and make it back for Matt to go to work Tuesday morning. Things were looking pretty grim as we continued exploring the possibility. The odds were stacked against the trip to say the least, as even more issues came to light, ie. how to fly with the power tools needed for seat removal on the drive back… finding affordable plane tickets in our narrow time window… the wife approval…
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It looked like a far cry from happening, but we had fun dreaming of the possibility as we finished lunch and went back to our day jobs. That evening I chatted with Lia about how much of an adventure it would be to do a trip like this but also how unrealistic it would be.
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The next day, as I was wrapping up a living room trim project, I received a text from Dave. A screen shot to be precise, of the auction page that the 2007 MCI bus over in Philly was listed on. Only instead of it showing the bid price, all it said was "Sold"… I didn't quite know what to make of it. Did he lose the bus? Then Dave texts again.. "I did a thing".
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A smile instantly broke across my face as the reality of the adventure of a lifetime wasn't just a possibility, it was now something we HAD to figure out!
Get ready for the cliff-hanger chapter ending...
Did they make it out to Philly to pick up the bus? Was the bus in as good of shape as they thought or a complete broken down pile? Did they make it back to MN safely? Did the wives say they could go?!?! Tune into The Renegade Life YouTube channel for the full documentary episode coming in a couple weeks!
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We’ve completely re-developed our Supporter platform and
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WANT YOU TO BE A PART OF IT!
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If you'd like to skip the reading, and WATCH updates in real time during launch sequence, consider supporting us over at https://therenegade.life/go. By joining our Renegade Community you get access to some pretty awesome online content that we hope encourages you and your family, but it doesn’t just stop there. When you sign up to be a monthly supporter or give a one time gift you’re partnering with us to further the mission and vision of The Renegade Life to share God’s message of love, hope and purpose with those in the RV community as well as encouraging families through our YouTube videos.
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AS A SUPPORTER, you can watch a clip about the basement bedroom.
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AS A SUPPORTER, you can watch an insider update on all the current bus projects progress
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As the shelter-in-place ban was lifted,
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we’ve been able to host some of our closer friends for some fun at the lake. Our first instinct has been to say no. "No we can’t have people over, we have a long list of things to finish on the bus, and soooo many videos to edit.” However, we’re reminded continually that the journey of The Renegade Life is not about the bus or even sharing our travels, it’s about people. So we’ve gone against the grain, and made time for people.
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WHAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED
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☑️ JD finished the wood stove install, and tested it out! It was HOT!
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☑️ Lia is 50% done installing the carpet squares in the livingroom/kitchen
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☑️ JD started working on the basement bedroom, but discovered some rust, so has been busy welding in new pieces. He'll have to do the same on the water tank bays.
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☑️ Re-developed our website supporter platform
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☑️ Started releasing YouTube Videos to the public!
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You made it to the end! Cheering! Thanks for your prayers last month (we were working on solidifying our core focus and mission within The Renegade Life. ) We've written down our goals and core mission to keep us on track. Please be praying for us this next month as we hit the ground running on accomplishing some bigger bus projects.
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IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT US YOU CAN:
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• Subscribe & give us a thumbs up on our latest youtube video
• Like & comment on our Instagram
• Simply tell your friends about us!
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