My family visited all 50 states in one year. Dad, Mom, Craig, Scott, Suzannah and I traveled in an RV to 49 states and flew to Hawaii. Only God could have made this trip possible.

Our family always thought it would be fun to take a trip to all 50 states, but we had no idea how to make it happen. One option was to sell our house to finance the trip, but we love our home in the country where we have mountains, creeks and a lake! Our grandparents also live close, which is great. So selling our house was not an option.

We waited and prayed for five years and even started to put our change into a jar labeled "2000 trip" (even though we didn’t have a clue it would be in 2000).

Then my Dad got a job with a Christian foundation. At one of his first meetings, a man jokingly said, "I wish we had someone who would be willing to take his family and travel around America, telling people about the foundation."

"You’ve found your man!" my dad said.

"Well, what would your wife think of this?" the man asked.

"Her bags are packed and ready," Dad replied.

That is how it all began. We left on our journey in August 2000 and returned in May 2001. Before we could leave, we had a lot of packing and planning to do. The company bought an RV for us to use, and we had special bunk beds put in the back so the four of us would have a place to sleep. We were all crammed in a 7-by-7-foot room.

We traveled from our home in Georgia all the way to the Pacific Ocean. We home schooled while we were on the road, earning the name "Road Scholars" painted on the door of our RV.

Colorado, Hawaii and Alaska were my favorite states because they were so pretty. The Grand Canyon and Mt. Rushmore were amazing. And I was so surprised by Plymouth Rock—it was only a 12-inch square! We also met many wonderful people and visited a lot of great churches, including Willow Creek in Chicago, Harvest Church in Kansas City and Oakland in Dallas.

God changed us on this trip. Sometimes it was hard spending so much time together. We could get mad at each other really fast, but we had to learn to control it. And God helped us become closer to each other. I also grew closer to God; I prayed more because I needed to.

I have gone with my mom to speak to groups about trusting God to supply your needs as well as your dreams. If God gives you a dream, be willing to do what He says and know He can help your dreams come true. Our theme verse for our trip was Luke 1:37: "Nothing is impossible with God."

Bonny Jean, 11
Georgia

	Q: What do you get when an antelope and a caribou collide? A: A cantaloupe. Jacy and Joe C., 8 and 6, North Carolina Clubhouse Jr. Click here to subscribe