Are we there yet?
You know every long road trip with Children must be filled with this simple question, “are we there yet?” As annoying as this question can be, it is necessary. And it comes from a place of excitement and anticipation. Are we there?
As missionary appointees, we have been asked that question more times than I can count. I don’t say this because we are annoyed! We are not! It is the same question we have asked God over and over and over again. And God has done what only God does. He makes the end just fall in place in the least likely of fashions. After another week of meetings, we can, with confidence say, WE ARE THERE. (like when you pull into town but aren’t at grandmas house quite yet;) In fact we are soooo close that I want to share what God has done in the last month.
As April started, a strange peace began to settle over me, and Debbie and I began talking about how we believed God would move us to Peru this summer. We were so convinced that we began looking at tickets, processing paperwork, and communicating with others that we believed whole heartedly that God would do this, that He would take care of it, and we would walk by faith. By the third week of the month, we were at 90% of our support need. (but for real this time! Really I counted myself!) We even made an offer on a home in the area of the city we would be working. We were sad to find out that the rental market had become just as bad in Lima as the housing market is here in Iowa! Limited options and multiple offers on each property were a reality that we could not look away from. We placed an offer on a rental with at least 2 competing offers. It was the only home anywhere close to our budget with a yard. Everything else was condos or apartments. And we lost the bid!
We let it go and asked God to open a different door. Within a week, our funding came the rest of the way, so we thought! We were elated but, as we audited our support partners list and financial report, we realized that between inflated housing and the loss of a few financial partners, we were still just short. Being in the upper 90 percentile was still a huge blessing! But there was a burden. Still no home! We scoured the market with nothing. Our leasing agent informed us that this could be a long process and a sadness set in. Thoughts of “Lord, where will we go? There is no home for us. “ warred against our minds. Finally, we put down the phones and apps and just prayed, “God, open a door. Your plan is better than ours.” That reality needed to set in. The fact that birds have nests and foxes have dens but even the Son of Man had no place to lay his head. The truth of Matthew 6 set in as if Jesus was saying audibly to my soul, “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Consider the birds of the air, who do not sow or reap or gather into barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than them?” Lord, you know what we need. We trust you.
The next morning, God delivered that very need. The home that we lost out on was an open door again, as the family who won out could not perform. We were shocked! The home, old as it is, has an amazing yard for our children. It is old, dated, and needs repaired but it has green grass in a desert! GREEN GRASS! It is there and ready for us to ship our container and receive us. We can set up as soon as we get there! We cannot express the relief of such a small thing. A house with a yard. Such a hard thing to find in a city of 11 million, and God has provided it. And we desire to use it to serve our family and the people of Peru that God is calling to himself. We can host youth group, small groups, kids ministry, neighborhood outreach, and more. Why? Because God provided a YARD!
Pray for us!
1. That God help us raise that last $300 monthly need in a short time frame.
2. The house isn’t perfect. We have to install security wire and wall extension on the perimeter wall of the home upon arrival. The cost is unknown at present but will likely be $2-4000 as a one-time expense we will need for security.
3. Pray that God allow all of the paperwork to be filed properly and that we are able to make entry into Peru as smooth as possible. God has this! His timing is perfect and we are thrilled to see him make a way. We desire to launch in July and are trusting God send us by then.
I hope you are as well! Blessings