Monday morning we awoke with excitement about being in a stage of preparation for this church plant. It always feels good to be proactive about a God-calling. So we drove to Boise, to the north end, and began our hunt. We had a couple appointments with some property managers at different rentals to check them out. We found one that we just fell in love with - it was perfect in every way imaginable. As we spoke with the manager, we shared a few comments about our faith and why we were coming. She shared about her church in the area, Calvary Chapel, and we told her we had gone to that exact church a number of times and really enjoyed it. While we shared God's calling on our lives with her, she began to ask about jobs. We told her about aquiring jobs and fundraising part of our income as well while we were in the infant stages of the church plant. We let her know that was our reason for being here - to find a home and a job. I felt her spirit sink a little and knew something was up. She sadly let us know that because we didn't have current jobs in the area, that she could not rent us that home - she said, "If my husband and I owned this, we would rent to you in a heartbeat, especially knowing what God's calling you to do. But we don't. My husband and I own our business together, and I'll call him to ask what he thinks, but I don't know if this will work." So we waited. The phone call came about 20 minutes later with the disappointing news that the home would not be available to us because of our situation.
Feeling discouraged, we moved on. We found another house for rent a little bit further away from where we'd like to be, but decided to put an application in on it. We found out quickly that housing in the north end is like diamonds - everyone wants one if not two, so we knew God had to be a part of this process as well as everything else we are doing. We ran into a couple friends at REI while Chris was asking about a job there who reminded us that God knows our needs, financially and physically (home, jobs), and when we need them and where they need to be. So we choose to trust. I needed to be reminded of that.....again.
We spent the rest of that day applying for EVERY job we could think of. And even had a couple friends call us with options for jobs they had heard of, and we applied for those too! We have yet to hear back from anyone of them, although its only been 24 hours, but most of the jobs have applications online that we filled out, so we're asking God to get those into the appropriate hands. Chris even turned in one more application in person this morning before we got on the road. We are hoping to hear from some of them when we arrive home, of which we are on the road as I'm typing this (about Tri-Cities area). We should arrive home in Oak Harbor tonight around 11pm or midnight.
So here's where we stand: We are still in the process of fundraising, and have raised $160 a month so far. - we started fundraising right before Christmas. Our goal is to raise monthly support for 2 years from sponsors amounting to $2200-$2500 a month - that will be added to the income we earn from our community jobs. We are asking God as well to direct us toward jobs that will work around each other so our number 3 priorities, our children (number 1 being God, number 2 being each other and our marriage) are able to be raised by us within our home.
God is faithful to guide us, and we are aiming our sights at Him and His adventurous calling on our lives. This is where we continue on......
