God is amazing. I know that but so often it becomes just a fact that is filed away somewhere in my brain. Interesting but not exactly relative to my daily life.
With this planning to go to Haiti, that fact was brought flying to the front of my thinking and slowly has been taking over my everyday thought life!
Eight months ago we thought we have everything worked out to supply for all our needs while we were in Haiti... and then it was like everything just fell into a heap in our laps. The farm, that we had rented, suddenly wasn't (subract $1,000 dollars a month from the budget) then a tractor that was sold and gone came back for no apparent reason other than the guy who bought it was just untrustworthy (- $6,500) and then an old business partner showed up and demanded that we pay half of a 16 thousand dollar bill that had grown from a much smaller bill that was supposed to be covered by the sale of equipment. (none of which happened properly but regardless...) Then our regular windmill check didn't arrive (we have 2 commerical windmills on our property that pay a quarterly "rent"). Needless to say, our ideas of being able to carefreely head overseas for a year burned into ashes.
November came with us one month behind on our regular bills with NO IDEA how to get an extra year's worth paid within a month, other than selling everything we owned in an open-end auction. Not an appealing prospect since we're only going for a year (5-10 years would be a bit different). So, we gathered with church leaders and prayed.
And we felt at peace. We were going to go.
But nothing changed. None of the things sold that we wanted.
Then, one day, about two weeks ago, we got a check from a friend for $200. Hardly enough to conquer the thousands of dollars we needed but a boost for our faith, regardless.
Two days later another $200 check arrived. This time with a pledge to send us that amount every 2 weeks for the next year or however long we remained in Haiti.
A day later a check showed up for $1,000. Then a guy stopped by who paid an old bill. Another old bill was paid. Then another. Some were little, just a hundred here or there, some larger, like the $2,000 dollars owed for hay we sold last fall. Some 3-5 year old bills got paid up (ones we never expected to see actual cash for!).
Every day something came in the mail. $20.00 here. $500.00 there. Another friend "bought" something that we would have gladly given to him for $1,000 and then gave us another fifteen hundred saying, "We can't go to Haiti but we want you to."
Needless to say, God is doing it. Oh, our bills aren't all paid for the year like we wanted originally, but it was like God said, "It needs to be impossible so that I can show you, without a doubt, that I am the one calling you and leading you to Haiti. It is me."
So, we are leaving in just two days. Flying off... Oh, Jesus, be near us. Continue to guide each step. Be our Savior, Lord and Provider. Just as you have been for the past year...
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