Giants in the Land

He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. Deuteronomy 10:21

…giants
When we made the decision to return to the States and resign from missions six months ago, our situation seemed bleak. We owed monthly payments on a house in a country where we no longer lived. We had no job. We have four children to house and feed. We were giving up what felt to us like a stable and secure financial situation to move to northern Wisconsin. Lots of factors led to our decisions, but the long and short of it is that we felt God was leading us to a pretty narrow geographical region, within about a 30 mile radius of a little town we used to live in, Ogema. We felt like we were facing giants in the land. Where would we get a job or a house in this little place? What about all the people losing jobs in America? Isn’t it a bit crazy to quit ours, especially realizing our limited marketable skills? Why not go somewhere bigger, with more opportunities? But we did indeed sense God’s specific leading and began to act upon it.

…conquering the giants
And like the Israelites as they obeyed the specific direction of the Lord, we have seen God go before us, performing miracles on our behalf. Six months later, looking back, we can see the hand of God and his amazing timing and his awesome wonders in our life.

Five months ago, we heard of four pastoral positions opening up in a span of six months, all within the radius we wanted to be in, so we applied. This was a miracle all by itself, since there are so few evangelical churches in this area.

Three months ago, a friend went to work looking for suitable housing for us. She found a four bedroom house, fully furnished, for us to use over the summer. Wow! Does God care? Does he provide?

Two months ago we learned that one of the churches was not going to hire Brian. A few days later another of the churches called to schedule a phone interview with him, so two days after we arrived in the U.S.A. he was already doing a job interview. God provided clothes, sports equipment, food, dishes, help moving in to our new home, free passes to the Creation Museum for our family vacation, and so many more little things as we made the transition to our new temporary home.

And within the last two weeks, God’s timing in our lives has been so evident. Two days before our power of attorney ran out in Estonia, our house sold and closed! We no longer had to worry about travelling back to sell our house and instead of payments on a house we aren’t using, we have a great down payment on a new place. Several days later, Woodland Church called Brian to be their pastor. So not only has God given us a job, but he has given us the desire of our heart, to continue serving in a ministry setting full time. Not a lot of houses are available in this little area that are suitable for our family, so God did another little miracle for our family by making a 2 acre plot of land available for purchase right on the road at the edge of town where we hoped to be and allowing us to start a family project we’ve always dreamed of – building a home. And to make it all possible we needed a house to rent for one year. So to top it all off, a house just right for our family will be ready to move in to this week, and not a day earlier, just in time to get settled before school starts.
… living in the land
We began to worship with our new church family yesterday, and feel so blessed to be loved right from the start, to know that God has led us together beyond any shadow of doubt, by his direct intervention in our lives, and in his perfect timing. We don’t know what is in store for our family or for our new church family, but whatever may come in the days ahead, we do know that God has clearly placed us among these people.

Like the Israelites, we are a stiff-necked people. God hasn’t given us his blessing because of our merit, but only because he has chosen us to be his own and because of his great mercy. To think that a year ago, we almost came to the states, bypassing Cameroon. Had we not obeyed and gone to Cameroon, we would have missed seeing this season of blessing in our lives. Often he allows us to wander in the desert, teaching us, humbling us to walk in his ways. But once in a while, he allows us to see his great wonders in our lives. Forbid that we should become proud and think that we “did” any of this or forget the Lord our God, who has done these things. We, like the Israelites, must be careful to remember him as we eat and are satisfied, as we build a house and settle down, to remember to give him the praise. “And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?” Deut. 10:12-13