There was a little boy who lived in a small village. His family was very poor. They barely had enough to meet their basic needs. This boy's favorite food in the whole world was strawberries. One day as the boy was working in their garden a man was driving through the village with a cart full of strawberries. The man stopped in front of the boy's house. He asked the boy if he liked strawberries, and the boy answered that he did. The man told the boy to hold out his hands, but the boy just stood there looking at the man. The man told the boy again to hold out his hands. The boy just kept looking. Finally the man pulled out the boys hands and filled them with strawberries. A neighbor was watching the exchange and asked the boy why he didn't just hold out his hands. The boy answered, "His hands were so much bigger than mine."
For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
We have been in prayer about our housing needs when we get to Zambia. There are over 800,000 Chinese immigrants in Zambia who are there to do infrastructure and road work. These Chinese greatly broaden our opportunity of ministry, but they are also snatching up any housing as soon as it becomes available. Our dear friends, the Haytons, moved from Livingstone to Choma (the "city" we'll be living in our first year). We were excited to have them in our city, but God has opened up the opportunity for them to move back to Livingstone. Before the house they were renting ever became public they emailed us and offered it to us. We know the owner of the house and he said he would be more than happy for us to rent it from him.
Praise the Lord, we now have a house waiting for us in Zambia that more than meets our needs!
After the email about the house they also sent us an email full of furnishings that they have been snatching up with us in mind for us to buy from them. So, not only do we have a house, we have a mostly furnished house! What a blessing!
Not only were we praying about a house, but we were praying about a good, reliable, bush ready truck for a miraculous price. At the bottom of the email about furnishings for sale was a Land Rover Defender for half the price we were planning to pay. It is the exact truck we rode in two years ago when we were there. The Haytons just had it rebuilt and it is in excellent condition and ready to go!!
Praise the Lord we now have a bush ready truck waiting for us in Zambia that more than meets our needs!
His hands are so much bigger than mine!!!
In further updates...
Jamie has finished his masters degree with a 4.0GPA! He has managed to work diligently in the midst of multiple distractions (Jorja's broken arm, moving twice, pastoral ministry at Bethel, raising support for Zambia, getting shot... I think you get the picture). We are so proud of him.
We have purchased our plane tickets for October 10!! We are sooooo close to being at 100% support. We still have a small amount to go and we also need to finish up our outfit and passage costs. Please pray for us that God would continue to meet our needs in His perfect timing.
As soon as Jamie finished his degree we left on a two week vacation! It's been much needed and much anticipated. It has been a wonderful time to relax and have family time without distractions or obligations. We have been soaking in this time because as soon as we return life will be a whirlwind once again.
When we get home from vacation we will start packing, finish up shots, soak up as much time with family and friends as possible, finish up our support raising, and prepare for our departure to Zambia. Please pray with us that our truck and camper would sell. We know God has it all under control, but it would be a load off our minds if we didn't have them to deal with anymore.
Thank you so much for all your prayers, support, encouragement, and love! We are so blessed and so excited to see God working in our midst, going before us, and as our rear guard!
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