This story starts with my in-laws, really. My father-in-law has desired and prayed for full-time ministry for quite some time. He had been pastoring a little church in the town we were living in, but trying to pastor, work many hours a week and do everything that goes along with being a pastor was taking it's toll. Out of the blue, (another story in itself), he got a call about a church 30-40 minutes away seeking a full-time pastor! After a series of meetings with the then-pastor, deacon board and pulpit committee, he was voted in. That is where our story begins.
We had been living in the church parsonage and when Dad was being considered as pastor for this church, we knew we would be needing to find a new home. We started looking online and found the "perfect" place for our family. A nice-sized home on 3 acres with a large 2 car garage and an attached shed. It was out in the country. We were excited--we could have animals, the children could ride their bikes in the yard (instead of the little tiny yard space we had), we would be away from the main road, we could have a garden, Billy could work on his cars and take on a project or two, there was a great playroom visible from the kitchen, etc. We put an offer on the house and it was accepted. Things seemed to be moving smoothly until the bank wanted a structural engineer to go look at the house to make sure it fit the qualifications for the type of loan we wanted. The structural engineer called Billy and told him a lot of things that didn't look good. There was extensive termite damage, it appeared the kitchen floor was sinking in underneath, it had other problems that needed fixing. Problems that would have to be corrected with this type of loan. They would loan us the money for the repairs, but a licensed contractor would have to do all the work--a lot more money. It would cost an estimated $30,000-$40,000 to fix. Wow! We definitely couldn't afford that. So, we prayed....
About the same time this is going on, a very close, dear friend called us randomly and said that God had impressed upon their hearts to offer us their RV--for a very reasonable price. They said it was just what we would need for our family (with bunkbeds in a 2nd bedroom and a bath tub). I think the whole idea made Billy's head spin--to go from thinking about a decent size house on land to thinking about an RV! It is a large RV, but a lot smaller than what we originally planned on! But God is good and after thinking and praying and talking much, we decided that it was definitely God's will for our family. We had perfect peace that this is where He wanted us to live. An added bonus is that our dear friends drove the 14 hours to bring it to us--so sweet of them, and we were able to see each other again for the first time in a couple years.
We are now all moved and working on settling in. After going through our things and having a couple yard sales we ended up taking a lot of things to the thrift store and trash dump. We are still opening boxes and thinking "Why did we keep this?!" It is a wonderful opportunity to downsize and focus on serving the Lord and raising up Godly children.
I am daily reminded of God's goodness and blessings. We are able to stay on the church property, across the parking lot from my in-laws, (the church has a few RV hookups!) in exchange for work. Where we are, we can look out the windows and see the mountains, trees and even green grass! Who knew that southern AZ had all this green?! An added blessing is out Nehemiah's window he can see the train every morning, if he is awake. The child really enjoys seeing trains as well as playing with his train set. It seems like such a blessing from God that he can see the train out his window when we can not see it out from any other window in the camper! God is good and I am continually thankful for how He has lead us and guided us. We are perfectly happy where God has put us and do not feel the least bit sad that our "perfect" house will not be ours. The RV has become home to us (in a temporary way, as Heaven is our final home) and at this time IS our perfect earthly house! One more blessing is, that not far out the front door, is a nice playground for the children to enjoy. Around the playground are sidewalks for them to ride their bikes on. Is it the country? No, in fact the Interstate literally runs right next to the church property! But we could not be happier here.
In closing, here a few photos of our new location:
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| The Playground. You can see the old auditorium to the left and the RV next to it. |
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| Home Sweet RV. :) Yes, the wooden steps are now in place. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| Some of the scenery we see out of our windows. |
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One of my favorite sights--laundry drying in the sun
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