Mike, Karen, Nina, Janae, and Marcy moved to San Jose Costa Rica in Aug of 2011, then lived in the Dominican Republic from May 2012 until May 2016. Currently we are living in Middlebury Indiana.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

God's plan looks much different than ours at times.



I write this update in the Miami airport on my way back home (DR home) from spending a week back in Indiana. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip to say the least.  Backing up. When we sold our business 10+ years ago we kept the building that was on our property and just sold the business. We had a couple different people rent it over the years but nothing real solid. We had another business man approach us a few years ago about buying it along with 3 acres to build a house on but that kind of fell apart. Then this spring he approached me again and was ready once more but also wanted to buy the house and the rest of the property. Karen and I had talked about that before and so it was in our long term plan but not right now. It seemed like bad timing to try to do this while moving back. Well, God had a different plan and with much persistence from the gentleman, we did end up selling our place. That then put us both homeless and jobless coming back the on May 25th. I ended up coming back for a long week to start to empty the house, sign a few papers, and look for some job opportunities. We did end up buying another house in Middlebury, right in town (about 8 miles from our home in Shipshewana). So that was a blessing. We had a couple in the area that was willing to rent us their home until we could find something else and get possession. I then received a phone call the day before I headed back saying that we can have the closing/possession on May 31, just 5 days after returning. So we will be staying at Karen’s folks for a few days before moving into the Middlebury house. I also had a couple different people talk to me about employment so I feel better about that also. I am still unsure where God is leading me in that area but……. I'm praying that it well be clear once we get back.
While I was back I went to visit a friend of mine that recently found out he has bone cancer. I visited with him for maybe 25 -30 minutes and I think that visit really gave me different perspective on things that I was going through that week. When I would see him wince with pain, and talk about the medications and the effects of those meds, about how he had suddenly became so dependent on others from his family to his church, it gave me a different set of glasses to see my seemingly unorderly life.  To see his faith, his positive attitude, and heartfelt gratitude, put me in an almost embarrassing state. It made me thankful for so much, just as he was thankful for so much.
Most likely, my next post will be written from Indiana after we move back. Thank you in advance for the prayers for our family as we transition back and see what God has in store for us during this next chapter in our lives.