Just a quick update to say that WE HAVE A CONTRACT ON OUR HOUSE!!! 

I got a call from our realtor tonight at 5pm, asking if he could bring papers over for us to sign.  Talk about cutting it close!!  The last day of the month at closing time.  Did I mention that we've been trying to sell our house for a loooooong time?? 

Wow. 

I just want you all to know that God always comes through :)

And thanks for your prayers!!  Please continue to pray that all the details will fall into place and the sale will go through.  We are so grateful for all of you who have been praying.  God is so good to us!

Well, it's April 29th, and our house has not sold yet.

Did I mention that my realtor said we should try to get a contract by the end of April in order to sell before we want to leave?

Yeah, so that's tomorrow.  Tomorrow is the last day of April, and I'm starting to get nervous.  I have to say, I really haven't had any problems trusting God so far.  It's been incredibly easy.  So easy that I've wondered if I've just been in denial about the upheavals in our lives...

Or maybe I just don't get nervous until it comes down to the wire.  Like now.  We've said all along that it would take a miracle to sell our house within the time frame we were setting.  And we're still waiting on that miracle. 

All that to say, waiting is so hard.  I thought moving was hard...I thought being without my husband for weeks at a time was hard...I thought selling everything and leaving my family and friends was hard...but right now this seems so much harder.  The questions keep coming...what if our house doesn't sell?  What about leaving?  What about the baby?  What about our team?  What about _____???? 

What if God doesn't come through?

Because that's the question I'm really asking.  What if God doesn't come through...

When my dad was dying I prayed daily for him to be healed.  I prayed daily for God to come through. 

And I waited...
and prayed...
and waited...
and prayed...

and he died.

And I wondered where God was...why hadn't He come through?  Why hadn't He answered?  Looking back I can see that He was there...He did answer, and His answer was hard to swallow.  Yet without that experience this would be a much tougher situation to handle.  Because now I know that God's purpose is always good, no matter how it appears.  My dad taught me that.  He knew then, while facing death, what I know now, that God is firmly in control of my circumstances.  I'm glad for those answers that were so hard at the time because they make it so much easier to trust now.

But that doesn't mean I'm not still praying for that miracle :)
(Please pray with us for the sale of our house!!)

Love ya, Dad :)

This has been a very fruitful month in so many ways!  As we have been reading through Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy we have seen God's provision for us in the same way that He provided for the Israelites.  Along with this I have felt God's warning to us to remember the Lord our God.  When things are going well it's so easy to forget that it all comes from the hand of the Lord.  We always tend to want to take credit for our successes and blame God for the hard times. 

"Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God...Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day."                                                             Deuteronomy 8:11-14, 17-18

That being said, God is providing for us in amazing ways!  We have raised half of our up-front costs, $14,000, and other preparations are coming along well.  Our biggest need right now is more monthly supporters.  We have $325 in monthly support currently pledged, but we need over $2,000!  If you plan on supporting us, please remember to send our support card back or fill out the form on this blog as soon as possible.

To those of you who have given support (money, prayer, gifts, time, encouragement), we are so grateful!  A move like this is not possible without all of you!  God has created his body to be interdependent, and support missions is a beautiful picture of that.  We are thankful for each of you :)

We continue to ask for prayer for the sale of our house.  This is the biggest obstacle in our getting to Uganda.  We feel very strongly that we should be completely out of debt before moving, and our house is the last thing.  Please pray with us that God will bring us a buyer before the end of April.  In Canon City's housing market this would be a miracle, but as we've seen over and over again, our God is the God of miracles!  Thank you for your continued prayers!

"And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped."                     Numbers 9:17

Can you imagine the life they (the people of Israel) led while they were with Moses in the wilderness?!  The deal is...during the day a cloud rest on the tabernacle and at night a fire in the sky rests on the tabernacle.  The cloud/fire were the visible representation of God's presence there.  So periodically when it was time to do some more hiking, the cloud would rise up high into the air and that meant it was time to go.  The people would begin to scramble.  Who knows how long they've been in that one place... 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, maybe a few years.  This whole time they've been waiting for the cloud to move but also making a life for themselves.  All the sudden it lifts!  Tents are going down, goats are being herded together. Stuff is being loaded onto carts and oxen are being yoked to the cart.  We are talking 2 to 3 million people doing this at the same time in a hurry.  How long before the cloud begins to move from the time it lifts up in the air.. a couple hours or even a couple of days. 

What about for us?  Can we follow God like this?  How long would it take you to move if you found out tomorrow the cloud was moving and you had to follow it; didn't know where it was going?  I look at our situation.  We have planned for months to be going in June to Uganda, Africa and we're still not ready.  We have set the schedule, not the cloud.  I'm not saying were wrong, but are we even looking to God to lead. Are we really content to let the cloud lead our lives? 

Jesus tells the disciples as he is sending 70 of them out 2 by 2, "carry no money, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.  Whatever house you enter say "peace be unto you" and if remains then stay at that house.  Whenever a town does not receive you, go into the streets and say "even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you."  Lk. 10:3-11

Jesus is telling these guys to follow the cloud.  You live in dependence on God according to his timetable and his direction.  You don't accumulate because then you can't be mobile and obedient!  These folks understood what Jesus was telling them...walk with me as the people and Moses walked with God, ready to obey at a moments' notice.  This is hard for me, to not only obey God's direction but also to follow his timing.  Let us live in such away to not hold any hindrances to obeying the father.

That's right folks....results of our ultrasound were inconclusive.  This in itself could support the idea that it's a girl, considering what should be seen for a boy, but we can't say for sure.  So take a look at the picture and let us know what you think it is!  Winners will receive a congratulations from the parents and bragging rights :)

(Oh, and the picture is taken from behind if that helps...it's a little butt and two legs)