Sunday, August 2, 2009

THE VERMEHLO(RED) HOUSE IS OURS!





I have so much to share that it will take me all week just to get caught up! I will try to share one story at a time. The story of the day is that "WE GOT THE HOUSE"! I was just in town with the kids shopping for groceries at the local store when our friends, Anna Paula and Leonardo (who live in the red house), came up to me and hugged me enthusiastically! Anna Paula told me in her broken English that they had been trying to find us all day yesterday and today to tell us the good news! They are moving to Portugal on Wednesday morning so we can move into the house this week!

Marko just left for Foz Do Igueza early this morning on a mission trip. I am trying to reach him via Josh's email so that he can hear the great news! The kids and I were suppose to go on the mission trip, but things did not work out. I think it is important to share the reasons behind the change of plans as I believe it pertains to this current news!

A couple of weeks ago Josh sat down with the American team to debrief and talk about Foz. He shared honestly with us the challenges that we were going to face on the mission trip, including: a thirty hour bus ride(one way), a break out of the swine flu in a nearby vicinity, and the fact that Foz is a well known hideout for terrorists! No big deal!

Now, I am not the bravest person in the world, and being the protective mom that I am, I felt a little anxious about taking the kids on a mission trip under these circumstances! I was also concerned that they would have a hard time walking around the city of Foz every day for 5-6 days as we witnessed to Muslims. I was still planning on going at this point, but my senses were heightened to the challenges facing us.

A few days later Josh approached Marko and I and told us that there was a chance that the bus was going to be canceled to Foz due to lack of people/money. He told us that we needed to finalize our decision within a few minutes. It was apparent that the bus would definitely be canceled if our family of five did not go. Well, we had committed to this trip and there was no way I was going to just back out. Besides, I did not want to miss what the Lord might have for us in Foz. I will be honest and say that it was tempting to cancel because of all of the above concerns, however, I did not feel right about that. Marko and I talked and prayed and decided that we would send a fleece up to God (sort of a prayer of faith). We told the Lord that we would plan to go on the mission trip as a family and if the kids and I were not supposed to go then we prayed He would close that door- A couple of days later the bus was canceled.

I wish that I could say that I accepted that decision as an answer to prayer, but my mind still questioned our decision. The other Americans and about sixty Brazilians were still going to Foz. The Americans planned to fly but the ticket cost was too high so they decided to rent a smaller bus which made the cost go up per person. I am not sure of all the details of why they canceled one bus for another one that was higher in cost but my understanding is that about a dozen Brazilians had to cancel due to finances. All this to say that the kids and I could still have gone. I wrestled with our decision and Marko had to keep reminding me that we prayed and God answered. We stuck to our decision. He is gone. We are here. Now I know part of the reason why: I have to spend the next three days meeting with Anna Paula, Leonardo, and the owner of the house finalizing details and going over all of the expenses etc...We will move in early this week and Lord willing the kids will start school this week as well: That is a story in itself and I will share that in an upcoming blog! Until next time...Thank you for your prayers and may our Lord show himself to you in tangible ways!

3 comments:

  1. Wow! You know, I don't know why you even took a class regarding story-writing. you are a natural! My goodness you are having the best LIFE experiences! I really look forward to reading all of your stories! Please E mail me your Address if thats possible @ NancyJ122@yahoo.com. Thank you for sharing your wonderful experiences..very inspiring. We love you...Nancy and Elijah Jukanovich

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  2. Shell, I am so excited for you all! What an experience! Love to you ALL!

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  3. So exciting to hear all of this! God is so faithful...Great job on all of the updates. Nancy is right--you are a natural writer!!!
    miss and love to everyone!

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