You would think that after all these years of miracle after miracle, I would never doubt God again...........well, you would think. This journey I am on is a direct effect of a miracle! Months ago I felt God was calling me to come to Honduras again this December. The question, as usual, is, "God, am I hearing You......or am I hearing me while hoping it is You?". As much as I long to be here in Honduras, I want what God wants. If I come because of me.......then I am here for purely selfish reasons. If God brings me, then I know that He has a job for me to do!
Chris and I talked about it and we decided that if God wanted me to come.....HE and He alone would provide. We did not want to "make" it work. My prayer was that if it be His Will, God would provide financially through jobs coming my way that were over and beyond what my present jobs are. I prayed, and prayed and prayed for Gods Will. I felt so strongly that He was going to provide that I even kept a suitcase out half packed.......I was not going to be caught lacking in faith! I even thought at one point I had the answer, but that answer came at a cost and we would have had to make the way.....and my very wise husband reminded me of our prayer. I am thankful he did.
As we waited and waited, I still had faith I was coming.......and yet it was starting to wain. Was I just hearing my own voice.......did I want to come so badly that I had forgotten how to hear God? In all of this, even more was going on. As most people who know me know, we have been trying to get our son Rene (A citizen of Honduras) home with us through getting his Student Visa. One day I will share the whole miracle of this when the process is complete! Things were moving.....big time here with this process! Two years of working on getting the paperwork we needed had finally started coming together!!!!! Everything was falling into place and if God brought me here, I could bring the paperwork myself! Yet, God had not provided a way at this point. I am not going to lie, I was getting a bit down. I still had faith.........however it was rocky.
Exactly two weeks before I would leave, God gave me a start......a small yet beautiful start! I have a friend that I have been cutting his hair for 31 years now and I was there cutting his hair. When I went to leave, he handed me 100.00! I looked at him like he had lost his mind, and he told me to put it towards my trip. I giggled and thanked him from the bottom of my heart. I told him that it was not looking likely, but I was going to go home and put it in my Honduras Fund.
On Monday I was going with my sister to meet our mom and dad in Nashville to see our youngest sister and her husband while he attended a Conference. I was riding in the car and had to deal with some setbacks we had trying to get the I-20 for Renes Student Visa. After an hour or so I had it all complete and ready for the Immigration services at UGA. I sat back in relief, and that is when the avalanch came! God did have a plan!
My phone rang, and a beautiful voice was on the other side of the line. The conversation went a bit like this:
Friend: Hey Lorri, I have a question. My Father-in-law needs someone to clean his house once per month out in Dunwoody. He has a Visiting Angel that cleans it generally throughout the week, but we need it deep cleaned once a month. We have a cleaning service that does this, but they have ticked me off for the last time and I wanted to give you first opportunity.
Me: (after I picked my jaw up off the floorboard) Do you mind if I ask how much it pays? (it is an hour plus from my home)
Friend: Sure, it pays ________ amount per month. (The amount is not important, lets just suffice it to say that it is worth my time and travel)
Me: (after I once again pick my jaw up off the floor board) SURE!!!!!! I would be glad to!!!!!! Thank you soooooooo much!
We worked out the particulars and I told her how this might possibly help me get to Honduras! She was amazed at the timing....as was I! I was going to get to clean his house the day before I left......and again shortly after I get back!
I called Chris at this point with hope beyond hope! With this in mind, I was not even prepared for what was to come! When I told Chris about the job, his words were.....and I quote, "Well, it looks like God is providing.....looks like we need to buy your ticket!" Once again, I had to pick my jaw up off the floorboard! Tears filled my eyes and God was not even finished yet! Because this was not a normal mission trip I was able to buy my own ticket because part of why I was coming was to work on legal issues we face with Rene as we work to get all we need for him to come. I had been daily looking up dates, and let me just say, there was no doubt for the dates I was supposed to come. This particular combination of dates was the least expensive by at least 200.00. Chris went on to buy my ticket and we had heard that if you fly out of Birmingham, the tickets are cheaper. Now how crazy is that? Well, it may be crazy to drive from Atlanta to Birmingham to fly back to Atlanta.......but 270.00 less made it far less crazy! As he went to purchase the ticket, somehow one of us brought up sky miles. I had been collecting them for some time with no idea of how to use them or even know what they were worth. He told me to hold on while he called his dad to find out. I truly was not prepared for the call that was soon coming my way! When I answered the phone, this is what I heard:
Chris: Well, you are not going to believe this, but with your sky miles.....the ticket was just 352.00!
Me: (Tears and stunned so much I almost could not find words) Are you kidding me???????????
Just with the job, the haircut........and the skymiles........GOD MADE THE WAY!
Now keep in mind, lodging and food and incidentals........God just kept providing! With my new job being ongoing, all funds for it will pay the rest! (Work bounus the hubby gets helps too!) Oh, God also provided another house for me to clean as well! This alone is crazy because house cleaning is probably the job I like the least......but God has given me joy in it! He may have just wanted to see how much I really wanted to go! Hehehe!
Since being here in Honduras, I have had so many emotional moments. Just the fact that I am here and how God brought me, I sit in tears. The tears just well up in my eyes and roll down my face, for no other reason than I am in Awe of my God and how He shows His love for me!!!!!! May God bless you all!!!!
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