Well I can not say enough about how God has been so good to us! (By the way this is Ayala, I have been wanting to write for some time now and just tonight Stephen and David got my computer up and running. Yea!) Everything that has happened to us these last few weeks I feel very undeserving of. From the first day we got here there was an electricity in the air!
Stephen has already told the details of our first few days............. ... Arrived on Sunday, signed on a house on Monday, Stephen got a job on Tuesday, we packed on Wednesday, and moved on Thursday! Wow! That was crazy and alot of work. It's a good thing we were all taught to love work! So these last three weeks have been fun, challenging, and very encouraging.
Here is my most favorite recent story from our adventures in California.
Stephen started his job and has been working for 2 weeks now. He was only told it would be part time until the busy season hit, but so far they have had plenty of work for him. It's crazy because everything he has been doing in this new wood shop has been out of his field of knowledge. So, he has been to the library for books and praying that God guides him as he recarves old clocks etc. Just last week he saw some old VHS tapes at his work that would help him learn some stuff but unfortunately had no way of using since we left our TV behind, and Ariel and David just use their computers. He then asked God to provide a TV seeing we didn't have money for one. Two days later on Sunday our neighbor (Who we met on Friday) pulls up and delivers a very nice TV to our front door saying she had no use for it anymore and wanted to know if we wanted it! I answered the door and told her, "sure we would love to have it,"not even knowing Stephen had prayed for one.
I wish you could have seen Stephen's face when he came in from working in the garage and we told him someone had just given us a TV! He looked at us with such amazement and said, "You're kidding! I just asked God for one 2 days ago !" Alot of people were still at our house hanging out after the gathering and we all got to witness the goodness of our Father, how he sees all our little needs, and never is in our debt.
It feels like as we step out in faith and obey Him, His miracles never end. We have been so blessed and our faith is being strengthened like crazy!
Last Saturday and Sunday we prayed together for a close house for Rick and Katie. We are seeing more and more of them as the desire to be together grows. I fully expect God to reveal His plan for a house for them as well and show Himself mighty! We can't wait!

A job too?!!! Am I dreaming?

Today is Tuesday and David went to San Francisco for a conference about web graphics designers and I had a job interview at 10. After yesterday I had renewed faith that God was in control in a very tangible way. When I first started thinking about moving to CA I did a web search for antique repair shops in Sacramento. I love that field of work and was hoping to do it again, knowing that it was no accident I was able to work for Robert Johnson. I found Craftsman Furniture Service online and liked their website. They advertised keeping things original and quality workmanship. So, I emailed them to let them know I was moving to the area and would love to work in that field if they were ever hiring. At that point I was confident I had found the place to work and quit looking. The owner emailed me asking for more info on my experience. I replied and didn't hear back. Some time later I emailed again to see what was next and he replied that he was actually hoping I was a prospective buyer for his business. Well, that's not an option, so I talked to Robert Johnson about starting my own business. He was positive about it and I was encouraged. Later, I received an email from a Human Resources company that was helping Craftsman hire some workers. This was before Christmas. The HR lady called and we talked for over an hour and she was interested in me moving and the church I am a part of. She asked lots of questions. At the end she told me that the company was in a time of transition and there wasn't an immediate opening that she could fill with a phone interview. But there was the possibility of taking a color test once I moved to try for a finish touch up position.

So, today I drove up at 10:00 and walked in. I met the owner and the shop manager was busy. Steve gave me a tour of the shop and showed me some of the pieces they had repaired. When his shop manager was done we all three sat down to talk. The manager asked me how much experience I had and was shocked that I had just made it to town and was already looking for work. He said I came highly recommended from the HR lady and from my emails he was willing to start me today. But this is the slow time for the business. Right then Steve informed his manger that he had a stack of jobs on his desk to go over with him. So, they talked right there about Steve tutoring me at first and that I could start as soon as next week. I got to tell them about signing for a house and how I felt like I was supposed to work for them. From what I could tell, this business is built on top quality work and they have a good reputation in northern CA including being the only shop in the state certified to use shellac. Shellac is one of the finishes used very commonly on antiques. That was a huge confirmation for me. Not to mention just liking everyone I met there. Steve, the owner, even mentioned that it seemed like God was doing things here and up north where he is involved with another job opportunity. He is helping develop a water-based stripper that can be used in CA. So, I start next week on a part time basis at first. I'm sure your not surprised that I was happy with that, and expect things to work out exactly as God wants them to. So, that's the latest. This has taken two days to get done, so I will stop here. PRAISE GOD! He is making it quite obvious that He is in charge and interested in His people being gathered together, because there the blessing is given, LIFE forevermore!

Stephen

A house in less than 24 hrs?!!!

The next day we had a home cooked breakfast, mmmmmmm. I called Craftsman Restoration to let the owner know that I had made it to town and was interested in meeting with him. The phone interview I had before Christmas with the HR lady he uses was very positive and she had told me to contact him once i got to town. I talked to his new shop manager and we set to meet at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. So, we went to see the home in Orangevale which is 25 minutes from where David's house is. The owner was a very nice lady and showed us the whole house. We were standing in the backyard when she asked me about my employment. I told her I had an interview the next day. She said, " Oh, ok." I thought for sure that wasn't going to be good enough to rent the house so I offered that I had thought about plumbing if that didn't work out. She still didn't seem concerned at all. Let me stop here and preface this part of the story:

David and Ariel had already looked at this house several days ago. There was someone looking at it before them and someone waiting when they left. There was no application fee since it was an owner and not a property management. So we figured we would give it a go even though all my financial info was packed in the trailer in my desk. David filled out my application for me and emailed them. A few days later he called to see if she had received the email. She had not received them so he corrected the email and sent them. Then she called the night we got in and asked if we wanted to look at the house because we were the first ones to get in our application and she was getting several calls about the house since then.

Ok, so then we walk in the house and she tells us about all the calls she has been getting and asks if we want the house or not. I was speechless, I didn't even have time to think. I was caught totally off guard and didn't know what to say. I knew then that she must REALLY like us and even trust us. (That was God!) She had mentioned choosing tenants for who they are and not their credit score during our talks. So, I agreed we should jump on it and we set up a meeting with her to sign the lease and pay the fees. Rick's wife Katie was there when Jan was telling us where to meet her and found out she lived only about a mile from David now. Katie was shocked. I think she saw that as another confirmation that this was really God. So, not only did Jan agree to rent us the house, but there was an above ground pool the previous tenant would leave if we wanted it. You also have to know that the back yards here are smaller than the yard we had in Memphis even before we joined the yards. Most of the houses that David has looked at were small or really small, more like a strip of grass. But this yard is about the size of the two yards combined in Memphis and has a concrete patio and basketball goal, a pool, a place for a garden, and a patio area with a canopy right outside the master bedroom! So, we not only get a house with 5 bedrooms and 3 baths, but we get a pool the kids can't fall in, a place to garden, play and relax outdoors! And as if that wasn't enough, the prior tenant has a trampoline that still had to be hauled off. So, David told Jan we would buy it if the tenant didn't want to move it. So, we received an email from Jan saying we could HAVE the trampoline! The pads and net were in the garage and it looked to be in great shape! David told us that during dinner and then explained that his boys have been praying for a trampoline for over a year! WHO IS LIKE OUR GOD?!!! At that point we all quit eating and all the kids sat in a circle thanking God for all He had done. God is definatly not leaving any place for doubt as to whether or not He wants us there. David and I went to the men's mtg to meet with Rick and Tim and I tried to stay awake. What a day! Thursday is our moving day and I am already packed! We are shopping for a washer, dryer and fridge on craigslist with the left over money we had saved for the deposit and rent. Jan pro rated January for us so we have a few hundred left for appliances. God thought of everything! The ladies were already shopping online while we were at Rick's.

Stephen

Our Journey to CA

Well, there is so much to be thankful for. We had a great trip over. Driving really drove home how far from home we really are. New Mexico was my favorite state for scenery with Arizona a close second. We stopped at the welcome center for each state and got the hotel coupon books to save money. That worked great until the weekend. But even then the last hotel quoted me $10 more than they charged me the next morning at check out. Oh well, maybe I heard them wrong. One thing that was interesting was the change of culture and people. In Texas we first noticed the ability to see for miles but there were no buildings in sight. That was pretty common from Texas on. We stayed in Oklahoma and Ayala said the cowboys were huge and everyone had on boots. In New Mexico we saw the casinos and indian territory. At one truck stop Ayala felt like a tall foreigner in the women's restroom. That part of the trip reminded me of Asher and it gave me a new respect for his courage in taking his family to Mexico. Just driving through the west made me feel like we had left the USA. Arizona was our sight seeing part of the trip and we dropped off the trailer at the hotel and headed for the Grand Canyon. WOW!! I won't try to describe the awe you experience when you see the handy work of our Father. We got pictures and drove the desert rim, I think it was, and stopped at all the lookouts. The last lookout had a watchtower and the stars were coming out with a close to full moon. Bummer it was dark, but hey, how many people stick around to see the stars and canyon in moonlight? Then the long drive back to the hotel, 1 1/2 hrs. We ate at a mexican restauraunt until 9 or so and then went to bed. The food was great! But we were too tired to even see Dean and Yiskah who were 10 minutes down the road. Once the canyon was seen we were ready to finish the trip. We started to see the desert then. We ate lunch at a rest stop in the desert. I looked over and saw a sign that read,"Poisonous snakes and insects inhabit this area." Well, that's all the prompt I needed. After I ate I went for a walk to explore the desert. We all walked after our meal and stopped by the facilities on our way to the truck. I noticed an RV that was leaning really bad and had a cardboard sign that read,"NEED TIRE, GOD BLESS." So Gavin and I went to find out. One of his tires was only the rim with some rubber shred hanging off. The guy looked close to homeless and the RV was pretty dirty and old. He was reading a western romance novel on the step. We chatted and I only had $1 in my pocket so we ran to the truck to see what else we had. I gave him a ten and Gavin got out his wallet to provide a five. The man said the people who maintain the rest area said they would give him a ride to get a tire when he had the money. So, with so much time spent in one place we jumped in the truck and took off. The California border was a short time later and we were excited. Then the vehicle inspection. They stop all the vehicles entering the state to find out if you have any fruit, cut wood, or outdoor furniture like a grill... We had some oranges and had to pull them out of the snack bag to confirm they were CA produce. They were, so they let us pass. Well, the desert seemed to go on and on and on and on. Then all of a sudden Ayala asked me if I got the cooler and bag after lunch. Cooler? Bag? Ooops. The new scenery and then the tire guy totally distracted me. I hope he got the food and knives, cutting board, ziplocks and cooler. Good thing for us we were down to the last of our meals in the cooler and we can replace the other things pretty easily. That put a small damper on the day, but we tried to think maybe someone needed it more than us. Maybe the tire guy will get it. The desert stretched on and gave us new meaning to the readings in Genesis. As dark fell we finally entered the mountains that divided the desert from the orchards and farmland. Bakersfield was finally in view and we stopped for the night. Ate at a burger joint accross the street and went to bed dreaming of home cooked meals. The last day was without problem just like the rest of the trip. We drove past all the orchards and vineyards and smelled all the wierd smells. Finally, we drove down 48th St and found David's house. The boys ran out at full speed and Rick and Tim were right behind them, walking that is. We met Rick's son Noah and stood outside talking for a few minutes. Rick and Tim left after a while and we all went to the park a block away. It was nice to get out of the truck and walk around. The boys played baseball and basketball. The babies enjoyed the swings. When we got home the neighbor boys were there to meet us with their new cap guns. Dinner was awesome. David returned the call of a lady that he had sent applications for a house and she wanted to know if everyone made it in town and asked if we would like to see the house. So, we set up to meet her at 10:30 a.m.

Stephen