3.06.12

It's been awhile, so real quick update here. Work has been slow. The last two weeks totaled just over 40 hrs but I feel like God is in control. I said before I left that if God was sending me out here he would take care of me too. My faith is strengthened as I hear the stories of George Muller read to the children for devotionals. (Coincidence? I think not.) I have to remember I gave up sovereignty over my life and I am now an instrument in His hands. It has been a great faith builder, I have all I need and He wants me put more trust in Him. Work has been fun as I learn more everyday and do things I have never done. Mostly doing veneer work with hide glue. Each repair or job is different and creative.

The kids are growing up and doing well. Gavin fell out of a tree today and sprained his wrist. Autumn loves to play with Tristan and Naomi is starting to get along with River. Of course with Journey's arrival we have all been busy. I have been taking the boys to explore when I can. Last weekend we went to try some fishing. No luck. But we found a "large puddle" that was about 2 ft deep and it had minnows in it. So the boys caught 15 minnows, got all wet, and we put them in the pool to eat the misquito larvae until we clean it out for swimming.

James, Claudia and Elianna, their 4 yr old daughter, moved close to us in Folsom and we have been enjoying getting to know them. Rick and Katie are still looking for a house nearby. Please pray God's will be done there. And Tim is doing very well. Others are wanting more fellowship outside of the Sunday meeting and relationships are being formed. Things are going well. His people are gathering in CA. We miss everyone and can't wait until Ingathering. We are planning to trek over for that, Lord willing.

More pics

Naomi with bangs. And the grand canyon.

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Some pictures

This is our trailer when we opened the doors to unpack.

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HVGD

Last week I was at work and I started complaining about the bids being unrealistic for us in the shop to meet. Each bid has a spec sheet and each step of the work is spelled out with a certain amount of minutes applied. So we try to beat those times but still do a good job. The other worker and I were discussing this problem and I must admit, I had some opinions. Shortly after my soap box speech, I felt convicted of complaining. I was reminded of reading Exodus and the children of Israel complaining to Moses that they could have thirsted to death in Egypt instead of the wilderness! It's amazing that after all they saw, they could say that. But here I was, after all He has done for me, looking at things naturally and losing my faith over such a small matter. I immediately repented and gave back the reins to Him and felt peace again. An hour or so later the shop manager asked me to come to the office. There was an antique desk that had just come in that some movers had dropped and he wanted my estimate on time frame. Not only did he listen, he added time to my times! As I went to eat my lunch I realized that God was already taking care of the problem and I just needed to seek first the kingdom and leave the rest to Him. EVEN MY PAY RATE! (Which is based on performance with the bid times.) That is not easy, but it's funny how much peace I get when I let Him be in control, and still I harden my heart and take over. Later that week I was praying for Shammah and the term graft vs host disease came to mind. Then I thought, "That's my problem! I'm suffering from host vs graft disease." Now, from what I could remember from science in grade school, the host carried other forms of life and they formed a symbiotic relationship. My problem was that I was fighting the Life that Christ was offering me to have.

I got my hair cut by someone David met, and while I was in the chair, I briefly shared about moving to CA. He commented on how it must've taken alot of faith to make a move like that. I thought about it later and realized it wasn't hard at all really. I had the backing of the church, people I talked to were supportive, and God had provided the funds in such a way that it was obvious that He was wanting me to go. So, I moved across the country and He continued to make it obvious that we were in His will. Where faith really has to come in, is at work when it doesn't look like I'll make much money for a while. Even today I was told the rest of the week looks like I might have some time off because no work has come in for two days. Thankfully the last lesson was still fresh and I actually am looking forward to what God is going to do. Actually, some time off would allow me to get caught up on my Bible reading with Shammah. So, now I just have to walk in that faith when I do go home early, but it's exciting. It makes for great testimonies and more time to seek the Kingdom.

Each one doing their part...

I just want to point out one thing about the "tv" answer to prayer. The Friday before that happened, everyone in the house went to meet the neighbors. They took cookies the children made that day and met the closest neighbors and the lady who brought the tv was one they had met. I don't think that she would have brought that tv without that interaction with us. I say us, but I actually missed it as I was at work. It just stood out to me how the one part of the Body was doing it's part and they all rejoiced in the end. It makes me not want to miss those "parts" I could play in my brother or sister's life.

I also want to encourage anyone looking to do something and be active in building the Kingdom. I recently read the last half of The Good Confession, by Watchman Nee. It talks about witnessing and the importance of prayer in doing that. It really gave me some direction in my ideas of witnessing. There are some neat stories he tells to illustrate his point. So, with all that God has been showing us about prayer, and we all want to witness better, I highly recommend it. It's only 114 pages. I got my copy here
http://www.c-f-p.com/catalog/cart.php?target=category&category_id=4
and it says damaged but it's just old smelling.

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