Hey everyone! I know
its been a couple of weeks since I blogged but I have really been searching for
what to say. I have been praying like
mad and using a book Donna has given me called Spiritual Disciplines to guide
my prayer. The chapter on Discernment is
very helpful. I have to say though, as I’ve
been walking through this I’ve felt like I have been exploring a few different
directions as in, 'well maybe God means this'…pray- 'well maybe God means that'…pray
some more etc, you know how it goes. I
know Donna has been praying as well but we haven’t seen each other since our
meeting with Barry so I am really curious to see how close we are in our
sensing of God’s lead. One thing I
learned from that wise woman was that one of the ways you know that God is leading
you in a certain direction is that he will bring others along with you, and the
right people to help make it happen. I am still walking it out. I have to say though that every time I think
about the property my heart rises into my throat with excitement. I have been asking God that if that passion
is not born of Him to please just take it away and replace it with desire
within his will. It’s still there.
So I will now share what the ‘original’ vision for this house
is. I mean why own a house to house 2
teams a year? That is the question. To directly answer that, I am hoping that
eventually Sequoia will grow enough that more that 2 teams a year will go
down. But for now, besides housing teams
there are many other ideas. Keep in mind
that these are ideas not written in stone.
We need to meet with our Brothers in DR to solidify ideas and what would
be most helpful to them as a church and community but here is the rough pilot;
- To have a preschool/daycare program at a very low cost so that single moms have a safe place to leave their kids while they earn some income. Alongside that, there would be skills training programs for the moms to help them learn skills for the job market. We would also offer a women’s Bible study to these moms to show them their worth in God’s eyes.
- Youth group/homework club. Vision for that is not cast but basically a place for them to hang out, and get help with homework etc
- Please read Ben’s comments from my last blog called for the love of Compassion. He talks about a water program for the community. I don’t know all of the details but when we were there in Feb he told me that some of the Compassion projects are running these water programs. They are able to provide safe water and make some money for the project and the program is totally self-sustainable. He also clearly has some good ideas for the house and I am really excited to talk further with him about it.
- Community prayer center. There are many ministries/churches in Montellano and I think it would be amazing if on a regular basis people across denominations and across organizations could get together and brainstorm/share strategy and pray for the community.
- Job creation-property and business manager-eventually self sustaining
Well these are just some ideas that will be subject to God’s
leading and will. I am still waiting for
a couple of very important questions from our friend Perla regarding the
viability of the property for these uses.
Depending on the answers she gives, we will find out if we can get a Deslinda
{something like a legal title} and whether zoning is an issue. This is a residence and essentially we want
to use it for some small business projects.
Please pray about these issues.
Please pray for wisdom and discernment.
Please pray about the timing of this as it is alongside our own property
purchase. Mostly just pray that God’s will be done and
that human agenda does not take over or interfere. My greatest desire {and I think I can speak
for the team} is that we fully surrender ourselves as we serve Him in His
agenda and in His plan. Love you guys,
thanks for following. Please comment so
I know I’m not out here alone!!! Peace and Love, M
