Cold and raining/sleeting/snowing here in Brovary today. It would be a great day to SLEEP ALL DAY! But alas, I won’t.
For some reason, I’m always surprised by God. I don’t know why I let the enemy convince me of things. It seems like I am always allowing him to plague my mind with doubt and things are not only untrue about myself, but about God. We have been so certain that we are to buy this property, house and church building. No doubt when we were offered it. No doubt since. Then as this trip came closer I started to doubt — not that God had said it would happen, but that God was able to make it happen.
I had this whole thing created in my mind that when I talked to Yuri and Sveta about it and told them that God had not provided the money yet to purchase it yet they would say, “Oh well, maybe we were wrong that God told us that we needed to sell it to you…” etc. I had the whole thing worked out like I knew it was going to happen. I couldn’t have been more wrong. You know what their response was? They said that they know what he told them and that when He was ready to supply the money, he would supply the money. They were going to get the paperwork done so that upon our arrival in February we can go to the notary and get the papers done and the house and property would be ours. In an instant, my lack of faith became conviction of the sin of unbelief. So I call out to God in confession and reaffirm my faith in Him. I still can’t understand how or when, but I know what He has said.
Yes, I know that it sounds foolish and childish to some people. But God didn’t ask me to work it out and understand. He asked us to walk forward in faith. So we have. I have given him the down payment and money for the paperwork. We are pressing forward and pressing in to the Father who has told us this part of the plan. I don’t know where the money will come from. I don’t know how He will provide. So don’t ask me. But I know the One who does have those answers and I am trusting Him.
When God told Abraham that he and Sarah would, indeed, bear the son they so desperately wanted? Sarah laughed. But we read Abraham’s reaction in Romans 4 — “Abraham didn’t focus on his own impotence and say, “It’s hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child.” Nor did he survey Sarah’s decades of infertility and give up. He didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said.” I love it! I want to be as trusting as Abraham.
Tomorrow will be a busy day around town. I found out about a place where they sell items from the customs department that either are unclaimed, seized or for other reasons become available for sale (like they may be “scratch, dent, ding”). So I will go there to try to find a large refrigerator, a stove/oven that has an auto-light and safety valve feature, a washer and dryer (there is one washer here – but if you know anything about european washers, you know we need another one for eleven people), and some other odds and ends of furniture (2 baby cribs, a bed for Mary and me, desk chair, a printer…). Then we will be ready to move in on February 14. I hope to find what I need at this special store because the prices are SO MUCH cheaper apparently. It would be like going into Best Buy and getting a “scratch, dent or ding” fridge, I imagine. Plus the added benefit that the government is trying to get rid of it and get what they can out of it. If I don’t find what I need there, there are plenty of places to go. But I want to spend as little as possible for what we need.
I have no idea if you are still reading this…as I have rambled on and on…but if you are, I will begin posting on our MalonesInUkraine.com blog soon. It will become the primary ministry blog and this blog will remain about family news, photos, etc. You have probably noticed some Google Ads that are appearing. I will be adding these ads to all my sites. Feel free to use them or ignore them. Sometimes they will be relevant to the content, other times not. If you see one that is “inappropriate” please let me know by email so I can block that particular family of ads.
As always, thanks for praying for us during this process. I made several great new contacts last night and this morning. Partners in ministry, hopefully.
It’s getting dark here (yes at 3:30 p.m.) so now I need to take a quick nap and then make some phone calls.
Blessing His Faithful Name today!
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This is a story that appeared in the Kyiv Post on December 22. It’s about the Early Learning Center for children with Down syndrome in Kiev. Looking forward to getting involved somehow.
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