October Praises and Prayer requests

A Place to Call HOME.
After we arrived here, we immediately began a search for a home. We actually started searching before we arrived but, until we were here it was hard to get really serious about buying something. So with the help of our realtor, we started looking at houses quickly.

I have to explain that here in FL there are three types of home sales. There are foreclosures, short sales, and individual house sales. The first is owned by the bank. Most of these homes are trashed and in need of a great deal of work. The second type are homes that are pre-foreclosure/short sales. These houses are usually good buys but can take up to six months to close, due to the liens and approvals necessary to close these homes. The third are normal home sales. The market here is all based on the type of house you want to buy and how soon you would like to have occupancy. If you are not in a hurry, you can consider a short sale but typically, they are a headache and can take a long time to get answers and the keys.

With that said, we tried very hard to stay away from the short sale market, until last week. Last week, God led us to a house that was a short sale. We liked the home, we liked the location but we were really not sure we wanted to get into the mess of the short sale. But we prayed about it and gave it to God and waited to see what He would do. Here’s what He did…we wrote the offer on Wednesday, the sellers accepted the offer on Wednesday, and the bank accepted our offer on Friday, which means we can close on the house by the end of this month. God took a normally 6 month ordeal and made it happen in 2 weeks. That is unheard of in this market but not unheard of in God’s time. He is so sovereign. Nothing can compare to His timing and His work. We are very grateful that He is in control and we are so humbled that He cares for us and for the tiniest details of our lives.

So, starting October 1st, we will be moving our stuff into our new home and sprucing it up to make it our own. It needs paint, clean up, carpet, and tile. We will be busy for a while. Come help if you have the time. We will need lots of help.

Here is a pict of the new digs.







That's what we have been up to, so now it is time for the prayer requests and praises.


Praises

• Praise God that our tractor sold the day before we left Iowa. It would have been a real headache to try and sell it once we left town. Chalk one up for God’s timing again.



• Praise God for safe travels to FL and travel mercies.



• A huge praise to Him for well behaved kids on the trip.



• God provided the perfect amount of helpers and packers for moving day.



• Praise God for providing our supports and partners. Without partners, we would not be here.



• Praise God for His amazing work on getting us a very affordable home in a very fast manner. That is unheard of in the real estate world today.

Prayer requests

• Please pray for the Agape plane this week as it undergoes the Phase inspection process.Pray for all the volunteers who provide this inspection and for their safety.



• Please pray for safe travels for the weekly deliveries with our volunteer pilot and aircraft. Also pray for our weekly flights and the crew.



• Please pray for the misssionaries Agape serves, that all of their needs will be met.



• Please pray for our house in Iowa to close.



• Please pray for our family as we continue to make the transition to Florida and we search for a local church.

Thank you all so much for your faithful prayers and support. We miss Iowa and the familiarities of home but we are adjusting well. The Agape staff is amazing. They have treated us very well and we feel very much part of a large family.

Blessing to all of you. Have a great month.

In His service, Lance, Lynn, Grace and Hope

Happy Birthday Lance!!

It is another special day in our family. Today, we celebrate Lance's birthday. We don't have any special plans just time together after work and a little party during lunch with his co workers and cake.

Lance is an amazing husband and father. We could not ask for a more perfect man in our life. God blessed us richly when He made us a family and put Lance in charge. We love you dearly, Lance, and we hope you have a great day. We are very proud of you.

The Big Move

Here is the full post of all the details of the trip to FL. I mentioned some of this last week but I thought I would write the whole report now that I have had some time.

As most of you know, we recently relocated our family to Nokomis, FL to start work at Agape Flights. The actual move and all the events leading up to move were to say the least, chaotic, but God was perfect in all things and He worked it all out.

The most amazing part of the story of the move for us was the way God worked the sale of our house. The house had been on the market for 6 months (btw-that is the average for a home in our area) and we were anxious to get started at Agape. So, after Lance’s August trip to Florida, we decided that we were going to set a date and move whether the house was sold or not. We prayed for the house and gave over to God for the last time. Within six days of that decision to move, God provided a buyer for our home. It was amazing. The family that was interested in our house wanted to have occupancy in October so that worked out perfectly. The actual closing on the house will not be complete until their house in Georgia sells but we are happy to have them in the house and leasing until the sale is completed.

We did all of the packing and loading of the trailers on Labor Day weekend. We were very blessed to have the perfect moving teams show up. Saturday, my(Lynn’s) dad took control of the trailer and packed it like a pro. Every item was placed and loaded with care and we filled the trailer to the roof. Special thanks to the Damewoods, Wescots, and Victor Buffington for the awesome help on Sat. You guys were a great team. On Monday, Lance’s dad brought his trailer and it too was loaded with excellent care. Larry(Lance’s dad) and his crew of Tom Carver and Louis Hawkes made short time of the job. The girls loved having the Gramma’s around for extra attention and love. Thank you so much for all of the help. We appreciate all you did to get us on the road and we appreciate your families for loaning us you for a few hours of the weekend.

On Tuesday morning, with all the trailers loaded and house empty, we headed out for the long drive. The trip went very well. The girls were extremely well behaved (thanks for all the prayers on that, it worked). They took on the adventure with excitement and joy. They loved having the cat in the car with them. They took turns holding him and wrapping him like a doll in their laps. (note-we don’t normally have a lap cat). Lance was the primary driver for the 1338 mile trip. I tried to give him some breaks but I am definitely not a truck driver by nature. The drive went well but we were very tired when we arrived. We took some rest stops on the way but for the most part we stayed on the road as much as possible.

We could feel God’s protection as we drove and we know He provided the strength we needed to keep going. He kept our eyes on the road and He kept us alert as the miles rolled on. The trip was virtually problem free until we hit the 1330th mile. We could see the exit for “home” but we heard a “pop”. We had a flat tire on the trailer. Thankfully, our former neighbors, the Prachars, and a kindly stranger came to help us and we were back on the road very quickly. We were very grateful to see that even though Satan wanted to derail us again, God put people there at the perfect time to help us out and get us back on the road.

So, after 1339 miles, 32 hours in the truck, and only one major problem, we are here. God was in control the whole trip and we thank Him that we all arrived safely.

(I have picts of the moving teams and picts of the blown tire(thanks to Travis and her trusty camera) but my camera cords are still packed. I will post picts after I find the cords and download the picts.)

I hope all is well with each of you. We will be posting soon about our house shopping adventures and starting work at Agape.
Never give in!
In His service, Lynn, Lance, Grace and Hope.

We Made it!

Hey All,
Just wanted to let you know that we made it to FL. It was a long trip, as we did a straight through run. We stopped just a few times to rest our eyes but we pretty much stayed on the road as much as possible. The girls were complete ANGELS. They never complained or asked to get out to play. They just played with their toys and the cat for the whole ride.

We made it virtual problem free until the 1329th mile, (total trip as 1338 mile) when we blew a tire on the trailer. We could see the exit for "home" but we couldn't get there. Our former neighbors from Iowa, the Prachars, came to our rescue. Travis picked up the girls and I, while Lance, Paul and a kindly stranger changed the tire and got the trailer back on the road. Thanks Neighbors, we appreciate you.

Now, we are trying to settle in. Lance started work today. We still do not have internet at the house but are hoping to set something up later this week. We will be in touch soon.
Thanks for all the prayers.
Never give in!
In His service, Lynn for the Anderson crew.