God supplies

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.   Philippians 4:19

As I prepared to move to Malawi last year, the list of things to do and learn and find was quite long.  Step by step, God has helped me to check off one thing after another.  I am always amazed at His timing and the way He works things out.  I know that He has it all figured out, but when the list is so long it is easy to begin to let doubts creep into the back of my mind.

A House.

As I write this letter, I am sitting in my own house. After more than one year of being in transition and living in other people’s homes (for which I am so grateful), I have a place to call my own. I am almost finished unpacking boxes that were hurriedly packed more than 1 year ago. I am finding little things that were tucked away and forgotten. While other things were given away, and I have had to replace them.

When I began the search via online groups and word of mouth, it seemed that most homes were going to be well beyond my budget.  The thoughts crept in, “Where will I find a house that is in a safe neighborhood, with good security and good neighbors?”  One day, while I was in Chichewa class, my friend sent a message to check out a recent online post of a guest house. When class was over, I looked it up. The price wasn’t listed, but the details sounded promising. I messaged the owner and was surprised to find it within my budget!  After several messages back and forth, we arranged a time to see the house the next day. Knowing this deal would soon be gone, I was praying that no one else would take it before I could look at it.

God answered that prayer and many others about the house. The owners family is wonderful and super helpful. The house was more than anticipated in many regards. By the end of the day we had a verbal agreement! Usually, you do not take the first house you look at when house shopping, but that’s what happened. This is the guest house in  a larger lot, the owners have the main house and other buildings as well. They take care of the yard, security, and maintenance! They took a couple weeks to do some repairs and repaint things before I moved things in.

Last week, a pastor friend found a truck and several other pastors helped me to moved the big items that were in storage since bringing them from Tanzania. I took my time organizing those things first and then made the official move Apr 24.  There are still a few boxes to unpack, but most of it is finished. The couches and bed are still being custom made to fit the rooms, but that should be finished next week. For now I am enjoying the quiet place and learning how get to different shops from this new location.

A Car.

While I was still trying to figure out which day I might officially move, I perused the online groups for Lilongwe again. This has been a habit since moving as I have been looking for houses, cars, and appliances on sale.  I saw a car that I was considering buying.  For weeks I have been debating the type of car that would fit my budget while being able to travel to the villages and carry ministry supplies. The field of cars that fit the specifications and mechanic recommendations was narrowing. I saw one of the options up for sale and contacted the owner. These cars are hard to find in low mileage and good condition. Once again, I was pleased to find the car fit my budget! (God is good and He knew exactly how much I would need.)  I went with my coworkers to try out the car and to see if it was really what I had researched in regards to size and comfort. 

Once again, it exceeded my expectations as far as space for hauling things, engine size (and speed!), and comfort.  Over the next few days, I had a trusted mechanic check out the engine, body, paperwork, and Interpol documents. (Yeah, Interpol really does exist! Here there are many stolen cars on the market so buyers need to get documents from Interpol proving the vehicle is not stolen.)  After several days of waiting in lines at various gov agencies to prove the vehicle was imported correctly from Japan and not stolen and that I had the proper ID to buy a car, I was able to purchase the car today.  Now if someone can translate the Japanese so the I can operate the radio! All along the way, I could see little ways that God was moving and meeting needs. He is good, all the time!

So, as I finish unpacking the boxes in my house, awaiting for the last pieces of furniture to be made, I also await the mechanic who is giving the car a full service before I drive it.  By the end of next week,  I hope to have all the ducks in a row – actually God has been moving them into place for sometime.