Preparation

Two weeks before we left for Romania Scott and I attended a missions strategy course at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City. The home we stayed in was an older home with beautiful wood floors that creaked. The washer and dryer were located in an unfinished basement. The bathroom was small and we had to work around each other in order to get ready in the mornings, and we had a gas stove to get used to (we have always had electric). All of these characteristics were very different from the 2 year old house we had just sold in Washington. Whenever I got Olivia to sleep I would do my best to not creak so much as I exited her room. I really didn’t like the idea of going down to the basement to do laundry – I used to watch a lot of Cold Case Files on A&E. Many times on the show the murder victim was found in an unfinished basement! Can you follow my train of thought as I would make my way down the narrow cement stairs, place my hand on the door knob and hear it squeak as I would peer into the basement to see if the coast was clear? The gas stove made me nervous – something about a gas leak, and matches. There was a discount store near the house that we went to for groceries. The prices were very low, but the selection was a bit limited. When we were checking out we discovered that we had to purchase the sacks for our groceries and then sack them ourselves. This was a first for us.
We finished our two weeks and we were off to Romania. As we have settled into our home we have noticed some similarities. Our new home is an older home with beautiful hardwood floors that creak. The bathroom upstairs is one that requires working around one another. We have a gas stove to work with – one of the burners really has a quick flame response that makes me nervous. YES, there is a basement and YES, that is where the washer and dryer are located. And guess what? We have a discount store 5 minutes from our house where the prices are low, the selection is limited, and you have to purchase the sacks that you will use to sack your groceries. The last few weeks we were home I remember praying for God to prepare the way for us – To prepare us for what was to come. How amazing the detail of His preparation.