Last Thursday, March 3rd, I called my in-laws pastor, Pastor Dave for prayer. I was on my way to the 2 maximum security prisons where I teach Bible studies and I need all the prayers I can get for those places! After I asked him for prayer, Pastor Dave said, "When you get down here, be praying because I'm going to ask you to move down here." Now he asked us the same question last year and we kind of laughed it off and didn't really pray about it. But I thought about it this time and decided it couldn't hurt pray about it so I said that we would pray. Cheri and I started to pray about it and we felt a peace about the possibility of moving, but asked the Lord for confirmation and that He would make that confirmation very clear.
On Sunday, I went to Ojibway Correctional Facility for the services there. One of the men whose name is Moses came up to me and asked about how my friend Keith Smith is doing. Keith used to go into Ojibway with me but had since moved to Florida. Now, I must say that none of the men know where Keith moved to or where we were going on vacation to because of the rules of the prison regarding overfamiliarity we are under as volunteers. So I told Moses that Keith is doing great and that he is very excited to get married in May. As Moses went to shake my hand he said, "When you go down there, you need to stay there. God told me to tell you that when you go down to Florida you need to stay there." Moses could not have possibly known that we were going down there! Isn't it cool that God used a guy named Moses for us to exodus out of Michigan!
As I was exiting the prison and dropping off my prison id to receive my drivers license the guard asked me where the street I live on was. After I explained where our house is he said that before we bought our house he knew a few of other people that were also interested in buying it. This is very encouraging because we have to sell our house before we can buy one down there. It was the Lord reassuring us that He is in this and not to worry.
So we made our decision to move on Monday, March 21 following many more prayers. We sense an urgency to get there quickly. As we started to tell one of the churches that supports our family and the prison ministry they said that they will send a crew up to help us pack and load a moving truck for us! All that they need is the date for the move. For us to get on the road so soon we are just packing up as much of our essential stuff as we can in both vehicles. We will come back for the rest of our stuff when we sell our house. We also found out a someone from our church needs a place to stay at the end of the month so she is going to stay at our house until it sells. My wife and my in-laws are also super excited to live close to each other as well.
Here is where the story gets really cool. My friend Keith, who lives in Florida, is hooked up with a ministry named 'Prayer for Prisoners International'. This ministry goes into prisons all across the country including Florida and does evangelical outreaches. Last year this ministry asked Keith to lead their ministry in Florida for them. Keith has only gone a few times mainly because he feels that his God given gifts are mainly towards one on one evangelism, discipleship and intercessory prayer not necessarily public speaking, teaching and evangelizing.
So, he has been praying for someone to come and help with the prison ministry there. Just last week his fiancé told him not to worry and that God is going to send someone. I miss that brother and enjoy doing the prison ministry with him. There are 56 prisons in Florida and I'm waiting for the approval to go into 6-9 prisons on April 1-3. Once I am approved I can go into all of them! Michigan is different in that because whoever wants to volunteer has to get approval from each seperate prison. On top of all of that Pastor Dave in Florida received 2 phone calls on Monday from 2 local jails that said they desperately need volunteers to go in and share the Word with the men inside! Part of the vision of Full Throttle Freedom has always been to raise up and disciple others who want to do jail or prison ministry. I also have the opportunity to train people for jail and prison ministry at our new church in Florida. God has opened up so many doors in such a short time! Thank you guys for all your prayers and support! God bless!
We have some specific prayer requests:
--- For our health
1) Cain
Back and right leg and the pain and weakness associated with those.
2) Cheri
The healing of her heart and for energy and strength.
3) Our kids
For all the kids to stay healthy.
--- For the drive down to Florida
1) For our vehicles to work and not break down.
2) For our safety.
3) For a smooth trip.
4) That our 2 year old will stay happy and sleep at nap time and all through the night.