Preparation

Preparation

 

       “Mommy, when are we going to Alaska?”  Erik, age 4, asked me one day, “I miss Gamma and Poppa.”

      “I know, Sweetie,” I answered sympathetically as I watered my houseplants, “I miss them too, but we must be remember the promise God gave us and keep praying we’ll be with them soon.”

      Erik’s question came quite regularly- to the point where Natasha, Erik’s little sister, had started to ask us the question all the time too.  I tapped Erik’s nose with my finger, then picked up the watering can to move to the plants on the back porch of our house.  It was my day off, so I was trying to catch up on some housework before Micah came home from his job making custom cabinets. Most of the time Erik and Natasha would keep themselves busy, but I would be lucky to get my vacuuming, dishes, and laundry done.  On this day, I was able to keep them occupied with a movie, Erik’s favorite being Star Wars, which meant I could dust, mop the kitchen, and water plants. 

It wasn’t easy taking care of two children just fifteen months apart, but what a blessing they were!  I had wanted four children, but Micah only wanted two.  After Natasha was born, another 9 lb baby, we decided two was a good number.   Now I was thankful.  Between working part-time and being a full-time mom, my plate was full enough!

      We lived in a small two-bedroom house on the corner of Garland Street and Hawaii Avenue in Nampa, Idaho.  The leaves were falling off the snowball trees in the front yard, and there was that crisp feel to the breeze outside.  Life was good, yet we were feeling restless and growing weary of living from paycheck to paycheck.  Every time Erik or Natasha asked their question it would get me to thinking of all the promises we had heard over the last two years about moving to Alaska.

I thought we would have been there by now, God.  Especially now that Micah’s parents moved back in July.

It felt as if we would never go to Alaska.

God, just two years ago you spoke to Micah, in the bathroom of all places!  Your Spirit was so strong that Micah was forced to lay prostrate on the tiny 5-foot-square-floor.  When Micah was finally able to come out, I could feel Your spirit fill our living room as I sat feeding Natasha in the rocking chair.  Micah shared with me what You spoke to him about going to Alaska and I knew in my heart we would go soon.

Yet, everything is in Your time isn’t it, God?  I know I was foolish to expect our financial situation to be resolved instantly.  I even began to pack boxes expecting us to leave immediately.  I know You will provide for your people when we follow Your words and guidance, but sometimes we get ahead of ourselves.

For two years now, God, we’ve been expecting to leave.  Only, we wake up each morning and find ourselves still here in Idaho.  Now I am working a part-time job, trying to help us make it each month and provide food on the table for the children.  All the time our desire for Alaska is growing.  It’s all we can think about.

You continue to minister to us and speak to us through others about Alaska.  We were even told we would leave shortly after Micah’s parents.  We were even given a timeline of one year, which is now half way over. 

God, I know I should not doubt what You have said to us.  I just don’t see how this is going to happen in the next six months.  You know how expensive it is to move everything we have and travel through Canada.  The hotels, gas, and food we would need.  Not to mention being able to store or haul all of our things that far.  If this is what you want, Lord, we need a miracle.

I finished up watering my plants and moved to the kitchen to start dinner.  Erik and Natasha were still watching the movie, but had now pulled out Erik’s action figures to start recreating the scenes of the movie.  I went to sit down for a few minutes in the living room.  I still had time before I needed to get dinner started.

“I miss Gamma and Poppa,” Erik repeated, “When are we going to Alaska?”

“When God decides to move us,” I answered, quietly wondering myself.  “We just need to pray it will happen soon.”

After that, Erik wanted to say the evening prayer at dinnertime.  He would always make sure he asked God to move us to Alaska soon before saying “Amen”.  Now the desire to move was even growing in the children’s hearts.

Not everything about living in Idaho was so bad.  I did grow up there and my family was close to us.  After Micah’s parents moved back to Alaska we started to go to church with my sister and her family at Kuna Life Center.  It was fifteen minutes from our house to the smaller community of Kuna, so it made for a nice Sunday morning drive.  The church was made up of mostly younger families, like us.  Micah and I found it easy to blend in and feel at home, which is something we hadn’t felt in a long time at churches.  Erik and Natasha were excited because they could see their cousins, Hannah and Jedidiah, more often.

We finally had good, solid Christian fellowship.  Micah was more relaxed, knowing he was accepted for himself, and not what he looked like.  Usually church people would look at his long hair, tattoos, and biker t-shirts and immediately think he needs to be “saved”.  No one tried to conform us into what his or her own idea of a Christian should be.  I should note that from the time we were first married God had told us we would not be accepted by most church people, especially when we began the ministry He had called us to do.  So, when we found a church family that welcomed us without question, it was a breath of fresh air.  Yet, we knew in our hearts this would be temporary.

All of this made it very easy for Micah and I to get involved and help out.  I helped teach the Rainbows on Wednesday nights.  Then I would also help with the nursery and the Cherub Church (pre-school children) on Sundays.  We signed up to be put on the rotation for cleaning the church.  Our favorite thing to do was inviting people over for Sunday dinners.  It was a great time to get to know people and fellowship outside the church setting.

As the church began to grow, Micah started to notice people would approach him about problems they were facing and ask for prayer.  It took Micah off guard quite a bit and he decided to go talk to our pastor about it.  Our pastor had also noticed this and was getting ready to ask Micah to serve as an elder in the church.  He said that he saw the people of the church were already looking to Micah as a leader, along with a few others.  Micah was flattered by the offer, but we knew it wasn’t what God wanted.  It was now April and God was tugging at our hearts more about leaving for Alaska.  The year was almost up.

One Monday, sometime in late April, I was busy cleaning house.  The children were busy playing.  I was feeling so frustrated and restless I couldn’t concentrate on anything.  Finally, through my frustration, I began seeking the Lord about our lives in Idaho.  When are we going to go, Lord?  I began to remind Him of all the things He had said to us.  Our year was almost up and we were no closer to leaving for Alaska than three years ago.  Still looking at the financial situation, I couldn’t see how we could move even across town to a better home.  I had become very discontent with everything in our home: the furniture, dishes, plants, knick-knacks, and especially the house itself.  All I knew is that we needed to move, and needed to move now!

Through tears, I pulled out a notepad and began to itemize our possessions, placing an “educated-guess” as to the value of each item.  As I watched the list grow, I thought of Micah and how he would probably think I was crazy for doing this.  Yet, as I continued to list the different items, a peace fell over me.  This was right.  I said a quick prayer that God would speak to Micah also, and then went about cleaning the house with a calm, clear mind.

Unknown to me, God was speaking to Micah at his job that day.  He told Micah to sell everything and move to Alaska.  Micah informed God that I would never go for such a thing.  As the day went on, Micah could not ignore what he was feeling.  Micah finally asked God to speak to me, if this was His will for us to do.

At the end of the day, Micah headed home to talk with me about leaving for Alaska.  Little did Micah know that I was nervously waiting at home, putting dinner off, to speak with him about the list I made.

Micah came into the house and sat down at the kitchen table, asking me to come in and sit also.  I went to sit down and noticed the look on Micah’s face was the one he had when he wanted to ask me something, usually if we can afford to buy something.  I remember his smile as he was trying to think of what to say.  Finally, he pitched the idea of quitting his job and flying to Alaska to look for work.  Once Micah found work, he would send for the rest of us.  I immediately shot down the idea.  Not only would it kill us financially, also if anyone went to Alaska, then we would all go together!  Micah looked at me and reminded me we could not afford to move everything with us.  I listened as he mentioned selling everything and just driving the family with what clothes we could fit in the car.  I couldn’t help it!  A smile crossed my face as I pulled out my list and laid it in front of him.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“The list of what we’re going to sell,” I answered as he read through it, “I felt I needed to make it today.”

He looked up at me dumbfounded.  God had spoken to both of us.  We were both worried over what the other might think.  Then again, it was time.  God had showed us how we would go, and waited to see if we were willing to step out and follow Him.  The decision was made.  We were moving to Alaska!

      By the end of the evening, everything was put into motion.  The children were jumping with joy.  Phone calls to our parents were made, and we began to plan for the trip.  Our goal was to leave the first of July.

 

       As the news spread, we were met with a lot of mixed emotions.  Most were wondering if we were crazy for making such a rash move.  Others, like my sister, weren’t surprised at all.  A few friends and family tried to talk us out of going, but in the end they too came to realize that God ordered the decision we were making.  My parents decided to let us use their Ford van and trailer to pack things in, since storage and shipping would take most of our money.  Micah and I took it as God allowing us to keep some personal items since we were willing to get rid of it all.

      The first weekend in June, we had a two-day yard sale.  Most everything we had sold; what didn’t sell we gave to Goodwill.  Everything else was packed up or given away to friends and family.  We moved out of our house on June 15^th and stayed with our pastor and his family for four days.  That Sunday would be our last, and our pastor had asked Micah to speak that morning.  My parents came up to see us off.  After the morning service, the church had a barbecue to say good-bye.

      The next morning we made sure everything was packed in the vehicles.  I would drive our car with Natasha and all our clothes. Micah and Erik would be in the van, pulling the trailer.  We would use walkie-talkies to communicate between the vehicles, since we had no cell phones at the time.  We said our final good-byes to my family and our pastor before driving away.  We were on our way to Alaska!