Explanations on our Move to Maryland

As many of you know, Enric has not had a job for most of this year. He was laid off at the end of January from a factory in the area. Although he was able to work some as a door-to-door salesman, the areas the sales group was working in were so far away, travel expenses outweighed the income. In August the factory took him back for three weeks, then laid him off again. Since then (and throughout the previous spring and summer) Enric has applied anywhere and everywhere and nothing has opened up.

Thus it is that we now find ourselves . . . well, we’re not sure where. Fast approaching financial trouble for one, but also having to take a second look at what God has for us to be doing and where.

In light of the job and financial situation, we are seriously considering moving back to Enric’s home area in Maryland. Being a much more populated area than dear Crivitz, we would hope to find more job opportunities, and would have the support of Enric’s family.

However Maryland is very far away from Crivitz, and very very far from Timberland Bible Chapel.  If it were just Crivitz and the Piggly Wiggly that we would be leaving behind, it would be a no-brainer. But our involvement in Timberland and the church family we have there have made this decision so much harder. As part of the body there, it is very difficult to think of ourselves becoming “amputees.”

We have come to believe though, that perhaps God is using this job situation to move us on to something else He has for us. Sure, the economy is bad, but it isn’t so bad that an honest, hardworking guy can’t even get a job cashiering somewhere. God could have given Enric a wonderful job whenever He wanted to, but He has not. In fact, there has been at least one job that was an obvious fit at a company that reportedly would “hire anyone” and still it did not work out. Things like that cause us to consider that maybe there is no job here for Enric, not because of a bummer economy, but because God may not want him to have one here.

Of course we still believe that God could whip out a miracle in the final hour. We are certainly open to that! But in our minds, we are about ninety percent sure that a move to Maryland is the right thing to do. Currently we are planning on moving on November 12th. We paid our landlord a half-month’s rent and he seemed to be all right with that.

It’s an odd place to be emotionally right now: eager to get this move over with and start the next thing, but hating to leave Timberland. But even the “eager to move” feelings are evidence of God’s working. I used to HATE the idea of going to Maryland: it is way overpopulated (especially compared to the middle of nowhere that we are in right now), they drive crazy and I am going to get lost every day, they don’t get nearly enough snow, I don’t know anybody there, it’s more expensive, etc. etc. And now I do not hate it. And that is because of God. I don’t think He will change the feelings of hating to leave Timberland — I wouldn’t ask Him to.

So, we will leave and hate it, but we will go and look forward to what our God is going to do!