In this video update we explain what our plans for the next few months are. We also try to play the penny whistle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qp0UBHSO_s

This afternoon we sat down at the settlement table, signed a few papers, and completed the sale of our house! It’s been a long road and we are relieved it’s behind us. We will be able to make some specific decisions about our plans for training with PBT now, and will be posting more info and updates here as things progress. Thanks so much for your prayers and encouragement!

We received the results from the appraisal, and it’s good news: $300,000 – just $5000 above the minimum we needed! So far everything has been going smoothly. The contract is signed, the appraisal is complete, and we have termite and radon inspections happening today. It’s pretty amazing how much work is involved, but it’s been one of those things where we’ve waited so long for a buyer and now that it’s happening, it’s happening quickly, which is a good thing.

As of now, the closing is scheduled for this this Monday, May 18th, which is less than 30 days from when I received the original inquiry from the buyer. We still have a lot of work to do to get everything ready for the final sale (including moving a piano!), and there is still a possibility of delay, but we’re praying and have faith that everything will work out just fine.

Great news: We have accepted an offer from a buyer to purchase our house! This is very exciting for us because we have been trying to sell for some time and are not able to move forward with our ministry plans with PBT until we do so.

Last week I received an email from a buyer who found our house on a FSBO web site that I submitted our information to last month. They came to see the house Sunday and sent us an offer the next day!

As anyone who has been on either end of a real estate deal knows, there is still a lot of work to do before we close, and there are a number of things that could prevent the sale from taking place.

There are two main contingencies that we need prayer for:

1. The house must appraise for at least $295,000
2. The buyer must be approved for financing

Thanks to everyone who has been praying and supporting us so far, we really appreciate it! We will keep you up to date as things progress.

Hoping for a sale this spring, we launched a marking blitz for our house including a price adjustment, postings on a number of commercial FSBO sites, and the launch of our own web site dedicated to providing details about the house: http://orchardhillhome.com

If you know anyone who is interested in a nice house in Milford, DE for a great price, be sure to point them to the site!

Here is an article that Emily wrote last year for The Throat. Although it’s a few months old now, it’s relevant since we are still waiting.

Psalm 25:4-5 “Make me know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me. For You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day.”

One of the things that I have always known about my spiritual walk with the Lord is that I am willing to do whatever He leads me to do. He led me to go to college in Missouri for a degree in education, He led me to marry a man named Chris Vickio and He instilled in me a desire to do mission work in East Africa. All of these things I have gladly accepted because they are all used to further the kingdom. But never in my life have I contemplated the Lord leading me to wait.

In all of the previous decisions I have made in my life, I prayed about them, sought Godly counsel, prayed some more, and then acted upon my decision. When faced with the decision of my occupation, I decided that I wanted to serve God with my ability to teach. After seeking the answer as to what avenue to take to receive the needed education, I chose a school and then went. When faced with the decision of my life-long mate, God brought to me a man who loved the Lord and lived his life showing that. After prayer, wise counsel, and time with him and God, I married Chris. In both of the above scenarios, I was active in seeking the outcome and I thought it was going to be the same with my decision to become an overseas missionary.

After making the decision to devote my life to missionary work, things progressed quickly but then suddenly came to a halt when a roadblock entered the picture. The house my husband and I own has been on the market for a year but has not sold yet. My family, my church family, my husband and I have all been praying very hard but it is very clear the answer is to wait. At first, I was very confused. I have never had to wait on the Lord before. In all of my experiences, my prayers were answered and I was able to get to work. But, now I can not do anything but wait for God to make His move. But how am I supposed to do that? What does waiting on the Lord look like?

I have come to the conclusion that waiting on the Lord is a form of spiritual art. It is something that everyone must eventually face. Through my time of waiting, I have learned several things to help me stay focused and not get discouraged.

The first thing I realized is that I have to believe that God can handle anything. The Bible tells me so in Mark 10:27. It says, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” I have to know without a doubt that God is in control.

Second, I have to trust that God will take care of me. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him.” I have to have faith that He will work everything out for my good.

The third lesson I learned was that I can not waste my time while I wait. God may be calling me to overseas mission work in the near future, but what about today? What about right now? God may have me here for a purpose and what if I am so wrapped up in my own self that I miss it?

I have decided that I am no longer going to see waiting in a negative light. When I look at this through God’s eyes, the time spent waiting no longer appears bleak and unadventurous. There is still work to do, disciples to make, and the church to encourage. I can still glorify God while I wait and the Bible promises that if I do so, I will become strong. Isaiah 40:31 says, “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”

It has been a while since we’ve had much to report about our ministry activities, so I wanted to take a moment to update everyone on where things stand right now.

Partnership Development

Emily and I are currently in the Recruit status with PBT, which means we are doing partnership development and preparing to move to Dallas, TX for further training and preparation before moving to the East Africa Branch. This summer we completed our initial round of presentations at some of the local churches in Delaware that we had previous relationships with. We are very grateful to these churches for hosting us and for the prayer and financial support we have received from them so far.

While we have not yet presented anything at our home church, LCC, we have had several opportunities to talk with the leadership team and missions team. There is lot of interest in what we are doing and we are hoping to receive a significant portion of our financial support from them. When we are more certain about the timing of our training in Dallas we will be able to get a clearer picture of what this will include and will then determine how much (if any) additional support we need to raise.

About Our House

Our house, in the middle of our street

The main concern we have at this point (as anyone who has spoken with us knows) is the sale of our house in Milford, DE. We purchased the house in 2005. At the time, we didn’t know that we would soon have the opportunity to join PBT in full-time overseas ministry, or that the US housing market and economy was about to take a sharp turn in an unexpected direction. Fortunately buying our home was a decision that was made with much prayer and consideration, so we are confident that everything will work out in the end.

We need to spend one semester in Dallas for training. Once our house sells, we will be looking to move to Dallas for the next semester, assuming we have enough financial support in place at the time. For example, if our house were to sell this month (and we hope that it does), we would be looking to move to Dallas in January for the Spring semester.

Our house has been on the market since December 2007. As expected, we saw very little interest throughout the winter. This summer we’ve had a number of people come and look at the house (two people just this last weekend), but we have not had any offers yet.

Waiting…

Overall we are remaining optimistic, seeing this waiting period as an opportunity to exercise patience, build relationships, and to prepare spiritually for the journey ahead. Admittedly, It is easy to become discouraged. Every time we turn on the radio or see another foreclosure notice stapled to someone’s front door (such as our neighbor’s!) we are reminded of the reality of the situation.

Fortunately, we can live above the “reality of the situation”. We believe that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love him, as Paul puts it in Romans 8 and as we heard preached this Sunday. We know that “all things” includes the economy, and our mortgage, and our house, and any number of factors that we are unaware of.

So we remain confident that God’s timing is perfect, that our house will sell when it’s supposed to sell, and that the support we need will come in. Even if it doesn’t, we are thankful to God for all that we do have, which, in the scope of everything really is a lot.

Also, if you know anyone who would like to buy a 3,000 square foot 4 bedroom house in Milford, you let me know.