Here’s the story… the Readers’ Digest version anyway…

Let me tell you a story about a man named Pat,

poor Florida boy, barely kept his family fed.

Then one day, he stepped out on faith

and the Lord took him on a journey across this great nation of ours

and blessed us beyond our wildest dreams.

(I know, it doesn't rhyme, but it's true ; )

After three months in Arizona we have decided to move on again. Although we met some really terrific people, there were some things that we just couldn’t make fit into our lives. An opportunity to go to Oklahoma presented itself and we realized that Patrick could still work on the project he and Travis were working on no matter our location, so we packed up and hit the road again.

Now, our God is an AWESOME God! When we were still in Florida, trying to figure out what we were doing and where we would go, we considered Oklahoma. We even decided that when we “made our millions” we would buy property in Oklahoma and settle there. We had no idea what God had in store for us, even when we were in Delaware, let alone the day we left Arizona!

We were arriving in Amarillo, Texas when Patrick called me about stopping for the night. He said, “Have you been praying about our future?” Of course I had. “I just got a call from David Bowen. Bob Farewell has a son who manages an Organic farm in Kentucky and they need an assistant manager. They thought of me. The job comes with a house.” All I could think is that I can’t handle it if the rug got pulled out from under us again. We settled in for the night on the east side of Amarillo and Patrick called Rob Farewell about the job. It turns out that the owner already had someone in mind for the job and Rob would call us if they wanted to meet him. We never heard back from him.

We arrived in Westville, Oklahoma, Friday around 6:00 pm. Westville is the home of our new dear friends, Wanda and Gary. We were to park in their yard for a few days while we figured out what we would do next. They have a beautiful piece of property complete with grass, a large pond, two cows, two pigs and nine piglets, two llamas, one large dog, one small dog, and six cats of various ages. Sadie, Daniel, and Emilie are in seventh heaven.

So, now that we are in Oklahoma, what next? What was that Kentucky thing all about? What should we make of that? I said, “Maybe we should apply for jobs managing someone else’s farm. I never realized that that was a common job position.” Then on Saturday Wanda’s sister Lenora told Patrick that there was a local chicken farm with a position available. He called on Tuesday, September 30th. The owner said that the management team is usually only in the office together once a month and that day they were all in, could he come in right away. He went. They said they hire husband and wife teams, could his wife come in? He came back for me and we went in to fill out an application.

Early in the conversation, the owner, Steve Butler, said that he was a Christian businessman and that he encouraged his employees to put God first, then family and then the chicken houses. In that order, God would take care that the chickens were successful. He said this before he knew whether we were Christians or not. It made us feel good. He also said that the ten chicken houses we would potentially run have been being taken care of by one couple for almost a year and they are still responsible for ten of their own as well (20 chicken houses! That’s a LOT of chickens). He also said they have a stack of applicants for the job, but have been waiting for the right couple to come along. He took us out to the farm and showed us the house we would live in (3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1980’s brick home with attached garage).

At the end of the day, he said, “The job is yours if you want it!” We told him we needed to pray about it and would get back with him. We didn’t want to jump desperately at the first offer we got. We wanted to make sure this was from God. While we were still talking with Steve, Patrick got a call from a guy working with him on the business proposal in Arizona. He is trying to set up a meeting that could result in us making a lot of money. How tempting to put our trust in that instead of taking the chicken farm job. That deal is still in the works, but Thursday afternoon (six days after we arrived in Oklahoma) Patrick called Steve and accepted the job! We went in the following Tuesday morning to sign forms and go over rules, etc. and then took possession of the house!

We stayed in Gary and Wanda’s yard for a few more days because Patrick had to seat three toilets and do some electric work at the house. They had a leaking roof (which they have since replaced) that damaged the ceiling in one bedroom and Patrick is to repair that as well. Because of the leaking roof, they have put new carpet and linoleum in throughout. The house comes with all appliances, including dishwasher, washer and dryer! I cried out to the Lord and asked Him for a house and a job. God has provided us a wonderful brick home surrounded by about 2-3 acres of yard! How AWESOME is He that provides the desires of our heart.

It has been a humbling journey from home ownership and self employment to living in someone else’s house and working for them as well, but we know that it has all been provided by our Lord and we are truly grateful! But wait… there’s even more to the story.

Wanda’s brother Roger told us that cattle were selling really cheap. About half of what they were going for a month ago, so Patrick went to an auction with Roger and bought six calves for less than $1,000! We gave Gary and Wanda three of them as payment for boarding our three on their land. They have given us one pig and will give us another when they get a set from another line. The economy is in danger of collapse, but God has provided us with a home, a job, a yard to grow a garden in and pork and beef to feed our family no matter what the future holds, not to mention wonderful new friends. And, for the first time in two years, we will have Christmas in our own home!!!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. We also get a family insurance plan. So, if Daniel still ends up needing that $30,000 dollar procedure, God has provided for that as well! He is so AWESOME and we are so humbled. He keeps providing and providing!