An Unexpected Blessing

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I have a big blessing that I wanted to share.  God moves in amazing ways!

About a month ago, a dear friend of ours called to tell us he wanted to pay for a tour trip for us in Israel. We would just need to come up with the $ for the plane tickets. He wanted to pay for the tour, bus tickets, food, motels, etc. Wow! Israel? Patrick and I had never really thought too much about seeing the Holy Land because of the expense. It's just not in the budget at the moment!!

He said that going to Israel and seeing where Jesus walked changed his life. He said that he wanted to "hold the preacher's hands up" like in the Bible. What a blessing! The problem? We didn't have the $2000 for the plane tickets. We began praying, "Lord if you want us to go, please provide."

Well, the $$ didn't come in, so we called and told him that it's just not feasible for us to go. He said, "Let's pray a little longer and watch God work." So.....I went to Youth Conference a couple of weeks ago. Beth and Brenna were super excited to meet Bob Gray!! He is one of their favorite preachers that we watched via internet while in St. Barths. They were so excited to finally meet him!

After a great preaching service, we all waited in line to have him sign the girl's Bibles. There were a lot of kids snapping pics and meeting him. It was loud and chaotic! When it was the girls turn, we snapped a pic and spoke to him briefly. He looked at me and said, "Where are you all from?" I said , "Florida." And then, for some reason I blurted out, "We're a new church plant." I don't normally say that. He looked at me strangely and said, "Really?" "I have a check for you for $2000!"

He called Patrick the next day and told him all about what had happened and why he was giving us the $$. The day of the conference a man from his church gave him a check and said, "There will be someone come to you at the conference. They will tell you in these words "We are a new church plant." That's the family that has a need, that's who to give the check to and for them to use it for their family."

Can you believe it!!!! I don't normally blurt out to random strangers, "We're a new church plant!" It's so exciting to see God work and provide!! So.....I guess I'm going to Israel!! :)