Into the great west!! We've been driving for two days in a row, using two roads (so far) - the PA Turnpike and Interstate 70. We've passed through 4 states already, and are now camped just outside of St. Louis.
What a journey it's been so far!! We were SO blessed to have friends come and help us yesterday morning to pack the truck. (Thank you all so much for helping, those who came!!) At one point we thought everything wasn't going to fit into the truck, but Irv Spoonhour stepped in and took over with the confident, faith-filled words, "Oh yeah, it'll all fit." And he was right! Everything fit in the 18 foot truck we rented, then we said our goodbyes (for now, of course) and headed into the great western front!
Being a creationist, I've been marveling at the geography of the drive! As we made our way through the back-side of the Appalachians and things started to flatten out, I noticed something very peculiar. The landscape has very subtle "waves", rising and falling over several thousand feet. I say waves because that's the best way I could describe it - it was like wrinkles in a carpet when it's pushed against something. It's just another reminder to me that God once flooded this world with a HUGE catastrophe that shook the entire planet, so I was privileged to see what evidence He left behind. Really fascinating, or at least I thought so! I'm sure Tina could care less about this, but I'm a geek when it comes to this sort of thing!!
Back to the trip, tomorrow we travel 15 minutes west to St. Louis, then switch to route 44 straight to Tulsa! It's about a 6 hour drive from where we are, so we're starting bright and early at good ol' 8am (central time). We move into our apartment at 3 pm, so be praying that the Lord brings people to help unpack tomorrow afternoon! We're expecting God to bring His blessing of help to us, so stand in faith with us!
Speaking of God, I've had great chances to connect with God over this trip. I've gotten into great prayer times that helped me relax my nerves and settle some questions on my heart. Believe it or not, I've had a lot of doubts in my own heart about this choice, but God has certainly confirmed on so many occasions that this was the right thing to do - even down to our server at Pizza Hut tonight being EXACTLY like Cody Wanner. It was weird, but totally a gift from God to help me feel like being back at home...thanks God :)
On the other side of things, Tina and I have been wrestling with a few things. The main factor being of course that we're not in PA anymore and can't see people in person whenever we'd like to. Along with that, (and I'm putting my heart out on the line here!) we're nervous that our connections with people will dwindle as time goes on. Now hear me out, I know better than that!! I know God can work WONDERS beyond anything I can possibly ask or imagine, so I'm believing beyond what my flesh says and believing that God will STRENGTHEN the relationships we have! We desire connection, so be sure to call us, text us, and Skype us as often as you think of it!
So that's the update! Tomorrow, the home stretch!! Tulsa, here we come!!!
With love, your brother in The Way,
-Brad
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Our First Partner Letter
Hey Everyone!! So after the crazy events of last week, the Lord led my wife and I to humble ourselves even more and reach out to our awesome community for help! Here's the letter I wrote:
Hello Dear Family of McBIC!
Psalm 147:6 says, “The Lord sustains the humble…”
Tina and I come to you in this message today as a humbled couple. As many of you know, we are moving to Oklahoma so that I can go to ministry training school and begin the ministry the Lord has called us to. Recently we had been blessed with the exact amount of money needed for 1 full year of tuition ($2800), so we could walk in to school the first day and not pay another penny until the following school year! It was a great blessing.
Then, Tina and I went to Messiah College to settle what we thought was a mistake on my credit report of a debt being owed to them. We found out it was not a mistake, and the debt was over $4000 by this time. After discussing with the financial office at Messiah, and asking God silently for mercy on my poor past decisions, they decided that if we could pay the debt in full that day, they would drop the debt to $2750, and call it paid-in-full! Thanks be to God, He has SO MUCH grace to give to those who humble themselves before Him(James 4:10)! We had that exact amount saved up in cash, and we used that to pay the debt off from Messiah College! What an unexpected blessing! God is so very good, and so very merciful!
So now, the Lord has led my wife and I to humble ourselves even further and reach out to our community. The bottom line is we need your help! We need to have at least $1050 at the end of this month (August), which will cover the down-payment needed on my first day of school. We’re not limiting God to blessing us with more, but that’s the bear minimum!
Now here’s the deal, we don’t like asking for you to just give us money, so I (Brad) am willing and able to come over to your house and do any sort of project that needs done! I’m not working currently, so I’m available all day, every day, during the week and have experience doing all sorts of different things! I can mow your lawn, pull weeds, garden, dig trenches, landscape, or anything else you can think of outside! I can also install car stereos, do wiring in houses, spackle, sand and paint, hang drywall, build wooden shelves, and many other things that you can think of inside your home! So if you have ANY project you need done, PLEASE contact me and I will gladly come and earn whatever financial seed you want to give! In addition, both Tina and I would be willing to watch your children if you need a night out with your spouse or friends. The possibilities are endless, so if it seems like a silly task, please ask :)
I do have to mention that if you feel God leading you to give financially, we won’t stop you! There is so much scripture about the Blessings that come in because of sowing into people, so anything you give to us we will pray in agreement with you that the Lord will Bless you with great increase! Here are just some of the scriptures about this principle:
Psalm 107:41-42
Psalm 144:13
Matthew 13:23
John 1:16
2 Corinthians 9:10
Ephesians 3:20
Philippians 4:18-20
Please be led as to how you wish to give, whether it be having me work for you, sowing financially, or through prayer. All are most certainly needed! Either way, we are expecting in faith that God will provide all we need to fulfill His calling in our lives (1 Corinthians 9) and will also Bless you for whatever seed you sow into us!
Thank you so much for your prayerful consideration! We love you all so very much and thank you for releasing us with this great Blessing! We are truly honored to be a part of this community, and are living out with you what Hebrews 12:1 says:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
With Love and Promised Prayers,
Brad and Tina Fleisher
Hello Dear Family of McBIC!
Psalm 147:6 says, “The Lord sustains the humble…”
Tina and I come to you in this message today as a humbled couple. As many of you know, we are moving to Oklahoma so that I can go to ministry training school and begin the ministry the Lord has called us to. Recently we had been blessed with the exact amount of money needed for 1 full year of tuition ($2800), so we could walk in to school the first day and not pay another penny until the following school year! It was a great blessing.
Then, Tina and I went to Messiah College to settle what we thought was a mistake on my credit report of a debt being owed to them. We found out it was not a mistake, and the debt was over $4000 by this time. After discussing with the financial office at Messiah, and asking God silently for mercy on my poor past decisions, they decided that if we could pay the debt in full that day, they would drop the debt to $2750, and call it paid-in-full! Thanks be to God, He has SO MUCH grace to give to those who humble themselves before Him(James 4:10)! We had that exact amount saved up in cash, and we used that to pay the debt off from Messiah College! What an unexpected blessing! God is so very good, and so very merciful!
So now, the Lord has led my wife and I to humble ourselves even further and reach out to our community. The bottom line is we need your help! We need to have at least $1050 at the end of this month (August), which will cover the down-payment needed on my first day of school. We’re not limiting God to blessing us with more, but that’s the bear minimum!
Now here’s the deal, we don’t like asking for you to just give us money, so I (Brad) am willing and able to come over to your house and do any sort of project that needs done! I’m not working currently, so I’m available all day, every day, during the week and have experience doing all sorts of different things! I can mow your lawn, pull weeds, garden, dig trenches, landscape, or anything else you can think of outside! I can also install car stereos, do wiring in houses, spackle, sand and paint, hang drywall, build wooden shelves, and many other things that you can think of inside your home! So if you have ANY project you need done, PLEASE contact me and I will gladly come and earn whatever financial seed you want to give! In addition, both Tina and I would be willing to watch your children if you need a night out with your spouse or friends. The possibilities are endless, so if it seems like a silly task, please ask :)
I do have to mention that if you feel God leading you to give financially, we won’t stop you! There is so much scripture about the Blessings that come in because of sowing into people, so anything you give to us we will pray in agreement with you that the Lord will Bless you with great increase! Here are just some of the scriptures about this principle:
Psalm 107:41-42
Psalm 144:13
Matthew 13:23
John 1:16
2 Corinthians 9:10
Ephesians 3:20
Philippians 4:18-20
Please be led as to how you wish to give, whether it be having me work for you, sowing financially, or through prayer. All are most certainly needed! Either way, we are expecting in faith that God will provide all we need to fulfill His calling in our lives (1 Corinthians 9) and will also Bless you for whatever seed you sow into us!
Thank you so much for your prayerful consideration! We love you all so very much and thank you for releasing us with this great Blessing! We are truly honored to be a part of this community, and are living out with you what Hebrews 12:1 says:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
With Love and Promised Prayers,
Brad and Tina Fleisher
So that, as they say, is that!! We are believing in faith that the Lord will honor our obedience and see to it that our way is paid! Praise God for great opportunities to grow closer to Him!!
With love,
-Brad
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)