Late January 2019 I was notified by the owners of my current house that they wanted to return here and therefore I needed to find a new house/office space/storage space. Plans for finding land for our school would have to be put on the back burner.
Several months of searches for rental properties in the area did not yield any viable options.
End of 2019 – We tried to buy land and build a house. DOOR CLOSED!
In Fall of 2020 we found a good house to remodel, and at about the same time a church sold their building and sent us $90K! INCREDIBLE!!! This had to be it, right? But as the attorney was preparing the final paperwork, a glitch was discovered. DOOR CLOSED!
Throughout the next few months we continued the search. Time after time there were problems: the stability of the structure, the cost of repairs, the expense, title issues, paperwork issues. DOORS CLOSED!
In mid-August I learned of two titled acres in our target area between Cercadillo and Vietnan. I was estatic about the possibilities. But why was I seeing this now? We needed a house.
In mid-September we found another large house that needed lots of repair but included an empty lot for future expansion. We had enough money to pay for the house in cash! And money to repair it! We bought it in November. OPEN DOOR! Are rejoicing with me? I mean, seriously, that is something only God could have pulled off!
As I love to say when I tell this story, “But wait, there is more!”
- Friends, who in a casual conversation heard of the two acres, started a $50K matching fund.
- Within a couple of days another person sent $10K totally out of the blue!
- A church heard of the opportunity and in one week they over-matched the matching fund. I didn’t even get a chance to tell everyone about it!
- We have enough to buy the land! If all goes as planned we will own two acres of titled property by the end of the year!
I’m sure you’ll agree with me that this is a story only God could write! A season of closed doors after closed doors, a season of frustration, a season of seemingly delays . . . a season when God was quietly working behind the scenes. Just as He always does! When I couldn’t imagine us being able to purchase a house, God was planning to give us not only a house, but also land to begin a permanent site between Cercadillo and Vietnan! Wow! Wow! And Wow!
Don’t be too disappointed if you didn’t get to participate in the house or land purchase. You can still join in! Now it’s time for us to begin asking God for the resources to build. Tax-deductible donations to help us build (Oh, my gosh, I’m excited to type that!) can be sent through Shepherd’s Staff in the following ways:
PERSONAL CHECKS – Write the check to Shepherd’s Staff and add the identification number in the memo line of the check: 4126A. Please mail checks to Shepherd’s Staff, 6739 Academy Road NE Suite #320, Albuquerque, NM 87109.
ONLINE DONATIONS – ssmfi.org/missionary/ina-york. Click on my name and go to Build with Cercadillo, Account #4126A.
