We shared in our January prayer letter that upon our return from furlough, we found black mold in our upstairs bedrooms and an extensive mold problem in the walls of the house we have rented for the past 8½ years. As you can imagine, it has been a major setback for our health to be in this situation, causing all of us to have respiratory issues. Although we have treated the interior walls, the problem goes beyond that. Many of our supporters reached out to say they were praying about our house issue, so we wanted to give a brief praise update.
Just a few weeks after we arrived back home, we began looking for other rental options. Costs have gone up with inflation, but also with the country opening back up after the past few years. After calling a few agents and looking online for a week or so, we decided just to wait on the Lord, mainly because we weren’t finding anything suitable in our price range.
Just a day or so after that decision, our missionary partner, Shari House, messaged Missy with a couple of rental houses she had found. One of them was in a good area and seemed to have potential. This was the house we mentioned in our last prayer letter and is the house where we met Noon. After walking through the house the first time, we prayed further for wisdom and God’s will. We took the time to go through the house again with Brother Sakrapee and two of our other staff members.
After the second walk-through, we went to lunch. We invited Noon to join us also, as a show of appreciation for her time. God opened a door to talk further with Noon about the Gospel and answer many questions. God used that time for all of us to share testimonies and give her further understanding. We will share more about Noon in our next prayer letter. Please continue to pray for her. Missy gave her a Bible, and they will be discussing the first book in our discipleship series. Noon has not yet trusted Jesus, but it was exciting to have her ask about owning her own Bible so she could read it in her free time.
Missy and I continued to pray about moving but had decided to wait due to a higher monthly rental cost and some upfront work that needed to be done to the house. However, we agreed to give it another day of fervent prayer. The next day, we woke up to another mountain fire just behind our house. Here in our province, and many other areas of the country, fires are commonly used for trash disposal, field/lawn care, and farmland upkeep. The danger is that the fires are difficult to contain and often cause a quick-spreading wildfire. The fire was raging that windy day, and we were left to pack up only what we absolutely needed. I began to cut down some of the bushes and trees that were soon to catch on fire, while Missy and the kids packed things up and loaded up our vehicle.
Thankfully, before the end of the day, the fire was put out just before it reached our backyard. The back wall of our house was black where the fire was stopped. The smoke and ash that lingered in the air could be seen for days after. We praise the Lord that the fire didn’t reach our house. This was the second wildfire that has reached our back wall in the last two years and, quite honestly, two times too many. The following day, we both knew God was confirming to us that we needed to move. Last Monday, we met with the owners of the house, discussed final details, and signed a rental agreement. We have great peace in this decision.
We would appreciate further prayer, as we have started to pack things up in preparation for the move. We will be given a few days at the end of this month to do the work needed before we officially move in at the beginning of March. We are excited to live in a mold-free home and have the opportunity for better health ahead. God provided just what we needed, and we give Him all the praise.
The wonderful blessing through all of this is meeting Noon and having the chance to invest in her life and her family’s life for the Gospel’s sake. Thank you to those who have been praying and to those who have reached out in concern. Your prayers have been felt and are greatly valued. We love and thank God for each of you.
For Him,
Tim Shook
