Amazing Orchestration of Events

Praise the Lord for yet another show of ordering our steps in His timing and direction. I have worked for Kodak for 10+ years. I believe it to be completely the Lord's orchestration that I obtained a position that I was not qualified for when I started and that led to many lessons in communication, professionalism, leadership, organization, teaching/training and technical aptitude that would benefit me many years down the road as God moves us to the Philippines. Through the years, God has allowed this job to provide my family with a home and to keep my wife home teaching and ministering to our children where I know the Lord would have her to be. God started by using this position to keep me in Rochester, in connection with family and those who were praying for us while I was in rebellion to God's will. As God did a work in my heart and brought my wife and I to repentance and communion with Him, He used the job to facilitate a flexible schedule for me to attend Bible institue. The location of the job also afforded me countless opportunities to go downtown to pass out tracts, witness and street preach and I have had many witnessing opportunities with my coworkers over the years. What's perhaps the most amazing about God's use of this place is that he used it to send me to the Philippines on 5 occasions - most recently in January, and has used these trips to direct our calling to this country. I praise the Lord for the way he can use a place that is by no means Christian to work out so many details in bringing us to this point, all glory to God!

Since the fall of 2006 our direction to the Philippines has been clear, God has continued to direct the details beyond that but it was clear that after Bible school we would begin preparations for deputation and when the Lord allowed, move away from Kodak to full time on the road. Based on our schedule for the early part of the year, it looked like my vacation would be spent and my departure would need to be around the end of April at the latest. Instead, God has allowed me the opportunity to accept a voluntary separation package that will see me leave in Mid Feb while still being paid until April 1 and then I will get my vacation back and some additional pay based on years of service. In other words, I will have compensation and health care benefits that will continue through July although I will stop working in Feb! Praise the Lord! Everything about it testified of the Lord's hand in it, all the way down to the departure date being the week I am leaving for conferences down south! This unexpected blessing comes with the difficult news that many of my coworkers will lose their job involuntarily, for them I would ask for prayer, guidance and for this time of uncertainty to become an opportunity for the lost to be receptive to the gospel.
We are confident that God in like manner will take care of the sale of our house now in his timing. We give glory to God for His zeal for the souls of men and care for us who are privileged to be a part in proclaiming the Gospel!