Hey friends. Here's the story of the new season of our lives. Since we are leaving our beloved Kansas City so abruptly, we wanted to share the story with anyone who we didn't get to see face to face before we left.
Long story short - the Lord is calling us to Iowa for a short season (exact amount of time unknown) to save and prepare to move to Alaska. We also are excited about a new house of prayer called HOME (House of Missions and Equipping) in Northwest Iowa which some faithful people there have begun. We are looking forward to partnering with the like-minded believers there in its awesome, small beginnings.
But, it just isn't as lovely without sharing about 45% of the good old details of its unfolding. So, here they are:
As many of you know Matt got called up early to military training, so we ended up having to postpone our trip to Alaska. Read poem posted below for the learning experience on that one. The Lord told me to take a season of rest while he was gone, do the IHOP Commission, press in, get filled up after a year of dry grad school. Matt's words were "don't make any major decisions until I get back." "okay, Matt." In the meantime, I got offered a job the Lord clearly said "no" to. "okay, God."
The last week of Matt's training, I was in Ashland, Oregon visiting Chandler Jo, who so kindly flew me out there for my birthday (along with some help from some other faithfuls-rewards in heaven). She is helping direct the new internship for the Ashland House of Prayer and I was able to spend time there and see it in its small beginnings. While I was there, I got offered another job without looking. SUCH A TEST. Now, if we were staying in Kansas City, this would be the job I would take. However, I had a horrible unrest and felt sick over it. So, I was questioning, "is this fear, God, or is this you being clear as clear can be?" For me, the feeling I had was we aren't going to be in Kansas City for very long. Our lease was up in September and so I thought we would be moving to Alaska. Matt and my thoughts had been, up until this point, that we'd be in KC until we moved to AK. So, I tell Matt about the job and he doesn't think it's that bad of an idea. But, I was so strongly feeling we wouldn't be in KC. So-obviously, to me, that meant Alaska.
We needed to make this decision quick. The person offering me the job needed to know if they should start looking for someone else. Matt calls me the day I was going to make the decision and says I've got some news. "Eric (his brother whom he's worked for doing drywall for years in Northwest Iowa) called and offered that I could buy half the business." He had lost his other good worker and needed Matt back in order to keep things going (because Matt is a drywall stud among many things). This was his incentive in getting us there as I'm sure he knew it would take a lot to get us back there. However, that would mean a committment of at least 5 years. WAIT!...5 years!!...my life just flashed before my eyes. It's the end of the world as I know it. Next thing I know I'm crying on the other end (silently). But, Matt notices. I just say "sounds like we have a lot to pray about." But, inside I'm screaming "No this is so not God. This is such a distraction" and various other strong thoughts and emotions that I will not mention...Let's just say, at the time, and for a few days to come, I could think of nothing worse. I would have chosen instant martyrdom in a heartbeat over being a living martyr in Iowa.
Matt gets back from AIT. It's DECISION TIME! And Iowa is not an option. Matt and I sit down to pray about it...
The VISIONS:
As we were praying...
Brittney: keep getting stuff about Alaska. Enter the promised land, go, soon, etc. (so, ultimately, its a promise. It's the timing that's the issue)
Matt: Had a vision about Iowa. He said his eyes were closed and he saw it like he was in it or like dream. He said, "I saw myself drywalling with Eric. Then all of a sudden I had to hurry and leave and shower up because I had to be at HOME (House of Missions and Equipping) at 5:30 to help out with something." That was that.
Brittney: "What the heck, God, how is this You? Really? Help!"
The DREAMS:
We go to bed. We wake up. What happened in between? OF COURSE I had a dream about Alaska. Of course, Matt had a dream about Iowa.
I wrote mine off as simply "a dream about Alaska" whose details didn't matter--oh but they did. So, I told Matt about it. We were taking our trip to the Wasilla area. The people who we were going to stay with ended up falling through. We were there, without a place to stay and with little finances. We didn't have enough for a rental car, so we were going to rent bikes. Whoooo. Matt says, "Sounds like no provision." Ya...I guess there's no getting around that one.
Matt had a dream. We were in Iowa. He was drywalling for Eric. Eric was bossing him around and Matt said to him "You're not the boss of me." Eric said, "Actually, I am. I gave you the option to be the boss, and you didn't take it." So, that clearly meant, he wouldn't take the offer to buy the business with him. Which would mean -- no 5 year time committment! This just got a lot less scary...kind of.
Matt asked me that morning: "Would moving to Iowa kill all the wild ponies in your heart?" I said, "That's an understatement."
The Tenderized Heart: That day, in the Global Prayer Room, the Lord started tenderizing my heart towards Iowa. It was oh so gentle. Not much like a meat cleaver. He started softening my heart and making me consider... "Iowa, Iowa..." "Really, God.?"
Later that day I come home to Matt saying he was praying about it and Eric called him. Matt told him "Brittney's not feeling it. We want to get to Alaska. We can't commit to 5 years." Eric says, "you don't have to commit to 5 years. You can just come up here and work for me and I'll pay ya good."
So, leaving out lots of details here. We had a good ol' talk about Iowa that day and what that would mean, and my feelings about it. But these details are only for us.
"I KILLED ALASKA." That's what happened next. In a moment of really needing to vent my steam, I went for a walk with the Lord, crying and talking to Him. I mentioned to Him that this was officially His worst idea. -- Can I just pause to mention a good friend is One you can tell anything and They still love you and appreciate your honesty. God has been such a good friend to me -- So there I was in one of those moments -- a wheep face walking down the street for all the passers by. I needed an escape. I found the back of a building with some picnic tables. Perfect. How can I describe what happened next?
I was asking God for clarity, for a real answer. Was He really calling us to Iowa? Was He for real? "Completely terrible idea. But, God You are so for real right now. You must have a really good idea." I was clouded by all the things He'd been speaking about Alaska and now Iowa. I asked for the Lord to send angels to surround me to cast light and truth around me and guard and protect me. About 30 seconds later I was travailing in the back of some random building in Grandview. Alaska was on the altar. The knife was in it. It got a few good stabs, actually -- none of this ram stuff -- not now. The Lord flashed before me all the loss that not going to Alaska now would mean -- because there would be loss. There was a lot we were giving up by choosing to wait. There it was ALL DEAD -- with only God being able to resurrect it. He was also speaking to me "Spring. Spring." It was so terrible and so good all at the same time. It was some good ol' surrender. ... and Iowa was on the other side.
I then went home and when Matt asked, I told him I killed Alaska. He proceeded to tell me how much he wanted it too, even more than I did.
It was "Northwest Iowa here we come" from then on out. We are staying with good friends in their basement on the farm in Hospers, Iowa. We are so excited to live communally with like-minded believers. We talked about how the Lord had been speaking "Spring" to both of us for when we will take our trip (We still have that $ saved up).
The plan given to us was to get rid of material stuff, and put away every penny possible to the Alaska fund. And so that is the plan. Thankfully, I have a professor in NW Iowa that is amazing and is already helping me look for potential job options for me, so I'm hoping that falls into place soon among other things.
Overall, Matt got back July 22nd and we will be good and moved to Iowa by the 12th of August. That's some quick decision making! That's some quick transition!
And here we are some young ol' believers who are still figuring out God's oh so interesting way of doing things. Bless the Lord. He is so much fun! Thank You Lord for knowing more than us and leading us and guiding us so tenderly!
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