We loved Ohio. We envisioned
our family growing up there. Over the
next several months, doors were opened in Michigan, Pennsylvania, South
Carolina, other churches in Ohio, and upstate New York. None of those places appealed to us like
Ohio. As Christmastime approached, our
family still had no place to go. In
early December, I spent time in fasting and prayer and wondered if maybe God
had intended for me to be in the work of evangelism. I had no more churches scheduled. We were going to spend the holidays in North
Carolina. I prayed that if that was the
case, God would open some doors for me to preach. As we traveled to NC, I began looking to the
new year of 2012. So far, I only had one
church scheduled. It was the second
Sunday of January. We were going to stop
there on our way home. It was a longer
way home, but it did not matter. We were
going back to Ohio. It was the very same
church that I preached at way back in September of 2011. The church that jump started it all. On the trip, I vowed that I would lay it all
on the altar, perform my God-given duty, and then let God deal with it.
Christmas time was a joyous time for our family. It was the first time in over 5 years that I
had spent Christmas in my NC home. The
emotions from the rekindling memories flooded within me. The weighty burden of preaching had escaped
my thoughts and I was just glad to be back in NC. Christmas fell on a Sunday in 2011, and I was
so grateful to spend Christmas in the very church where I found Jesus as my
Savior, answered the call to preach, and ordained into the ministry. I listened to the grey haired minister who
was my mentor share the hope and love of the Christmas story with the save and
the unsaved. Yes, I was home. Maybe, God is leading me to a church closer
to home.
The next day I was asked to preach the first Sunday of the
new year in a beautiful 450 seat Sanctuary.
I jumped on the occasion. I now
had two services lined up in January.
God was slowly opening doors. I
was excited. I preached my heart out to
those group of people who were awake enough from the previous night’s festivities
to attend. The sermon became my theme
for 2012. Four days later, our family
left North Carolina after a two week stay and ventured to Ohio. I was ready.
I knew in my heart this was it.
After a few days of wonderful fellowship with our new Ohio friends who
we spent time with on the first trip, I laid it all on the altar. True to my word, I left it in the hands of
God. As we packed up our family and
belongings, we turn our van back home to our house located in the small village
amid the cornfields in eastern Illinois.
We were emotionally, mentally, and physically spent. We were ready to sleep in the comfort of our
bed, let the kids enjoy their spacious playroom without fear of breaking
anything, and to see where God would lead us.
As we neared the halfway point of our journey somewhere in Indiana, the
cell phone rang. We did not hear
it. As we stopped for a meal, my wife
looked at her phone and read the number.
It was unfamiliar. We did not
recognize the number. Later we found
out, the call came from Minnesota.
