When we were first called to Haiti, we sacrificed many things. One of the first was our house.
Two years before we even moved overseas, we moved out of our house in the hopes of paying down our debts before going to the mission field.
By fall of 2011, we were settled in with Melissa's mom and the house was empty. Some friends helped us get some fresh paint on the walls, and we advertised an Open House for a Sunday afternoon.
On the big day we were excited. We were right in the center of God's will and he was going to work a financial miracle. We baked chocolate chip cookies to share with visitors and sat on the couch waiting for the doorbell to ring.
We waited.
And waited.
From start to finish, not a single person walked through our door.
We were devastated. And it made us question our calling. Where was God? Why didn't He sell our house for us?
We couldn't afford to lower the asking price without adding to our debt.
So after a second failed Open House, we reluctantly replaced the "For Sale" sign with a "For Rent".
Honestly, being landlords was often a big, painful hassle. Especially once we were overseas!
But ...
In April of 2020 when we unexpectedly left Haiti under the cloud of Covid (and other misfortune!), we arrived in Indiana tired and discouraged, but we were ecstatic to move back into the same house God had "failed" to sell for us. There was so much comfort in being "home".
Our last renter - who had been in the house for over five years - had moved out 4 days before our arrival because he had inherited a house of his own upon his father's passing!
"In all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose", indeed.
It may take a while for us to recognize the good, but it's there.
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