Crucibles, Furnaces and Flats

"We're finally home." at least that's what we thought yesterday as we moved the last of our boxes and luggage into our newly rented flat. Jess was unpacking our boxes and setting up the kitchen while I was sweeping the floors of the large pink room which we were about to paint when our realtor called.

"Something happened with your landlord and they want to move back into the flat which you just rented."

"What?!" I yelled in Russian.

"Don't worry, the contract you signed with them states that they have to serve you papers and give you at least 30 days to find a new place and move out. The law is on your side. You'll get your money back if they decide to go through with this and break the contract."

And thus began our first day in our new place. We were obviously flustered and upset. As the day went on we got calls from the landlady, the realtor, then a visit from the landlords explaining the situation and more calls with the realtor. This was a big surprise to us because when we first looked at the flat one of the most attractive things about it was how friendly the landlady was and how willing she was to work with us. She was genuinely excited about renting the flat to a young, professional couple who wanted to live there for several years. You can imagine the shock we felt when she called in a panicky voice saying she was sorry but that we would have to move out. For the sake of their privacy I am not mentioning why they had such a sudden change of heart but their reasons are good and from what I could surmise they could use your prayers.

We met with them last night and had a peaceful but difficult conversation; both parties were upset about the circumstances but as they said "such is life". The future is still up in the air, things might work out and we might be able to stay but they might not and we may have to go. This is not how we thought moving in would look like. But that's when the Lord stepped in and reminded us of something this morning.

When we were raising support this summer God put a proverb on our heart which we committed to memory and prayed over a good bit. Most mornings I read a chapter of proverbs that coincides with the day of the month. Today is the 17th of December which means I read the 17th chapter of proverbs. That proverb that God put on our hearts was the same that we read this morning

"The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests hearts." Proverbs 17:4

Perhaps it is a coincidence that we read this the morning after the chaos. But perhaps not. Either way we know that we are being tested. We want to please the Lord, and we know that the only thing that pleases the Lord is faith. My grandfather once told me that in every situation you can respond in one of two ways, faith or fear. Fear doesn't work, faith does. We are praying that we would respond out of faith, hope and love, not fear. Would you pray with us to that end?

This summer we had the pleasure of meeting a seasoned missionary couple who told us that occasionally God gives all of us what they call Character Pop Quizzes. This is one of those quizzes and while we don't know where we are going to live a week from now we are praying that God would help us to pass this pop quiz with not just a passing grade but with quality character.

Thanks for reading and thanks for praying. We'll keep you posted.

Yours in Christ,

David and Jessica