In the Beginning

It has been an amazing few weeks - giving definite confirmation that God is behind RFamily and leading the way!
Let me take you back to June last year when we first came to Republic to pray over God's leading.  During our visit, God led us to an empty storefront on the north end of town and clearly led us to housing on the north end.  When final decisions had been made, Jeff made another trip down with new eyes.  The empty site had been rented, which was a disappointment, but we both knew God was in control.  Sure enough - as we searched, visited, and prayed over sites, we kept returning to that original storefront.  Then one day last week Jeff noticed that the current renter was moving out and made the important phone call - sure enough - it was available.  We knew it was a gift from God so we jumped on it!  Last Wednesday evening we began moving in.  Then the REAL whirlwind began!
When we moved-in, I noticed that the next-door business had a dog grooming as a side, so I went to check it out and met a great lady who owns the place - she has been awesome about encouraging us and has introduced us to several potential people we can help and reach!  So through her we have added 8 new contacts into our database - with more to come as we get contact information!
THEN - we went looking for office panels - you know the ones... the cubicle walls.  Jeff thought he had a lead, but it fell through, so we went searching again and found SUCH a deal!  A used place had a lot of older walls they wanted to get rid of, so we grabbed it!  $100 for what ended up being 34 panels!  Quite a deal considering that most used panels are running around that much just for ONE!
Oh - and I forgot the deal of 4 matching chairs (just need some paint on wood to match colors) for just $20!
Then we went to Lowe's to buy paint and were able to purchase upper-grade premium paint for the cost of the lower-grade paint!  Because it is so deep in color, it is taking 2 coats, but I can't even imagine how many coats the other paint would have taken!!!
Then today, when we went to church at a sister church in Springfield, the people were so absolutely welcoming!  The leadership team of the church had been informed that we were coming, so it was much easier than it could have been.  Many people seem to believe that their members who live in Republic will switch, but we tried to make it very clear that we weren't going to try or expect that.  We also got the name of a family (from the grandma) to pursue LOL  AND the youth team is expecting us on Wednesday nights - they want to 'be' our youth group while we get going.
I am just so overwhelmed by the blessings God is sending our way - I feel so absolutely wonderful and special to be able to be a part of His plans!
Please continue to pray for us - the hard work is just getting going.  We will haul the kids up to Springfield for Youth and Kids groups on Wednesday night and we will begin our Family Groups this Sunday night.  Here we go!  Time to hang on for the ride!