Well, it's now been a year and a half since we packed up our house and put it in storage and loaded up the 5 kids, the cat and the dog and moved to South Florida to start an outreach to the poor and eventually an outreach church for people that don't necessarily like church. Nine months may be the gestational period for a pregnant woman to give birth, but, it seems the gestational period to birth a ministry and church is much longer. It's probably more like Noah's mission. It took him 100 years to build an ark. He went through all kinds of ridicule and probably suffered all kinds of doubts, but, the ark eventually saved mammals from total extinction.
Our immediate goals have been to get established in Florida while serving the homeless and broken people that God brings into our daily lives. To become established in Florida has been much harder to do than ever imagined. After submitting over 60 resumes to 60 different companies, I was only interviewed 3 times. I was hired by Bank of America, for a short period, examining titles for their foreclosures. It was half the pay and double the stress. God made it very clear to me that I was to look forward at where he was taking me and not to look backwards, relying on what I've accomplished. This mode of thinking, or should I say trusting, has turned a belief I've had for a long time into a tangible truth -"to use what God has already given us".
By "accident" I stumbled into using my large 15 passenger van for deliveries, furniture assembly and helping people move. It's kept me busy and is turning into a real business that I've been able to use to not only pay bills, but, to put homeless people to work. The engine in the old work van blew in February and we are needing to buy a 17 foot box truck soon (soon as God lets us) to not only keep us working but help us expand.
When we were planning on moving down here, Wendy was expecting to pickup a lot of health screening jobs through the company she has worked with for the past couple years. It has proven to be less busy than what she was told it would be prior to the move. She had finally started getting really busy when the main company she contracted with filed for bankruptcy.
Both of us have found ourselves out in the public, meeting new people all the time and getting paid to do it. Our schedules are very flexible and I can't describe how much I love the new found freedom. God has really come through and answered many prayers!
It's been very hard getting to this point. When we first arived, the seven of us lived in a 600 square foot efficiency motel that we were paying $450 a week for and because we had no history in Florida, nobody wanted to rent a house to us. Living like that drained everything we had very quickly and there were weeks when the rent was due and we did not have it. We felt like giving up many times and going home to Missouri. In fact, we actually did give up several times and every time we did, God showed up and made things work out. After living in the motel for 4 months, we went into the busy season and the motel manager downsized our room and upsized our rent. We were moved into a 400 square foot room for $520 a week. This was more than we could take, so, we gave up again. Next thing we knew, there was a lady that lived in New York that had a 2 bedroom, 2 bath 1400 square foot house with a garage for rent for $1100 a month. She only wanted a $500 deposit and we could move into it right away. It's really run down and the roof leaks every time it rains, but, to us and the kids, it felt like a palace. Going into it, we new it would be temporary and after 5 months the owner informed us that she was moving back to Florida and would need the house back.
Once again we gave up and once again God showed up. We found a little house in Hallandale, FL which is next to N. Miami for $1250 a month. Still a lot cheaper than the $520 a week were paying for to a motel. What was really surprising to us is that it was a full move. We have a whole household of furniture that God has given us and a whole household of furniture in storage in Missouri. It proves true what Jesus said in Matthew 19:29 - "...but anyone who sacrifices home, family, fields—whatever—because of me will get it all back a hundred times over, not to mention the considerable bonus of eternal life. This is the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first."
We gave up everything to move down here and God has seen fit to provide us with everything we need. God is faithful!
Believe it or not, the hardest part has not been the money struggles, it's been the people that enter and leave our lives daily. Some people that we thought would be supportive and encouraging have been everything but. The ones we thought for sure would "get it" believe we have totally lost our minds. However, to have front row seats to an epic adventure written by God at the expense of being labeled "crazy"? We choose crazy!
It's not only the nay-sayers that break our hearts, but, the people we've managed to meet through the outreaches and weekly feedings at the park. It's been nothing short of amazing. Showing total strangers, homeless, hungry and broken, that Jesus loves them and even though the whole world believes they are the scum of the earth, God is close to them and the Kingdom of Heaven is within reach. Praying with them and for them has become an intigral part of our lives and seeing God do miracles in their lives is becoming common place. Many of them getting housing and getting off of the streets after living on them for years.
What hurts about it is to build relationships with the people here and suddenly they disappear, never to be seen again. There is a constant reminder that we have to love 'em while we got 'em, because you never know if it'll be the last time you get a chance to plant seeds of hope and love into their life. It's really not any different than everyday life with the people that we work with and live next to. We can be the difference in peoples lives, people that we see every day, just by reaching out in love. It doesn't have to be some huge gesture, normally those don't go over as well as "we" plan. Just normal everyday small things that point people to Jesus.
Every day God asks us to take risks on people. Many times we are let down, but, sometimes you hit paydirt and a life is changed. A few months ago we loaded a moving truck for a couple leaving for Ocala, FL. We'd known them for about two months and had quickly grown close. They have suffered sickness and death in their family and in their grief had forgotten how to be happy. Drenched in depression and loneliness, when a couple people came along that cared, new life sprang out of what seemed to be dead. They have now moved on and we will miss them, but, now we'll turn our attention to whomever God brings next. It seems like a never ending flow of people though our lives right now, hopefully we can affect many of them and point them to the one who gives true life.
None of this could have been accomplished without your prayers and support of which we are eternally grateful. I encourage you to continue praying for our safety, provision and success in the mission God has called us to. We also pray for you often, hoping God will acomplish great things in your lives. Pushing you into a deeper relationship with him and a greater realization of faith and hope.
With all our love,
Jeff and Wendy Kauffman
