March 2 Hello Pasadena

Dear Beth and Jim, Thanks so much for your letter! You are and will continue to be in our thoughts and our prayers! What happened with the interview for a position at Marathon headquarters - I think I remember you saying something about that? Oh boy, we will definately pray that God will give you HIS wisdom in this new decision! We understand how you must be struggling with this Beth! God knows and He also KNOWS how much you can bear and what your health can and can not handle! Of course we would love to see you again and have times of fellowship with you but we sure DO NOT want you to have to live in a place where you would be stressed out all the time! GOD KNOWS THE NEED (your need) AND HE ALWAYS SUPPLIES! I stand on those words over and over again! He is faithful. I believe that He is pleased with you Beth in the fact that you want to stay with Jim and would be willing to return if it was necessary, but maybe He is just putting an Abraham/Isaac thing before you to see if you would be willing to do what you really don't want to do - just as Tom felt about applying for the mission director position. He showed God he was willing but then God gave him the desires of his heart and allowed us to stay in Guinea and work there. God KNOWS what is best for each of you individually and also what would be best for your as a couple and for your marriage. CHOOSE to TRUST Him in this uncertain time and see what he will work out. Remember always Jeremiah 29:11. "He knows the plans He has for you....plans to give you HOPE and a FUTURE!" We love you guys! Let us know what unfolds!

With love and many prayers,Sherry and Tom

This morning we awoke to rain and the devil whispering discouragement in my ear. Fear of today, fear of tomorrow, and our circumstances were overwhelming me-“there’s no way out” said Satan. And I let him keep talking to me. Tears broke out once more. Jim refuses to look anywhere but up and forward. At 530 am walked over to the gym and worked out. Before loading up and heading out, I checked e-mails, and there was the wonderful e-mail above from Tom & Sherry Moore, saints and warriors of God in Conakry, Guinea. God knows just what we need and when we need it, doesn’t He?

Pastor Dan said something to us yesterday about the “seasons” of life. In Tennessee we call it things happening in threes. Whatever it is, we are most definitely in a “season.” Actually, my 90 yr old Aunt Irma and my 88 yr old mother just finished their “season” with my aunt spending nearly two years in the nursing home near death’s door at least three times. Today as I pen this missive, not only is she home, but she actually went to the grocery store! This is a miracle! And this is the beginning of a good season for both these ladies who have endured a long, cold two year winter. (just an aside thought as I write).

Now the little details of life lived in a car. I told Jim we should be truck drivers. That way we would have our bed, fridge, microwave, tv and everything in the truck! And since we are currently “homeless” why not? Anyway, we pick up our loaner car at the Honda dealers while our car is being repaired. And would you believe, they gave us a lovely Honda Accord with XM Radio, leather seats, the works. God knew we needed to have a nice “home” while traveling.

So, here we are about an hour outside LA. The weather has varied from pouring rain-in sheets-to overcast. But the drive was gorgeous as you can see from the pics. Fields and fields of dogwood or cherry blossoms-just beautiful! Dark green, to light green, to yellow colors in the fields. God’s color splash is truly magnificent!

Intercon is going to put us up in the Pasadena Inn. We’ll either be here for two days or three-four days depending on whether Jim accepts the job or not. My prayer is that God will give Jim the wisdom he needs. The dilemma in the flesh is that we are not in economically good times; a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush; neither of us is thrilled about living back in Conakry; logic, not emotion must prevail. That’s where I have to trust Jim. His thinking overall is much more logical than mine; however, my intuition sometimes is stronger, and we are trying to learn to listen and respect each other’s strengths and weaknesses more each day.

The Pasadena Inn was definitely NOT the Hilton; oh, it's not bad, but my heart broke for Jim when we checked in, and I saw the look in his eyes. I honestly don't care where we stay, but one of Jim's continuing mantras is that he wants to provide for me; it's who he is, and he was so proud to be taking care of us as he perceived he should. I keep telling him he has taken care of me in ways he doesn't know. As long as I have him, the other things truly aren't that important I have lived with Jim, and I have lived without him. I have lived without him and had plenty of money and a secure job; I have lived with him and now have no job and lots of uncertainty. I still prefer being with him and the uncertainty, because together, we are powerful. Jobs and money have never ever made me secure and content. And we have both again learned many of life's lessons-probably we have been naive. But some of the lessons are that corporations don't care about you. Marathon raised us to the highest level and provided us with a life beyond anything I could have imagine when they thought we were beneficial; they plummeted us to the lowest level when we were no longer of any use. This truly has been an eye opener in that respect.

Again, as in God's usual methodology throughout this ongoing saga, He provided another Angel. Jim had unpacked, and his suit for tomorrow's interview was wrinkled. He was so tired from the driving, it was 530 pm, we were hungry, and now the wrinkled suit. I felt so bad when Jim pulled out the iron. I told him that we were going to look for a laundry. Of course, at this time of the day, the chances of getting the suit pressed were slim to none-but one can hope! Two laundries and two rejections later, we decided to find a place to eat And lo and behold, there was another laundry right beside the "to go" Taco stand! When Jim explained that he needed the suit pressed (by now it's 630 pm and the laundry closes at 700), the "angel" said, sure, come back at 7:10 and the suit would be pressed and ready for Jim's interview! Can you believe it!

So, we were able to get our "to go" Tacos, grab some wine, and get back to the room, so that Jim could do his "prep work" as he says for tomorrow's interview.

The day which had started so low, truly ended on high. In fact, my devotional said something to this effect:

"Many people never have a decent finish to their day ecause they let the enemy keep them from starting it right. Satan tries to capture our thoughts early in the morning. He wants to get us thinking about all the wrong things as soon as we wake up. His intent is to steal ou peacy y upsetting us as soon as our alarm goes off. He is always woking to set us up to get us upset." (boy have we seen this take place)!

It's important that I start my day with God, not Satan. It's a choice, isn't it?