February 20, 2007
Dear Friends and family,
As usual, I'm not sure where
to start. There's been some awesome strides forward, and some serious issues
too that have also come to the surface...
But how about some good
stuff first :-) (And yes, this is a longer-ish newsletter. sorry....)
We have a verbal commitment
finally from the owners of the ranch to get the diesel tanks pulled out of the
ground as soon as we have our funding together. This is a step that has held us
up nearly a year. We are now proceeding ahead with funding options.
And yes, that means that the
funding loan that a friend was putting together for us clear back in November
and December has fallen through..... *big sigh*. I cease to be surprised
anymore, but we just keep pursuing new and other options. So now we are gearing
up to start doing lots of public presentations, pursuing more traditional
funding options, and in general, proceeding forward once again. It feels good
to be making progress.
And the owners have given us
yet another "deadline" of around May 1st to have something concrete
together and on paper, with money behind it. I'm not too anxious, but I know
that things need to really proceed quickly in order to make this happen.
The executive board has been
meeting together regularly, and we have really started to bond together as a
team, and they have begun to lift some of the burdens of making this place a
reality, off of my shoulders so that I can dedicate time to my family, finish
paperwork, and continue to push the ranch forward in new and exciting ways.
This is a huge step forward. Thanks team.
Karen and some of the others
struggled with some pretty serious discouragement and depression through the
first part of February. Among other things, we pinpointed a need for sunlight.
With that partly in mind, Marty and MaryBeth made a move down to the Treasure
Valley where MaryBeth got a job working with the Idaho commission for the Deaf,
and Marty is interviewing with a youth ministry to get some program training in
preparation for summer camping seasons here. AND they are getting more
sunlight, and their spirits are much improved. Karen also began to make a point
of getting sunlight everyday, and between that and the prayers of family and
others, she is also making a strong comeback. She has been an awesome helpmate
for me, and a true team mate. I thank God so much for her.
We continue to see God at
work in our family and children as well. Vanya was just diagnosed with
"clinically significant" issues in sensory awareness, sensory
sensitivity, sensory seeking, and sensory avoidance. Just to have a firm
diagnosis means that we can finally get some help in understanding some of her
behavior, academic, and social problems, and thus work with her. There are
still issues to be resolved between her mother (my ex) and myself
regarding this diagnosis, but I just remember that God loves my little girl
more than I do, and I trust Him to take care of her when I cannot.
We have begun to attend a
new little church in Idaho City called Mountain Life Ministries, where the
people have completely embraced my family and made them feel welcome. I want to
get involved there on a ministry level as well in some way eventually, and this
church wants, and is doing so, to meet the needs of the local community there
in both practical and spiritual ways. I like that. Thanks Church.
Using discount tickets and
money I had earned specifically for this, we took our entire family (minus the
2 yr old), skiing at Bogus Basin on Sunday. It was God-touched the whole day.
To start with, we weren't even sure I would be paid so that we could go. We
prayed as a family about it, and the money was deposited into my account Sunday
morning ( we were to go skiing Sunday evening). That was the first answer to
prayer. Then is started snowing while we were at church. After church we got
home and it started snowing harder. The people that we had thought maybe could
watch the 2 yr old for us weren't home, so we said another prayer, asking God
to find someone to baby-sit her. Some old friends came to mind, Reid and
Jessica from Boise (from the early days of the ranch), and we called them, and
sure enough, they agreed to watch the little one for us. Another answer to
prayer. It was still snowing here though. We packed up anyway and headed out.
While on the way, we prayed together in the car that we would have a safe time,
and that the rain/snow would stop and that the sun would come out for us. Then
it started raining, HARD. We kept going on it faith. And when we came around
Lucky Peak and dropped down into Boise, the rain and snow suddenly stopped, and
we could see blue sky ahead. Then as we headed up to Bogus, we passed all these
cars coming back to Boise with up to 3 inches of snow on their hoods. We
were amazed. And by the time we reached Bogus Basin, the sun was out, and we
had a blast in the fresh snow. All of us fell at least once (several of us a
lot more than that and are now a little sore *chuckle*), and on the last
run of the day, Vanya wiped out BAD... Her knee was twisted all the way around
backwards, and she was wailing in pain. My heart sank. But I prayed aloud over
her, carried her on piggyback down the mountain, and a half hour later, she was
running around on it (though limping a little bit). I was amazed, and so
thankful to God. I checked with her mother today, and Vanya seems to be
fine (although her mom is pretty angry at me about it *unhappy shrug*). But all
in all, it was a pretty amazing day, and the kids commented on it several
times, about how God had made the rain and snow stop and the sun to come out
for us after we had asked Him to. Isn't God cool? He so loves the faith of the
children, and responding to their honest prayers.
So ya wanna hear something
that was so insane that I just laugh about it now? *grin*
About a month ago, we
had a really cold spell. Really cold. And my week went something like this. But
let me set the stage for you first. We have 7 or 8 children living in this
house (depending on whether or not Vanya is here), along with 3 adults (me,
Karen, Josh). We use a lot of water, for bathing, washing, and toilet
flushing...... So this one Sunday a month ago, it got COLD. And the community
water supply froze up again. No water. So we broke out the 5-gallon buckets and
started hauling water by hand up the hill to the house. But we (me and the
water master) couldn't fix the main supply till Monday, and we spent a
good part of Monday thawing out the frozen community supply lines. Then we
discovered that our own ranch lines had frozen in the interim (since the
community lines were not flowing). So Tuesday I spent most of the morning
trying to thaw out our own lines, albeit completely unsuccessfully.
So that afternoon and the next morning, I finished repairing and
hooking up our own spring water lines (which have been broken and disconnected
for years. Wednesday, we had spring water, but then we discovered that there
was yet another underground break in that line somewhere that had leaked out
over 3000 gallons of drinking water in 12 hours. So no water again on Wednesday
night. Thursday I ran a brand new water line clear across the top of the icy
ground from the community supply at edge of the property to the house, had the
kids help insulate it with broken straw bales, and had water again that night.
Friday, the community supply froze up again, and the whole process almost
started all over again *chuckle*. Fortunately, I realized that it had frozen up
almost immediately, and thus spent all Friday afternoon thawing it before our
own lines could freeze up too hard again. Friday night, Josh and the boys then
thawed out our lines again, and we had water again on Saturday..... No more
freezeups since then.
But the fallout from that
week meant I accomplished almost nothing besides water work. Just dealing
with hauling water, showering and doing laundry elsewhere (several friends
graciously offered us use of their homes), drove Karen crazy, and really
started the downward discouragement slide for her that lasted up until a week
or two ago. But God also brought several new and very good friends into our
lives through that ordeal, that have been solid and consistent sources of
encouragement.
Let's see, what else? My
manuscript job has dried up, and I am scrambling, along with Karen, to try to
come up with a way to make ends meet. We are strongly considering starting to
do actual support raising and deputation very soon here, so that we can both
focus all of our time and energy on building the ranch here. Karen's heart is
here, and she desperately wants to not be working part time jobs that take her
away from the house and kids.
One of the new friends that
God has brought into Karen's life is a neat Christian lady that I have known
for awhile, that God has already let both her and me know that she will be
working with the ranch someday. But I am trading services with her (building
her a website at http://www.majestichealingcenter.com
) in return for some much needed professional body work, and massage therapy,
for Karen my wife. They have struck up a neat friendship, and I am thankful.
I had our 501-c3 application
just about ready to file, and I discovered that the IRS had switched the forms.
I had to start completely over with a brand new "updated" application
*groan*. But it's almost done now too, and will be filed imminently. Progress
is progress.....
We are doing a trial run
presentation and a get-to-know-you brainstorming/planning session in Boise on
Tuesday night the 27th, for the executive board, advisory board, staff, and
other closely interested/associate parties. Pray that it goes well.
Our new car blew a head
gasket, and we were quoted a $1100 price tag to fix it. Friends are graciously
loaning us a vehicle until we can figure out our recourse on this. I think I
may have a solution, and am going to work on it myself tomorrow.
We were given a
hydro-electric generator head recently, that as soon as we can get it hooked
up, will cover a lot of our electric needs here. We also bought a diesel
generator that has been helping out with stable power needs. Our big railroad
battery banks froze up in the cold weather (normally a death sentence for
batteries), but they have since thawed out and still seemed to be functioning,
and for that I thank God too.
But with more stable power
now, we finally hooked up an electric refrigerator. Welcome to the 20th (21st?)
century!!!! What a step forward! We had just been using a small RV propane
fridge, and the cold area on the back porch (winter weather natural refrigeration).
Now we have real working fridge in the kitchen! *chuckle*. This was a
major step forward in just empowering Karen and the kids to operate efficiently
in the kitchen.
And I had a rude surprise
several weeks ago. I tried to get life insurance. I got turned down!!!! I
thought I was pretty healthy, and felt pretty decent, except for those
occasional bouts of something.... But apparently my liver tests came back all
screwed up. That caused us some immediate concern. But I also notice that I am
slowly feeling worse and worse, although I may also have strep throat right at
the moment too(blistery throat). But we're looking into seeing what we can do
to help me feel better, handle the stress of my life better, and just in
general get back on top of things. Pray for us in this.
We put a new PowerPoint
presentation up on the website, as well as some updated info. Take a look
sometime! http://www.bighouseministries.com.
Anyone need to buy a decent
trailer home in Garden City? It would make a great rental property. Likewise
with a small cabin in Clear Creek on some property. Someone has offered to
donate them to us in order to resell and help fund the downpayment on the
ranch.
Isn't it interesting how sometimes,
things just plain seem dark around us. But when we keep our eyes pointed
forwards, as things begin to brighten again, looking back, we can see the
fingerprints of God where you couldn't see them before, when you were
"buried" in it? I remind myself of that sometimes, that even though I
might not see any fingerprints at some point, and feel pretty discouraged, I
know that later, when I look back, I WILL see His fingerprints then, where I
couldn't see them before. Remember that the next time things look bleak. Keep
your eyes pointed forwards. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Praise
and thank God, even though the emotion isn't there. And later, looking back,
you will recognize that in all those moments when you thought you were alone,
that Jesus was there after all, coordinating things, and leaving fingerprints
for you to find later. He loves you that much. It's pretty cool actually *soft
smile*.
Pray for us please, in any
case? We are tired up here, and we fight a daily battle. But we hold onto the
fact that God is God, and is still OUR God, and that He will never leave nor
forsake us *whew!*
Sincerely,
-Tim Benedict,
Karen, family, and ranch family
208-392-6723
timbenedict@peoplepc.com
http://www.bighouseministries.com
21 Yellowpine Lane, Boise, ID 83716