----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 2:17 AM
Subject: children's ranch update and tims musings
Dear friends,
So what would you like to read about first? The downpayment
for the ranch? A divine appointment 3 weeks ago? Another brush with disaster
(death?) and a fingerprint of God Saturday? Vanya's big decision? The
ongoing packrat/chipmunk border wars? *aggravated chuckle* Or just what? :-)
So I know a lot of you are wondering what happened with my
May31st deadline to have money together for the ranch.....
The money I was praying for, $100,000, did not come in. But
something else did. That grant consulting firm that a membership was given to
me in, has been invaluable... I just submitted all my paperwork to them last
night, business plan, Articles of Incorporation, resume', website, pics, etc
and so forth, I think totaling over a hundred pages worth of material (what I
have been busy working on ever since the last newsletter). They will now review
it all for detail and accuracy, send it back to me with corrections and advice
if needed, or they will accept it and research it, and send me a list of all
the available major governement and private grants, loans, subsidies, etc and
so forth, that will fit this organization. For each of available finding
source, I simply print out another copy of all my paperwork, change the cover
letter, maybe fill out an application, and send it to the correct contact
person. And I have been repeatedly assured by these people that there
are lots of grants out there for rministries such as this one, and that now
it's basically just a matter of time and jumping through hoops, before the
funding for this place happens...... As in, possibly ALL the funding for this
place (way more than $100,00 incidentally). Which is totally cool!
So by the end of next week, I will know 1. that I still need
to work on the paperwork some more, or 2. The numbers and kinds of grants,
gifts, loans and subsidies that we qualify for (and where to send the
paperwork to apply for each). And even though I am quite behind on the rent for
this place (help?), the owners are willing to hold off evicting us and
marketing it elsewhere, and give it a little more time to see if these grants
come through so that we can have the place. They even said they would drop the
price even further for us if I could just get the money together. That was cool
too, and an answer to prayer. I tell you what, being sick all winter and
spring sure did a number on me....
And yes, I am feeling MUCH better. Almost back to myself
even! *chuckle*
So three weeks ago, I was down in Boise another day, waiting
at a service station at a pay phone for a conference training call (that I was
not going to make it back up the ranch in time for, so just rerouted it to this
pay phone where I was at. Car was not running well (keeps dying, even though
when running - is getting almost 40 miles to the gallon httP://www.howtogetbettergasmileage.com),
and I was pumping gas while waiting. . And I noticed an upper 50's aged lady,
and she was not healthy. She was heavy, was carrying an oxygen bottle got an
Oxygen line under her nose, was moving slowly, and over all just wasn't well.
And I kept having 2 thoughts go through my mind. "Jesus love here too."
And "Jesus died for her too, Tim" the implication being that I needed
to look past the exterior to the person inside, and show her love. So I
took note.
I continued to watch her out the corner of my eye, just
trying to find it in myself to love her with God's love. And her car was having
problems too. She got as far as the center lane on Overland road there,
and then stalled out completely, still halfway in an active lane of
traffic. And at first I groaned, and then started looking at options.
I still had a few minutes before my phone call, so I quick
ran out in the road, and when we got a break in traffic, I pushed her backwards
back into the Albertson's parking lot there. And just "happened" to
push her right up under the ONLY tree in the entire parking lot that had much
shade to it. Total God fingerprints. So I looked at her engine, could see
nothing immediately wrong, though I could tell that the problem was electrical,
and just started talking with her.
And her story was amazing. She had JUST asked Jesus into her
life as her Savior, like 2 weeks before. So she was my sister in Christ! That's
why God kept telling me to show her HIS love. But her story was also pretty
wrenching in some ways too. Her ex had tried to kill her (which is why
she had been searching for God), and some other things
too. But I was able to encourage her, just as her brother in Christ, and
all that.
But eventually, I had to go take my pay phone
call. About then, one of the board members from my church drove by and I
flagged him down (He doesn't live in that end of town... and is also an
electrician.... *chuckle*) So he talked to her awhile about God and new
Christian stuff while I was on the phone.
After my call, we all went back to her car, played with the
wires under the hood some more, and then suddenly, her car started again and
ran just fine. Was weird, but also neat to see how God orchestrated the whole
thing to encourage this lonely woman who had chosen to give her life to Him.
So what next? *chuckle*
Had fire-fighter training simulations up here at the ranch
on Saturday (I am on the local volunteer fire department). That was fun. Had a
hose coming up under full pressure burst about 5 feet from me and about knock
me over *chuckle*. But it was good practice, everything that we did. I enjoyed
it.
The local water association is having their yearly meeting
HERE this coming Saturday. And the place is NOT presentable like I want it. And
yes, the owners are also going to be here and see everything that I have (or
not) done to the place in preparation of building the youth ranch here. And as
I am still behind on some rent, I am nervous about it, about them being here.
Can I say that? And man oh man, do I need to CLEAN the place!
What else..... Oh. Last Sunday/Monday evening, I gave away
part of my old battery bank and an inverter that God had dropped into my lap
cheaply the day before, to a single lady in our church with 2 daughters. And
while trying to get there to her place (she also lives quite some distance
from electric power, on top of a mountain (she saw a BLACK COUGAR awhile
back)), I got lost. And I ended up on this road that had 1-foot deep ruts in
it, while also going up the hillside at at least a 45 degree incline. Vanya was
with me. Scared her pretty bad. Did me too, for that matter. Was totally
praying, outloud, because the car fell into those ruts and high centered at one
point, going uphill. Was bad. And I knew that if I stopped, we were toast.
So I gunned the engine, and it was almost as though something PUSHED us up out
of that rut and back up onto stable dirt. I kid you not. And at the top of the
hill, I actually came right out onto the road that I needed to be on
originally! *chuckle* Was pretty cool *chuck*. But when I told the lady we
had gone to see which road I had come up on (in my car), she was aghast. She
swore that that road was impassable (and she has a big SUV). And indeed, going
back, I DID see a "road closed" sign on it this time *chuckle*. So
that was brush with disaster number 1.
So my brush with disaster #2, on Saturday went like this....
I had fired up the diesel generator Saturday evening so that
I could finish up the ranch paperwork, do my email, and my other daily online
stuff. And JUST as I was getting ready to start in again on the business
plan, the generator died and the house reverted back to Battery backup (not
enough to run the computer for very long). So after being frustrated and
aggravated, I went out to the generator building to take a look at it. And the
first thing that I noticed was that the positive cable battery clamp had been
pulled completely off the battery post. Which is totally weird. Then I noticed
the gas tank. The metal frame and straps holding it to the engine had either
broken (4 and six inch breaks through sixteenth inch plate steel???),
or had been removed, and the gas tank had fallen down and was riding on the
engine pulley, which was rapidly eating a hole in the can. NOT GOOD...... I
froze when I saw that....
So I just looked at that a minute and then looked up and
asked God what in the world was going on! And the mental picture I got about
then was simply the darkness opposing me finishing the paperwork and business
plan for the youth ranch here. So the straps and brackets all broke. It is my
sincere belief that if it had gone like that for just another 5 minutes, it
would have eaten clear through the metal, filled the room with diesel fuel
spray and vapor, and ignited it with sparks off the tank as it was being cut
into . It could have been a pretty violent explosion, burning the
generator up, the generating building up, possibly even the lodge where I am
living right now. So all I could see happening next was a hand (God?
Angel?) reaching down and yanking that positive battery cable off the battery
post, in order to stop the generator before it became a blazing inferno. I just
stood there looking at the generator as the pieces all fell into place, and
just marveled at God and His love and watch over me. It was REALLY cool!
*chuckle*
But the story gets even better. Remember last summer when a
bunch us prayed over this place, and it disturbed a bunch of bats somewhere
(that then immediately died?)? I walked back into the house from the generator
building and called my pastor to share with him what had just
happened, and I kid you not, my house cat came running into the room with a bat
in her mouth. Where she got it, and how it got into the house (the cat is not
allowed outside), I have no earthly idea. Not a clue. But just to
recognize that when intense spiritual battle happens here, it disturbs the
local wildlife, and in particular the bats (which I still have no idea where
roost), it was just confirmation to me that the whole generator thing was a
VERY close brush with something truly disastrous. I took the bat away from the
cat, carried it outside and released it under the porch (was still alive). Bats
eat mosquitoes. I like bats.....
Anyway. But wait! There's even more! *grin*
My 5 yr-old daughter Vanya got baptized yesterday! In Lucky
Peak Reservoir. Our church had a Church-in-the-park (Robbie Creek park) day,
with baptism and potluck following. And when Vanya realized that several of her
older church friends there were going to get baptized, she wanted to too. So we
sat down and talked about how it is a picture of Jesus dying and coming back to
life, and that we do it because we want to honor and love Jesus by showing
everybody that we wanted to be baptized. She loves Jesus, and seemed to
understand, and since I just "happened" to have a spare change of
clothes in the car for her, I figured that I should go with it. Kinda cool. She
got sooo excited about it, and was the first one of the kids out there, by her
own choice. Afterwards, she just came running out of that water in utter
delight *soft chuckle*. In any case, it was quite good.
But during the actual service before the baptism, I gave
praise to God about what happened with the generator the day before, and
everyone there seemed to be encouraged by hearing about it, including a group
of Christian bikers that someone at church had invited to come join us for
worship. It was really cool to watch the two cultures blend and mingle. Anyway,
one of the motorcycle guys, after hearing about God taking care of so many
things for me and the generator thing, after church and potluck, as we talked,
he offered to try to organize a ranch fundraiser for us . Also kinda cool and
very much surprised me *chuckle*.
And the chipmunks. They have figured out how to get into the
car and truck and everything! They ate my sunflower seeds!! One of them made
nest INSIDE my air filter! Kinda funny, after the fact. I saw one of them
actually in my truck, sitting up on the back of the bench seat, munching MY
food!. He/She was just as happy as can be.....
Nothing else comes to mind, and I am getting sleepy, so
thankyou for reading my notes here with me.
In Him,
-Tim
Tim Benedict
Thorn Creek Conference Center
http://www.bighouseminstries.com
21 Yellowpine Ln
Boise, Idaho 83716
208-392-6723
tbenedict@bigskytel.net