After Christmas Freddy T. was headed to Atlanta to be a Community Group leader for Passion '10. The thought crossed my mind that our help would come from someone in his group but I didn't mention it to anyone. Come to find out the thought had crossed his mind and my best friends mind as well. Anyway, when Passion was over and we were all back in New York he told that two girls had approached him at Passion saying they wanted to come to NYC. He told them to get in touch with him after Passion, but did not give them his contact info (his twitter info might have flashed on the screen for 30 seconds, but that was it). We've learned that you can get a bunch of people to move to the city, we needed someone who was serious and really wanted to be here. Sometime within a week or two after Passion one of the girls, Lydia, emailed Freddy to see how they could be useful in the city. We both spoke with her on the phone sharing what our needs were and what we could offer, etc. We had a great conversation. Later that night she sent us her background info, family, school, faith, that kind of thing. We asked her to get us 5 references. I was encouraged. Kind of nervous since I've never met her, but felt comfortable pursuing her.
On one of our first conversations with Lydia she was asking about internships with the church. Her best friend Mary, the other girl who approached Freddy T. at Passion, wanted to come up as well. Freddy sent her to a website where that info. can be found and they wrapped up the conversation. As soon as Freddy T. hung up he looked at me and said "what do you think about having them both come up to live with us?" What? Two people? That certainly never crossed my mind! We talked through the possibilities and agreed we would throw it out there to Lydia and Mary. I think they were as shocked about it all as I was! We proceeded with the same process with Mary as we did with Lydia. In the middle of all of this one night I looked at Freddy T. and said "If this is the way God is answering our prayers, I never saw it coming." I could hardly believe this might be the answer. Somewhere God turned my heart of uncertainty into faith. I mean, we have been praying. Why couldn't this be God's provision, right?
So last weekend we spoke with Lydia and Mary. They committed to coming and we put a date on the calendar!
So without further adieu..
Meet Mary and Lydia, respectively...
Mary and Lydia are both coming from South Carolina. They are planning on loading up the car and driving up here on March 1st. We are SO EXCITED to have them. I just showed Jack this picture and said "Jack, this is Mary and this is Lydia. Do you know who they are?" He smiled and said "They're coming to live with us!" Jack is excited too! They'll help me out in lots of ways and will be able to help out at The Gallery as well. They'll also be getting part time jobs.
Will you join us in praying for them and for us?
As excited as we all are we know there will be big adjustments.
- Pray for Mary and Lydia as they prepare to move in with this crew. Pray that they will find good part time jobs. Pray for their families as they send them this way. Pray for them to quickly feel settled. They'll be sharing a 9x10 room! (bunk beds have been ordered!)
-Pray for us as we adjust to having two more adults living with us. Pray for Jack, Lillie, and Elliott that they will really enjoy being with Mary and Lydia.
So there you have it. Our big news... Help Is On The Way! Thanks for journeying through this with me. I knew it would require some explanation and one blog post wouldn't do it justice. Pray for us. Pray for Lydia and Mary. We are grateful for them and to the Lord for his provision.
17 comments:
That's fantastic! Amen!! I love seeing the Lord's faithfulness in your lives. Can't wait to hear about the transition!
That is so awesome! God is faithful all the time! Sometimes we just forget. I love reading how God is working in your life!
God is so Amazing! HE Is Faithful! I will say a prayer for Mary and Lydia when I pray for you. May God provide a smooth transition for them/their family/friends, and you/your family/church. What an exciting story with more to come. These girls are beautiful on the outside, can't wait to get to hear about their hearts. Continued Blessings...
Do the girls know each other? Is FT really ready to be living with 4 women???? Wow tell him, he, Jack, & Elliott will have to go fishing a lot. Maybe he'll remember the story dad told about living with 3 women. If not I'll share it on skype sometime. They look adorable and their smiles are contagious. How old are they? Can you send their info to your family by email? You know I am not the only one that would like to see it. I always like to see where God leads. It is wonderful!!! Lydia and Mary are both beautiful biblical names. Hopefully they are as beautiful as the biblical Lydia and Mary are. Love to yall , Aunt Di
Abundantly more. Amazing.
Very excited for you guys, but will be praying for transitions as well.
Can't wait to meet them! So excited about you having help so we can see each other a little more :) (Kind of a selfish reason to be happy for you). I'll be praying for all of you during this transition!
Have to agree with Melissa, I'm very selfishly excited that we'll be able to spend more time together. Can't wait! Man it's going to be a full house on 135!
Very exciting guys! God does work in some mysterious ways. We'll be praying for all of you and for the girls! God bless!
Praise the Lord! I'm so glad for you! I will pray that things go smoothly and feel natural quickly! Yay!
i think that you are out of your mind. really. wasn't it hard enough with just one helper there. i understand your living quarters are bigger now, but two extra grown ups? you are out of your mind. however, i will pray.
Hey! I just got time to sit down and read through all four posts. I love it how yall found someone through Passion, community groups. That's so wild. Praying for all the kids, Susan, Freddy, and especially Mary and Lydia as they make their big move. Hope all is doing well. I miss yall a lot.
Dear Anonymous,
"Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than what is in the heart. If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 2 Corinthians 5:11b-13 (NIV)
Although, I don't think this is the kind of "out of your mind" that you were referring to. If you care to publicly tell my precious wife she is out of her mind again, at least have the decency to leave your name.
FYI, though it was challenging having one helper previously, it would have been immeasurably more difficult if she was not with us. She had an amazing attitude and we were very grateful to have her.
We see having two helpers as double the blessing.
If you'll read history you'll see that having lots of people in very small homes was the norm. Probably only in the last 60 years or so have we all with a spirit of entitlement assumed that the american dream was the norm. So we really aren't very different than so many who have gone before us.
There is much more I could say, and would be glad to, though I'll wait to see if anonymous responds.
Sincerely,
Susan's loving husband
So will you have certain hours that the girls will be expected to help? What about family time with just the 5 of you? What about privacy, especially for you and Susan?
In response to you, anonymous! It must have taken a lot of guts to post something so negative. Susan Wyatt is one of the most Godly and strong woman I have ever come across. My living in NYC was a blessing. Susan has three kids in a city with no car, nor a real sensible way of transportation, her daily tasks are taking care of three children in a apartment no bigger then the downstairs of my house. I give her and Freddy T major props for what they do. Living in a city, like New York is a challenge and they seem to be doing fairly well. The help from two additional girls will be very much needed for her and the family. And for two girls to be willing to move their life numerous miles to a city to live with a family of five in a 9x10 room is totally awesome of them. I give them mad props, because it's not as easy as one would think. So for you to voice such a strong opinion of Susan being "out of her mind," was totally not necessary. She needs all the help she can get.
On a lighter note, Freddy T and Susan I know you're so excited for help to be on the way! I love you guys so much.
This is exciting news!! I SO wish I could come up there and help out. It would be a total blast ♥ Thinking of you as you undergo these marvelous changes!
I'm excited for you guys. Looking forward to meeting the girls on skype. Love all of you.
Donna
Freddy, thank you for being such a sweet husband to such a wonderful lady! We love you guys!
~Christi
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