We almost quit Billings... almost

Our Pastor Levi Lusko constantly reminds us to set up stones of remembrance to remind us of what God has done in our lives. Monica and I had recently fallen under the worse of times in our lives, but God showed up. I wrote an email to an old friend back home in California, updating her on everything that has been going on, and I had decided to post it on the blog because I felt it was important to share our story with others. We almost quit the responsibilities in Billings over and over again in order to figure out how to put our lives back together, but we didn't quit, and we didn't end up putting our lives back together, but God did, He worked tons of miracles. Don't lose hope in hopeless situations, Jesus is there, I pray that you'll trust Him, and never give up on what He had called you to go through. Hope this blesses you:

Hey Vivian,

Just wanted to say hi and update you on what's been going on with Monica and I lately.

From the time that we returned to Billings from California back in November, our situation was ok for about a month but then things got worse. From the time that we had showed up in Montana I had been the only one working since it was hard for us both have jobs and share one car. If you remember, we were hit by a drunk driver last year in June which caused us to lose our car. We went to the hospital that day and we were treated for injuries, I was about 2 weeks away from gaining our health insurance so medical wouldn't cover our bills. The hospital billed us for our treatment, nearly $2000 worth of expenses. We took the driver to court and were granted restitution fees for the medical bills, but the judge only ordered him to pay $25 a month. The hospital wanted the money from us in full and we didn't have it, so they sent us to collections. So far the driver has only been paying $12.50 a month (half of what the judge ordered him to pay), and were still left with only one car.

It has been putting a strain on us, we eventually fell behind on more than half of our finances. Our phones were cut off because we couldn't pay for them, we couldn't pay our bills, we only had enough for rent and I could barely afford gas. We had a few days where our fridge was empty and did not eat that day, it's been hard and we've been seeking God through it all but it really looked like He wasn't around. We kept trusting that God would show up and provide but the longer we waited, the harder it got for us to accept what we were going through as God's will or God's plan for our lives.

Last Tuesday I was looking over everything we owed and 'gave up'. My gas tank was empty and I was scheduled to work that night, I had no idea how I was going to get to work. I told Monica that I could not figure out a way to get us out of our mess and that I don't know what to do. We were both broken and scared, but with the little hope we had left we had decided to bring our situation to God. He spoke to my heart and basically said to me, 'Am I not enough for you?' And I realized that one major lesson Jesus had been trying to teach us both is that if we were to lose all we had, He would have to be enough to satisfy us, He would have to be all we need and nothing more. We needed to be able to say like Job, 'Naked I came into this world, Naked I go out, Blessed be the name of the Lord.' And so we were blessed with that and accepted our circumstances, trusting Jesus.

Later that night, we heard a knock on the door, and nobody was there. We opened our door and found an envelope with gift cards to gas stations and food places. It had to have been $300 worth of stuff. We were blessed and thanking God for it. About an hour later, some new friends in town asked if they could stop by our place. They came over and had told us that they were fasting and praying about a month ago and that

God had told them to give us money. They didn't know our situation or understand why, but after praying for confirmation for a month, they came to understand that God was asking them to do this. They gave us a check for $4000 on the spot. It blew both Monica and I away. We were able to catch up on our finances with that money and cover the medical bills that we owed the Hospital. We were praising God for it but it didn't stop there.

Over the weekend a friend of ours let us know that he really wanted to meet with Monica and I and talk to us about something important. We met for coffee and the moment he sat down he basically said, 'I don't know how to tell you guys this, so I'm just going to come out and say it. I'm giving you my car.' So yeah, God also gave us a car, replacing the one we lost in the car accident last year.

So right now, we are pretty much just living in awe of God and excited about what He has done.

Monica and I are doing fine, blessed, and I just felt that I wanted to share this story with you. If you feel like anyone else ought to read this feel free to pass it along. We were so blessed by what God has done and we pray that what God has done in our lives could be an encouragement to others. God never forgets His kids.

Anyway, sorry for the lengthy email, but I just wanted to update you. Let me know how you're doing too!

God Bless!

-Jaime