Eastside Story part 3.

After a few weeks of back and forth communication with Joe, I got the go ahead to send in my resume to Dan.  And me and Dan began e-mailing regularly back and forth.
There are so many specifics I could share.  God was doing so much in that time.  And every time I got an e-mail from Dan I was not only overwhelmingly excited, but I was amazed at how God was answering such specific prayers of mine.  Everything I was learning about the church and about Dan and his family was so encouraging and direct with where I felt God was moving in my life.  Even things I wasn't praying about but more worrying about God answered! And it almost seemed too good to be true.
Dan and I even read through a book together and discussed it over e-mail!  It was a lot of fun getting to know him and being able to learn about his heart and the story of Eastside.
As time went on I became more and more confident that THIS was where God was leading.  And He was aligning things to perfectly.

As I was heavily considering Shelby Township being my new home, I started to worry about leaving my close-knit His House community and moving to a place where I literally knew no one. 
And then God spilled over answers to that prayer request.
A close friend of mine, someone I've known since freshman year of CMU, and was in a wedding with me this past June told me that she was moving home to Troy and would be around for a while.
Ding! So happy to have a friend.
Then a dear friend was on my mind for about a week straight.  She had graduated from CMU and moved home and I was missing her a lot.  I kept thinking I needed to get in touch with her soon.  throughout that week her name continued to come up in random conversations with people reminding me that I needed to get ahold of her.  Well sure enough, she happened to drive into Mount Pleasant and be at Church that Thursday night without me ever having gotten in touch with her.  I just saw her!  We began to catch up and she told me that she was living and working in Rochester! Just a brief 20 min drive from where I would be.
Ding! Another prayer answered.
Then, there were two girls specifically that God had placed in my life through dance and mission trips.  They were best friends and I got the joy of baptizing one last summer.  Both of them were going to be near Rochester and Utica student teaching this fall.
Our God is good! and if you don't believe in God....well, He's good!!

All of these specifics kept piling up and I was becoming more and more convinced that God is up to something big.
Then, the icing on the cake.  I decided to go to Eastside Vineyards website because I hadn't visited it before.  And right there, on the main page, in bold font and fun colors read Galatians 5:6 "What is important is Faith expressing itself through Love."
This verse my best friend painted on a canvas for me for Christmas and I had sitting by the window in my room because it is by far one of my favorite verses.  I stumbled across that verse some time in the beginning of college and ever since have held it dear as a motto and way to live out my faith.
It's a non-negotiable for me and something I see as extremely important to live by as a Christ follower.
And there is was, as a banner Eastside was waving and firmly believing.
Not only do they believe it, but in these past few weeks I've been able to see how they truly put it into practice.

God continued to astonish me.  And each moment seemed to be more and more exciting.  Needless to say my faith grew in the process.
So, I came to visit two separate weekends and stayed with Dan and his family.  Dan continued to remind me that It was so important for me to feel like this was a church I'd go to if it wasn't my job.
And I firmly believe and know that.
This church has become home.
And the more I discover about the heart behind the ministry the more I believe in what it's doing and in the people here.
God is certainly at work, all I need to do is trust Him.
He obviously  has a plan.  Yes, for me. Yes, for Eastside. But even more importantly to me is He has a plan for these youth.  A bigger plan than I could ever dream of.  And He is putting it into effect.
I can't begin to express my thankfulness.  And every day I have to surrender my control and put my trust in my God who IS more than capable and who is already at work.
Thanks for letting me be a part of this story and this journey.
And I hope you continue to join what God is doing here and what He is doing in your own life.
God is everywhere, and He is at work.  It's powerful stuff.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 "He who calls you is Faithful; He will surely do it."
1 Peter 4:19 "So then, those that suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to a Faithful Creator and continue to do good."