My friend, Arben, had been avoiding me for days and not answering his cell phone or returning my calls. I couldn’t understand it. Had I unknowingly offended him? When I finally met with him last evening, he said he had spoken with our landlord and discovered that his son is getting married soon and wants to live in the house we’re now renting. Our rental contract is up in less than a week, and we have no place to go. This could also affect our ability to receive residency visas before our furlough, which require a rental contract.

Without going into all the details, I will just say that this is a big mess. We could probably stay with Albanian friends, but we will have to find a place for storage and new homes for our pets, which include a donkey, a dog, a canary, and a cat. Emotions flooded us, and we were tempted to wallow in the slough of despond. But, in faith, we chose to praise God for how He will work this all out to His glory. We had a special time of worship before bedtime. Each song, Bible reading and prayer lifted our spirits more and more until we were rejoicing. Hearing of our situation, Stan Hendrickson directed us to Psalm 57. We decided that we will take refuge in the shadow of God’s wings until these calamities have passed by.

By the time you read this, we will be in the States on furlough. If you’ll be near one of the churches we will be visiting this summer, stop by and see us and learn how God has worked this out for our good, because we know He will (Rom. 8:28). In the meantime, we say to God, “I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations. For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens. And Your truth unto the clouds” (Ps. 57:9, 10).

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