| Ministry, Julio and Andrea Velasquez | 26 Feb 2009 |
| MOVING AGAIN! by Julio and Andrea Velasquez | Comment (0) |
This week we celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary. During these 31 years we have moved 12 times. Some of the moves have been from one house or apartment to another one in the same general area. But four of those times have been major moves to another country.
Our first move was to Spain from the USA in 1982. We shipped only a few boxes and bought everything else there. The next move was from Spain to the USA in 1996. Again we sold almost everything we had and only shipped a few boxes. Then one year later we shipped a container to the country of Venezuela. It was amazing how that in one year we had accumulated enough things to fill up a container. When we left Venezuela in June of 2007, we sold almost everything again, except for a few sentimental items, photos and books. Now we are ready to move again.
In one more month we will be leaving for the country of Spain. Again we are packing up boxes and purchasing furniture and small items to fill a container. Moving is a real hassle! It can drain you physically and emotionally. But at the same time it is exciting. We know that new and exciting things await us in Spain. We are excited about renting an apartment, getting settled in and beginning a new ministry there. But right now we are in the process of packing. We have to pack boxes, type up a manifesto of everything we have in the boxes and prepare for the day that they arrive at the house with a large container that we will have to pack in one hour.
Even though selling, moving, packing and moving again is very stressful, we are determined to do it with joy knowing that through it all God is going to use us for His glory on the mission field! Every time we have sold all of our personal belongings, it is hard to see people walk out the door with things that bring so many memories to us. But once everything is gone, we have also felt a sense of freedom. Things can bog you down in your life. We have learned that all of our belongings are just things. They can be replaced. We are taught in the Bible to not love the world, nor the things that are in the world. Yes, we need things in order to live, but we shouldn't get attached to those things such as cars, houses, furniture. We should not let those things stop us from serving God. He has always provided for our needs. We know He will continue to do so as we prepare to return to Spain. We have truly enjoyed our time of furlough and raising more support, but we are ready to go now and get busy in the ministry. So for the next few weeks we will have our noses in boxes! Praise the Lord!