16 Chapter Fourteen: Arriving In A Strange Land (1/2)
My arrival in Southern California was met by many manifestations of G.o.d's supernatural acts. G.o.d in His mercy had faithfully accompanied, led, and met me on the other side as He had promised. Without knowing a soul when I arrived, and with no credit history, income, or even a social security number, I was blessed with G.o.d's favor to secure a very beautiful two-bedroom apartment with sparkling swimming pools for our use, located in a secure, gated community in Costa Mesa, California. This would be our very ftrst home in the area. My family joined me there a few days later. We had given up all our old keys in England for our house, car, and so on, and G.o.d had given us brand new keys. The G.o.d of the impossible again showed up as He had promised.
”'Jesus looked at them and said, ”With man this is impossible, but with G.o.d all things are possible.'” (Matthew 19:26 NIV)
”Behold, I am the LORD, the G.o.d of all ßesh. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27 ESV)
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”Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” (Genesis 18:14 NIV)
One of the many miracles was when I met a young stockbroker originally from Liberia by the name of George. It was during a visit to a church that happened to be within walking distance from our new apartment. California is the third largest state in America by area, and the largest by population. With a population of over thirty-eight million people and no underground or rail system, a car is almost a necessity. At some point during the church service, we were all asked to turn around and greet the people around us. After saying my h.e.l.los to the people on either side of me, I turned to greet the people on the row behind me, including a young man sitting right behind my chair.
G.o.d had arranged everything in His usual, amazingly precise style. That young man could have been seated anywhere in the ftve hundred or so congregation meeting s.p.a.ce. We chatted briefly, and he introduced himself as George. I was to later ftnd out that he had never attended that church before and was just visiting that day on an invitation from his neighbor. He asked me what I was doing in California, and I tried to explain ”walking by faith” to him. Whatever he understood me to have said, G.o.d moved upon his heart, and he decided to fully furnish our new place with some top-of-the-line furniture. I immediately recalled sowing all our beautiful furniture in England along with my left-over wedding gifts and was just in awe of G.o.d's principle of sowing and reaping. He had again fulftlled His promise to us, restoring so rapidly and abundantly much more than we had sown.
”And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29 NIV)
George also very kindly volunteered to pick my husband and our children up from the airport when they arrived from Minnesota. Afterward, he gave us all a tour of the area, sharing many valuable pieces of information with us.
The miracles continued as many Christians in the area begin to hear of our supernatural move to California. The miracles of G.o.d's provision, manifestations of His great power, and call upon our lives seemed endless. One of the ftrst persons to hear of us was a Nigerian pastor by the name of Tony. He introduced us to a Christian couple living in Garden Grove, California. This couple, upon hearing of our amazing G.o.d encounters, immediately arranged for us to meet their senior pastors, Doctors Ric and Renee Durfteld. The name of their church was Christ Temple Church in Pomona, California, later renamed Eagle Heights Community Church after moving their congregation to Chino, California. Dr. Durfteld, PhD, CFL was, until his retirement, a professor of theology, at Azusa Paciftc University, Azusa, California. They are the founders of two successful and highly recognized ministries. Authoring several books, they have contributed to such publications as Focus on the Family (1990, April) and Charisma (1992, March). Meeting them was a great honor from the Lord.
Again, this was solely orchestrated by G.o.d. The Durftelds immediately took us under their wings and provided great support. With their a.s.sistance, we were able to complete all of the necessary paperwork to register and preach as ordained clergy in the United States. One of the churches in Minnesota had also agreed to sponsor and ftle for the extension and completion of the needed paperwork to ftnalize our permanent immigration status. Pastors Ric and Renee opened the doors of their church and pulpit to us, embracing and encouraging G.o.d's call upon our lives. From our arrival and for many years later, I was privileged to receive many invitations to preach and sing at their church and special events.