Adventist Mission

According to His Perfect
Time and Purpose

In preparation to move to Trinidad we placed our Loma Linda house on the market in June ‘06. After receiving our call in August ’06 we were more anxious than ever to sell the house. Month and month went by as we waited to receive our work permits and no offers came in. With each passing day we prayed that our house would be sold before we left for Trinidad. The days went by without a single offer.

One Sabbath during Testimony & Praise time Fred thanked God in advance for answering our prayers to sell our house, confident that God would provide. A few more months past when in mid-March we received two offers on the same day! Praise the Lord!

We immediately began packing our belongings in preparation to move. But where would we move to? We still had not received our work permits and were unable to enter Trinidad without them. Nevertheless, we finished packing and began looking for temporary storage options. A few days later we received our work permits! Our belongings were picked up shortly after and placed in a container to be shipped to us in Trinidad a few months later. Within a matter of two weeks, God had sold our house after 7 months without a single offer, we received our work permits, and we shipped our already-packed belongings. Isn’t it amazing how God answers prayers according to His perfect time and purpose?

A month later on April 18, 2007, we arrived in Trinidad. Never had we visited before and were anticipating what was to come. We flew into the Port-of-Spain airport and headed to the baggage claim. 1… 2… 3 bags. Where was the fourth? One of our bags could not be found and the airline was unable to locate it. And to our dismay we realized that the missing bag was holding our dental school diplomas.

What were we to do? The Dental Council absolutely was not going to give us our work visas without our original diplomas. Would we be able to live and work in Trinidad as we had planned? Immediately we prayed that our diplomas would be returned to us if it was according to God's will.

With the windows rolled down as we were driven away from the airport the reality of the warm, humid air hit me. After many months of preparation and eager waiting, we were finally in Trinidad.

A few days after we arrived, we received a call from the airline saying our luggage had been found. Praise the Lord! It was then that we knew that the Lord had a plan for us here.

The process of settling down in Trinidad has been quite a bumpy road. Looking back on the life we left behind, we appreciate the luxuries and conveniences we once had.

Many times we have heard the locals call themselves “trick-adadians”. It was a month after our arrival that we understood its meaning. Without our own transportation we walked from place to place in the heat of day and were desperate to find a car to buy. A nice man guaranteed us a used car in good condition.

As a result of our naivete we were tricked into buying a rundown car and tried to return it. The man refused and threatened us both physically and verbally. In fear of the confrontation, we still have the car to this day after many breakdowns and replaced parts. And it is now we know that God has used our broken down car for His glory by molding our characters and providing protection when the car had failed us. We were told that if our car were to break down in certain dangerous areas of Trinidad to continue on or else we would be harmed. It was not by chance that the car broke down (sometimes while we were driving) in the safety of our parking lot, the church, or the market. Thank you, Lord, for watching over us!

As we settled into our life in Trinidad we looked forward with anticipation to what God had in store for us. We knew that we were here according to His time and purpose.

Photos
1. Fred and Jane with son Joshua
2. Boxes ready to ship to Trinidad
3. The Lee's home in Trinidad
4. The car that keeps breaking down
5. Jane at the market

Meet the Lees
Lee Family Blog 2
Lee Family, Blog 3
Lee Family, Blog 4

More Missionary Blogs

According to His Perfect Time and Purpose

According to His Perfect
Time and Purpose