I have been meaning to put the experiences of our move down on digital paper for some time now but finally feel ready to do so. I can only hope that I remember all that has happened to get us to this point because the miracles and revelations are many. We have truly been blessed from on high.
In October of 2014 I had a rather startling dream that woke me at 3:30 AM. It was rather short in duration but it left a significant impact on my mind. I immediately got out of bed and asked Heavenly Father for the interpretation and received a somewhat lengthy response. I wrote down everything I could remember from it but was told not to share it generally so unfortunately I cannot share it here. I was told only to share it with my immediate family. The one thing I can share is that among the many instructions and warnings I received was a command to prepare my family to move from Illinois to the west. This was already on the mind of Robin and I but in some far off future after Becca and Laura graduated from high school. I was given a timeline in the dream which was to move by August of 2015. Work at Williams Manny was going well for me. I was adding around 10k per year to my annual salary each fall and finally had more than my living expenses coming in for the first time in a long time. I had no idea what I would do for a living once we arrived in the west. All I knew is that the Lord had told me to move and that somehow we would do so.
The next morning I shared my experience with my family although I felt that I should wait for Ashley to come home from her mission before sharing it with her. Robin believed me immediately and we began discussing that very day how we could manage such a move. We knew we would have to operate almost entirely on faith. We were doing well financially but this would require miracles to occur in order for it to work and that is exactly what happened.
In December we made our first step in the move by going into our basement and starting to sort through our stuff. It wasn't a fun task but it felt good to take at least a small step in the direction the Lord wanted us to go. Although not told specifically where to go after some discussion Robin and I felt that St. George was the place for us to move to. I had only been through it a few times but something about that area inspired us. Certainly the warmer weather didn't hurt, but it was more than that.
The months began to pass by quickly and something at work changed. When I first was brought on my boss received an override from my work and helped me get established. After some time his contract was changed so that he received nothing from my business and that changed everything. Suddenly I was just the competition and more and more I was treated as such. In fact I began to feel like he wanted me gone so he could take the business I had written and would write in the future, (which is exactly what happened). As I began to feel this push from work the preparations at home continued. My niece Ally was going on a mission and would have her farewell in late May. Jessica decided she would like to go out early for the summer to Provo to secure a job. So I planned a trip with her and my mother to go out to Ally's farewell and make a scouting mission down to St. George to see what housing was available.
Once I got to Utah Elizabeth and Jessica and I headed down to St. George to look around. The Midgleys from Rockford had moved there some time ago and had offered to let us stay the night. Brother Midgley took us on a drive through all the neighborhoods and areas so we had a real good feel for the area. The next day Elizabeth and Jessica and I began going to showings at different spots in St. George but one place stood out above the rest. There were other spaces cheaper or even bigger but we settled on the little home we ended up in. After arriving home from the trip we applied for and were accepted into the home in which we now live. What a wonderful decision it was! We have been welcomed in by our wonderful ward and shown kindness and enthusiasm for us being here. Our home lacks storage but other than that is really perfect for what we need right now.
We originally wanted to move July 1st but as it approached it became apparent that it just wouldn't work. We had the money for the deposit but little else. If we pushed the move back just one month it would allow us more time to prepare in every way and allow the older girls to go to girl's camp with their friends one final time as well. In June I took a hard look at our finances and realized it would take a miracle for us to be able to pull off the move. I began praying to Heavenly Father for precisely that, a miracle. I included in my prayers that I didn't know what we would do for living both short and long term but that we would move regardless and have faith that he would provide. He did on both accounts.
Miracle #1 occurred in the late spring. Jose Gloria, my good friend was just finished working for an agency that was doing the same thing as me but on a bigger scale. The company was going under and would not be in business the next fall. Jose was able to secure their client list which had more than 1600 names of people that he and I could help that fall which would provide a long term income for his and my family. If things went well it would even be an increase over what I was making at Williams Manny. The only problem was how we would survive until my first check in January. The Lord had plans for that too.
Miracle #2 occurred at the Midgley's home. After our tour of St. George that first evening Bro. Midgley asked us why we were moving. I told him we had felt inspired to do so but certainly didn't know all the reasons why. He then told us of a fireside they had attended not long before. That in the fireside the mission president of the area had come to speak. He related to them a revelation that had been received by the first presidency not long before. They said that the saints who had established St. George were on the other side of the veil very worried about their descendants who had left the church or were faltering. Their prayers to Heavenly father were so fervent that he had them and had agreed to inspire families from around the world to move to St. George to help in the work of reclaiming them. What a special blessing to receive this information even before we moved.
Miracle #3. On July 14th I was called in to the President's office at Williams Manny. They had caught wind of my move and had decided to let me go immediately, probably to protect their client list. The miracle came during that meeting though. I was being let go with no fault, which meant I could claim unemployment benefits, and they were offering me a severance package that ended up bringing in over $7,000 dollars or in other words exactly what we needed for the move. In addition the early dismissal meant I didn't have to work during the final preparations for the move in August. I remember getting into the car in the parking lot and thanking the Lord for the miracle that had just occurred. When I arrived home I was too emotional to even be able to tell my family what had happened. It was such a blessing. In one day the Lord had provided an income for me that would end one week after my first check and also provided the means for the move. July 14th will forever join the list of happy days in my life, (and yet it all happened with me being let go).
Miracle #4 This may seem like a small one but it is just in keeping with the many ways in which the Lord blessed us. When I had arranged for the move we had looked at a truck rental on August 1st but my mother was moving to Florida at the same time and needed help getting there. So I looked into putting our stuff in storage for a month and renting a truck after taking her to Florida. Ashley agreed to go with me to help me drive and keep me awake. By pushing back our truck rental a month we saved over $500 dollars. It meant we would be moving on August first with a minimum of the things we could fit into two cars, but it was a blessing nonetheless.
Miracle #5 This miracle is the biggest of all. We somehow survived our move, had everything packed into our storage shed, had our kids and a few things packed into our two cars and were on our way. We picked up the older three girls from girl's camp and headed out to Utah. Becca had been learning to drive for quite some time so she could give Robin a break once in a while on the road. We had a little detour in Iowa that cost us 5 hours but other than that everything was going well. Becca was driving when we crossed the halfway point deep into Nebraska. Becca began to get sleepy and lost control of the car. Grandma and I had told her just that week that if that ever happened she should stay off the brake and instead just try to straiten the wheel without any sudden movements. Somehow in that moment she didn't panic and did exactly that. The car went into the grassy median and finally she applied the brake and it spun out, facing the opposite direction. Emma, Clara, Porter and Robin were in the car with her. The babies actually slept through the whole thing. When I returned back to the scene in the other car I expected to find the car totaled. Instead not only was our family okay, but the car didn't seem to be hurt at all. I drove it out of the median and it got us all the way to St. George. I have since replaced a wheel bearing but that was going out already. I can only consider this a miracle that my family is alive and whole. I know he protected them at the moment of danger. I still don't know how Becca was able to keep the car from rolling at such high speeds and with as little experience as she has. I thank the Lord for this miracle more than any other in my life.
I know I have missed many other miracles that occurred to bring us to this blessed valley. But these are the ones that stand out. Looking at the above I can only come to one conclusion, the Lord wants us here and for that I am eternally grateful.
