All is Well
February 25, 2008

Just a quick update to let everyone know that the land escaped the effects of the ice storm relatively unscathed. We had a chance to travel to the area since we needed to meet with the pastor of Mansfield First Baptist about an upcoming event and Mansfield is about half-way between here (home) and there (the property).

There were a few trees with broken branches and a couple of had fallen across the road beds, but it really was nothing more than you'd expect from any other winter. The entrance road is in great shape and the road on the east is in pretty good shape as well. The one on the west has a few washed out spots, but we expected that since, as I mentioned in the last post, a good section of that road is steep and sandy.

It was good to see the property in the winter, when all the trees were bare. It allowed us to discover a few more bluffs along the steep hill on the opposite side of the west creek and better visualize what some of the areas will look like after our "modifications."

Our enthusiam grows every time we visit. With the new house nearing completion, we should be able to return our attention to Stone Haven and we're excited to get back at it. We really hope to be able to hold our Sukkot Celebration there this year so the next thing on the list is a well (since no one wants to haul is enough water to supply 75+ people for three days). So again, we're wading through the muck and mire of getting the "transient non-community well" paperwork located and filled out.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men
February 14, 2008:

When I first put the "new and improved" website up, I planned on regularly updating this journal, but as someone once said, "life is what happens when you're busy making plans." It's been a l-o-n-g time since I last posted any progress reports, but I'll try to give a basic overview now.

We ran into some trouble with the well. The one that was on the property didn't have sufficient flow and we've discovered that the plans require something called a "Transient Non-Community Well" which translates into needing to fill out some forms, draw up plans and have an an engineer approve them. Problem is, the "powers that be" have kept sending us to other "powers that be" and no one at this point knows exactly what forms we need to get from where.

We met with an agent from the Missouri Dept. of Conservation to talk about the plans we have and how to incorporate sustainable forest management. We also discussed a few concerns we had about removing some of the gravel from the creek beds to deepen the "swimming holes" - we didn't want to do anything that would cause problems for our neighbors downstream or alter the flow in any way - and asked about the best way to promote wildflower growth in some of the open areas. It was a great visit, we learned a lot and feel a little better able to make informed decisions.

There was an ice storm in this area a few days ago which centered over the area where the land is located. Up to 2 inches of ice fell, followed by several days of below freezing temperatures and high winds. We haven't been able to travel to the land to access the damage but we anticipate it to be fairly extensive - if it is anything like what we have seen on the news reports from that area. I'll try to post an update as soon as we have the opportunity to take a road trip. Until then, your prayers for the best while we try to prepare for the worst would be greatly appreciated.

A Slight Change in Plans
July 10, 2007

In April, I decided to return to school to continue my nursing education, so much of my time is now spent with my nose in a book. Then at the end of last month, my sister and nephew - along with their two LARGE dogs - moved in with us. The increase in family size has resulted in a decrease in living space. After some deliberation, we decided a larger house was in order. So the Stone Haven project was put on temorary hold while we took on a new project: renovating an old farm house we were able to purchase at a VERY reasonable price. If you're interested, here's a link to pictures of the house and deatils of the rennovation project: The Farmer House

We're slowly but surely adjusting to the new circumstances. It is wonderful to have my sister here with us and, odd as this may sound, I'm really enjoying having a young teenager around the house once again. We are still doing some traveling for presentation of our studies, although we have cut back on the number of invitations we accept. While most of my "extra-cirricular" writing has stopped for the moment while I focus on school, Randy is continuing to work on writing his commentary on Hebrews and other miscellenious topics that we will be posting to the website.

In Go the Roads
May 28, 2007

The roads are roughed in, thanks to the hard work and willing spirit of Curtis Crabtree of Crabtree Excavating. So now it's possible to drive down to the creeks - if the weather is dry. You'll still need a 4WD though. Apparently, there are good and bad points to having so many large rocks on the property. There are a couple of trouble spots where the road is very steep and rocky, so it will take a little engineering ingenuity to get that taken care of. We've placed a few culverts to try and take care of potential water problems, but still need to build retaining walls. There's also a stretch on one of those steep spots where the base soil is very, VERY sandy and washes away anytime it rains. We've made some preliminary inquires to a local quarry about the cost of spreading base rock, but need to wait until the finances are available.

It had just rained the day we came to check out the new roads and the creeks were REALLY flowing. You could hear the water pouring - roaring - over the falls from the top of the hill. We spent the day walking the new road beds and trying to keep from getting swept along by the flow as we walked through the creeks.

We've done a lot of work finalizing the blueprints for the buildings and choosing the potential building sights. We've also started making inquires about having someone come out and check to see if the well on the property is usable and debating about which building project to tackle first. Every once in a while it seems a bit overwhelming, until we remember that the God who called us to the task is greater than any obstacle we might face.

Then Sings My Soul
November 11, 2006:

We've spent the last several months exploring the property, working on the proposed layout and deciding where to place the roads. It's hard to describe just how beautiful this place is - and to think that this is the "fallen" version of Creation! It truly does make my soul sing.

As you come into the property, there is a large flat top hill in the center, which is surrounded by a horseshoe shaped valley created by the 2 creeks. There's also another nice sized level area for building in the SE corner. There was once a field on the top of the hill, but it's now covered with trees of various sizes, though there are a few hunting roads which have been kept cleared. There's also a beautiful pine stand with some great possibilities and an old homestead with a well and electricity, although what buildings are left are unusable.

The two main creeks (to this point, we've discovered two smaller ones as well) start from underground springs on the north side of the property which push up through the ground and start flowing over the large slabs of bedrock. The land around these upper springs is fairly level but gets gradually steeper as the creeks make their way south. The creeks have beautiful rock bluffs alongside and scattered boulders lying in the beds.

As they make their way south and the land grows steeper, the creeks "step down" in a series of various size waterfalls. There are also dozens of springs flowing out of the bluffs along the creeks, some of which also form waterfalls, others which just trickle off the bluff into the creek. There are several rock bottomed pools, a couple of which are about 2 foot deep. The pools in the west side creek have a fair share of crawdads, which tells us that its flows year round. The two creeks come together just off the SW property line.

Some of the hillsides, all of which are covered by trees, have boulders scattered across them, as well as large stone outcroppings. Many of the bluffs on the south end of the property are 30 to 40 foot tall, with beautiful views. All in all, it has a lot of potential, but it also has a lot of work that needs to be done before it comes close to meeting it. The property has been used strictly for hunting for the last 30 or 40 years, so it's VERY scrubby and there's an incredible amount of small trees and underbrush that needs to be cleared. The entrance road is full of ruts and needs to be leveled and smoothed out before anyone without a 4WD can access it. The roads through the property on the hilltop are really just brushhogged paths, the once open field there is now covered with cedar trees and thorn bushes and the only way to get to the creeks at this point is on foot, through that brush and bramble.

We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we have an Awesome God behind us and before us - and whether we turn to the left or the right, He will be the voice behind us saying "this is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21).

So - with the prayers and support of our friends, we're going to enjoy the journey!

The Journey to Here
June 12, 2006:

We closed escrow on the property today and we are now officially land "owers". It's been a long and interesting experience to get to this point, For those of you who want to know more, what follows is the story of our "journey to here."

In 1999, shortly after we married, Randy and I became members of Living Stones Fellowship, a network of House Churches in the SW Missouri area. Every year, the different congregations get together and hold a weekend retreat. In 2002, the retreat was held at Shepherd of the Ozarks near Harriet, Arkansas. It was there that God first began to nudge our hearts toward expanding our ministry to include a Retreat Center of our own. As we began to tentatively search for property, the vision began to grow and solidify.

Organizing retreats for our church, our seminars and other occasions made us realize the need for a facility in this area that was affordable and provided the right atmosphere. Our relationship with members of the Disabled and Deaf Communities helped us to see the need for a place that would accommodate their needs as well.

It was difficult to find a piece of property that we felt would work for us within our price range. We looked at dozen of places over the next few years, only two of which we felt had the right combination of beauty and accessibility. The offers we made on both of those properties were turned down and the search continued.

On March 15th, 2006, while I was in California, Randy received a call from an agent, who had showen us a piece of property the previous Fall, about a place he had just listed. Since we had shared our plans and vision with him, he said he thought of us as soon as he saw the place, thinking it would be perfect for us. After I returned home, we went to look at it on March 25th.

It was beautiful, but very different from any of the other places we had considered. Yet there was just "something" about it that sort of grew on us as we walked. Randy commented after we'd been climbing up and down hills on the steep side of the property that he was amazed at how he didn't feel tired, especially since we'd been out there for about 4 hours at that point. After we left the land, we went to get some dinner and discuss what we thought we should do. We decided to make an offer. The owner turned it down and countered with the full asking price. We decided not to submit a 2nd offer at that time.

But, as I said, there was just "something" about the place, so during the first week of April, we checked to see if the property was still on the market and contacted the agent again to discuss submitting another offer slightly higher than our first. We learned that the owner accepted this second offer on April 10th - our 8th Wedding Anniversary. Randy said he had been praying he would be able to give it to me as a "birthday gift" (my birthday is April 16th) but felt God let us know it was accepted on our anniversary so that he would realize it was for both of us, not just for me.

Since we had been hunting property for several years and had made offers on two of them, we already knew there was only one institution in this area willing to give a 30 year fixed rate mortgage on undeveloped land. We had gone so far as to apply for a loan on one of the previous properties, so we contacted them and asked them to reopen our file. Then on April 14th we applied for a loan at a local bank on a piece of rental property we own to help us come up with the necessary down payment. On April 17th, we received the Intent to Approve letter from the first bank and everything was fine until April 21st, when we were told the local bank would not loan us money on the rental property because there was a commercial building attached. Later that day, we were also told that the land appraised for $27,000 less than our contract price. Everyone, except the appraiser, was shocked.

Needless to say, this caused us to have a few doubts about whether or not we were doing the right thing. We prayed and discussed whether this was a sign from God that we should stop pursuing this property or an opportunity from Him to learn a little more about trust as He helped us to overcome the many obstacles and difficulties we knew would come as we began this venture. Our prayer was that, no matter how hard we tried, that if this wasn't right, God would stop it from happening and then determined to do everything we could, trusting that He would be the "voice behind us saying, 'this is the way, walk in it'" (Isaiah 30:21).

During the next two weeks we started by talking to the loan officers at the bank we had applied for the land loan on, trying to see if it was possible to get a second appraisal. The loan officers agreed the appraisal was low, but told us a second appraisal wasn't an option. We then asked the listing agent to contact the owner to see if they would consider financing the additional $27,000 we would need. We were told at the end of April that they would not, so we started looking at our other options.

We had another piece of property we could apply on, but weren't sure it would appraise high enough to get us the amount that we needed. Trusting that God would make a way if this was indeed the right thing and right place, we contacted the local bank on May 15th and asked them to change our loan application to the second house. The loan was immediately approved. On May 21st, we were told that the house was appraised for higher than we had anticipated and that they were willing to loan us 80% of its value, which would be exactly the amount needed to cover the down payment, including the additional $27,000 difference between the land loan amount and our contract price.

We had originally set the closing date for the land purchase for May 23rd, but the soonest we could set the closing on the rental property was May 31st, so on May 22nd, we filed for an extension on the land closing until the 31st as well, setting up an early appointment for the closing of the rental loan and an afternoon appointment to close on the land. We felt we could finally breath a sigh of relief, but that lasted less than 24 hours, because we got a call the following day telling us they would only approve the rental property loan for 70%, which left us just shy of $10,000 short and with only a few days to come up with the funds.

Doubt and disappointment crept in once again. Was God trying to stop us and we were just not listening - or were we supposed to learn perseverance and push on? After a lot more prayer and discussion, we again decided to do what we could and took some money out savings that had been earmarked for a new vehicle for Randy, which he's going to need soon, and a couple of appliances that have been on their last legs for 2 or 3 years now. Then, on May 26th, we received a call from the agent telling us they had been unable to reach the man who owned the property in front of ours to have him sign the deeded easement so it could be recorded, which we thought had already been taken care of. Since the bank could not close escrow on the loan until this had been done, the closing date was extended once again, this time to June 9th.

Later that night, we took a walk and spent some time discussing once again how we should interpret these events, since we know that God speaks to us through circumstances. We asked each other, when is enough, enough? The two obstacles we were now looking at were first, the fact that our loan rate lock and Intent to Approve from the bank would expire on June 17th and secondly, the fact that the owner of the adjoining property hadn't been able to be reached for close to 6 weeks. Realizing that both of these were things outside of our ability to "do" anything, we decided if we hadn't heard from the owner of the adjoining property by the new closing date, we needed to start looking in another direction.

The following morning, at 8 AM, we received a call from the adjoining property owner. He told us that he was looking forward to meeting us and had made an appointment with a lawyer to have the deeded easement drawn up the following Tuesday, since Monday was Memorial Day and the office would be closed. We spent the rest of the day grinning at each other, since sometimes God speaks so clearly that even thick-heads like our can't misunderstand.

There were a few more snags. Although we closed the rental property loan on May 31st, we still didn't have the final figure of the amount we would need for the down payment on the land loan, since the bank was unable to complete the paper work until the easement was recorded, so there was a possibility that we would still come up a little short. On Friday, June 2nd, we got a call from the listing agent telling us that the adjoining property owner hadn't been able to get in to see the lawyer until that afternoon and was told that he should have the necessary papers prepared and ready for him to sign by the following Tuesday. On Tuesday afternoon, with only 3 days left until we were set to close, we received a call from the listing agent telling us the lawyer still had not finished preparing the papers. When the papers still weren't ready on Thursday, the closing was extended once again, this time for June 14th.

Then the following day, Friday June 9th, we received another call telling us the papers were finished, signed and in the process of being recorded. So on Monday, June 12th at 11:30 we signed the final paperwork and with the closing of escrow comes the opening of a new direction in our journey. Now, the real work begins!