Gen 50:20-21, NASB
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive. So, therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he [Joseph]comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”
- I have wanted to do long-term mission work since my sophomore year in college. I started towards that goal, but my head wasn’t right yet. I didn’t know about my autism, I had an unhealthy marriage, and when Serving In Mission rejected me for declaring in my doctrinal statement that homoosexuality is not a sin, it devastated me. The already-weak marriage fell apart, and I almost completely despaired of life. But, God used it for my good. God has grown my faith exponentially, and I have a much more gracious outlook on God, myself, and others.
- My recent trip to Nairobi demonstrated a place I can fit in and use my gifts for the good of others who desperately need someone to show them evidence of a God who loves them as they are.
Sometimes, it’s the unexpected, negative events in life, the doors that close in our faces, that spurn us to go ahead and move forward with our dreams. Some members of a certain church board took issue with me, because I sent previously-allocated funds to a sponsee one month ahead of schedule from my own resources. He needed it immediately for programs he was actively engaged in. I advised the board I would accept reimbursement the following month–when we had originally planned to send this person the money. I could wait. Although I only spent money exactly as designated and agreed upon, they remained angry, we could not reconcile our differences, and I left this board. Similarly, I lost my job unexpectedly this month.
So, upon reflection, my oldest will finish her junior year of undergrad soon and then stay on or near campus through the summer for an internship before starting her senior year there. She can get health coverage there. My youngest will graduate from high school soon before heading to Canada to spend time with her dad for the summer. Then, she will go to Toronto for college. She can get health coverage as a resident of Canada.
As someone on the autism spectrum, I cannot stand the huge corporate, for-profit medical system in the US any longer. I practiced for a bit over 10 years in Canada and 10 years here. No more here. And as it turns out, I can become a resident of Costa Rica for $150k USD in investments. A property and a car will easily cover that. I can retire early there for a lower cost of living, work there in an excellent system of socialized medicine if I need to, rent the property out when I’m not there, and use this as my home base for Acts10 and for going to Nairobi to work with refugees, particularly those in the LGBTQ community. So, I’m selling my house in Indianapolis.
I can reach my mom by flight from Costa Rica within 24h, and within 48-72h even from Nairobi. We can reach each other from anywhere in the world, day or night, on a satellite phone. I would also like to get out of the US soon in case World War III breaks out. In light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with associated war crimes and Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in retaliation for Hamas’ attacks on Isreali civilians and related atrocities of October 7th, 2023, this threat is real. God help the world if Trump is the POTUS at that time–to say nothing for women, any non-white person, and any non-straight and cis-gendered person in the US.
Presumably US-government aid to foreign countries such as those in East Africa would cease as well. We have historically given aid to support programs to stop the spread of HIV. Naturally, these programs greatly benefit those in the LGBTQ community as well as heterosexuals. Some international aid has dried up in light of Uganda’s horrific new law of May, 2023 further criminalizing homosexuality and making “crimes” affiliated with it punishable by death. Kenya has started to move in this direction as well. As always, due to entrenched misogyny, trans-women and gay men will bear the brunt of the fallout from these laws and the secondary loss of funding. Progressive nations stop funding in protest of the laws and regressive countries either stop or don’t give funding to begin with, because they don’t care.
Acts10 will need a great deal of support on an ongoing basis to obtain property and licensure to practice medicine in Kenya. Likewise, I will not have access to any personal pension money until at least 55, depending upon the plan. The youngest age to my knowledge on any of my plans at this point is 57.5. I turn 51 next month. If I need to work in Costa Rica, I cannot do so until I obtain residency status–3-4 months after moving there. Thank you in advance for your generous giving!
