The Paine Family

This past weekend, the family went down to Indianapolis for the Culinary graduation at the ITC. They very much enjoyed there time there and the fellowship with our friends. It was a happy short reunion. Stephen, Anna, Josephine, Aleita, Andrew, and Keisha all graduated. Congradulations to all of them! Things are continuing to keep us busy here in the shipping department in addition to the publications department. We are slowly beginning to understand the system to be of any help. It is the learning curve for us right now I guess. But God is faithful and we are trusting that He will continue to teach us.

It seems like life has been a whirlwind for the past few weeks! Since moving to the Chicago area, we have been keeping busy preparing the house that we are going to move into (hopefully within the next few weeks) while trying to settle down temporarily in the house that we are currently staying in! But we are learning much through this time both physically and spiritually. I do not have much to say at this point, but I figure that a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are some pictures of the headquarters as well as some random shots (some of which were taken by Brielle…she has quite the eye for photography =). May the Lord richly bless your week!

“See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.”  Deuteronomy 30:15, 16

“Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” Psalm 37:3-5

During our last week at the training center, we had the wonderful opportunity to have a meal with the Nelson Family. It was something that our whole family had been looking forward to for some time. We chose Eagle Creek Park (a state park in Indianapolis) as the location for our get-together. As it turned out, it rained on and off during our time together but this did not deter us from having fun and making the most of our time of fellowship. Some of the guys even decided that it was warm enough to go swimming. =) The rain, that could have been viewed as a hindrance, only added a new dimension to the wonderful memory that we made that day. It will be a time that will not be soon forgotten.

The Nelson Family has been such a blessing to us all, and we pray that God will bless them as they continue to faithfully serve at the Indianapolis Training center.

We are all here in Chicago. After finishing off some packing and cleaning (with the help of our dear friends), we left Indianapolis and set our face towards the north…Chicago, Illinois. It was hard.

We were warmly welcomed by  the staff here at the Headquarters which was a great encouragement to us all. We are all very tired…and I am not really sure what to write about, but I hope to post some pictures of the different things that took place during our final week at ITC.So many things have come and gone and it is hard to remember everything! Anyways, we are here and looking to the Lord expectantly for what He has in store for us.The Lord encouraged my heart with these verses from Psalm 36 this morning before we left.

“Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds…How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.”
Psalm 36:5, 7

I can trust Him…for He is trustworthy.

God has directed our family to leave the Indianapolis Training Center.
For over five years, the ITC has been our home and we will greatly miss being here. We leave behind many wonderful memories and dear friends, but we know that God has a specific purpose and plan in this move and we choose to trust in Him rather than in our own understanding. Lord-willing, our new location will be Oak Brook, Illinois (just outside of Chicago). We will be continuing to serve in the IBLP ministry at its headquarters. We are looking forward to the adventure of the move, the opportunity to meet new people and experiencing different challenges, and learning more of what it means to walk by faith and not by sight.

For me, this move is challenging and exciting in its own way. I am continually reminded that I do not know what is best, only God does. He has proved Himself faithful in the past and is worthy of my trust for the future. For me to question His faithfulness would be to doubt His very character. Over a year ago, God gave me a verse in Isaiah that challenged me to trust in Him for the grace and strength that I need to accomplish His perfect will.

“For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.”  ~Isaiah 50:7~

Trusting in Christ alone, we as a family purpose to do whatever God calls us to do, to go wherever He calls us to go, and to be, by His grace, whatever He desires us to be.

We will keep you all posted on what takes place over the next few weeks. Tentatively, we are planning on leaving the ITC June 6…but we will see how God works it out! Please keep us in your prayers as you remember.