Dear Family & Friends,
Greetings from the Wild Wild West, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday
and the capital of the Arizona Territory in the 1860’s!
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
It has been 1 year since we left San Diego and relocated to
beautiful Prescott, Az. As some of you
already know the process of moving here which we are convinced was a result of God’s total direction and
providence. We give Him all the Glory. Jas 4:13-15 Come
now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town
and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"— yet you do not know
what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears
for a little time and then vanishes.
Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do
this or that."
In 2016 living in San Diego became very difficult both
economically and politically. Living on
a fixed income had become stressful and challenging. Even as we write this letter a resent housing
crisis report about California published on Dec 14th stated that 75
percent of Southern Californians can't afford to buy a home, according to the
state realtors association and 56 percent of state voters say they may have to
move because of a lack of affordable housing. One in four say they will relocate out of
state, according to University of California Berkeley's Institute of
Governmental Studies. US Census figures
show 2 million residents, 25 and older, have already left the state since 2010.
We were part of that number. A median price home in the Golden State is
$561,000, according to the realtors association. A household would need to earn
$115,000 a year to reasonably afford a home at that price, assuming a 20
percent down payment. Yet, two thirds of Californians earns less $80,000,
according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Of course we know
that the Lord provides for our needs, which he did and continues to do.
So we put the possibility of relocating to prayer. Karen suggested we look into Arizona and
specifically Prescott, AZ. We have friends that live in Sedona, AZ and
remembered the northern Arizona area being in the high desert mountain
community. A few years prior we had entertained visiting Prescott or
surrounding communities but did not pursue it. Politically we could see what was happening to
California transforming from a conservative state to a deep liberal environment.
We took a trip to AZ in October 2016 to investigate the
Prescott area. As we drove into downtown
Prescott it was like going back 30 years to a community called “Everybody’s
Hometown” We felt that this was the place. We drove around the community for the next few
days and it felt like home. We had tried
to find a church that we had known about but could not find the church or
parking lot. We had seen a sign for Calvary Chapel and attended Sunday and
drove back to San Diego the next day. While we were at church we filled out a
visitor card along with a prayer request for the Lords direction on whether to
move to Prescott and selling our home.
The week back in San Diego we discussed and prayed
about leaving California. At the end of
the week on Saturday we were sitting in the kitchen talking about what to do
and how it would be a joy to be a part of a church with true fellowship and
committed to God’s Word. At exactly when
we made that comment the phone rang. It was a call from Calvary Chapel. One of the men from the men’s ministry had
read our prayer request about moving and selling our house. We spoke for over an hour and we knew this was
an answer to prayer. Jer 29:12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray
to me, and I will hear you.
What took place the next 45 days was
remarkable and only as a result of the Lord’s direction. We listed our house and the first person to view
it made an offer exactly what we wanted for. It was a 30 day escrow and it closed in 27
days unheard of in CA. Our realtor said
that he never had such a transaction that went so smooth without a hitch. We sold and gave away the majority of our
belongings. The hardest thing was to give our 8,000 book library collection
away. The Lord provided a brother in
Christ to help with the task. As a
result the books went to 3 churches and a missionary in the Philippines.
We packed up the car and a 10’ U Haul truck
and headed out along with our dog “Bogie” on December 8th (that’s
another story). Our first Christmas in
Prescott was amazing. A white Christmas
with 10” of snow on Christmas eve.
So here we are 1 year later in “Everybody’s Hometown”. We love living in northern Arizona and the
beauty of the mountains at almost 6,000ft. Too many things to mention that have taken
place since we moved here but there are a few items are worthy of telling...
The city of Prescott sponsors the Christmas
lighting of the square on Dec 8th. The town square is decorated with thousands of
Christmas lights and the celebration includes many Christmas carols and the
reading of scripture from Matthew and Luke.
Each reading of the Word coincided with a carol about Christ. No PC here!
Our church, Calvary Chapel, is committed to teaching the
Word, prayer and reaching the community for Christ. Various outreaches throughout the year
including the National Day of Prayer at the Square in downtown. There are 40-50 men at Calvary every Saturday
morning at 6:30 am that come for prayer. The Women’s ministry has a similar
prayer time on Wednesday at 9 am. There
are 16 small groups (called life groups) that meet throughout the week.
Ever since becoming believers, we have patterned our walk
with the Lord upon His Word and those biblical examples found in scripture. Our
role models of Priscilla and Aquila in Acts 18:2-3, 26 committed to
discipleship, training and teaching the Word which we affectionately call our “P&A
ministry”. Over the years we have had
many Sunday school groups, home fellowships, small groups both in and out of
our home…as many of you may have experienced. We are currently leading a Life Group on
Wednesday mornings. Karen is meeting
with a group of ladies on Thursday Scripture writing and study. I’ve been
leading a group of men on Thursday mornings called the Proverbsmen 27:17 {www.proverbsman.com now in need of an update :-( } committed to building up one another in the Word
and fellowship. We give Him all the praise and glory that He still gives us such wonderful opportunities.
Life has its interesting twists and turns. A couple that we knew in the Keller Williams
office in San Diego were in Einstein’s Bakery while Roger was meeting with his
men’s group…here in Prescott the couple came over to Roger “ I recognized your
voice Roger Wynott”. What a surprise to
see someone who we worked with in San Diego at Keller Williams 10 years ago and
they remembered us. Well, that was 3
months ago.
In getting reacquainted
with them, we started discussing the opportunities of affiliating with Keller
Williams again. We have been praying
about a new endeavor here in Prescott continuing in the real estate industry
not as appraisers but as RE agents. As
some of you know that we had a Real Estate Appraisal business and in San Diego
over the past 30 years. Also, I had my
RE license.
Now 3 1/2 months I have recently obtained my Arizona RE
license and we have just become affiliated with Keller Williams Realty here in
downtown Prescott. A connection with
Keller Williams started in San Diego 10 years ago when Roger was an agent with
Keller.
Therefore, we are excited about the Lord’s direction in all
these endeavors both spiritually and in business. We would appreciate your
prayers as we seek His leading. Much more to tell for the next time. Come visit
us we would love to have you.
Have a Blessed Christmas & in HIStory,
Roger & Karen
1 Cor. 15:58
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