The Marshall and Monarch Migration South by Lucy

Photos from our trip to Refuge Ranch

We have been here almost 3 weeks now, and I wanted to share a little about our trip down here in October. We were traveling at the time of the year of the monarch butterfly migration to Mexico. If we had come by plane, we would have missed them, but we drove, so they became part of our story. While driving through the mountains, we saw hundreds of them. I wish I had a picture to share of that, but we were traveling too fast and there was no place to pull off to get pictures. Some of the butterflies were killed by the traffic. The others just kept moving south, soaring on the wind as they pushed onward. I felt like there was a lesson in the butterflies for us.

You see, the timing for us to be in Mexico has been long, and at times, rather difficult. We have known since 2006 that God was calling us to here to Mexico, but it needed to be in His perfect time, not ours. So for 3 years, we have been preparing. Mark was in school, and just last May graduated with a degree in Bible and Ministry. We talked with Aaron and Joanna, and gave them time to adjust to the idea of moving (which was actually one of the easier parts), and we began learning Spanish. We spoke to churches about God's work in Mexico, and maybe the scariest thing of all, we put our house up for sale, sold a bunch of our "stuff," and quit our jobs.

At times, we wondered and questioned if God were truly calling our family to Mexico. After all, it was a pretty crazy idea leaving the security of jobs, home, and family. But every time we doubted, God sent someone to us to confirm the call.

The last week before we moved was the toughest. We started the week with cold rainy weather, and needing to turn on the furnace. We woke up Monday morning to a very cold house, and a strange sound coming from the furnace. It wasn't working! That really wasn't a problem though because Mark is a handyman and can fix anything! But after spending the whole day working on it, he found a large hole in the heat exchanger. That is a BIG problem if you don't know anything about furnaces (like me). We needed to replace the furnace in a house we were moving out of in a week! The cold weather continued as we made plans to replace the furnace, and continued packing. Of course, we questioned, "Why? Why us? Why now?" But we praised God that it didn't happen after we moved when no one would be there or know about it.

On our last Saturday, we had family and friends over to help move some big things out of the house. About an hour into our day, our friend, Mark Musall, fell about 15 feet from our porch roof while helping move a mattress. 911 was called and he was lifelined to Fort Wayne where they found he had a fractured vertebrae, some cracked ribs, and a partially collapsed lung. Once again, we asked, "Why? Why him? Why now?" But we praised God that they expect a full recovery for him, although it will take time, God's time.

We truly felt all of this as a time of testing for us. We wanted to be with Mark as he recovered from this accident, but God told us it was time to go, so we went. We left the following Monday morning, leaving the house, furnace, and Mark in God's hands, fully knowing He would make everything right in His time. (Mark is home now and working a few hours a day as he recovers.)

Now what does all that have to do with Monarch butterflies? Well, they don't question how long or hard the trip south is going to be. They just hear God's call, and they go. Now that is faith! There is definitely a lesson in it for all of us, and I pray we learned it well. I know there will be many other trials as we walk the path He has put us on, but I will remember His butterflies, and have faith.

Jesus said, "Don't be afraid. Just believe." Mark 5:36b NIV