All was normal in our lives, well as normal as caterers could be. We usually worked most weekends catering some private event or a private wedding. We were operating a successful company and had a large staff of young employees to help us. I was not expecting anything to change as I sat down in my normal seat at 10:30 April 8, 2007; six rows back, left side of the church, aisle seat, my wife Laura beside me.
The service began as usual with a lengthy worship followed by the usual announcements and the usual offering. The sermon that day was given by Daniel Zopoula. While I like his messages and his manner of speaking, I cannot recall to this day one word of which he spoke; no offence to Daniel, I know God was preparing something bigger. After Daniel finished his message he invited the church to enter into a prayer time with him; the air was thick with the Holy Spirit, I could feel Him moving through the congregation. The air seemed heavy around me and I could feel myself getting warmer, as though someone had suddenly turned on a heater beside me. I could hear the sound of Daniels' voice as he prayed to God for intercession for many things; I looked up from my prayer (I had my head down with eyes closed) to look at Daniel. He was standing center stage with his eyes closed as he prayed; I remember looking around to other people and noticed many involved in deep prayer as well. I dropped my head again and when I closed my eyes I immediately saw a clear vision in my mind; as bright as a normal day I was standing on a paved road looking at a large stone wall to the left of which was an immense wrought iron gate; one side was open and a narrow driveway wound around a corner back to where I could not see. The sides of the driveway were grown over with lush tropical plants and trees. Mounted on the face of the stone wall were the words "North Coast Missionary Services, Michael and Laura Boisclair with a large Ichthys or "Christian Fish". The letters were made of a shiny steel. Suddenly the vision flipped to the view of a large white concrete house, two stories high with a set of stairs leading to the second floor; in the yard out front a large fountain gushed water onto three tiers; palm trees dotted the sides of the property. The vision flipped again and this time I was sitting in a large white van in the airport parking lot of Puerto Plata; a group of people were coming toward the van. One man in particular stood out, he was slightly taller than me and I met him just outside the van with a great bear hug; his skin was fair and his hair was a mass of white curls, he spoke to me with a European accent, a country of origin I cannot place. The vision flipped again and I recall looking at a computer screen with a Google search listing for North Coast Missionary Services; it was the fourth listing on the page in large bold blue letters.
Suddenly the vision ended and I found myself now looking at the back of the head of the person directly in front of me. Daniel was still speaking a quiet prayer to the congregation, I looked around quickly to see if anyone else had seen what I had seen, but everyone had their heads down in prayer. I looked at Laura and she too had seen nothing, her eyes still closed in prayer. I was visibly shaken by the event, sweating now, my heart was racing and my head and ears still burning from an unknown heat. It seemed like minutes had passed with the vision but it must have only been seconds. I knew instantly what it was, I didn't know how or why but the words just formed in my mind: A Mission House for teams! As soon as Daniel finished praying and gave the blessing to release the people I grabbed Laura's hand and said "Let's go." All I could think of was to get out of the church as fast as I could. We were still in the building when Laura asked me what was "Up?" I was almost dragging her out of the church. I told her nothing but she could tell something was different. I quickly started the truck and raced out of the parking lot. She again asked me what was going on stating that I was scaring her. As I drove home I quickly relayed what I had "Seen" Laura stated promptly, "We have to write this down!" Which we did when we got home.
Then she said, "We have to tell someone about this!"
"What" I exclaimed, "Are you nuts! They will think I am crazy or something!" I disagreed at first but as the day went on and I realized just what had happened; I relaxed and began to see the future from a different perspective. The next morning we called a good friend and pastor whom we both respect and booked a meeting with him. After I again relayed the entire event to Alan he advised me to just see what God revealed over time. I was not "crazy" as I had first thought because true vision from God will always come from confirmation towards the dream over time. If it was to be God's will then things would happen without my control in order for the will of God to be fulfilled.
So true it was.
I can sit here today and tell you that now almost five years later I am living the dream God gave me.
Five years ago I had no interest at all in changing what I was doing. We were very busy with catering and the company was doing well; we were blessed to have a good home, plenty of good things to fill our lives and that of our children. However, I will tell you that I was tired and daily I prayed for God's will for my life. He granted my request as He began to disconnect us from that life to get us ready for a new one. Within the first year I would disassemble a large part of my company and move into a transition period for the next 3 years while God slowly disconnected us from Canada. Finally the time came when we had to make the decision of exactly when we would go; October of 2010 Laura and I announced to the people and family we know that we were leaving in the new year. In the next two months we sold our small company and secured a buyer for our house. We moved in February of 2011 after almost 4 years of waiting and watching the signs for God to line up the things that needed to happen beyond my control. We counselled the entire time with friends and pastors at River Of Life Church, understanding that ultimately God would give us the desires of our hearts only if we chose to be obedient to Him and His ways.
Ps 37:4
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
NIV
I really must emphasize this point, we must "Choose" to be obedient to His Word and His ways. We must "Delight ourselves in the Lord" He never pushes Himself upon us. When we come into agreement with God with our soul and our spirit only then will He give us the desires of our heart; the dreams we can visualize; the life you never thought you could have.
Understand as well, my dream given to me by God, had to line up with His will in order for it to come to pass. That means that His will for my life must be represented by His character or His nature, and that is a caring, compassionate Father who loves all of His children. My dream must represent the same desires God has; anything else, then it is not from God.
Those who have followed our story from the beginning understand how we see God's will for our lives here in the Dominican Republic.
Through all of this my deepest prayer for all of you is that you earnestly seek the Lord, that you do not buy into the world and all of its trappings because they are only distractions designed to keep you away from God. That each of you discover what dreams God has for you and that you are living within His will. My fervent prayer is for you to understand also that my dream is not your dream, but yours could be similar; and when you see it, it will be distinctly yours; and if it lines up with God's will and you choose to pursue Him, He will bring your dream to fruition.
Bless you all, bless you well.
Mike
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