And The Miracles Keep On Comin'

(Names have been abbreviated in this post because I did not receive prior permission to name them!)

Recap: Ellie has successfully had the bone broth and pureed, boiled meat of grass fed, organic lamb, beef, buffalo, venison, and pork. Chicken was not going to be available for some time, I had exhausted the resources of what is found in the supermarket and local farmer's markets, and buffalo and venison are outrageously expensive ($24.99 per pound??!) That left lamb, beef, and pork, and not a very large variety for her.

None of my leads for wild game had panned out, so I thought I would give it one more try and posted what I was looking for to our home school group. One of the moms (P.) sent me a note saying that her brother had a friend who was an avid hunter, and she would see about contacting him.

The next day or so P. passed the contact information on to me, saying that this 'hunter' would be expecting my call. Nice! The name was familiar - S. Moore (the same as someone we knew at the church plant I mentioned in the Vitamix post). I blew it off as probably just a common name, and what were the chances? I called and spoke with S. Moore, and explained how we were trying to avoid soy and corn. He said he would do some research and get back to me, and I was grateful!

A couple more days passed, and P. asked if I had been able to speak with S. Moore and had any luck. I said I had, and that I was waiting to hear what he had found out. Her response caught me off guard: they live in West Sacramento, and his son is also an avid hunter. Uh. Hmm. NO WAY. Really? Seriously? How many Moore families could there be in West Sacramento that fit this description? It WAS the family we knew, and who we had not seen in several years? GOD IS SO WEIRD! ha!

S. Moore's son, A. Moore, was a facebook friend of Ellie's daddy, so I jumped onto facebook and sent him a message:

HI A.!
God is sooo weird so I had to send you a note. I am Jason's wife.....not sure if you remember me. We used to go to Southport with you and your folks in WSac. Anyways I have a new friend that I met after moving to Elk Grove, who gave me the name of her friend who does hunting and might be able to help us out with some wild game that I have been trying to get my hands on for my daughter. (My daughter has a rare immune system condition) Anyways, she gives me that contact info for a S. Moore. I think to myself...that is bizarre but probably a common name. I called YOUR DAD and never put it together. Tonight my friend emails me and says 'did you get a hold of S.? Was he or is son able to help? They are avid hunters...they live in West Sacramento.' !!!! More than one S. Moore in WSac? I doubt it! SO hilarious! :)

His response:

HOLY SMOKES!

Wow, yeah... small world. That's crazy, my dad was telling me and all of my hunting buddies about your daughter at a wedding over the weekend. I'd like to help..... see if we can get a network of folks to help you out.

As for what I can do for you right now, is provide you with some venison and waterfowl meat.

The next day S. Moore left me a voicemail (something to this effect):
Nichole! S. Moore here! I spoke with A. and can not believe it is you guys...we'll fix you guys up.

Amazing! Within days our freezer had duck, venison, and bear for Ellie. Two answered prayers in one shot - access to these meats, and donated as well. Nevermind the astonishing way that God is using friends from our past in combination with new friends in our lives right now.

Years ago, when we were actively involved in that community and church, we were able to donate a lot more time and energy to leadership activities than we are now. Many times we were tired and over extended. And once again, God does not guarantee we will see His ways or His plan. We are to trust, and keep trudging, in hopes of hearing 'well done good and faithful servant' at the end. But instead of expecting us to just plug forward, this most gracious God has allowed us the comfort of old friends when in need, and connection with new friends to reassure us of the move we made to Elk Grove during this most stressful time only 14 months ago. What word is there to use, except for amazing?