Why We Left Our Country Home

Thursday, 21 January 2010 00:00

In a recent Back to Enoch Update I mentioned that we had sold our home of more than eight years, located in Malo, Washington. Many of you have seen pictures of the property in live presentations and on DVD and have heard our story of how the Lord led us to that property back in January of 2001. Some have written asking, "Why did you leave such a beautiful and ideal place?" And that's a good question - especially for a guy who's been preaching the "out of the cities" message for about a decade now. Do we still believe the country living message? Well, here's why we left, and what I believe about the "Out of the Cities" message now.

We have many fond memories of how God has worked in remarkable ways in our lives during our time in Malo. So many experiences were truly life changing. When we purchased our home in the spring of 2001, we took out a mortgage to do so. It was the only debt we had, but as time passed, we could see the disadvantage of debt of any kind. Also, after doing some research, we came to the conclusion that with increased market values since 2001, we could conceivably sell our home, pay off the mortgage, and have enough left over to start again and potentially remain debt free. Of course the most feasible way to avoid borrowing again would be to start over with raw land, and build a simple home emphasizing sustainability. Laura and I had already started recognizing the value of becoming less dependant on the bigger "system", and learning to truly live off the land, trusting in God's sustaining providence in nature. As time passed, I could see that starting again would also have another potential benefit - it would encourage those who are just now beginning this quest, and it could potentially provide instructive value as we would chronicle the process in our own experience, and share that with others.

Ultimately, we decided that God would have us sell, so we listed our place on www.forsalebyowner.com. That was several years ago. We decided not to advertise our home to our ministry mailing list to avoid hindering our message with the possible misconception of a conflict of interest. Of course we prayed that the Lord would send the right buyer, and I hoped that it would be someone who would appreciate the value of what we had worked hard to develop and the potential for use of the property in God's work in the coming days. Who better would that be than a Seventh-day Adventist with an understanding of end time events and the usefulness of country property for outreach and ministry. Almost a year ago, such a family contacted us. They were coming for a job interview and to check out the area. In June, they purchased our home and graciously invited us to spend the summer with them as they learned about the orchard and berries, irrigation system etc.. It was a real blessing, and Allison enjoyed the friendship of their children.

This fall we moved to a rental. It's a smaller home, situated on ten acres nestled in a little valley surrounded by mountains covered with pine and tamarack. There's a separate building on the property which has become the new Back to Enoch Ministries office. We'll be here through the spring, and maybe a bit longer as we look for a new place. Because this is temporary, the ministry address will remain the same - P.O. Box 281, Malo, WA 99150.

Do I still believe in the country living message? Absolutely. In fact, more now than ever before. I recently heard someone say that they thought it was too late to get out of the cities now. I couldn't disagree more. If we can start again now, so can you.

Dave Westbrook
December 5, 2009
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