On Assignment, Part 2

I'm tired, but if I don't keep up with this story, I'm never gonna finish because stuff keeps happening and things are getting better and better. 
So when I got back from Brazil I stopped in to pick up my check and let them know I wasn't anxious for hours and would love to hold off until the summer.  I really wasn't sure if I wanted to go back, and really didn't think I could handle being around Ink.  Before I went to Brazil, she was just so demeaning and I was beginning to feel the tension rise in me whenever I knew I needed to go into work. The money wasn't worth the stress.  But again, I felt a stay on my spirit not to quit.  Then sometime in March, Ink called me and let me know they had restructured things.  Her sister-in-law would be running the weddings and Ink would only be in the restaurant.  She wanted to know if I would be the assistant manager for the weddings--that way I wouldn't be working directly with Ink.  I would only be working the weddings and they would pay me a comparable rate to what I would have made working in the restaurant.  AND I would get to work with her sister-in-law who I knew was really struggling and could use the encouragement.  I said yes, knowing this felt like God's way of keeping me there, and protecting me. 
I began working in May and things started off poorly.  Ink seemed to always be changing things and frustrating her sister in law and I always got stuck in the middle.  One morning I was very discouraged and made my way over to Rev. Mary's for our weekly time.  I was so down we just ended up talking and then she prayed over me.  It was amazing the insight the Lord gave her about the situation.  It was like she was pulling the arrows right out of my back.  She said I got caught in the crossfire.  She had a few words from the Lord for me about the situation.  One I found of great comfort, she said that the Lord put a limit on my time there, and if things did not change He was going to pull me out.  She also said that the Lord said that at times my tongue could be "biting" and that He was just going to remove that completely from me.  I hadn't even told her about my struggle of being caught in the middle of the gossip--but from that time on I found it was never an issue.  Then she also said the Lord showed her a picture of me walking into the reception hall and that she could see the demons screaming because of the glory of God upon me as I was walking in.  I never walked through that door without thinking about that and wishing I could see it myself.  It was of great encouragement to me. 
There were several more situations over the weeks that were trying, but each time the Lord showed me He was using me, and reminded me that He would yank me out if my assignment was over. 
Then, about three weeks ago I was at work and picked up my pay check before heading up to the wedding.  I checked it because sometimes they forgot to sign my check, and noticed that it was significantly lower than it should have been.  I looked at my rate, and realized that they had docked my pay by 1/3 for a full two weeks worth of work.  I was not happy, and it's a good thing I had to walk all the way across the parking lot to find Ink.  I had time to remind myself of a number of important things. 
So by the time I found Ink I was quite civil and said, "I think there's been a mistake, at least I hope there's been a mistake.  I've been paid the wrong rate." 
She looked at me and said, "Look, I'm not the one who writes the paycheck, but if that is what the owner has decided to pay you, there is nothing I can do."  "I know I agreed to pay you more, but I have no power to make that right with you." 
I looked at her and quietly and with a bit of disbelief I said, "It's just so wrong." 
"This is what I deal with all the time," she said. "I have no power to honor the agreements I've made with people."  "And these guys love a fight, so I don't know if you want to get into a fight with evil."
As she said it, this little thought went through my head that was something like a question, "Well isn't that exactly what we are supposed to be doing?"
I took a deep breath and said, "Look, I don't know what I'm going to do, but I will pray about it before I do anything drastic.  What I would like for you to do is ask them to adjust my pay for what I have already worked.  IF they want to adjust my salary from here on out, then I have a choice to make if I want to stay at the adjusted rate."
So at this point, every blood cell in my entire body wanted to quit.  And I went home that night and just felt awful.  The money really wasn't a big deal.  It was the idea that someone would be that unfair--to decide without telling an employee that they were going to pay them less than had been agreed upon and then basically say, if you don't like it you can leave.  It's just so wrong.  Who treats people like that?  I knew Ink was between a rock and a hard place, and I knew I had to wait and see what happened. 
Well, two days later I got an e-mail.  They would adjust my paycheck for the hours I worked, but from that point forward, my position was no longer available.  However, if I wanted to be a server at the adjusted rate, I was welcome to stay and serve at the weddings.  So now I  find Igot a pay cut, and I got demoted. 
I wanted to quit even more.  But every spiritual piece of me knew God didn't want me to.  It was so clear that I knew for me to do that would be a direct act of disobedience. 
So two weeks ago, I pulled my white server shirt out of the closet and showed up at work to serve.  Of course everyone working there knew I got demoted, they just didn't know why.  The Lord gave me a lot of grace though, and I just kept thinking, the only thing that is hurting right now is my pride, and I know that being humiliated right now is an act of worship.  This is an act of worship.  Eventually I was able to enjoy myself and the routines of the night.  Another interesting thing that happened that night is that before I went to work, the Lord reminded me that I had several dishes that I had borrowed from the kitchen to bring home food in.  He said very clearly, "I want you to take those back tonight."  I found two of the three and made sure I returned them, because He seemed very serious about it.  It wasn't a big deal that I had taken them home, but I kept them so long that I had begun to worry that they would use it as an excuse to yell at me so I had avoided returning them.  It was as if He was saying it was important there wasn't anything on my part that needed to be made right. 
As I left work that night, I remember being glad it was over, and being glad that I had been obedient.  I even thought, I like being a server better than being in charge of anything.  It's a lot less pressure.  I thought that would pretty much be the end of the story, but it was actually a new beginning. 
Monday morning, I got an e-mail...

On Assignment

Good Morning, Dad.

I know you've been up for quite some time this morning. I'm guessing you have a few miles under your belt, you've had a couple cups of coffee and have been to the padaria for some fresh bread. (I'm so jealous.) I've awake since about six but didn't want to admit it. But I finally made some coffee and have been thinking about what to say and what not to say about this past week to you.
It's funny, I know it's going to be hard to tell you about this week because I know that it is going to rub up against so much of your theology. And yet your the person I most want to share this all with right now. I want to tell you because I want to share it with you but I don't because I don't want to feel rejected. But the truth is, I know it's important for me to share it BECAUSE I need to own my journey even if you don't approve or agree. It's part of me not allowing your approval to become idolatrous to me. It's part of me not being afraid to acknowledge God's calling on my life. Funny how sometimes it's the people we love the most that are the hardest to share with.
Now see...I've judged your reaction and set you up so that your all defensive before I even begin and that's not fair. I'll try to give you the benefit of the doubt that you will be open minded. (Just letting you inside my head, dear Daddy.)
Where to begin...well Julie Andrews says the very beginning is a very good place to start. Last year when we were planning to come to Brazil--I needed a way to earn some money. I had been praying about it, and one day picked up the Merchandiser and saw an add for a serving position. I remembered the restaurant...Matt and I had been there twice, once for our anniversary and once for Valentine's Day. It was a beautiful restaurant on a beautiful piece of property. It was part time and I just decided to call. I had served the summer before college in a restaurant, and so wasn't completely inexperienced, but it had been a long time. I got a call back that same day and ended up going in for an interview that same afternoon. The woman who was hiring was a Christian and we talked very openly about our faith. I let her know how little experience I had and she said that she wasn't unwilling to train someone if they were the right person for the job. She said she and her husband were going to pray over the decision and get back to me within a week.
It was interesting how things sort of developed. Now I know that the Lord spoke to them and they knew that God had placed me there and they were to hire me. (I didn't know that at the time.) I just knew that God was providing a job for me when I didn't have to hire a sitter and I wasn't away from the kids for large chunks of my week. And I loved the beauty of the grounds. The restaurant was beautiful.
It was sometime after that I learned more about the situation I had walked into. The Inn was owned by two men. The Christian couple that hired me were the Inn Keepers, and were living at the Inn and managing the business. (I'll call her Ink here forward.) They have sort of a work to own agreement with the owners.
The more I worked there, the more I began to see evidence that all was not well with the situation. And as I learned more I realized there was a reason the Lord sent me there, but I was not exactly sure what it was. I began to see that a lot of what was happening behind the scenes was not above board, and I felt the pressure the couple was under to follow unethical practices. As I prayed for them the Lord told me very clearly that He wanted them to have this land, but that they needed to do things His way. I also saw that there was an enormous amount of oppression coming at them and the importance of spiritual warfare in the situation. I knew it was a "word" but I honestly wasn't sure what to do with it.
One afternoon, I was working a weekend wedding, which I did when the restaurant closed. (I usually got assigned to the demanding bridezillas because they discovered that my presence seemed to be soothing.) In a lull, Ink took me out back and out of the blue she looked at me straight in the eye and accused me, "You know something, don't you?" I felt a bit uncomfortable, because since I had been working there we didn't seem to be on the best of terms and there's nothing like telling your boss the sort of message I had, but I sensed a "go" from the Lord and began to tell her something pretty close to this. "Well, I'm telling you this because you are asking me, but I know the Lord wants you to have this land. But it seems that you are trying to get it unethically and justifying the means by the end. The Lord is saying to me that you need to do it His way in order to receive His blessing." Then I told her what I saw. "Every time you go into the presence of the owners, it's almost like they paint you in black tar (spiritually). It's like they are rubbing off on you, covering you in oppression, and it is incredibly important that you cover and cleanse yourself in the blood of Christ when you interact with them."
Ink softened visibly and acknowledged everything I said was true and very helpful. I assured her I would continue to pray and I was so encouraged, because I thought for sure now things between us would be much better. Instead, everything got worse. Ink and her husband were showing signs of cracking under all the pressure. It began to be evident there were some real struggles in Ink's life. To put it in her words to me this week, she was very angry and was being really mean. I did not escape her wrath and many times I would come home in tears to Matt. It was as if I could do nothing right no matter how hard I tried. If I was great with my customers and they loved me and complimented me and gave me a great tip I got in trouble for spending too much time with them and letting them "rot by the windowsill". If I tried to be friendly with the chef in the kitchen then we obviously didn't have enough to do so we were given extra chores. And eventually we were sent an e-mail that there was to be no talking in the kitchen. It was on the verge of ridiculous and I was sorely tried. To make matters worse, Ink's sister in law is a baby Christian and works at the Inn. She was in tears most days because she was cracking under the way Ink was treating her and trying to understand how this was Christan behavior. "If that's how a Christian is supposed to be than I don't want to be like that," she would say to me. I felt torn. I tried to help her see the truth about God and herself, but it was hard not to do that without calling out Ink's behavior as wrong. I constantly felt like I was on a tightrope between being a light and enabling gossip. It was such a struggle. I was so relieved when I went to Brazil in December. I asked them if they would agree to not working until the busy season began in May/June of the following year, and was secretly hoping the Lord would release me from the job completely.
(OK, Dad, we are off to church. I did tell you the Lord gave me a Church, right? He told me where to go. I love it when He makes it clear like that. I had gone to pray with Rev. Mary for a mission's team that is going to Africa from the church and when I walked in the Sanctuary the Lord told me that was where I was to go to church. It's where Mary and Steve go. You'll like it. It's BIC (think Messiah) and one of the teaching Pastor's--Josh--graduated from Biblical Seminary--I really enjoy his teaching--finally feels like home. The girls like the Children's program, which is important too.)