Figuring out Finances for School

The move to Washington is really starting to sink in. We have 5 weeks until we move.

Some encouraging news has recently come our way. A few weeks ago we received a packet in the mail from MBI with all of Willie's estimated costs for training as well as possible aids we can apply for to help get us through with the least amount of debt as possible.

One very helpful aid is that Moody now accepts federal grants (not loans) which they previously did not. So, we filed Willie's FAFSA for school, and qualified for the largest amount in grants! It will amount to $5,550 per year. 

What a huge blessing!! 

The program Willie is going into will cost roughly $75,176  from start to finish, for 2 (very) full years of flight training, as well as further Airplane Maintenance experience and study of the Bible. So, assuming that we will receive this amount in grants both years already cuts our out of pocket cost down $11,100!! That's huge! BUT, we wont count our chickens before they hatch... so all we can bank on for the first year is $5,550.

One of the other aids Moody offers is the option for students to enroll in an interest free monthly payment plan. The training was originally broken down into 4 semesters.

First Year Flight Costs

1st semester estimate  $16,016
2nd semester estimate $22,399

Second Year Flight Costs
3rd semester estimate $15,546

4th semester estimate $21,215

The total first semester cost would have been due on June 15, 2012 but since the school has given us the opportunity to pay it as we go, we have this new plan:

1st semester payment plan

June 15, 2012                $3,203.20

July 15, 2012                 $3,203.20

August 15, 2012             $3,203.20

September 15, 2012        $3,203.20

October 15, 2012            $3,203.20 

The federal grant money we will receive this year is broken up into 2 semester payments of $2,775 each. As of this instant we have been able to save about $4,000. Unfortunately, we wont be able to put all of that money toward school because we need a good portion of it for moving costs. But, since we were able to pay off all of our debt we are in a really good spot to make this move. With the first installment of the grant money, plus what we have saved we should be able to cover our first month's payment and have a bit left over to start the second month's payment. This is great because it will give us our first month to work toward raising the next month's payment and so on.

The beauty of this whole thing is that it doesn't really matter how long it takes us. It's not like we want to serve God but can't do it without a plane! Even if this 2 year program takes us many more (so we can get through it debt free) we aren't at a loss. 

The most important thing is that we are listening to what God is saying, and obeying Him. God has told us to go back to Spokane and do the last 2 years of flight training. 

So, we're going. 

We believe the road we walk with God is more important than the destination. It's not like God is waiting for us at the destination. He's with us as we go. 

With that said, our goal is to be done in 2 years and believe God can provide the funds... but we also know that might not be His plan. So, as it unfolds we will trust His timing. 

That's all I have for now, but I want to share these pictures I found in a google search.

It's good for me to keep these images in my head for encouragement as we do the framework now. 

 God is who He says He is in the Bible - we can't fail when we abide in Him. Even if things look like failure in the worlds eyes. 

Cross Off The List: Decide on Transportation to WA

As Willie and I went back and forth between how to get to Washington and how many cars we should take, God helped us make the decision in the most encouraging way I could ever imagine. Here's what happened....



The week leading up to Easter Sunday Willie and I tossed around different combinations of how to get to Washington and what to take (we have a good bit of furniture, a little car, and a Suburban).
We came up with these options (and a few more complicated ones that I omitted).

-Drive a huge U-haul for our furniture, tow our little car behind, sell Suburban
-Drive our Suburban, tow a small u-haul for furniture, sell our little car for extra money
-Drive our Suburban, tow our little car, sell our furniture
-Sell both cars and our furniture :) and get 1 more reliable car

We finally realized that it was not worth it AT ALL for us to get a U-haul (big or small) and that selling our furniture was the best option. So, as Easter approached we were pretty settled on driving our Suburban and towing our little car behind it with whatever we could fit in them.

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**EASTER MORNING**

Easter has grown more and more special to me each year since I became a believer in 2006. Seems like those first couple of years God planted deep in me the fact that my sins had been forgiven, and I was grateful. Now, He's opening my eyes more to the fact that just as Jesus was raised from the dead, so one day He will raise ME (and you too if you believe) from the dead. Death in the life of a believer is nothing. I'll say it again. Death in the life of a believer is nothing! :) And that's what this Easter hit home for me. This truth gives me, and all who believe it, great courage and joy. 

After church that morning, filled with joy, we went back home to have a meal together. When I came inside I noticed a man and a young woman sitting there that I had never met before. I introduced myself and asked how they knew the Nickols family. The man's name was Ramon and the young woman was his daughter, Felicitas. They are believers that live in the city beside us and they knew my in-laws from a church service that our church held downtown. On this particular day they had received a ride to church from my in-laws and came home with them afterward to fellowship with us. 

I probably wont do this part of the story justice, but I have to try to tell you how encouraging it was just to have them there with us. For one it was a break from our normal routine. But more than that it was encouraging to get to know each other and listen to stories from their life and all that God has done for them. Even though it was our first time meeting the fact that we share a common faith bonded us. 

While we were all sitting around laughing, eating, sharing stories well into the evening it hit me that Ramon and his daughter do not have a car. When they need groceries another brother in the faith had been taking them to get what they need. When they didn't have a way to church, someone from the body would take them. When Ramon needed to go to the hospital God provided a way. God had been providing for them, but it was like He was telling me He wanted to provide them now with a car. I loved the idea but I kept it to myself so I could bring it up to Willie that evening and see what he thought. 

They left that night filled with joy and thanking us for sharing our family with them, but truly we were the ones that were blessed to have them. 

As the night was winding down my mother in law, Eileen, suggested we watch a dvd of a sermon by Francis Chan. Yet another powerfully encouraging time spent that Easter evening. I was blown away by the incredible words of faith that Francis was sharing. What I took away from it was this, 

The life I have been given in Jesus Christ FREES me to give my all and i shouldn't let other "well meaning" christians talk me out of doing something for Christ because they think it is to radical. 

Most of this was in the context of what we do with the money/material wealth we are given.  

So I was reminded again what the Lord had brought up earlier about giving Ramon and Felicitas our car. Now, just as the message was over and we were all sitting in the living room in a sense of awe, Willie turns to me with joy in his face and says, "Haley I think we should give Ramon our car." to which I squealed, "REALLY!? ME TOO!! I WAS JUST THINKING THAT!"

So the next day we brought it over, and was welcomed into their home and shared another encouraging evening together sharing what God had done. 

Amen.

So, here we are, and as it stands now we will be driving the Suburban and whatever we can fit in the back of it out to Washington. Knowing how God so moved Willie and I to provide for the needs for our brother only makes us more excited and hopeful to see how He will keep providing for us as we transition into school and take on the task of paying for it. 

(also, please pray for Ramon, he just had to have surgery and is in the hospital. Pray for a speedy, clean recovery, and continued support for him and his sweet daughter) 

Cross Off The List: Moving Out & Visit to SC :D

Things are quickly getting crossed off the list for us to move back to Spokane, WA.

1.Move Out of Apartment and In to the In-Laws!

Since our last post we have completed the lease on our apartment, packed it up, and turned in our keys! We are now living with Willie's family until our BIG move in June
.

(uncle andy holding owen while dad and uncle philip move furniture out of our old place)

Getting to stay with Willie's parents is a huge blessing and just shows how God's timing works so well. Prior to us even thinking about moving in here Willie's brother, Andy, had undertaken renovating the basement into an apartment. He serves as a missionary in the Sahara Desert a few months out of the year. So he renovated the basement to give himself independence/privacy, while allowing him the freedom to leave and serve with ease.

Just as the lease on our apartment was coming to completion, Andy wanted to start looking for housing somewhere a little more permanent (should he have the need to "leave and cleave" in the near future :P). He generously offered us the apartment downstairs and moved into a room upstairs until he can make his next big move.

We packed up everything on Friday, Feb. 17
Moved everything Saturday the 18th.
Cleaned the apartment and turned in the keys on Monday the 20th
and left for a visit to South Carolina on Wednesday the 22nd!

Needless to say our new home was left a MESS but :) that's ok.

2.Make a much needed visit to South Carolina

(Owen's first time to the beach!)

It was very nice to go home to SC for a visit. This was the first time we had been back since Willie and I got married on November 13, 2010.

This was also the first time all of my family got to see their new
grandson/nephew/cousin ... Owen Nickols. It was a very special time for us.

Prior to the trip I could not see financially how we would be able to visit, but Willie encouraged me to make it a priority for us since we will not likely be able to visit for the next 2 years while he is in school. So we did.

(Cousins meeting for the first time... Aubrey & Owen)

We originally wanted to go around Christmas and had a little money saved for it. My mom also pitched in a good portion to go toward our tickets. Unfortunately, the day we went to purchase our tickets they went up in price $90 a piece - putting them at almost $500 each (which was WAY out of our budget)  So, we held on to the money and hoped for a future opportunity. At the end of January we were still checking ticket prices and they didn't seem to be going down. My mother in law suggested looking 30 days out for tickets - and apparently "28-30" days made the world of difference for us. We had been checking ALL SORTS of combinations of departure/return dates from 2 weeks out - to 2 months out... but when I hit 30 days exactly the tickets went down 50% in price! I'm not sure if this is normal but it was definitely a huge blessing for us. We ended up getting both of our tickets for just under 600 dollars. We are so thankful that we made this a priority and got to see how God blessed it and provided a way for us to go.

Unfortunately we did not get to visit with as many people as we would have liked to but since we knew our time was so short we decided it would be best to spend as much time with family as we could. So, no hard feelings if you heard we were in town but didn't say hello :)

(One big happy family lol ... not sure why but I love this picture)

That 6 days flew by so fast, and before we knew it we were on a plane coming back to Wisconsin. Now we are back in full swing with moving to Washington, which is coming in only a few short months. We have been really encouraged with all the feedback from sharing our story on here, thanks for all the support. I hope to share soon about other things that have been progressing but this post is already long enough :) So, that's all for now.