Home Sale -->I had accepted a job at Hamlin High School, and was living with a friend on a farm outside of Bryant. Laurie and I had a long distance relationship between Bryant and Rochester, MN. Later that year we eloped, and moved to moved to Arlington, SD and chose a central location for commuting; Laurie to SDSU to finish up her degree, and Bob to Hamlin to teach computer science at Hayti and Bryant. Later we moved to a farm house near Bryant, and eventually to the east side of Lake Poinsett. The story begins with Laurie finishing up her college degree in business. I told her that if she found a job on the Missouri River, I would move, and give up my beloved job at Hamlin. (I can honestly say that my teaching job was so exciting that I hoped the night would go fast, and I could get back to work. Anyway, to my surprise, Laurie got a job interview in Pierre SD. What followed was a job interview, a job offer, and, before I knew it, we were moving to Pierre. We had purchased a house on the east side of Lake Poinsett, and needed someone to buy and occupy before July 24th, or our house insurance would expire. The vacant house would became uninsurable, and we would face several consequences.

Following our move to Pierre, I had been listening to a messages about faith during the drive from Hayti to Bryant, and back home. One message had this as a priority, "Put your request on the refrigerator, and every time you  passed it, declare it to be true." So every time I passed the fridge, I said, "the Poinsett house is sold in Jesus Name." Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1. So I did what the preacher said. I followed his advice for over a month. "This house will be sold by July 24th."

July 24th came quickly, and that day the kids wanted to go to Farm Island. I agreed, thinking that it would take my mind off the house. (nope) I remember leaving the house declaring the house sold one last time. These were the days of no Internet, email, and no cell phones. A person could actually leave the house, and not bring his work, or business with him.

So we took all the stuff out of the car for sun bathing, and swimming. We headed down to the beach at Farm Island to enjoy the nice summer day. No sooner than we got unpacked, Laurie tells me that we forgot the towels at home. I volunteered to go back and get the towels. It seemed a minor problem compared loosing insurance on our Poinsett house by the end of the day. I went back to the house to get the towels, and just as I was walking out the door to return to the beach, the phone rang. It was a realtor from Brookings who had a buyer that wanted our house. I quickly called my banker before they closed, and told him the news. He said that as long as we had a buyer, we could continue the insurance, without any lapse in the policy.