Please pray for me

[Jermyn Davidson]

I will pray for you.

[Esaias]

You have a house and more than ten acres free and clear.

ie you have a homestead. Get some chickens, plant a garden, maybe a few goats. Work part time doing delivery.

If you really want a full time job (40-60 hours per week) then go here: usicinc.com Send them your resume.

Call your state one-call and request a locate for your property. Give them something like "land clearing" or "site prep" as the reason (best to do it online as the people answering the phone are not as helpful as they could be).

When the USIC locator comes out to mark lines ask him/her for contact info for their supervisor. Tell the locator you just put in your resume and you want to move things along quicker (so they dont think you're trying to complain about them lol).

The job involves locating underground utility lines. You get several weeks of paid training in classroom setting then you go to the field. If you have a degree you may be fast tracked to a manager or office position. They supply all tools and a company truck that you take home as well as a fuel card. If you are demonstrably eager and pushy and act like you are a gung ho company man with bills to pay and thus not looking for a free ride you have a good chance of being hired.

Warning: you WILL burn out on the company in at the most two or three years. BUT you will make decent money for now until something better comes along. They are nationwide pretty much and transferring is pretty easy.

Contact me here or by email and I'll help you through the training portion and the field work. I worked for them for ten years and used to train new hires in the field so I can point you in the right directions if you need assistance.

There may be some other utility locate companies in Florida as well, they all function generally the same with similar processes. People in that industry generally hop around from one co to another so if you've seen one you've seen them all lol.

Also, you could get an equity loan on the property and then become a passive partner in a multi-family real estate investment (apartment complex). If you can come up with 100000 you could probably earn around 2800-3000 per month tax free. You just need to find a seasoned investor who knows what they are doing and can prove it. I can help you interview them but you'd have to find them (not as hard as it seems).

An alternative would be to get a 6 month hard money loan to purchase and rehab a single-family dwelling and then flip it before the 6 months are up. A couple flips can net you about 40000 cash which can position you better to expand into multifamily. Do flips for 2years and you'll qualify for conventional FNMA loans so you can buy houses and rent them out for passive income. You could, if you are aggressive, retire in 5 years.

[Esaias]

These guys also do locating in florida -

http://www.fiflocating.com/#2901

[Esaias]

What's your resume looklike? What kind of work have you done? A lot of positions offer crossover opportunities into other industries (lateral promotion).

As a minister with experience you could possibly go for a job at a non profit charity as a manager, fund raiser, etc.

I know this sounds like a bad segue but sales positions are always open...

[Originalist]

Originally Posted by Esaias

What's your resume looklike? What kind of work have you done? A lot of positions offer crossover opportunities into other industries (lateral promotion).

As a minister with experience you could possibly go for a job at a non profit charity as a manager, fund raiser, etc.

I know this sounds like a bad segue but sales positions are always open...

Wow! Thanks for all of these ideas! I will get info to you by Saturday. I have to testify in court on Thursady for a parental rights termination trial and I'm busy prepping for that (still working my old job I left back on May 30, for free!)

My resume shows longevity at jobs, dependability, great references. I've done everything from warehouse work, sales, quality assurance, sub teaching truck driving to social work. I've been heavily involved in ministry since 1981.

I might have failed to mention that I co-own the land and dwelling with my two sisters who are more eager to sell than I am. The land sits smack in the middle of west Marion County horse farm country and I'm sure I could sell by simply mailing a for sale notice to everyone living on my street. People are always looking for land to put extra horses or cows, or to lease out to those who need such extra space for their animals.

[CC1]

Originally Posted by Originalist

A fair question.
I have filled out a zillion apps in the past three years. Anything that pays decent is an hour or more away. My degree is ministerial and the only job it seems to gave helped me get was as a social worker. That was a complete disaster. Besides spending 500 dollars a month in gas just for the commute, we were spending 300 dollars a month in after school care as well as having to pay 140 a month for auto insurance on a 12 year old car with no reimbursement. We tried to find someone who could give my daughter a ride home from school to no avail. I did have a night job at Walgreen's for about 5 months and literally had 2 days off of work in that time period. With one car my wife literally left the house only to go to church on Sunday morning during that whole 5 month time. I had not considered the pizza thing, but I will today!

From 1988 to 1999 I worked for one company full time. From 1999 to 2005 I worked for another company. I went part time with the second company from 2005 to 2009 as my self employment income exploded. In both jobs mentioned I had good contacts. Now
I have a great work history with no contacts. It was like pulling teeth get the night job at Walgreens. As far as the geographical move is concerned, I will not go without a door opening.

Praying that the right opportunity opens up for you. As someone else suggested your skills as a minister in speaking and dealing with people would be an asset in a sales job. I don't recommend the car business as a long term solution because he hours are usually long and you pretty much have to work every Saturday but it would be a good short term solution for you to get ahead and sock some money away to help you move or pay cash for a newer car while you still look for a job with better hours that pays well.

I also saw where you explained that you co own the land with siblings and they desire to sell. That makes your idea of moving to where opportunities are better for employment seem more of an option since the rent free home may be going anyway if the ideal is to sell and split the money. Sounds like your share would at least allow you the funds to move somewhere else for a job.

I know this is a stressful situation and I will continue to pray for you. About five years ago I spent about four months with there being a 50% chance I would lose my job as my sole account moved the operation I serviced out of the country. Thankfully my situation had a happy ending but i have never forgotten how stressful those four months were.

[Originalist]

Originally Posted by Esaias

What's your resume looklike? What kind of work have you done? A lot of positions offer crossover opportunities into other industries (lateral promotion).

As a minister with experience you could possibly go for a job at a non profit charity as a manager, fund raiser, etc.

I know this sounds like a bad segue but sales positions are always open...

Brother, please send me your email address.

thanks

[Abiding Now]

Originally Posted by Originalist

I am officially now no longer licensed with the UPCI. I have hardly given it a second thought.

I have other concerns for which I truly need direction from the Lord.

As I've shared in the past, we underwent a significant financial change in 2009, taking about a 40% loss in income. At the same time my mother became suddenly ill and passed away unexpectedly. Having inherited her 30 year old mobile home (in pretty good shape) and 5 acres in rural western Marion County, Fl, we opted to sell our beautiful home in DeLeon Springs (Volusia County) and move into my mom's place. We were leaving our church of 17 years and the community I had lived in since my family moved here in 1966 when I was just 10 months old. It seemed to make perfect sense at the time living rent and mortgage free and being where we could maintain the property and home we had inherited (my parents divorced in 1987 and both moved back to the Ocala area where they were originally from). We were living to live simpler and the drop in income did not seem so bad with no mortgage or car payment. But in late 2011 our 40% loss in income turned into an EIGHTY percent loss in income!

I'm thankful that we live somewhere where I can't be evicted from, but it is like we have been frozen in time since late 2011. Except for the short time I was a child protective case worker (6 months) we have subsisted on about a thousand dollars a month. Even with no mortgage and car payment it's tough to support a wife and 2 kids on that. We have one car that is 12 years old. We live in a mobile home that constantly needs repair. I'm working 25-30 hours a week for 10 bucks an hour substitute teaching. I drive 13 miles one way to work. On the days I don't work I have to come home and do that 26 mile round trip twice in one day. If I happen to not work on a Wednesday, then I make that trip THREE times IF we go to church on Wednesday night. Gasoline is better, but it was killing me there for awhile.

The truth is I never would have dreamed of moving to Ocala ,Fl if my mom had not died. It was meant to be a temporary move strictly out of convenience. We were at one church for 3 years here where we worked hard the first two years. Our 3rd year there I was forced to get a second part time job at Walgreens. Between that and my sub teaching job I was working 40 hours a week, seven days a week. I only made it to church one service a week during that time and was kicked to the curb by the pastor. I went from being his main preacher to no preaching at all the last year I was there. Not one person in that church ever offered to help me get a job where they were working. The church we are at now is OK enough but has had an average attendance of 25-30 for 10 years and truthfully my heart is not in it.

With all my heart I want to leave Florida. I've had enough. I feel like our family needs a fresh start. We see others who are blessed to have a large support structure from their families, help watching kids, etc. We have none of that. My dad is 81 but looks and acts like a 65 year old man. He seems to have zero concern for our plight. He only pays attention to his grandkids when my sister makes him. I've never borrowed money from him in my life, yet he is more than willing to give money to neighbors who aren't exactly deserving. His priorities are messed up to say the least.

I just do not see the wisdom in continuing to live on property I can no longer afford to maintain. But if I got a better job and housing close to that job, my property taxes here will rise significantly due to the loss of the homestead exemption. This past week the inevitable happened. The county noticed there was no agricultural activity going on here and threatened to take away my agriculture exemption if I did not have animals placed here by March. To top it off huge branches are now constantly falling from the many oak trees here. These branches would kill an adult, much less a child. We tell the kids to play in the field but we cannot watch them every moment and often times they wind up playing under those trees. So in light of all this my two sisters and I have decided to sell out. I do have one company interested in me, but I feel so strongly about leaving Florida that I don't feel good about working for them.

For a long time I was very depressed. I felt like I had let God and my family down. My prayers seemed to be bouncing off the ceiling. I felt like a loser and a failure. About two weeks ago God reached down and delivered me from all of that and I am FREE!! I have no doubt that God is moving behind the scenes in my situation! But I really have to believe that all that I've mentioned above are indicators that God wants me out of here.

I have no clear direction, but hopefully by the time we have this place sold that direction will be here. We are trying to let my oldest daughter finish the 4th grade before we leave. The only place I have in mind to move to is the State of Louisiana. I lived there from 1984-1988 and have always regretted leaving there. But more than anything I want what God wants. Please pray that God will give us HIS heart, mind and desire in this situation. Also, I am more than willing to email anyone a copy of my resume to pass on to anyone you think might be interested.

Let me close by saying how appreciative I am to those on AFF who have offered encouragement and assistance during this difficult time. We are not looking for or asking for help, but it is incredible when total strangers are there for you!

My Brother, I will definitely put you and your family on the TOP of my prayer list. You mentioned possibly moving to Louisiana, I have relatives in the SW Texas area (Port Arthur - Beaumont) and know that the entire area of Lake Charles and Port Arthur area are in a construction boom. I heard of men going to the area to work in the boom created by the LPN plants and chemical plants from as far away as 400 miles. Construction jobs are plentiful. I wish I had a personal contact to give you, but I will pray for you.

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by Originalist

Brother, please send me your email address.

thanks

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