Elephants, Hope, and living in Fayetteville

Well, it continues to be a bit of roller coaster ride for our family as we hope and strive to make it to Colombia. As I have often described it to other people, the process of discovering ministry partners is kinda like eating an Elephant. You just kinda stand there at times and think, this is going to hurt going down. And as we walk this road, I've started to really rethink how I've been following God.

As we've talked to many people over the past year I've noticed a couple of things about myself. I don't like to make people feel uncomfortable. Sometimes, I feel like when I approach people or call them, I've put them in a position of discomfort. This has truly plagued me over the past year. From the guy who doesn't like to call the pizza guy, this has been a real stretcher for me.

But here's the catch... I can't just say that I don't like to make people feel uncomfortable. I think what I'm really communicating when I don't call or connect to people is that I don't believe that God can and will use others to bring about His purposes. There's almost a certain level of practical unbelief when I neglect to do what God has called me to do. So I've really started to have to ask myself on a daily basis these questions: Do I really believe that God has called our family?...yes Do I believe that God is going to provide for what He has called us to?...yes Do I believe that God is going to use other families to bless our family beyond comprehension? ... absolutely.

There are things in life I don't like doing, but I must do them. Why? Because it's apart of being faithful and diligent to what God has called me to do. Will I ever like cold-calling people and asking them if they'd consider joining our team? I don't know. But what I do know, is that what God has called us to do, He will give us the necessary strength, power, and grace to do those things. That I am so thankful for that.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

We have been in Fayetteville for the past couple of months and have been really blessed with staying with my parents. God continues to show us grace by giving us encouragement when we desperately need it. We have had times of real discouragement in this, but we never cease to be amazed at God's love and provision in so many ways.

We are almost to 75% of our monthly support level. That's pretty amazing. The elephant is down to a couple of legs and trunk right now. When we hit 80%, we can order tickets for language school. If you could continue to pray for us, we would covet your prayers for our family, as we attempt to wait patiently on God's perfect timing.

First in Flight

We took some time out from our training here at JAARS and we took Kendall on her first ever plane ride on one of the planes here at JAARS. JAARS stands for Jungle Aviation and Road Service. They essentially exist to provide support for Bible Translation work that is going on all over the world. So they offer these tours on their little planes and we thought it might be fun. I was hoping that they might have one of the those planes that you have to hand crank to get started, but alas, it was one of these new-fangled planes. I was also hoping for a head-set that would make me look like I knew what I was doing. But no. We were riding with a fellow that had been a pilot in Papa New Guinea. He kinda reminded me a little of Tom Cruise in Top Gun...well, not really. But he was a really nice fellow.

We were a tad uncertain as to how Kendall would respond once she got into the plane, but she did great. She had a huge grin plastered on her face from start to finish. We think she might have done so well because she couldn't see a thing. I'm not even sure she knows that we actually went in the air..haha. She sat next to one of the fellows that has been taking the intercultural class with us. Here are some pictures documenting the day. It was neat to think that we were sitting in a plane that was being used to train pilots to take Bible Translators to people who don't yet have God's word.

Friday is our last day here and we are very thankful for what God has taught us during our time here. In some ways we will be sad to leave here. It has been a really enriching and stretching experience in which we were able to learn next to people that are all passionate about God and moving toward a life of faith in missions. But this was only for a time. We are headed to Fayetteville where we be living with Jon's parents and look forward to reconnecting to the city that I (Jon) grew up in. We are really praying that not only will we be able to finish our support raising by Dec., but we also are praying for ways in which we can minister in the church while we are here. I will be looking for a job next week, so if you remember, please pray that God directs me to place where I can be most effective and is flexible enough that it will enable us to continue raising support.

Counting the Cost

Jesus told all who followed him that they first must count the cost before following Him. Well...why? Jesus wanted people to fully understand what they were giving up and what they were going to leave behind. Christ wanted people to have a very clear understanding of what this all meant. This whole "following Him thing can be quite difficult at times. So our family is continuing to try and count the cost of following our Saviour. And it's not like we shouldn't except things to be hard. We know that Christ has promised that because they hated Him, they will also hate those that follow Him. Jesus didn't want his disciples to have romantic ideas about what was ahead, instead He wanted them to have a full-on understanding that where He was going would require gut-wrenching courage and focus upon Him. I believe that Amanda and I at times have romantic ideas about what it means to be a missionary in a foreign land. I believe the reality of how difficult this is going to be is going to hit us extremely hard...but we are trusting that the blow that we know is going to hit will be cushioned by the grace and mercy that God continually chooses to bestow upon us.

We have the privilege of attending cultural training in Waxhaw, N.C. at one of Wycliffe Bible Translators (Wycliffe) many training facilities. We are learning to stretch our thinking and our view of other cultures. Today we sat and listened to many missionaries as they "recounted" the costs that they have paid as individuals and as families. One thing was painfully clear with all of them...the cost is extremely high. Any romantic ideas that we might have had were clearly shattered as we listened to the extremely difficult things that God allowed them to encounter for His glory. One thing astounded me though, they don't tell these stories to receive pity or to elicit sadness, but they proclaimed these things that God might receive the glory. We know that difficulties are certain, we should all expect that and we pray that as we face those difficulties that we would place the glory of God front and center in our hearts and in our lives and that we would proclaim in all circumstances that God is good.