So, we haven't blogged for a while. That's basically just because there hasn't been much to report on. We've sort of been at a stand still with things. Not that the Lord hasn't been speaking, He has, it's just things aren't progressing quite as quickly as we expected them to. It happens a lot I think, once you start walking in the Lord's calling, there tends to be a point in that walk that God puts you on pause and you're not always sure why.
Right now we're waiting to meet with our missions coordinator again, we're scheduled to get together on the 30th and after that we'll begin to build support. So please pray for that! Luke and I have also been getting all the missions homework/paperwork done which has been a good way for us to get our hearts down on paper, we've finished our first newsletter, and I've been making lots of lists of things that we need to get or get done before we go to St. Kitts.
All in all, we're waiting on the Lord to tell us what to do next because we haven't got any idea, but He does! It's really exciting to be a part of this plan the Lord has to stir up the hearts of the Kittitians, and to see the ways that He's teaching us to be bold in the gospel. Ah, the preparation time, so tedious, but oh so important!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
What God Originates, He Orchestrates
By now I think most people have heard about the stirring the Lord has been doing in mine and Luke's hearts, and from the title of this blog I think it's kind of obvious too. But, in case you haven't caught on yet, I'll spell it out for you...WE ARE MOVING TO ST. KITTS TO BE MISSIONARIES! Wow, I've said it out loud before, but reading the actual words makes it that much more real to me. There are so many things that we are still walking through and I guess that is going to be the point of this blog. To journal what is going on from this point in our calling and onward.
The one word I can use to describe the way Luke and I have been feeling for the last few months would have to be; excited! Because we are! We are so incredibly excited that God is moving us on to live our Christian lives in beautiful, warm St. Kitts. Plus, there is a HUGE bonus for our suffering, my sister, brother in law, niece, and soon to be be born nephew all live there! ;) They after all are how the Lord began this stirring I referred to.
My sister Wendi and her husband Brandon have been down there since February ministering to and building relationships with the people there. Let me tell you, God has been so good to them in the last few months. He's provided in so many ways, given them favor, and set up divine appointments for them to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was such a blessing to us when they would share all the things the Lord has been up to, and to hear their hearts about the island. It moved us in a way that we began to be burdened for the Kittitians as well. So, reluctantly we started to pray. I say "reluctantly" not because we didn't want to pray, but because we wanted to be comfortable. We were more than fine living in the same state we've lived in all our lives. More than fine to work our way through life. More than fine to have a Target store five minutes away from our home. We were comfortable with the plans WE had made for our life. But like I said, we prayed for this burden, prayed that the Lord would have His way, and make clear HIS plans for our life. He did. God very quickly gave us a heart and vision for St. Kitts, which was something that we weren't expecting. I can even be quoted to have said several times in my life that; "the Lord will not call me to be a missionary." God definitely changed my heart and Luke's because he wasn't thinking he'd ever be preparing to do long term missions either.
Now, when I think about our life, I think about St. Kitts. I'm prepared to make that little island our new home. I look forward to the ways the Lord is going to use us, the ways the Lord is going to use all four of us together. Because when God gave us this vision for St. Kitts, we knew that it would be huge confirmation if we shared it with Brandon and Wendi and that it would align with the vision God had given them. Thankfully it did and our heart's have been knitted together that much more as we are able to stand together with the goal of seeing Christ glorified in St. Kitts! Jared Stayton, who is moving with his family to be missionaries in Spain, said that he desires to share a pure Jesus with the people in Spain, not an americanized Jesus. I loved that! That's what we desire to do as well. Share a pure Jesus, the real Jesus, the Jesus scripture tells us about, not the one our warped culture made up.
There's so much that God is doing as we prepare, so pray with us as we continue to walk in this! There's also a lot we want to share about this journey God's taking us on, so we'll keep posting!
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying; "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." -Isaiah 6:8
The one word I can use to describe the way Luke and I have been feeling for the last few months would have to be; excited! Because we are! We are so incredibly excited that God is moving us on to live our Christian lives in beautiful, warm St. Kitts. Plus, there is a HUGE bonus for our suffering, my sister, brother in law, niece, and soon to be be born nephew all live there! ;) They after all are how the Lord began this stirring I referred to.
My sister Wendi and her husband Brandon have been down there since February ministering to and building relationships with the people there. Let me tell you, God has been so good to them in the last few months. He's provided in so many ways, given them favor, and set up divine appointments for them to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was such a blessing to us when they would share all the things the Lord has been up to, and to hear their hearts about the island. It moved us in a way that we began to be burdened for the Kittitians as well. So, reluctantly we started to pray. I say "reluctantly" not because we didn't want to pray, but because we wanted to be comfortable. We were more than fine living in the same state we've lived in all our lives. More than fine to work our way through life. More than fine to have a Target store five minutes away from our home. We were comfortable with the plans WE had made for our life. But like I said, we prayed for this burden, prayed that the Lord would have His way, and make clear HIS plans for our life. He did. God very quickly gave us a heart and vision for St. Kitts, which was something that we weren't expecting. I can even be quoted to have said several times in my life that; "the Lord will not call me to be a missionary." God definitely changed my heart and Luke's because he wasn't thinking he'd ever be preparing to do long term missions either.
Now, when I think about our life, I think about St. Kitts. I'm prepared to make that little island our new home. I look forward to the ways the Lord is going to use us, the ways the Lord is going to use all four of us together. Because when God gave us this vision for St. Kitts, we knew that it would be huge confirmation if we shared it with Brandon and Wendi and that it would align with the vision God had given them. Thankfully it did and our heart's have been knitted together that much more as we are able to stand together with the goal of seeing Christ glorified in St. Kitts! Jared Stayton, who is moving with his family to be missionaries in Spain, said that he desires to share a pure Jesus with the people in Spain, not an americanized Jesus. I loved that! That's what we desire to do as well. Share a pure Jesus, the real Jesus, the Jesus scripture tells us about, not the one our warped culture made up.
There's so much that God is doing as we prepare, so pray with us as we continue to walk in this! There's also a lot we want to share about this journey God's taking us on, so we'll keep posting!
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying; "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." -Isaiah 6:8
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