Dear Family and Friends,
Well, we are packed, I have a notebook full of details and directions and instructions for my Mom while she stays with the kids, and now I thought I would take a few minutes to share some specific prayer requests our family identified yesterday and today. I asked Rebekah and Will individually to talk with me a little bit about things they are most concerned about while we are gone. I asked if I could share these with you and they said that was OK. I thought I would structure it as a list of four prayers for each day that we are away. We will look forward to sharing with you later how God responded to these requests.
Thursday, May 1
Dan: Travel safety and health for us, Rebekah and Will, and for Grandpa and Grandma
Lisa: Safety on the 6 flights we take to and from Nicaragua, and for awareness of God's divine appointments with people sitting next to us on the airplanes.
Rebekah: That Daddy's and Mommy's plane won't crash.
Will: For safe travel.
Friday, May 2
Dan: Thanksgiving that God worked out all of the details for this trip
Lisa: I leave today at 8:30 am for a women's retreat an hour from Managua - please pray for energy and a heart that is at peace and depending on the Lord.
Rebekah: That we will all be safe.
Will: That we will be safe when Daddy and Mommy are gone.
Saturday, May 3
Dan: Praise that we are able to bring some needed supplies from the U. S. to Nicaragua
Lisa: The women's retreat continues today - please pray that I would make strong connections and build relationships with the women. I will room with Nicaragua Christian Academy's Principal. Eighty-Five women will be at this retreat.
Rebekah: That none of us will get sick.
Will: That Daddy and Mommy's things would not get stolen.
Sunday, May 4
Dan: For Grandma as she takes care of Rebekah and Will while we are gone
Lisa: For a sweet time with the Lord and for a deepening in my relationship with Him while at the retreat. We travel home from retreat today.
Rebekah: That nobody in our family gets hurt.
Will: That there wouldn't be a war while Daddy and Mommy are there.
Monday, May 5
Dan: That we could be an encouragement to those we meet and spend time with
Lisa: As we visit the schools in the next few days, please pray that we would grow to love the children, the staff, and the culture.
Rebekah: That Grandma would take good care of us.
Will: That Daddy and Mommy would make friends.
Tuesday, May 6
Dan: That we would sense God's will for our family in Nicaragua
Lisa: For unity for Dan and I as we process and absorb this experience. And that we can just have fun as a couple (thank you to those who have reminded me to just have fun!)
Rebekah: That Daddy and Mommy would find a house for us to live in.
Will: That Daddy and Mommy would find a house for us.
Wednesday, May 7
Dan: For Wisdom as we discern God's leading for our next steps
Lisa: That God would begin to reveal to me His vision for how He desires to use me in Nicaragua. At this time my role is very open.
Rebekah: That we will raise enough support.
Will: That Dad and Mom would understand the people.
Thursday, May 8
We ask again for prayers for us as we travel. We will return to Cedar Rapids at 5:30 pm this afternoon. Then on Friday we travel to Minneapolis for my cousin's High School graduation and will stay there until Sunday afternoon. And then we will hit the ground running.
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers. There are times when I say to myself, "When I look at this situation that we are in, it seems that I should be very stressed out. But, I feel a very deep sense of peace." We know that God is responding to your prayers for us and leading us a step at a time - daily. You are such an important part of our team!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Exciting News!
Dear Family and Friends,
We are just sending a praise and petition report this week and will most likely not be sending an update next week as we will be preparing to leave for Nicaragua. I may try to send something while we are there, but will not promise this given that we are not sure what the week will look like at this point.
Praise:
1) We are now (as of yesterday morning) officially appointed by Christian Reformed World Missions as partner missionaries! Yea!
2) Dan's employer has hired his replacement which Dan does recognize to be a praise as he will gradually be able to train this person and give him some of his responsibilities.
3) I'm making slow progress with the house. At times it is overwhelming trying to prepare the house to sell, to keep up with home schooling, and just manage daily life. My praise is that God moved me out of a place of discouragement last weekend when I felt very overwhelmed with my "to do" list. I am back to a place of just trusting that God will either provide time to clean and organize or He will facilitate the sale of our home even when my "to do" list did not get completely accomplished. Praise too for my friend Val and another friend Tony who have committed to help us clean and work on landscaping tomorrow! Thanks too for the Miller and Herman families for play dating with our kids!
4) My dad seems to be doing a little better. As the weather gets warmer, it is easier for him to be more active outside which helps with lowering his blood pressure. He and my Mom plan to drive to Alaska for a 6 week adventure starting in June. Our prayer is that Dad will be feeling good enough to enjoy this trip that they have dreamed about for years.
Petition:
1) The biggest thing on our minds right now is our trip to Nicaragua. We leave next Thursday, May 1 and will return on May 8. Please pray for safety and health for us and for Rebekah and Will who will be staying in Cedar Rapids with my Mom. We ask you to pray for my Mom as well as this will be a change of pace for her too.
2) Related to the trip as well - we are asking that people would pray that God would continue to reveal His vision for how it is that He desires to use our family in Nicaragua and at Nicaragua Christian Academy.
3) In Nicaragua, I will attend a Women's Spiritual Retreat with many of the missionary wives and teachers over the weekend of May 2, 3, and 4. Please pray that I would make solid connections with other women and that I would grow in my relationship with God through the teaching and challenging of the speakers. Relationships are very important to me and critical to my adjustment to new situations!
4) We will also be looking into details like housing, etc. We've been presented with a couple of options and we are seeking wisdom in regard to this.
5) We are also looking into temporary housing here in Cedar Rapids. We are following up with a couple of families who have living arrangements that are intended to be used for missionaries.
Thank you so much for your prayers for us. We so sense God's presence, are very much at peace and excited about what we see God doing!
We are just sending a praise and petition report this week and will most likely not be sending an update next week as we will be preparing to leave for Nicaragua. I may try to send something while we are there, but will not promise this given that we are not sure what the week will look like at this point.
Praise:
1) We are now (as of yesterday morning) officially appointed by Christian Reformed World Missions as partner missionaries! Yea!
2) Dan's employer has hired his replacement which Dan does recognize to be a praise as he will gradually be able to train this person and give him some of his responsibilities.
3) I'm making slow progress with the house. At times it is overwhelming trying to prepare the house to sell, to keep up with home schooling, and just manage daily life. My praise is that God moved me out of a place of discouragement last weekend when I felt very overwhelmed with my "to do" list. I am back to a place of just trusting that God will either provide time to clean and organize or He will facilitate the sale of our home even when my "to do" list did not get completely accomplished. Praise too for my friend Val and another friend Tony who have committed to help us clean and work on landscaping tomorrow! Thanks too for the Miller and Herman families for play dating with our kids!
4) My dad seems to be doing a little better. As the weather gets warmer, it is easier for him to be more active outside which helps with lowering his blood pressure. He and my Mom plan to drive to Alaska for a 6 week adventure starting in June. Our prayer is that Dad will be feeling good enough to enjoy this trip that they have dreamed about for years.
Petition:
1) The biggest thing on our minds right now is our trip to Nicaragua. We leave next Thursday, May 1 and will return on May 8. Please pray for safety and health for us and for Rebekah and Will who will be staying in Cedar Rapids with my Mom. We ask you to pray for my Mom as well as this will be a change of pace for her too.
2) Related to the trip as well - we are asking that people would pray that God would continue to reveal His vision for how it is that He desires to use our family in Nicaragua and at Nicaragua Christian Academy.
3) In Nicaragua, I will attend a Women's Spiritual Retreat with many of the missionary wives and teachers over the weekend of May 2, 3, and 4. Please pray that I would make solid connections with other women and that I would grow in my relationship with God through the teaching and challenging of the speakers. Relationships are very important to me and critical to my adjustment to new situations!
4) We will also be looking into details like housing, etc. We've been presented with a couple of options and we are seeking wisdom in regard to this.
5) We are also looking into temporary housing here in Cedar Rapids. We are following up with a couple of families who have living arrangements that are intended to be used for missionaries.
Thank you so much for your prayers for us. We so sense God's presence, are very much at peace and excited about what we see God doing!
Friday, April 18, 2008
My 20 Something Sin
As I am sorting things physically at our house, I would like to reflect spiritually on some of the purging that God has done in my heart and life over the past 20 years (I'm starting from when I was 7 - ha). In the next few updates, I will be sharing about two areas of my life that God has sorted through and one area that He is working to establish some order at this time. I share these as examples of His incredible power to change us very dramatically when we trust Him and cooperate with Him.
When I was in my 20's, God began to convict me of a habit that was developing in my life. My habit (sin) was talking negatively about other people behind their backs. I was a Christian at this time, but was also immature and insecure. This problem was exposed while I was on a mission trip of all places. Someone had said something to me about Someone Else and I shared with the Someone Else what this Someone said to me about them. This led to a situation that was as complicated as the sentence before this one. In the end, I remember a diplomatic member of our team leading a group of us in prayer and singing the song "Bind us together Lord, Bind us together . . ." It was a humiliating experience, but it was also one of the first times I experienced God's loving hand exposing my sin. He began teaching me about how when sin is exposed, it dies. After this experience on the mission trip, I began to feel a "check" or conviction in my spirit when I would talk negatively about others behind their backs. The assignment God gave me as the next step in this process was to go to the person that I had talked about and tell him/her what I said and ask for their forgiveness. This too was very painful and humiliating, but served to further deter me from engaging in this behavior. God then used a sermon to teach me about the impact of this sin on my relationship with Him and with others. The pastor talked about how slander is something that grieves the heart of God and explained how it impacts our relationship with Him. He said that slander is not only defined as telling lies about people - which I had previously thought. He said, "Slander also includes saying something that is true about a person which impacts the hearer by negatively changing his/her impression about the person who is being discussed." This insight just took it to the next level for me and I began to take steps toward making sure that whatever I said about others outside of their presence was designed to preserve their dignity. I continue to work on this and have by no means "arrived". In fact, as I've been writing this God convicted me of a couple of times recently when I should have stopped words from coming out of my mouth. However, the difference now is that I recognize it as sin and am actively taking steps to cooperate with Him, as opposed to before when I could rationalize and excuse myself for this behavior.
Sometimes it is hard to understand what is God's responsibility in life transformation and what our responsibility is in this process. I see it as a working together - I believe it starts with God prompting and convicting and nudging. But then from there, we need to embrace His loving conviction by being open and willing to take steps to change our behavior. And sometimes He will use humiliating circumstances like a room full of girls singing "Bind us together" while we are drowning in guilt to get our attention. The good news, however, is this: when we respond to His loving conviction, our relationship with Him and with others reaches a new level of intimacy and we get to experience the freedom and joy and peace that comes from living a life that is growing in Christ-like love and purity - by His power and for His glory.
Praise:
1) A church we were members of in Michigan offered financial support to us this week!
2) We have a growing list of individuals who are also letting us know that they will prayerfully and financially support us. All of the details of being appointed by the mission board need to be finalized prior to us receiving this support.
3) We feel very fortunate to have the social and emotional support that we have. God has also placed several missionaries in our lives with whom we also enjoy community.
4) God is giving us opportunities to interact with the Latin American culture in several creative ways and I find myself growing in a love for this culture.
Petition:
1) World Missions has let us know that by the middle of next week, we should be officially appointed as partner missionaries. It seems that God is bringing all of these details together at the same time as Dan's busy time is wrapping up, our trip to Nicaragua is coming up, and an official appointment is on the up and up!
2) Please continue to pray for me to be focused with the task of sorting/purging/ and making lots of decisions about our stuff. We so appreciate the two families who are caring for our children today (Friday) while I spend the day and evening working on this. I will also have time on Sat. while Dan spends the day with the kids. We thank God too for our neighbors who just called today and asked if I'd be interested in doing a garage sale with them - again, perfect timing!
3) Please continue to pray for my dad's health. Doctors have put him on a new blood pressure medication. His headaches are improving a little, but still there.
Kids Quotes
Will and his friends were trying to figure out how they were going to keep in touch when he moves to Nicaragua. One friend said, "Do the strings from our computers here reach to Nicaragua?" The other friend asked, "Will, will your computer talk to mine in Spanish or in English?" Will said, "I don't know. Mom!"
When I was in my 20's, God began to convict me of a habit that was developing in my life. My habit (sin) was talking negatively about other people behind their backs. I was a Christian at this time, but was also immature and insecure. This problem was exposed while I was on a mission trip of all places. Someone had said something to me about Someone Else and I shared with the Someone Else what this Someone said to me about them. This led to a situation that was as complicated as the sentence before this one. In the end, I remember a diplomatic member of our team leading a group of us in prayer and singing the song "Bind us together Lord, Bind us together . . ." It was a humiliating experience, but it was also one of the first times I experienced God's loving hand exposing my sin. He began teaching me about how when sin is exposed, it dies. After this experience on the mission trip, I began to feel a "check" or conviction in my spirit when I would talk negatively about others behind their backs. The assignment God gave me as the next step in this process was to go to the person that I had talked about and tell him/her what I said and ask for their forgiveness. This too was very painful and humiliating, but served to further deter me from engaging in this behavior. God then used a sermon to teach me about the impact of this sin on my relationship with Him and with others. The pastor talked about how slander is something that grieves the heart of God and explained how it impacts our relationship with Him. He said that slander is not only defined as telling lies about people - which I had previously thought. He said, "Slander also includes saying something that is true about a person which impacts the hearer by negatively changing his/her impression about the person who is being discussed." This insight just took it to the next level for me and I began to take steps toward making sure that whatever I said about others outside of their presence was designed to preserve their dignity. I continue to work on this and have by no means "arrived". In fact, as I've been writing this God convicted me of a couple of times recently when I should have stopped words from coming out of my mouth. However, the difference now is that I recognize it as sin and am actively taking steps to cooperate with Him, as opposed to before when I could rationalize and excuse myself for this behavior.
Sometimes it is hard to understand what is God's responsibility in life transformation and what our responsibility is in this process. I see it as a working together - I believe it starts with God prompting and convicting and nudging. But then from there, we need to embrace His loving conviction by being open and willing to take steps to change our behavior. And sometimes He will use humiliating circumstances like a room full of girls singing "Bind us together" while we are drowning in guilt to get our attention. The good news, however, is this: when we respond to His loving conviction, our relationship with Him and with others reaches a new level of intimacy and we get to experience the freedom and joy and peace that comes from living a life that is growing in Christ-like love and purity - by His power and for His glory.
Praise:
1) A church we were members of in Michigan offered financial support to us this week!
2) We have a growing list of individuals who are also letting us know that they will prayerfully and financially support us. All of the details of being appointed by the mission board need to be finalized prior to us receiving this support.
3) We feel very fortunate to have the social and emotional support that we have. God has also placed several missionaries in our lives with whom we also enjoy community.
4) God is giving us opportunities to interact with the Latin American culture in several creative ways and I find myself growing in a love for this culture.
Petition:
1) World Missions has let us know that by the middle of next week, we should be officially appointed as partner missionaries. It seems that God is bringing all of these details together at the same time as Dan's busy time is wrapping up, our trip to Nicaragua is coming up, and an official appointment is on the up and up!
2) Please continue to pray for me to be focused with the task of sorting/purging/ and making lots of decisions about our stuff. We so appreciate the two families who are caring for our children today (Friday) while I spend the day and evening working on this. I will also have time on Sat. while Dan spends the day with the kids. We thank God too for our neighbors who just called today and asked if I'd be interested in doing a garage sale with them - again, perfect timing!
3) Please continue to pray for my dad's health. Doctors have put him on a new blood pressure medication. His headaches are improving a little, but still there.
Kids Quotes
Will and his friends were trying to figure out how they were going to keep in touch when he moves to Nicaragua. One friend said, "Do the strings from our computers here reach to Nicaragua?" The other friend asked, "Will, will your computer talk to mine in Spanish or in English?" Will said, "I don't know. Mom!"
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Sorting and Sin
April 10, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
This month my focus is on getting our house ready to sell. We plan to put it on the market sometime in the near future, so now is the time to sort, clean, and purge! Our storage area is one of my greatest challenges, and actually has been for years because I keep many things "for sentimental reasons" - like textbooks from my favorite classes in college! One day I stood in this room and I thought, "There are so many parallels that can be made between maintaining the organization of this area in our home and growing spiritually. Some of my insights are as follows:
1) The storage area is a place in our home that usually stays hidden from visitors. I try to hide the sin in my heart by pretending I have it all together, by isolating myself or keeping a safe emotional distance from people, and by rationalizing how my sin is small compared to others.
2) When I take steps to manage the disorganization of our storage area, I initially experience stress and feel overwhelmed. Then, as I face the problem and continue to take steps, I experience a sense of freedom and relief. When I choose to see the sin in my heart, I feel uncomfortable and it is often painful. When I invite God to search my heart and show me what He sees, I experience a sense of freedom and relief. I also experience Him as "the God who sees me".
3) This past year God led me to ask a friend from church to help me organize our home. This was a risk for me, as I needed to admit that I was weak in this area and needed help. I'm learning that I grow spiritually when I admit my weaknesses and limitations (to God and others), ask for help (from God and others), and am willing to take steps of faith (risks). As a result, the fertile soil of humility and teachability are cultivated.
4) I've noticed that I cannot just organize our storage area once and be done. It is an ongoing process and one that needs consistent attention and action. Likewise, spiritual growth is not a project that is completed in this lifetime. It is an ongoing process and requires consistent attention and action.
There was a specific time in the past 6 years when I began to experience God's love through the conviction of my sin. Since that time, I've been learning how to live a much more transparent and increasingly less defensive (hidden) life. One of the things that I am trying to remember is that my audience is made up of only one - my patient, loving, and wise heavenly Father. It is Him that I live to honor and bring glory to. Life is so much more simple and there is such incredible freedom in this. Lord, teach us to be honest with you, with others, and with ourselves. Increase our desire to become more like your Son as we invite you and others to sort through our "hidden" stuff.
As I clean and sort and purge this month, I will also be reflecting on these spiritual parallels and other insights as God leads. Will you join me?
Praise:
1) As mentioned in our last email, Dan and I will be going to Nicaragua for a week long visit to get better acquainted with the people, school, and country. We have the trip arranged and will leave on May 1 and return to Iowa on May 8. We are excited about going and look forward to learning more about what God is doing there. We will take lots of pictures!!!!!
2) Nicaragua Christian Academy sent us a contract and World Missions continues to give us positive feedback. "Official appointment" will likely happen when all of the details are taken care of.
3) Dan is doing well with his busy work schedule - is getting home in time to help put the kids to bed which is really important to them. He is leading our family well, and enjoying many conversations with people at work about this adventure.
Petition:
1) Please pray for my dad. For the past two months, he has been experiencing severe headaches and is working with doctors and chiropractors to find relief. He's had a history of chronic pain, but 8 years ago had several back surgeries and has been doing well until now. He is also battling high blood pressure.
2) Would you pray for me as I attend to our house. I am not a "task person". I am thinking that I will call people to help me as people energize me! If you are interested in helping with cleaning carpets and deep cleaning our house, please let me know! Thank you!
Dear Family and Friends,
This month my focus is on getting our house ready to sell. We plan to put it on the market sometime in the near future, so now is the time to sort, clean, and purge! Our storage area is one of my greatest challenges, and actually has been for years because I keep many things "for sentimental reasons" - like textbooks from my favorite classes in college! One day I stood in this room and I thought, "There are so many parallels that can be made between maintaining the organization of this area in our home and growing spiritually. Some of my insights are as follows:
1) The storage area is a place in our home that usually stays hidden from visitors. I try to hide the sin in my heart by pretending I have it all together, by isolating myself or keeping a safe emotional distance from people, and by rationalizing how my sin is small compared to others.
2) When I take steps to manage the disorganization of our storage area, I initially experience stress and feel overwhelmed. Then, as I face the problem and continue to take steps, I experience a sense of freedom and relief. When I choose to see the sin in my heart, I feel uncomfortable and it is often painful. When I invite God to search my heart and show me what He sees, I experience a sense of freedom and relief. I also experience Him as "the God who sees me".
3) This past year God led me to ask a friend from church to help me organize our home. This was a risk for me, as I needed to admit that I was weak in this area and needed help. I'm learning that I grow spiritually when I admit my weaknesses and limitations (to God and others), ask for help (from God and others), and am willing to take steps of faith (risks). As a result, the fertile soil of humility and teachability are cultivated.
4) I've noticed that I cannot just organize our storage area once and be done. It is an ongoing process and one that needs consistent attention and action. Likewise, spiritual growth is not a project that is completed in this lifetime. It is an ongoing process and requires consistent attention and action.
There was a specific time in the past 6 years when I began to experience God's love through the conviction of my sin. Since that time, I've been learning how to live a much more transparent and increasingly less defensive (hidden) life. One of the things that I am trying to remember is that my audience is made up of only one - my patient, loving, and wise heavenly Father. It is Him that I live to honor and bring glory to. Life is so much more simple and there is such incredible freedom in this. Lord, teach us to be honest with you, with others, and with ourselves. Increase our desire to become more like your Son as we invite you and others to sort through our "hidden" stuff.
As I clean and sort and purge this month, I will also be reflecting on these spiritual parallels and other insights as God leads. Will you join me?
Praise:
1) As mentioned in our last email, Dan and I will be going to Nicaragua for a week long visit to get better acquainted with the people, school, and country. We have the trip arranged and will leave on May 1 and return to Iowa on May 8. We are excited about going and look forward to learning more about what God is doing there. We will take lots of pictures!!!!!
2) Nicaragua Christian Academy sent us a contract and World Missions continues to give us positive feedback. "Official appointment" will likely happen when all of the details are taken care of.
3) Dan is doing well with his busy work schedule - is getting home in time to help put the kids to bed which is really important to them. He is leading our family well, and enjoying many conversations with people at work about this adventure.
Petition:
1) Please pray for my dad. For the past two months, he has been experiencing severe headaches and is working with doctors and chiropractors to find relief. He's had a history of chronic pain, but 8 years ago had several back surgeries and has been doing well until now. He is also battling high blood pressure.
2) Would you pray for me as I attend to our house. I am not a "task person". I am thinking that I will call people to help me as people energize me! If you are interested in helping with cleaning carpets and deep cleaning our house, please let me know! Thank you!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Community
April 3, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
Dan and I value community. We understand that there is a place for "what do you do for a living" and "how about those Hawks" community. However, it is the deep, rich, and life-giving community that we find most rewarding and meaningful. This latter kind of community was something that we experienced on March 25 when four couples attended the small group dinner we hosted at our house. The first part of our evening was spent sharing stories about our lives - we laughed and were inspired by the stories of others throughout this sweet time. The second part was the time when we shared the story of our calling and shared information related to Nicaragua and Nicaragua Christian Academy. The group gave us insightful feedback on the presentation and asked us many great questions.
After everyone left, Dan and I processed the night and both came to the conclusion that "something was missing". The questions the group asked helped us to recognize how valuable it would be to visit NCA and Nicaragua in person. We reflected on our time with FamilyLife and how it was a requirement for us to visit both FamilyLife Headquarters in Arkansas and Campus Crusade Headquarters in Orlando, FL prior to raising support. As a result, we went into raising support with a much better understanding of the ministry and had begun to develop relationships with the people that we would be serving along side.
Upon reflecting on these things, Dan and I came to the conclusion that we need to spend a week in Nicaragua prior to starting the support raising process. We hope to take this trip to Nicaragua the first week of May and then begin doing small group dinners after that. We can see God's love and care for our family through the details of how the timing of all of this is working out. Dan works very hard and late at Aegon during the month of April due to the fact that it is "quarter end". So, this "pause in the process" comes at a very good time. We also see God's hand in leading us to do a small group dinner with those interested in hosting one. We thought the purpose of this dinner was to show those attending our plan and vision for this area of support raising. God showed us how He was using this group to reveal His plan and His vision to us. When we shared with the people who attended the dinner on the 25th how we were feeling led to visit Nicaragua, it was amazing how several of them had come to the same conclusion! Deep, rich, life-giving community - there's just nothing like it!
Praise and Petition:
Praise God with us for how He worked through those who attended our small group dinner to reveal to us the next step in this journey.
World Missions has requested budget information from us which will lead to determining our monthly financial goal. Please continue to pray for the appointment process to continue to go smoothly. They have let us know that after we get through the budget, "we are almost done"!
Dear Family and Friends,
Dan and I value community. We understand that there is a place for "what do you do for a living" and "how about those Hawks" community. However, it is the deep, rich, and life-giving community that we find most rewarding and meaningful. This latter kind of community was something that we experienced on March 25 when four couples attended the small group dinner we hosted at our house. The first part of our evening was spent sharing stories about our lives - we laughed and were inspired by the stories of others throughout this sweet time. The second part was the time when we shared the story of our calling and shared information related to Nicaragua and Nicaragua Christian Academy. The group gave us insightful feedback on the presentation and asked us many great questions.
After everyone left, Dan and I processed the night and both came to the conclusion that "something was missing". The questions the group asked helped us to recognize how valuable it would be to visit NCA and Nicaragua in person. We reflected on our time with FamilyLife and how it was a requirement for us to visit both FamilyLife Headquarters in Arkansas and Campus Crusade Headquarters in Orlando, FL prior to raising support. As a result, we went into raising support with a much better understanding of the ministry and had begun to develop relationships with the people that we would be serving along side.
Upon reflecting on these things, Dan and I came to the conclusion that we need to spend a week in Nicaragua prior to starting the support raising process. We hope to take this trip to Nicaragua the first week of May and then begin doing small group dinners after that. We can see God's love and care for our family through the details of how the timing of all of this is working out. Dan works very hard and late at Aegon during the month of April due to the fact that it is "quarter end". So, this "pause in the process" comes at a very good time. We also see God's hand in leading us to do a small group dinner with those interested in hosting one. We thought the purpose of this dinner was to show those attending our plan and vision for this area of support raising. God showed us how He was using this group to reveal His plan and His vision to us. When we shared with the people who attended the dinner on the 25th how we were feeling led to visit Nicaragua, it was amazing how several of them had come to the same conclusion! Deep, rich, life-giving community - there's just nothing like it!
Praise and Petition:
Praise God with us for how He worked through those who attended our small group dinner to reveal to us the next step in this journey.
World Missions has requested budget information from us which will lead to determining our monthly financial goal. Please continue to pray for the appointment process to continue to go smoothly. They have let us know that after we get through the budget, "we are almost done"!
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