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"!
