Farm kids at work

Rebekah makes pancakes for everyone with the recipe from her school workbook. Rebekah loves to cook (she and her Grandma Riebkes are kindred spirits this way). Rebekah has many interests and loves to learn and try new things.

Will pulls a wagon of onions with Rebekah pushing behind. They dug up the onions from Grandpa and Grandma's garden and then transported them to the machine shed. Will loves being outside and has enjoyed making things out of wood, finding bugs and snakes, playing with and feeding the cats, and pursuing adventure.

Sleeping in the Barn

Dan, Rebekah, and Will slept in a tent in the barn at Grandpa and Grandma's! Will was armed with his plastic baseball bat in the event that they were visited by creatures in the night.

Performance vs. Purpose

Dear Family and Friends,

Current Events:

1) Our support level is at 95% (we are estimating the support level of a couple of churches that may come in lower or higher than we have estimated). This means we have $200.00/month left to raise.

2) We will leave Iowa for Chicago on Oct. 28 and stay with my (Lisa’s) cousin that night. We will fly out of Chicago for Managua on Tues., Oct. 29 at 10:00 am. Tickets to Nicaragua from Cedar Rapids are $800/person and from Chicago are $360/person!

3) We are working this next week on trying to pack as much as we possibly can into plastic tubs and luggage. There are many last minute details like documentation we need to establish residency in Nicaragua, etc. that we are also working on.

Praise:

1) The opportunity to spend a day in solitude with the Lord. He showed me some things that I didn’t put together before. Dan and the kids spent that rainy day hanging out and playing games. I think we all ended the day refreshed.

2) We now have a used refrigerator, a dining room table with 3 chairs, and two end tables that the school had in storage and are loaning us. The director and his wife are also planning to buy a stove, beds, and household items for us before we arrive. We have a possible vehicle too, but are thinking this through as we would really like to look at something like this when we arrive.

3) For God’s amazing provision.

Petition:

1) I was thinking tonight about how the USA is a very independent nation – corporately and individually. My prayer for the USA is that the breaking down of our economy would lead people to pursue and gain the riches of fellowship with God and other people as we help each other through this. One of the missionaries in Nicaragua told me about how there was a food shortage in Nicaragua not long ago. The church members all pooled their resources making sure that everyone had enough to eat. I pray that this kind of community and fellowship is soon known in the US nationwide.

2) For the health of our family. Dan is fighting a respiratory illness right now. Will is having some reactions to the Typhoid oral vaccination. And Rebekah pulled some muscles in her neck while wrestling with Will. We pray we will all be on the mend by the time we leave!

3) Please continue to pray for our arrival and the details of adjusting to life in Nicaragua. We know there will be bumps in the road (figuratively and literally!). Our prayer is that we would trust the God who allows difficulty knowing that all things are under His control, for our ultimate good, and for His glory.

Reflection:

Our time with my parents is quickly coming to a close. The time we have had together has been one that we have all grown from, appreciated, and enjoyed. I understand God’s wisdom in giving us this time – we have had lots of opportunities to talk about this change, not only for us, but for my parents as well. It has been a very healthy time of communication and my parents have been a huge help and support to us. I am thankful once again for Dan and my families and for their sacrificial and unconditional support throughout the past four years that we have been listening to God to discern this calling.

I thought I would share something a little bit on the lighter side today, but related to kind of a theme of “family”. I’m recognizing that our family traditions will need to be adjusted as we make this move to Nicaragua. One of those traditions was our own variation of Halloween. This tradition involved our kids and myself driving out to my home town, Wellsburg, on Halloween afternoon while Dan handed out candy to neighbors at home in Cedar Rapids. My Mom was the organizer of this event and would take us around to trick or treat at my Grandma’s low income apartment complex, at a retirement home in Grundy Center, and we would visit several other elderly relatives and friends in the area. We would take a picture with each one of these people and would talk with them for 20 minutes or so before moving on. The kids enjoyed answering the door for the other trick or treaters while Mom and I talked with the people. A couple of years ago, I asked the kids about whether they would want to do something with their friends instead, but they both said they wanted to continue the tradition.

This year we will leave the country before the 31st, but we are not letting the timing of our departure break tradition. My Mom is calling friends and family asking them to be available for the kids to stop by in their costumes (Rebekah is a pizza delivery person and Will plans on being a scientist) on Monday night. My great uncle (who is one of the people we visit) stopped by for tea the other day and said, “Well, I guess you won’t be stopping by this Halloween.” We were so glad to let him know that the plan was still on!

The thing I love so much about this tradition is that it involves service and it has inspired me to think of ways to create/notice opportunities to serve with each holiday. I began my parenting years very focused on our kid’s performance – What are they able to do? How much are they able to do? How well are they able to do it? How do they compare to others? Nine years later, I’m much more focused on “purpose”. Do our kids live their lives with purpose? Do I see a tenderness in their hearts for each other and for the well being of others? Are they able to extend grace by giving up their agenda to serve someone else? How do they handle losing; being wrong; being corrected? Is their purpose to glorify God or to gain glory for themselves? Can they forgive and love unconditionally? Are they more apt to help the weak or to follow the crowd? Focusing on purpose has made their conflicts with each other and poor choices an opportunity to teach as opposed to an annoyance and a disappointment. After they fail, I’ve found it to be so much more healthy for my relationship with God and with them to say, “Lord, thank you for letting me see that character flaw in him/her and help me to know how to address it.” rather than condemning the child or condemning myself as a bad parent.

What I have come to realize is that this is how our Heavenly Father parents us. He is far less concerned about how much we can do in a day or how good we are at it. His focus and concern is about who we are and who we are becoming. Am I living my life with purpose today? Whether it is Halloween or when we are in the middle of vibrant ministry or dealing with difficult circumstances . . . it is a question that can lead us to freedom - transforming the day, our relationships with God and others, and helps us to live a life of grace, joy, and peace. Have a purpose-filled day my friend.

Peace to you,
Lisa (for Dan, Rebekah, and Will)

Seeking Solitude

Dear Family and Friends,

It is good to write to you again today. I’ve missed you! Perhaps you’ve wondered about what happened to us as well!

The past 12 days we traveled to MI and then to Ohio speaking to small groups, churches, and schools. We have been once again surrounded by family and friends who are warm and supportive of us. We are very blessed. We did spend much of our time away just resting and taking a step back from the whirlwind of the past few months. We are now back in Iowa where we will be until we leave for Nicaragua at the end of the month. We plan to have plane tickets by the end of this week.

Reflection:

Preparing to arrive on the mission field is somewhat of a surreal experience. Most of the time, I’m not sure about what I feel or think about what we are doing. I simply know that we are called to go and that the God who called us is a trustworthy God.

I’ve been thinking about Jesus and how He too was sent by His trustworthy Father to a mission field – earth. As I read the book of Mark at this time, I am recording in my journal how Jesus engaged with and interacted with the people of His mission field. I’m also recording how these people reacted to Him. I am learning so much about who Jesus is and is not and thought I would share one of my observations with you.

It is interesting to me how Jesus so often retreats to a quiet place – the lake, a mountain side, a place of solitude. He gets up early in the morning and stays up late at night to meet with His Father. His quiet time is often interrupted by the disciples or people wanting something from Him and he graciously attends to them. So often, I think we focus on Jesus’ divine nature, forgetting that he was also 100% human. His suffering did not just begin at the time of his betrayal and crucifixion. He suffered throughout the course of his life and ministry. As I record people’s reactions to Him, it has been amazing to me how often people laughed at Him and made fun of Him. His own disciples would correct Him and sometimes tell Him that He had it all wrong. When He shared God’s vision for how He would save humanity, some people thought He was crazy. Others burned with jealously and hatred and plotted to kill Him. There are times when it is recorded that Jesus sighs deeply or is deeply distressed or moved to tears.

During these past several weeks, our family has been growing in weariness. We travel often; we pack, unpack, and repack; the list of things to do is always beyond our human ability to complete; we’ve eaten out more in the past few months than we have in the past few years; we have been routinely sleeping in a different bed/home; I home school on the fly – in the car, during doctor appointments, and in between the last and next commitment; and we have recently been experiencing another wave of spiritual warfare. I love people very much and enjoy our time at churches and small groups. However, there can be something very taxing about being in front of people on a regular basis, both for Dan and me, and for our kids. I think I may speak for many missionary families.

As I read Mark, I am so inspired by how Jesus lived His life. His time with His Father was essential to His life and ministry. He needed His time with the Father and He actively pursued it. Jesus lived an unhurried life, recognizing that his relationship with His Father and with others trumped all other things. His priority was always the person standing in front of Him – not the 19 other things that He had on His list for that day. John Ortberg states in his book The Life You’ve Always Wanted, “Wise followers of Christ have always understood the necessity and benefit of solitude. It is, to quote an old phrase, the “furnace of transformation”. Solitude is the one place where we can gain freedom from the forces of society that will otherwise relentlessly mold us.”

Well, it is one thing to write and read about taking time to spend with God in solitude. And yet another to actually do it. I will end today by making a commitment to spend at least a half day sometime within the next week in solitude with the Lord. I think I will follow Ortberg’s advice – he recommends first taking a walk to clear your mind; next reading the Bible; then recording impressions, things God may be pointing out; then another walk, eat; then a nap; then set goals that emerge from the day’s reflection. Please feel free to keep me accountable to this. I know that this is what my soul needs right now. Thank you!


Praise:

1) For safe travel and for a refreshing time of being together as a family and with friends and family. Will said today, “The best thing about Daddy not working is that he always gets to be with us.”

2) For rest. Thank you so much for praying for this – we are finding that often rest comes when we recognize the opportunities God gives us to rest. Praise Him too for health – our family has been unusually healthy this year.

3) For the ways that God is providing for us financially and materially. He continues to surprise us during this support raising season. I will give you more details about how this amazing story is unfolding in a future update.

Petition:

1) My Dad’s health – he has been doing well recovering from his heart surgery. The next step was to put a stent in to the blood vessel leading into his only kidney to protect it from further blockage. The decision has been made to wait a year to do this surgery and to see how things progress. We pray for continued health and protection for his kidney.

2) For the details of our arrival in Nicaragua. Our home in Nicaragua is “completely unfurnished” meaning no stove, refrigerator, beds, etc. So, we are now working out the details to find/purchase these items before and shortly after we arrive. I am anxious about this as I think through our first days/weeks there and wonder how things will function.

3) Family requests: My Dad’s brother (Elmer) had a stroke last week. Would you pray for his recovery, healing, and encouragement? And for him and his family to experience God’s love. The first anniversary of my uncle’s death (my Mom’s brother) is this month. Prayers for my aunt and her two boys and their families are also appreciated! Thank you!

Thank you again for walking this journey with us by reading these updates and praying through our requests. I’m not sure if I’ve told you this before, but there are often times when I feel a wave of peace wash over me and I think to myself, “our team is praying”. Your involvement with us is very noticed, valued, and appreciated. Thank you so much.

Love,
Lisa (for Dan, Rebekah, and Will)