Yard Sale: Next Friday & Saturday

Get excited because Ryan and I are selling a lot of our stuff August 24 & 25, next Friday and Saturday, from 8am–1pm (and you know how great our taste in stuff is right?). But in all seriousness, we need to do some purging before we go to Ohio and definitely before heading to France, so in a way, by buying some of our things, you are helping us get one step closer. So if you are local, come on over to the church parsonage yard (italicizing "yard" to emphasize the Boston accent) next Friday and Saturday!

In Christ's perfect timing

We shared this in our July newsletter but I thought it made sense to share it on the blog as well so here goes. Through much thought, prayer, and discussion we have decided to transition back to Ohio in mid-November to complete the rest of our partnership development for France there. We see this as the logical next step for several reasons, a couple reasons being:

• We want to have time to say goodbye to family and friends in Ohio.
• We have numerous opportunities available to us for partnership development in Ohio as well because we have more years invested in relationships there.

It is going to be very sad to say goodbye to so many people who have become dear to us over the course of time that we have been in Massachusetts. Our entire marriage has taken place here and we have grown so much, through Ryan’s two degrees, my work at the Harvard School of Public Health, our involvement at church, and the amazing friendships we’ve made, it feels strange to wrap up what has been an amazing season of our lives. But we are confident that this is the Lord’s leading and that it is the next step on our way to serving Him in France. The first stop before France just happens to be Ohio. So with this news, our timeline of getting to France has adjusted slightly and this is the new plan. 

Our hope is to arrive in France by August 2013. Once there, our first year will be devoted to language learning and immersing ourselves in the culture, and then we will take part in an internship with an established French church. With the guidance of World Team leaders in France, we will research locations and begin working with a team to establish a new community of believers. In this new church community, we will disciple and train French nationals to be leaders themselves with the goal that the church we plant will multiply itself in years to come under the initiative of French Christians. This will happen as we share the Gospel, build relationships, and demonstrate the love of Christ in our community. It is our prayer that the Holy Spirit will work through our efforts to yield a vibrant body of believers grounded in the truth of Scripture.

And we can’t wait to get started!

A thought on the Olympics

I really enjoy watching the Olympics, and I love the excitement of the opening ceremonies. The host country always puts on an elaborate show followed by all the athletes marching in dressed in styles and costumes that represent their countries. It’s such an amazing spectacle. But it struck me as I watched the opening ceremony this year that this is just the smallest taste of what Heaven will be like. People from all over the world gathered together in excitement and celebration, diverse but united at the same time. We won’t be celebrating sports, but Jesus our Lord who gave his life for every single one of us.

I like thinking about it.

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, 
who sits on the throne, 
and to the Lamb’” — Revelation 7:9-10