New friends and trail blazers

This past weekend our church had some missionaries that we partner with visiting with us. Joe and Karen have been in Chambéry, France for 27 years. Ryan and I are 28 years old, so they have been in France almost as long as we have been alive… pretty wild isn’t it. 

A map of France with Chambéry highlighted

In their time in France they have been a part of planting a church, doing University work (which is Joe’s main focus), volunteering at a Christian publishing organization to widely distribute vital resources and teaching tools throughout France and French-speaking African countries (Karen’s main focus), and for decades have been organizing and running summer camps for missionary kids. 

We had a great time picking their brains and listening to stories about their many adventures. I am beginning to see a trend, which is that people who are in full-time ministry often seem to stay young at heart (especially if they do work with youth) and they all have countless stories to share. It may be a road less traveled, but it seems to be anything but boring. Please pray for Joe and Karen as they visit with family and their [existing and potential] ministry partners for the next few weeks.

Their organization CrossWorld has some great videos and I wanted to share one with you today. From Where You Stand: The Odds Are from Crossworld on Vimeo.

Hold on to your hats

The financial support raising process is often like a rollercoaster. You experience dizzying highs followed by sharp unexpected lows. You get tossed side to side by quick turns and get thrown for more than a few loops where everything is upside down for a little while. For some people I’ve just described the ultimate thrill. For me it’s more about holding on as tight as I can and reminding myself that everything is going to be okay (I have a checkered history with rollercoasters in case you couldn’t tell). But I feel like my relationship with God throughout this process is pretty close to what I described: Highs, lows, twists, and turns, all of which come in rapid succession. 

It's at this point that I often take consolation in the story of Israel wandering in the desert between Egypt and the Promised Land. They experience God doing amazing, awe-inspiring things like parting the Red Sea and supernaturally providing them with food. But it often seems like almost instantly they look around themselves seeing the sand, mountains, and sparse vegetation of the desert, and they forget that God is leading them through. They would rather go back to the slavery that they knew in Egypt then face the uncertainty of God leading them in the desert.

I’m often like that. I wish that I wasn’t. But when I’m honest with myself I know that the present circumstances of my situation have far more influence on me than they should. A little bump here or a quick drop there and I can start to unravel; I hold on tighter and start to wish that I wasn’t on this ride. But like I said, this is where the story of Israel in the desert gives me comfort. When Moses is giving his final speech before the Israelites enter into the Promised Land, he reminds them of God’s presence with them throughout their entire journey as they are about to have to drive out the current inhabitants of Canaan. Moses says, 

“Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place” — Deuteronomy 1:29-30 

Throughout the ups and downs God continues to carry me as a father carries his son. I need that.

How Great Thou Art

I don't have a lot of words today, but I feel like this wonderful hymn was with me when I woke up and it continues to stay with me throughout the day. I thought about posting one of the more polished videos, but I think this one expresses the reality that me and everyone singing in it cling to. It is powerful, especially today.


How great you are, my king.

Holy Week 2012

Ryan and I are taking a mini break from our normal routine of developing partners for France this week. It is good to take a break from time to time anyway, but even more so this week, as we observe and reflect on the final days of Jesus’ life, leading up to his crucifixion, and then celebrate His resurrection. 

Pastor Gary (from our home church Grace Community) gave a detailed reading plan for the week leading up to Friday. I am simplifying it here, but I thought it was worth sharing. Each of the four Gospel books cover the story in depth, and I am excited to follow the same parts of the story in all four books each day.

We’ve Reached a Milestone

We have accomplished the first big goal we set for our support raising process! God has been graciously providing these past few weeks, and we’ve reached 30% (actually 33%) of our total support goal. We are a third of the way there! It’s exciting to see progress as we move towards our ultimate goal of church-planting in France. Thank you to everyone who has prayed and committed to give. This ministry is possible only through your partnership.

We celebrated with ice cream (Jenis salty caramel, yum)

Please pray with us that we would reach our next big milestone of 50% by June.

Our Call to France: Looking Back

We have been on this journey to France for a while. Really, it has been 5 years since God first planted the seed in our hearts to go to France and begin new communities of believers. So, on the journey there have been times when God’s leading is crystal clear and other times of less clarity and more “walking in faith.” January and February were more “walking in faith” months because progress felt stalled. One such night last month, I was reading an old journal when I stumbled upon an entry I thought was share-worthy. I wrote it in May of 2006, a few months into dating Ryan and long before we had discussed going into missions and certainly before the idea of France became a regular discussion. I will jump right in. Earlier that night, I had seen a movie that was set in Paris:

“Sometimes I have real glimpses of God, typically it is in nature, but tonight I had a similar experience with this movie. I felt homesick, but homesick for the city of Paris. I don’t understand it at all, but I feel like God has given me a strange connection to that city. And tonight while watching the movie, I felt like I was there or supposed to be there.”

I was so encouraged and re-energized by this reminder, that God has been preparing both of us for this even longer than I realized. He is and will continue to be in complete control.

RACE Week

It is hard to believe, but it was one year ago this week when Ryan and I were at World Team’s sending office being evaluated as missionary candidates. It was an intense week, but also very worthwhile. We were given tests that surveyed our personalities, gifts and knowledge, and then… as a team of candidates, we were assigned hypothetical tasks and challenges that we had to work together to solve (all while a team of assessors observed us and jotted notes about our strengths and weaknesses). Also, throughout the week, we learned more about the World Team and what it would mean and look like for them to be our sending agency. At the end of the week, we had personal interviews and then an interview as a couple, during which, they reported back on all that they had observed, gave recommendations for our growth, and invited us to join World Team (to our delight). We accepted and, in the following few months, were invited to join the team in France.  

This week, another round of brave candidates are going through the same intentional process, and I just wanted to say (in case any of you are reading) that our prayers our with you, and we hope that the week is revealing, as you learn more about yourselves and God’s mission, and as your next steps in that mission become more clear.