Crazy

To some people, it seemed crazy that Tim and I would bring a small child overseas. People often asked us, ‘are you bringing your son with you?’ What?! Uh, yep.

To others, it seemed crazy that we would raise monthly financial support. To that we say, our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

What seems crazy to us is that in the end, God asked us to stay here. At a time when so few are willing to serve overseas, especially among the unreached, God asked us to stay. We were willing, ready, passionate about going, but God told us to put the brakes on.

From conversations we’ve had, it also seems that a conclusion many have come to for us not going is that the funds just didn’t come in. What’s ironic is that in the end, The Navigators told us that we could go even if we weren’t fully funded!! Even more ironic is that at the time, that was the last thing we wanted to hear.

I had actually been praying that if God wanted us to stay, it would be about the finances. That we wouldn’t be able to get fully funded and we could tell people it was about the economy. That’s something that everyone could understand, right? I think I even asked God, please give us a “cover story,” something that we can tell people other than having to say ‘God said so.’ So when we heard The Navs give us the green light, my heart fell. I knew that was the Lord, taking away every other option for why we were staying.

At this point, we have some understanding for why we aren’t going right now, but certainly not the full story. And that’s enough for us because God said so.

a thank you

For those of you who have cried with us, prayed with us, grieved with us, and trusted God with us in the past month, we thank you. For Tim and I, to say yes to God and be obedient in not going to Senegal, it was truly the death of a dream. We are feeling the deep loss of ‘what could have been’ on a daily basis. But although the wounds are still fresh, we know that to stay here was definitely God’s best for our family right now.

Right now the first part of 2 Corinthians 1:9 sums up how we feel: “…in our hearts, we felt the sentence of death” because we don't fully understand why the Lord asked us to stay. However, the second part of the verse gives us great hope. “But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead.”

Your emails, phone calls, cards, tears and hugs have been just what we’ve needed most and we thank you for reaching out to us. Your understanding in this time makes all the difference when we share with others who do not understand what we are experiencing. You, dear friends, have dealt with us mercifully and have extended the love of God to us. You have truly functioned as the body of Christ and have come around us with words of affirmation and confirmation. Most of all, we are thankful for your belief in our ability to hear from God in this matter.

Our intention is to get in touch with all of our donors in some way in the coming months. If we haven’t touched base with you yet, be patient, we are working our way down the list. :) Once again, thank you for your prayers. We are taking things a day at a time and all things considered, are doing ok. We continue to trust God for His perfect provision.