We have never blogged before. We're not even sure if people read blogs, but if you do - thanks for tuning in. We decided to start this as a way to keep our friends and family informed on the things that happen in the comings and goings of our life. Whether these things are big events or little ponderings, we hope our posts give a glimpse into our small part of God's grand story. We also hope our readers will share in the Joy that accompanies our lives as we journey through the many adventures that God puts in our paths.
You might have learned about this blog from a letter you recieved asking for support for our relocation to Indonesia, others might have heard about it through word of mouth or other social networks. Whatever the case may be, you have all tuned into a very life changing year for us. We are currently a family of three living in Spokane in the support raising process of going to Indonesia. We mentioned in our support letter that the tale of how we arrived to our current situation is long and very dear to us, and for the sake of brevity we did not tell our story there. We believe it is a story that "makes much of God" (to borrow John Piper's phrase), and any story that shows His glory should not be too abridged. Now, sitting by the fire on an exceptionally cold day in April, we have the time and space to recount it.
You might have learned about this blog from a letter you recieved asking for support for our relocation to Indonesia, others might have heard about it through word of mouth or other social networks. Whatever the case may be, you have all tuned into a very life changing year for us. We are currently a family of three living in Spokane in the support raising process of going to Indonesia. We mentioned in our support letter that the tale of how we arrived to our current situation is long and very dear to us, and for the sake of brevity we did not tell our story there. We believe it is a story that "makes much of God" (to borrow John Piper's phrase), and any story that shows His glory should not be too abridged. Now, sitting by the fire on an exceptionally cold day in April, we have the time and space to recount it.
The picture above was taken in February 2010; in my mind this is where it began for us. When considering the sovereignty of God in our lives, it's impossible to pick an actual "start date" of when our current adventure began. Every person in our lives, every experience, and every failure redeemed, God has used to bring us where we are. But 2010 was when God began to let us in on what He is doing in our lives. At that time, as most of you probably know, Michelle and I lived in Everett, WA; we worked three nights a week, and had not a care in the world. Kids were on the hazy horizon. Like most people, we found ourselves trying to map out our future. We spent most of 2010 pursuing medical missions, but God kept closing door after door. But God's ways and timing are perfect, and He had things to teach us first.
Looking back, maybe we should have seen it coming. God had been changing our hearts. He surrounded us with people who inspired and challenged us, a church that was saturated with the Gospel, books that rattled our worldview, and of course, the Holy Spirit - always teaching, always guiding. At times the heat from His refining furnace was overwhelming, but it was also revitalizing. He had made us uncomfortable with our comfort, discontent in our ease, and terribly aware of our lack of sacrifice. We were compelled to take action: to live out our faith in a tangible way. This is when we started exploring medical mission oppotunities. In the early spring of 2010, we stumbled across a job posting on the Wycliffe Bible Translators website, requesting an RN to come to a small school in Indonesia to be the school nurse and to teach several classes. At that time we were in the middle of pursuing two other international ministry opportunities, and decided not to pursue this one. However, something about that one sentence job description intrigued and engaged a very deep part of our hearts. It was not until nine months later, after our other opportunities had fallen through and we had all but abandoned the idea of medical missions that this came back to us. But we now had our hearts set on Spokane. Frustrated and perhaps annoyed with God, we were planning to settle down near family, buy a house, see the sun, and not work weekends - real American Dream type stuff. The Holy Spirit, however, was nudging us and making us uncomfortable. We decided to apply for the position, but it was a pitiful and half-hearted attempt at obedience. We told God that if this is what we ought to do, He had to make it happen - all of it. Not surprisingly, He is now making it happen.
On February 3, 2011 we had planned on calling our Wycliffe representative to tell her we were withdrawing our application - but overslept and missed their business hours (we worked nights). That night we went to the Macaroni Grill for dinner with our minds set on Spokane. When we walked out, we were somehow discussing moving to Indonesia! Over the course of the evening, we discussed what we wanted our lives to be about and concluded on two things. First, we are bent toward teaching and dicipleship and excited about engaging the hearts of young people. And second, that serving God results in our greatest joy. During a single meal, God had flipped our hearts and changed even the continent we wanted to live on.
The next five months were a whirlwind as God pushed and stretched us to depend on Him. He captured our hearts with His relentless and reckless love, displayed in Jesus. We realized that our lives did not reflect the gravity of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, and that this sacrifice ought to compel us to action - action driven not only by obedience, but by the abundant joy found in resting in God's Will. One of the influential contributions to our life during this time was Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, The Cost of Discipleship. In the first chapter he writes:
“Costly grace is the gospel... Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life... Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son, and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”
We are utterly and irrevocably convinced that a life not devoted to Christ is not worth living; and it is our joyful burden to use our passions, our talents, and our lives to pursue this great God, and to bring as many along with us as we can. For us, at this point in time, it means following God's call across the Pacific.
Thus, we find ourselves in our current situation. We have been accepted into the position mentioned above and are now raising funds to go over as early as August. With our new daughter Elsie in tow, the rest of the year is in God's hands - an adventurous, yet very safe, place to be.
On February 3, 2011 we had planned on calling our Wycliffe representative to tell her we were withdrawing our application - but overslept and missed their business hours (we worked nights). That night we went to the Macaroni Grill for dinner with our minds set on Spokane. When we walked out, we were somehow discussing moving to Indonesia! Over the course of the evening, we discussed what we wanted our lives to be about and concluded on two things. First, we are bent toward teaching and dicipleship and excited about engaging the hearts of young people. And second, that serving God results in our greatest joy. During a single meal, God had flipped our hearts and changed even the continent we wanted to live on.
The next five months were a whirlwind as God pushed and stretched us to depend on Him. He captured our hearts with His relentless and reckless love, displayed in Jesus. We realized that our lives did not reflect the gravity of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, and that this sacrifice ought to compel us to action - action driven not only by obedience, but by the abundant joy found in resting in God's Will. One of the influential contributions to our life during this time was Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, The Cost of Discipleship. In the first chapter he writes:
“Costly grace is the gospel... Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life... Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son, and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”
We are utterly and irrevocably convinced that a life not devoted to Christ is not worth living; and it is our joyful burden to use our passions, our talents, and our lives to pursue this great God, and to bring as many along with us as we can. For us, at this point in time, it means following God's call across the Pacific.
Thus, we find ourselves in our current situation. We have been accepted into the position mentioned above and are now raising funds to go over as early as August. With our new daughter Elsie in tow, the rest of the year is in God's hands - an adventurous, yet very safe, place to be.
"O the deep, deep love of Jesus!
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me,
Is the current of Your love
Leading onward, leading homeward
To Your glorious rest above!"
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