Thursday, August 07, 2008

New thoughts for the here and now

Christian and I have spent the last 4 days in Union Mills, SC at the Center for Intercultural Training. We have just completed a church planting class. It was really good. We are headed home today. Larry and Lorraine have been at our house watching the kids this week. I haven't spoken with the kids since Monday (ZERO cell reception out here in Union Mills and a 15 mile radius.) I assume all is well. This was the last of our requirements that we need to "go do". We still have some books to read and Bible courses to finish but those can be done at home. For the first time in very long time we don't have anywhere we need to go. God has to work some amazing networking now. We have asked everyone we know to join our team and we still have 25% left to raise (that = $1,300 a month.) He has already done some really neat things in SC. We just pray he continues to do more.
Pray for us that we - all seven of us - will learn what ever God has for us to learn in SC, in this season of prolonged waiting. I do ask that you pray that God will provide the rest of our support but for the first time ever I am not placing time frame on that. I don't want to guess or demand that God do anything not in his plan for us. I don't want to be prayed out of a hard situation - I want to champion the situation through God's might and power. A good friend was always pointing out to me how our family was going through major change and how the kids or I were acting accordingly. Well, God has kept our family in a constant state of flux for the last 8 years . . . change seems to be a constant in our family so God must want us to get good at handling it.

I have never really prayed for that. I have always prayed to get to the next phase, or the next "known quantitiy" as quickly as possible. So please pray in a new way for us. Pray that through God's strength we are able to champion the difficult circumstances in our life right now and that we would feel free to enjoy the life God has given us.
Pray that the rest of our support comes in soon - we truly believe that is God's will for our family, to go to Peru. But I am done putting dates and time limits on my prayers - I have caused myself much frustration and disappointment by making plans (even if they were just in my head) that I really had no authority to make.

Thanks for loving us and reading this.