Placement

As promised by Stephanie in our last post, I want to give an update on our placement change that took place earlier this year. Some of you may have heard of this in person, but I want to go into a bit more detail on exactly where we will be in Kenya and what we will be doing there.

As most of you know we had first thought that we would be placed out in rural Kenya working with the Maasai people. Due to some changes with bridges being washed out, and the desire of our field leadership to have us be closer to other WGM missionaries for our first term, they decided that this was not a good option for our first term. While this change left us in some uncertainty for a period of time, it was ultimately God's perfect timing that prevailed. Sometimes waiting on God isn't easy, since we often think we should get an answer when we think we need it.

After a couple of months of not really knowing where we would be, we got the answer that we were waiting for. Like God often works, it turns out that His plan is always better than ours! We got an email from our field leaders about a meeting they had had with the Africa Gospel Church leadership. They were talking with them about my background in agriculture and the burden that God had placed on our hearts. The AGC leaders then excitedly told them that just that morning they had met with their local missionaries and discussed their need for more help with agriculture. They told them they would pray about it and see how they could find help. Then later that day when they talked with our field directors, they realized how this was an answer to prayer. Our directors then asked them to write up a letter explaining what they envision us doing and how strategic this would be.

It was so rewarding and confirming to read this letter from the indigenous church, and see how everything they were praying about and envisioning matched perfectly with what God had placed on our hearts. Instead of working with just one people group I will have the opportunity to work with 8-10 different people groups within Kenya. I will be working more centrally in training and demonstration at the new Bethany Training Center outside of Nakuru, and then also traveling out to the different areas and people groups of Kenya to help with problems faced in each area. AGC sees agriculture as a stepping stone to bringing the gospel to the areas where they are trying to reach. Poverty caused by disease, raids, and climate change has left many dependent on relief and handouts, which is not sustainable. The local people, and even the AGC missionaries have found themselves in a helpless situation lacking expertise in this area. I hope to be able to provide a more sustainable way for the local missionaries to provide for their families so that they can do the work God has called them to do as well.

As you can imagine it was so neat to see how God aligned the needs and burdens of the local people with the burdens and calling that He has placed on our lives. Supporting the local church and local missionaries is sometimes an overlooked but very important role in missions. They often times have a better chance of reaching their own people for Christ because they face less barriers like language, culture, and preconceived opinions of white people. Also the fact that we will now be living close to the AGC Baby Center, which helps orphans, is awesome too! Stephanie has always had a great burden for orphans and hopes to be able to help out with that ministry as well.

In everything we will do in Kenya we want to come with the attitude of a servant. After all that is the model Christ has set before us with His time on earth. We aren't going to westernize people or impose our way of doing things as best. In fact the first 2 years I believe will be more of a learning experience for us than anything. I want to learn from them first, before I can help them, so that together we can accomplish the task that He has given us. This task is found on our prayer cards:

Acts 20:24  However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

Always Amazed

I know it's been some time since we've shared anything, the last two months have flown by. God has been providing so many sharing opportunities for us! It's hard to know where to begin in sharing all that He has been revealing and teaching us in the last few months.

May was an extremely busy month as far as speaking engagements go. There were so many encouraging times for our family as we were able to share what God has placed on our hearts. Each church and the Michiana Men With Vision group were so encouraging and welcoming. It has been such a privilege to share our journey with so many!

In June we attended our first camp as a missionary family, it was the Iowa Holiness Campmeeting in University Park, IA. I will admit that I was nervous going into this camp, I had no idea what to expect since this was our first campmeeting. All I can say is that it was an amazing time! I was blown away by the Sovereignty of God and how He knows what we need before we need it. He knew we would need this camp and the people that were there before we even had a clue. For Andy and I it was such an amazing week of spiritual refreshment and just being with so many amazing fellow believers. For our children, especially our oldest, Carson, it was a week of learning that HMA (Homeland Ministry Assignment) can be fun. Our entire family needed this week, and our God being who He is provided that for us. I am continually blown away at His care for each one of His children! He never ceases to amaze me and remind me of who He is and how much of a privilege it is to be able to serve Him!

Thank you to all that take the time to stay tuned into what God is doing in our family, it truly is a blessing and honor to be able to share with you! We would love to know what God has been teaching you or ways that we can be praying for you, please feel free to contact us with specific ways we can be sharing life with you.

Stay tuned for an update from Andy with more information on where we will officially be in Kenya and how God has been opening amazing doors.

-Stephanie
                                              (some pictures of our time at IHA Camp)

                                            Shayla enjoying her time at IHA Camp

                                                        Carson hard at work coloring                                     

                                                Jackson showing off his coloring sheet                                   
                 

                                        They brought horses in on the last day of camp for the kids
                                                   Aubrey wouldn't ride without Mom :)

 

 

Shayla also wanted Daddy to ride with her :)

Fear vs. Faith

As I was reading my perspectives lesson today, I came across a great point that one of the authors made.  "Fear is the opposite of faith." It got me thinking, that it really is a very true analysis of the relationship of the two. If I want to call myself a disciple of Christ, fear is not an option. I have been thinking a lot about that lately as we have been speaking at different churches and groups. One question we get asked a lot, is about the safety and security of the country in which we are going to serve. Concerns that we hear a lot usually deal with disease, violence, our kids safety, and overall risk of being a Christian witness in a country where there is a Muslim presence in some areas. While I know people are truly concerned for our well-being, it does make me wonder sometimes if we are letting fear triumph over faith. Before we made the life changing decision to go into full time missions, fear was definitely a factor and can still be something that comes up now and then as we still face unknowns. But we have to keep coming back to faith, because that is what sustains us. Faith should drive us into doing things that may not always be safe or comfortable. The disciples when filled with the Holy Spirit could not help but risk their very lives because of their passion to spread the gospel. They faced persecution, and most of them even death for the sake of their Savior. This kind of sold out faith should not just be something we think about when it comes to the early church in the book of Acts, but it should give us the model that Christ intended us to use as the way of spreading our faith today. I count it a privilege to serve Christ in this way and I hope that I will always let faith outweigh my fears.

-Andy

Update

As of today we have 37% of our monthly need met. You can't even begin to know how excited this makes us! God has been moving in amazing ways and people have been responding to His prompting and partnering with us. It's a very humbling feeling and we have been blown away by all the love and support we have received.

You want to know another awesome fact? We have 40 families that have committed to praying for us specifically. This is HUGE! Knowing that we have such an amazing team committed to praying for us, and our ministry, is so incredibly awesome and humbling. It makes the tough days easier and makes us want to keep on doing what we've been called to do, all the while knowing we are not in this alone. None of this would be possible without prayer.

So, this is a BIG thank you, to all that have made this possible! Because of you, we are that much closer to Africa and doing what God has laid on our hearts.

We are still looking for churches and groups to share with. If you know of any that would be interested in having us come and share, please let us know. We have enjoyed the times of sharing that we have been given already and are looking forward to more.

Again, THANK YOU! We love and appreciate you all so much!!


-Stephanie

Looking Back

As I reflect back on 2013 and look ahead to this year, I really can't believe how much difference a year makes. To think that we would be in the position we are in right now, on a totally different course than I ever imagined, is quite unreal. 2013 for us was really the year of "the cliff", the cliff being full time missions. We may have flirted within distance of this cliff before, but never really considered walking up to the edge and jumping off. Well, God had a different plan than us, and it was ultimately Him that pushed us over the edge. I think of how many people in the Bible that God "pushed" into doing something that they never thought they were capable of doing. It seems that all throughout scripture He uses ordinary people to accomplish great things. I believe the God that existed 2000 years ago is still the same One in control today, and He wants to use each and every one of us to be Christ to others. That will look different for every Christ follower, but we have to be willing to be used by Him.

For me the hardest part of this journey that we are on, is just remembering why we are here and what we are supposed to be doing. This culture has engrained in us an idea that tells us that life is all about what we can accomplish ourselves, how much money we can make, how nice of retirement we can save up for, etc. I don't recall those things in the Bible as being important to God, and I would rather spend my time accumulating heavenly treasure since eternal life will be much, much longer than this one. All that He asks is that we take up our cross and follow Him. I really like Chris Tomlin's song "I will follow." It gives me a picture of what following Christ really means by putting me in His footprints. "Where you go I'll go, where you stay I'll stay, when you move I'll move, I will follow you. Who you love I'll love, who you serve I'll serve, If this life I lose, I will follow you." My goal for 2014 is simply just to strive to live that out more in my own life, because HE is worth the cost and deserves nothing less!

-Andy