Week 8

We have been here 8 weeks. 8 weeks. It feels like a lifetime...in a good way. We have already seen so much and lived so much and felt so much. This place is like home and then it's not. Often in the most unexpected ways. We have worshiped with 7 churches- a couple of them twice. We have been with Anglo, Filipino, Chinese, African, Vietnamese, and Korean friends. We have been in Rec centers, Senior Centers, church buildings, and homes. And the one thing that ties it all together is Jesus.. They all love Jesus! They are true worshipers. It costs something here. The lostness of this place is overwhelming. There is no pretending here, they are lost and they don't know it. They are dying and going to hell and they don't really care. When we look at at the lostness, we feel like we are drowning, and then we remember. Do the next thing. Do the thing in front of you. Love and serve those God places in your face. Then move on the next and the next. And most of all, remember that God is in control. He is sovereign over all evangelistic and church planting activity. It's His harvest- not ours. Our obedience is what He desires not our results. God is showing Himself in our lives. It has been hard. Moving, immigration, settling in, trying to make friends, looking for fellowship, and wondering where in the world to start. There are tears in our confessions, tears in our stretching, tears in our worship. But He is good. He is molding us and reminding us that He is in control. That He wants all of us, not part. That He loves us with an everlasting love. That He is with us. The stretching may hurt a bit, but the gain far outweighs the pain. "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace." Isaiah 55:12 He is our peace. Thanks for praying for us!

Long time coming...

Wow! It's been 9 months since I posted here. 9 incredibly crazy, awesome, hard months. To make a long story short, our family has moved to the mission field in Canada. Alberta to be exact. We asked for something hard. We asked for something awesome. And we ended up here in a seminary guest apartment waiting for our rental to be ready in about 10 days. The wrenching that I mentioned in the past posts pushed us out of our comfort zone and into the deep. I am so excited! We are so happy! We are very tired, but we are here and can not wait to see what God has in store for our family. I hope to share with you the joys and the frustrations of ministry in a post-church society. They need Jesus desperately. We are on our faces asking God to use us.

Lady Bug on its back

Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.


Our house is a haven to Lady Bugs. At least they think so. They are everywhere- the ceiling, the lamps, the tables, and my pillow. I have found out a thing or two about these beetles. First, they aren't even from here. The ones in my house are decendants of some beetles brought here from Asia decades ago. Second, they bite. Well, not technically- they pinch, but it felt like a bite to me. Thirdly, they smell bad when you scare them, really! (Yes, I did look them up on Wiki!) And then last but most importantly, when they get on their backs, they can't turn over on their own. That's the thing I identify with the most. They can't get turned over. They lay there wiggling their feet in the air hoping against hope that somehow someway they will magically flip back over and be on their way. (and yes, I am just weird enough that despite their stink and bite, I turn them back over when they are in distress)

I am so like these guys in all ways- I bite (no pinching for me) and I stink. I get so caught up in myself that I lay flipped over waving my arms and legs in the air hoping for an impossible rescue. Why do I let it get so bad before I look for the Only One who can turn me back to my feet. Who can turn me in the right direction. Who will give me His grace and peace to keep me from biting and stinking?!

Now, when I see those guys I think about the One who made them- and me- and how He is my rescuer. How I can call on Him and He will set me straight.

Maybe when you see them on your ceiling you will remember that too- oh, and don't forget to give them a hand and flip them over!