Hi friends,
Merry Christmas to all our dear friends, loved ones and supporters! What a beautiful season this has been for our little family and we trust and pray it has been the same for you! Our teaching series at our church was “Prepare”, it was such a great few weeks of truly preparing our hearts and minds and even emotions to grasp what this time of year symbolizes. So many times we are about the “do”, and God just asks us to “be”………I pray that as we wind down 2009 that you find a few still moments to just “be”.
At this time of year, DaNae and I tend to process where we are in life. It’s become a process we look forward to, believe it or not. As we approach 2010, we hope each of you have a chance to look back, be present, and look forward, too. Take a minute to think through 2009 and what God has done in your life. How has He blessed you, surprised you, encouraged you, and challenged you. Take some time to be in the present – what is God doing with you and your family right now? How, if at all, is it tied to what He’s done in the past and brought you through already? Finally, look to the future – what is the trajectory He has you on? Where is He leading/directing you? What do you think He’s preparing you for?
As we apply this to New Zealand, we can look back and see how God has taught us to persevere. When we started this journey, we never expected to be raising funds for this long in the economic situation around us. We’re fortunate to have a clear call to NZ and encouragement along the way - they act as markers that we can hold onto when we question ourselves. We also see how God has met our needs in two of our three support goals as tactile proof that He’s moving us forward.
We can look at the present and see how God is sustaining us in this journey. With our original plan, we had the financial cushion to sustain us as we raised funds (we do not draw any support until we are in NZ). Needless to say, that cushion is long gone but God continues to provide work to sustain us. It’s been a blessing to totally rely on him for our day to day needs.
As we look to the future, we still feel strongly that God has called us to NZ. It will take circumstances beyond our control to deter us from this call. We anticipate serving cession and being a resource they utilize to launch and develop their community ministries. We wonder what else God has in store for us as we continue to raise funds. We wonder (with a bit of trepidation) how He will develop our character. We look forward to stepping off a plane a half a world away and allowing cession to see this plan become a real asset to them. We hope to see God draw enough monthly supporters to our team to make this happen.
For those of you who have been a part of our past and present, we are so thankful for how God has used your faithfulness to be part of our call. Several times, support has been more than just a financial partnership – it’s been the shot of encouragement we’ve needed to keep going. The need is great to get us to NZ – in 2 months, cession will start their new year. If you have been considering joining our team or have committed to joining but just have not had a chance to send in paperwork/give online, now would be an awesome time to consider joining us. Global Partners can only process commitments when they receive them - they can’t include our “word” on things that are coming. If God’s calling you to act, you can use the online giving option at
www.praygivego.com to have your support recorded for this year. Thank you for caring enough about us to keep us on your spiritual radar. May 2009 end as a year you will remember and may 2010 bring you closeness with God that is beyond your imagination.
