Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Loss & Gain

Today has been a hard day.  It's hard to say goodbye, and it's hard to see people, including family, struggling and hurting because of our decision to become missionaries.  Some of the words said to me today got me thinking, honestly, about the choices that we're making at this time in our lives:


It's stupid to be leaving behind my job! I've been blessed for 8 1/2 years to work at a great church, with people who love us, families that support us, and youth who respond to the Word of God when they hear it.  In a country where the average length of stay at a church for a youth minister is 9 months, it's stupid to imagine leaving this church after so long.


We're crazy to sell off our possessions!  We've been married almost 9 years, and we haven't gathered a TON of things, by any means, but we've managed to get a few nice things.  A great dining room table, some nice couches that a wonderful family we love gave to us, a nice bedroom set, a lot of things that were great for the kids.  Now, it's all gone, sold in the last 8 weeks, belonging to other people and we're left with almost no possessions... we must be crazy!


We're heartless to be leaving our family and friends!  We've never been very far from Casper, and we know so many people here that we love, and who love us.  I can go to the store, and run into 10 people who genuinely care about me.  We can walk through a neighborhood and meet people that we went to school with, who we're always blessed to see.  Our families are almost all here, or are nearby.  We have children who have friends and family here, and they love our kids, and have been blessed to see them grow.  How could we possibly consider taking our children, and ourselves, away from this?


We're idiots to leave America!  Sure, this country may be struggling the past few years, but this is still the land of the free and the home of the brave, the birthplace of the American dream.  People are dying to live here, work here, raise their families here.  Instead, we would move to a country with a culture that we don't know, a language we don't understand, to live with people that we don't know and have never met.  We will have to learn every anew.  Our kids will have to figure everything out from scratch.  All of this will be done for less pay, in a less safe country, thousands of miles away from everything and everyone we've ever known.  What in the world could we be thinking?


The fact is, what we're doing doesn't make sense, when you look at it.  There's no reasonable reason to do what we're about to do, except for Christ.  As the Bible says, "whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ." (Ph. 3:7) We've been so blessed in Casper, and the Lord has given us more than we've ever deserved: a family who loves us, a church who blesses us, all the things we need for every comfort. But, we believe that God desires all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:3-5).  We believe that there is only one Way, one Truth, and one Life, and that no one comes to the Father God except through Jesus Christ (John 14:6).  And we believe that God still has children in Mexico that He wants to come to a saving knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He hasn't called everyone to move there and serve there, but He's called us, and we believe that, in light of the sacrifice of Christ, in light of salvation and eternity, how could we say no?

Will it be hard to go?  Yes, it already has been, and it will continue to be so.  There will be hard days and long nights ahead of us as we struggle to learn the language, as we miss our family and friends, as we seek to adjust to this place in our lives that God has called us to.  But, while we will be without many of the things that we've had all these years while we serve in Mexico, we will never be without God.  It hasn't been our church that has kept us going all these years.  It hasn't been our families who have sustained us in all things.  It hasn't been our possessions that have blessed us.  All these things have come from the Lord, and will continue to come from Him.  We leave many things behind, but we go with Christ, so we do not go empty, nor do we go broken or defeated.  As Paul went on to say, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ." (Ph 3:8).  We are leaving much behind, but we aren't losing anything; no, we gain when we follow, when we go, when we serve.  Pray for us and miss us, but be excited for us as well, because we are blessed to follow our great God across the face of His earth and among His beloved children!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

We're going!


     After years of praying and seeking the Lord’s will, and after over a year of raising support and traveling across Wyoming visiting churches, we’re excited to announce that we’re officially going!  We got the green light a few weeks ago to purchase plane tickets and make preparations to head to language school!  We can’t begin to tell you how exited we are about this, and how encouraging it is to see years of prayer from us and from the many wonderful believers in our lives lead to this moment!
     This means not only is it the Christmas season, but for us it’s also the season for CHANGE!  November 30th will be Nick’s last day on staff at College Heights Baptist in Casper.  We’re also moving out of our house that week to live with Sara’s parents for the month of December.  We’ll spend December visiting family and friends, selling the rest of what we own, packing up for language school, and celebrating the birth of our Savior.  Then we’ll head to Denver on December 30th, and board a plane on the 31st to fly to San José, Costa Rica.
     We’ll spend Dec. 31st-Jan 3rd getting settled in there, then go through orientation for language school starting on the 4th (our 9th anniversary!), with full classes beginning on the 11th.  We currently plan on being at language school through August 10th, then return to Casper on August 15th for a few weeks of seeing family and friends, visiting churches, and collecting the things we’ll need before we drive to Ciudad Guzman, Mexico!
     Be in prayer for us during this chaotic time as we make this transition.  Pray for our family and friends that we’ll leave behind, and for our children who are already struggling with the changes.  Pray that through all of this, we’ll keep our eyes on the Lord, and that He will be our focus during this time, so that we’ll be prepared spiritually as well as physically for our move to Costa Rica!  Thank you for all of your prayers, they obviously work!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

A look at Guzman

As we get closer to moving on to language school and then to Ciudad Guzman, Mexico, I wanted to share some pictures from my latest mission trip to Guzman, so you could get a better feel for the area we're hoping to move to, and the ministry we feel that God is calling us to.  Hope you enjoy, and ask any questions you like!  The more information we get out, the better you can pray for us!

One of many large Catholic churches in Guzman... this one is directly on the main plaza on the south side.

One of the oldest Catholic churches in Guzman.

The Baptist church I've been able to work with some... one of the few, tiny faithful churches seeking to share the Gospel with Guzman.

This is the front gate for the Universidad de Guadalajara del Sur - One of 4 universities in Guzman, and the one we're hoping to live next to and begin ministry with once we move there.


A neighborhood near the University were we're looking at moving into.

One of the many canals for drainage when the city gets one of its rainstorms with 10+ inches of rain.

More ideas of homes near the campus.

This one is for sale!  And only 2 blocks from the university campus!!

More wonderful homes near campus.

The neighborhoods near the university are beautiful, and just what we had in mind when we wanted to move into the area.

We pray that the Lord will lead us to the right home to rent (or eventually buy) that will be a base for Bible studies, meals, and other ministry and outreach in the area.

The churches are beautiful, but the religion is dead, and doesn't offer the true Gospel that will bring people into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

Overlooking the volcano (Nevado de Colima) and the south end of town from the Ecological Park above the town.

The central/north central part of Guzman as seen from the Ecological Park.

Excited to soon make this our home!


Getting to preach on Palm Sunday at La Primera Iglesia Bautista in Guzman! I love sharing the Word!

This is just a taste of how great this city is!  We can't wait to tell you more about it in the coming weeks!
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