Brain Dump

Once again, we've left this blog blank for a long time. <sigh> Sorry. Originally, we started it in hopes that it would be discovered by others just starting out on the mission journey and could help them with insight and information we had trouble finding. Now, it sometimes feels more like a tool for us to keep our friends and family back home informed about what we're up to. Then again, it's also a public blog, so (the internet being what it is) there's no telling who might stumble across it. Hmmm - place to guide others in practical matters?  Personal space for our loved ones? Platform for preaching and teaching the truth of Jesus Christ? Maybe it's all of the above. Or none! For now, here's just a little bit of what's been on my mind recently:

• Missionaries - your kids must be a priority! Before we left for the field, I reminded God that Isaiah 40:11 promises that He leads gently those who have young. In essence, I was reminding him that my kids were a priority for me, and He has reminded me many times since that they must be a priority for ME as well. This year we chose to home school because the educational options available to us weren't the best fit for our kiddos. There have been times that I've felt a little guilty (and gotten some flack from others, to be honest) for spending so much time focused on my own children's needs. After all, we are here to help others, right? Listen - the truth is that regardless of where you live, your own family has been given to you for a reason. God knew what He was doing when He gave them to you. Family is important to Him, and it should be important to us. No matter where you are, but ESPECIALLY on the mission field, you can, should, and must make sure your own family unit is intact and cared for emotionally, spiritually, and physically. 

•  Politics stink! I vacillate between being incredibly relieved to be far from the circus that seems to be the U.S. political arena these days, and wishing I could be back in the fray lobbying and involved in local politics once again. What I REALLY wish, though, was that people would, um, I don't know - be reasonable? I've lost friendships because of politics. I can't believe that's true, but it is. I have found myself cringing when it's time to read the news or check social media, not wanting to learn more bad news or (even worse) see more people behaving badly. Heaven help me if I try to read the comments section of an article or comment! It makes me all the more grateful that the answer for the world's problems won't come from the political sphere, but already came 2,000 years ago as the adopted son of a carpenter. Still, I struggle in knowing how to have wisdom in what to say and when/where to say it, and when it's best to keep my mouth shut. Sometimes it's harder to love people the more you know about their political beliefs (and how they choose to express them), honestly, and I long to love all people well. I also don't want to be guilty of the same ignorance or bias or blindness that so infuriates me when I see it in others. Oh, Jesus - help us all!

• My baby girl is almost all grown up. Our oldest daughter is looking at the strong possibility of starting college a year early, pending only sufficient financial aid, which we are excited to see how God will provide. What that means is that she'll be leaving not just our home, but the country in which we serve. We'll be 3,000 miles and 2 countries apart for much of the year. This is the point at which a lot of parents start wringing their hands and fretting. Honestly, though, all I feel is excitement for her and for the world that she's about to take on. We've made a lot of mistakes are parents (as all do), but it's been a delight and a pleasure to parent her and her sisters. I have loved each and every age in its own way, and encourage all of you to forget that tired old lie that the teenage years have to be awful and filled with strife. Our experience has been just the opposite, in fact, and the only regret I have about her leaving is that I will miss her cheerful, capable, insightful presence in my daily life. At what is nearly the end of this process of getting her raised up and ready to be on her own, I feel totally confident in my teenage daughter's abilities to make good choices, be kind, follow her convictions, and honor Christ in all she does. It's been a blur, but an honor, and I'm all the more encouraged to soak up what time we have left with her and her siblings in our home, and to rejoice in the victories I know they all have ahead. 

•  Ministry work doesn't always look like what I thought it would. the past year has been filled with challenges and changes, as I know we've alluded to in past posts, but one of the beautiful things that's come out of it is more intimacy with God, which has enabled us to hear His voice and learn His ways more and more. Before we left for the mission field, my impression of mission work was that it was almost exclusively evangelism, often in the street with strangers. And it is that, sometimes, but not always. Once we got here, we both plugged in to established Christian organizations and lent our energies to their work, which was mostly discipleship and training. We're still with one, but not with the other. Lately, I've felt more convicted to connect with individuals rather than organizations. I found a Christian friend who leads a Bible study at a women's shelter, so I asked if I could help. I met a Christian man who runs a school that needed help with its English program, so I asked if I could help. I have three Christian acquaintances who really want to learn English, so I asked if I could help. Ostensibly, I suppose, some of my activities don't look overtly 'missionary,' except that they are. In forging relationships with these folks, I can pray for and with them and strengthen their faith. In teaching them practical skills, I can help them widen their own sphere of influence and gain resources necessary for outreach. In many ways, it feels like one of the keys to ministry work is to equip locals to spread the gospel and not rely on outsiders to do it, so it feels good to be doing what I'm doing. To be honest, I'm still learning what it means to be a missionary, but for now I'm glad for the new doors God is opening and ways He's allowing me to expand my vision and understanding of this calling He's given me. 

•  Just so you know, I still don't miss winter and snow. At all.