The Half-Way Mark

It has been either 6 months since we've returned home from Chile or 6 months that we have left in the states before we go back...
Regardless which way we look at it it has been GOOD! The Lord has taught us many lessons and reassured us of a lot of things these past 6 months.

LESSON 1: God has indeed called us to Chile and he is faithful in providing the means! Our budget has jumped up quite a bit so we are working very hard to finish raising it in a year. We are traveling, preaching and sharing our vision for Chile to obtain new commitments. It has been our joy to make new friends as we visit churches week after week and meet with potential supporters. It has also been a blessing to catch up with the people that are already part of our support team and thanking them for taking part in what God is doing in Chile. Before we made the move back we where worried about the failing economy and the reports of missionaries struggling to raise their budgets. Our experience has been so positively overwhelming as people are excited about missions and ready to give and invest in the lives of students in Chile! We are currently at 84% and lacking $1400 in monthly commitments.

Lesson 2: God has assured Josh and I that this is the calling he has for us. Stepping back into America after being gone almost 4 years has allowed us to process many feelings and solidify values in our life and in the family we are raising. For me it has allowed me to feel CERTAIN and SATISFIED that this is the way I want to live my life...committed to something bigger than wealth and fame. I want to live for something bigger than myself and the Lord has provided this opportunity for us to live and work in Chile. He has given us a passion to share the love of God with young people that are giving their lives away to everything but eternity. Being back we have also been enticed by a list of plan B's. It has been so easy to conjure up scenarios that involved us serving the Lord back home near our families. All sound so appetizing but not the plan A God has chosen for our lives.

Lesson 3: Our faith in God has grown. As we grow older the Lord has allowed us to experience more of life. We are now raising up a child and all of a sudden faith in God means more than it did just a few years ago. I have realized that it is not just going to church and reading your bible everyday, it is the way you live your life affecting every action and attitude. In the last several months we have lost 2 close friends in separate occasions. Both beautiful you married women that loved the Lord. Their lives were both a testimony of what walking with God means, their deaths both a celebration and a powerful reminder that we indeed live for eternal consequences and that one day we will come face to face with our maker.


Comments

cougarhoogs said…
Very well put, my dear friend. So grateful for your obedience to the Lord. How sweet would it be if you guys could live here always...but not nearly as sweet being in the perfect will of God. Love you guys!
January 26, 2012 at 3:12 PM
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