Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Rummage Sale Update





Saturday, May 24, was a beautiful day to have a rummage sale and we were blessed by many helpers and donors who gave time and possessions to make our sale a huge success!

From about 6:45 a.m. until after 6 p.m. there were ALWAYS customers on the parking lot looking at what we had to sell. At the end of the day, we all dragged ourselves back to our house, shared some pizza and thanked God for His goodness to us. The exact amount deposited into our support fund is still not calculated, but it was somewhere around $2,800!

So, for anyone who gave items to sell, made financial donations, spent time helping us organize or helped run the rummage sale, we say a huge THANK YOU!

Friday, May 9, 2014

SUPPORT UPDATE - May

If you're wondering why there is a partial mango above, it's
because mangoes are plentiful and incredibly delicious
in the Dominican Republic. They are one of our favorite
fruits from that country. It also makes for a fun visual way
to keep track of our financial support raising process.
Once again, we find ourselves completely blown away by the encouragement and generosity we've been given! Today as we look over our ever-growing list of people who have committed to pray for us and want to receive updates about our journey to the Dominican Republic, we are amazed that the list contains 50 people/families!

If you've heard us speak about our calling or read this post about support, you know how valuable your prayer and encouragement are to us.

In addition to our list of prayer supporters, today we received our financial support for the month of April and we cannot even put into words how excited and grateful we are! Based on the report and the amount of money pledged to us over our 12 months in the Dominican Republic, we are currently standing at 41.4% which equals $21,635 of our $52,300 budget.

God is so good and He always provides for our needs and equips us for our calling. Thank you all so much for being part of our team and being obedient to the way God is leading you!

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Happiness or Joy?

Over the past few weeks I've been given a much more somber view on our calling to the mission field. It's easy to look at it romantically and think of it as a great adventure. However, the reality is that the adventure may not always be comfortable.

I told some friends recently that I've been thinking about death and suffering lately. That's a sure way to kill a conversation! I haven't been dwelling on negative things, just gaining a proper perspective.

One of the biggest concerns I have right now is that many people think God really just wants to make all of His children happy. If you can find anywhere in the Bible where it says that, please show me!

I know God wants to make our joy complete (John 15:11) and that God works all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28) but those are completely different ideas than being happy. Happiness is a momentary, short-sighted emotion. Joy is a deep, lasting state of being that includes peace, contentment, purpose, love and worship.

If God's goal for us is happiness, then He would never demand anything difficult or uncomfortable of us. He would make us as comfortable as possible. But if God wanted us to be so comfortable, why in the world did He need to send us a Comforter?

If He just wants us to always be happy, why would He ask us to lay down our lives and carry a cross?

The more I learn about Jesus and being one of His disciples, the more convinced I am that happiness isn't part of the equation ... but joy is! When Jesus sent out His disciples He warned them that they WOULD be persecuted, flogged and hated. Jesus changed Paul from a zealous religious leader into the greatest missionary the world has ever known. Along the way, Paul was mistreated, shipwrecked, hungry, stoned and imprisoned many times.

So, why do we think living for Jesus is supposed to be easy, comfortable and happy? Where in the Bible can anyone find anything to support those thoughts?

Joy takes a long view of things. Happiness is immediate.

Have you ever made your kids do something they didn't like because you knew it was best for them? Have you ever had to take something away from your kids because you knew it wasn't good for them?

Some lessons can only be learned through pain and discomfort.

When Jesus asked us to go we had to make a choice between happiness and joy. We could have said no and settled for a temporary, surfacey happiness that would not last. Instead, we said yes to the deep, lasting joy that comes from letting go of the things of this world, the plans we've made, the comforts of home. Sure, there will be pain along the way. It is going to be very uncomfortable at times and we may shed some tears. We may even face some dangerous situations that put our lives at risk. Safety is never guaranteed in the Bible either! But in order to get to complete joy we must obey all He has commanded us and remain in the love of our Heavenly Father. (John 15:9-10)

Being a Christian is easy and comfortable because it's all about what you believe and not what you do. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is hard because you have to do what Jesus did!

Please understand that following Jesus is the absolute most important thing in our lives. That's the legacy we want to leave to our kids. And that's the reason WE HAVE TO GO!