Thursday, July 9, 2015

Finishing Well

Exactly four weeks from today (August 6) we will be back in the United States! We are all very excited to be reunited with friends and family in Indiana, but we're also recognizing how difficult it will be to say goodbye to the new friends and family we have here in the Dominican Republic.

Our main goal in these last four weeks is to finish well. For us, finishing well means several things:

1. Spending quality time with people.
2. Taking advantage of every opportunity God gives us to serve.
3. Tying up any loose ends with ministry, relationships, financial matters.
4. Saying goodbye well.

We have been studying the way the Apostle Paul said goodbye to the church in Ephesus in Acts 20. We want to use this as a model of how we can finish well and move forward in a spirituallly healthy way.

Several things stick out about the way Paul left his friends in Ephesus:

1. He reviewed his time with them. In verse 18 Paul said, "You know how I lived the whole time I was with you ..." We plan to review our time here with Pastor Quina and the church leaders. It is important that we all recognize what has been done so we can all thank God for His faithfulness.

2. He told them where he was going. In verse 22 Paul said, "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem ..." It was important not only that Paul gave them his next destination but also reminded them that he was following the Holy Spirit's leading. That's what we want to do as well. We've been given clear direction from God and we'll share that with our friends here - and all of you - soon!

3. He encouraged them. In verse 28 Paul said, "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood." Paul knew that the work was not finished when he left. There was still a flock of believers in Ephesus that needed care. Not that we played the same role as Paul here in the Dominican Republic, but we want to encourage our church here to continue the work God has been doing through all of us together!

4. He released them. In verse 32 Paul said, "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace ..." While it is going to be very difficult to say goodbye we know that God is in control and, just like so many things in life, we have to trust His plan for all of our friends and family here.

These last four weeks are surely going to go by very quickly. Will you consider praying for us as we navigate this exciting, yet difficult, time? We want very badly to finish well, leave a positive las impression and move back home knowing we did everything God called us to do here in the Dominican Republic.

Thank you very much. We love you all and we can't wait to see you soon!

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