Yesterday we finished our drive back from Germany. We started our drive on Thursday morning, leaving our hosts home at 10:30. I drove most of the way from Germany up to the ferry in Calais and was surprised that I wasn't tired at all except for the very end of the trip. Fortunately we made good time that we made the earlier ferry that left at 6:30 instead of our reserved ferry at 7:55. That made a lot of difference. We got into the hotel and just relaxed there for the night as we were shattered.
Today is the 10 year anniversary of Alans brothers death. His brother David killed himself and his parents have gone every year to the location where he took his life. They've also visited his grave every week for the past ten years. Unbearable grief that we so wish they didn't still feel. Taking your own life is so selfish and cruel but having been severely depressed before I can understand how you don't really think about those things - you just think it would be much nicer for the pain to go away. It's not as much about ending your life as it is going to sleep with the hope of never waking up. For those of you that have never experienced severe depression I wouldn't expect you to understand but David's brother experienced it. That and he was very, very ill which was causing him to lose the use of his legs. I don't want to excuse his suicide but say this only because I'm trying to wrap my head around this day as best I can.
Tonight we are heading back to Birkenhead for a church gathering and quiz night. My stomach is a bit uneasy today so I think I'll rest a bit before we go. Tomorrow after church we leave for orientation with Pioneers over in Yorkshire. We return next Friday, have two days here with Alans family and then fly to Georgia on November 1st. We're then in Georgia until the end of December.
Alan asked me today what I was most looking forward to in the next two months and I immediately said taking Charlotte and Lily to Disneyworld. It'll be just like being a kid again being able to enjoy it with them. Charlotte will absolutely love it I know.
Our trip to Germany really couldn't have been any better. It had Gods hand all over it from our wonderful hosts, the Hunt's and their beautiful apartment they allowed us to use for free to meeting Danine in person and so many great people from Victory International and just really enjoying some sweet fellowship. They also did everything they could have possibly done to help us in all the logistics for our move. We felt so blessed by it all and give God all the praise for how He looks after and cares for His children.
Our nomad journey continues. Please pray God will raise up the remaining support we need to move and that he will help us settle on a place to live, nail down visa and health insurance logistics and sort things out for the move. He told me in Germany to take everything one day at a time and allow him to give us the strength for only that day because that's what he promises. I'm still working on it but it's getting easier as He comes through for us time and time again.
Saturday, 23 October 2010
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Our life as nomads...
Well, Alan and I have spent the last ten days with his mom and dad in Chester now that Simona and Mihai have returned from Romania to rent our house. We were so pleased they could use the house and are able to enjoy it. I feel more comfortable for them there than I did when they were in Birkenhead. Birkenhead is a scary place sometimes and Moreton seems just so much safer. I think they are pleased too that they no longer have the police visiting their apartment every night due to their neighbor downstairs that had many issues. Scary!
Anyway, as I was saying we've been staying with Margaret and Alan and they've taken excellent care of us, catering to our every need. It's sort of strange giving up a lot of your independence to move in with your in-laws but we just kept reminding ourselves how blessed we were to be saving the money on the mortgage while still having a place to stay and be fed.
On Friday morning we leave for a week in Germany. I haven't really allowed myself to get too excited about the trip because of everything going on in our lives. Support raising and the new pregnancy, health insurance, visas and living as nomads. At least life isn't boring! Fortunately we serve a big God who has never let us down before and as David says in Psalms, he has never seen the righteous go hungry or beg so we should be ok :).
One thing that has been a bit depressing this week is watching the EURO rise against the dollar. We thought we only had $12,000 remaining to raise so that Pioneers would give us the green light to move in Germany but instead we now have $22,000 to raise due to just a weaker dollar. UGH! We remain optimistic though that God has a stronger currency than even the EURO and that He will provide for us. We did have some good news about the health insurance although my confidence level is still only about 75% about it. Supposedly we will qualify for the public insurance but it will more than likely still cost around 200GBP per month for us both and the baby. This is something we would still appreciate your prayers for.
Speaking about the baby... if I weren't pregnant I'd think there was something really wrong with me. I only have about 6 hours of energy a day now compared to pre-pregnancy 12-14 hours. After that I just have to lay down I'm just so incredibly tired. People have been asking me if I've gained any weight or if I've had any cravings and the answers are no (thank God for that!) and yes. I've discovered a craving for popsickles and literally could probably polish off a box right now. Just ice and juice though - no ice cream. The thought of ice cream makes me cringe lol. Weird.
I'll be looking forward to updating my blog if at all possible during my trip as we interact and fellowship with the members of Victory. We're staying with a lovely couple that are from Georgia that were introduced to us via Facebook by the pastor and his wife at Victory. We feel very blessed to be able to stay with them and learn as much as possible about Heidelberg and the German culture. When we get back we have about a day and a half before we go to orientation with Pioneers at Bawtry. We're both looking forward to that and to getting some much needed encouragement to keep going toward our mission.
Surely other missionaries have felt discouraged as the recession and falling dollar have affected their support raising. Sometimes I wish every person I knew that really considered themselves our friends would pick up the phone and send $5 or $10 a month to help us make this move. I feel like saying, it's the same as a cup of coffee at Starbucks or Jittery Joe's so that two people can go and share the gospel with people that really need to hear about Jesus. I feel like saying that but I don't. I just pray God will say it for us and not just for us but for countless other missionaries out there that need to worry less about finances and more about reaching people for the kingdom of God.
I know personally I have not given enough to support others in the past and I look at myself now and I wonder why. I think my primary excuse is just plain laziness and apathy and I honestly don't think I'm being too harsh on myself when I say that. I saw people that were doing good work that needed support and I just left it to the next guy to give and then I wondered why I wasn't being blessed as much as others. I'm ashamed of that now and think God has taught us a lot through the fundraising we have to do. I've learned not to underestimate people. I've learned not to overestimate too.
I think the bottom line is that we're working for Jesus here. Not Microsoft or Save the Family or any other organization. And Jesus likes surprising us and showing us that we are so off the mark sometimes when we plan things out and try to figure things and people out on our own. I keep wondering where I drop off and Christ picks up and I think the answer is... when I have done everything I can think of to do and utilized all the resources and friends at my disposal and still I come up short, that is when Christ takes over. IF we are in his will and IF we are trusting Him for it.
May everything we do and say be only for the glory of Him who has called us to this work and may you be blessed as you serve Him wherever you are around the world. For my friends that don't know Jesus... I pray the blinders that have been placed on your eyes for so long by the enemy of your soul that wants nothing more than to destroy you and keep you from your purpose and lasting joy and happiness will be removed so that you can finally see truth. We love y'all and are praying for y'all!
Anyway, as I was saying we've been staying with Margaret and Alan and they've taken excellent care of us, catering to our every need. It's sort of strange giving up a lot of your independence to move in with your in-laws but we just kept reminding ourselves how blessed we were to be saving the money on the mortgage while still having a place to stay and be fed.
On Friday morning we leave for a week in Germany. I haven't really allowed myself to get too excited about the trip because of everything going on in our lives. Support raising and the new pregnancy, health insurance, visas and living as nomads. At least life isn't boring! Fortunately we serve a big God who has never let us down before and as David says in Psalms, he has never seen the righteous go hungry or beg so we should be ok :).
One thing that has been a bit depressing this week is watching the EURO rise against the dollar. We thought we only had $12,000 remaining to raise so that Pioneers would give us the green light to move in Germany but instead we now have $22,000 to raise due to just a weaker dollar. UGH! We remain optimistic though that God has a stronger currency than even the EURO and that He will provide for us. We did have some good news about the health insurance although my confidence level is still only about 75% about it. Supposedly we will qualify for the public insurance but it will more than likely still cost around 200GBP per month for us both and the baby. This is something we would still appreciate your prayers for.
Speaking about the baby... if I weren't pregnant I'd think there was something really wrong with me. I only have about 6 hours of energy a day now compared to pre-pregnancy 12-14 hours. After that I just have to lay down I'm just so incredibly tired. People have been asking me if I've gained any weight or if I've had any cravings and the answers are no (thank God for that!) and yes. I've discovered a craving for popsickles and literally could probably polish off a box right now. Just ice and juice though - no ice cream. The thought of ice cream makes me cringe lol. Weird.
I'll be looking forward to updating my blog if at all possible during my trip as we interact and fellowship with the members of Victory. We're staying with a lovely couple that are from Georgia that were introduced to us via Facebook by the pastor and his wife at Victory. We feel very blessed to be able to stay with them and learn as much as possible about Heidelberg and the German culture. When we get back we have about a day and a half before we go to orientation with Pioneers at Bawtry. We're both looking forward to that and to getting some much needed encouragement to keep going toward our mission.
Surely other missionaries have felt discouraged as the recession and falling dollar have affected their support raising. Sometimes I wish every person I knew that really considered themselves our friends would pick up the phone and send $5 or $10 a month to help us make this move. I feel like saying, it's the same as a cup of coffee at Starbucks or Jittery Joe's so that two people can go and share the gospel with people that really need to hear about Jesus. I feel like saying that but I don't. I just pray God will say it for us and not just for us but for countless other missionaries out there that need to worry less about finances and more about reaching people for the kingdom of God.
I know personally I have not given enough to support others in the past and I look at myself now and I wonder why. I think my primary excuse is just plain laziness and apathy and I honestly don't think I'm being too harsh on myself when I say that. I saw people that were doing good work that needed support and I just left it to the next guy to give and then I wondered why I wasn't being blessed as much as others. I'm ashamed of that now and think God has taught us a lot through the fundraising we have to do. I've learned not to underestimate people. I've learned not to overestimate too.
I think the bottom line is that we're working for Jesus here. Not Microsoft or Save the Family or any other organization. And Jesus likes surprising us and showing us that we are so off the mark sometimes when we plan things out and try to figure things and people out on our own. I keep wondering where I drop off and Christ picks up and I think the answer is... when I have done everything I can think of to do and utilized all the resources and friends at my disposal and still I come up short, that is when Christ takes over. IF we are in his will and IF we are trusting Him for it.
May everything we do and say be only for the glory of Him who has called us to this work and may you be blessed as you serve Him wherever you are around the world. For my friends that don't know Jesus... I pray the blinders that have been placed on your eyes for so long by the enemy of your soul that wants nothing more than to destroy you and keep you from your purpose and lasting joy and happiness will be removed so that you can finally see truth. We love y'all and are praying for y'all!
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Family of three :)
Yes finally I can announce that Alan and I are expecting our first child next May! I've been wanting to write in here for a while but I didn't want to say anything until the news was broadcast to all our family and friends. We've known for about 3 weeks now. We told my parents when they were over for a visit celebrating (in part) their 45th wedding anniversary. I racked my brain as to the best way to tell them and still have it be a surprise. For Charlotte, Christine did the whole surprise thing where she bought everyone a present and inside the presents we had little handpainted baby bottles and pacifiers with Baby Mills on them which I thought was adorable but I really wanted to do something different that represented me.
Roaming through Tesco's I decided that what defines me the most is probably my love for entertaining and given I was making dinner for my parents and their friends the Dicks as well as Alans parents that night I decided to serve the grandparents to be their desserts in winnie the pooh bowls with matching spoons and hopefully they would catch on. Well Alan and I were giggling in the kitchen as they were expounding on one subject over another at the dinner table and Alan went into the dining room and asked for everyone's attention where he then thanked them all for coming and said he just wanted to congratulate mom and dad on their anniversary. He said Mary's going to serve the dessert now and so I started handing out the bowls with the homemade triffle Alans dad had made and I only had to set the bowl down in front of Alans mom when Lynn Dicks (who was sitting next to Margaret) started screaming "NO WAY!!" I just smiled and handed out the rest of the bowls to mom and dad and Alans dad. Mom got up immediately to hug me and she kept saying she knew I was pregnant. She was crying. Margaret was also crying and just shaking her head that she couldn't believe it. Alans dad and my dad just sat there, in complete shock I guess. Finally someone had to explain it to to them I guess because my dad just burst into laughter like jolly old st. nicholas or something. At least that's what he reminded me of! lol
After dinner we skyped Christine and Russ and the kids and also Lee Anne to tell them the good news and we called Linda and Christine (Alans sisters) and they were all really pleased. We wanted to wait to make it more public though until we went for an appointment with the fertility doctor that next Wednesday and also for a scan which happened yesterday. The fertility doctor was very pleased for us because we wouldn't be needing his services after all (it was a God thing we know) and the scan went great with us able to see the baby in the ultrasound and see the little heartbeat going like crazy. He or she measured to be 6 weeks and 3 days so that puts me around May 26th I think for a due date but that will be confirmed when we go to the antenatal clinic.
Alan and I are truly amazed at Gods faithfulness to us. We were praying for a child and Alan said God promised him a child but I wasn't too sure that I had the ability to have one given I'd never been pregnant before. Apparently the hycosy procedure used on me may have helped to unstick my fallopian tubes so that I could conceive because we did only two days after the procedure was completed.
Now the exciting part. As of yesterday we're effectively nomads. Mihai and Simona returned from vacation to take over renting our house here in England so we've moved in with Alans parents for a week and a half. We then go to Germany where we'll be hosted by a sweet family from Georgia for a week before heading to orientation in Yorkshire. We then are back for two days before flying to Georgia on the 1st of November until December 30th. Our plans were to go home, raise our remaining support, see family, celebrate my 40th birthday, Alans 47th, my dads birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas and then when we returned stay about one more week in England before moving to Germany on mission.
Being pregnant "may" change things however. At this point we're leaving it all in Gods hands but so far we have been unable to qualify to get health insurance in Germany and it is a requirement that you have it before you are authorized to settle there. We're trusting God knows completely what he is doing so we're not stressing, we're just believing that He's either going to provide a way or He's going to give us another option until He does provide a way.
No matter what we're focusing on Jesus and we're so excited about our future. Homeless, broke and some uncertainty in sight - but what we do know is Jesus loves us, has always been faithful to us, has proven himself over and over and over again and he can be trusted with it all.
God is good and we are blessed!
Roaming through Tesco's I decided that what defines me the most is probably my love for entertaining and given I was making dinner for my parents and their friends the Dicks as well as Alans parents that night I decided to serve the grandparents to be their desserts in winnie the pooh bowls with matching spoons and hopefully they would catch on. Well Alan and I were giggling in the kitchen as they were expounding on one subject over another at the dinner table and Alan went into the dining room and asked for everyone's attention where he then thanked them all for coming and said he just wanted to congratulate mom and dad on their anniversary. He said Mary's going to serve the dessert now and so I started handing out the bowls with the homemade triffle Alans dad had made and I only had to set the bowl down in front of Alans mom when Lynn Dicks (who was sitting next to Margaret) started screaming "NO WAY!!" I just smiled and handed out the rest of the bowls to mom and dad and Alans dad. Mom got up immediately to hug me and she kept saying she knew I was pregnant. She was crying. Margaret was also crying and just shaking her head that she couldn't believe it. Alans dad and my dad just sat there, in complete shock I guess. Finally someone had to explain it to to them I guess because my dad just burst into laughter like jolly old st. nicholas or something. At least that's what he reminded me of! lol
After dinner we skyped Christine and Russ and the kids and also Lee Anne to tell them the good news and we called Linda and Christine (Alans sisters) and they were all really pleased. We wanted to wait to make it more public though until we went for an appointment with the fertility doctor that next Wednesday and also for a scan which happened yesterday. The fertility doctor was very pleased for us because we wouldn't be needing his services after all (it was a God thing we know) and the scan went great with us able to see the baby in the ultrasound and see the little heartbeat going like crazy. He or she measured to be 6 weeks and 3 days so that puts me around May 26th I think for a due date but that will be confirmed when we go to the antenatal clinic.
Alan and I are truly amazed at Gods faithfulness to us. We were praying for a child and Alan said God promised him a child but I wasn't too sure that I had the ability to have one given I'd never been pregnant before. Apparently the hycosy procedure used on me may have helped to unstick my fallopian tubes so that I could conceive because we did only two days after the procedure was completed.
Now the exciting part. As of yesterday we're effectively nomads. Mihai and Simona returned from vacation to take over renting our house here in England so we've moved in with Alans parents for a week and a half. We then go to Germany where we'll be hosted by a sweet family from Georgia for a week before heading to orientation in Yorkshire. We then are back for two days before flying to Georgia on the 1st of November until December 30th. Our plans were to go home, raise our remaining support, see family, celebrate my 40th birthday, Alans 47th, my dads birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas and then when we returned stay about one more week in England before moving to Germany on mission.
Being pregnant "may" change things however. At this point we're leaving it all in Gods hands but so far we have been unable to qualify to get health insurance in Germany and it is a requirement that you have it before you are authorized to settle there. We're trusting God knows completely what he is doing so we're not stressing, we're just believing that He's either going to provide a way or He's going to give us another option until He does provide a way.
No matter what we're focusing on Jesus and we're so excited about our future. Homeless, broke and some uncertainty in sight - but what we do know is Jesus loves us, has always been faithful to us, has proven himself over and over and over again and he can be trusted with it all.
God is good and we are blessed!
Friday, 24 September 2010
When it rains it pours
I was just speaking to my sister Christine about this. Ever feel like the old saying is really true that when it rains it really does pour? They are in the process of refinancing their house, selling their car, buying a new one and taking care of two kids plus work, family, etc. Alan and I are in the process of moving out of our house, moving in with his parents, getting ready to move to Germany in January, visit Germany in October, go to orientation with Pioneers and then go home for two months to raise our remaining support, celebrate both our birthdays, go to Disney World with the family and celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. We also need to figure things out like where we're going to live come January and where we're going to get our health insurance from, etc. There's more going on but those are a few of the highlights.
Still God remains so faithful to us. Always watching over us, caring for us. Alan and I have been reading a bit of I and II Kings and I Chronicles and I'm like Alan when we start reading the Old Testament it's hard to put it down. Story after story of Gods amazing grace and his heart being so good to his chosen people. We read about Elijah and the cave and God not being in the wind or the earthquake or the fire but in the quiet whisper. We read about King Josiah and how when he read from the book of the law how his heart was responsive and how he humbled himself and how he renewed the covenant to follow the Lord and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul and how God was good to Him as a result. God wants our hearts to be responsive and he wants a relationship with us where we follow his commands not because God is trying to limit or control us but because the commands are for our good.
The last few weeks have been very busy. Mom and dad visited Wales with their good friends Happy and Lynn Dicks. They wanted it to be a missions oriented trip so they spent a great deal of time visiting Young lifers around Wales and seeing the work they were up to. They also spent about four or five days with us touring around and also playing golf up on the wirral. Alan and I had them over at our house the last two nights they were here for dinner and everyone seemed to have a good time. On the Sunday we celebrated Mom and Dads 45th wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe they've been married that long or that we as their children are that old!!
Alan is still working every day at the church and the amazing work they've done on the guttering is really going to be great for the church long term. I'm down here today primarily because I was bored out of my mind at home. I've been busy packing and taking care of details for our move to Germany but with all the rain I've felt like I was going stir crazy and just had to get out of the house. This weekend we hope to pull the boat out of the water and fix it up so it can be sold. We have a guy really interested but it may just be messing us about too. He's called about a dozen times on the boat, gone to see it half a dozen times, etc. I told him we weren't going to take less than what it was worth but still he keeps calling. We'll see.
Only a week and a half to go before we move out of our home and move into Alans parents house. We spend ten days there and then we go to Germany for five days, then two days back then five days at orientation then two days back and finally eight weeks in Georgia. If you're reading this we would really appreciate your prayers for the following: 1) selling our boat 2) getting health insurance for Germany 3)finding a place to live in Germany 4) raising our remaining support 5)doctors appointments in the next few weeks 6) stress in moving and really good organizational skills.
We are so thankful for all our friends and family. I am also so grateful for my wonderful husband and for a God that I can have a relationship with on a daily basis. A God that created me for a purpose and that makes every day worth living.
Still God remains so faithful to us. Always watching over us, caring for us. Alan and I have been reading a bit of I and II Kings and I Chronicles and I'm like Alan when we start reading the Old Testament it's hard to put it down. Story after story of Gods amazing grace and his heart being so good to his chosen people. We read about Elijah and the cave and God not being in the wind or the earthquake or the fire but in the quiet whisper. We read about King Josiah and how when he read from the book of the law how his heart was responsive and how he humbled himself and how he renewed the covenant to follow the Lord and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul and how God was good to Him as a result. God wants our hearts to be responsive and he wants a relationship with us where we follow his commands not because God is trying to limit or control us but because the commands are for our good.
The last few weeks have been very busy. Mom and dad visited Wales with their good friends Happy and Lynn Dicks. They wanted it to be a missions oriented trip so they spent a great deal of time visiting Young lifers around Wales and seeing the work they were up to. They also spent about four or five days with us touring around and also playing golf up on the wirral. Alan and I had them over at our house the last two nights they were here for dinner and everyone seemed to have a good time. On the Sunday we celebrated Mom and Dads 45th wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe they've been married that long or that we as their children are that old!!
Alan is still working every day at the church and the amazing work they've done on the guttering is really going to be great for the church long term. I'm down here today primarily because I was bored out of my mind at home. I've been busy packing and taking care of details for our move to Germany but with all the rain I've felt like I was going stir crazy and just had to get out of the house. This weekend we hope to pull the boat out of the water and fix it up so it can be sold. We have a guy really interested but it may just be messing us about too. He's called about a dozen times on the boat, gone to see it half a dozen times, etc. I told him we weren't going to take less than what it was worth but still he keeps calling. We'll see.
Only a week and a half to go before we move out of our home and move into Alans parents house. We spend ten days there and then we go to Germany for five days, then two days back then five days at orientation then two days back and finally eight weeks in Georgia. If you're reading this we would really appreciate your prayers for the following: 1) selling our boat 2) getting health insurance for Germany 3)finding a place to live in Germany 4) raising our remaining support 5)doctors appointments in the next few weeks 6) stress in moving and really good organizational skills.
We are so thankful for all our friends and family. I am also so grateful for my wonderful husband and for a God that I can have a relationship with on a daily basis. A God that created me for a purpose and that makes every day worth living.
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Hillside Christian Centre
Two weeks ago Alan and I began his full-time and my part-time work at our church, Hillside Christian Centre. I'll try and take some pictures and post them so you can see the work we've done thus far. Basically it's a huge brick church built in 1860 that is falling apart. The guttering was never done properly so the walls in the big hall (which is currently used for storage and a one day a week charity shop) is infested with dry rot and was falling down in multiple locations. On the outside of the building there are large bushes growing out from the brick where water has dripped for the last decade without attention. There are also at least a dozen pigeons that have taken up roost in the tower of the church due to windows being broken from vandals in the area. In the past two weeks we've managed to knock down about 75% of the affected plastered walls and bag the rubble into last count 75 rubble bags. Those we've then lugged to the tip in small loads as we couldn't afford to rent a tip for a week. So our work continues but basically, it's a mess.
Alan started work right away on the guttering on the sides of the church and also in the alleyway that runs between the two buildings of the church that has been overgrown with more plants, more pigeons, more grime and more muck. Fortunately he's cleared all that out now and cleared all the guttering and has started the big job of replacing what needs replacing as well as putting up steel panels to protect the gutters from kids trying to climb them. Unfortunately this area of Birkenhead is prone to a lot of vandalism and destruction. The garden area the church worked so hard on was at least partially wrecked by a kid in the neighborhood only a couple of days after it was completed. Sad.
In addition to the work at the church I've been busy working on stuff for Germany. Sometimes it's hard to believe how much there is to do before we go but on a good note, our good friends Simona and Mihai from Romania are going to rent our house starting October 5th. Great, in that it's rented so we can feel free to move... not so great in that we have to be gone in a month and I've got a to do list a mile long! Anyway, it'll get done eventually I know :).
This morning we drove to the Manchester airport to see my mom and dad and Dr. and Mrs. Dicks at the Manchester airport. They are off to Welshpool for a few nights to stay at the young life castle for a prayer week before going to south wales and then back up along the coast. We'll meet them in about 9 days in Conwy in North Wales where we'll tour around with them for 2 days before they'll come here for 2 days. Should be fun :). Tomorrow we think we'll drive to Welshpool to see them and spend the day.
Right now we're gearing up for moving out, moving in briefly with Alans parents, going to Germany for about a week then orientation and then Georgia. Support raising is going well. My latest inspiration was to try and find 100 people who will give $10 a month and 100 people who will pledge $5 a month so that we can raise the remainder of what we need. In any case we're trusting the Lord that He'll give us the right number of prayer and financial supporters so we can do our work in Germany without too much stress over finances.
God is good and we are blessed!
Alan started work right away on the guttering on the sides of the church and also in the alleyway that runs between the two buildings of the church that has been overgrown with more plants, more pigeons, more grime and more muck. Fortunately he's cleared all that out now and cleared all the guttering and has started the big job of replacing what needs replacing as well as putting up steel panels to protect the gutters from kids trying to climb them. Unfortunately this area of Birkenhead is prone to a lot of vandalism and destruction. The garden area the church worked so hard on was at least partially wrecked by a kid in the neighborhood only a couple of days after it was completed. Sad.
In addition to the work at the church I've been busy working on stuff for Germany. Sometimes it's hard to believe how much there is to do before we go but on a good note, our good friends Simona and Mihai from Romania are going to rent our house starting October 5th. Great, in that it's rented so we can feel free to move... not so great in that we have to be gone in a month and I've got a to do list a mile long! Anyway, it'll get done eventually I know :).
This morning we drove to the Manchester airport to see my mom and dad and Dr. and Mrs. Dicks at the Manchester airport. They are off to Welshpool for a few nights to stay at the young life castle for a prayer week before going to south wales and then back up along the coast. We'll meet them in about 9 days in Conwy in North Wales where we'll tour around with them for 2 days before they'll come here for 2 days. Should be fun :). Tomorrow we think we'll drive to Welshpool to see them and spend the day.
Right now we're gearing up for moving out, moving in briefly with Alans parents, going to Germany for about a week then orientation and then Georgia. Support raising is going well. My latest inspiration was to try and find 100 people who will give $10 a month and 100 people who will pledge $5 a month so that we can raise the remainder of what we need. In any case we're trusting the Lord that He'll give us the right number of prayer and financial supporters so we can do our work in Germany without too much stress over finances.
God is good and we are blessed!
Friday, 20 August 2010
Alans last day at Save the Family
Today is Alans last day at Save the Family.
Romans 12:19 comes to mind whenever I think of Save the Family. "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord."
God commands us to forgive. God commands us to love our enemies. God tells us we are blessed when we join Jesus in his sufferings.
Still... I'm glad he's leaving. I'm glad that we can with confidence leave the people that work there that misrepresent the gospel in Gods hands. I'm sorry that their misrepresentation of church and of Jesus and how he would act has probably kept a large number of non-christians that lived and worked there from wanting a relationship with Christ. I'm sorry that I had to leave the precious girls entrusted to me five months ago because I was not willing to compromise my faith and stop sharing the gospel. I'm sorry that in a supposedly christian organization, other christians were warned and targeted for dismissal because they shared their faith.
I'm glad Alan gave his heart and his time to people like the Darren's and the Jaime's and to fellow workers like the Pat's and the Jacki's. I'm glad he represented Christ by working hard for his non-christian bosses and by volunteering to work extra hours when no one else would. I'm glad he showed a picture of true Christianity even when all the things he loved about his job were taken away from him and he was given the most tedious and demeaning of tasks to complete.
No matter what situation God puts us in, we're there because he wants to teach us something. I pray the lessons learned from Save the Family will continue to grow us both as christians. I am so glad I can still have relationships with so many of the girls with which I worked. I pray that God will invade their lives and their futures and give them a step up into a world where they can live with confidence and purpose.
I hope to congratulate Alan with a nice dinner out and a movie before he takes the day tomorrow to go sailing. I'm sure during his time alone with the sea, the fish and with God he'll think back over his almost 10 years of service with the company and I pray that he'll focus only on the good memories and the difference he was able to make. He is my hero and without Save the Family we would never have met so for that at the very least, I will eternally be grateful to them.
Romans 12:19 comes to mind whenever I think of Save the Family. "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord."
God commands us to forgive. God commands us to love our enemies. God tells us we are blessed when we join Jesus in his sufferings.
Still... I'm glad he's leaving. I'm glad that we can with confidence leave the people that work there that misrepresent the gospel in Gods hands. I'm sorry that their misrepresentation of church and of Jesus and how he would act has probably kept a large number of non-christians that lived and worked there from wanting a relationship with Christ. I'm sorry that I had to leave the precious girls entrusted to me five months ago because I was not willing to compromise my faith and stop sharing the gospel. I'm sorry that in a supposedly christian organization, other christians were warned and targeted for dismissal because they shared their faith.
I'm glad Alan gave his heart and his time to people like the Darren's and the Jaime's and to fellow workers like the Pat's and the Jacki's. I'm glad he represented Christ by working hard for his non-christian bosses and by volunteering to work extra hours when no one else would. I'm glad he showed a picture of true Christianity even when all the things he loved about his job were taken away from him and he was given the most tedious and demeaning of tasks to complete.
No matter what situation God puts us in, we're there because he wants to teach us something. I pray the lessons learned from Save the Family will continue to grow us both as christians. I am so glad I can still have relationships with so many of the girls with which I worked. I pray that God will invade their lives and their futures and give them a step up into a world where they can live with confidence and purpose.
I hope to congratulate Alan with a nice dinner out and a movie before he takes the day tomorrow to go sailing. I'm sure during his time alone with the sea, the fish and with God he'll think back over his almost 10 years of service with the company and I pray that he'll focus only on the good memories and the difference he was able to make. He is my hero and without Save the Family we would never have met so for that at the very least, I will eternally be grateful to them.
Monday, 16 August 2010
Blogs, Sheds, Friends and Anticipated Finishings
So what exactly is a blog? What is its purpose? I thought about that today as I sat down to write our latest entry. This is what I came up with...
A blog is a journal that you willingly allow everyone to see.
A blog is a way of keeping up with your hectice life... how you were feeling when you did this... what was on your heart when you did that.
A blog is a way of writing one hundred letters simultaneously because whoever you send it to gets an update on your life, what they can pray for and in some way maybe it also serves to encourage others who have the same ups and downs, joys and struggles.
I don't think Alan has ever written a blog. Actually I think I can safely say he has not. He checked his facebook last night for the first time in six months only to see he had 24 friend requests and numerous messages and notifications gone unread.
My husband is to technology what I am to his shed. He asked me the other day whether I wanted to organize it for him (again) and I said, "absolutely and without a doubt, no". You see I've begun to see the shed only for what it holds that is useful to me if and when I desperately need it. For example, somewhere in the abyss I found the Miracle Grow to put on some flowers that were looking a little sad in my flower pot out front yesterday. Also about once a week I brave the shed to find the lawn mower and trimmer to mow the lawn as I took over house and yard maintenance when I stopped working. But really, the shed can just stay a disaster. There may be great treasures in there lurking that I would be really glad to find but for now I'm ok with just keeping the door shut. Alan is the same about computers. He likes ebay and looking at the tide predictions and weather forecast for the weekend for his sailing but that's about it.
Still, I love staying in touch with people. I looked at my friend list on Facebook yesterday and I was determined to de-friend some folks that added me as a friend but have never said a word to me since. The "I knew you or heard of you at sometime in my past" thinking as to why you add someone as a friend on Facebook just doesn't cut it for me any more. I still want meaningful relationships in the age of social computing. I use Facebook to stay in touch with dear friends that I love, that God has put into my life for a reason and that I want to encourage. I don't use it as a competition tool to see how many friends I can rack up versus someone else. Wasn't there a study done once on how many friends any one person can ever manage to have at any one time? I'm quite sure the number is under 355 - my current number of "Facebook" friends.
Anyway, blogs are also a great place to just randomly say anything you're thinking. Why in the world anyone would be interested in reading all the junk that goes on in my head is a mystery to me...
So - this week. Well, I guess I can say I've learned a lot about others and a lot about myself this week. At the church, many came to work with the family of one of the leaders in our church on the back garden. The before and after transformation is amazing. I felt very blessed by the Lord for working the one day that I did. God just kept reminding me to work for him and so that's what I tried to do - work with all my might so that He would be pleased. When Alan and I finally got home I was sooo exhausted but I also felt so blessed inside. Only God can do that.
Alan and I have also had some really good discussions and we've tried as much as possible to stop getting offended or upset when we debate about things where we have different opinions. I'm amazed at how different we are and yet how alike we are in our thinking. Culturally I feel like I have much more in common with the Romanians I've met since being here than with the Brits I've met. I'm re-reading a book called Foreign to Familiar and it says this should be expected because Romanians and Southerners from the US are "hot", relationship oriented cultures and most of northern Europe is classified as very "cold", individually oriented cultures. Still - God was so gracious and good to bring us together. We've been married now nearly one and a half years and we are more giddy together now than ever. We laugh and kiss and hug nearly all the time when we're alone. I think we'll be newlyweds for several more years if not forever and I love that! Only God could have taken me from what I had before to what I have now.
One of the best parts of my week was definitely getting to know Julia better. I call her my long lost twin. Julia is from Romania and is very good friends with Mihai and Simona in our church and housegroup. Mihai and Simona are two people that Alan and I think the world of so it wasn't surprising that we took to Julia so quickly. A lot of the things that had troubled my spirit about our church and about England, she also has picked up on and now I don't feel as crazy as I did before.
Having her come to minister to us at our housegroup on the 5th was amazing. I think we all felt the Holy Spirit really minister to us through her singing and her words of encouragement. She also came and led worship the following Wednesday for Influence and then Thursday for housegroup again. Wednesday was amazing. I just felt God came down and ministered to the youth and adults alike. Mere Christianity continues to blow all our minds I think. How God used C.S. Lewis to write the books he wrote that speak to the hearts of both christian and non-christian alike amazes me.
Our housegroup on Thursday was also good but it was more relaxed and I couldn't tell if it was because we were all just so tired or what exactly but there was definitely a different spirit in the room. Still we encouraged and loved on eachother and had a few laughs and it was good. Julia also led worship yesterday at church and I promise you it just couldn't have gotten any better. Please join with us in praying that she will raise the money she needs to continue to minister in Romania. She has a love for her people that is so wonderful and both Alan and I are praying Gods perfect choice for her for a husband will be found so that they can minister together in Romania. She deserves someone that will cherish her and someone that was hand-picked for her from the beginning of time and I believe God knows who that is and is waiting to bring him into her life at just the perfect time... just like he did for me with Alan.
Speaking of Alan, this is his last week of work at Save the Family. He's worked on and off for them for ten years and we're so grateful that God is going to provide for us so he can leave. We look forward to working for the Lord at the church starting next week until we go to Germany in mid October. Please pray Gods will would be done in every decision we and our church makes and in every step we take and please pray our house will sell. We love you all so very much.
A blog is a journal that you willingly allow everyone to see.
A blog is a way of keeping up with your hectice life... how you were feeling when you did this... what was on your heart when you did that.
A blog is a way of writing one hundred letters simultaneously because whoever you send it to gets an update on your life, what they can pray for and in some way maybe it also serves to encourage others who have the same ups and downs, joys and struggles.
I don't think Alan has ever written a blog. Actually I think I can safely say he has not. He checked his facebook last night for the first time in six months only to see he had 24 friend requests and numerous messages and notifications gone unread.
My husband is to technology what I am to his shed. He asked me the other day whether I wanted to organize it for him (again) and I said, "absolutely and without a doubt, no". You see I've begun to see the shed only for what it holds that is useful to me if and when I desperately need it. For example, somewhere in the abyss I found the Miracle Grow to put on some flowers that were looking a little sad in my flower pot out front yesterday. Also about once a week I brave the shed to find the lawn mower and trimmer to mow the lawn as I took over house and yard maintenance when I stopped working. But really, the shed can just stay a disaster. There may be great treasures in there lurking that I would be really glad to find but for now I'm ok with just keeping the door shut. Alan is the same about computers. He likes ebay and looking at the tide predictions and weather forecast for the weekend for his sailing but that's about it.
Still, I love staying in touch with people. I looked at my friend list on Facebook yesterday and I was determined to de-friend some folks that added me as a friend but have never said a word to me since. The "I knew you or heard of you at sometime in my past" thinking as to why you add someone as a friend on Facebook just doesn't cut it for me any more. I still want meaningful relationships in the age of social computing. I use Facebook to stay in touch with dear friends that I love, that God has put into my life for a reason and that I want to encourage. I don't use it as a competition tool to see how many friends I can rack up versus someone else. Wasn't there a study done once on how many friends any one person can ever manage to have at any one time? I'm quite sure the number is under 355 - my current number of "Facebook" friends.
Anyway, blogs are also a great place to just randomly say anything you're thinking. Why in the world anyone would be interested in reading all the junk that goes on in my head is a mystery to me...
So - this week. Well, I guess I can say I've learned a lot about others and a lot about myself this week. At the church, many came to work with the family of one of the leaders in our church on the back garden. The before and after transformation is amazing. I felt very blessed by the Lord for working the one day that I did. God just kept reminding me to work for him and so that's what I tried to do - work with all my might so that He would be pleased. When Alan and I finally got home I was sooo exhausted but I also felt so blessed inside. Only God can do that.
Alan and I have also had some really good discussions and we've tried as much as possible to stop getting offended or upset when we debate about things where we have different opinions. I'm amazed at how different we are and yet how alike we are in our thinking. Culturally I feel like I have much more in common with the Romanians I've met since being here than with the Brits I've met. I'm re-reading a book called Foreign to Familiar and it says this should be expected because Romanians and Southerners from the US are "hot", relationship oriented cultures and most of northern Europe is classified as very "cold", individually oriented cultures. Still - God was so gracious and good to bring us together. We've been married now nearly one and a half years and we are more giddy together now than ever. We laugh and kiss and hug nearly all the time when we're alone. I think we'll be newlyweds for several more years if not forever and I love that! Only God could have taken me from what I had before to what I have now.
One of the best parts of my week was definitely getting to know Julia better. I call her my long lost twin. Julia is from Romania and is very good friends with Mihai and Simona in our church and housegroup. Mihai and Simona are two people that Alan and I think the world of so it wasn't surprising that we took to Julia so quickly. A lot of the things that had troubled my spirit about our church and about England, she also has picked up on and now I don't feel as crazy as I did before.
Having her come to minister to us at our housegroup on the 5th was amazing. I think we all felt the Holy Spirit really minister to us through her singing and her words of encouragement. She also came and led worship the following Wednesday for Influence and then Thursday for housegroup again. Wednesday was amazing. I just felt God came down and ministered to the youth and adults alike. Mere Christianity continues to blow all our minds I think. How God used C.S. Lewis to write the books he wrote that speak to the hearts of both christian and non-christian alike amazes me.
Our housegroup on Thursday was also good but it was more relaxed and I couldn't tell if it was because we were all just so tired or what exactly but there was definitely a different spirit in the room. Still we encouraged and loved on eachother and had a few laughs and it was good. Julia also led worship yesterday at church and I promise you it just couldn't have gotten any better. Please join with us in praying that she will raise the money she needs to continue to minister in Romania. She has a love for her people that is so wonderful and both Alan and I are praying Gods perfect choice for her for a husband will be found so that they can minister together in Romania. She deserves someone that will cherish her and someone that was hand-picked for her from the beginning of time and I believe God knows who that is and is waiting to bring him into her life at just the perfect time... just like he did for me with Alan.
Speaking of Alan, this is his last week of work at Save the Family. He's worked on and off for them for ten years and we're so grateful that God is going to provide for us so he can leave. We look forward to working for the Lord at the church starting next week until we go to Germany in mid October. Please pray Gods will would be done in every decision we and our church makes and in every step we take and please pray our house will sell. We love you all so very much.
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