Take a deep breath remembering and making time for what is truly important is one step in keeping balance in our lives. For today the gift of life and the blessing of being a mom!
A quick update...we have emailed, handed out letters and held 5 gatherings these past few weeks in the homes of some dear friends to share our story and all God has done and is doing in our family's faith journey to El Salvador. We have 7 more gatherings in the next month and a few yet to be scheduled. We truly believe sharing our story is bigger than just our call to missions and reaches far beyond God's plan for our family. This is the part we love the most because it is a testimony to the power of God changing lives, changing marriages, rebuilding families. Not to mention it is comfortable because it shares what we already know.
What we are struggling with the most is being comfortable with the fundraising aspect of it. We are humbled more and more as we start seeing the spirituality of support raising. Christ calls for all of us, every aspect of our lives. He also calls for us to rely on him and not store up our treasures here on earth but to store our treasures in heaven. Where does our security come from? Where does our treasure lie? Fundraising definitely challenges that. Mission fundraising teaches you to trust in God a little deeper...trusting in God and following him is the most security one could have! Being financially supported by people who believe in the work that God is leading us into is not only humbling but a reflection of God's provision when He calls. Thank you to those who have joined our team whether by prayer or financial support. You are blessing every single person we will come into contact with...your outreach of support extends far beyond our family to reach souls God is already preparing. As of our last update, we are at 25% of our goal! Each step takes us that much closer to the field. We cannot depart until our support is completely raised/pledged!
We had a few set backs along the way...our initial buyer fell through and our basement flooded when the power went out weeks back. Through it all, God is His loving grace, reminds us that He is our portion, our place of refuge, our shelter from the storm. If He has called us to it, He will see us through it! Rom 8:28 And God works out ALL things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. Take a deep breath....but what we sometimes forget is to exhale. Instead we keep it all in. Like breathing, by fully exhaling, you eliminate toxins, release what no longer serves you, remove obstacles so you are free to inhale more fresh air. It's in the exhale we take what we've held onto and given it to God...we release it to Him.
We are thrilled to say we have fully recovered from our basement (which has forced us to sort through all our stuff) and now have another interested buyer and we haven't even put our house on the market yet. We may not understand it all but what we do know is this...whatever lies before us....praise the Lord oh our soul, we will worship Him! In the midst of trials, we learn to endure and persevere, we see God's power and strength in our weakness which drives us deeper into the very heart of God and his love - into deeper worship of God. Worship is based on trust. Worship happens in the exhale. We are called to be worshipers of Him and faithful with whatever he gives us today and that is our focus. We rest in Him!
James 1:4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Please pray with us:
- praise God for His provision and for those who have joined our team so far
- praise God for his continued strength and perseverance (learned through trials)
- praise for His words of encouragement spoken to us to press on in faith and patience to our higher calling
- praise God for our Care Team who has come alongside of us to help carry out so many things on our plate including organizing mission gatherings, gathering up sorted through items and selling them, holding a rummage sale, providing emotional support
- pray for our mission to be fully funded as we are approaching our goal date of August
- pray especially for monthly supporters to sustain us throughout our two year commitment
- pray for wisdom/clarity on the selling of our home to the buyer chosen by God
- pray for our children whose hearts are grieving more of the life they know here and love
- pray we would be faithful to what he has given us and obedient to what he calls us to do
- pray we would love well
Partnering with you to Be the Change!
For the sake of the Gospel,
Lisa & Family
