On the Road in Iowa

toffer    Uncategorized    

Greetings from Iowa! We are on our way to training and are spending a few days along the way with friends, supporters, and family. So far, so good travelling with two small boys. Appreciative to the people we have spent time with, those to meet soon and our housesitter back at home. Hopefully we can get some more posted soon but we wanted to at least check in and let you know how things are going. When we get back we will be well into the swing of our preparations to move. Thanks to all those who are prayer and financial supporters.

If you would still like to join with us financially we still are lookig to get the second progress bar to the right to 100% as soon as possible. Click the HCJB Global logo to the right to signup to be part of our financial support team.

When It Rains It Pours

becky    Uncategorized    

Last night we went out for some Chinese and I got an interesting fortune in my fortune cookie:

You will make many changes before settling satisfactorily.

One of my hopes and prayers as we enter this next chapter of our lives is that when all is said and done, when we’ve moved and gotten a little settled, that we’ll feel like we’re in the right place and that somehow it feels like home.  And considering the whirlwind that has been our last two weeks finally getting settled sounds really great right about now.

Just over two weeks ago we still had over $1,400 left to raise to reach our overall goal of $6,558 in monthly support, $600 of which we needed by this coming Monday, July 18.  Well, God apparently wanted to make it ABUNDANTLY clear that we are on the right path because we now have less than $700 total to raise.  In two weeks we’ve had over $700 in monthly support pledged either through new people joining our team or current supporters increasing their support.  We’ve been blown away by God’s provision and the generosity of those who are part of our team.

If all goes as is currently planned we will be on a plane right around the first of October.  It’s sort of surreal considering two and a half weeks ago we had no idea when the rest of our support would come in or where it was coming from.

God is Mysterious

becky    Uncategorized    

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
-Isaiah 55:8-9

I think Toffer and I have both talked about how we’ve learned a lot over the past couple years and how God had deepened and broadened our faith. One of the things I’ve been pondering a lot recently (in the few moments of less-than-insanity that occasionally creeps into our very hectic lives) is how mysterious God is.  We have scripture to learn about Him and experiences we or other we know have had, but ultimately God is mysterious.  Our finite brains can only wrap themselves around who God is to a point and beyond that we have to just trust in what we do know to make up for what we don’t.

While I very much am a person who likes answers to why and how, I’m learning to just trust and enjoy the mystery of God-how He actually works and moves, what He’s like beyond what my mind can grasp and imagine, how complex He is, and on and on.  I like that God is more than I can imagine, more than I can even begin to think.  If I were able to really understand all of who He is and what He does that would not make Him a very big God nor one who is perfectly holy. I’ll continue to contemplate the mystery, even if it drives me crazy some days, knowing that God is bigger and mightier and greater than I am and that He’s moving and working in ways that I have no way to even begin to comprehend.

Raising support has been one of those ways that God’s movements are mysterious and sometimes (to us) nonsensical and unreasoned. Clearly God always knows what He’s doing and we have trusted in that, but sitting day after day in the unknown can be insane and intense.  Right now a big mystery to us is how God is going to finish out our support team.  We got an email a few minutes ago with a pledge from one more family who has committed to be part of our team. We so enjoy seeing our team grow and develop. And we know the mystery of the rest of our team will be revealed in God’s timing.  The irony of it is that just a few minutes before I checked my email Toffer said he was wondering where the rest of what we needed to reach our July 18 goal was coming from. That email answered a big part of that question. We now have 98.6% of our monthly support for the goal of $5724 on July 18 and 86.1% of our overall goal of $6558. It’s exciting and I’m ready to continue seeing what mysteries God reveals and which ones He choose to leave unanswered.