My cousin and best friend Candy loves to say, “Things can change in a moment.” And, oh, are we finding this to be true!!
My most recent blogs have talked about waiting…and waiting.
One thing we have been specifically waiting for is knowing if/when we are going to Africa as missionaries. Because of circumstances outside of our control, we were not going to be able to go to Candidate Week (the final step in the application process, as well as an orientation into the Africa Inland Mission organization) until at least June. Therefore, we have been working on handing over to the Lord the idea that we will be going to Kenya this fall. It just didn’t seem possible.
And we were working on being okay with that. God is sovereign. He has the right to change our plans. We want what He wants for us anyway. We wanted to go to Kenya in His timing, not ours. And, obviously, His timing was not this fall.
I was even mentally working on a blog post about all the things I had to be the thankful for in spending (at least) another year here: another year of worship dance, attending friends’ weddings and graduations, more time to practice new recipes on Taylor, and most of all, more time spent with family, friends, and a church body we love.
But things can change in a moment.
Because of need at Rift Valley Academy for dorm parents and an IT person this coming school year, we have been given permission to try to fill that need. That means that though we have not yet been “appointed” as missionaries with AIM, we have been given clearance to begin raising support…
….to try to leave in August (yes, of 2013).
…to be junior high boys’ dorm parents (yes, I just said junior high boys).
…to say goodbye to home and friends and family in less than six months (wow, that seems soon).
Things can change in a moment.
This doesn’t necessarily mean the support will be raised by then. If it’s not, we won’t go in August. And God can still fill the need for dorm parents and a computer tech guy with someone else. This is God’s ministry. He will bring the money in if and when it is time for us to go.
But for now…full speed ahead.
What does that mean comes next? We have a lot of questions of our own that will need to be answered before we can really get started, but in coming days, we will be writing letters, talking with churches, meeting with prospective prayer and financial supporters, making decisions…needless to say, there will be A LOT to do. And this news is still only a few days old even for us, newer still for our families.
The prospect of trying to raise a large sum of money in less than six months and then leave our family and friends for 2-4 years is frightening to say the least.
But we are passionate about the discipleship of young people. We love Africa. And the idea of getting to combine those and live with and invest in teenagers and children on a daily basis in Africa is also incredibly exciting.
At some point we will have official support letters and even an official AIM blog site. We will have a lot more to say about what our ministry should look like and why we are so passionate about wanting to go! For now, we just want to communicate the latest unexpected turn in our African Journey. We would appreciate lots of prayer for wisdom and God’s will be to done!!
And if you are getting discouraged because you are in a season of waiting (and when are we not waiting for something?), be encouraged. God is sovereign AND…
Things can change in a moment.
Jesus is Enough for Joy. Period. 