Good-byes

It has been an awesome couple of weeks!
We have been visiting family and friends in Michigan over the past few weeks. We dropped off more photographs, furniture, and memories at our parents' houses. It was especially hard today when we had to hug everyone good-bye knowing we may not see them again for quite a while.

The verse that keeps popping up for us is Matthew 19:29.

"And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life."

It is unbelievably hard to give up all of those that we love so much, but I know God will use our lives for his purpose.

We also had the chance to speak with mission leaders at several churches. It was quite an experience for the children in denominational differences. We went from charismatic pentecostals to Mennonite services, each beautiful in their own style. They prayed for us, shared their wisdom, and gave financial support.

I've noticed that whenever we talk to people about what we are going to do, they have a lot of questions for us. Questions like, "What about college? What about your 401K? What about kidnapping and drugs in Central America? What if the kids get sick? What about sports and music lessons and books? What about the high school experiences they will miss? What about the extreme heat? What about the hurricanes and earthquakes? What will you do if you don't like the food? What about the bugs? What about the political unrest? Have you really thought all of these things through? How are YOU qualified to do this?" The truth is, I don't know the answer to a lot of these questions, but I know that God has called us to go. I know there are people there who are desperate and we have it in our ability to help them. I have to ask myself, "What if we didn't go? What if no one else did either? Would those lives we are connected to down there be lost?"

We now have about half of our start-up budget. I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to those of you who have begun your monthly support NOW. It goes straight to our start-up budget, which will pay for a vehicle, housing, and travel costs. If you aren't a ministry partner yet and would like to be, click on the link to the right or contact us. We'd love to talk with you more.