2017 - Burma or Bust
This new year marks the third anniversary of Esther and my calling back to missions and to move to Thailand and minister to the minority groups of Burma (Myanmar). When we first started this journey we sold pretty much everything we owned and moved into my parent's basement for a couple months with the plan to move later that summer. Well, the Lord had other plans and we are still here. More appreciation and gratitude than words can express goes out to my Mom and Mike for their love and patience expressed to us, as a couple months have turned into a couple years!
Although we can all see the reasons for the Lord delaying us, I must admit that it has not been easy and has been very discouraging at times. Esther and I have spent a lot of time wondering if we truly received a call from God to go or were we wrong? Should we quit, go find a permanent job somewhere and just start over, maybe find some land down south and start a small homestead? Many hours... days... were spent thinking and praying about this and yet, my heart would always end back to Burma. No matter how hard I tried, the Lord would not let it go.
This Christmas season, with most of my projects ending with Cerner, Esther and I asked the Lord again, are we to go? We are excited about this new year and believe that this is the year we will be able to go! Toward the end, a very dear friend gave me a book for Christmas that the Lord used to speak to me. It is called The Land Between - finding God in difficult transitions by Jeff Manion. The author discusses the Exodus journey of the Israelites in the desert and applied it to our lives as we journey through "the Land Between". He says, "The Land Between can be profoundly disorienting. It also provides the space for God to do some of His deepest work. Many seasoned spiritual advisers propose that this is the only space in which radical, transformational growth occurs. God intends for us to emerge from this land radically reshaped. But while offering a greenhouse for growth, the Land Between can also be a dessert where faith goes to die. Your response will determine whether your journey through this barren place will result in spiritual life or spiritual death. You decide." Through looking at the Exodus story, the end result as we are going through this time of transition is Trust. Do we trust the Lord? While reading, the Lord spoke to me in that small quiet whisper, "Quit wondering, move forward and just trust me."
Esther and I have decided we are not going to end up spiritual casulties! We are going to move forward and trust our heavely Father! With only one more step to take, raising the rest of the support we need to reach our ministry budget, we are planning the move to Thailand this summer. Please continue to pray for us, for wisdom, determination, persistence, provision and courage.
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