Our journey…so far…
What to say? Our journey has been fun and stressful and exciting and crazy and great. I wouldn’t change a thing. Tomorrow’s our last day in
Phoenix and then we hit the road to visit with Josh’s family and then on to church planting boot camp. We put our house back in Oregon on the market yesterday…just one more step along the road that has been mapped out for us.
I got an email from my mom this weekend. She shared a journal entry with me from a year ago. She observed that we were feeling unsettled and she sensed God getting ready to do something in our lives. A year later…we still don’t know exactly where we are going, but we do feel a deep sense of peace…knowing that God is in control and all we have to do is take one step at a time…one foot in front of the other…
So, what do I know for sure? I know that God is in control of all things. I know that He wants us to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible…by any means possible. I know that God has asked us to leave our former ministry position and I know that He has a place for us to minister and serve. I know that He’s paving the pathway He wants us to follow. I know that He wants us to do missional ministry in a multi-cultural setting. I know that God loves us and wants to use us for His purpose.
So, the big question is this…are we called to minister to a group of people in the Northeast or Southwest? I think we’ve narrowed the ministry opportunities down to two…on opposite ends of the U.S. I really can’t answer that question at this point. I just know that both opportunities fit the criteria we feel God is laying out for us…and I know that we need to wait on Him to reveal exactly where He wants us to go at the right time.
So, how was our trip back east? There’s so much to say about our trip…I don’t even know where to start.
We met some amazing people, heard some incredible stories and felt welcomed immensely. We had some opportunities to do some site-seeing. We saw several historic places…from ancient battlefields, to modern “battlefields” (Ground Zero). Seeing Ground Zero made me nauseous and dizzy…literally. Especially after hearing personal stories of people who experienced life in that part of the country during that horrific time in history…stories from people who lost friends and family. Even as we approach the 5th anniversary of 9/11, it’s easy to see that many haven’t healed from the tragedy.
Josh’s interview went well…I think. I only came in at the last part of it. The team wanted to meet me and ask me a few questions. We feel as if we’ve had the opportunity to get to know them and that they’ve had the opportunity to get to know us. I feel as if some friendships started and I hope we have the opportunity to cultivate those friendships. I was really sad when we flew out of the airport. I was quite surprised at my emotions about leaving.
We got a phone call yesterday from one of the members of the team and were told that their only regret about our visit was not taking us to a Yankee game. 
However, we did get to visit one of the Soup Nazi’s franchises. As Seinfeld fans that was thrilling. The soup is as good as they claim it to be.
So, we continue to step one foot in front of the other and expectantly wait to see what God has in store for us and our future. We’ll be offline for awhile as we travel…but, I’ll update as soon as I get opportunity to. Thanks, again, for your prayers and encouragement.
