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Why England?

This post talks about some of the reasons why we have a heart for England. Take a look before you continue on to the rest of the blog.   ...

Sunday, April 15, 2018

We finished training


2 Corinthians 4:1-12

"Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways;we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side,but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.  So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you."



We worked on memorizing the above verse during out time at CIT.  It has so many great reminders and points to focus on, not only now as we continue to work towards the goal God has set before us but once we are on the field serving the people in England.  The first line alone helps us keep our focus - we have this ministry because of God's mercy.. there is no reason for us to ever lose heart because we are just servants in His ministry. He is the one who is in control. 

We talked a lot about the fact that God's heart is for the people on the field AND for our growth as we prepare here (and serve there). That is so easy to forget! We can so easily put all our efforts and thoughts into the future, and we can look at the time it takes to get there as wasted.  We rush through waiting periods, trying to get to the finished moment - whether it is marriage, having a baby, getting the new job, or starting a ministry over seas.  We train ourselves to think of the end product - we miss the journey and what God is doing before then. We miss the joy of being engaged, the little moments of pregnancy, and the lessons of the heart that grow us for the field. We focus on everything that has to be done for others that we forget that God also cares about our heart through the whole process.

Working hard in class


We had such a great time learning and being poured into by the facilitators at the campus. I look forward to sharing nuggets of our lessons with you guys over the next few months.  There is so much that we took in and I know it will take a while for us to process it all. 


We passed training (we even have a certificate to prove it 😃) and are making our journey home. Little did we know we would be leaving beautiful mountain view with 75* weather to be driving towards a record setting blizzard. Thankfully we made it to my parents house (in Milwaukee) before the snow hit there. We are now camped out here until we can head home to Green Bay.  


Hope you are staying warm :)   


Me and Baby on a break from class








Monday, April 2, 2018

Pre field training


 Hello everyone!

     I hope you all had a blessed Easter. Ours was different as it was (the first of many) not spent at home with our family.  Instead we spent it in North Carolina as we complete our required pre-field training. However we did get to host a wonderful night with the other missionaries here on campus. We all got together and had a potluck Easter dinner... it was such a great time of fellowship, and even though we are all new friends, our hearts bind us. While I missed my family and our traditions, it was wonderful to have this time with these amazing people. Instead of longing for home it made me long for our future holidays - where we can minister to the young adults and families in England who might not have the option of a healthy, happy, family holiday.

 Let me start by saying a big thank you for all of your support and prayers during this time. We were blessed to be able to attend the training slightly earlier than we were supposed to. Our organization generally requires missionaries to be over 70% when attending. However the next 3 dates are all either weeks before or after our due date.. I couldn't imagine taking these classes while dealing with a newborn. Thank you for your prayers while we are attending. I have been dealing with sickness (just sinus and coughs) but they have taken their toll on my already tired body. This has made it harder for me to sleep through the night, which means poor Eric isn't sleeping through the night either.  Please pray for health, rest, and stamina.

We are currently half way through our time here in North Carolina. I am so happy that our organization required this of us. While the days seems long, with a full class schedule before and after lunch, it has all been great information.  Eric and I both feel we are becoming as prepared as possible for the field. We are enjoying the classes in contextualization, cultural communications, mind styles, the heart of the mission, culture shock, team building, how to strengthen marriage and children, and so many more topics.

It has been great to be part of the fellowship here on campus, as we are all in one apartment complex for the month. Being around so many other who understand the journey, struggle, and hope has been really encouraging.  We even met a couple on their way to Germany and another lady from GEM.

I need to get some homework done but I will check in again before we leave this little bubble of training.
 


The cafeteria on campus

Baby (Stephen) and I say 'Hi' on a break during morning class
Eric and I on Easter Sunday