Keep to the Code

A little over two years ago, I preached a sermon about lessons learned from Captain Jack Sparrow. It included several points; you determine who you are, aim high, wait for the opportune moment and seize it, never apologize for who you are, keep a sharp eye, and keep your sense of humor. But perhaps the most important lesson to take from Captain Jack Sparrow is the last one: Never give up.
 
Persistence is all the more impressive when the odds are clearly against a person. From the time of the mutiny aboard the Black Pearl to the time Jack regained control of his ship, ten years passed. An entire decade. Sure, he may have taken some detours, but he always returned to the goal of getting his ship back. With patience and a bit of assistance, Jack succeeded. And through this he shares the most important lesson; never give up on what matters most to you.

I have to confess, there are times when we have a little trouble with that last point. 

If you’ve been following this blog for very long, you’ve realized that we’re preparing for overseas mission work. We’re selling off unnecessary possessions, learning all we can about the culture and the language (hence the blog title), telling everyone who will listen about what we hope to be doing, interacting frequently with the Thailand team we hope to join and with our pre-field coaches, and trying to raise up people to support us in prayer and in finances while we’re there. We have many people who have agreed that they want to come alongside us in this venture. 

Okay, honestly, we’re not losing hope. No cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it. And we feel your prayers being lifted for the people we hope to soon be serving, as well as for us and for our support. We feel the excitement that many of you have for our missionary journey. Many of you have said how passionate we sound when we speak of our impending work in Southeast Asia. But the most difficult thing ahead of us at the moment is waiting. 

We had been hoping for this coming August for several reasons. We want to get through Language School and begin working as soon as possible with the team in their new area. We had hoped to be there before the new school year starts for the boys. Now, it seems like it might not be that soon. We’re thinking more along the lines of October for a Survey Trip, and after the New Year for our deployment. But who can guess what God’s time frame might be? (Hopefully, not an entire decade…) In order for us to begin planning our departure, our funds need to be at 80%. In order to purchase our tickets, we need to be at 90%.

We know that God is behind this whole thing, and that God will get us there exactly when he wants us there. We know that what seems insurmountable to us is nothing to God. And, like Captain Jack, we’re not giving up on what matters the most to us. 

We’re thankful for the many of you who are standing beside us, who also sense the hand of God in this. With patience and a bit of assistance, we will succeed.