We Have Our Heading

It's been awhile since Captain Jack Sparrow made an appearance in the blog.

This line comes from the second movie. Captain Jack has been having a bit of trouble deciding where he wants to go. His compass leads him to whatever he wants most; the problem is he can't decide. It's not so much that he doesn't know what he wants, it's more that his concentration is slipping. There are too many other things vying for his attention.

Enter miss Elizabeth Swann. She has sought out Captain Jack in order to convince him to help her rescue her beloved Will Turner. Contrary to Jack, she knows exactly what she wants. Seeing this as a golden opportunity, Jack gives her the compass. He sees that she has a definite direction. She provides his clarity; he calls out "Mr. Gibbs, we have our heading."

We have our heading.

We just returned from a week at Pioneers, working through our final trainings and requirements for the mission. It was truly an amazing time. Last time we were at Pioneers, it was a different feel. That time was essentially a week long job interview. We spent the first four days in anxiety, wondering if they were going to accept our application. While we were able to make some connections, it was a lot of stress.

This week felt very different. Instead of a bunch of people together trying to get a job, we were a bunch of people together who are waiting for the chance to put the call of God into action. We went from a group of strangers to a family in just a few short days. There were three other families that we had met when we were at our previous Explore gathering two years ago, and it was really nice to reconnect with them. They're all headed to the Middle East. But we also got to meet several new families on the launch pad. Two families we got very close to will be heading to Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Our boys became friends with a young man who will be only a few hours flight from us when we finally arrive. They're already making plans to visit each other. We met folks that are waiting to go to various parts of pretty much every continent.

The difference for us is that there is no confusion over our heading. We know what we are called to, and where we are called to. But there have been a lot of changes that have come upon us in the past several weeks. Along with everything else, this week renewed our clarity. It renewed our strength. Meeting with other launching missionaries is the boost we needed.

We have completed everything the mission requires of us prior to departure. All that remains now is to raise the remainder of our funding, and await the readiness of the team. We have Visas and other official paperwork to apply for (timing is critical, not too soon and not waiting too long), and immunizations to get (somehow that sounds better than shots). And we have goodbyes to say to friends and family. All that amidst the excitement that we really will be going.

We have our heading.

Launch Sequence

The first week of November we will be heading to Orlando. We're off to what is more or less the final training we have with Pioneers before we head overseas. This one, the kids will be coming along for. And in the "That's Not Fair" department, they will spend their week playing games and going to DisneyWorld, while Andrea and I sit in meetings. Personally, I think it should be the other way around.

A week from now (right before we fly south) we will be hosting a Thai dinner at our church. It's a time to connect with folks and again share what we hope to be doing in the none-too-distant future in Isaan. We have been invited to speak again at the Seattle church we spoke at earlier this year. Another old friend is working on a date when I can come speak at the church he currently pastors. And we have yet another chance to share with a small group of congregations in the eastern part of Oregon.

This week in Orlando is going to provide us a bit of refreshment. It's a chance to connect with our coach and others at the mission who can help and encourage us. And we're hoping it gives us a little push as well, a little extra boost. A little spiritual fuel to push us forward.

The week in Orlando is called "Launch". It's symbolic of the mission/church launching us forward into our calling. Launching us into our field of service. It means that were on the launch pad awaiting final instructions. Awaiting the final countdown. Getting fueled up.

212

"Sometimes I get the feeling that the two biggest problems in America today are making ends meet and making meetings end." - Robert Orben

Yesterday, at the place where I work, we had a mandatory training. For the most part, it was five hours of my life that I can never have back. The most useful idea of the morning came in the first ten minutes. Since I don't think the concept has a copyright, I'm going to use it here.

What is 212 minus 211? One. A very small - almost insignificant - number. No big deal, right? What happens to water at 211⁰? It gets really, really, really hot. What happens at 212⁰? It boils. (For those of our friends that are more familiar with the Metric System, substitute 99 and 100 respectively.) That one degree makes a huge difference.

The idea is that there is nothing insignificant. Any number, no matter how small, is important. Significant. Vital. Worthwhile.

"If you think you're too small to make a difference, you haven't spent a night with a mosquito." - African Proverb.

Blessings and Work

A couple of weeks ago, some good friends of ours gave our family two of their old iPods. Just gave them to us. They had upgraded and wanted us to have something to load language learning stuff, or spoken word Bibles in Thai, or whatever. Music if we wanted to. It was a really cool gift and we are truly thankful.
 

Now, if only we could make them work. 

We already have a couple of MP3 players, but they’re the off-brand ones. My computer system is non-Apple. My sound files are all incompatible. So right now I have two really cool iPods and no way to load anything on that the iPod will read. I spent a good portion of last evening trying to find some way to make them recognize the files I loaded. Any suggestions?

I’ve come to realize that’s how blessings work a lot of the time. Blessings come, but not without us needing to do a little bit of the work. Very seldom does God just hand us a blessing, and not ask us to contribute something to make it reach its fullest potential. And sometimes, we have to do a bit of digging to really find all of the layers of hidden blessings. 

I don’t think it’s supposed to be too easy. I don’t think I’d like it if it was. Part of it is that God wants to grow us through the challenges that accompany blessing. But part of it is that God wants to partner with us, give us some ownership, rather than just dumping gifts in our lap. 

We have been given the blessing of partnering with God to take his love to a people that has never experienced that love. We’ve been blessed with a purpose. That purpose also requires us to do something. In order to be a part of their culture and share ours, we have to learn their culture. In order to find bridges between their beliefs and ours, we have to learn their beliefs. And in order to communicate with them, we have to learn their language.

Just as soon as we can load it on the iPods.

Please Continue to Hold...

Earlier this month we transferred our Internet service to another address. It took a great deal more time and effort than I think it should have, but it is what it is. We were without Internet service for about two weeks. I had to make several phone calls in order to get things set up. Phone calls where the conversation itself lasted for all of three or four minutes, while the hold time was considerably longer. Throughout, a recorded loop continued to remind me how important my call was and how many services the company could provide. Somewhat ironically, I was reminded again and again how much easier it would be to accomplish whatever it was that I was trying to accomplish if I would simply go to the website. 

It’s been said that waiting is the worst part of anything. We couldn’t agree more. That’s where we are right now. We’re waiting. We’re hoping and anticipating that in January we will finally be heading to Thailand to join the ministry that God is doing in the Isaan region. And, much like the whole connecting the Internet thing, we’re not sure why it’s taking as long as it is. We’re ready, how come the process is moving so slowly?

Right now, we’re in the Partner Development phase. One of those things typical mission families would rather not have to do. We’re asking for money. Well… not so much asking for money as trying to share the call we’ve been given and inviting people to partner with us. Sharing our needs and hoping that people will agree to help meet those needs. That partnership comes largely in the form of finances, but also of prayer and of emotional support. 

People all around us know we hope to leave in January. I guess it’s wrong to just assume that people also know what that involves. One of the hardest things in the world to do is ask people to give you money, to ask people to sacrifice a portion of their finances to help you meet your financial needs. That’s exactly what we’re doing. 

We need monthly support. We need financial support coming in every month to meet our individual living expenses; rent and utilities, groceries, insurance, and savings. We need financial support to meet our business and ministry expenses; transportation, visas and work permits, supplies, and country fees. And we need finances to meet the costs of departure; training, shipping of clothes and belongings, home set up, and travel. It’s a lot to ask for.

Right now, we’re about 25% of the way to meeting our complete financial need. We have a long way to go if we’re indeed going to leave in January. Want to be a part of what we’re doing?

God's Blessing, God's Timing

Yesterday morning we received the invitation to join Team Isaan. Yesterday afternoon we sent notification of acceptance of the invitation. We are now officially members of the Team; we are now indeed bound for Thailand. Now the real work begins.

We received an amazing confirmation and answer to prayer this past Sunday. Andrea had been praying and mentioning to God how it would be so much easier to fulfill some of our financial obligations if we didn’t have to pay rent. That morning at church, we were offered the chance to house sit for a couple who are taking an extended vacation and will be gone for some months. The timeframe of their vacation coincides with the timeframe we are hoping for our departure.

Our partner development now commences in earnest. We’re moving forward in our beginning language learning (the boys are doing better than the adults). I had another chance to speak to the youth last evening, we have a sharing opportunity this coming Saturday evening, and I’m speaking to the Men’s Ministry on June 20^th.

It’s good to be back in the States after our Survey Trip, but it’s also hard. In many ways, our hearts are already in Isaan waiting for our bodies to catch up. We ask for your continuing prayer. Please keep standing with us, asking for things to progress quickly, but not outside of God’s timing. God’s timing seems to be working the best.

First Impressions

We’ve officially made it back from our Survey Trip to Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. The next step in this process is to wait. We will spend the next week – from today through next Thursday – waiting to hear back from the Team. They are praying; we are praying. As this was in many ways an interview (them interviewing us and us interviewing them), we are all now discerning if this is indeed God’s plan. In a week we will receive an email either inviting us to join the Team, or notifying us that we are not a good fit. If it is an invitation, we will decide if it is indeed where we are called and either accept or reject the invitation. We ask you to join us in prayer. 

The people of the Isaan region are very spiritual. Spirit houses dot the countryside, and offerings to these spirits are everywhere. Like the people of Athens in the time of the Apostle Paul, they seek to make the spirits happy so that they will enjoy good fortune. And although the Buddha denied the existence of gods and spirits; these spirit offerings can even be found inside Buddhist temples, and Buddhist monks will gather to bless the spirit houses. 

Buddhist monks are everywhere. They seek enlightenment in order to hopefully get off the endless cycle of death and reincarnation. And yet, there is often no joy in their smiles, no hope in their expressions. The people smile easily, but it seems more out of courtesy than happiness. 

Our goal is not to tell them they are wrong. Our goal is to fill in the blanks of what they believe. We go not to convert, but to share Jesus. And really, our goal is not so much to be the leaders, but to be the mentors for those who want to know more about who Jesus is. Paul’s model for ministry was to find those who were open to the Gospel, to disciple them, and to let them take on the responsibility of growing their church. We seek to do the same. 

I’m planning to be blogging more frequently over the next several weeks. We have much to share and much to prepare for. We have a long way to go in order to get ready. Some of it is tangible; learning the language and the culture, and preparing ourselves for life in another part of the world. Some of it is financial; determining how much it will cost us to live, what we need, and how to go about gathering partners for our ministry. But the majority of our preparations will involve prayer; preparing ourselves spiritually for a new way of life in another world. 

The spiritual need is great. Our financial need is great. But our God is far greater. There is a bountiful harvest awaiting workers. We are workers waiting to be sent. Please pray.

It Looks Like it May Clear Up

It’s a little overcast today. Kind of dreary, grey sky, looks a little cool. It’s one of those kinds of days that it’s maybe a good day to just stay in and relax in sweats with an extra cup of coffee. But as I sit looking out the kitchen window, I can pretty much see that it’s just fog. It’s grey, but there’s a little orangy light filtering through. It looks like it may clear up.

It reminds me of an old Peanuts cartoon. Charlie Brown is standing on his pitcher’s mound in the pouring rain, talking to Linus. He’s trying to convince Linus that the weather is going to clear. Linus begins ranting, telling Charlie Brown that – in effect – he’s a moron. The sky is dark, it’s raining even harder than it was just a few minutes ago, and it’s cold. Only a blockhead would stand in the pouring rain waiting for a baseball game that’s never going to start. He turns toward the pitcher’s mound waiting for a response, but Charlie Brown is gone. He gave up waiting and went home. The last frame shows Linus looking upward and saying that Charlie Brown should have stayed; it looks like it may clear up.

We’ve spent about a year and a half standing on our pitcher’s mound. We’ve had people telling us that only a blockhead would try to raise financial support in this economy, only a blockhead would pull up stakes and go overseas now. (Okay, nobody has called us “blockheads”, but they have questioned our sanity. We’ve questioned our sanity.) And all along, we’ve been trying to convince people – trying to convince ourselves – that it’s going to clear up.

At one point in his ministry, Jesus is talking about weather. He’s telling the religious leaders that somehow they can look at the sky and determine what the weather will do, but they can’t look at the history of God’s blessings and see what God will do.

In 25 days, we are scheduled to fly out of Seattle on our way to a little more than a week in Thailand, spending time getting to know the team we hope to join. We’re anticipating coming back with stories of people we’ve met; stories of hope, stories of need, concrete things that we can share with people who have invested – and others who might invest – in our ministry calling. It’s exciting to see a break in our weather.

It’s funny. As I’ve been sitting here writing, I’ve watched the sky get brighter, then darker, then brighter again. It’s still overcast, and every so often I wonder if it is really going to burn off. But then it brightens again and I think it might. But the fog is not going to keep us from going outside. It may stay overcast all day, it might clear up, it might move back and forth between the two. That’s how it’s been with our preparations for overseas ministry. Patches of clearing, patches of fog, driving rain, bright sun, and everything in between. But so far, we haven’t left our pitcher’s mound. We’re not planning to either. After all, it looks like it may finally clear up.

Counting the Days

Forty-three days from today we will be leaving for Thailand. God willing. A year and a half we’ve been trying to put this trip together. Even though we’ve purchased the airline tickets and reserved the hotel for the first night in Bangkok it doesn’t feel real yet. We still look at the calendar and wonder if it’s really true.

We really need to knuckle down and work on our Thai language lessons.

We still have friends and family asking us if this is a wise time to be doing this. We’re reminded frequently of the economy and the fact that people don’t have a lot of money to support this kind of thing. Our only response is to ask if that means this might be a bad time to trust God.

A couple of weeks ago, the pastor talked about how easy it is to let our circumstances dictate our faith. We look at what’s going on around us and think we might need to play it safe. What he was saying was that we should look not so much at what’s in front of us, but rather look closely at what’s behind us. We need to remember what God has done for us and believe that God is going to do the same thing now.

I can look back over several of these blogs and see the journey that God has brought us on. Every time we have begun to doubt or wonder or worry, God has brought us some new blessing. Even getting us to start thinking about this course of action was the hand of God at work. And even though this is the third time we’ve tried to take our Survey Trip, and even though it hasn’t happened just yet; we’re believing for this to happen. Because throughout this journey, God hasn’t given us a reason to doubt.

We were in Seattle a few weekends ago and we spoke at a church. A small congregation that is struggling to pay their own bills. But the pastor was insistent that we come and talk anyway. He told us that he was going to ask for a special offering in spite of their financial situation. Not because he wanted to put the church into dire financial straits, but because he believed in God’s promise that if we give, we will receive. If we bless, we will be blessed.

We were blessed. And it was a wonderful showing of God’s faithfulness to this group of folks and to our family as well. It was a wonderful confirmation that indeed, this is what we’re supposed to be doing. This is truly where God is leading us.

It’s going to happen, exactly when God wants it to happen. Nothing can keep us from believing.

Feed Me

I had a conversation a few days ago with an acquaintance. A person we just met. He was talking about how he wasn’t being “fed” at his current church. That got me thinking. What does it mean to be fed? How do we go about obtaining spiritual nourishment?

In most tribal communities you have to work if you want to eat. Either you go and get the food or you help prepare it. Very seldom does your dinner just show up on your plate. There are some who go out as hunters and some that go out as gathers. They bring back meats and fruits and vegetables. They gather for themselves as well as for the good of the community. There are also those who play the role of preparation. They take what is brought and make it into meals. Everyone plays a role in the feeding of the community. If you don’t get fed it’s your own fault.

It seems to me that it’s pretty much the same with spiritual nourishment.

True spiritual nourishment doesn’t just happen. We work at it. We help make it happen. That’s how we gain the most benefit from what we take in. Maybe it’s us going out and bringing other people in. Maybe it’s us helping prepare the message or playing a part in its being distributed. Maybe it’s us simply working to help those who do the hunting and the gathering and the preparing. Maybe it’s us caring for them.

Who are the ones who can get away with being fed and not working for it? Infants. Babies. Those who can’t care for themselves yet. We care for them knowing that someday they’ll be able to feed themselves, and that someday they’ll feed their own infants and babies. Spiritually, we feed those who are new in the faith, with the hope that they will someday feed others too.

Can we simply be fed? Sure. But what happens then? Remember Little Shop of Horrors? Remember the plant? All it did was eat. And it got bigger and bigger and more demanding. “Feed me!” Its world revolved around its needs. I think that happens in the church too. It becomes about what makes us feel good. The way we like to worship. The Scriptures we like to read. The sermons that speak to us. Now, none of this is bad in itself. But… we need to contribute something positive to the process. It’s not all about us getting fed.

We can be fed without doing any work, but we can’t be truly nourished. Spiritual nourishment requires effort. It requires commitment. It requires us to be engaged in the process.

Mission ConneXion Postscript

It’s Tuesday. It was an exhausting weekend. But it was a very good weekend.

Along with the two days of hobnobbing with missionaries and other mission organizations, we got to spend time with friends and family too. While at the mission conference, we saw some friends who are probably headed to another part of the South Pacific, then up to Seattle for a couple of days to visit Andrea’s mom and my oldest son, and drop in on my best friend, then back down to Portland for dinner with my brother and his family as we sped back south. We were all pretty wiped out this morning, but it was well worth it.

We got to interact with a fairly sizable number of other mission organizations and hear what they’re doing in all parts of the world. The boys even got into the act; they got to do a Treasure Hunt through the exhibits, and each won a prize. We got to hear missionaries who’ve “been there” speaking on their ministries, their trials, their joys, what worked and what didn’t. We were validated, in that we met hundreds of people who have survived the Partnership Development process and been able to see God at work in the far flung places they’ve been sent. We got to laugh with them and cry with them. We heard gut-wrenching stories, some of them with happy endings. We got recharged.

On Sunday, we went to the Seattle Open Door Church. The pastor has invited us to come up the second week of March and share with the congregation the vision that God has given us for ministry in Thailand. That same weekend, a wonderful woman who lives in the same building as my mother-in-law has plans to host a brunch with her friends and contacts to help us raise money for our Survey Trip. And when we got home to check email, we received word that one of Andrea’s cousins has pledged a large sum towards the Survey Trip in the name of her parents.

At every stop, people have asked us what this year holds for us. We have shared that we have two New Year’s Resolutions. The first is that we make a Survey Trip in May. That’s the time that our Thailand Team has suggested, it’s when they will have time to take us around to see all that they are doing and all that they want to do. The second is to be “in country” by the beginning of the New Year. The first six months will be Language Learning; that timeline will get us through our language courses at the best time for the team to take us on.

It was a good weekend. It was an encouraging weekend. We came away energized, but exhausted. You can help us keep that momentum going.

Mission ConneXion Northwest

Tomorrow we’re heading north. We’ll be a couple days in Portland at the Mission ConneXion conference. It’s the better part of two days worth of seminars and networking. There will be a roomful of presenters at booths telling people about their mission organizations and encouraging people to become involved in missions. Pioneers will be represented there; they will have a booth set up, and some of our friends from our pre-field training will be going.

We’re going for a few reasons. The first is the available seminars. Presenters from various mission backgrounds and organizations, and all parts of the world will be speaking on a variety of mission issues. We’re hoping to gain some strategies and insights on the issue of human trafficking, on how to better go about raising funding and developing partners, and why overseas ministry is still relevant in our modern world. Secondly, we are looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones. But third, and maybe most importantly, we need to be encouraged. We need to meet with people who are having or have had the same struggles that we’re having. We need to be able to talk and laugh and vent and cry with people who have the same heart for the people of another culture in another part of the world.

This is a challenging time for us. We have the call of God and the overwhelming desire to be in service overseas, but we don’t have the means to get there. We’re ready and we’re willing, but we’re still not able. So we’ll do the next best thing.

Please continue to hold us on your prayers as we continue to prepare for the next chapter.