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.
No comments:
Post a Comment