Pondering the Back Story

So I've had a few thoughts lately about the back story of Mary & Joseph and their travel to Bethlehem for the census.  Yesterday, we-Jose, his parents and I- were in a small town in the market making final purchases for today's celebration which begins at midnight.  I was thinking, I wonder if Mary & Joseph had to stop along the way at the different towns and markets to purchase food.  I mean, traveling on a donkey only provides limited space where what you can take with you is concerned.  And they probably had no idea that they wouldn't be back to see family for a few years either. Yet, they went and God was with them, the Almighty and the Incarnate.

This being one of our last Christmases with family for a few years, and all of our belongings now (hopefully) in Germany, I guess I can relate in a different way to Mary & Joseph's journey all those years ago. What overwhelmingly jumps out is God's provision in this story--theirs and ours.  First, and perhaps the most obvious, God's provision of Himself in Jesus.  Jesus in the flesh, Imannuel, the Incarnate One.  God with us.

Then there's God's provision for Mary & Joseph in all of the unanticipated (by them) circumstances--a place to stay the night of Jesus' birth, food, shelther, clothing.  The provision of direction through dreams and included in that, God's provision of protection of them all along the way.  Certainly His provision of peace and wisdom as they fled to Egypt with the God-child.  His provision for them in Egypt.  His provision for their return.

Therein lie the parallels for us this Christmas.  Just as God provided for Mary & Joseph all those years ago, He provides for each of us who call Him Father.  To those who are far away from family during this time of celebrating Jesus, He provides His presence and peace.  To those who are about to take a journey far from home and family for several years, even with anticipated preparations, He still provides for those details that have not yet been anticipated.  His provision of shelter, of food, of clothing--the very things we need to live.

This Christmas, I am thankful to be reminded that He has provided Himself for all who would accept the gift.  I am grateful for His grace to me and His presence in my life. I am thankful to have a last holiday for a while with family in Guatemala.  I am grateful for His provision for us this year as we look forward to next year (in 10 days actually) in Berlin.  I am thankful that as we think about all the direction and wisdom He provided to show Jose and I that we are indeed to live and serve in Germany.  I am thankful for the provision of clothing, of shelter--in the form of an apartment in Berlin, and knowing that He will continue to provide for our needs and even surprise us with some of our wants and desires as well.  I am so grateful that we are not alone, that provision has been made for all of the circumstances we will encounter in a new place for the next four years.  And mostly, I am so thankful for Jesus.  It really is all about Him.  Christmas.  Life.  Everything.


At midnight tonight, I look forward to raising my glass in toast to Jesus.  Thank You, Jesus--Immanuel, for coming to us, and for knowing how desperately we would (and still do) need You.


Merry Christmas!

BIG things

"Things which matter the most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German philosopher

It seems that all of my days lately begin with prioritizing what to do and in what order.  This quote (which I read in the book, Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow) got me thinking.  My prayer these days is that the BIG thing be the BIG thing and that everything else be small.  That God be my priority, and that everything else be details.  That's easy to say, but hard to live out, especially when there is a house to sort, pack up, and millions of details that come up daily.  I have to say, I'm learning to choose to not be anxious, to have as constant of a conversation that my easily distracted mind can have with Jesus.  And the moments when it happens-- those are the best!  

Counting the Cost

So in these final 53 days before finishing up our time of service with our local body of believers here in NE Ohio, I've been thinking a lot about the transition, trying to process things as they come day by day and to live in the moment as much as possible.  I don't want to get to Germany in  97 days and think, wow, I wish I would have enjoyed the time of transition more.


It's a hard thing.  Much of my time processing has been spent counting the cost.  Realizing that there are things I knew I'd give up, but being surprised by things I didn't consider "losses", and having to decide in those moments to give them up.  It is truly a bittersweet time.  We have enjoyed (and are enjoying still) the high moments of reveling in friendships God has given us during our time here, and we are also slowly letting go of things that have to come to an end at this place in our lives in order for us to move on in a healthy way.

I was reading from Beth Moore's devotional book, Voices of the Faithful, and today was about Counting the Cost. Very appropriate.  You may be thinking, didn't they already count the cost before they signed up to go to Germany?  Well, yes, we did, but we're now in the place of  living out that counted cost.  Walking in the sacrifice we have made, and gratefully not alone, we are doing our best to follow one step behind Jesus.

There are the obvious losses of giving up being close to family, not being able to watch precious nieces grow up and attend their birthday parties and family holidays.  These things are made a little bit more bearable by Skype and other technology, but they are still heart-wrenching when it comes down to it.

There are the losses of familiarity.  The anticipation of losing the ability to do the "normal" things we do everyday, like getting from home to work (or soon--language school), losing the ability to communicate (at least temporarily while we learn German), losing the familiar smells & sounds of the seasons  (which I'm acutely aware of as Fall has begun and the leaves are beginning to turn beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow, and smells like apple cider, pumpkin pie, and carmel--this may sound weird, but often holidays and seasons "smell" differently in other countries).  Loss of being able to just call someone without calculating what time it would be where they are and having to do an elaborate coordination of when we can set a time to catch up.  I could go on.

Then there are the unexpected losses.  The ones that pop up every now and then and catch us off guard.  The losses of realizing that when we stand and sing surrounded by about 1000 other believers on a given Sunday morning, that it's going to be a long 4 years before we have that kind of opportunity again.  Realizing that not only is it a question of number of believers gathered, but also the very fact that we are able to worship in our heart-language of English.

Our coming reality is such that it will take a while before we are able to even sing in German and be able to understand the words.  And most often in those beginning days, it will seem more of an exercise in language learning for a while instead of a deep heart-felt expression of love for our Savior.   As one international worker recently encouraged us, he also prayed that God would sustain us in the "lean" years we have ahead.  He and his family also served in Europe and know full well the lack of abundance of all things spiritual.   We know we will need to be "self-feeding" during our time overseas, and we have had that habit for years, but it has been easy in a place where we are encouraged weekly, if not several times during the week.  And all of this taking place in an environment that is not yet hostile to the Gospel.

While there is much more in the way of cost, namely personal sacrifice, I must say, that it is worth it.  We would have it no other way.   Because Jesus is worth it.

When the unexpected things that we encounter come up--which we will need to sacrifice in order to follow Jesus, my hope is that Jesus always wins out.  That in light of Who He is and how small the sacrifice is in comparison, that Jesus will find our surrender a pleasing act of worship, far greater than singing songs or doing other spiritual activities.

What are you willing to give up?

From Where I'm Sitting (part 2)

What a year it's been!
This past January, we received a list of countries that we could apply to serve in with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. We had no idea that we'd be headed to Northeast Germany in a year--almost exactly to the day!

This was exciting and shocking news to us in several ways! We'd been praying for Spain for the past three years, and so when Spain wasn't an option at the time of our application, we were sad, frustrated, and grieving the loss of what we thought life would have been. But, God had a different plan that we could see at the time! See, we had our hearts set on Latin America, but were told that it wouldn't be an option, so we prayed about Spain, visited, and fell in love with the culture. When Spain became a closed door, we prayed through the list, and after some amazing confirmations from our pastors, we knew God was calling us to Northeast Germany.

Our church graciously sent us on a vision trip where God further confirmed His leading to serve in Northeast Germany, and so the process began. Interviews. Paperwork. To be honest, I couldn't wait for October--the date when we'd find out our assignment. So, you can imagine our surprise and shock at receiving a phone call in July asking if we'd be willing to serve in Germany and leave in January! We knew that it was God's will for us and that He wanted us to follow Him to Germany.

So, that finds us at the present. Packing, organizing, more paperwork, getting together with as many people as possible, finishing up ministry responsibilities, and looking forward to spending the holidays with family (our last for four years). It is bittersweet. We're excited that this time to move overseas and pursue our calling has finally come! We're also very sad to live far away from family, our church--which has been our family these last 3 1/2 years, gracious landlords who love us like family, and well, basically our entire support system.

That said, we need your help! We need you to pray for us in these days of transition. We need you to keep loving on us like you have done so well. And we need you to prepare yourselves to join God's work in Germany because you're sending us.

Prayer is the greatest GIFT you can give to us!
Pray for us in the following areas:
German language and cultural learning
Investing- in people in Germany whose hearts are ready to hear about Jesus
Friends-that we would make new friends quickly
Transitions-from Northeast Ohio-lots of goodbyes, to Northeast Germany-lots of hellos  We're currently at 55 days left at NorthMar and 99 days until departure for Berlin.  And there's lots to do between now & then!

If you aren't local and would like a prayer card, please send us an email with your mailing address and we'd love to send one to you!

If you'd like to contribute financially, we are raising funds for our outfit. We will be starting over--buying all of our furniture, household items, even the kitchen sink! The monies in this fund will allow us to buy these essential items upon arriving in Berlin. Click here to give.

Thank you!

An Update!

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From where I'm sitting

Many of you have heard by now.  We're going to Berlin, Germany in January 2012!  And we are so excited.  Actually there are tons of emotions that have accompanied this whole process that I'm not even sure where to begin.

As I soak up some sun and surf today and over the weekend at Beulah Beach, the peacefulness and greatness of the crashing waves on the breaker walls and shores have allowed me to begin to slow down and process a little of what has happened in the last 7 months.

I was looking last night for sea glass along the beach.  I love sea glass, and I love the water, and I have to say that Lake Erie is one of the best places to find TONS of sea glass.  I was struck with a thought.  This may be the last time I stand on the shore of Lake Erie.  Most likely the next time I find myself at a beach it will be the Baltic shores.

There was this great urge to soak it all in.  To capture it perfectly in my mind's photographic lens.  And savor the moment.

I happened to look up at that moment and see the great orange sun dipping over the horizon.  I had been scouring the pebbles at my feet looking for shiny bits of tumbled glass.  How many times do we, do I, get so caught up in the details of what's happening that we lose sight of the bigger thing?

So I want this weekend to be a time of focusing on the bigger thing.   Not on all the details of packing, purchasing, paperwork and people.  Not at this moment.  Just focusing on the miracles that God has done in José's and my lives since this past January.  And focusing on the impossible vastness of the task He has ahead of us.  And realizing that it was His plan all along, that we would be utterly and completely unable to do this thing on our own.  Realizing that it will only be accomplished in Him.  Und das ist gut!



So pull up a chair beside me, and enjoy the view from here.  (Part 2 coming soon....)

Good News!

Wow.  Where do I begin? 

I'll start in January.  José & I finished up the requirements for serving overseas with the CMA and received the list of places in January.  We had hoped that Spain would be on that list, but it was not.  We'd spent the last three years dreaming of serving in that country.  So we prayed through the options set before us.   

We can see God's grace and gentleness to us even in the fact that He had been guiding us from Latin America to Spain, and then from Spain to Europe.  

We prepared our applications and our church sent us on a vision trip to Europe in March. Upon our return we began the first of a series of interviews and then waited once more for the outcome.

It's been a "hurry up and wait" kind of process for us. 

We had our second interview in May, and then were blessed to be able to go to Council (the general meeting of the CMA which happens every other year).  We had the awesome opportunity to meet some fantastic people (and spend a little more time with some we had just met in March) who will be our future teammates.

So, as July is quickly approaching we asked people to pray for our third interview and then the board meeting which is in October.  You can imagine our surprise when we got a phone call (out of the blue) asking if we'd be willing to go to Berlin, Germany in January!  Yes, that's right.  Berlin.  January 2012.

We are super excited.  We can see God's fingerprints all over this.  Our church family has graciously agreed to release us early (we would have been heading out in August of 2012, so this is 6 months early).   And a multitude of other details are falling into place. 

So, having completed the things from our end, we wait now for the board's decision for our official appointment which will be moved up to July.  Pray that the board will be of one mind and that they would hear God's voice clearly in this matter.

We are still "pre" appointment at the moment, but have been given the go ahead to share these details.  We are so thankful that you are along for the journey with us.  Thank you for praying!

José & Melanie at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany in March 2011

Remembering

In the days since our trip to see what our future may hold, we've been remembering.

Just thinking about all the times the Lord told the Israelites to build an altar to remember what He had done. Now, while you won't see a pile of rocks at our house, we have been finding creative ways to record the things the Lord has spoken to us.  For me, it's journaling, scrapbooking, and even jewelry making.

We still have a ways to go on this path before we know the final outcome.  We have applied to serve with the C&MA.  Our target date of departure would be Summer 2012.  We are preparing for the second of three interviews coming up in May.  Lots to do between now and then!  

Thank you for praying for our trip.  Please continue to be in prayer for our upcoming interviews.  We are praying that God would make His will known to those who will be making decisions on our behalf.  And that they would hear what God has been speaking to our hearts in these days.

Here we are, in transit.  Pretty symbolic of our life right now. Thanks for praying.

 

 

Here we go......

Still tons of things flying around in my head.  Thankfully most everything is ready to go.

So, here are some of the things I'm thinking about:

What will it be like to not be able to speak the language?  We've only ever been to places where we have been able to communicate and are somewhat familiar with the culture and have even served as the interpreters to facilitate communication.  None of those things will be true in this case. 

I'm excited to get the other side of the perspective, the "taking in everything" side of things.  See, I love cultures, I'm intrigued with languages, and I really enjoy traveling (packing, flying, all of it).

I'm thankful that we won't be alone.  God will be with us.  Many others (YOU) who are faithfully interceding for us will be joining us on this adventure.

Mostly, I'm overwhelmed with a sense of peace.  I've had this song we were singing last night in choir running through my head all day.   And I am amazed.  God has called us.  He has invited us first to a relationship with Him.  He has called us to serve Him wherever He leads.  And as we have followed Him, it has been absolutely clear that, for us, that will be internationally.  So here we go......

God, speak to us clearly. We trust in You.  We are desperately dependent on You. 

Spring is coming!

Well, while living in NE Ohio, I have truly begun to LOVE spring in a whole new way!  Spring has always been my favorite season, but after what seems to be an eternity of winter (complete with record snow fall this year and short, dark and dreary days), I have longed for Spring and am looking forward to it! 

We have new little green things sprouting up (daffodils I believe) and in all of this, I can't help but make the parallels between this season of our lives, spiritually speaking. 

It seems that even as we continue to walk through some difficult circumstances in life (infertility, the decisions regarding our future place of service), that there is a new hope that has come, like the coming of spring rains.  Our perspective has been renewed as we look forward to the beauty that will surely come out of it all, like the flowers in springtime. 

We would love your prayers as we continue on this path and soon will be exploring a few possibilities regarding our future place of service.  Pray for wisdom for us and for all those involved in making the decision.  And pray that we will continue to be surrounded by the peace that has come through our obedience to the Lord's leading.  Pray that we would have grace in these days.

I also wanted to include these two videos, which have been a huge blessing and encouragement to me lately.