Getting there…

Getting there not only signifies that the support is increasing, but also getting there is referent to arrival within the ministry locale. I continue to contemplate the issue of missions while on this side of the ocean and ask unanswerable questions to myself. Are we really focused on the building of the bride of Christ, the Church?

I find that I am in need of God grace more and more, day by day, which can sound cliched but in the midst of attempting to raise the necessary amount and the encroaching date of departure, I know it will be by the grace of God alone. Getting there…an ever present reality in search of completion, getting to the field, getting the amount necessary to live, getting closer to the Lord, the one who has called us unto His own. Getting there…we are all certainly getting there.

Through Struggle The Lord Refines

Well, I want to thank the men at E Free in Bloomington Normal, for the opportunity to spend some time with them last weekend.  We had a wonderful time and the session listening to Roger Stuber from Tremont IL share stories of his time as a missionary pilot near PNG.  I was so blessed to spend some time with many of the men there.  Conversations were all a blessing and it was great to see old friends and fellowship around the campfire encouraging each other in Christ and enjoying each other’s company.  God certainly blessed this time.

I know it has been a long time since I last posted.  I want to apologize for my tardiness in writing again.  Through the whole summer, I wanted to spend as much time with my fiancee Monika as was possible.  That was achieved though I did not  make time to update you all on what is happening in my life and in the process of getting to the Czech Republic.  You may all pray for her as she is back at the university finishing her masters degree in Economics and Business Administration.

Here is another picture of us in Sheboygan WI after we spent some time with good friends of ours, the Zimmerman family.  This was a few weeks ago, since Monika left the end of September.

Something that made me think yesterday.

Before meeting up with my friend from church last night, I was walking down the street in front of two ladies talking.  I couldn’t help but over hear what one of the women said, for it shook me as I considered the consequences of its origin.  Her statement was regarding a need for hot humid summer fashion and the need to look good walking into a cold store and still looking good, or vis-a-versa whereby it is cold outside and walking into a store that is hot and still looking good.  It was her next comment that made me think, she said this lack of fashion was frustrating for her.  My thoughts revolved around her actually being “frustrated” over this, is she using the word in the correct sense in that she is truly turned in knots over this or is she merely dissatisfied with this lack of comfort and fashion?  So I started to think, if she is truly frustrated by this small thing, what am I frustrated about?  (Using the word in the truest sense of the word)

Our pastor, Tim, preached on the Lord’s prayer found in Matthew’s Gospel 6:5-15 and talked about how we need to be focused on God, His kingdom first, and willing to forgive even though we might have been hurt.  So where does my frustration rest, in that seeking the kingdom is a constant battle for me, and dare I say for all of us in the Church.  With people around the world dying and never having heard the gospel proclamation, and our petty desires for revenge, not justice (I being one of them, like the rest of us) causes frustration in the depth of my soul.  This realization helps me to see that it is not about me, it is Christ’s kingdom, it is Christ’s sake, it is Christ’s message for a dying world.