Transitions and Preparations

   

     This weekend marks the end of summer, and as I look back on the past couple months I marvel at what the Lord is doing in guiding us back to Spain. Almost two months ago, I stepped down from my position at Food Lion and we transitioned to Wilmington, NC to help with a church plant from our college church in Durham, NC (The Summit Church) until we return to Spain, Lord willing, in January.

    God worked miraculously in providing for us here in Wilmington. Housing options were looking very bleak for the budget we had; however, God used a dear family in Spain to connect us to a family here in Wilmington. This Wilmington family happened to have a home available for rent, that was, by God's grace, exactly in our price range. Amazing. 

     I'm not praising God for making everything go ok, but praising him for supporting us as we stepped out in faith. If He would have shut the door to Wilmington and provided no housing options, I would have been sad, but I also would have known that this was not His plan for us. God is teaching me this principle more and more before we go to Spain. He has reminded me of his sovereignty, control of my life, and yet the freedom in Christ and contentment I have in Him.

     Even more amazing is how God has provided for us financially to return to Spain. We are at 69% support right now - I'm just so thankful for the families and churches God has allowed to partner with us who have deeply encouraged us in our ministry. We are praying specifically during the next month and half to reach 85% so we can return in January to the field of Spain. Otherwise, our departure date is pushed back at least 5 months to May 2015. Ultimately, his timing is perfect, and I trust in his plan, but he has called us to be diligent in his work of serving, sharing His Gospel, and laying up a foundation for the time to come (I Timothy 6:19).

Joyful

May 1^st is Thursday…crazy! In just 8 weeks, we’ll have hit the “1 year” mark back in the US, and just like time did in Spain, it feels like it just flew, flew, flew. Our adjustment back to the US was difficult in the beginning (like any other person adjusting to a new culture would say). The lack of sidewalks in our town made me sad and frustrated. Open patios and terrazas with kids playing and enjoying life are fewer here than on previous Spanish soil. But as time passes, you re-adjust to the culture, except this time, Spain had made a more permanent imprint on our hearts. It wasn’t just the culture that we missed – it was the people. I missed being a part of their lives. Our kids at ECA especially, I longed to be there day to day.

Ministering to and serving these kids and the Spaniards that we interacted with provided the most joy that is really hard to capture in words. While the joy we have now is strong and ever present, God developed it in our hearts bit by bit while we were. When you transition from one loved place to another, you will always miss the culture that you leave behind for various reasons. You begin to constantly compare and develop preferences of things of a culture you like and things that you dislike. And honestly you could spend all your time dwelling in that world of compare, likes, dislikes, and “just getting by”, but for us, God pressed us to see past just “surviving” and serving our 2 year term, but to invest in the relationships he desired us to make. And that is when the joy came. God has shown me that it is when I see his sovereignty in my life and in connection with his will, things he asks me to do is not dependent on my success but HIS! He desires for us to be faithful in what he calls us to do. It won’t be easy at all times. It will be uncomfortable, unconventional, and unnatural at times, but it is always the best thing for us.

I had someone tell me the other day that they could just see the joy and passion in our faces and demeanor for returning to Spain. I pray that God continues to fill my heart with even more joy for Spain, his people there, our co-workers sharing Christ with the nations, and their kids that we desire to encourage – not for the recognition of what we did in Spain but what He did through us.