Random Rain

What keeps happening in my life as I prepare to leave the country to move to New Zealand and begin a new life there? Random rain. My emotions seem to be wrapped up in tears. One moment, I am so excited that God would ask us to start a church in New Zealand, that I cry with joy...the next moment, I feel overwhelmed with all we need to do and all the trust we need to know that God will provide the finances, that I cry...

Random rain has become a normal part of life for me and, I guess, my family. God is the creator of emotions. He knows what I am going through. I suppose He doesn't mind a few extra raindrops from time to time.

I am trying to learn to embrace these extra raindrops. It is all part of the journey I suppose. Who doesn't need a little extra rain in their lives?

People ask what it feels like to "become a missionary". I feel honored, sad, excited, overwhelmed and joyful all at once. I feel honored that God would ask us to move all the way around the world to share Him with others. I feel sad to know I won't be able drive to a Birthday party when I want to. I feel excited that I will be moving to an amazing city to meet new people.  I feel overwhelmed as we are now totally dependent on God to provide. Rain begins to fall as all of these emotions fill my life.

We need about $50,000 more to be able to fly over to New Zealand to begin to start meeting people and sharing the hope of Christ. I feel the rain coming when I stop to think about how big that amount is to us. Then, when someone walks up and invests $1000 or commits online to supporting us each month, the rain begins again as I see God's hand moving through other people.

I sit and think of all the people God has for us to meet in New Zealand. The rain wells up in me as I pray for these people that we have never met, those who are sitting in darkness and praying for light. Some moments I feel like I can't wait even a few more months to meet these people from all over the world. Then, again, drops of rain...

Auckland, New Zealand, where we will be moving, has many people from many countries living there. While Dennis and I visited back in March, we met a couple who work with Campus Crusade on the campus of the University of Auckland. They told us of praying for revival. They talked about praying that God would send people to help them. They explained how they meet with students from all over the world who come to Auckland for their education. They talk to them over coffee and tell them about Jesus. They show them that there is One who can bring light to their darkness. Then, they looked up into our eyes and said, "but we do not have a church to send them to". Remembering their faces as they said this to us brings more rain drops that just don't stop falling sometimes.

Please pray for me - and my family - as we continue on this journey of trust. It is so amazing to watch what God can do! It also brings rain. Random rain. I am beginning to enjoy the rain as God is clearing out my heart of things I hold onto. Selling possessions brings a fresh rain of freedom. Praying for those we will meet brings the rain of hope. Telling others what God can do brings rain of trust and expectation. Sharing with you brings a rain of comfort knowing that others are praying with us on this journey. Random rain...I encourage you to try it, although, you may have to step out in faith in some area of your life to be able to see it falling more frequently. Jesus did not say that following Him would be easy, but He said He would be with us...maybe even in the rain.




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Hope New Zealand

Waiting for a Miracle

Waiting for a miracle. That is what we are doing right now. God has been directing us to begin the process of moving to New Zealand to start a new church...to meet people who are looking for hope. 

It is funny, you would think that God would ask people to do things for him that they could actually do themselves, but that is not the way God works. Many stories of the Bible show us that God loves to use ordinary people to prove what He can do with nothing - to show the world that God is bigger than we could ever be. That He can do what we can not. 

Jesus used one boy's lunch to feed thousands of people. A lunch that filled their bellies, then filled up baskets with leftovers. How can there be leftovers from one lunch that fed thousands of hungry people? It was a miracle. 

Esther boldly went before the king to ask for her people to be rescued. How was she, a Jewess, able to approach the king? She was chosen. She was favored. It was a miracle.

David, a small teenager, killed a giant. He used a sling and small stone to kill a man twice his size who had a sword and shield. How was this possible? It was a miracle.

Lazarus was dead. He was buried in a tomb. His family was mourning. Jesus comes and calls to him. Lazarus walks out of the tomb...alive. It was a miracle.

Jesus died on a cross. He gave up his life. He was buried in a tomb. Three days later, he arose from the dead. He is alive. It is a miracle.

This is why we are waiting for a miracle. We serve the God of miracles. Many people wonder how we can possibly raise the funding to move to a country on the other side of the world. We can't but the God of miracles we serve can do the impossible.

  
A speaker at a conference I attended gave me a bracelet that is now on my key chain. It was made from a short portion of a soft measuring tape. She told me that it was to represent Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..." 

God is able to do more than we can imagine. He asks us to do things that we are unable to do ourselves. Not so that we will look foolish or fail. Not so people can watch us try to do things that will never be done. God wants to use us to show His power to others. He does the impossible to show us that He is God and we are not. If He always asked us to do something easy or something within our reach, who would be able to see the power of God in the midst of it?

God has asked us to do something that we are unable to do ourselves. So, we are stepping out in Faith to do the impossible. We would love for you to join us in this adventure of seeing God multiply "our lunch" to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. 

We are waiting for a miracle...
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Hope New Zealand

The Trade In

I heard a young man talking about our lives and that God asks us to be "all in" with Him. Then, as we grow in our lives and in our relationship with God, God will come back and ask for more...and more...of us. God asks us what we are holding in our hands...and if we are willing to trade it in for what He is holding in His hand.

When we give God our lives and trade in what we have, we receive much better things in return. You trade in your fear, He hands you calm. You trade in your anger, He hands you forgiveness. You trade in your plans for your life, He hands you peace...and possibly much more! I have something I am holding in my hand and God is asking me for a trade.

In the last few months, God has asked Dennis and I to make yet another change in our lives. God is asking me for my comfort. I have a comfortable life. I enjoy living in Michigan (at least during our short summer!) Our family is close enough to us that we can enjoy time with them. We have an amazing church full of beautiful people. I have friends to hang out and laugh with. I have fun driving my little Volkswagen Beetle convertible - especially during the 8 weeks of summer we have here in Michigan! I am holding onto these things...but God is asking me to let it go and trade it in for what He has planned.

Some of you may already know of this new plan that has unfolded in our lives and it requires us to move. Not move down the street or to a city we are familiar with. In the last few months, our lives have been flipped around and now Dennis and I are planning to become Missionary Church Planters in...New Zealand. Yes, the country - not the city in Michigan. I know. It is a crazy thing. It is definitely nothing that we would have thought of on our own. 

In January, we were approached by a friend to see if we would be interested in this idea. We both felt something that encouraged us to continue to pursue a future in New Zealand. We had meetings, we prayed, we talked to our family and trusted advisers. We could not get New Zealand out of our heads! Everything we thought about brought us back to the idea of New Zealand - God had many verses, blogs, books and sermons come into our path that showed us we were on the right track with this crazy idea. Then, at the beginning of April, we took a trip to New Zealand to meet people and see the country. It is a beautiful place - with amazing people. We felt as if we fit right in with the Pastors and leaders there (seems there are crazy people in New Zealand too!) We feel that this move is the right thing for us to do. It is hard to think of leaving our family, friends and church here. It is almost as if God is asking us if we trust Him with everything...do we trust Him that He can take care of not only us, but those we care about here?

God knows me so well. The weekend after we were first approached about the idea of moving to New Zealand, I went to church with my daughter who attends Indiana Wesleyan University. The pastor at her church stood up and began the service with the words, "are you willing to give up everything you have to follow Jesus?" He ended the service with communion. Communion is a tradition where we remember what Christ did for us on the cross. It is a moment in time to not only remember, but to take that time to give God back what we have been holding back for ourselves - to give him all of us because He gave us all of Him. That moment was very meaningful to me. Then, while we were visiting New Zealand, the first Sunday service we attended ended with communion. This is what God was asking me in that moment..."am I enough for you? will you give me what is in your hand?"

This is what I am holding in my hand - my comfortable life. Here. God is asking if I am willing to open my hand to Him - to hand it over to the one who created me and knows what is best for me. Will I trust Him with my life - yet again. Will I trust Him...there.

So, here we go...on a journey of a lifetime. An adventure that we never would have dreamed. Opening up my hand, trading in what I have in my hand, what I have planned for my life, for what God has planned for me...New Zealand!



If you feel lead to be a part of our adventure in New Zealand and help us reach those who are looking for God to trade in their hurts and fears, here is a link for donations - Hope New Zealand