God is good!

So we have bought one way tickets to Peru. We leave January 20th. It is a little scary, but every time things seem scary God provides. The following is a post written by my sister, Kristin Schrock and is yet another example of how the Lord is providing. Uncle Mike and Aunt Kristin have always been a huge part of our lives, pouring into our children and teaching and loving them. We are so blessed that Kristin is helping us move to Peru.
Her post is an encouraging word of what it means to walk by faith. God is not only calling you to do good works but He has already prepared the way. May we all listen to His calling, even when it means stepping out in faith.

 For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. -Ephesians 2:10

                                                                                                                        ~ Josh



There was never any doubt in my mind that God had called Josh and Jennifer to Peru and God keeps confirming that call in many ways. When they went to Peru in June for a visit I already had those dates off of work and was able to keep their kids for them. This time God laid on my heart that I should offer to fly to Peru with them. I began to think about the difficulties of taking three small kids with no travel experience and trying to do plane changes, and go through customs and immigration lines, not to mention handling all the luggage they need to take! So I offered to fly down with them, and they expressed interest in having me stay a little while to help them get settled into their apartment in Arequipa where they will be while Josh is in language school. I was thrilled to be useful and go with them but I wasn't quite sure how I was going to pull it off financially as well as arrange the time off of work. My wonderful husband encouraged me and told me not to worry about it...if God called me to do that then He will provide. Our faithful God came through of course! In two phone calls I had my days at work covered. God really surprised me on the financial end of it though. I previously worked one day a week at a dental office in Goshen. I left their employment in June. Even though I have not worked for them in 6 months they sent me a bonus check that covers my flight!! I was overwhelmed! God is so good, I didn't need to worry at all. This has taught me to have faith...no job is too big for God. If he calls you He will provide!

                                                                                    ~ Kristin Schrock (Josh's sister)










This picture was taken this past fall when Uncle Mike & Aunt Kristin took Lucy & Henry to a Notre Dame volleyball game.

Beets for sale

As I write this it is 32 degrees. The wind chill is 22 and we are supposed to receive up to 7 inches of snow today. But I am thankful.

In eight weeks we are moving to Peru. It is an exciting time but also difficult. We often talk to the kids and say things like, “this is the last time we will…” I would like to say this is the last time we will see snow, but I am sure that I would be wrong.

As we are preparing, we have been traveling to churches, talking with individuals and sharing with small groups, in order to raise financial and prayer support. But there are other things we must do to prepare. Like clean out the cupboards and freezer and eat up all the food that has been sitting there for years. Well maybe not years but a while. The problem is all that is left is pickled beets and ground sausage. You can only do so much with beets and sausage. Sausage and eggs for breakfast, sausage and noodles for lunch, sausage chili for dinner, with pickled beets on the side. It is getting old. But I suppose it is good preparation for Yurimaguas where it is mostly chicken and rice. I wonder if I can grow beets in the jungle?

Things are starting to get real.

This week I received one of those unwanted phone calls. You know. The strange number on your phone that you know is a solicitor and you ignore it. Well I answered. And after the brief pause Jerry comes on and asks if I want to buy a home security system. I politely said I was not interested. But that did not satisfy him. He responded, “That is what most people say but after a fire or theft they usually call us back.” Then I had the ultimate response, “well I am moving to South America and…” Click. He hung up on me. He probably thought I was giving him a line but I am not that clever. At first I laughed but then it hit me. I am moving to South America.

The jokes are fun. “It is so cold, that does it, I have had enough, I am moving to the jungle.” Or when I screw up something on a project, “Can’t see that from Peru.” But this time the joke seemed more real. Eight weeks. Freak out. In eight weeks I will be in a place where I don’t speak the language, don’t know the culture, and will look different than everyone else.

The truth is God has called us to this. Beyond a shadow of a doubt we know this is His will and direction for us. He has confirmed that again and again. So my freaking out should not be in walking in His will but instead in walking outside of His leading. It is sometimes uncomfortable to follow His direction but I say it is much more uncomfortable to not follow.

Jesus was the ultimate example of this. As He was headed into Jerusalem with the cross before Him he said: “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

Our current trials don’t come close to the cross, yet we should follow His example and walk on saying, “Father, glorify your name!”

If you are interested in free pickled beets or sausage let me know.

                                                                                                                                                         ~ Josh

God's Provision

God is many things and has revealed Himself to us in many ways throughout this journey.  His provision over the past year has served as confirmation for me that we are indeed walking in what He has called us to.  We have seen His provision for our family over and over again in so many ways and we’re trusting for His continued provision as we anticipate transitioning from the US to Peru.

I’d like to share a few of examples today to bring glory to Him.

Last January the Lord told Josh it was time to leave the factory.  In obedience, he quit his job in February without any specifics about what was next.  God’s financial provision came a year prior, when Josh received a promotion at work.  The promotion was an unexpected answer to prayer and we were unsure how to use the extra income when someone prophesied over Josh that this season of plenty was to prepare us for a dry season.  We began to save the additional income and 10 months after Josh quit his job, we’re still able to pay our bills.  Praise Him.

After spending 2 weeks in Florida getting to know our mission agency (MVI), we decided in early June that we were ready to visit the mission in Peru.  As a stay-at-home mother who had never left her children for more than a weekend, I knew the hardest part would be leaving them behind.  I wasn’t even sure who we would leave them with as our family members all work.  God knew my heart though and how stressful it would be for the kids and me if they were passed around day and night for 10 days.  We only had 2 weeks to plan our trip and make arrangements.  The first call I made was to my sister-in-law.  When I told her the dates that we were scheduled to be gone, she said that she happened to have that week off work and nothing planned.  She’d love to keep the kids!  While that may seem small to some, to me, it was huge.  My kids love their aunt (and uncle!) and are very comfortable in her home.  They would not as I feared have to be passed around to different friends during the day and different family each night.  God is good!

Josh and I knew very little about missions when we started this journey.  God has continued to open doors this year and we’ve continued to walk through them.  It wasn’t until June that God we said yes to God’s call for us to join His work in Yurimaguas.  In July, we went to North Carolina for a month of cross-cultural training.  It was there that we met many other missionaries going around the world with many different mission organizations.  Support raising became a topic of conversation and we learned that some had been fundraising for 18 months, others had spoken at 50+ churches, and most were over 50% funded at that point.  We were 0% funded at that point and shocked that fundraising may take us so long and we didn’t even know 50 churches to contact!  While there we mailed our first letter to share with family and friends how God had been moving in our lives.  With just that initial letter and God’s leading to faithful family and friends, we reached 50% of our needed monthly support and 50% of our one-time needs!  We’re now at about 70% of our monthly support and trusting that the Lord for the remainder.

Where we’ll end up in Peru is pretty remote and we knew when we visited that we wouldn’t be able to bring much with us.  During our visit, we priced what it would cost to set up a home.  Two weeks ago, we received word from another American couple living in Yurimaguas that they were returning to the US and offered to sell us all of their home furnishings – at a third of the cost I had calculated to furnish our home upon arrival!  Now nearly everything we’ll need is waiting for us when we arrive!

Looking forward, I am trusting the Lord to provide a good friend for myself and Lucy in Peru.  The two young women from the US that we initially thought would be in our town will not be there.  One of them just sold us our home furnishings.  I had thought God would provide me a friend in her but His plan was to provide furnishings through her.  His ways are better than mine and I’m excited to see how he provides friends and a community for us in Yurimaguas.  For Josh, we’re trusting he’ll provide quick language learning.  For Henry we’re trusting that the Lord will give him a sense of security throughout this transition as change is difficult for him.

                                                                                                                                          ~Jennifer

Priorities

As I sat in a bible study tonight something struck me as funny. The study was on the book of Numbers and I forget the reference or reason but the teacher said, “Despite what you think God has given you enough time.” I almost laughed out loud. Enough time? Easy for you to say, I thought. You are not moving to another hemisphere in 90 days. You are not taking your wife and three children, (a propósito,  we had a healthy baby girl, Maggie Marie) to the jungles of Peru. But then I stopped to think about the statement.

I like to make things happen. When there is work to be done I am the first to show up and the last to leave. So as we are preparing to go I feel like there is more work to be done then could ever get accomplished. As a result the last week or so I wake up and hit the ground running. So much to do, so little time. In my mind this was what needed to be done to get things accomplished, but am I doing the right things? What are my priorities when I live life this way? Is this the example we see from scripture?

Jesus had a mission to accomplish. More important than any mission in the history of the world. Yet He always had enough time. He always took the time to eat with a tax collector or talk with a women who had five husbands or sit down and teach children. He was never in a hurry to get things done because He realized that the most important person in the world is the one in front of you.

In my haste I have forgotten this. I have been too busy to talk to a friend and even to talk with my God. How wrong of me. How backwards are my priorities?  Where is my trust? I have been putting my trust in self instead of the God who promised to see this through. Why do I worry about the details? God has been in this from the beginning put everything in place and now I want to act like a bull in a china shop just so I can accomplish some stuff.  ¡Que terrible!

So what is important? Spending time in prayer is more important than any “to do” list. Holding my baby girl is more important than finding a lawyer. Hugging my wife is more important than reroofing a building. Talking with a friend who just gave his life to Christ is more important than fund raising. Tucking my kids in at night is more important than email.

God is once again teaching me a lesson through my inadequacies. But my prayer that I am not the only one. Today make it your focus to do what really matters. You have enough time.