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