This Wild Journey

All because of Love

During the season of Easter we often stop to reflect, at least in some way, what it means. It comes every year. Ash Wednesday, Lent, Holy Week, Easter. Then we keep on trudging on. Or do we? Does anything change? Do we grow in some way each time it comes around? Do we catch a new glimpse of God’s glory and His truth? This year I don’t want to be the same. Our family might not have a Pinterest perfect Easter, with amazing crafts to display and a fabulous 5-course dinner to feast on, but if we walk into the Monday after Easter changed in some way by the love of our Savior then I consider that a victory.

Three things I’ve been thinking about that are changing me in this season. Maybe they will resonate with you too. Christ’s presence, His power, and His love.

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b

The infamous passage from Matthew 28 deemed the Great Commission ends with this amazing promise. Jesus didn’t just command that we go into all the world to make disciples, teaching & sharing with those around us about the great truth of the gospel. He promised to be with us. This comforts me so much right now because God is revealing a lot of opportunities that I may not have seen a few years ago. Opportunities that I may have run from or ignored. But now I see that He wants me to run to them. There is no way I can do that on my own. Whether in our own home or with a crowd of people I’ve never met, nothing I do or say can truly have an impact for Christ unless He is with me. And with all the hard things in life, I could not survive without knowing He will never leave me. He is the constant. He is ever present.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us…” Ephesians 3:20

His power. I am counting on His power. In the past few years it has hit me more and more how powerful God is. I tell my kids often, “God raised Jesus from the dead…that’s the most miraculous, amazing power you could ever imagine! And that power lives inside of us as believers!” Do I always live like that is true? No. Do I always walk in that hope? Not always. But oh, how I want to! There are many situations I am praying about right now that I just can’t see much hope in with my human eyes. But God’s power is real. It is Resurrection power. He can do anything. He is able. His will be done.

“Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” 1 Cor. 10:24

Last, but definitely not least, is His love. Love is what motivates everything God does. The greatest command He calls us to is to love Him–because He first loved us–and to love our neighbor. When he went to the cross, Jesus did not seek his own good. He did not command legions of angels to save him, but he could have. Instead he humbled himself completely. Because of love, He sacrificed everything. He loved, and loves, though we do not love in return. This Good Friday I am reminded again of the depravity of my own heart. I tend toward sin & selfishness. I am so prone to wander. Christ did not die on the cross to give me a happy, comfortable life, but to save me from the pit of hell, which I know might sound harsh but that’s the reality of where I’d be headed if I were to go my own way. And if He forgives me that completely, shouldn’t I seek to forgive others and put their good above my own? I fail daily, but I come back to His presence and power, because there’s not a chance I can love well on my own. He is love.

Lord, have mercy. Allow us to see your Resurrection power this Easter, your constant presence with us, and your amazing Love that saves and surrounds. Praise the Lord. He died for me, and for you. And He is Risen!

Posted: March 30, 2018
Under: hope, refining, the gospel
By: Emily

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Miracles at Tenwek

A few years ago, one of our sons used to sleep with a small backpack, full of some of his favorite treasures and things he deemed necessary, near his ladder to his bunk bed. When I asked him what the packed bag was for, he said it was “in case there was a fire and I need to get out quickly.” Fire is scary. Fire is powerful. Fire usually shows up quickly and unannounced. In those days, our son was obviously feeling anxious that there could be a fire in our house. We have witnessed one huge house fire, and seen the aftermath of another, just on the small street we live on here in the States.

Last week there was a fire at Tenwek. We heard about it within hours of it having started. We prayed. We saw a picture of the flames soaring high above a building. I got chills and felt sick about what was happening. We had walked in and out of that building many times last year. I sat in a social work office there with baby Melanie. Two of our sons attended a Sunday school class in the dining room area of the building. Multiple times Tom went there to buy a soda and a mandazi. We walked by patients from the wound ward in the bottom of the building, who were often laying on the grassy areas surrounding the building when the weather was nice. And the building is used heavily by kids doing Bible Quizzing during the spring months each year.

Amidst this scary time, though, we learned there were so many things God was doing, miracles He was working. First of all, NO life was lost! In this huge fire, with no true fire station or firefighting equipment nearby, there were no casualties. That is amazing in itself. God’s protection and provision was in the timing of the fire and every other detail. We’ve heard also (and are not surprised) that the community of missionary families & staff at Tenwek stepped up and everyone was helping. They went into “go” mode and everyone worked together beautifully. There were surgeries going on, babies being born and critically ill patients who were being cared for during the fire. God provided. And the fire did not spread! Our church there was only a few steps from the door of the burning building (as seen in the picture below), but it did not get burned at all. So many miracles.

I was sad this week to think of the mess that our friends are dealing with at Tenwek, and the big job it will be to recover and rebuild after this devastating fire. I am reminded, though, of God’s amazing faithfulness. We don’t understand his ways, but he is God. He is loving and good and kind and just. And so much more. I struggle to believe this sometimes, but it is true.

We don’t know why this fire happened in the grand scheme of his plan, just like we don’t know why any tragedy happens. But we know that who God is will never change. There are always his miracles to be found. And that gives me great hope. Praise be to Jesus who cares for us in such tangible ways. He doesn’t have to, but he does. All the time. Great is his faithfulness.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ~Romans 11:33

*To learn more about the fire, click here.

Posted: February 17, 2018
Under: hope, mission, Tenwek
By: Emily

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The waiting…and HMA

Patience has been a word I’ve wrestled with over the years. Some well-meaning friends have even told me outright that I should not pray for patience…because then I might have a situation happen where I’ll need a lot of it! Well I don’t know if that’s really true, but I do know there are many lessons to be learned involving times of waiting, and that I can always use a good dose of extra patience.

Many of you know that we homeschool. God led us to homeschooling similarly to how he led us to foreign missions. Despite us! We never set out to homeschool, neither of us were taught that way, nor are we teachers by trade. But God. He called us to it about 7 years ago, and he has amazingly seen us through it ever since. If I am honest, I would say that homeschooling is one of the primary ways God uses to refine me and humble me. Every day. Enough said.

Seriously, schooling our kids is hard. Really hard. And not primarily because of academics. I truly believe that God equips us for everything he calls us to. I am praying for that equipping every single day, because I cannot do it on my own. And I can get seriously discouraged when I go through day 457 of seeing my boys veer off the path they know is right and instead throw things, wrestle, play and make a serious mess in the 10 minutes that I might be downstairs changing a diaper or taking care of some other quick necessity. I get discouraged. I feel like they’re never going to get into college, never going to have the character we hope for, never going to take responsibility and live for the Lord. It can get really serious really fast (in that 10 minutes)! But there is hope.

This is when I have to take a step back and realize that God is still on his throne. HE is bigger than all of this. He is bigger than my daily circumstances or challenges with my kids. He knows them better than I do. And He who began a good work in them will carry it on to completion (Philippians 1:6).

So this all relates to our mission work too. There are many details that need to be taken care of for us to get back to Kenya. We know God is faithful, and we trust He is good. How He is going to work out all those details still remains to be seen in a lot of ways. It can get stressful and we don’t always have answers to the questions people may ask, but we know God is leading the way and He will provide for all our needs.

One question we get often is what exactly is HMA or furlough, and is that what we’re doing right now? The answer is HMA literally means Homeland Ministry Assignment, and yes! We according to our mission agency, we are considered to be on furlough, or HMA, right now. That just means we are in a time of ministry here in the States, and we are in sort of a holding place for our mission abroad (in Kenya), waiting to go back when God’s perfect timing comes to fruition. The more practical details are that we hope to go back to Tenwek at the end of the summer, if we are fully funded and things here are in order for us to go.

So our overall goals on this HMA are pretty simple: be faithful to the Lord’s calling in our family and in this community where we live, and raise support to be able to go back to Kenya. We are constantly seeking God’s will and hand of guidance, and we pray that we would not be swayed or deterred by anything not of Him. We would appreciate your prayers too, and we thank you so much for your care and support of our family. We are open to speaking to more churches or small groups who are interested in our ministry, so please contact us if that is something you can help us with!

I close with some words of hope. Hope is a beautiful word that I am trying to set my heart and mind on this year. The great reminder that it is nothing of our own doing that is of any real worth or significance.

In this world that seems to be teetering on the brink of disaster any given day (in the broad sense and in our own hearts and homes), Scripture tells us we have a strong and unshakeable Kingdom.“We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.” (Hebrews 6:18-19)

Christ is our hope. Praise the Lord!

Posted: January 24, 2018
Under: Family, mission, refining
By: Emily

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