and I forgot to finsih the story....

Well... we stayed in The Sates.

Goodness, what a dork I am. I completely stopped our story without finishing it. So, very sorry.

We are, and have been since we fully launched on Easter Sunday, part of a church plant in Indianola. The church is called New Heights, and is part of a network of churches including Westwind in Waukee (where we went for 2+ years), and Cornerstone in Ames. It's amazing to be a part of the story God is writing in Indianola. We look forward to seeing what He is going to do in the lives of college students, parents, kids, couples, young adults, single moms, the community as a whole, and our own lives. It has been a great ride so far, and we can't wait to continue the ride with our amazing LORD!

I have really been missing blogging, so I am back in the game folks. More on life to come later :)

Part 6

Make sure you've read parts 1-5 :) Please always forgive my grammatical errors. Commas and such can stress me out, and I can't let that in the way of my heart. Thanks!

I ended my last post saying that one of our pastors at Westwind told us they were highly considering planting a church (out of LOVE) in Indianola. He told us that they would love to see Brian and I help plant it. We told him we thought it was awesome. We then shared that we were on a path to move overseas for a year, and that we would help while we were still in the U.S. 

We continued to pursue going overseas, but I became really overwhelmed at the fact we were only planning on staying a year. I started to feel really uneasy about that amount of time, and felt that it was too short. However, we didn't feel ready to commit to more than a year. I continued to pray that He would show us specifically where He wanted us to serve Him. I laid the time frame at His feet, and was ready to stay as long as we needed. 

About a month(ish) later we were told that there indeed was going to be a church plant coming to Indianola. This excited us, because we love our church in Waukee, and would love to see something similar come to Indianola. We fully supported the idea, and got excited to see what God would do in the future of our current community. But again, we still felt called to leave and go overseas, even though we still had no direction where exactly that was.

I love to sleep in. Seriously, it's an awful thing how much I love it. I'm ridiculous. I hate waking up early. Although I adore my husband to no end, and I miss him while he is at work, I don't like waking up when his alarm goes off or he leaves (I know, I know).  One day, towards the end of September, I woke up when Brian left. I opened my eyes and I heard "Psalm 28:9."  I thought - Lord, I want to sleep. When I heard "Psalm 28:9 " again, I knew that I had to get out of bed and look it up. I hesitantly grabbed my bible, rubbed my eyes, and took it over to the window to see what in the world Psalm 28:9 said.

I read it a few times, and felt very strange. What in the world are you telling me? Really? Is that what you want from us? But- why, why... I don't get it. I don't need to get it do I?

*Spaces added for dramatic affect*

Sorry... it just wouldn't work if you could see the verse the whole time :)

-Emphasis added by me

Psalm 28:9

New King James Version (NKJV) 

 Save Your people,
And bless Your inheritance;
Shepherd them also,
And bear them up forever.

I laid back down and the only thing I could hear when I prayed was "stay."

More later

♥ 

Part 5

Make sure to read parts 1-4 :)

My last post was about how my I began to long to minister to people in a different culture; I wanted to go serve the poor and the weary. I was ready to be the minority. I felt like Jesus was preparing my heart to serve in a place I would have never thought I would go.

I was still hearing "go," but I was starting to get really nervous. Am I going to be able to get the comfortable sleep I need (fibromyalgia for this girl)? Are we looking into the right organizations and countries? Is this what you mean by "go?" Why isn't Brian hearing anything? I learned to trust God in a way that I had never had to before. I knew that I had to let go, and let Him guide us 100%. So, I let go of my own thoughts and fears, and gave up what I was holding on to.

Here were some of my thoughts & questions that I seemed to have over, and over:

 How are we going to raise all of the money it takes to go, and still leave quickly? 

We really didn't want to have to raise 100% full support for both of us. We wanted pay for most of it ourselves, but the more we looked into it, the more we weren't sure that was possible. 

"Jesus, I trust that you can do great things, and that you are the ultimate provider, but we don't feel like 100% support raising is something you have for us."

I don't want to ask people I hardly know for money, or ask my friends who still have school debt to pay off.

How can we pick from 20+ opportunities  from the mission organization we began working with? 

I want to go hug all those pretty faces I keep seeing in pictures. 

Is a year too short?

Maybe, we should just do The World Race since we aren't sure what country we want to serve with. I would love to see the world, and meet all sorts of people groups. This could also help us decide if we wanted to serve in a longer term somewhere else. Oh, but that costs a lot....

What if we went to Europe and got jobs, and got involved in a church and did ministry with them? 

We would still be able to speak English, and we could travel, and family would be able to come visit. 

But, it's not as radical as Asia.... and I am ready for radical. 

I want to use my photography as a ministry, and create timeless images that I will cling to forever. 

Wow, a year isn't that much time. We will have just gotten to know people really well, and gotten used to the culture and then we will leave. Should we plan to stay longer? But, then what about starting a family? Maybe, we should plan on bringing a child home with us? 

"Lord, I want to go. I don't want to stay in America. I don't want to stay in Iowa. I don't want to stay in Indianola. I am ready for you to send me, for you to send us. I want to be your hands and feet, and I want to spread the message of the hope you bring!"

As these thoughts were going on, we were applying & talking with a missions organization. We had told them we wanted to go to Asia, and we were looking into the opportunities they had there. We started looking at dates for training camps, and when we could leave to "go." I started a draft of a support letter, and we had a list made of the people we could send it to. We also contacted some people in Europe that were working with the same organization we were, and kept that open as a possibility. I was nervous and excited to see the process start to lead somewhere. 

A few weeks after the church service I talked about earlier, we the pastor's house (Geoff), and he told us that Westwind was going to be planting a new church out of love-not a split. He told us they were highly considering Warren county; quite possibly Indianola, and they wanted us to be part of the core. He also said that they would love for me to be on staff to work with the kids and families. I smiled, laughed, and told him that it was awesome they were going to do that, but we're probably going to Asia. He replied with a smile and said something like "I want you here with us." 

Well my friends, this is where the story takes a turn....

Part 4

Welcome :) Hopefully this is welcome back, but if not, please read Parts 1-3 to avoid being really confused.

This post is longer, as it includes a video and an excerpt from a letter. Please don't let the length steer you away :)

I ended my last post with Brian and I jumping, hand in hand, full on into "going." We fell into the arms of the Lord, fully trusting He would lead us exactly where He wanted us go "go." It was both exciting as scary, but we knew that we were going to be on an adventure, and I am always up for an adventure :)

I spent my days this past summer googling. From different mission organizations, to orphanages, to English teaching opportunities. I was looking for opportunities that would get us overseas to love people, all while teaching them that Jesus wants to love them. We were specifically looking in Africa and Asia, but were also open to Europe. The more we looked, the more it seemed like Asia would be our best fit.

My heart yearned for the people there; the poor, the broken, the unloved. The familes, the moms, the kids, the young girls that have been wounded in ways I can only imagine. I wanted to love them, to hug them, to talk with them, to laugh, to live life & experience their culture, to teach them that above all they are loved & adored by Jesus. That Jesus came, so that they might have life, and have it to the fullest. I wanted to show them there is a God who is personal, and who gave up His life to know them.

I watched videos like this one below

"LORD, send me" I cried with tears running down my face. Oh, how I I longed for a different culture. 


After reading this letter, I was reminded of how it was going to be extremely hard, but we were okay with hard. If we could impact people, and show them what abundant life looks like, we were willing; willing to pay the cost. 


Until next time ♥ 

Part 3

Make sure to read Part 1&2 :)

This story is so dear to my heart, and so I feel like I need to blog "in the moment." It's been a busy week, but right now feels like a "moment," so here we go!

As I said in Part 2, I was hearing "go." I would hear it when I prayed, when I was driving, when I was wondering what our next step in life should be, laying in bed trying to fall asleep, when I worshiped, while at church, when I heard certain songs, when I was reading my bible, or when I was simply standing in line at the grocery store.

Since it felt like such a broad, yet specific, instruction Brian and I decided we needed to really act upon it. We shared this with our family and close friends, and we started to prepare our hearts to leave the country we called home. I was slowly learning to be confident that Jesus was going to lead us where He wanted to take us.

There was a Sunday in June that I was at church alone (I had something afterwards out of town, so Brian stayed home) and I sat alone, in the front. Geoff was speaking, and I swear his message was written for me. His message was from Genesis 17, where God changes Abram's name to Abraham, and later on God tells this 99 year old man that his 90 year old wife is going to have a son; talk about God doing something crazy! Abraham literally falls to his face and laughs at the thought of this being possible. But, God fulfilled his promise, and Sarah indeed had a son in her old age. I felt like I could relate to Abraham because I felt like God was asking me to do something I didn't understand, and felt like I had no idea how to take the news of "go." God used Geoff's words in a might way that day.

Here are some things I wrote down that Geoff said in his message that day: 

He will catch us- As kids, we jump into our daddies arms, and we have full confidence that they will catch us.
-God was not only asking us to go, He was asking us to jump. This is when the tears started to flow :)

We are called to trust Him and to obey.
I couldn't just sit back and hear "go," we needed to go

That God longs to be our dwelling place, to dwell in His presence.
It's such a beautiful, sweet and caring place to be, and I long for this to be true of me. I knew that going, would make me need to draw more from Him, and I got excited for that. 

"Let me be your future and THEN you will be complete" -Geoff - talking about Jesus, not himself :)
I needed to make His future, my future. I needed to put away my own plan, and take up His plan. 

       

I cried for most of the service, and felt God's presence in such a strong way that morning. I cried because it is such a beautiful picture to me thinking of God being my father. My sweet, loving, perfect, forgiving, precious, all-knowing, caring, personal and gracious father. I cried because I  knew that Jesus was going to do something big, and that I needed to jump. I needed to trust Him, give Him my future, and make my dwelling place His dwelling place. 

So, I jumped, and Brian jumped with me holding my hand, and we were completely embraced by our loving father Jesus.

I will put up Part 4 & 5 quickly :) As always, if you ever want more detail or have questions, do not hesitate to ask. I would love to chat more about our journey, or about Jesus. ♥

Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1, make sure to go back one post to catch-up :)

       Also, just to clarify, the story does have an end. This is a story about the journey we have been on, and how God has lead us to where we currently are. 

 We knew that God had closed the door on Jamaica. I was confused, relieved, sad and happy all at the same time.  I didn't see why "Jamaica" had kept coming up in my mind, but it's what He needed to use to get my mind thinking about doing something more.

I had started Radical in the early spring of 2011 and it is an amazing book! It's about giving your life away, and constantly challenges you to live differently- how fitting :) My heart grew for others, and yearned to see the broken fall at the feet of Jesus. My mind was flooded with images of children that are hurting. The more that I read the book, the word "go" became stronger, and I heard it very frequently. I was so confused. "Go where God?" No answer, just "go."

[Insert story from the past as some background information on my heart towards going]

When Brian and I were engaged, he would always say that one day he wanted to "do something more." I always thought, well that's great of you, but I am 100% happy living my perfect little American life. 

Going somewhere would be too hard.

We knew we were going to be paying off the rest of Brian's school loans in June 2011, and we figured well... why not? We are debt free, don't own a house, own both of our cars, and we haven't started a family yet. It felt like the perfect time to do something. We started thinking, talking, and most of all we started praying about leaving the U.S to go serve the Lord in another country. Since we had never considered (or felt lead) to go overseas long-term we decided that our goal would be to go for a year.

In May, I told my school that I would not be renewing my contract. (tear) It was incredibly hard to do, as my heart will always be in that place, and the students I had worked with. We had a feeling that we were going to be lead overseas, and I didn't want to leave in the middle of the year.

 I pleaded with Jesus to just give me something more than "go." But, there wasn't an answer. It was still just "go." I was so drawn to Him during this season. I knew that He was speaking, and I desperately wanted to follow, even if I had no idea where He was leading. 

So, we waited. We prayed. I googled (a new fancy term for I scoured the internet for places to serve). We prayed. We talked with friends. We prayed. I sat at His feet. I cried. We were excited. We were scared. We prayed. I cried again.

I listened, and heard "go."

Oh, the story is indeed not done. Come back soon :)

Part 1......

Hi all :)

This is the first post of a series about where we have been lead in the past year(ish). I really hope you will read through them all, as not everyone has heard all of the intricate details of how God has been at work. It's been a crazy ride, but it's been awesome! It also has an incredible ending, and stories with an incredible ending are worth reading :) 

It starts with a little voice inside my head, that I couldn't figure out if it was God, or just me being crazy. The voice was just saying "Jamaica"-nothing more & noting less that just "Jamaica." I had talked with a co-worker about an orphanage down there, and I realized that "Jamaica" and the orphanage were indeed tied together.  I shoved it off, didn't tell anyone, and said "no." I was in no way willing to leave my happy little American life.

 I did my second phase of Christ Life as a turbo, and towards the end of the second day  I could not get the voice out of my head. It was literally all I was hearing. "Jamaica. Jamaica. Jamaica." I told the girls I was with, and one said "Rach, this is totally God. You need to do something about this." I agreed.

I told Brian about what I was hearing and that I was going to e-mail the orphanage and tell them what I was hearing. They e-mailed back and said that it was awesome, and they were in need of new directors for the orphanage. I was taken back and it scared the heck out of me. I had some reservations about the place, but I knew that we had to pray about it. As Brian and I talked though it we realized that it was way too much for us to take on, and we told them that at that time in our lives, we couldn't commit to something like that.

We felt really good about our decision, and that it was the right one. I never heard "Jamaica" after that, but instead I heard "go."

Then, I started reading Radical by David Platt.

(A description of the book-from Amazon)


What is Jesus worth to you?

It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily...

But who do you know who lives like that? Do you?

In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus.




 Yeah.... talk about life changing. It was so God's timing to read this book and go through the hearing of a voice at the same time. 
Check back for the rest of the stories :)