Recently, we joined some of our teammates and hiked to a waterfall that is near our home. None of us had been there before so we were all exploring and finding our way for the first time. We didn’t know where the end of the trail and the reward of the waterfall would be. As we ascended a pretty steep hill, I watched as one person would lead for awhile and then take a break to the side. Then the next person would step forward and lead the way so the other could catch their breath.

As I watched this unspoken interaction, I was reminded that we’re all in this together. Not just in hiking, but also in everyday life. Each of us has struggled at different times and needs to take time to catch our breath. We become frustrated with culture or language. We get homesick.  Someone catches a stomach bug and needs some extra help. We meet together every week to share our highs and lows. We celebrate each other’s victories and pray over our struggles.

When one of us is down, someone else steps forward to help guide the way. We need each other as we navigate this life God has called us to. We’re here to encourage each other by listening, relating, and sharing what we have with the other who has a need. I believe this is a beautiful picture of the way God intended the church to look.

All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. —Acts 2:44-46

I am especially thankful for this as we come into our first holiday season away from our loved ones. While our families back in America can never be replaced, I’m thankful we can share this time with our MAF family here. Highs and lows, victories and struggles; we’re all in this together.

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I’ve heard these words many times. God has asked my family to do many hard things and through each situation someone says that phrase. Joining MAF and preparing for our first term overseas has been no exception to this scenario.

The truth is, years ago I would have been the one saying that. I thought “Never could I ever…”

• Be a foster parent
• Adopt a special needs child
• Bury my child
• Sell all my possessions
• Parent three teenagers

I didn’t think I could make it through any of those things. When I found myself facing those situations, I didn’t walk into any of them full of confidence and pride knowing that everything would work out just as I envisioned. Rather, with each one—whether I was feeling scared, inadequate, or overcome with grief—I claimed the promise found in Hebrews 13:20-21:

“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,  equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

God is so gracious. He will never call you or me to something and then just leave us there. He stays right by our side, comforting, teaching, and equipping us one day at a time. I’ve found that it’s important for me to stay in His word and surround myself with people and resources to stay healthy and growing. I need to do my part and He is ALWAYS faithful to do His.

Now my family is getting ready to add two more things to that list:

• Leave all our friends and family
• Move overseas in full-time missions

Is it a little scary? Yes!

Is it exciting? Yes!

Is God preparing us and guiding us to this? Absolutely!

There are many things in life that I’ve been tempted to say “never could I ever” to. I’m so thankful that I haven’t let fear rule, which would have kept me from the tremendous blessings God had (and still has) in store.

I challenge you, and myself, to never say never again. Instead, let’s say, “Your will, Lord, and in Your power.”

I can’t wait to see what He has planned next!

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These past several months have been a whirlwind of support raising and sharing our mission with as many people as possible. Jack is completing some additional aircraft maintenance training in order to receive the proper certificates he needs to obtain an Indonesian visa. Now, we head to headquarters in Nampa, Idaho, to finish up and be commissioned for work overseas.

As the time to depart draws near, a whole roller coaster of emotions flood each of us. We are excited to begin this adventure that God has clearly called us to, but also feeling the deep sorrow of the goodbyes that are coming. We are honored that God would choose us, but also scared at the thought of learning a whole new language and culture.

We see this tug-of-war of emotions for our three teenagers as well. As if teens don’t have enough emotion already! Our sixteen-year-old recently got her driver’s license and is enjoying the freedom that comes with that. She has been driving her brother around, going to basketball games and grabbing ice cream with friends. The kids find themselves having so much fun but at the end of the day sad because they know very soon life will be different. At the same time, they are very excited to be done homeschooling and get into their international schools in Indonesia. They see pictures and videos of all the activities that they will get to be a part of, like trips out to the jungle villages, and their excitement builds.

When someone asks how I feel about moving to the other end of the planet, I simply answer, “I feel every emotion.” I feel joy, sorrow, deep excitement, longing, hesitation… but most of all peace. I’m so thankful to serve a God who walked this earth and who understands emotion. I turn to Him and without fail He confirms over and over His plan for our family. He brings peace and calm to the tug-of-war. We have spent almost 19 years building a foundation of faith in our marriage and we are grateful to know that God truly does have “plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

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We came to headquarters in Nampa, ID, just over five weeks ago not really knowing what to expect but knowing clearly that we had been led by God to join this ministry. Now that we’ve officially been accepted as MAF missionaries—“prefielders”—we’ll soon be hitting the road to begin putting together our ministry partnership team. In the meantime, we returned home with a hope and excitement beyond what we could have imagined.

During our time at headquarters, and through all the training we received, there were a few resounding themes that stood out to me.

1. MAF is heart focused—Every program director, teacher, coach and staff member we came in contact with had a fire and yearning to reach people for Jesus that was infectious. Each conversation we had was seasoned with a measure of the Holy Spirit that brought a new excitement and left us feeling so blessed to be a part of this ministry.
2. MAF is a family—There is a genuine sense of care and love for each other. This care came in the form intentional training, meaningful conversations, and a space to learn about us and our story. The care also came in the form of challenge. We were challenged to be mindful of our own spiritual lives and battles and that was followed up with many resources to help us, including MAF’s Member Care team. Even our kids were deeply cared for and taken on adventures which helped excite them for what lies ahead for us.
3. MAF is forward thinking—We heard about new and exciting things going on in the ministry, and new ways of reaching others with the love of Jesus. We were blown away to learn of all the different kinds of work MAF is doing around the world. It doesn’t all look the same. Each regional team is tailoring its unique skills with aviation and technology to be most effective for the Lord right where they are, even if it’s outside the box.

So that’s been our experience with MAF so far. We are so thankful for this time and could not be more excited to be a part of the MAF family!

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