Wednesday, 29 April 2009

'...among the nations...among all peoples'

Well, it's been a while since we posted - sorry. Life has just gotten faster and faster these days. Anyways, just a quick note to update you all on the trip to Europe and Africa last month. As you know I was able to visit a couple we sent out (from CCFreiburg) to Luxembourg to start a bible study. They are doing well and it was great to see their fist child also - he's a cutie! I stayed there overnight and then headed down to the border between Germany and Switzerland to visit my godchild and her family.

Again, I stayed there overnight and then took another train to Freiburg to visit the church I used to pastor. It was a great time seeing all the people there, but more importantly, it was awesome to see what God is continuing to do in the fellowship through the current pastor. For me, it was confirmation that we heard God correctly and made the right choices. And it was funny/weird - I thought being in Freiburg would make me miss living there, but in actuality, it didn't - another sign that that is not our 'home' anymore. Of course, we miss the people and the ministry there, but we also know that God is finished with us there.

And that is why I also visited Cape Town, South Africa - to see what the needs are and to just seek the Lord about the possibility of serving Him in Africa. The pastor of Calvary Chapel Cape Town and his wife were gracious hosts and answered many questions, showed me the town a bit and explained their vision for their city. It was awesome to just get to know them and their 2 daughters, and to see what the Lord is doing in their fellowship and their city. In any case, I was hoping God would make it clear one way or another if our next missions journey would take us to South Africa, but alas, I didn't get a clear answer.

I did, however, get confirmation that we ARE to go back out on the foreign mission field - that was something we weren't 100% sure about either. We were ready to go back out, but we were also ready to stay in the USA and serve here - whatever the Lord wanted. But on this trip, the Lord spoke to me through Psalm 96, especially verses 2-3 -

'Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.'

It just burdened me once again to go and to proclaim the good news AMONG the nations and AMONG the peoples. I have to admit, we were beginning to get a little too 'comfortable' in SoCal, so this was just a timely reminder to what we as a Phamily are called to. So pray with us and for us, as we continue to seek the Lord about where, and of course when and what exactly!

PS - I will have to one day find time (right...) to share a little more about Cape Town - it's a wonderful city. I loved it there.

Tuesday, 28 April 2009

'...among the nations...among all peoples'

Well, it's been a while since we posted - sorry. Life has just gotten faster and faster these days. Anyways, just a quick note to update you all on the trip to Europe and Africa last month. As you know I was able to visit a couple we sent out (from CCFreiburg) to Luxembourg to start a bible study. They are doing well and it was great to see their fist child also - he's a cutie! I stayed there overnight and then headed down to the border between Germany and Switzerland to visit my godchild and her family.

Again, I stayed there overnight and then took another train to Freiburg to visit the church I used to pastor. It was a great time seeing all the people there, but more importantly, it was awesome to see what God is continuing to do in the fellowship through the current pastor. For me, it was confirmation that we heard God correctly and made the right choices. And it was funny/weird - I thought being in Freiburg would make me miss living there, but in actuality, it didn't - another sign that that is not our 'home' anymore. Of course, we miss the people and the ministry there, but we also know that God is finished with us there.

And that is why I also visited Cape Town, South Africa - to see what the needs are and to just seek the Lord about the possibility of serving Him in Africa. The pastor of Calvary Chapel Cape Town and his wife were gracious hosts and answered many questions, showed me the town a bit and explained their vision for their city. It was awesome to just get to know them and their 2 daughters, and to see what the Lord is doing in their fellowship and their city. In any case, I was hoping God would make it clear one way or another if our next missions journey would take us to South Africa, but alas, I didn't get a clear answer.

I did, however, get confirmation that we ARE to go back out on the foreign mission field - that was something we weren't 100% sure about either. We were ready to go back out, but we were also ready to stay in the USA and serve here - whatever the Lord wanted. But on this trip, the Lord spoke to me through Psalm 96, especially verses 2-3 -

'Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.'

It just burdened me once again to go and to proclaim the good news AMONG the nations and AMONG the peoples. I have to admit, we were beginning to get a little too 'comfortable' in SoCal, so this was just a timely reminder to what we as a Phamily are called to. So pray with us and for us, as we continue to seek the Lord about where, and of course when and what exactly!

PS - I will have to one day find time (right...) to share a little more about Cape Town - it's a wonderful city. I loved it there.