Snow Day!

Today is a day that lends itself perfectly to catching up on the list of to do's! I have been meaning to sit down and write my blog, but have somehow just not done it. No excuses today, I am doing it!

School was cancelled last night around 10:30pm and I couldn't have been more pleased! I absolutely love snow days! A day off with no guilt! It's about noon and I am sitting around lounging in pj pants and my oldest Nebraska Huskers sweatshirt, it's wonderful to have a Saturday morning feel to a Monday morning and I am taking full advantage of it! Okay, so now for the updates of what's been going on with our team.

We recently just had a couple withdraw from our team, it has taken me a good week or so to really process it and get through the emotions that have come because of it. I know that God knew all along that Eryn and Grayson wouldn't be going to Italy with us, but getting my emotions out of the way to see God's will is sometimes hard and it takes time for me to switch plans.. cuz we thought we had this all figured out.. lol... God is funny about showing us who is really in charge. :) So, now we are not only adding a new single but are in the process of looking for a couple and hopefully some kids to our team. As of this point it has not derailed out time frame of 2012, and to be honest I don't think it will. We are still about 17 mths or so out from deployment. We have seen God work wonders in our fundraising efforts within the last 6 months and believe that God can do that and more with the rest of our team! Encouraging others to push on towards the goal of our mission, which is not a mission of deputation forever, but a mission of church planting, that's what is most burning on my heart! We are called to missions! Knowing and feeling that urgency to reach the field and conveying that passion to the team that joins our journey is beyond exciting to me! I have such a heart for equipping others to join us, I feel compelled to cast the net and to obey when I feel Holy Spirit prompting me to ask the hard questions and challenge people to come along side us... which to be honest this has even surprised me, I didn't really see myself as a "recruiter" of missionaries, but wow, I am slowly seeing that happen... Praying that God will equip and lead! I don't know if every net that is being cast with produce team members, but I know that I am being faithful where God is calling me to be faithful. The rest is up to God! How exciting it is to see Him work!



2011 has been of year of trust and prayer already, learning to really lay down my own plans and expectations is hard! I am a planner and as a teammate just asked me last night, "are you leaving room for God's will?" I have pondered and prayed about that... God's will does prevail, regardless of my own expectations or ideas... the question prompted me to Jonah, remember the fish that swallowed Jonah? When the men on the boat were about to throw Jonah in the sea, after he had confessed the storm was because of him, the men say to Jonah in Jonah 1:13b ...for you, LORD, have done as you pleased. How true that is, that God will do as He pleases, I just need to be faithful in the call he has placed upon us, and that call is missions... going where the Lord sees fit, knowing that as long as I am faithful, God will do as he pleases, but I need to go... the responsibility of getting there and raising up others to send us is ours to do.. God will lead.. he can't steer a ship that's not moving.. that's where we are now.. in the process of moving... I just hope that it doesn't take a fish swallowing me if I get off track! Having teammates and friends to ask the hard questions and process this journey with is priceless, I couldn't do this without their support and encouragement! I love being able to hash out my emotions with people who are going through this same journey, I need to hear their stories and heart, because I need to share mine.

That's what this blog is allowing me to do, to share the struggles, tears, joys and triumphs! Thank you for navigating this messy process with me! Thank you for your prayers and keep praying! We are in the pruning process right now, pray that God will bring to us the right people for our team, pray that we will submit to whatever plans He has ahead! Also pray for Eryn and Grayson who God is leading in another direction right now, finishing up schooling and training here in the US before they hit the field. We know that God will do great things through them! We are so grateful that we know them!

We are planning a trip to KC in a few weeks, to see one of our dear friends complete training at Avant! We can't wait to connect with Meghan and Josh Baldwin (team members)! We are also heading down to do more training ourselves in February... it's for the Team Leader Training, we have been reading some great books and look forward to meeting other Team Leads! It's kicking off to be a busy 2011 all around! Exciting things are happening!