Before the Board...

It's been a long time coming.

After two weeks at SIMCO, SIM USA's missionary candidate orientation program, we finally reached the final Monday. For long-term candidates, this day sat at the forefront of our minds from the moment we arrived on campus, at moments, dreading it; at other moments, eagerly anticipating its arrival.

Why?

The final Monday brings the time for the interview before the few, the powerful, the intimidating...

US Board.

That's right. Today was the day that the long-term candidates sat in turn before the board, and it is the board that gets to decide our future with the organization. They follow Scripture, as their "yes" is definitely a "yes", and their "no" sends us packing and reevaluating God's plans for our lives.

So we spent the whole day nervously anticipating our short but determinative half-hour before this dreaded body of pastors, professors, business owners, and other missionaries. We didn't know what to expect, but we knew that God had brought us here for a reason. So we waited.

When our time finally came, we walked into the room and saw a bunch of faces that we recognized.

You see, Tiffany and I went out to Black Mountain, NC, this past weekend to get away. We stayed in a nice bed and breakfast called the Red Rocker Inn, Tiffany showed me around Montreat, the place where she first trusted Christ, and we ate dinner at a nice little pizza place called My Father's Pizza. And it was as we walked onto the patio at this restaurant that we saw a few faces from SIM that we knew, and a few that we didn't. These few were board members, most of whom ended up doing our interview. And as awkward as it was meeting them by chance at a small pizza place 2 hours from Charlotte, it turned into a great blessing as it provided a sense of peace.

Seeing people you recognize can sometimes do that for ya.

So we were set at ease. And we talked. And talked. And talked. Not that that should surprise anybody...

And after we finished talking, we left the room and stood outside the door, waiting for what seemed like forever. Finally we were brought back in to the applause of the board, and we were informed that we have been accepted as missionaries with SIM.

So now we prepare. We prepare to go out and build relationships. We prepare to go out and build a support team. We prepare to go out and build people's awareness of missions.

We prepare to go out and bring the love of Christ to the nations.

And all because God has chosen to love us and use us for His purposes.

It's so exciting.