A Look Ahead - Changes

If you read my last post, you’ll see that my time in Ethiopia was amazing and it gave us a lot to think and pray about now that I’m back.  Many of you have been asking what all this means for us and our ministry here in Zambia.  And what’s this talk about going to Thailand?  Well, keep reading…

First of all, as of right now we are NOT MOVING.  I wanted to say that up front because, well, you will probably see news about me (Luke) doing a lot of traveling in the months to come.  So don’t freak.  We’re not leaving.

That said, the months ahead are going to involve a great deal of changes as we look at incorporating Sports Friends into the ministry efforts of SIM Zambia.  I will be more or less coordinating all this on the Zambia side, working closely with the international trainers and developers as we start to share the vision with Zambian church leaders.  These initial stages involve Skype conference calls (woohoo for technology!), some travel within Zambia to meet with SIM Zambia leadership, and even a few more international trips, including one to Thailand in January.

 

What about Tiffany?  And what about Lusa?  While these new responsibilities will keep me quite busy and away from Lusa, I am still available to them as needed.  Tiffany, however, will continue working there, building relationships with the handful of volunteers, working directly with Regina (the Lusa administrator), and teaching budgeting and nutrition lessons.  Through time her role there may diminish, but not yet.

Hopefully this answered some of your questions.

So, how can you help out?  I’m glad you asked!

•  Please be praying for us during the days ahead, as I have a great deal of preliminary work to get done.  Pray for stamina and focus.
• Please pray for our upcoming trip to Thailand, that we may get to and from safely and that our time there may be fruitful and enlightening
• Please pray for the people of Zambia, that their hearts might be open and receptive to the Gospel
• Please pray that the funds come into our ministry account to cover the costs of the trip to Thailand and another potential training trip to Ethiopia in April (more on that one later)

 Thank you all!  You are more of a blessing to us than you will ever know!

Where has the time gone?

God is indeed good.  And He provides for His own.  Sometimes it's hard to believe all this.

But lately, it's been really easy.

With all that has gone on in our lives in the past two months (basically since our trip to Zambia), we cannot possibly deny the goodness of God, nor could we deny His provision.  Doors have flown open for us in Peoria, and now we are just days away from traveling half way across the country to a new (old) hometown.  But more than that, God has provided discounts on our rent here in Dallas, a new computer for Luke (woohoo!) and provision in more ways than we can imagine.  We have seen His love expressed in very real, very tangible ways, through people we have come to know during our time in Dallas.  Some of these people we have come to know quite well, and others we only barely know, but so many have stepped up and shared with us a love that can only come from the Lord.

I realize that this isn't necessarily the most interesting post, but it's been over a month since our last post, and so much has happened.  Too much to even mention.  And all of it has come from the Lord, who blesses those who pursue Him.  Now, I'm not saying that everything has been nice and easy.  It's been stressful, and it is incredibly hard to be leaving all those here in Dallas who we have come to love.  But we know that God is guiding us in these next steps, and everything we do are growing us and preparing us for what He has planned.

It's just....weird.  I feel like we just got back from Zambia, and that Tiffany just lost her job, and that we were just beginning to talk about moving to St. Louis in June.  And now here we are in May, preparing to Move to Peoria in just a few days.  So much has gone on.  So much has changed.  I don't even know what's going on anymore, and all I can do is trust in Him.  Trust that His plans are good and perfect.  Trust that He will always be there.  Trust that He will continue to guide us.  Trust that, even when the times are hard, He is blessing us.

After all, God is good.  Really, really good.

Updates and Such

Tiff and I have written an update letter that we're sending out in the next few days to over 100 "lucky" recipients. These letters basically sum up all that has happened during the last 7 months of our lives. They're nothing special, but people have been asking and so we're letting them know. We're also working on our support letters which will go out in late August or early September regarding our trip to Zambia. All that just to say that I am in the process of adding Tiffany to this blog so that she can write on here, too. I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep up with her, as I get this feeling that she's going to end up posting more than me. But, allowing her to write might inspire me to write more, and when I do write to actually make it meaningful (though the more random, stupid ones are sometimes more fun).

Let's get ready for some changes around here...