Gratitude

"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: 'They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.' Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." - 2 Corinthians 9:8-11

 

Wow. We have so many reasons to give thanks. So many people for whom to give thanks. So many blessings...

 

In the eight weeks since we've been stateside we've been in nine different states (some of them multiple times), stayed in nine different homes, driven four different cars and ridden in many others, and had a million reasons to say "thank you."

 

So that's just what we want to do. We want to say "thank you" to all of you who have welcomed us back with open arms. Thank you to those who have opened your homes as we've traveled around from place to place. Thank you for offering us rides to and from events. Thank you to those of you who offered your vehicles for our use while we're here. Thank you for the meals you've served us and the tabs you've picked up. Thank you for inviting us to your churches, small groups, and family gatherings. And thank you for listening, asking questions, and caring.

 

And that's just been the last eight weeks! We can't even begin to thank those of you who have stood with us throughout this journey thus far. Some of you have supported us from the very beginning. Thank you. Thank you if you joined in at any point along the way. Thank you to those who faithfully prayed for us throughout the ups and downs of our first term in Zambia. Thank you for your letters, emails, packages, phone calls, and facebook messages. Thank you. Thank you for being open to the Spirit's guidance to give generously, joyfully and abundantly.

 

As we look at the rest of our home assignment and our return to Zambia next spring, we have and will have many more reasons to give thanks. And as much as we thank each of you for responding to God's leading in your lives, your generosity has resulted in thanksgiving to God. We praise and thank God for each of you. We thank Him for your friendship and for blessing you to be a blessing to others. We thank Him for listening to your prayers to Him on our behalf. Specifically, we thank Him for answering our prayers (and many of your prayers as well) that we would be able to conceive. God is so good!

We thank God for His provision, His comfort and His protection. We thank Him most of all for His grace. Without the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ, we would have no reason to serve, to give, to love - and no reason to give thanks. Thank you Lord that we do.

 

And thank you.

And We're Off!

It's finally here.

After more than six years of prayer, planning, and preparation, the time for us to go to Zambia has arrived.  We have seen God do amazing things, as the support has been pouring in, and we know that God will continue to do amazing things in and through us.

Thank you to everybody who has partnered with us in this ministry.  We would not be boarding a plane this afternoon if not for you, stepping out in faith.

Thank you to all who have been praying for us, for it is your faithful prayers that have moved mountains, opened doors, and sent us off.

We will miss you all, but we find great comfort in knowing that you are still here, missing us and praying for us, too.  And with today's technology, we may be half a world away, but we are only one email, one facebook comment, or one Skype conversation away.  Please do not hesitate to send us messages.  We will make every effort to respond to them (though it may take some time).

As we go, please pray for safe and seamless travel, both for us and our luggage, that we may arrive in Lusaka on Thursday, December 9.  Please also pray for our first month as we go through orientation before moving to Solwezi to begin language training.

And please pray for our family, that they may find strength and encouragement in the Lord as we go.

Words escape me as I write this morning, so I apologize if this is jumbled.  I just wanted to make sure to post this before we left, and to say "Twasante mwane" ("Thank you") to all of you.  We could not have done this without you.