That The World May Believe...

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." John 17:20-21

Less than a month to go. My head is swimming with thoughts, details, excitement, concerns, wonder. Our family has spent the past several days organizing stuff: shoes, bug spray, hats, candy and piles of clothes that we'll be taking. (They're currently stacked on top of our pool table downstairs...hope it all fits in the suitcases! :-). We've also been spending time looking through the 3 photo albums of pictures that were brought back from my previous trip to Swaziland just over a year ago. Only this time we're pausing a little bit more over each page. Pausing...wondering if we'll see these very faces again this time. Pausing...praying that God would extend His hand of mercy to the Swazi people. Pausing...asking prayerfully that God would knit our hearts together with each and every one that we'll meet. Pausing...not wanting to be so busy in the details that we miss the real message (and lesson) that God wants us all to learn.

Our team has been challenged to spend these final few weeks in prayer and fasting...using the Scripture passage from John 17 as our focus. Jesus prayed this prayer with His disciples just prior to His arrest and subsequent crucifixion. This would be His final time with them before the cross and He wanted them to never forget these words. They are significant and powerful. So we're asking, that you would please join us as we spend this concentrated time in prayer:

• That God would receive all the glory for this work.
• That many Swazis would believe the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and receive eternal life.
• That God would protect us from the evil one. (also pray for protection for our hosts Kallie and Charmain of El Shaddai Orphanage, Vasco and Busisiwe of the Manzini church and Pastor Guambe of Mozambique).
• For the spiritual, emotional and physical health of everyone involved in this mission (many of us have been fighting various sicknesses).
• That God would sanctify us by the truth of His Word, so we would be holy as He is holy.
• That our team, and those we will be working with, will be brought to complete unity.
• That we would reflect the love and light of Christ to everyone we'll come in contact with (Mt.5:16).
• That all preparations will be made according to God's will.
• That God would help us keep His word, out of obedience and love for Him.
• That we would depend on God to enable us to accomplish the work He has prepared in advance for us to do.

We praise God for this privilege of joining Him in this journey and thank Him abundantly for each of you. May the grace and peace of our Lord be with you always. I'll blog again soon.

Getting prepared...

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

Wow...only 6 weeks to go until we leave (July 11th). Time is flying by! We continue seeing God's hand at work every step of the way as we press on toward Swaziland Africa. Attention to detail has become all important at this stage: signing up for frequent flyer miles, making copies of passports (2 of the group's passports have not yet returned...please pray!!), finishing up the immunizations, ordering the malaria pills, trusting God to provide the last bit of financial support and getting the shoes and clothes in order that we'll need to bring with us. In answer to prayer we have seen:

• Every one of the 25 members of our 'team' in attendance at the most recent team building session May 20th (even Bryan and Gerianne from Chicago were there....yeah God!). Please pray that we'll all be together for our final group session June 24th.
• Someone from the Visiting Nurse Association of Davison come to us and administer the typhoid shots for just the cost of the shot. (Lauren wasn't smiling quite so much afterwards...:-)

• Our Team Flight plan, rooming list and Daily Work Schedules laid out before us in detail.
• God identify Project Leaders and grouping them together with their subgroups for travel, music, crafts, fencing, crop harvesting and prayer.
• God draw us closer to Himself and eachother through the prayer and Bible study time.

In addition to our time spent together as a group preparing, God has been using certain books to prepare our family's hearts for this mission work. Here are some quotes that are hitting home the nearer we get:

• "I had found what I had been searching for, there was no doubt about it. But this was no game; this was not the happy feel-good contribution I had expected. Who was I to be the hope for these people? I felt completely inadequate. I had sought purpose, but this was so much more. People were dying and they looked to me as their only help. I began to question if I had taken on more than I was prepared for." (from Erik Mirandette's book "The Only Road North")
• "To engage in mission is to participate in the coming of the Kingdom of God."
• "One cannot follow Jesus simply by adding allegiance to Him on top of other commitments......as followers of Christ we have no life apart from the life of God." (both quotes taken from "The Short-term Missions Workbook")
• "People are worth dying for." (from Rob Bell's book "Sex God"...don't let the title fool you, it's profound!)

God says in His Book that we are to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39) Please keep us in your prayers as we continue letting God prepare us to do just that. God bless.

Memorial Day

"And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:19

Memorial Day. The 'unofficial kick off' of summer for those of us in Michigan (wahoo!). A festive weekend filled with picnics, Bar-B-Qs, marching bands and flag waving parades. A time of putting the boats in the water and opening up the summer cottage. A time of celebration. But it's more than that isn't it? It's also a time of solemn reflection. A time to pause and remember loved ones who have died. A time to pause and remember people and events from the past that have shaped our lives and our world. A time to pause and remember those who've sacrificed so very much in order that we might have the freedoms and blessings we enjoy today. Sure, I hope we all take some time this weekend to celebrate with friends and family, but I also hope we don't forget to pause, to thank God...and to remember. May God bless you all.

Side by side...

"Next to him, Baruch son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the angle to the entrance of the house of Eliashib the high priest."
Nehemiah 3:20

When the Jewish remnant that had survived the Babylonian exile returned to Jerusalem, they found the wall of their great city broken down and it's gates burned with fire (Neh. 1:3). Many wept over the devastation they had seen. But God was on the move...he stirred the heart of a man named Nehemiah to do something about it. When Nehemiah got the news, he went to Jerusalem, carefully examined the situation and determined, with God's enabling, to assemble a 'team' that would rebuild the wall. And I love this next verse...when the people heard of Nehemiah's plan they replied: "Let us start rebuilding!'. So they began this good work" (Neh. 1:18)

What's this got to do with us today? Well, just as in Nehemiah's day, God has stirred the hearts of 25 people (our little remnant) to come together to do something about the heartbreaking situation that's been happening in Swaziland. Young, old, skilled & unskilled...from many different backgrounds...we continue preparing 'side by side' for our July trip. We recently spent some time together in a 3 hr team building session...here's a picture of Kathleen and Jim trying to give clues/directions to another teammate:


Sure, we had lots of fun...but we learned a few things along the way. (hope you don't mind me passing 'em along!) We learned the importance of depending on eachother as we attempted to eat with our hands linked together (and not spill a drop...that was a challenge!). We learned that it was necessary to listen carefully, communicate clearly, and faithfully trust the directions of others in order to get a teammate 'to the other side'. We learned how important and powerful the encouragment of another is in accomplishing a task. We learned that when things get tough...it's crucial that we lean on and support one another. But probably one of the most important lessons learned was that when we work together 'side by side'...so much more can be accomplished than we ever could on our own. See, that's called 'synergy': where the combined interaction of a group is greater than the sum of it's individual parts. Pretty cool when you see it in action. But that's the way God intended it to be, right? The Body of Christ at work.

Our prayer continues to be that God would use our little 'remnant' to make a difference in the physical and eternal lives of the Swazi people. Again we thank you for your continued prayers and support as we stand 'next to eachother' in this amazing work. God bless you all.

Prayer requests & praises:

• God would continue to provide the resources for the trip (praise! our girls received some support from their home church in Grand Rapids...pray that this would lead to an 'open door' to share their experiences and what they saw God do!)
• That the remainder of the immunizations would go smoothly
• That God would guide us all in the clothes we are to take (and plan to leave)
• That future team-building sessions would be fruitful and all would be in attendance (May 20, June 24)
• That our group Bible study time would draw us closer to the Lord and eachother
• For God to work a miracle in us and through us...all to His glory and the good of others

P.S. The next NBC25 documentary on our group is scheduled for this coming Friday (May 11th on all morning and evening segments). Please watch...and pray that God uses it to stir even more hearts to action in this work!

El Roi

"You are the God who sees me" Genesis 16:13

In the Hebrew language there are many names for God. Each one based on some personal aspect of God's character that He chose to reveal and mankind's response to it. One such name is 'El Roi'; the God who sees me. A year ago when I was in Swaziland for the first time, I remember standing atop this mountain at El Shaddai (The All Sufficient God) Orphanage overlooking this view. Overwhelmed by the beauty surrounding me I remember whispering "God, you truly do see and care for these orphans in amazing ways". Little did I realize then just how true and personal those words would become.

Well, we continue preparing for the July trip. Just over a week ago we had our first 'team building' session. A great time! During the 2 hour meeting we had lunch together, and then shared a brief time of testimony of how we've seen God work in amazing ways; providing support, generating interest and opening doors of opportunity to share about this work. That was cooler than cool...& all praise goes to Jehovah Jireh (God our provider). We also each received a directory with the names and pictures of our fellow team members so we can continue getting to know eachother better (and call people by their right names! :-). But the focal point of the meeting was the taking of the Spiritual Gifts/Personality Profile Test. It's designed in such a way that we discover how God has uniquely created (wired) and gifted each of us and to motivate us to exercise those gifts. I'd never taken one of those before so I was curious as to what it would reveal. After completing the detailed questionnaire, it revealed the following as my top three Spiritual Gifts (the explanations are taken from the book):

1. Teaching (able to explain why things are true)
2. Pastor/Shepherding (able to lead & motivate others in serving the Lord)
3. Evangelism (one with a desire for missions & outreach to reach people for Christ)

As I saw this unfold, I was overwhelmed. These truly are my passions. Scripture says that God has given to each of us at least one gift (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4). Why?...so that the 'Body of Christ' might be built up and God's purpose and plan in this world accomplished. So here's our challenge (are you ready?) --> learn what your gifts are & begin exercising them. Because when we do...there's no stopping what God will do! Thanks for tuning in...and may 'the God who sees you' bless you in all you do. Please keep praying for:

• Upcoming Financial Deadlines would be met for each of us
• Passports to be processed quickly
• Upcoming team building meetings would be fruitful (Apr. 29, May 20, June 24)
• We would have wisdom as to what to pack/take with us on the trip
• God would continue to open doors of opportunity regarding this work
• God's grace & healing (Jehovah Rapha) on the Swazi people

Thanks so much. I love you all...& will blog again soon!

God's perfect faithfulness...

"O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." Isaiah 25:1

Praise God! He has heard our cry and fulfilled our heart's desire. We're all going to Africa!! God has worked in exceedingly wonderful ways to open doors, to bring 'house closings' (my real-estate business), and bring many alongside us financially so that the inital funds for purchasing the plane tickets for our entire family has been reached ($8,000!). This truly is a miracle! We cannot adequately begin to thank God...and each and every one of you that generously and sacrificially contributed...in order that this initial expense could become a reality. We consider each of you a vital part of this team and work. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, we are forever grateful.

This past Sunday our pastor, having just returned from a 2 week work trip in Swaziland, showed us a beautifully handmade wood carving that he received. It shows hands clasped in prayer reaching upward and at the base, people joined together supporting the hands. It so poignantly speaks of this work that we are so blessed to be a part of. Here's a picture:

It is a gift from the heart of the Swazi people to us. It is a gift of:

• Thanksgiving...for all of the work that we've been blessed to be a part of thus far...and the work yet to be accomplished. Lives and communities are being transformed (ours as well as theirs). To God be the glory.
• Love...showing that true love breaks through all barriers...and distance.
• Unity...reminding us that in this thing called life; we need eachother...we hold eachother up. And as we join together, work together, pray together we find that with God...'all things are possible'!
• Hope...in the midst of depair, there is a promise of hope. Surely there's more to be done, but our hope is that as we reach out in love and give our lives to this work, by God's grace the Swazi people...will have a future.

How good God is...to have opened the door for us to join Him in what He's doing. We are in awe. There is still much to be done and more money yet to raise, but we 'press on' in this walk of faith...giving God the glory for the great things He has done! Our sincere thanks to all of you who are joining us on this journey. You are amazing! I'll blog again soon...

What God has prepared...

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Corinthians 2:9

As we get closer to the deadline for raising the initial funds (Mar. 10th), I must say there's butterflies in my stomach. Over the past 8 weeks, we have prayed and asked God to provide in every way for this trip to become a reality for our family. In the course of those weeks, we have seen:

• God move us out of our comfort zone.
• God stretch our faith.
• God work in amazing ways in bringing others alongside us in this work (both in prayer and financially).
• God give us a glimpse into the work that He is preparing for us when we get there.
• God keep us on our knees in utter dependance upon Him.

We have seen God do much, but I sense that there is way, way more that we have 'not yet seen'. In the next couple of days we will know for sure if the initial funds have been met and we'll all be able to go. Please keep us in your prayers as we anticipate what God has in store. Thanks so much.