Is this thing on?

I'm curious to know who, if anyone, is reading these blog posts... we're hoping that at least a few people are. Our plan is to use this blog for the most frequent updates about the journey we're on with God.

A lot of people have asked my parents (more on that later) if they are "okay with us leaving the country and taking their grandchildren so far away". The honest, truthful answer is no. What grandparent wakes up one morning and says, "I hope our kids move so far that we can't see our grandchildren on a regular basis." Only a crazy person. Or one with very bad grandchildren. The point of me saying that is this: while God has called us to go, serve Him in Costa Rica, where is he calling you to "go"? Is there somewhere that is too far? Is there a place He could ask you to go that would be beyond your limit? Is there a sacrifice He would ask us to make that's too much, in light of what Christ did for us on the cross? I wonder if people asked Mary & Joseph how they felt about having such an "extreme" son? I can only imagine the type of comments they heard. Jesus certainly didn't fit in. Or conform to what the religious leaders of his day thought was "biblical".

Even though it's unlikely that God is calling you to leave the country, we can "go" to the people God has placed in our life right where we are. How are you viewing your life? It truly is the "mission field" God has given you to serve in. I was very convicted by the following quote from Francis Chan's book, Forgotten God:

"...maybe you are called to where you live. But if you say you are called to be in the place you are, a few questions need to be considered. For example, how would you be missed if you left this place? What would change? Basically, what difference does your presence here make? ... What would your church (and the worldwide church) look like if everyone was as committed as you are? If everyone gave and served and prayed exactly like you, would the church be healthy and empowered? Or would it be weak and listless?"

Ouch. That hurt a little bit the first time I read it, and again just now. I certainly wouldn't want God's church to all look exactly like me. The point of this quote isn't to judge or condemn anyone, but rather to challenge us as individuals to live in a way that changes those around us. In order to do that, we must be willing to go - to our family, to the neighbor across the street, to the cashier at Publix, to the homeless man on the corner, and beyond. It's easier said than done, and more times than not it is uncomfortable to obey this command. Ask God where He wants you to go. Maybe it is to another country, or maybe it is across the street. The important part isn't the location, but rather our trusting Him to step out of the places we feel comfortable and show the love of Christ to the hurting, dying world around us.

Think about your own salvation. Most likely God used a person to reach out to you and show His love. What if that person didn't feel like obeying? What if he/she didn't want to go? I am thankful for the many people God placed in my path along the way, each leading me to a better understanding of His love for us.

Generosity

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38


Thank you for praying and giving - we are seeing how God is answering your prayers on a daily basis. We now have an update about our support, and it has been so good to see how God is working in that area. He never ceases to amaze us - and we are humbled by the people who have given so generously!

We are preparing our first family "newsletter", for lack of a better term, so that we can update everyone on where we are in the process. If you have been reading this blog, then you have a pretty good idea of what has been going on, however, let me know if you want to be added to our mailing list.

It's amazing to think about how your giving is going to help so many people in Alajuelita - allowing 6:8 Missionaries to share the gospel with them, help meet their physical needs, and show the love of Christ. Even though God doesn't need us to do His work, he allows us to join Him and witness just how powerful, loving and merciful He is. Oh, how He loves us!!

This weekend Jeremy and I will celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. It's fun to look back at how God has grown and stretched us as individuals, and now as a family, to get us to this point. When we look to the future, it's unclear how it will play out, but if you look at the past it is always so clear how God was at work. Even in the things that didn't make sense or feel good at the time - we can see how the hand of God was there, leading us. It is the same for every child of God. He is always at work around us!

Transitions: Not easy, but necessary

Olivia playing with her friend Elise at their house. When our air conditioning went out, they were so sweet to let us come spend the night in their home. We have awesome friends!

Tomorrow we will begin step one of our move to Costa Rica. By moving to Yulee. Yup, you read right - Yulee. But that's not the most surprising part. The place we're moving is actually closer to civilization than where we've been living the past 6 months. We have some wonderful, generous friends, who have kindly offered for us to stay with their sweet family until we leave the country. Which will hopefully be sometime in late July. Which means we possibly only have 12 weeks until we leave!! That seems crazy, especially since we have absolutely no idea how we will get there at this point.

You see, we have not received a report on the amount of support that has been received in our family's name. No worries, if you've sent in support, it is in our account. We just don't know the total amount as of today. However, we are anticipating receiving that update in the very near future. The sweet woman who keeps all the books for 6:8 Ministries has gone from managing the accounts for 2 families to managing the accounting for 7 families. Whew! Her work load tripled in a very short amount of time. But surprisingly, I do not feel worried (today) - instead we are trusting that God has it all in His more-than-capable hands. Would you please pray for Linda as she takes on this huge task of managing all the accounting for 6:8 Ministries, and the ever-growing staff? Would you also pray that we will continue to trust God and enjoy leaning on Him through this journey we are beginning? It's a new pace for us, and a new way to live...

Back to tomorrow - we will be moving about 90% of the belongings we still have into our storage unit, and our clothes & a few things will move with us to Yulee. In a couple of weeks we will also hold a garage sale to try and sell everything we have left in storage. This will be a huge undertaking, and thankfully God has provided another sweet friend to help with that. God cares about even the smallest details in our life, and He never ceases to amaze me with the lengths He will go to show us His love. Right now we have been blessed by so many amazing people that God has put in our life - here in the U.S., in Costa Rica, and around the world. God's people are amazing!

Specific prayer needs for this week:

• 
  
  Our move tomorrow & for our friends who are opening their home to the four (+1) of us.
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  For the support we need to move to be given in such a way that it makes our decisions clear for us. We need to decide by the end of the month if we are going to move to CR in July, and have the baby there, or if we'll stay in Jax until after she's born. We just want to obey God in this decision.
• 
  
  For our health - while this seems like such a generic request, it is a huge need. We have been dealing with physical fatigue and sickness with one or more of us for what seems like months. Pretty much since we decided to make this move.
• 
  
  For our families. Please pray for God to give our families peace and comfort about us leaving to serve Him. Pray that the Holy Spirit would give us the right words to say when friends & family ask us hard questions. We want to give Him the glory for everything we do.

Thanks for reading. H

Friends Unite!

We are creating an email list, so that we can send out updates on our family's progress regarding the move to CR, as well as urgent prayer needs, etc. Our greatest concern in doing this is that people who want to get these updates get them, and that people who would rather not get them don't. SO, with that being said, if you read this post and want to get email updates from our family, please comment on this post with your email address. Even if you think we already know what you would prefer, please comment. Also, we promise not to send you forwards, junk mail, etc. Just an occasional update from our family to yours. Thanks for reading & praying. J&H

P.S. - We're selling/giving away a LOT of stuff. There is an album on facebook with a lot of photos, but there is so much more that we haven't photographed yet. Let us know if you need something - we probably need to get rid of it before we move. :)