Brook and Sara at O'hare
First off, I will say that we utterly underestimated what was about to take place after returning from Colorado in mid-July. We enjoyed our time in Colorado getting to know OMF and working through all the details of our partnership with them and our denomination. At the end of our time with them we were merely 6 1/2 weeks from moving to Thailand…
Those 6 1/2 weeks were a blur at best. We continued to pile on the support development by traveling to and from Illinois twice a week to share our hearts with churches out there. We’ve dealt with our car being broken into, having to sell most of our belongings, last minute budget changes, more medical testing, saying ridiculously hard goodbyes to family and loved ones, little sleep and long days. These have easily been the most stressful times that we’ve ever experienced…
We understood that there was value in the the process…that through all of this we would grow stronger, leap higher, etc, etc, etc… But it didn’t make it any easier. As much as we were excited about Thailand, goodbyes were still hard to say. As much as we feel called to Thailand, I still lost sleep over budget questions and all the details involved in finalizing that process. But what happened was that God moved in miraculous ways during those stressful weeks.
In just 5 weeks we went from 65 % funded to right at 100 % of our budget being funded — to God be the glory. In five months He was able to lower my cholesterol level some 70+ points (despite my best efforts during support development traveling to negate God’s work in this area… I stopped running, ate red meat A LOT, and every pastor’s wife seemed to have a pie or cake they were famous for that we needed to try about 10:30 at night) — to God be the glory. Since April we have seen more than 500 individuals and churches show interest in our ministry in Thailand — to God be the glory. In just one week we were able to get a letter from OMF Thailand via Postal Service, apply and receive back our passports with the illusive non-immigrant type-O multi-entry visa (didn’t understand a word of that one? Trust me… that’s a big deal and a huge blessing) — to God be the glory. God brought about great conversations with unsaved family and friends about our ministry and how it’s important to us and our purpose in life. God blessed with a great afternoon with church family following our commissioning service… knowing you’re loved by so many is such an encouragement.
So, with all that said, we really didn’t accomplish to much of this. It was truly God’s hand moving the mountains before us and paving the way for His work among the Thai people. We feel so blessed to be a part of this. Oh, and we are now living in Thailand. More to soon follow.
So what’s God been doing in your life lately?
Hey! Glad you’re there! Hopefully you will soon recover from the blur and the jetlag. I’ve really appreciated your attitudes these recent weeks of stress. God is faithful and will continue to provide. Now study!! Best wishes always!
Don D.