I have known very few families, if any, going to the mission field with a bunch of teenagers. I'm sure it's been done before, I just don't know of any personally. So in a sense, Bill and I don't really know what preparing our teens to make the move overseas should look like. No books I know of, address this.
Teens are at a critical time in their life, as anyone with a teen will tell you. Knowing their identity, or finding it, is a big part of a teens' life. Shoot, it's a big part of an adults' life! And asking someone who is not sure of who they are to go to another country sounds like a recipe for disaster. Or so it seems lately.
You see, our decision to move to another country will profoundly affect our kids for the rest of their lives. It will cause some suffering. We're already seeing that, as some of our kids have experienced not having any friends for a season, or the friends they do have live thousands of miles away. It hurts them. Our obedience to the Lord is hurting our kids in some way. And that makes me sad.
So what's the solution? Not go? Be disobedient? To us the answer is of course "no", but continue on the journey that God has for us. But what about our kids? What do we do with their hurts and longings and heartaches? Take them to Jesus, and teach them to suffer well. As we adults know, life is full of hurt and pain. One of the best things we can do for our kids is teach them to suffer well. If they are believers, constantly remind them of who they are in Christ, pray for and over them, and endeavor to show unconditional love. Teach them they can know joy within their suffering, and that God knows and hears their hearts' cries. And don't be afraid to cry with them. Don't be embarrassed to cry real hard tears with them.
We are leaving everything we know behind, to follow and obey God, by making disciples in another country. And that hurts our kids. But God loves them so much more than I ever could, and I must trust that He knew exactly what He was calling our family to at this stage in our lives. The same thing He calls us to at any stage of life. Himself.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30
Our Family
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Summer Lessons Learned
We have just completed four months of traveling throughout the USA and Canada. This trip has been multi-purpose, although sharing about tribal missions and inviting people to partner with us as we prepare for Paraguay has been the focus. During this time, we have learned a few things that we'd like to share. They're here, in no particular order.
1. We are not special. I (Debby) had this idea, that when people knew we were raising support to go overseas to do missions work, they'd all jump at the chance to support us. How prideful! We are not more special than other Christians, just because we're going to Paraguay as missionaries. We feel we are being obedient, but we're not more special.
2. We are not in control. I know this one seems obvious, but we've learned it in a new and deeper way. We have shared about tribal missions many, many times this past year. But we can't make people give. Only God can do that. Only He can move in peoples' hearts to want to partner with us in this. And this naturally leads to the next point.
3. Freedom. Because we can't control peoples' responses, we are free to really share our passion for tribal missions. We don't have to worry about saying the exact right things, or making sure we're communicating as flawlessly as possible. The truth is, neither Bill nor I consider ourselves great communicators, and that's OK. Our support raising is not based on how well we communicate our passion, even though we strive to do it well. Our support coming in is based on God moving in the hearts of people to see the work that needs to be done, and prompting them to join us in the work. There is freedom in that.
The reality is, there are still over 2000 people groups who have never heard of Christ's finished work on the cross. People whom Jesus loves and died to save. Romans 10:14 "How then will they call on him whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"
Now let us ask you? What is your part reaching the unreached? How are you involved in seeing the unreached come to Christ? Are you a sender? Are you a goer? Are you both? Or are you being disobedient?
1. We are not special. I (Debby) had this idea, that when people knew we were raising support to go overseas to do missions work, they'd all jump at the chance to support us. How prideful! We are not more special than other Christians, just because we're going to Paraguay as missionaries. We feel we are being obedient, but we're not more special.
2. We are not in control. I know this one seems obvious, but we've learned it in a new and deeper way. We have shared about tribal missions many, many times this past year. But we can't make people give. Only God can do that. Only He can move in peoples' hearts to want to partner with us in this. And this naturally leads to the next point.
3. Freedom. Because we can't control peoples' responses, we are free to really share our passion for tribal missions. We don't have to worry about saying the exact right things, or making sure we're communicating as flawlessly as possible. The truth is, neither Bill nor I consider ourselves great communicators, and that's OK. Our support raising is not based on how well we communicate our passion, even though we strive to do it well. Our support coming in is based on God moving in the hearts of people to see the work that needs to be done, and prompting them to join us in the work. There is freedom in that.
The reality is, there are still over 2000 people groups who have never heard of Christ's finished work on the cross. People whom Jesus loves and died to save. Romans 10:14 "How then will they call on him whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"
Now let us ask you? What is your part reaching the unreached? How are you involved in seeing the unreached come to Christ? Are you a sender? Are you a goer? Are you both? Or are you being disobedient?
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Finally Free
This is probably my most personal post to date, and I realize that when you post something personal, you open yourself up to criticism. But even though this post is something that happened to me, it's not really about me. It is a personal illustration of sin, confession, forgiveness and beautiful reconciliation. My only desire in sharing this, is to point you, the reader, to the ONE who accomplishes true forgiveness and restoration in us, Jesus Christ.
Many, many years ago, before I was married and had a family, I committed a sin against someone. My sin was immediately exposed, and even though I apologized and asked for forgiveness, for some reason, I never "felt" forgiven and I carried the shame of what I did for decades. From my memory, I never saw that person again.
Recently, I had an opportunity to see this person. Knowing I would be seeing them, I knew that in order to be able to visit with them, I needed to do my best to make things right. I honestly didn't know if they remembered the incident or not, which made it all the more nerve-wracking for me. Would I just expose myself? Should I even bother? My conscience wouldn't let me leave it alone. I prayed really hard for courage, and an opportunity to privately address the issue.
So, at the second chance (I chickened out the first chance, but God gave me another opportunity) I asked them if we could go for a walk, as I wanted to talk to them about something. They agreed. It was already evening, and I was grateful for the cover of darkness.
As we started to walk, I shared some background info to give a context, and feeling out of breath, I explained what happened. I got more emotional as I explained, and was overwhelmed by my shame and the difficult task of apologizing. Soon, all I could do was cry.
Then they just took me in their arms and simply said, "This, you have been carrying all these years?" No condemnation. No anger. Only forgiveness, only acceptance, only love.
As we finished our little walk, I can hardly describe how I felt towards them. I wanted to cling to them physically, basking in the glow of forgiveness and reconciliation. I felt free. I wanted to be with them all the time. I wanted to be in constant communication. It was a feeling I have not felt often, if ever. I no longer felt shame, and knowing they would never bring it up or expose me to anyone else, I felt safe.
Reading that last paragraph, I almost sound stalker-ish. But as I shared all of this with my husband, he just said, "Wow, they were a picture of Christ to you."
I began to think of all the similarities between my experience, and what is/can/should be our experience when we come with our sin, to Christ.
At first, we're grateful for the cover of darkness as we come with our sin and shame before Him. Sometimes we share background information, but then breathlessly, we admit what we've done. Sometimes our shame overwhelms us and we fall into sobs. He takes us into His arms and simply says, "this, you have been carrying?" No condemnation. No anger. Only the assurance of His forgiveness, His acceptance, His love.
Oh how are hearts are/should be changed toward Him. We want to cling physically to Him, basking in the glow of forgiveness and reconciliation. We feel free. We want to be with Him all the time. We want to be in constant communication with Him. No longer feeling shame, and knowing He will never bring it back up or expose us to anyone, we finally feel safe.
Many, many years ago, before I was married and had a family, I committed a sin against someone. My sin was immediately exposed, and even though I apologized and asked for forgiveness, for some reason, I never "felt" forgiven and I carried the shame of what I did for decades. From my memory, I never saw that person again.
Recently, I had an opportunity to see this person. Knowing I would be seeing them, I knew that in order to be able to visit with them, I needed to do my best to make things right. I honestly didn't know if they remembered the incident or not, which made it all the more nerve-wracking for me. Would I just expose myself? Should I even bother? My conscience wouldn't let me leave it alone. I prayed really hard for courage, and an opportunity to privately address the issue.
So, at the second chance (I chickened out the first chance, but God gave me another opportunity) I asked them if we could go for a walk, as I wanted to talk to them about something. They agreed. It was already evening, and I was grateful for the cover of darkness.
As we started to walk, I shared some background info to give a context, and feeling out of breath, I explained what happened. I got more emotional as I explained, and was overwhelmed by my shame and the difficult task of apologizing. Soon, all I could do was cry.
Then they just took me in their arms and simply said, "This, you have been carrying all these years?" No condemnation. No anger. Only forgiveness, only acceptance, only love.
As we finished our little walk, I can hardly describe how I felt towards them. I wanted to cling to them physically, basking in the glow of forgiveness and reconciliation. I felt free. I wanted to be with them all the time. I wanted to be in constant communication. It was a feeling I have not felt often, if ever. I no longer felt shame, and knowing they would never bring it up or expose me to anyone else, I felt safe.
Reading that last paragraph, I almost sound stalker-ish. But as I shared all of this with my husband, he just said, "Wow, they were a picture of Christ to you."
I began to think of all the similarities between my experience, and what is/can/should be our experience when we come with our sin, to Christ.
At first, we're grateful for the cover of darkness as we come with our sin and shame before Him. Sometimes we share background information, but then breathlessly, we admit what we've done. Sometimes our shame overwhelms us and we fall into sobs. He takes us into His arms and simply says, "this, you have been carrying?" No condemnation. No anger. Only the assurance of His forgiveness, His acceptance, His love.
Oh how are hearts are/should be changed toward Him. We want to cling physically to Him, basking in the glow of forgiveness and reconciliation. We feel free. We want to be with Him all the time. We want to be in constant communication with Him. No longer feeling shame, and knowing He will never bring it back up or expose us to anyone, we finally feel safe.
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Join Us in Preparing our Horse
Proverbs 21:31 "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord."
A little over a week ago, I (Debby) returned from a 2 1/2 week trip to Paraguay. There were a few aspects to the trip, including meeting with NTM leadership and visiting with extended family. More than anything though, it gave us a better glimpse of what life and ministry will look like for our family, and frankly, we are even more excited and eager to get to Paraguay.
In about a week's time, our family is embarking on a three-month road trip, traversing both the USA and Canada. This trip too, has a few purposes. Our greatest desire would be that God would use us to inspire someone to join us in tribal missions. Luke 10:2 And He said to them, "the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
We plan on visiting many churches, family and friends. Our desire is to share God's heart for the nations, and our heart for Paraguay. We are so aware that we cannot go as missionaries alone. We need a team of people to pray, encourage, and support us financially.
But our team is not just limited to people in North America. In Paraguay, NTM leadership is also preparing a team for our family. Leadership is thinking, praying and making plans for a visit to a church that will host us, as well as a family within that church to host us and help introduce us to Paraguayan culture.
While preparations are being made on both sides of the equator, we would appreciate your prayers for us in the following aspects. Safety as we travel, boldness as we speak, and for God to move in people's hearts to want to join us in ministry.
As we make all these preparations, we know that victory belongs to the Lord. We are joining Him in His work. It's not about us, but about the One who is drawing worshippers to Himself from all tribes, tongues, and nations, Jesus Christ.
A little over a week ago, I (Debby) returned from a 2 1/2 week trip to Paraguay. There were a few aspects to the trip, including meeting with NTM leadership and visiting with extended family. More than anything though, it gave us a better glimpse of what life and ministry will look like for our family, and frankly, we are even more excited and eager to get to Paraguay.
In about a week's time, our family is embarking on a three-month road trip, traversing both the USA and Canada. This trip too, has a few purposes. Our greatest desire would be that God would use us to inspire someone to join us in tribal missions. Luke 10:2 And He said to them, "the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
We plan on visiting many churches, family and friends. Our desire is to share God's heart for the nations, and our heart for Paraguay. We are so aware that we cannot go as missionaries alone. We need a team of people to pray, encourage, and support us financially.
But our team is not just limited to people in North America. In Paraguay, NTM leadership is also preparing a team for our family. Leadership is thinking, praying and making plans for a visit to a church that will host us, as well as a family within that church to host us and help introduce us to Paraguayan culture.
While preparations are being made on both sides of the equator, we would appreciate your prayers for us in the following aspects. Safety as we travel, boldness as we speak, and for God to move in people's hearts to want to join us in ministry.
As we make all these preparations, we know that victory belongs to the Lord. We are joining Him in His work. It's not about us, but about the One who is drawing worshippers to Himself from all tribes, tongues, and nations, Jesus Christ.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
The Latest News about Bill's Eye
Exactly six months ago today, Bill had a surgery to reattach a detached retina. At the time, the doctor told us that his recovery would be long, seeing as Bill had waited 6 weeks before getting treatment. Well, the doctor was right. It IS taking a long time to recover. Not just healing time, but multiple procedures later, we are still in the waiting game, to see if his eyesight will return fully.
Yesterday Bill had yet another surgery, where the doctor used a blade to scrape off some scar tissue at the back of the eye, as well as put in an air bubble, to help the retina reattach to the eyeball. At his follow-up appointment today, the doctor said that everything is looking good, and healing could take up to 12 weeks. Bill is once again on a positioning regimen; however many hours he is up, he has to be down. He doesn't need to be completely face down like before, he can be on his right side this time around. He has four different drops for his eye, four times a day, including an antibiotic and a steroid.
After training with New Tribes Mission, we had ENVISIONED taking a trip to talk with people and in churches, sharing the VISION God has given us for tribal ministry. Needless to say, our Ministry and Partnership Development time has not gone at all how we thought or hoped. At times we have felt quite frustrated, at other times, we've been able to rest in God's perfect timing for us.
Our frustrations have come when we look at numbers, and don't SEE an increase in support. A lack of increase means we can't go to Paraguay according to our timetable. Resting in God's sovereignty comes when we SEE that He has continually provided for these surgeries (we don't have enough support yet to get health insurance), as well as providing for our daily needs. We have also SEEN a small but steady increase in prayer partners, for which we are very grateful.
Our desire to go to Paraguay to work among a tribal people group has not diminished. In fact, for Bill especially, losing his eyesight for a while has increased in him, a desire to have people's eyes opened to the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, even more. He also has come to see his temporary blindness as a weakness that he can boast in, knowing that God's strength has been made perfect in that weakness.
We are still praying for God to work in people's hearts to partner with us. We can't go to Paraguay alone, nor would we want to. Will you pray, and ask God how He might want you to partner with us?
"Felt weakness deepens our dependence on Christ for strength each day. The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually." J.I Packer
Yesterday Bill had yet another surgery, where the doctor used a blade to scrape off some scar tissue at the back of the eye, as well as put in an air bubble, to help the retina reattach to the eyeball. At his follow-up appointment today, the doctor said that everything is looking good, and healing could take up to 12 weeks. Bill is once again on a positioning regimen; however many hours he is up, he has to be down. He doesn't need to be completely face down like before, he can be on his right side this time around. He has four different drops for his eye, four times a day, including an antibiotic and a steroid.
After training with New Tribes Mission, we had ENVISIONED taking a trip to talk with people and in churches, sharing the VISION God has given us for tribal ministry. Needless to say, our Ministry and Partnership Development time has not gone at all how we thought or hoped. At times we have felt quite frustrated, at other times, we've been able to rest in God's perfect timing for us.
Our frustrations have come when we look at numbers, and don't SEE an increase in support. A lack of increase means we can't go to Paraguay according to our timetable. Resting in God's sovereignty comes when we SEE that He has continually provided for these surgeries (we don't have enough support yet to get health insurance), as well as providing for our daily needs. We have also SEEN a small but steady increase in prayer partners, for which we are very grateful.
Our desire to go to Paraguay to work among a tribal people group has not diminished. In fact, for Bill especially, losing his eyesight for a while has increased in him, a desire to have people's eyes opened to the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, even more. He also has come to see his temporary blindness as a weakness that he can boast in, knowing that God's strength has been made perfect in that weakness.
We are still praying for God to work in people's hearts to partner with us. We can't go to Paraguay alone, nor would we want to. Will you pray, and ask God how He might want you to partner with us?
"Felt weakness deepens our dependence on Christ for strength each day. The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually." J.I Packer
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
An Update (Part 2)
While Bill was recovering from eye surgery in Florida...
(Bill post-op)
(Bill recuperating from surgery. He spent MANY hours in this position.)
...the kids and I continued our life as usual. That included school, church and extra curricular activities.
After training for a few months, they all participated in the Academy's field day. Ethan had just sliced his toe open receiving 6 stitches, so his participation was very limited.
Eli throwing the discus. He got second place.
Liam in the triple jump.
Ethan doing the softball throw, the only event he was able to participate in.
Simon working on his high jump.
Bronia perfecting her javelin throw.
While some of the events were not our kids' favorites, they all did their best to participate, and we had a good day. Although they sure did miss having dad there to cheer them on.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Saying Goodbye
During our time in Canada, our kids have made some deep and lasting friendships with other TCKs (third-culture kids), as well as some church kids. Learning to say good-bye is a hard but necessary part of being an MK/TCK. Having friends over to our place, or being invited for one last dinner at a friends house are important parts of saying goodbye.
(Vern and Holly Dyck raised their 5 kids in South America, and are now sharing their knowledge, love and care, for MKs with other missionary parents.)
Ethan with his friend Jared, whose dad is a missionary pilot, and they go back to New Guinea this month.
Bronia with her friend Amberly, who is the sister to...
...Drew, who is a good friend of Simon's.
Liam snapping towels with friends Jaden and Byron, after doing the dishes...
...which came after an impromptu pizza party with some of our kids' friends.
Our kids also had quite a few classes with Holly Dyck, an MK Care & Ed. coordinator (Missionary Kid Care & Education), learning about transitions, and how to do it well.
(Check out her blog post about transitions for MKs here)
We are so grateful for the friendships our children made, and that they were given tools to be able to say good-bye, and leave a place well. God loves our kids more than we do, and even though life for MKs/TCKs is one of many moves, transitions, and difficulties, we as parents can rest in His sovereign plan for our kids' lives, knowing that our decisions for their lives is all part of who they will become as adults.
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