The Calm After the Storm

Things have sure seemed stormy.  In life and in the weather!  For the past couple of months it doesn't seem to stop raining here in West Virginia!!  We're starting to wonder if God is preparing us for rainy season in Zambia.  We're definitely taking our rain boots with us when we go.  That's for sure.  We're growing a bit weary of the wet and muck, but showers of blessing are also pouring on our lives after the storms of discouragement we've been going through.

It seemed like when our mission board went under at the beginning of September everything else in life decided to fall apart too.  For a while we were confused about the present, and uncertain about the future.  Everything seemed to be going wrong and we were helpless to fix any of it.  I kept thinking that when things seem the most impossible is when God likes to prove Himself by doing something truly amazing.  And the more I thought that the more impossible things seemed to become.  God is proving Himself over and over, and our storms of discouragement have turned into showers of blessing.

As situations would come up we would call the kids together with us and pray for one specific thing at a time.  The kids prayed for the situation and Jamie and I prayed that God would make  Himself real to our kids through the circumstances.  One day we came together as a family to pray for God to rebuild the funds that we lost when EBM went under, and that God would continue to increase our support level.  While we were praying Jamie's phone rang, but we ignored it.  After we were finished praying Jamie checked his voicemail.  It was the pastor of one of the churches in our area.  The church had voted to give us their annual faith giving offering to help us rebuild the funds we had lost, and they had also voted to start our support in November for 5% of our total support instead of in January like originally planned.  What fun it was to call the kids back together and get to show them how in the very moment that they prayed for our needs God was providing.  Thank you so very much, Tri-City Baptist Church.  You are an answer to prayer in so many ways!

We have narrowed down our mission board search and will be deciding by the first week of December.  We're pretty sure we know where God wants us we're just waiting to speak to our team members, the Chambers, in Zambia to get input from them before we make a final decision.

The roof of our house started leaking this "rainy season".  We had it appraised to see how much it would cost to replace it.  Wow!!!  Expensive!!!  But the appraiser said that it was hail and wind damage and to submit it to our insurance company to see if they would cover it.  We got some estimates, submitted it to our insurance company and, praise God, they're going to cover it!!  What a blessing!

As of Saturday, November 19, our house is officially on the market to rent.  Please pray that God provides a renter for our house very soon.  We almost have it empty...  we just have to find the time to finish before someone comes to look at it.

As I type we are having the truck looked at to see what caused our radiator to blow.  Please pray that it's not too horribly expensive, and a relatively easy fix.  If it's what we think it is, it'll be a big fix with a big price tag.  But God is providing, and we're confident He'll provide for this too.

So, as the storms of discouragement end and the showers of blessings fall a bit more freely we have our rain coats and boots on and we're stomping in the puddles enjoying every last drop.  May you feel the showers of blessing as you celebrate this Thanksgiving season and share them with friends and family.  Thank you for rejoicing with us in ours, and your continued prayers and support.

A Plea for Prayer

We see over and over in scripture the power of prayer.  God even says that the effectual, fervent prayers of a righteous man accomplish much.  We're looking for as many righteous men (and women) as we can find.   It seems that ever since EBM closed we've been feeling a little bit like Job.

Everything in life seems to be going wrong right now.  We're still prayerfully researching mission boards, we found out we can't sell our house without taking a loss so we're going to have to rent it, the roof on the house started leaking like a sinking ship, Warrick started with croup early this year and the other two kids are sick,  Jamie is having trouble with his school schedule, and the list could go on and on.  Needless to say, we're exhausted.

Speaking of the mission board situation.  Our trip visiting mission boards was wonderful.  It answered a lot of questions and we feel we got a really good idea of who these boards are.  Now we just have to figure out which one God has for us.  It was quick, and exhausting (our 13 hour drive to New Hampshire turned into 16 thanks to traffic), but we had a wonderful time together without the kids.  The kids had a great time with family in Cincinnati.  Please continue to pray for our wisdom and discernment in this big decision.

Okay, back to the prayer topic.  We've been calling the family together to have consentrated prayer together.  Last week we sat down in our "living room" and had the kids pray for our support to continue to come in and for our start up costs for the field.  While we were praying Jamie's phone rang, but of course we ignored it.  When we were finished praying he checked his messages.  There is a church in the Parkersburg area who has a faith giving offering once a year.  This year their church decided to give it to our family to rebuild the start up costs we had saved for.  What a blessing!!  The church had also voted to start supporting us on a monthly basis in January, but they felt that giving such a large offering to a missionary they didn't support didn't make much sence.  So they voted to start supporting us in November for 5% of our support level!  Jamie and I have been praying that God would show to our kids, and remind us of, the power of prayer.  While we were praying He was answering!!  It was so exciting to be able to gather the kids just a few minutes after they prayed and tell them how God was answering while they were expressing their needs to Him.  What a faithful God we serve!!

We have amped up the prayer time we spend as a family, and we see and know that God is working.  We are asking for you to please do the same.  Would you be willing to spend just five minutes a day praying for our family.  We need rest, energy, renewal, wisdom, discernment, good health, and just for things to start working out.  We have absolutely no doubts that our God is faithful and powerful and soverign and good.  We trust Him completely to work out His will in our lives.  We just need for Him to show us the next step so we can continue to follow Him on this journey.  Please pray with us as we wait patiently on the Lord.

The Great Search Has Begun

Who knew there were so many mission boards??!!  Just when we think we have it narrowed down someone has a suggestion for a new one to check out.  Thank you so much for all your encouragement and support!

Our tentative plan for the next few months is for our sending church, Bethel Baptist Church in Parkersburg, West Virginia, will be receiving our support.  They've re-activated an account they opened for us last year when we took our survey trip to Zambia.  (Has it already been that long?!)  Please make out your check to Bethel Baptist and put Jamie and Mandy Missions in the note.  Our church has been so willing to help in whatever ways they are able to.  We've been so blessed by Bethel Baptist!

Last Wednesday, September 14, Jamie and I were able to talk with our team mates in Zambia. We had a wonderful time reconnecting and encouraging each other.  Another couple planning to join our team is in Zambia right now on a survey trip.  Please pray for Mac and Leeza McCuley as they discern God's plans for them.  Mac and Leeza had just started the application process with EBM when everything happened.  Now they have to start over with another board.  Pray that our team would have wisdom in which board(s) to go with and which direction God is taking our ministry. 

A huge praise from our conversation with the Chambers is that in Nambaaza a monogamous couple just received Christ.  They have ten children!! but so far have remained pure in their marriage.  Please pray that God would give them strength to follow His plan for marriage and they would grow in their faith and understanding of God and His word.  

Jamie and I are going on a trip!!!  Without the kids!!!  No, it's not a vacation, but a trip to visit the home offices of some of the mission boards we're looking into.  We'll be traveling to Nashua, New Hampshire on October 3 then on to Pennsylvania October 5-8.  We'll be able to interview with three different boards and have a better understanding of how they work and how our family would fit within their ministry paradigm. 

Please pray that we would have wisdom and discernment.  Please pray that God would be glorified through this trip.  Please pray for Mandy's parents as they have our kids for the week!  Please pray that questions would be answered and direction would be given.  We're excited to learn about these boards and how God is using them around the world.  

Back to the Begining

We want to thank everyone for your faithful prayers and encouragement even though we couldn't completely explain what you were praying for.  We are finally at liberty to share with you all that has been going on in our lives.  And as we share I'm sure you'll agree more prayers are desperately needed.

For those of you who receive or prayer letters you found out in this last letter that we were near 70% of our needed support and had prayerfully set our departure date for March 31, 2012.  Little did we know how our plans were about to change.  The book of Proverbs says that in a heart a man plans his course, but the Lord directs His steps.  I don't believe we've ever experienced, or depended on this more than this last week.

So, we sent out our prayer letter on Aug 16th excited about the future in Zambia that we could almost taste!  Two days later we received information that our mission board was in a huge financial crisis and that problems were on the way.  Like all non-profit organizations EBM has had fiancial stress in the receint economy, and we were aware of that, but not the extent of the situation.  This was no temporary crisis.  We prayed about the information we had been given and worked out a game plan with our sending church pastor based on that information.  That Friday we received an email from our board stating that some difficult decisions had been made, some information leaked, and asking that we would be patient until they could form a report to send to us before Sept 1.  We received that email this past Wednesday, August 24.  In the letter they explained that because of financial difficulties our board (Evangelical Baptist Missions) would be dissolving and officially closing their doors on Sept 2.  They have worked things out with four different mission agencies who would be willing to absorb us into their agency, or we could  have all our finances routed through our sending church if none of the willing agencies would work for us.  But we had to decide by Sept 2.  WOAH!!!!  Hold on a second!!!  This isn't part of the plan!!

Needless to say we felt kind of sucker punched, not by EBM, but by the circumstances.  All the wind of the week before knocked right out of us.  Aren't you thankful that God is NEVER taken by surprise?  We sure are.  And we praise Him for that.

We have much to pray over and consider in the coming months ahead.  We have decided, with the cooperation of our sending church, to have all our finances routed through our church (Bethel Baptist Church in Parkersburg, West Virginia) until we are able to find what mission board God would have us to be with.  We believe it is a decision that can't be made in a week, so we are going to take the next few months to pray over, visit, meet with, and research some different mission boards.  Please be in prayer with us as we seek God's direction in this huge decision.

As far as our funds already at EBM... that is up to the lawyers to decide as EBM needs to comply with all IRS regulations.  EBM will do it's absolute best to make sure we receive back as much of our finances as they are able to, but ultimately it is all in our Father's hands.  He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and I'm pretty sure there's more than one cow on each hill.  All the universe is His and in His control.

So, our adventure has another curve in the road!  It seems that God always waits for the impossible to prove Himself in hugely miraculous ways.  The shock of this situation has worn off for us, now the numbness has set in.  We have absolutely no idea what the future holds for us.  We are going to continue to follow the path God has laid out for us for now, because we believe He still has a plan for us in global missions.  And as we wait, research, seek His face, and humble ourselves before Him we are excited to see what big thing He is going to do through this situation.  When we are weak, He is strong.  He does the impossible through the impossible to prove Who He is.

If you have any questions please feel free to email or call us.  We will answer to the best of our ability, but much is still unknown to us.  We are waiting for a more detailed report from the board.  We can praise the Lord that based on very good information there were no sin issues or improprieties that caused this problem, just overwhelming circumstances and the will of God.  Please pray for all the other missionaries and home staff of EBM as they look for other boards and discern what God's next step is for them too.  The extent and timing of this situation was a shock to even the home office staff (many of which have been laid off), but so far God has poured out His grace and there has been mutual encouragement and support within the board.  Our God is truly magnificent!

A Lot Can Happen

We so appreciate all of your love, encouragement and support for our family as we have endeavored to faithfully follow God's leading in our life.  We have had a very busy summer and a lot has happened over that time.

A lot can happen in a long time and A LOT can happen in a very short time.  But regardless of how it sends our heads spinning we have a God who is in control with a perfect purpose and a perfect plan.  On Him we can rely, and we do!

We have recently received news that requires a TON of prayer, searching the scriptures, godly council and wisdom.  We ask you to please pray for us as we desire follow no less than God's absolute will in these monumental decisions that need to be made.  As we are able and have more understanding of the situation at hand we will update you all with the details, but at this time we are unable to do more than desperately ask for your prayers and patience.

We have an amazing God who call us to follow Him on this adventurous journey called life.  We are excited to follow Him wherever He leads us and to experience all He has for us along the way.  We've encountered a new phase of this journey and we can't wait to see what God has in store for us.

Thank you again for all the support you have shown our family.  We couldn't have gotten this far in the adventure with out all of you.  We love you and pray for you regularly.  We appreciate you more than

we can express.

Catching Up

So sorry for the delay.  Life has been more busy than usual.

Kid's first day of class at CIT

The first week of June we started our classes at the Center for Intercultural Training.  Both Jamie and I and the kids were in class for seven hours a day learning about ourselves, our mission field, and how to communicate and minister the gospel cross-culturally.  God really opened our eyes to see ourselves for who we are and Him for Who He is.  He taught us a lot about the diverse cultures He created and how we catch a broader glimpse of His character and personality through them.  We learned a lot of do's and dont's and now have a lot to think about and consider.  We still have much to learn!  We are praying for the opportunity to return to CIT in October to attend their Dynamic Teams classes.


We're thankful for the relationships we were able to build with other missionaries from around the world.  We learned so much from them and cherish the five weeks we had to become a part of each other's families and share what God is doing in our lives.  God changed us through our relationships with you.

Our future "home sweet home"

God provided the truck and trailer for us to live in once the house sells.  What a blessing.  The paper work has been a bear, but He's working it all out.

The day we finished with CIT Jamie headed up to West Virginia with the truck and trailer.  He had to pick up the teens from our church and take them to camp in Florida.  My sister came up to N.C. to pick me and the kids up and take us to her house in Jacksonville, Fla.  Then she drove the kids and me to the camp to meet Jamie and the teens and spend a few special days with us there at camp.

The living room of our villa at camp

Camp was crazy.  There were goof ups with the housing so instead of staying in a tiny camper we were able to stay in a villa for the same price.  Score!  The schedules were not synchronized so we were always missing the teens and late picking up the kids.  It was a mess.  But through it all one of the teens accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior.  The rest of the kids grew spiritually and made life changing decisions.  Please pray for all of them that they would continue to grow and live out the decisions they made at camp.

Lorelei's new big girl bike!

Now we are finally home again after six weeks of travels.  A lot has changed in the last six weeks.  We have a new perspective on missions and ministry.  We've grown greatly in our view of God.  We have a new vehicle and a new future "home".  Lorelei learned how to ride her bike without training wheels, swim on top of and under the water.  Jorja and Warrick learned how to go under water and like it.  God provided a second form of transportation.  We've gained life changing relationships.  The list could go on and on, but those are the biggies.

Please continue to pray that our house sells.  We've had many people interested in either land contracts or renting, but not many wanting to buy.  Pray that God would bring the prefect man in to fill Jamie's position at Bethel.  The church is now starting the procedures of a search.  Please pray that I will be able to keep this house clean and "showable" with three small children living inside.  Pray also that Jamie would be able to continue to get his school work done on time and keep his GPA up.

We so appreciate all the love, support, and prayers offered on our behalf.  We don't take any of it for granted.

African Food and Jars of Prayer

Things have been going so smoothly around here.  We were unable to schedule any churches to present our ministry in for the month of May, so it's been nice to have some time at home.  We've been working hard painting, and fixing, and getting everything ready to put our house on the market.  We're almost ready!  We listed it Tuesday, May12.  Please pray that it sells quickly.

nshima and ndiwo

It's been a while since we ate Zambian food, so the other night we had Zambian night.  I (successfully, one again) cooked nshima and ndiwo!!  It was really good!  Lorelei is a pro at eating nshima and likes it.  Warrick enjoyed playing with it, although he still refuses to eat it.  And Jorja has proclaimed that nshima is African food and she will only eat it in Africa.

Lorelei demonstrating her love for nshima

Warrick playing with nshima

For a while I've wanted to expand our prayer time at family devotions.  I saw this idea for journal prompts and thought it would be fun for prayer requests.  Each child got to write out four prayer requests on paper to put in the jar.  I wrote out the names of family and friends to add to it too.  Every night each child gets to choose two prayer requests from the jar to pray for.  It's been a lot of fun so far.  

our prayer jar

Please pray that our house sells before we head to CIT.  Also, please pray that God would provide a camper and truck for us to live in when we need it.  Jamie is finishing up a class for his master's degree right now, but he will have to stay diligent if he is going to finish before we leave for Zambia.  Pray that he is able to take the classes he needs when he's able to take them.  

Thanks so much for all your prayers and support.  We wouldn't be able to be obedient to what God has called us to if it weren't for your prayers and support.  You are a huge blessing to us.