Road Signs

Travels

On the way to a meeting not too long ago Denielle and I were talking and praying about the things we found ourselves involved in, the future of them, and our desire to be in the center of God’s design for our lives. Our prefield ministry has been nothing but incredible (see the previous column). Still, we get to looking around ourselves and thinking about the needs of places and people we already know; and we start to wonder what God might have for us. So we prayed, asking that God would be honored in our lives and should He see fit, continue to provide for us in relation to Brasil. The next day the church we were visiting told us that they would like to partner with us financially.

It was not an answer we expected and certainly not one we deserved. It was a symbol of the gracious way in which God continues to deal with us. He is good.

We looked at our schedule three months ago and wondered what we were going to be doing throughout the spring. (Could it be that it was already three months ago?) Spring was not packed full of trips and meetings but it was full of the things that God wanted us to do. We hit the road toward Illinois for a week back in March, headed west to Wyoming in April, headed back to Minnesota for a weekend, enjoyed a couple of graduations, said goodbye to our brother Arnie (Mozambique), and spent a wonderful week with Jon’s Grandma. Each place represents a group of people we have grown to know and love.

Without it sounding too much like a cliché: we always find that the body of Christ truly is special. Whether it was a week long stay in one family’s home, an opportunity in children’s church, an evening spent in conversation (once the clay pigeons were all distributed into the neighboring field), or fellowship on a rainy evening in Minnesota, God continued to richly bless and encourage us.