House update!

In this post, I shared that we're in the process of signing a contract on a house offer and asked for prayer for logistics.  We had signed the offer and overnighted it to the property manager in another state.  We were hoping to have it back yesterday/today.  When we hadn't seen it, our realtor emailed the property manager asking for an update.  He got a "out of office" auto-reply in response.  Apparently the property manager was out of the office this last week.  *sigh*

PLEASE continue to pray for God to work out the house details and the timing for our upcoming Christmas/ministry trip.  My siblings start arriving in Kansas on Thursday and I'd really like to see them!  THANK YOU!

The downstairs "Guest Suite" that is just waiting to house our visitors. :)

Travel Update

Hi blog readers!
For those of you who know we're road, this an update!
For those of you who don't know we're on the road - guess what!?!  We're on the road!

Just before our trip, we had a great time fellowshipping with supporters who were traveling through Colorado Springs.

In reference to the trip, I told them, "It's just a short three week trip and we only have one major stop. So it's not that big of a deal."

I forget that when a trip includes driving 3,094 miles through 6 states over 3 weeks, most people don't define it as "not that big of a deal."

We camped in Idaho on our way out to Seattle and had a beautiful, full moon over Lake Walcott.

Then drove the rest of the way to Seattle.  We're here working on the Kardia software project for Action International Ministries.  (English for the newcomers: LightSys is creating financial software for ACTION.)  The last BIG piece is being put into place this week and Greg has been HARD at work.

We're seeing more computer screens these days than beautiful lakes.  And yes, Seattle has been giving us cloudy, rainy weather (with a couple sunny days tucked in!).

Pray:
* For strength and focus as we pour ourselves into this project for the next week.  Lots of things still to do.
* For God to go before us.
* For the database cutover to go smoothly.  (What?  Yes, I know you don't understand what that means. It's okay.  God does.)

Praise:
* Safe travels to Washington!
* Wonderful host home!
* Good work on the project so far!
* Good fellowship time with a missionary back from the Philippines.  I so enjoy hearing what God is doing on the field!  The Gospel is going forth -- and that's why we do what we do!

(Random note: When the missionary asked what our roles were, I said: "You know those reports you get each month that let you know how much financial support has come in?  And give you your donor updates?  We write the software that sends you those reports!"  We got a big thank you! after that. :)

Okay, a little, tiny, ultra-cute "thank you" in the form of a keychain. :)  A reminder to pray for those we serve.

Trust or BELIEVE?

Recently, I've found myself caught between trusting and believing.

I know. That sounds like the same thing. But I'll explain. I find myself caught between "simply trusting God" and "believing God for specific things."

Does that make more sense?

I've been thinking about this quandary in my mind as my "Presbyterian roots" vs my "charismatic church upbringing." I realize that's a narrow stereotype or something not-too-correct, so just have grace with me.

Simply trusting God: This is the time where I say, I know God can work miracles and do above and beyond what I can think or imagine. He works all things together for His glory. Let's pray and ask the Lord to work and trust Him in however He chooses to work.

Believing God for specific things: This is where I "pray, believing" God for a certain outcome to a situation. I find verses and stretch my faith muscles and don't doubt or wonder, because "he that doubts doesn't receive anything from the Lord."

But I find myself getting legalistic with the "believing" option. It becomes performance based for me. If I do everything right, I get what I prayed for. If I don't get what I prayed for, I must not have believed enough or prayed the right things. Or maybe that one evening when I doubted if it was going to happen, that messed everything up.

Pastor Jay shared this in his weekly church email: When we believe, deep down, that God's blessing depends on how well we're behaving, we wither and groan under the heavy burden of self-reliance.

I'm thankful I have a husband who reminds me that the truth is probably somewhere in the middle of the two extremes I've created.

And thankful for God, who always shows us the truth. I think I'll curl up with a cup of tea and my Bible and talk to Him. :)

Practical Update - Interns Coming!

Hi everybody!

I know things have been quiet on here.  I keep forgetting to pull out my camera and the blogs I read tell me that no one wants to read a blog that doesn't have pictures.  So then I feel guilty.  And I don't post.  And sure enough - nobody reads the things I don't post.  Hmm....

A couple quick practical updates... let's try bullet points. :)

• We have three college interns coming to work with us here at LightSys this summer!
• Our interns are... a Dutch student from Canada, an MK from Kenya, and a Californian.  Lots of cultural exchange here this summer!
• The first intern arrives in 10 days (assuming his visa arrives on time)!  Wow - soon!
• Mr. Amazing and I have now been in CO home for 5 consecutive weeks!  Woo-hoo!  We haven't been in one place that long since September of last year.  3 weeks has been average.
• Hurrah for taking time this weekend to refocus and regroup before the interns arrive and the summer road trip starts!  Pray for rejuvenation and rest for us!!!
• Praise God for housing for the all the students while they are here!  He's provided so wonderfully!

Okay - that's enough updates for right now.  I'm off to sleep.  Yes, s...l..e...e..p.....

Earthquake and Tsunami Prayers

Greg and I started visiting churches in our new town today.  We thoroughly enjoyed the teaching and worship at Rocky Mountain Calvary this morning.  We stopped by The Springs Church this evening and found ourselves in the middle of a missions prayer meeting!  It was so good to join with others in interceding for the world.  The lady who sat down next to me was from Japan.  Yurika and I ended up talking quite a bit.

In 1995, I spent 10 weeks in the Niigata Prefecture of Japan and I have a second cousin who still lives there.  (Niigata is the prefecture/state just west of where the nuclear plants are having problems.)  At left -- a sixteen year old Dorinda with two Japanese friends. :)  So Japan has really been on my heart!

I've enjoyed following The Takameter - a blog by Asian Access missionaries in Japan. I don't know this family personally, but they are "friends of friends."  The husband is in Sendai with a relief team.  Sue (the wife) is home sick with the kids! Stop by their blog to find out how to pray for them and others!

Looking for ways to give?  Consider giving through the Asian Access ministry.  They are partnering with over 1200 churches throughout Japan and have teams on the ground in the worst affected areas.

A picture from The Takameter -- a darling baby that was supplied with diapers by the Asian Access relief team! :)  You can read the story in this blogpost.

More fun pics tomorrow, but I had to share these things tonight.



Prayer Requests:
* For Yurika's brother in Tokyo. He needs to know the Lord.
* For healing, grace, and protection for Sue T. while her husband is away with the relief team for two weeks.  She's taking care of the kids AND just came down with the flu!
* For safety for the relief teams as they minister.
*For the Japanese people to be open to the Gospel and for the teams to share effectively!

Praise and Prayer!

Thanks for praying with us!  We've had some really good times of prayer and waiting upon the Lord in the last several days.  We don't have a definite answer on some of the things, but there is a renewed sense of peace that God will answer.

In the meantime, we've got several more adventures that popped up.  We're prepping for a two month road trip and leaving tomorrow.  Meanwhile, I've got a tooth that's fired up an infection in my lower jaw in the last two days.  My mouth/throat are swelling and it's getting a bit painful to swallow.  And since I react rather badly to some antibiotics and since my dentist is 300 miles away and we aren't planning on being through there for another month... yeah, we need to figure a couple of things out.  Or rather, we need God (who has already figured things out) to guide us in this and provide some answers.  And some healing.

On the joyous side of things, we took time from our crazy van packing to sing Christmas carols with my Grandmother this evening at the nursing home.  Several of my aunts and uncles were there along with my parents, two of my sisters, a brother-in-law, and an adorable niece!  C took pictures.  I'll have to get some from her. :)  As we were wrapping up, one of the nurse aides stopped by to see if we wanted any hot chocolate or anything!  She said some of the other residents had even turned off their TVs just to listen to us sing. :)  It was a good evening in the midst of stressful events.

Time to Focus

We've got a big week that we're starting here at our house -- lots of ministry decisions that we're believing God to direct us in, a two month road trip starting next week, and a myriad of details as we prep for doing missions mobilizations at colleges in Jan/Feb.  To help myself focus and watch my time this week, I'm signing off Facebook and my blog reader.  (Honestly, it's easier to sign off FB than the blogs I read, but both can be time distractions.)  I may drop a blog post myself here or there with praises or prayer requests, but if you have anything urgent that needs to be communicated to me, email me.  (My yahoo address is at the side if you don't have my other address.)  Will you pray for us?  Pray for spiritual protection for us, for time to spend seeking the Lord, and for rest.  We've been having trouble sleeping recently for no discernible reason.  Thanks!

Praise for today: Praise God for a local business that let us use their printer to print out our December newsletter!  Finding a printer has been a matter of prayer for some days, but now we are thankful for the stack of newsletters on my table waiting to be printed!

Encouraging verses for today from Psalm 9:
But the Lord abides for ever... He is a stronghold in times of trouble.  And those who know Thy name will put their trust in Thee.  For Thou, O Lord, hast not forsaken those who seek Thee!

Every Minute Counts!

"Do you have to be so intense?"

A friend of mine who works in missions was asked this question recently.  His reply: "A soul is perishing every second. Yes - we have to make every minute count!"

I had to ask myself how I'm supposed to make every minute count -- especially on those days when I'm not directly doing missions-support work.  What about cleaning the house and errands days?  Does the speed of which I do the dishes really affect eternity?   As I contemplated, a few thoughts wandered through... Haven't you been saying you don't have enough time to spend in prayer for missionaries and the mission field? That you would like to spend more time in prayer for the unreached? Using your time wisely gives you a few more minutes in the evening if you'll take advantage of them.

So I keep thinking about that.  How many minutes do I spend doing other things?  How can I use my time I do have to pray?  (I've hung a world map in my bathroom and started praying systematically for countries.  Then I look up that evening's country in my Operation World book.)  And sometimes I'm more successful than others at using my time wisely and praying.

What are some ways that you have found to pray during the day or to make your time count for eternity?

Time Off

Well, we've wrapped up our time here in Seattle and we're heading across the country (starting today) for our next stop.  We'll be on the road during the next two weeks and taking some time to rest as well. So... for those of you that are getting addicted to my blog (that's everyone, right?), add it to your Google Reader and it'll alert you when I'm back in the electronic world again.

And... since part of the purpose of this blog is letting you know how you can be praying for us, here's a few prayer requests:

• pray that I can pack the van quickly this afternoon!
• pray for safe travels!
• pray for rest and rejuvenation and for good times with the Lord during the next couple weeks!

We might even get to do a little more of this:  :)

"Abba"

It's the end of a long day.  I sit on our bed in our Indiana host home.  So many things to talk to God about, but my head is so tired that the thoughts are hard to assemble.  It seems that all I have the energy to do is sit in His presence and quietly offer up the cry of my heart, "Abba.  Father."

Sometimes I think that's what He'd like me to do more often.

Reminders of India

I bought my Teva sandals for a trip to India several years ago. I wore them with socks on the airplane, walked down busy streets and dusty village paths, and slipped them off each time we stepped inside a church. When I got back home, my feet were tanned, leaving white lines where the straps had covered. Each time I showered, I would glance down at my feet and be reminded of the trip all over again.

And even now, 5 years later, wearing those sandals brings back a flood of memories. And reminds me to pray.

Missionary Murdered

I saw the news yesterday on Gospel for Asia's Facebook page.  Pastor Ajit, a GFA-supported national missionary, was murdered in Assam, India last week.

Pastor Ajit led a church of 60 people in northeast India and on this particular day, he had headed to town to buy building supplies for the church's very first building.  They were getting close to completing the building project and were looking forward to the dedication.  You can read the full story here, but please be praying.

Pray for the believers in the church to stand firm in their faith and forgive the men that killed their pastor.  Pray for the Lord to raise up more laborers for the harvest and a new pastor for that church.  And pray for comfort for Pastor Ajit's wife and two small children.

Can you imagine if it was your pastor that was murdered?  What would you pray for his family and for your church?  Maybe that will help you know how to pray for Pastor Ajit.

No more room for you, infidels

Persecution.com shared a prayer request today for Christians in Iraq.  Christian leaders, churches, and businesses there have been threatened and targeted since 2003, but more recently a letter was sent to an Iraqi bishop telling the Christians to, “leave the country of Muslims (Iraq) for good and immediately in the form of mass transmigration.... There’s no more room for you, infidels, among the Iraqi Muslims. Our swords shall be placed upon your necks and the necks of your followers and other Christians residing in Mosul.”

Iraqi Christians shared: "it’s not safe for people to wander in streets, especially for the Christians who are constantly being threatened. Many times we cannot reach our offices or do not go to church because a bomb might be waiting for us there.”

Pray for wisdom and protection for the Iraqi Christians and pray that they would have the grace and strength to forgive those who stand against them. 

Click here to add updates from Persecution.com to your Google Reader/RSS reader.

Upcoming Road Trip

Greg and I are getting ready to hit the road this week for our first official LightSys road trip together.  Our first stop will be the Dallas area where we're looking forward to seeing GFA and Hope Fellowship friends.  In between visits, we'll be programming, having dental appts (me), closing my PO box and doing all sorts of odds and ends.  And celebrating Cousin Sam's birthday!

The next stop is LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas for their Missions Week - January 26th-29th. (Hi Benaiah and Laura and crew!)  From there, we'll head to Taylor University in Upland, Indiana (lots of friends here!) and then to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan for their Missions Fair on Feb 11-12th.

At each of these stops, we get to build relationships with students and professors, recruit interns to work alongside us in LightSys, and share our hearts for missions computing.  There are amazing young people out there who are talented with computers and are serious in their walk with the Lord.  Now what could they do if they knew that the missions community needs skilled computer workers to help more effectively further Kingdom-building work?

Our next stop is just down the road to Seattle, Washington to work with a Kardia deployment project there for a couple weeks.  Greg's been busy working on writing this software and we're reaching some major milestones with it!

We can definitely use your prayers as we set out on this journey.  There's a lot of miles, a lot of details, a whole ton of computer programming, and a lot of heart to share.  And we so much want the Lord's direction in all of this.  Unless He goes before us and guides our paths and open hearts and doors and gives divine appointments, then we're just out there making a lot of noise.

And as much as I like making noise, I don't want to do that when I've been entrusted with this amazing opportunity to be sharing the Lord's heart for the lost world and mobilizing people to be involved in the rescue.  If you'd commit to praying for us during these upcoming 5-6 weeks, would you drop a comment below?

We'll keep you updated along the road...

War Games

The past couple weeks, I've been asking the Lord to break my heart afresh for the lost world.  But I certainly didn't expect Him to use tonight's "fun" movie to bring me to tears.

After an intense day of programming and LightSys work, Greg and I curled up to relax and watch War Games - a 1983 movie release about a boy computer hacker who taps into a government defense computer.  Almost before he realizes what his meddling has done, the US and Russia are preparing for WW III.  With 9 hours (and counting) before the dreaded nuclear warheads launch, the boy ends up on a search to find the one programmer who can help correct the computer program and avert the crisis.

Eventually, with no one who believes him and with this knowledge weighing heavily on him, he exclaims to his girlfriend, "I wish I didn't know about any of this.  I wish I was like everyone else in the world."

Those statements struck me hard.  His knowledge of what was going to happen was not simple knowledge.  It brought with it responsibility.  He knew that time was short and that lives would be lost and he couldn't just go back to his regular life.  He had to do something!

I have the same problem as the boy.  And you likely have the problem too.  We know the truth.  We know the way of salvation.  And we know that people are perishing without Christ.  Every day, 80,000 people die and plunge into hell without ever hearing the name of Jesus.  Time is short.  We can't just live our lives like the world around us.  We have to be deliberate in reaching out to our towns and our country and the world with the message of Christ.

I sat there on the couch with Greg after the movie ended and I couldn't keep from crying.  Crying over the millions that have never heard our Savior's name.  Crying over the wars and famines and genocides that the enemy uses to claim lives.  Crying over the Church that has the knowledge of salvation, but seems to be lulled into forgetting the urgency of the moment.  Where is our heart, Church?  Where is our passion?  Where is our desperation?

We do know the truth.  And we aren't like everyone else in the world.

We have to do something.

Changes - By God's Direction and Grace

My newsletters finally got sent out and most of my supporters will get them in the next two days. I think this newsletter was one of the hardest ones to write because of the feeling and emotions behind it - emotions of joy in what God is doing and emotions of change...

As the newsletter shares with my supporters, September 30th will be my last day serving with Gospel for Asia. With my leaders' blessings, I am transitioning over to LightSys - Greg's ministry - to serve alongside him in the call the Lord has given us.

Things that will change:

• I'm leaving Dallas and moving to Kansas for the six weeks before the wedding.
• I'll be serving alongside Greg in the ministry of LightSys. We're not yet sure where long term headquarters will be, but we'll probably be in the KS area for the short-term.

Things that won't change:

• Greg and I will still be serving as support-based missionaries.
• We are still called to reach the lost world with the gospel of Christ.
• Similar to the computer support I was providing for GFA, we'll still be doing computer support for a variety of mission organizations. (Helping take care of their computer and training needs so they can do the mission work they need to do.)

We will continue to need your prayers and support! THANK YOU for praying for me so much over the years and thank you for your continued prayers.

Could you pray for me this week? It's a little bit of a busy and emotional week - wrapping up 7 years of office work, packing to move, trying to address and send out wedding invitations...

I would so appreciate it! Thank you!

Sleepy Morning

I'm at the office early this morning, hoping to get some work done before the office gets busy. I had hoped to walk to work and enjoy the cool of the morn (it's 72 here this morning. Cool(er) mornings - finally!), but this little sleepyhead didn't wake up in time. :P

I'm hoping to get some pictures uploaded soon... pictures of me and my adorable niece that was born in August, pictures of the bridal shower that my GFA family threw for me, pictures of Greg (of course...). We'll see what I get done...

Prayer items: I need to get my newsletter written this week. Lots of important updates and I need your prayers as I put it together. Pray for "DonorStudio" training that is going on this week at the office for some of our staff. And pray that I get lots of communicating and documenting done this week. :)

I praise God for you guys!

(Random July Pics...discovering the scenic routes of Oklahoma)

Quote on Prayer

Found on the SEND! Editor's desk...

Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine. -Kathleen Norris

Prayer Meeting and Sri Lanka

We just got home from March's all-night prayer meeting. I was tired today. I spilled avocado on my blouse before I even made it to my desk this morning. Got to my desk and realized I didn't have my laptop power supply. Drove home and grabbed the power supply and changed blouses and headed back to the ministry. I had no sooner sat down at my desk and taken a drink of smoothie when a frozen strawberry chunk viciously lunged at me, causing me to spill smoothie all over my face...and down my clean shirt. By that time, I just laughed.

I did need a reminder this evening: we have such a privilege to cry out to the Lord on behalf of nations and peoples that have never once heard the name of Christ. We are blessed to intercede for countries locked in civil war and paralyzed in idol-centered religions. The Lord has given us this opportunity - shall I not take advantage of it because "I don't feel like it."? God forbid! The Lord desires to work through our prayers. He is waiting for us to come and ask.

I drafted a few prayer requests for Sri Lanka this evening:

• PEACE in the country
• PEACE for the believers
• PEACE shared from the believers to their neighbors and the country
• PEACE for pastors and missionaries as they travel and share
• PEACE for the families of missionaries and pastors
• The Prince of PEACE to be known among the governmentt troops and the Tamil Tiger troops.

Soccer and sharing

Pastor spoke this morning again about evangelism and I had an opportunity to put in into practice after a short soccer game this afternoon. Although it was a bunch of GFA staff that had gathered at a local park to play, we invited Melinda, an interested bystander, to join us.

As the game ended, two of Melinda's friends came by to get her. I introduced myself and then found myself looking around for someone else to share the Gospel with them. But it looked like it was going to be me. I ended up talking to Melinda and Nicki and Jireh for about 30 minutes about their lives as 9th graders and about eternity. I talked to Melinda a little more personally and she'd like to get together and talk with me sometime. Please pray for the Lord to be working in these girls' hearts and for Him to draw them to Himself.

Two of my friends stayed in the background and prayed for me while I was sharing with the girls. That meant a lot to me. Thanks, E & S.