Update on your missionaries to Peru
Lots of people ask us how the missions thing is going, or when we are leaving, or what’s been going on with it…. To be completely honest with you what’s been going is that BJ and I had been living in disobedience to the Lord and we didn’t even know it. Let me explain…
BJ has been working 50-60hrs per week and I have been taking care of my home and children, we serve in a few different ways in our church, but have been on a break from ministry for the summer. Most would say, “what’s wrong with that?” Well each month, we tithe, budget, coupon clip, and are wise with our finances, and still each month have come up short…
BJ decided two months ago to apply for a new job that he was overqualified for that paid 6 dollars more than he makes now. It was between him and one other guy, and the man that interviewed him was already talking as if BJ had the job… yet we found out last week that he didn’t get the job.
As I was figuring out our monthly budget again for next month, I quickly figured out that we had more month than we had money. I lost it, broke down and cried, threw my hands up in the air and cried out to God, “Why God?! What are we doing wrong? What are we NOT seeing here? We are so diligent with our finances and yet somehow we are feeling punished, we never make enough!” I vented my frustrations to God and my husband and told BJ that it had to be something spiritual, we have to be not hearing something that God is trying to say to us.
That night we got quiet before God, we read… I flipped on my iPOD and it opened to the book of Haggai. I read it quietly to myself and then to BJ. I love that God always speaks to me so clearly through His word, as if He wrote it to me. We have highlighted what spoke to us…Here is what Haggai 1 says:
On August 29[a] of the second year of King Darius’s reign, the Lord gave a message through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jeshua[b] son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
2 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The people are saying, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.’”
3 Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? 5 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! 6 You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!
7 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! 8 Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord. 9 You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses. 10 It’s because of you that the heavens withhold the dew and the earth produces no crops. 11 I have called for a drought on your fields and hills—a drought to wither the grain and grapes and olive trees and all your other crops, a drought to starve you and your livestock and to ruin everything you have worked so hard to get.”
Obedience to God’s Call
12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of God’s people began to obey the message from the Lord their God. When they heard the words of the prophet Haggai, whom the Lord their God had sent, the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave the people this message from the Lord: “I am with you, says the Lord!”
14 So the Lord sparked the enthusiasm of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the enthusiasm of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the enthusiasm of the whole remnant of God’s people. They began to work on the house of their God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, 15 on September 21[c] of the second year of King Darius’s reign.
We were so focused on building our home here, working to pay the bills only to never have enough… the reason we didn’t have enough and why I yelled at God, was because God had a bigger plan. His plan was to show us this verse, and to make us realize that He has called us to be missionaries, and not to set up a home and a comfy lifestyle here, when He has a plan for us in Peru. We were so focused on making money and living here that we put all missions efforts on hold because it wasn’t immediately staring us in the face. Our hearts are very much still excited about going to Peru, we just lost our focus. What I love about the bible is that almost every time God gives correction or rebuke, He gives a promise and reminds us that He love us… In verse 12 after the people began to obey the message they received, God reminds them that He is with them, which sparked enthusiasm in His people and they began to work on the house of their God… so it did with us… we received the message God spoke through Haggai, God reminded us that He loves us, that He will never ever leave us or forsake us, and we are beginning again to work on the call that God has placed in our life.
How does this look practically? Well I know that my home and family will always be my first ministry, I take being a stay at home mom very seriously, and know that this is a great opportunity to teach Jesus to our kids, more important than any subject they will ever learn in school. BJ will be working 30hrs a week and we will be moving in 18 days to BJ’s parents house to stay with them until we transition to the mission field. Most people look at moving back in with your parents as a step backward, and it would be if we were living in the states our whole lives I am sure, but for us it is a HUGE blessing, a step forward, a great time of fellowship with his phenomenal parents, and we will be saving an astronomical amount of money doing so. We just so happened to be at the end of our lease on 08/30/11, and our short term provision? No sweat for God! We asked if the rental company would pro-rate our rent, they said they had never done it before, but were willing to make an exception for us! What?! God is so crazy amazing! So this is our update, we will be meeting with our missions team shortly and setting up our next fundraiser, and getting our newsletters out along with our pledge sheets… please if you plan on supporting us once we go, let us know for how much, so we know when we can plan on going Thanks so much for prayerfully supporting us, Thank you to those who have given even now financially, and thank you to those who after reading this will prayerfully consider supporting us as we take these steps of obedience towards our God and His calling for our lives.
