Hard at Work

I wish this post was about how hard at work we are. How we have made leaps in meeting our neighbors, finding secondary jobs, and getting involved in the community. Unfortunately that is not the blog post you are going to read... as much as we want that to be the case, other forces have been at work to prevent that. Mainly Satan. 

When we first arrived, we got everything unpacked fairly quickly, met some of our neighbors right away, got to fellowship with our church for Christmas, had a wonderful first service, and immediately began a small group in our home. It seemed as though everything was just falling into place! I suppose that made Satan pretty worried, because he immediately got to work. 

Church members were traveling to visit family and an impending birth made it difficult for us to meet as a small group. Then illnesses swept through our church, plucking us down one-by-one so that meeting as a whole became impossible. We had first-time guests that seemed promising, but they haven't returned. And a meal with our neighbors almost occurred, but then fell through with no explanation. Trips to urgent care with our youngest, and daughters down hard with the flu. Visits from friends canceled or altered. No progress with secondary jobs, and health insurance still pending.

While all of this leads to a lot of frustration, heartache, and weariness, it does not lead to discouragement. How can we be discouraged when we serve such an awesome God? He has called us to this field and we know that if we remain faithful He will provide and be glorified. So, we press on! We have to continually remind ourselves that we have only been here a month. Building God's church takes time. We will look back on all of this and be amazed at what God has done!

And in the meantime, God continually reminds us of His presence and His desire to have us here. We are getting the opportunity to be loved on by our new church family. We got to help welcome a new baby boy into our church and we are praying he is the first of many additions. We got to interact and meet business owners in our community which I hope is the beginning of some valuable friendships. Ben has begun forming relationships with the city council. The girls have started into school and seem to be transitioning well. Our sending church blessed us with a van load of pounding items. (For our northern friends, this is where they give you a pound of this and a pound of that to stock your pantry.) And precious friends came on their "way" home from Tennessee to deliver it all (plus the items we left at our house in Arkansas). Plus they loved on us and encouraged us.

So, if Satan thinks he can bring us down, well he has another thing coming. He has surely underestimated God's people and God's grace. I hope I haven't just challenged Satan, but in case I have, please keep the prayers coming! While God is invincible, we are not. We are all too human. In fact, I almost lost it today on my dear, sick child when she whined about her quarantine arrangements. Please pray for our family to get healthy, along with our church members. We all long for the day when we can ALL meet together again. Please pray for opportunities for us to interact with our neighbors. Please pray for secondary jobs that will fit our schedules and support our desire to reach people. And most importantly, please pray that the Holy Spirit is at work in the hearts of those around us, and that we are ready to meet them where they are. 

We love you all. We pray that you are soldiering on in your own fields of harvest. May none of us forget who's care we are in.

Peace and Blessings, Anne

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38

Praise God!!!!

 

Thank you so much for your prayers....we have a house! On our visit to Georgia we were able to look at two prospective homes. The one was a perfect house. The right size, large yard, in a cul-de-sac, but... If we were just moving to Georgia to relocate, it would have met every one of our dreams, but the neighborhood seemed too quiet. There was no activity. It only has about 30 houses, is slender, and situated on a hill. Not ideal for walks and interacting with neighbors. SO after prayer, we decided on the house pictured above!

The house itself is gorgeous. The only drawback is there is absolutely no yard. However, it is situated in a bustling neighborhood just down the street from it’s own walking trail and park. While we may not be able to host barbecues at our house, the park has picnic tables and grills. This way we can invite anyone walking by to join us! (Hey, and we don’t even own a grill anyways! One less thing that needs to be purchased!) We are also within walking/bike riding distance to Rianne’s school, the public library, and Tanger Outlets! Lots of opportunities to interact with our community. We are soooo excited!!!!!

But, reality has also set in....just 3 weeks to say goodbye to Arkansas, just 3 weeks to pack up everything we own, again...just 3 weeks to make our next transition. I see a lot of tears in the coming days. Already, they kind of hit me when I least expect it. It’s hard to function like a normal person when Satan is trying to overwhelm you with stress on every side. So, here is our most recent list of immediate prayer concerns. We really do appreciate every prayer lifted up.

1. Our home in PA is losing its amazing tenants in January. Pray that we can find amazing tenants to take their place. We just found out our mortgage is being significantly raised in January, so it is very necessary that we get that home filled.

2. We have several doctors appointments scheduled before we leave and our insurance is uncertain. Please pray that it will remain in effect throughout our duration here so we don’t have to cancel them. I also received a LARGE bill from some blood tests I had done that apparently our insurance barely covered. Please pray that it is a mistake and I won’t really owe that much.

3. This rental process is quite expensive and stressful. Please pray for protection over our financial situation.

4. Prayers that car insurance will be cheaper in GA, for us to find good part-time jobs that won’t take away from church-planting, and good inexpensive health insurance.

5. Prayers for our new neighbors. That we will get plenty of opportunities to meet them all, and share our lives with them.

6. And as always, prayers for the souls of Henry County. That their hearts will be receptive to the gospel.

In all of this stress and worry, we are also filled with anticipation. We have seen God provide in crazy amazing ways before, and we know He will do it again!

Lastly, if you are in Arkansas please plan on joining us for a Missions Revival in Malvern! First MBC of Butterfield is hosting the 4 day event. The schedule is below. We hope to see you there! (If you would like a flyer to share with your church, please let us know ASAP so we can get one to you!)

Sat. December 2-Donation Dinner from 6-8:30 pm

Sun. December 3- Blake Parsley (The Amazon Project) 7 pm

Mon. December 4- BEN FISHER!!!! (Missionary to Georgia) 7 pm

Tues. December 5- Doug Clements (Missionary to Solomon Islands 7 pm

We hope you can make it! A love offering will be taken each night to be split between the 3 missionaries.

Much Love, Anne

“We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.” -1Thessalonians 2:8

Prayers Please!!!!

Before I get started into today’s post, there is something weird I want to share with you. I noticed it the last time I blogged, but I thought it might be an interesting tidbit that you would like to know too....Here it goes....Are you ready? 
When I started this blog many moons ago, I had to choose a font to type in. Do you know which font I settled on? Georgia! I think this is so weird! At the time I never dreamt that God would call us to Georgia, but here we are! So weird!!!

Anyways, right now is a very busy time for us, but it is also a crucial time for prayer. I wanted to pop on here and update you so we could have some more prayer warriors asking on our behalf. Thank you for taking the time to read this, thank you for every single prayer you remember to ask in the coming month, and thank you for sharing our requests with others.

I am typing this from a hotel room in Georgia. We are here to visit with our church family, (I even got to go to a baby shower today for one of our members. Isn’t she adorable?!?!?!)

We are also here to search for a home to rent. We have some very specific needs and we are running out of time before we would like to move, so major prayers are needed here. We are meeting with a realtor tomorrow to look at a few houses. We are praying that God will set aside the perfect place for us.

Our next prayer concern is for the moving process. It’s hard to be moving again so soon. Plus, when we moved the last time, we thought our next move would probably be to Africa. So, in that move we got rid of practically all of our furniture. Thinking about furnishing an entire home is really overwhelming. We are hoping to be able to furnish our new home as inexpensively as possible while at the same time not looking like we just graduated from college. We plan on using our home for ministry, so while we don’t need the finest, we also want our visitors to be comfortable.

When you have a family of 6, there are many opportunities to need medical care. Please be praying that our current health insurance can remain in effect until we need to get new coverage, and that our new coverage will be affordable and good.

As you know, Ben is almost done with school. Please pray that he can finish well and be able to find the time and stamina to write an outstanding thesis. While he no longer is delivering pizza, his time is just as strained with preparing for the future. It has been a challenge to divide his focus and effort between so many needs.

Our last and most important prayer request is for the people of Henry County. We really love this church and want to be effective in reaching the lost. Please pray that their hearts will be ready and that God will clearly direct us as we seek to serve Him.

Thank you all so much! Every single one of your prayers is so appreciated. 

Many, Many Blessings, Anne

It's the Little Things

So, now here we are, entering another phase of transition. Even though I am really excited about our move to Georgia, there is a part of me that is in denial. I feel like I just went through the goodbyes, the uncertainty, finding doctors and favorite restaurants, and learning the back roads. Am I really ready to do this again? For a girl who spent her entire childhood in one house, and her entire marriage in one house (up to this move), I don't feel ready. I know God is already there preparing the way, but it is still very daunting.

Already the transition is upon us. We now attend our sending church. It feels incredibly strange to not be worshiping with our family across the street. I miss them all terribly. I have no idea what the Christmas Cantata will be, what is needed for the next potluck dinner, who is not well, or what is on the agenda for the business meeting. I wonder if Annika will remember Ms. Donna in the nursery, or if there is a new family sitting in "our" pew. I miss the wonderful people at Oak Grove, yet God is knitting us into a new family.

I am continually amazed at the individual members of our sending church, Emmanuel MBC. From the very moment we began investigating partnering with them to continue the work in Georgia, I could see the love in their faces for that church. I know without a shadow of a doubt, that this is a sending church devoted to prayer. I know that when we make our move, we will not be given a handshake and a "see ya later". I know that our departure will be wrapped in prayer. Emmanuel is invested in Faith of Locust Grove. Not just on a corporate level, but on an individual level too.

You may be wondering how I can be so confident of this at such an early stage. It's because of the little (and BIG) things. It is how Ms. Neva always checks on us to see how we are doing, and excitedly assembles a team of Stuffers to send out our first newsletter. It's how the Blackerbys call to inform us of the shift in Hurricane Irma and how it might affect Ben's departure from Atlanta, encouraging us to find an earlier flight, with the assurance that the church would handle any extra fees. (Thank goodness they did! We had no idea!) It is how the Secretary, Sara, asks for a list of friends and family that we would like included in the mailing list.  It is how the Odens saw our desperate need for a newer van and thus donated one to us! It is in the weekly words of encouragement and interest of so many others. I know it won't be long until they are all like family to us too. And in the meantime, we are so glad that God has placed us where He has. We knew our sending pastors were all for us, but it is such a blessing to know that the entire church is too!

And you know what the cool thing is? Just because I'm not a member of Oak Grove anymore, I haven't been disowned. Just tonight I was included in a Girls Night Out with them. I don't know if they know, but that means the world to me. They will always hold a very special place in my heart. 

But now, I must put on my big girl pants and press forward. There are new names to remember, people to meet, and friendships to be made. Thank you Jesus for this opportunity to enrich my life, and enlarge my family.

Ready or Not- Anne

"Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth." -3John 1:5-8

We Have Our Mission Field!!!!

July was quite a month!!!! We spent the entire month visiting family and friends, visiting churches, and speaking at chapel services at a kids' camp. It was funny when we were originally asked to speak at the kids' camp as the missionary speakers. We weren't sure how to respond because we weren't officially missionaries yet...But, because the theme was about preparation (and we have A LOT of experience with that) we felt fairly confident that we could do it. Little did we know that on the very same day camp started we would become missionaries! We'll get to that in a moment. First, let me take you back several months.

When we moved down here, we wrote God a blank check about how He wanted to use us. I thought I knew exactly how that check would be filled out, but we still prayed seriously about every opportunity that came our way. As we met missionaries, we would pray about their fields and see if God wanted to use us there. He never seemed to respond positively. Churches approached Ben about being their pastor. We prayed about that, and still no positive response. The whole time we kept feeling like God was pulling us to Kenya, and so we embraced that and continued to move forward. Only, things didn't seem to move forward...

And then, last fall, Ben started his class at seminary on the Book of Acts and Church Planting. He didn't tell me until December, but another opportunity was placed before us. One of his teachers is a pastor of a local church who has a mission point in Georgia. They had lost their missionary that fall, and were in desperate need of a new one. The church had declined a good bit, and they weren't sure who they could send down there to get things going again. So, like always, we once again started praying. We spent his entire Christmas break praying about it.

This time, we didn't get a definite 'yes', but we didn't receive that definite 'no' like we typically did. So, in March, we went on a whirlwind weekend trip to visit the church in Atlanta. Ben preached; we got to fellowship; they asked us the hard questions; and, the following week, they called Ben and told him they voted unanimously to call him as their pastor.

Frankly, that was not the response I had expected. God still had my heart hovering over Kenya. I was doing my best to stay open-minded, but I was just so thoroughly confused by what God was doing. Ben reminded me of our blank check, and how God sometimes requires more preparation than we think for the task He calls us to. It was no coincidence that at the time I was doing a Bible Study with my neighbor on Paul's life and his missionary journey. Paul had a lot of work to do, important work, before he reached the Greeks. So, we continued to pray and allowed God to lead us.

In May, when Ben had finished his grueling semester, we went back to GA for a full week to work with the church and survey the area. Ben was able to preach a couple of times, we got to do a couple of service projects with the church, and even got to attend the graduation of several of her members. We kept waiting for God to shut some doors, but everything stayed wide open. Meanwhile, a church was seriously praying about sending us to Kenya, so we didn't feel ready to make any final decisions. We continued to pray. 

I think Ben would have made a decision a lot sooner if it wasn't for me. This stubborn girl didn't want to give up the possibility of reaching the people of Kenya. I knew that desire in my heart came from God (I NEVER would have come up with it on my own!). So, even though I could feel God's pull towards Atlanta at this time, I just wanted God to clearly tell me 'no' about Kenya. But He didn't.... I think He didn't because it isn't a 'no' to Kenya. It's a 'not yet'. He has better things in store for our family right now. He has opened up an opportunity where Ben can grow in his leadership skills, his preaching skills, his discipleship skills, his ministerial skills. A place where our oldest can graduate high school in an environment he is comfortable with.An opportunity for our family to serve and prepare for whatever God places before us next. And, I cannot forget, He is giving me another time to rely on Him fully, to expand my faith, and to teach me more than I ever knew I had to learn.

So, right before we left to go North, Ben told me he made a decision. He would answer God's call to Atlanta. He said that was the hardest thing he had to do: to follow God and risk disappointing me. But, God is faithful. And just as He did before, He had prepared my heart for that moment. I was ready to follow Him too. 

Two weeks later, as we opened up Kings Camp, we received the call that Emmanuel Baptist Church in Malvern, AR had voted unanimously to send us out as their missionaries. God is so cool.

We have a lot of work ahead of us. Ben will finish up his Masters of Theology this fall. He will fly once a month to Georgia to be with the church there. The rest of the time we will be getting to know our sending church better, visiting supporting churches, and visiting other churches to share what we hope God will do, through us, in Georgia. If you are interested in having us share with your church, or helping us through this time of transition, please visit the "How You Can Help" tab. We plan to move and be on the field full-time in December. We thank you ALL so much for all of the prayer, support, and assistance you continually provide to us. To God be the glory!

Here We Go!!!!!- Anne

"So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the Gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us." -1Thessalonians 2:8 

Unplanned

In college, my dad bought me a really nice DayTimer planner. Do you remember those? Back before calendars and memos that you could pull up on your phone, you could purchase a planner made from paper. In a leather cover. With 3 metal rings that you could open and close to add more papers in. Tabs to separate your months and an address book. It was wonderful!

My planner was so elaborate that I could schedule out every minute of my day. Which I did. I loved that thing and felt completely lost without it. That is why Ben had to hide it from me for a week. I don't know if he had a sense of the uncertainty our future would bring and knew my obsessiveness with order would be detrimental to following God's call, or if he wanted to see just how crazy I was before he asked me to marry him. In any case, that week was one of the hardest weeks I had experienced up to that time. I was worse than a teenager without access to a cell phone. I didn't know how to go through the day. I was sure I would forget something important. I found myself immobile most of the time because I just wasn't sure what to do. 

I kind of think Ben knew what he was doing...

After that week, I still went back to my planner. But, I found that it was okay to just schedule the big things. I could just look over my day in the morning and not pick it back up until the next day. Life became so much simpler.

Over the years, Ben and God have worked together to strip me further down. In fact, just 2 days ago I finally put a monthly calendar up for June after our fridge lay bare since April...or was it March? From the outside I fear that I may look like an irresponsible  adult. Like someone who is habitually late and is voted most likely to not show up for things. It's not that I no longer care. In fact, I care a great deal. It hurts my soul if we are late to anything. It's just that...I have no idea what we're doing!

It seems silly to have a calendar up when you aren't even sure what to write on it. Right now I know Annika's birthday and birthday party are coming up. I know we have her 1 year checkup and a car seat appointment. I know we are headed North later this month for my cousin's wedding. Next month we will be speaking at a kids camp. Beyond that....I really don't know. I know some general ideas of where we may be when. But no specifics. I thought it was amazing that God could have me on a path towards being a missionary. But it is equally amazing that He has me in a season where I have absolutely no control of my schedule and I'm still functioning. 

Over the past couple of years, God has shown me how to depend on Him for finances and daily needs. He has shown me how to depend on Him for friendship and comfort. And now, He is showing me how to depend on Him for my plans. Faith is an amazing thing. For an unbeliever it may look like insanity, but for a believer it is a daily, conscious act of obedience and prayer.

So, when you ask me about my plans, be prepared to get a blank stare, some mumblings, or even an exasperated "I have no idea!" I'm not trying to be difficult. I really just don't know. The good news is, God knows exactly where we will be, on every single day, and I have the faith that it will all be good. So, when you think of us could you please say a prayer? Pray for our protection and provision while we follow God wherever He leads us, and for God to give us some clear answers.

I don't think I'll ever have a planner again, but some direction would be nice.

Faithfully Following, Anne

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Fighting for Peace

As we enter this holiday weekend, my heart is bursting with gratitude for what a magnificent God we serve. That "He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness...He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2: 6-7...8) We have been memorizing Philippians 2: 3-11 for several weeks now with our kids We stumble through the exact words to use and what comes next, but the enormity of their meaning is not lost on us.

Unfortunately, though, Satan doesn't want me to be filled with unbridled joy, appreciation, and awe for a God that deserves even more. Satan is using this time to distract me with things like worry, fear, and uncertainty. I'm pretty stubborn, and I don't like to let Satan win. So, I've been doing my best to clothe myself in God's armor. I feel bad that I have to send Him into battle for me after all He has done. I wish it was a battle that I could just easily win because I have already been given so much. But, I am a weak sinner, and so I must depend on God. 

Thankfully, He is gracious and knows exactly what I need. Not only has He equipped me with His Word, His promises, and a LOOOOOONNNNGGGG list of examples of His provision, but He has also given me a godly spouse to lean on. I am so grateful that when I am at my weakest, He seems to have already bolstered Ben to be strong for me. Hearing him speak back to me the truths that I know, but have doubted, brings me such comfort and assurance. I am grateful that I can share my worries with Ben and know that he will counteract those worries with godly wisdom and truth.

When you are feeling particularly weak, I hope you have someone you can turn to that can audibly tell you what God's promises and truths are. God is absolutely the one fighting for peace for you, and doing the hard work against Satan, but to hear someone else say what God has been telling you all along, is such a sweet gift. I hope this is a gift you have received and one you will be quick to give. 

Happy Resurrection Day! Because we have been given the gift of salvation, there is Joy in the morning! 

Blessings, Anne

Not Now Satan!!!!

The World Missions Seminar began today. We have been looking forward to this since last year's seminar ended. So, of course, Satan wants nothing more then to throw a wrench in our plans. I knew yesterday was going to be a challenge. Ben was selected to preach at chapel at the Seminary, so I naturally wanted to go hear him. Annabelle had rehearsal in the afternoon for the Spring Musical that she shouldn't miss. So, I knew the day would be full of interruptions and various car trips. What I didn't know, was that shortly after Ben preached to me about being prepared for when life punches you in the face....that life would punch me in the face!

I had returned to the seminar after he preached in time for lunch. We ate quickly and then rushed out to get Anna to rehearsal. I dropped her off and went to zip back over in time for the first ladies' session (which I really wanted to hear because it was a new topic delivered by a sweet friend). I go to turn onto the main road....and the car just dies. Not that kind where the battery just shuts down, but the kind that can only be described through various guttural sounds. Not Now Satan!!!!!!

I knew Ben would be finishing up at the seminary and would be headed to the seminar so I called him to come rescue us. (I had Annika with me). After messing with it and pushing it off the road, we left it there and returned to the seminar. We spoke to a dear angel of a man from our church that recently helped us with van issues and his over the phone prognosis did not sound hopeful. But, he willingly said he would run up to take a look at it that night.

The whole time I'm thinking: "We do not have time for this! I just want to enjoy my week! Leave us alone Satan!"

By the time we returned to the seminar (just in time to have that session ending), I was a heap of tears. All of the stress, worry, discouragement, and disappointment collided and I just could not take it all. I knew Satan was after me, but this time I didn't have it in me to fight back. I told Jesus; "This has to be Your fight, because I just can't do it!"

Fortunately, he called up His soldiers to fight for me. His sweet servants surrounded me with encouragement and empathy and prayer. He knows laughter is the fuel for my joy, so He even sent some of that too (thank you Ms. Jessie!!!). The Andersons leapt into action and drove back to Whitehall to get their vehicle for us to use (despite it being their anniversary). The Shields invited us into their home and fed us while we waited. We even were able to stay and attend church like we wanted! Satan was losing and losing fast!!!

And then God threw the final punch and knocked Satan down. We were going to praise Jesus regardless. He has our hearts and devotion. It was absolutely unnecessary. But in His Goodness, He chose to bless us in this moment. As church was ending, I see a text from our car angel, Todd..."THE VAN IS FIXED." I about fell over. I could not believe it! Our van lives to see another day, and we can get focused back on God's work and His Will for our lives. I am continually amazed at the power of prayer, and God's sweet, tender mercy. Thank you Jesus! 

None of the people that ministered to us yesterday did it to be mentioned in this blog. I'm pretty sure most of them (if they read this), would prefer if I didn't mention them at all. However, I love the way God strings His people together to accomplish His work. Did He need them? No. God can do anything. He could of just had me turn the key and the van start right back up. However, He lovingly invites us into His plans so that we can take part. It increases our Faith, and further prepares us for the next time life punches us in the face.

Was yesterday hard and stressful? Absolutely! But I am so grateful that once again I got to see our Mighty God at work. I thank God for each one of you and pray that I, too, can be part of the blessing of God's plan for someone else.

Awed and Blessed, Anne

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good..." Genesis 50:20a

Our Favorite Time of Year

Hello friends! Sorry we have been MIA lately, but Ben's hectic school/work schedule has made for very busy days for all of us. Fortunately (well, for us-not Ben), the semester seems to be flying by! He still has A LOT of work ahead of him, so please be praying!

We are super excited because the World Missions Seminar begins this week. It is always a highlight in our year. It's fun too, because each year we seem to be in a different phase of our journey. We were hoping we would be sent out as missionaries by this time, but we are doing our best to be patient and wait on God's timing. He certainly has had our very best in mind throughout this whole process! We would love for any of you to join us this year. You can even just come for a day. The training is absolutely priceless for anyone that has a heart for missions. Whether you are a missionary, have plans to be a missionary, are curious about mission work, are a pastor that wants to send out missionaries, or a Christian that wants to learn how to support missionaries, this seminar will be beneficial to you! It is held at Faith Baptist Church in North Little Rock Tuesday through Friday of this coming week and the next. Commit to coming and God will make a way!!! If you need more info, let us know and we can get it out to you.

I know everyone gets busy, but if you get a moment, please be in prayer for us. Life is pretty stressful around here and Satan really wants to bring us down. We are relying on God to give us the strength to not let Satan win, so any prayers on our behalf are appreciated.

In lighter news, Annika is getting so big. She is extremely smart but has managed to keep out of trouble.  It really helps that I have a lot of extra eyes and hands assisting me. The girls are knee deep in rehearsing for a musical (Fiddler on the Roof). We cannot wait for showtime! In the midst of all of this, Rianne has been having some digestion/behavior issues. So, we are doing a strict elimination diet with her to figure out the culprit(s). We are making progress, but it is really difficult! We all will be happy when we know what she can/can't eat. It's been awfully expensive cooking for her and A LOT of work! But it will be so worth it in the end. Noah has enjoyed playing in a local homeschool Nerf Wars group and is getting more involved in our homeschool PE class. He is trying to save up for a gaming computer too.

We thank you all for your prayers and support. Just know that each prayer you have ever said for us has helped to equip us to follow God. We could never express our gratitude enough.

Blessings, Anne

A New Year!

I cannot believe we have entered another year!!! 2016 closed out on a really good note for us. God blessed us in so many ways through His people. Despite having van issues just before we were scheduled to head north, we were able to celebrate Christmas with our friends and family. It was much needed time away that helped us to refresh before tackling another semester. Here are some pictorial highlights:

Thanks to Oak Grove MBC, we were able to travel with their van!

Annika's First Christmas

Fun With my family

My Mom and Dad with all of their grandchildren

Gram loves her babies!

Some Northern Snow!!!

Cousins at play

So, now the fun is over and it is time to buckle down again. Ben won't let me brag on him, but he had a very full class load last semester and did VERY well. He has an even larger load of classes this semester (which I didn't think was possible), but I have no doubt that he will impress once again. Annika is growing everyday and is a joy in all of our lives. She just turned seven months and is crawling all over the place! The kids have gotten back into the swing of school once again and are excited about what this spring has to offer!

We got to spend some time with our missionary builder friends from California recently, and have plans to meet with another family that we adore from Texas in the near future. It will not be long until it is time for the World Missions Seminar again. My children are just as excited as I am!!!! I hope some of you are making plans to join us. You do not need to be a missionary to attend. Anyone that has a heart for missions (which should be any Christian), would benefit from attending. This year the seminar is the last week of March and the first week of April.

Noah has recently joined a local Nerf War club, and Annabelle plans on joining in next month. The girls have begun rehearsing for the Spring musical, Fiddler on the Roof, with their Homeschool Drama group. We still go to our weekly Homeschool PE class, the girls go to a monthly science club at our library, and of course we are active with Oak Grove church. We certainly are keeping busy!

We have been praying fervently over the past month for God to begin showing His clear path for us as Ben starts winding down from school this spring. If you haven't been praying for us, please do! We sense that God will be revealing more of His plan soon, so of course Satan is hard at work too. Our van, that we love, seems to want to be a thorn in our side and we know that exhaustion and stress will be perfect targets for Satan's schemes.

We are blessed beyond measure, and thank God for the role that each of you play in our development.

Many Blessings, Anne

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." -Romans 15:13

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I don't have anything particularly insightful today to share, but I wanted to check in with y'all.  (Do you see that? I've finally abandoned fighting against the usage of y'all!) We have so much to be thankful for this year. For those of you that aren't on Facebook (Umm, Srin!), here are a few pics for you to enjoy!

The girls at Roseberry Farms

Annabelle and Rianne performed in Lagooned! with other homeschoolers

If you want to see Noah, you'll have to catch him in person. He is not fond of me taking his picture! (Teenagers!)

We are so grateful for all 4 of our precious children. We may not get to be with our family for Thanksgiving this year, but we are going to have a great day with a family that is precious to us. We hope that regardless of how you will be celebrating, that you will give all thanks and glory to God. It is not by our own doing that we have what we have, but it is because of our most gracious, generous, and loving Father. 

Happy Thanksgiving,

Anne

P.S. We have some new needs listed on the "How You Can Help" page if you are interested.

"I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving."

Psalms 69:30 ESV

Abandon the Gods

I hope today's post makes sense and isn't disjointed. I'll do my very best, but this month has been so God-filled, that I have a million thoughts swirling around in my head.

The first milestone of this month came when I finished reading the Bible in 94 days. I was aiming for 90, but frankly, am pretty amazed that I came even close! Bro. Lynn Raburn is a great encourager for Bible reading and it was always something that I struggled with, so I finally took his advice and gave it a go. Now while some days I'm sure I was just reading to get that check mark, God showed me the beauty of reading His Word in one fell swoop. The knowledge and understanding that I have gained from reading it as a whole, has benefited me tremendously! It is definitely something I will be doing again!




Coinciding with this accomplishment, was our annual MTM training. This year they made it very family friendly and took us to the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, AR. These weeks devoted to learning and growing are always so amazing to me. It was no coincidence that during this same week, us ladies were learning about the benefits of studying our Bibles and memorizing scripture. I gained so many tools and some new friends too! As always, our children had a blast and hated to leave. They got to experience the folk center, go bowling, visit caves, go hiking, go to a pumpkin patch, go on a hayride and have s'mores, go canoeing,  and play in bounce houses. Their week was full of fun and many memories! We are so grateful for everything MTM has provided for us.

This month, our church also had a revival in a local park with Bro. Will Diggs preaching. It did my heart good to gather with our church family nightly and hear God's Word. There was wonderful worship and a definite boosting to my spirit! We also had our local Associational Meeting which I got to attend a portion of. Again, the preaching was FANTASTIC and I got a lot of encouragement from various pastors in our area. It is moments like these that keep me fueled during this difficult journey.

The last bit of excitement from this month brings me to the title of today's post.

My sweet neighbor-friend and I have started to meet weekly to go through Kelly Minter's What Love Is. It is a study of 1John, 2John and 3John. Our Monday mornings have now become my very favorite part of my week. This time together has filled a need that I have had for awhile in such a special way. And it is through this study that brought me to today's epiphany. We are in the third week of this study, and Ms. Minter has us really thinking about what it means to remain, or abide in Jesus. In the Gospel of John, Jesus gives us a clear picture of what this looks like in chapter 15. He discusses the vine and the branches as an illustration and says: "Remain in Me, and I in you..." (vs. 4). For us to remain in Him takes a good bit of effort on our part. The world wants to drag us away in so many directions. When I really started to think about this, I realized that prior to this journey I had a god that kept trying to pull me away from Jesus. This god looked innocent enough, but it can do so much harm. If I'm not careful, he still tries to steal me away. We all have gods that try to do this. I'm sure I have several others that I am still actively battling. However, it is this one particular god that I want to focus on today because I really feel like it can do so much damage to remaining in Jesus.

What is this god I speak of?.....The god of Stability. Prior to our calling, one of my greatest pursuits and joys in life was stability. I loved that Ben had a secure job that paid well. Even though he was salaried he had opportunities for overtime if needed. We had great health insurance and a 401K. His company gave bonuses twice a year that would pay for our modest family vacation and Christmas. His company took really good care of us and valued him. I felt secure. 

However, it was this security that could have completely drawn me away from following God's Will. If I had not been girding myself with sound preaching weekly, devotions, small group studies, regular fellowship with believers, and serving my community....the god of security would have won. I would have attached myself so deeply with it, that the whisper, tug, and shout of God's calling would have been drowned out completely. I am so grateful God had me in a place where I was grafted so securely to His vine. I pray I never let security lop me from it.

The really good news though comes in the second half of what I quoted..."and I in you." You see, Jesus doesn't have to work to remain in us. Once we ask Him to be our Savior He just IS in us. He may prune us from time to time, but He will not remove us from His vine once we have been grafted. I am so grateful for this! 

I hope you will take some time today and consider if the god of security has interfered with your relationship with Jesus. Or is there some other god that is pulling you away? If so, ask Jesus for forgiveness and then strengthen yourself for the battle ahead.

Armed and Ready, Anne

"Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me." -John 15:4

The Cost

We know there is a cost to following God. Before we embarked on this journey we counted it: loss of salaried jobs, moving from our home, distance from family. We did a pretty thorough inventory of losses and agreed to them. However, anyone that has given up their comfortable life to follow God will agree to one thing...sometimes a loss, one you never considered, will jump out and kick you from behind.

I seem to be experiencing these losses quite frequently nowadays. The first one that comes to mind was finding out Annika had a lip and tongue tie. In our former life, we could have immediately gone to the doctor and had them fixed. Perhaps we would have been able to then work through our breastfeeding issues and been more successful. Perhaps I could have still been nursing her now. But, we had to wait for her insurance to go through. And then the ENT wouldn't do her lip tie and a qualified dentist that would, doesn't take her insurance. While I am extremely grateful for her insurance, this is a cost of state-funded insurance that I never counted.

The other such event happened today. The fact that I want to burst into tears over it has me completely blind-sided. It's so vain and trivial, but upsetting all the same.

I took Noah to the optometrist to have his eyes checked again. He has a lazy eye that we have to keep tabs on. While his vision is great with his glasses, the doctor confirmed that he does need to be wearing his glasses all of the time. (Something that Noah is not too keen on). His prescription didn't change much, but it did need modified.

Where is the concern in this? Well, again, his state insurance will only cover some very basic frames. We had spent a lot of time fretting over frames last year to find a pair that he was satisfied with and willing to wear. They were pricey, but with our insurance and steady income we were able to get them. Well, when we asked about keeping these frames and just replacing the lenses, they said his insurance wouldn't cover that but we could pay for it out of pocket. At $85 a lens, that just isn't possible. The part that really broke my heart was the fact that Noah didn't even complain even though I could see the disappointment on his face. It's just glasses, but having my son settle for less then what he wants is hard to bear. I hate that we can only give him a chinsy pair of glasses. Again, I'm grateful for our insurance and that we have access to great optical care. We saw first hand in Africa how amazing this accessibility is. An African would travel miles and weep with happiness over these chinsy frames that I find so heartbreaking. Yet, here I am. Saddened by our loss.

I know we have more unexpected losses ahead of us. I am not looking forward to facing them. However, even though I can't ever count the full cost of our obedience, I know it is all worth it. I wouldn't trade in all this for that old comfy life again. 

So, I will grieve these losses when they come. And then I will count all the marvelous blessings we have and be grateful that God is changing us for the better.

Still a Work in Progress, Anne

So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:33 ESV

***Update: Two of God's servants felt called to purchase Noah his new lenses. It is so hard to accept gifts like this, but we are so thankful that God prompts His people to be so generous. This was not my intention with this post, but I have one very happy teenager right now! Praise God!

She's Here!!!!!

I'm sorry it has take so long to post, but life certainly got busy for us!!! If you haven't heard, our third daughter arrived safely on Wednesday, June 22nd via c-section. She is absolutely perfect!!!

With this being my 4th c-section, and a tubal ligation done along with it, surgery was a bit more difficult and recovery was by far my hardest. However, with her about to turn 3 weeks, we are through the brunt of it! We have had a challenging start to breastfeeding because she has a lip and tongue tie, but they should be getting fixed this following Monday. Say some prayers that nursing will be able to resume afterwards. It has been extremely difficult keeping up with pumping in the midst of trying to resume life.

The girls are absolutely thrilled with their new sister! My very favorite thing is to see them interacting with her and laughing at her antics. It is absolutely precious!!! So far, Annika seems pretty even tempted. If we could just get her to sleep at night like she sleeps during the day, we will be all set!

We are looking forward to traveling north with her in August so that our friends and family back home can meet her. My parents got the opportunity to come down for a week for her birth which was absolutely wonderful! I know everyone else is chomping at the bit to get their hands on her!!!

This brings us to our biggest request of this post. WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS!!!! When we started this journey, we began working towards paying off our car, an HHR, with the vision that it would keep our needs until it was time to leave for the mission field. Well, we got it paid off, but now with God's surprise blessing we no longer fit in it!!! We are in desperate need of a mini van. We are not looking to take on extra debt, so we are praying that we can find a reliable used van that is inexpensive. Our HHR isn't worth a whole lot, but we'd like to trade it in and keep the cost above that minimal. We know this is a God-sized task, so please be praying with us! God has provided many opportunities for Ben to preach this summer, which has helped with the time he took off for Annika's birth, and will help go towards a van. We are so grateful! I can't wait to see how God answers this prayer and can't wait to share it with you!

Another update we need to make is important for those of you that currently support us or for those of you that would like to send support at some point. Since we are living in Arkansas now, we have moved our church membership to Oak Grove MBC in Benton. Because of this, we have also moved our mission account. If you are called to send any funds, please send them to:

Oak Grove MBC

2907 Congo Rd.

Benton, AR 72019

Please list in the memo what your intention is for the funds so we can use them appropriately.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers! We have been blessed beyond measure and really appreciate the way God's people have encouraged and supported us. I will update our "Ways You Can Help" page with our newest prayer requests. God Bless!

Under His Care and Provision, Anne

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:19