Blogging Withdrawals

Hey everyone~

Since I'm having withdrawals, I thought I'd post something today. I was going to make a video, but I'm not motivated enough for that this afternoon.

Okay, so if you look on the right side of the blog, you'll see that the number has changed. And it's changed in a good way. Check it out, we only need that much more financial partnership in order to begin our assignment in Orlando! That's it!

Want to join with us? What are you waiting for? Let us know!

I thought of something yesterday that was interesting (to me at least). It's Tuesday, so this will be my instinctive Frequently Asked Questions blog of yesteryear. Here are a few questions that I've heard all of the time and have come across pretty defensive about in the past.

So how long are you doing this whole Wycliffe thing? What is your commitment? Where does Orlando fit into this?

My answer to these questions would be "does it really matter?" I know...who likes to have a question answered with a question, especially something that sounds so apathetic?

But really, we are working with an organization that is all about Bible Translation. EVERYWHERE we end up in the whole organization is guaranteed to be supporting Bible Translation. If we are working in Orlando, we're supporting Bible Translation. If we're in Brazil, we're supporting Bible Translation. If we are working as dorm parents, we are supporting Bible Translation. If we are linguists/translators, we are supporting Bible Translation. We are in this for as long as God leads us to be in it. Just like our partners.

I cannot tell you exactly where God will lead us in the next 50 years. What I can tell you is that we are passionate about Bible Translation, and wherever we are serving within Wycliffe, we will be Bible Translators! That's all that you need to know, I guess. If God tells us to move to Nigeria tomorrow, that absolutely does not change anything about us or the team that we have surrounding our ministry (that's YOU in case you didn't know). If God tells us to work in Orlando for 50 years, that doesn't change ANYTHING!

Here's the picture:

Our ministry with Wycliffe is a boat. Imagine the Noah's ark flann-o-graph boat. Right now, our family is on the boat making everything ready for our trip. The boat is grounded, stuck, unable to leave the port. The water is rising up all around the boat, and the water represents our financial and prayer team. Our ministry's "support", if you will. Each new partner dumps a big tank of water into the sea to see the level rise.

Okay, when our finances are squared away, when that number on the right is down to $0, and our prayer team is set, we will be floating. From this point on, God is the wind in our sails (okay, Noah didn't have sails...but we do). Where the wind blows, we go. It's not a random wind, however, it's God's moving in our family and ministry.

So you are the water that keeps us afloat. I know it's not a perfect illustration, but I actually think it's pretty good. When we have a strong team, a fluid team of God's people praying for and giving toward our ministry, we are free to move where God leads. Essentially, we can float anywhere in the world when the water is deep enough.

We are literally waiting on the Lord right now. I can call every one of you on the phone or send you an email or facebook message and God can still say "wait." But if you think that you'd like to support our ministry, please let us know. We are on the boat, literally packing our belongings into boxes so that we'll be ready to leave Ohio.

I know it's hard to fathom, but we are ready to leave.

We can't.

Maybe you don't know this, but almost all of our belongings have been sitting in a storage unit in Orlando for over a year.

We've been ready for an entire year. That's a long time! It's been a good year, but we are ready to go.

Will you help get us to Orlando?