So much has been happening the last few weeks!
We moved out of our house mid-April & are living with Daniel’s parents until we are ready to leave for Language School. This has been an awesome adjustment for our family … it could not be going any better! Josie girl absolutely loves being at Nana & Papaw’s house & we are really enjoying our extra time with them, too! We are getting more & more settled with each day that passes!
Daniel had his final day at work on April 29th. We are so thankful for the time that he had at Stevens and the relationships that he formed while working there. It was definitely a part of the preparation for what the Lord has next for him!
We flew out to Denver the morning after his final day at work for our week of Candidate Orientation with Youth for Christ. We had to laugh because we definitely hit the ground running as soon as the Lord closed the door for Daniel’s job! We were so excited to learn more about Youth for Christ!
We were able to see some beautiful & breathtaking sights while we were in Colorado. It was snowing when we first arrived & by the end of our week, it was 80 degrees! What a drastic difference!
We had an amazing time at our Orientation. We really got to take an in depth look at Youth for Christ as an organization and realized that we definitely felt like it was a good fit for us as a sending organization! The staff in the National Service Center could not have been more accomodating, intentional and genuine! We really felt like they were truly invested in us & willing to do whatever we needed to clarify information or make us feel comfortable. It was truly an awesome experience & we walked away with some great new relationships!
At the end of our week, we were both asked to pick an object to symbolize what God is revealing to us in this journey.
Daniel has been wanting to start making survival bracelets in blue & white (Honduran) colors to have for our mission team & at the camp. As the week went on, the Lord showed Daniel an illustration in the bracelet to go along with our journey with YFC. The bracelet is made of the two colors but each of the colors is made of single individual strands to make the united chord strong. He felt like it was a great illustration … we make up one color & YFC is the other color. Separately, each color is strong in and of itself but when braided together … they’re nearly indestructable. Daniel shared with the group that the bracelet served as a reminder that if Christ is at the center of our efforts and we partner with YFC, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish through Him!
Over the last several months, the Lord has really used arrows as a repeated symbol in my life. Just through a variety of conversations, devotions, and things that I have come across, I have continued to see arrows as something that I kept making connections with & didn’t know the exact reason! Throughout the week in Denver, the Lord really laid on my heart that I had been chosen & set apart very early on in my ife for “such a time as this”. Like an arrow in the Archer’s hands, I have been chosen to be sent out. The last several years with everything that we have faced, it has been like the bow has been pulled back and the tension has built up before God’s perfect timing for my purpose. The pain has been part of the preparation! The arrow serves as a reminder that I am being sent out, chosen, and directed by the One that has had me in His hands all along.
We were so humbled to be a part of the commissioning service with YFC. It was such a blessing to be encouraged and prayed over by such a strong group of people with the same heartbeat for missions that drives our lives!
So what now?
Well … now the fun begins! Since Daniel will no longer be working, we are both able to commit our time to full time fundraising for our monthly needs. We will be coordinating with individuals, families & churches to partner together not only just financially or through prayer but also for potentional future short term mission trips to Honduras! We are excited to watch the Lord connect us to several partners that share the same vision for the gospel to reach the nations.
This next month is full of plans (more to come on that soon!) and then we finish up the month of May with our short term trip! We will be leading a group of 10 from our church back to Honduras for two weeks. We are so excited to return HOME!
Thank you all for your love, encouragement & support as we have taken daily steps of obedience to get to this point in our journey. We truly are so thankful for the messages, phone calls, and hugs that we have received from so many of you. It really means the world to us to know that we have such an abundance of support!
More information on our budget & timeline to come soon … We have a lot to share!
For now, please pray with us that the Lord will impress on specific hearts for them to partner with us & help our ministry vision happen in Honduras! We are expectant for miracles and know that God is going to blow us away with the way that He provides!
