Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The Seasons are Changing

The weather and trees in Richmond this time of year are beautiful, but we are daily reminded that the seasons are changing. It seems like we are in a mixture of faint glimpses of summer, the colors of fall, and starting to experience some of the cold of winter. All of these are also daily reminders for us that the seasons of our lives are also changing. We are on the brim of entering a new season in our lives, a very different one like no other that we have experienced before. And although we feel that we are ready to embrace this season, we also sense the difficulty of entering it.

We have three weeks left in our orientation/training in Richmond before we start the packing process. We then will spend Christmas and New Years with family before officially stepping foot on the plane only to return at an undetermined time. Just as we have learned to embrace all of the seasons of weather we ask that you would pray with us that the same would be true for our lives. The new season is full of questions and uncertainty, but we rest and lie in the arms of our Father's love who we know that is sovereign over all of the plans of our lives.

We do want to briefly express our thankfulness during this time of year for all of our partnering churches and for those individuals that have committed to pray and interceded on our behalf in the midst of the darkness on the battlefield. Without the prayer support of all of you this would not be possible nor would we go.

As John Piper says, "Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the den. God has given us prayer as a wartime walkie-talkie so that we can call headquarters for everything we need as the kingdom of Christ advances in the world. Prayer gives us the significance of front-line forces, and gives God the glory of a limitless Provider. The one who gives the power gets the glory. Thus prayer safeguards the supremacy of God in missions while linking us with endless grace for every need."