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On November 29th, 2013 Shannon and I boarded a plan in cold Indianapolis to go to our vision trip in Perth. What a year it has been. There have been ups and downs, celebration and tears, rest and stress, moments of doubt and moments of confidence. Below is a Top Ten List (apologizes and thanks to the retiring David Letterman) of Thankfulness:
10. Thankful that we have had safety in all of our travels. We have been to Perth and Phoenix, OKC to Gatlinburg, Belgium to Grand Rapids, Atlanta to Allentown. That is lots of time spent in a planes, a van and a RV.
9. Thankful that our children have been well taken care of in our absences this year! Grandparents to friends and a couple of special young ladies have helped our children run strong as we have been away from them a total of 6 weeks this last year.
8. Thankful for times with partners. We have the great joy of hearing many of your stories and how God has transformed you by His might grace and love. We are so glad to have you partnering in God’s work in Perth.
7. Thankful to have completed all of our MTW required training this year. That is REV in January 2014, Launch in March 2014, CCMI in July 2014 and Living in Grace in September 2014. It is amazing the way that God has made this possible.
6. Thankful for our new missionary family (all those folks that are heading to some many places in the world that need Christ’s love). You guys have grown our hearts and our Kingdom Perspective! And have given us tons of memories and things to laugh and cry about!
5. Thankful for Redeemer in Indianapolis. No words can express how we feel about our church family. You have been used by God to form us into who we are. You are sending us out and being sent with us. We can’t wait for all the visitors from Redeemer to share our new city with us.
4. Thankful for our children. They are the best. They have journeyed with us and are catching the vision of what God is calling them to as well. They are also resilient troopers who eagerly look forward to the next turn but are not afraid to let us know when they are scared or sad about leaving what we know.
3. Thankful for the challenge and support of MTW. They have our backs and they train us up to serve the Kingdom well.
2. Thankful that we are currently at 73% pledged toward our monthly support. God has opened His storehouse through many of you. To think that we started talking with people in April 2014 about partnering with us and to be in this place is humbling and confirming.
1. Thankful that God would take such a family as ours to Perth, Australia to minister alongside the faithful Christians there and plant new churches to reach those God is calling to Himself. I say all the time, “We knew we loved missionaries, but we didn’t know we were them.” We are so grateful to be called by God to His work in Perth and for the team that He has given us to be a part of. Stephen and Berenice Rarig and Andy and Missy Shadburne, can’t wait to serve together with you in Perth.
Psalm 95:2, “Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving, and let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise,”
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Live Via Skype in a Perth Church Near You!
During the month of November I had the privilege of spending an evening (early morning for those in Perth) with a group of Elders from various churches in the Westminster Presbyterian Churches. This is the group of churches that we will be partnering in church planting. It was great to speak with them sharing stories of faith and life. It is so encouraging to have a group of faithful followers to join with when we arrive. I shared with the men about why we knew God was calling us to join them, talked about our ministry experiences and what we anticipated life to be like when we arrived. I was encouraged to discovery that their hearts are turned toward working together for the Kingdom and living life in community. We are looking forward to being received by the presbytery in February and getting on the ground to continue in these relationships.
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