Wow! I can't believe it! Only a couple of weeks after we decide to step out and go to Peru, there is an 8.0 earthquake only 90 miles South of Lima!
It is sad to think of all of the people affected by this earthquake but at the same time it is exciting to think of hearts that may be more prepared to hear about the hope & peace of Jesus. We are so excited to see how God might be able to use us to touch lives there!
There are many people asking if we still plan to go, "the answer is YES, personally, I can't wait to go now!" But all in God's timing!
I am not much of a daring person, in fact, I have spent most of my life being afraid! So I am shocked to realize that God has protected me from being fearful about going after hearing about the earthquake. I am resting in the fact that the Lord holds my life in his hands and he knows the number of my days!
Lord, please be with us as you strengthen our faith and pull us closer to you! I pray for the Peruvian people, break them to the point where they have no where else to turn except into your loving arms! Give them your supernatural peace, hope, & joy! Keep the people at the college safe and show them how to care for the victims of this earthquake so that they might see your love through them! I love you, Lord! In Jesus' name, Amen!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Waiting.........
So the "For Sale" sign is up in our yard, my boss knows, neighbors know and now we do the hard part..................WAIT for the Lord to do it all! As I am writing this I am thinking, why do I think it is the hard part. It should be easy if I truly believe God is going to DO it all and it is out of my hands! Well, thank you Lord for showing me that it is easy if I give it all over to you!
Anyways, the Lord has been speaking to me through the people around me in order to build my faith and trust in Him during this time. It is easy to start worrying and wondering if we are CRAZY! But I am resting in the fact that God is faithful and He won't allow me to go through anything that I can't handle! Praise the Lord!
This morning as I worried about telling my boss, I received an e-mail from my Aunt Laura and this is what it said:
Hey Beautiful! I thought this was so awesome this morning in my reading of "The Purpose Driven Life", NOT that you are too old or Jeremiah is too young....you'll see what I mean after I type this paragraph...it really spoke to me about you two...Here it is..
"Whether it was Sarah claiming she was too old to be used by God or Jeremiah claiming he was to young, God rejected their excuses. "'Don't say that,' the Lord replied, 'for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don't be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and take care of you.' "
Wow! I just thought that was amazing that both of your names(even though yours is spelled diff)were used in the context that they were!!
Here is a good scripture that goes along with it!
"Send us around the world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind." Psalm 67:2.
I love you both so much and hope you have a blessed day and know that you are always in my thoughts and prayers!
Aunt Laura
P.S. Please share this with your hubby, ok?
Sorry, Laura, I hope you don't mind me sharing this with everyone but it was such a blessing and yet another way the Lord confirmed His desires for us.
Then later in the afternoon I received an e-mail from Jeannie saying she thought the following spoke to our decision to GO!.......
Come and Go
Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel out of Egypt.Exodus 3:10
Recommended ReadingExodus 3:9-14Come now, and go.
That's the essence of the Gospel message. We're to come to God and find eternal life, abundantly given. Then we're to go. Notice the first two letters of the word GOspel. Notice the first two letters of the word GOd. This is our great GOal in life—to GO for GOd with the GOspel.
Perhaps the Lord is calling you to ministry or to missionary service, or to take a short-term trip with your church, or to enroll in an evangelistic training program. Maybe you feel an inner urge to volunteer for your church's visitation program.
God wants to send us to certain pharaohs who need His message.
Unfortunately, Moses' response was, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?" Moses finally went, of course, but not without considerable arguing about it.
When the Lord calls you to a mission, whether large or small, don't argue. Just step out in faith and leave the rest to God, and He will use you for GOod.
If by a still, small voice He calls to paths I do not know,I'll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Yours,I'll go where You want me to go.Mary Brown
WOW! Isn't God so cool! He knows exactly what I need to hear and when I need to hear it! So I am going to do my best to sit back & watch God work because He is in control!
Father, thank you for showing me how easy it can be to wait when I allow you to do the work instead of worrying about everything and trying to figure out how it will all fall into place. I pray you will help me to apply this to my life as we WAIT on your work in our lives! Forgive me for not trusting in you! I love you! Use me today to touch the lives of others! In Jesus' name, Amen!
Anyways, the Lord has been speaking to me through the people around me in order to build my faith and trust in Him during this time. It is easy to start worrying and wondering if we are CRAZY! But I am resting in the fact that God is faithful and He won't allow me to go through anything that I can't handle! Praise the Lord!
This morning as I worried about telling my boss, I received an e-mail from my Aunt Laura and this is what it said:
Hey Beautiful! I thought this was so awesome this morning in my reading of "The Purpose Driven Life", NOT that you are too old or Jeremiah is too young....you'll see what I mean after I type this paragraph...it really spoke to me about you two...Here it is..
"Whether it was Sarah claiming she was too old to be used by God or Jeremiah claiming he was to young, God rejected their excuses. "'Don't say that,' the Lord replied, 'for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don't be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and take care of you.' "
Wow! I just thought that was amazing that both of your names(even though yours is spelled diff)were used in the context that they were!!
Here is a good scripture that goes along with it!
"Send us around the world with the news of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind." Psalm 67:2.
I love you both so much and hope you have a blessed day and know that you are always in my thoughts and prayers!
Aunt Laura
P.S. Please share this with your hubby, ok?
Sorry, Laura, I hope you don't mind me sharing this with everyone but it was such a blessing and yet another way the Lord confirmed His desires for us.
Then later in the afternoon I received an e-mail from Jeannie saying she thought the following spoke to our decision to GO!.......
Come and Go
Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel out of Egypt.Exodus 3:10
Recommended ReadingExodus 3:9-14Come now, and go.
That's the essence of the Gospel message. We're to come to God and find eternal life, abundantly given. Then we're to go. Notice the first two letters of the word GOspel. Notice the first two letters of the word GOd. This is our great GOal in life—to GO for GOd with the GOspel.
Perhaps the Lord is calling you to ministry or to missionary service, or to take a short-term trip with your church, or to enroll in an evangelistic training program. Maybe you feel an inner urge to volunteer for your church's visitation program.
God wants to send us to certain pharaohs who need His message.
Unfortunately, Moses' response was, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?" Moses finally went, of course, but not without considerable arguing about it.
When the Lord calls you to a mission, whether large or small, don't argue. Just step out in faith and leave the rest to God, and He will use you for GOod.
If by a still, small voice He calls to paths I do not know,I'll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Yours,I'll go where You want me to go.Mary Brown
WOW! Isn't God so cool! He knows exactly what I need to hear and when I need to hear it! So I am going to do my best to sit back & watch God work because He is in control!
Father, thank you for showing me how easy it can be to wait when I allow you to do the work instead of worrying about everything and trying to figure out how it will all fall into place. I pray you will help me to apply this to my life as we WAIT on your work in our lives! Forgive me for not trusting in you! I love you! Use me today to touch the lives of others! In Jesus' name, Amen!
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
The ENEMY!
Since we have come down from the initial excitement of our decision the enemy has really been attacking both Jeremiah and I! He is trying to cause us to doubt and fear and using the fact that we have told everyone to make us afraid of looking silly. We have really put ourselves out there and now we just have to WAIT for the Lord to work! I know He will be faithful and will guide our steps along the way!
Father, help us! Strengthen our faith and give us a peace that passes all understanding. Thank you for how you have already spoken to our hearts and given us the desire to serve you in ANY way you see fit! Remind us that you are with us ALWAYS! Prepare us for the months ahead as you speak to our hearts each day!
I pray for our home to sell quickly and for everything to fall into place according to your will! I love you Lord! In Jesus' name, Amen.
Father, help us! Strengthen our faith and give us a peace that passes all understanding. Thank you for how you have already spoken to our hearts and given us the desire to serve you in ANY way you see fit! Remind us that you are with us ALWAYS! Prepare us for the months ahead as you speak to our hearts each day!
I pray for our home to sell quickly and for everything to fall into place according to your will! I love you Lord! In Jesus' name, Amen.
Informing family and friends!
Since we would be putting a "For Sale by Owner" sign in front of our house we thought it would be wise to let people know what is going on! For me it was a little scary to tell people what are plans are. I tend to worry too much about what people think! My grandparents were the ones I agonized over telling! I prayed that the Lord would soften their hearts and that they would be able to have understanding.
Most everyone was very encouraging so that was exciting! It was neat to see how faithful the Lord was to give peace and confirmation in our hearts that we are doing the right thing when we had our fears and doubts. Each time I went to him and asked for his peace, he was faithful to give me just what I needed through his Word, devotionals, speaking through my husband, etc.
The one thing that really stuck out to me was "Can I trust the man who died for me?" If I truly believe this, then there is NOTHING for me to fear. He has ALL things under his control and loves us and wants the best for us. The Lord also ministered to me about "GOING" and not being concerned with what others thought.
Most everyone was very encouraging so that was exciting! It was neat to see how faithful the Lord was to give peace and confirmation in our hearts that we are doing the right thing when we had our fears and doubts. Each time I went to him and asked for his peace, he was faithful to give me just what I needed through his Word, devotionals, speaking through my husband, etc.
The one thing that really stuck out to me was "Can I trust the man who died for me?" If I truly believe this, then there is NOTHING for me to fear. He has ALL things under his control and loves us and wants the best for us. The Lord also ministered to me about "GOING" and not being concerned with what others thought.
A LEAP of faith! (continued)
So, I went to the internet and checked out both schools. I immediately fell in love with the Peru campus! There vision was totally geared toward missions and getting you out there to experience the life of a missionary and how to minister to the people. Peru is also building a Calvary orphanage......which is so awesome! I went ahead and e-mailed both schools and didn't hear back from them. I wanted to know if they had married housing and a few other questions.
Finally, I decided to e-mail the campus in California to see if they could send me some information. Someone wrote back saying that we should continue to contact the Peru campus, it would be best for married couples and that we would truly be blessed in our time there. He said we would be thrust into ministry.
Peru wrote back shortly after saying that they had married housing but we would need to apply early in order to ensure our room. He also said that the cost would be $1,400 less a semester as long as Jeremiah was enrolled as a full-time student and I worked 20 hours per week at the college. In addition, I would be allowed to attend classes for free. How cool is that?!
The Brazil campus wrote back shortly after saying that they do not have married housing. I believe this was God closing a door. Thank you Lord!
The gentleman we were in contact with at the Peru campus was so kind and helpful. He even gave some of his and his wife's testimony as to when they applied to go to bible college in Austria. They had to sell their home too, and he said it didn't sell until a month before the semester began. He said he worried terribly about it but the Lord worked it out perfectly! It was such an encouragement to know that we weren't the only "crazy" people around! My hope is that we can have peace and faith through this whole process so that we can look back and not regret our lack of trust in the Lord!
Jeremiah and I talked and prayed and decided to step out in faith by applying to the Peru bible college and trying to sell our home! Now to tell our family of our decision.
Finally, I decided to e-mail the campus in California to see if they could send me some information. Someone wrote back saying that we should continue to contact the Peru campus, it would be best for married couples and that we would truly be blessed in our time there. He said we would be thrust into ministry.
Peru wrote back shortly after saying that they had married housing but we would need to apply early in order to ensure our room. He also said that the cost would be $1,400 less a semester as long as Jeremiah was enrolled as a full-time student and I worked 20 hours per week at the college. In addition, I would be allowed to attend classes for free. How cool is that?!
The Brazil campus wrote back shortly after saying that they do not have married housing. I believe this was God closing a door. Thank you Lord!
The gentleman we were in contact with at the Peru campus was so kind and helpful. He even gave some of his and his wife's testimony as to when they applied to go to bible college in Austria. They had to sell their home too, and he said it didn't sell until a month before the semester began. He said he worried terribly about it but the Lord worked it out perfectly! It was such an encouragement to know that we weren't the only "crazy" people around! My hope is that we can have peace and faith through this whole process so that we can look back and not regret our lack of trust in the Lord!
Jeremiah and I talked and prayed and decided to step out in faith by applying to the Peru bible college and trying to sell our home! Now to tell our family of our decision.
Friday, August 3, 2007
A LEAP of faith! (continued)
Okay, where was I at? Oh yes, delaying the passport.
So the Lord really began to speak to me about having something different & unique for us, and about us going on an adventure with Jesus! Shortly after, a missionary that our chuch supports from Kyrgyzstan, Jed Gourley and his family, came to the states for their summer furlough. He spoke at church and came and spoke at the weekly bible study we attend on Tuesday nights. One of the things he mentioned for people that are interested in missions was the missions training program in Vajta, Hungary at the Calvary Chapel Bible College. This really sparked my interest!
So I checked out their web-site, brought the information home for Jer to look at, and I was all excited! I thought this would be awesome. Jer looked at it, didn't seem too excited......and said "It is something I will pray about". I actually started getting teary because he didn't react with the excitement that I had hoped....haha! I didn't think it was something he would REALLY pray about. Then Jer and Caleb (his brother) met with Jed and they prayed about their desires for missions. Jed mentioned the bible college again.
I finally decided to take care of getting my passport renewed......my heart was excited and I could sense we were on the verge of something! I didn't know what it was but I was excited nonetheless!
A couple of weeks pass and Jer and I are on our way to a family camping trip when he says he wants to talk to me, he says, "I have been thinking and praying and think the Lord is leading us to go to that bible college and sell our home. What do you think about that?" I said, I am for it, that is awesome!
Then after I started thinking about it, I started to panic a little. I thought, okay, I have talked about this, dreamt about this, and hoped for this.....but this could really happen....YIKES!! So I prayed that if this is what the Lord wants from us that he would make it obvious and give me peace in my heart! That night we go to Sunday evening church and Dave's message was a total encouragement to "step out in faith". We both felt the Lord was speaking directly to us, through Dave!!
Then, I still had my doubts.....so I continued to pray for confirmation to sell our house! That evening as I was reading my devotion for that day, it was talking about stepping out in faith and the scripture that popped out at me was Haggai 2:9 "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts." I thought, PRAISE the LORD! That was the reassurance I needed.
I shared the scripture with Jeremiah and he was encouraged as well. A couple of days later, Jer was telling a friend about what we were planning to do and his friend said "That is awesome, you never hear anything bad about the colleges in Hungary, Germany, Brazil, and Peru. Jeremiah said his heart lept when he heard Brazil & Peru, and couldn't believe the excitement he had within. He asked Jake more about those schools and said they were both huge on children's ministry and orphanage ministry (which my heart has always wanted to serve in an orphanage). Jeremiah said he couldn't wait to call and tell me the excitement he experienced and that the Lord may be leading us somewhere else! Jer said he had been praying that the Lord would give him an excitement for a people or country so we could have more direction on where He wanted us to serve.
MORE LATER!!
So the Lord really began to speak to me about having something different & unique for us, and about us going on an adventure with Jesus! Shortly after, a missionary that our chuch supports from Kyrgyzstan, Jed Gourley and his family, came to the states for their summer furlough. He spoke at church and came and spoke at the weekly bible study we attend on Tuesday nights. One of the things he mentioned for people that are interested in missions was the missions training program in Vajta, Hungary at the Calvary Chapel Bible College. This really sparked my interest!
So I checked out their web-site, brought the information home for Jer to look at, and I was all excited! I thought this would be awesome. Jer looked at it, didn't seem too excited......and said "It is something I will pray about". I actually started getting teary because he didn't react with the excitement that I had hoped....haha! I didn't think it was something he would REALLY pray about. Then Jer and Caleb (his brother) met with Jed and they prayed about their desires for missions. Jed mentioned the bible college again.
I finally decided to take care of getting my passport renewed......my heart was excited and I could sense we were on the verge of something! I didn't know what it was but I was excited nonetheless!
A couple of weeks pass and Jer and I are on our way to a family camping trip when he says he wants to talk to me, he says, "I have been thinking and praying and think the Lord is leading us to go to that bible college and sell our home. What do you think about that?" I said, I am for it, that is awesome!
Then after I started thinking about it, I started to panic a little. I thought, okay, I have talked about this, dreamt about this, and hoped for this.....but this could really happen....YIKES!! So I prayed that if this is what the Lord wants from us that he would make it obvious and give me peace in my heart! That night we go to Sunday evening church and Dave's message was a total encouragement to "step out in faith". We both felt the Lord was speaking directly to us, through Dave!!
Then, I still had my doubts.....so I continued to pray for confirmation to sell our house! That evening as I was reading my devotion for that day, it was talking about stepping out in faith and the scripture that popped out at me was Haggai 2:9 "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts." I thought, PRAISE the LORD! That was the reassurance I needed.
I shared the scripture with Jeremiah and he was encouraged as well. A couple of days later, Jer was telling a friend about what we were planning to do and his friend said "That is awesome, you never hear anything bad about the colleges in Hungary, Germany, Brazil, and Peru. Jeremiah said his heart lept when he heard Brazil & Peru, and couldn't believe the excitement he had within. He asked Jake more about those schools and said they were both huge on children's ministry and orphanage ministry (which my heart has always wanted to serve in an orphanage). Jeremiah said he couldn't wait to call and tell me the excitement he experienced and that the Lord may be leading us somewhere else! Jer said he had been praying that the Lord would give him an excitement for a people or country so we could have more direction on where He wanted us to serve.
MORE LATER!!
A LEAP of faith!
I want to share how the Lord has prepared our hearts and lead us along the way to take this leap of faith!
Jeremiah & I have had a desire put in our heart for foreign missions. We have talked about it since before we were married,on September 3, 2005. During the past 2 years the Lord kept stirring our hearts each time we would read about, talk about, or hear someone speak about foreign missions. We would get really excited about the idea, but fear would always take over.
Last March/April Jeremiah and I started talking about making more money and the idea of him getting a job at SDI or Nucor Steel where he would within a couple of months be making more than 2times what he currently makes. It was a struggle, we got really excited about all the things we could do to our house, what we could buy, etc. and at the same time talking about the good things we could do with the money. Then the Lord began to convict us individually that this was not what he wanted for us and that He has something even better! The Lord showed me that this was a fork in the road and if we go down this road our life will be one way...good, but that if we go the other we will be going toward all that God has for us.
Jeremiah came to me and said he didn't think this was what the Lord was leading Him to do. He said he felt God was showing him we were at a "fork in the road". Immediately, I was thinking NO Lord, but I want more money and security! Thankfully, though I admitted to Jeremiah that the Lord was showing me the exact same thing.
Once we shut that door we became very excited for what God might have for us! Jeremiah applied for a passport because we decided we wanted to go over to Kyrgyzstan for a short-term missions trip, because that is where the only missionaries we knew lived and served. I delayed at getting my passport renewed as the fear crept in.
MORE TO COME LATER!!
Jeremiah & I have had a desire put in our heart for foreign missions. We have talked about it since before we were married,on September 3, 2005. During the past 2 years the Lord kept stirring our hearts each time we would read about, talk about, or hear someone speak about foreign missions. We would get really excited about the idea, but fear would always take over.
Last March/April Jeremiah and I started talking about making more money and the idea of him getting a job at SDI or Nucor Steel where he would within a couple of months be making more than 2times what he currently makes. It was a struggle, we got really excited about all the things we could do to our house, what we could buy, etc. and at the same time talking about the good things we could do with the money. Then the Lord began to convict us individually that this was not what he wanted for us and that He has something even better! The Lord showed me that this was a fork in the road and if we go down this road our life will be one way...good, but that if we go the other we will be going toward all that God has for us.
Jeremiah came to me and said he didn't think this was what the Lord was leading Him to do. He said he felt God was showing him we were at a "fork in the road". Immediately, I was thinking NO Lord, but I want more money and security! Thankfully, though I admitted to Jeremiah that the Lord was showing me the exact same thing.
Once we shut that door we became very excited for what God might have for us! Jeremiah applied for a passport because we decided we wanted to go over to Kyrgyzstan for a short-term missions trip, because that is where the only missionaries we knew lived and served. I delayed at getting my passport renewed as the fear crept in.
MORE TO COME LATER!!
Reason for this blog
Most of you know that Jeremiah and I have decided to sell our home and apply to bible college in Peru. No, not Peru, Indiana, but South America!!! We are very excited and can hardly wait to see what He is going to do and how He is going to work out all of the details.
I decided to start a blog to record how this came about, how it goes along the way, and where God leads us as we make this leap of faith. I was afraid I would forget all of the cool things that He has already done.
God speed,
Serah
P.S. I named the blog Adventures with Jesus because before all of this came about and we were just talking about our desire to be involved in foreign missions I kept telling Jeremiah that I want to go on an Adventure with Jesus and him!
I decided to start a blog to record how this came about, how it goes along the way, and where God leads us as we make this leap of faith. I was afraid I would forget all of the cool things that He has already done.
God speed,
Serah
P.S. I named the blog Adventures with Jesus because before all of this came about and we were just talking about our desire to be involved in foreign missions I kept telling Jeremiah that I want to go on an Adventure with Jesus and him!
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