Travis and I
were recently home in Oregon for close to three weeks. While on a break, in
between sessions of Spanish school, we took the opportunity to visit friends
and family, attend our beloved church, and get some much needed rest. It was
wonderful to be home and enjoy simple comforts. Hot showers, indoor bathrooms,
etc.
Inspired by
a sermon from our pastor in Ashland, a Bible study with some close friends, and
a once popular song (see Travis’ interjection in the next paragraph), we have
been praying about what it means to live a truly surrendered life. During our
time home, we were asked many times, “What’s next for you guys after Spanish
school? Will you stay in Mexico or come home?” My answer was something along
the lines of, “We are open to whatever the Lord would lead us to do.” And I
think I believed myself for a minute.
*Hey, Travis
here and here’s my two cents. We were entering my parents’ neighborhood and Bri
was rounding about 8 minutes of singing “If I had a million dollars…” If you
know Brianna well, you know that she typically only remembers one line of a
song and repeats it until someone shows her something shiny to play with. In
the actual song you get to hear all the things that the person would do with a
million dollars and at the end he tells us, “If I had a million dollars… I’d be
rich.” Hearing the lyrics for what seemed like an interminable amount of time
made me ask the question, “What if I had a million dollars?” My answer was
fairly quick and simple, I would stay in Mexico for another year or two, serve
those around me with the gifts that God has given me, and I certainly wouldn’t
be worrying about our dwindling down-payment for a house or about providing a “secure”
financial future for my wife and possible children… So what’s really stopping
us? With the God we serve, we have access to far more than a million dollars.
The catch is that He knows what most of us would do with a million in our
pocket so He only allows us to have “control” over a small portion at a time.
There it is. If we had a million dollars we would be the most giving/serving people
the world has ever known. But we don’t have that so we need prayer from all of
you to the Mighty God who gives greater gifts than finances. He gives courage,
faith and character.
Now back to
Bri.
I have come
to realize, however, what I meant was, “We are open to whatever the Lord would
lead us to do… As long as He is leading us to live in the Rogue Valley, near
our family and close friends, attending ACF, and raising a little family on a self-sustained
farm.” But what if God calls us to something different? What if He calls us to
pour out our lives to a people who don’t know Him? What if He calls us to raise
our future, hoped-for children away from their grandparents and aunts and
uncles and cousins? What if He calls us to live in a land of scorpions and
snakes and 110% humidity and no indoor bathrooms or hot showers?
Our prayer
is that we would be obedient to our King. He has given us all things. The least
we can do is to give Him back our lives, our whole life. We often battle with
our desire to do the “logical” thing. It makes sense to us to return before our
money runs out, get jobs, get stateside health insurance, etc. But we don’t
want our lives to just make sense. We
want our lives to be used for God’s glory. We want to walk by faith. And we
want to share His love with as many people as we can.
Please be in
prayer with us as we seek the Lord for the next step. We plan to be back in the
Rogue Valley by July or August. However, we don’t know if we will be back
permanently or temporarily. We need God’s wisdom and discernment. Please pray
that He will place His desire in our hearts.
