theTREIFactor

In the Old Testament, Israelites would use different names to describe God's character.  Most of the time, it was as a result of the Lord meeting a need.  One of His many names is Jehova-jireh and it means God will provide.  The first place you find it used is in the story of Abraham being told by God to go sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen. 22).  At the very last second, God provided an animal for Abraham to substitute instead.  The story is a great illustration of how God responds to a faithful servant. This past year God has proven himself "Provider" over and over again.  Even in the little things.  When He showed himself in such ways, at times I was completely amazed by what He had done!  I literally would smile at just how awesome He was and what He accomplished...  Mike would laugh and say, "Why are you so amazed?  You should expect it!"  And he's right--I should have expected it.  Sometimes, it takes me a while to learn. ...

A few posts ago, I told you I would share some stories about how I saw God working through this process of becoming "missionaries."  I need a break from Spanish homework, so I'll start off at the beginning.  That's as good a place as any. Mike and I got the "bug" a few years back after taking a few short term trips.  I had gone on 4 trips to El Salvador and Mike had several trips under his belt to Venezuela.  (I hadn't been there yet.)  In 2006 we casually talked about what we would like to do for "retirement".  We were all about traveling to different spots and spending 3 months or so helping missionaries.  It wasn't something we talked about all the time, but we had a plan.  That summer, we started the process for an international adoption. The more time Mike spent in Venezuela, the more drawn he got (he generally took two trips a year).  My first trip to Samuel's House was in September 2008 (and it was our first missions trip tog...

We arrived in San Jose a week ago after getting travel approval the afternoon before our departure.  Do you ever feel like God waits until the very last minute to "act"?  Personally, I think it's an exercise to strengthen our faith. There are 11 of us studying Latin American culture and learning Spanish--4 couples and three singles.  What an awesome and diverse group of people!  It didn't take long for them to become our extended family.  (Many of them share names of Mike's family even--we have: Jonathan, Zach, Denise, Emma, Chad and Leah!  Not named in any order of importance--just went from furthest apartment to closest!)  We spent the first few days in orientation--getting to know the area, shopping for food and other essentials, finding the nearest Taco Bell... All the important stuff.  (Just kidding about the Taco Bell.  But there is a KFC and Pizza Hut within walking distance!) This week started with our multi-culture classroom work...

Before leaving Colorado Springs, some very good friends of our (Wendell & Stephanie) gave us a NewLife worship CD for the road trip.  One of the songs on it is titled "Dry Bones" and is based on the story Valley of Dry Bones out of Ezekiel 37.  Listening to the words really got me thinking and desiring a deeper and more intimate relationship with God. The prophet Ezekiel has a vision that he is standing over a valley filled with dry bones (skeletons).  God tells Ezekiel to speak the Word of the Lord over them.  When he does, the bones come together and rise.  A lot of the teaching on this passage highlights the need for the Holy Spirit in our lives.  The dry bones represent people living without being plugged into God's power source. This past year has been an incredible spiritual journey for me.  Every time I relied on God to work out a glitch--He came through.  Every time He did, I trusted Him more.  I will take time later to share ...

(I tried to publish this before Christmas, while we were traveling.  Apparently I had some difficulty with the connection and it never made it.) We've been on the road for just over two weeks now and we're on the last stretch to Raleigh, North Carolina.  Weather has been outstanding for the most part.  It is December and really the only place that we've seen snow is St. Peter, Minnesota!  While it hasn't been completely dry, it has been warmer than expected. It has been such a joy spending time (even if it was a few hours) with family along the way.  We discovered that the Wood Duck migrates to Venezuela in January--so we'll be sure to keep a look out for Bennett!  We took a tour of an urban hydroponics facility (The Iron Street Farm) in Chicago as well as a "small" (12 acre) green house in upstate New York (H2Gro, Youngstown).  We were able to get some ideas we may be able to use at Samuel's House.  We are even more excited to get to Costa Ri...

It's been a whirl-wind last couple of weeks.  We were able to spend about 10 days with some of Mike's immediate family in northern Minnesota (Fargo/Moorhead) over Thanksgiving.  The temperatures were low for what I'm used to, but pretty warm for them! Pastor Jim Ray from Vally Christian Church was gracious to give us time to show a promotional video for Samuel's House and share a few minutes with his congregation about our heart for missions.  We were so blessed by the warm reception and an inspiring message about Giving. Then it was back to Colorado for the final pack up and another speaking engagement.  This time, we were at New Hope Community Church in Golden thanks to an invite from Pastor Justin Atchley.  I don't know why, but I'm always amazed at how real and authentic relationships are changing communities around the world.  We are grateful Pastor Justin turned over the entire sunday school and service times to us--allowing the church to get to k...

As we've been telling family and friends about Samuel's House, occasionally we'll be asked, "So why are you going to Venezuela to work with children when there's so many here in the US that need help?" Good question.  The not-so-simple answer is this: Because God didn't ask us to stay in the US.  He called us to work in Venezuela.  To some, this may sound a little strange, but we believe there is no other way to live than with God taking the wheel.  I recently watched a short video from Urban Outreach at a Denver location, one of the guys interviewed summed it up pretty well, "When God puts something on your heart, He has a way of getting it out and making sure you aren't happy with anything else." There are two of us but many more of you we are "leaving behind."  If you aren't already involved in your community (your "sphere of influence") I would encourage you to look into volunteer opportunities. You don't h...