First Supporters!

I love it when God works through others to bless His people.  Sometimes we are the blessee and other times we are the recipients of that blessing.  For some people it's more difficult to be the recipient than it is to be the vessel.

Greg and I have decided that we are going to approach financial support for this whole endeavor by trusting in God to provide what we need at each juncture.  Our efforts will focus on praying in support and not soliciting.  Not that we won't do what need to do to make people aware of our needs, but we are going to let the Holy Spirit work to move people to give. 

Our first financial goal is to raise money to be able to visit Japan in Oct.  We are looking to God to be faithful to provide. 

I had an interesting interaction with a dear sister in Christ.  I offered her something that she needs to pursue what I would call a career, but she may consider a hobby... (she's that good!) and asked that she not pay me, but consider contributing to our "Watts to Japan in Oct. fund".  Amazingly she responded that her family would rather not give a lump sum, but give on a monthly basis.  I giggled when she asked if we are prepared to accept that and thought... gee, we haven't even gotten there yet!

God is so faithful He is already preparing people's hearts to contribute the work He wants to do through our family.  I'm very thankful to these dear family friends... they are most certainly a family always desiring to do the best for their Lord.  Just having them pray for us will be exciting!  I have heard story upon story from this dear family of how God has always provided for them when they need or even want something.  They are faithful to ask, God is faithful to provide.

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.   1 John 5:14-15

Application process

I remember talking to a friend from college whose family are career missionaries.  They've been in the ministry for over 10 years.  We were talking a bit about the process to become a missionary and she joked with me that she doesn't know if they would be accepted now days because the process of selection has become more involved.  I don't know if I agree with her on that, but I do agree the process is a bit overwhelming!

We have two applications sitting in front of us on the computer for two different agencies.  They are both very involved!  It's not the type of thing you can just sit down and whiz through.  There is a lot of info. they want to know and many "essay" type questions.  All is necessary, but it's a good thing the deadline for one of these applications is not until October!

Not only do we have a lot of paperwork to complete, one of the organizations we're considering wants us to visit Japan as a family before they will interview us.  We agree this would be a good idea as we have never traveled internationally as a family.  None of us have been over-seas either!  So, our next step is to trust God for the finances to be able to afford to travel to Japan.

It would be wonderful if we could make this trip the latter half of October.  A team we potentially could work with will be meeting to set a new direction in Oct.  It would be very exciting to be there when they come together to plan their next steps.  We have a possibility of somewhere to stay thanks to our friends in Japan.  That would be very helpful!  We are now looking to God to provide our transportation over there.  (Mounting on eagle's wings sounds very exciting and cheap right now!  Anybody raise eagles?)  I am confident that if God wants us there in Oct. it is nothing for Him to provide what we need.  Our friends are already busy researching some projects we could be involved in.

In the meantime, we continue to trust for God's provision!

Phil. 4:19   And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Quentin

I love how God can be so quiet and then all of a sudden He bursts out and you can't help but notice Him! 

We have many smaller "God moments" in our family life.  Often times these are little whispers of God to Greg and I or the kids.  Neat little gems that we can tuck away and know that God listens and cares for us.  But sometimes we have huge God moments.  This is one of them....

Back a month or so ago we had a funeral at our church.  We did not have the pleasure of knowing Johnny when he was alive, but after his funeral I wish we did.  Greg and I both had the thought independently that we should attend the funeral even though we didn't know Johnny.  Greg actually heard from God that he would be rewarded if he went to the funeral.  (I wondered out loud to someone as I was telling her this story... why is it that Greg gets to hear God speak and not me?  She giggled and said, "Because He knows you don't need it!")  I guess that's true!  ;-)

Anyway, we both decided to go to the funeral and it really was a lovely funeral.  Our pastors do a great job of speaking "real" of the person who has passed away.  When the funeral is over everyone can say... yes, that is the person I knew!  They also allow for open mic. time when family members and friends come up to share stories and memories of the person who has passed away.  This is my favorite time.  Sometimes we laugh together sometimes we cry together, but the stories are wonderful to hear.  I've always been a lover of people's stories.

After the funeral, Greg and I were helping set up tables for the lunch.  Greg ended up talking to a young man named Quentin.  He was talking to him for quite a while before I joined them.  Quentin introduced himself and continued his story he was telling Greg.  He's a believer in a rough place.  I invited him to come back to church with us and asked him if he needed a ride.  Yes, he did.  Where can we pick you up?  Well, that stumped him.  Currently, he was homeless.  So, I looked at Greg... and proceeded to ask Quentin if he would like to come home with us.  He accepted!

We headed home quick to tell the kids and get a few things ready.  I went back with 2 of the boys to pick up Quentin from church and take him to get his things.  The boys took an instant liking to him.  When we got home Jayden and Kylie had made a huge banner reading, "Welcome Quentin"  with added little words... we love you!  welcome to the family!  #1!  Kylie also made him a card with the whole family on it (including the dog!) with Quentin right there in the middle.

Quentin was greeted with hugs and welcomes.  Kylie gave him a hug and said, "I love you already!"  Bryson was his little shadow the first couple days following him everywhere!

Since that first weekend, Quentin has been in and out.  The kids are always asking if I know when he'll be back.  Whenever he visits all the kids come running to greet him!  He's been very gracious to us and is grateful for our help during a tough time in his life.  I really feel like our only purpose right then (and now) is to show him the love of Jesus.  It's been amazing to see how God's love and acceptance has flown through our children.  We know that this was a divine appointment with Quentin.   God's rewards are unsurpassable!

Telling family/friends

The process of telling our family/friends has been somewhat ongoing. A few people have known from the beginning and we've been telling others along the way as circumstances permit. I would say the overwhelming response has been shock. I don't think 40 somethings with 4 kids are supposed to be planning to start a new life when we "have it all".

We have a wonderful family, many many friends, a nice house (more house than we need!), great jobs, great church.... basically we have everything I have ever dreamed of. But, somewhere in the midst of all of those blessings, God is calling us to MORE. More of Him. We are too comfortable and God knows it. This calling is not for everyone, but we indeed feel it is for us. Some have had trouble understanding this. That's my first clue we are really following God! ;-)

Family and friends have been supportive, even through their shock. We aren't at the place where things are moving quickly so I think it's easier to put it on the back burner for those who love us. I know the concerns that have been raised by some are only because they love and care for us. The great thing about following God is HE is the one who will provide for our every need. He's the one asking us to do this, so HE will provide. We do a lot of things "differently" than mainstream families and many of our friends have commented that NOW they understand why God has led us to do certain things.

The hardest thing for me is when people ask us a lot of questions... when? why? what will you do? how long? We don't know the answers to any of these questions! We are on a "need to know" basis with God and apparently we don't need to know any of those answers yet! ;-) We are just taking one step at a time and doing what God asks us to do. Then, we take another step. God reveals to us in His timing what He expects of us. (This has taken me 3.5 years and lots of angst to learn!)

Part of my reason for this blog is to show God's faithfulness to us. When He gives you a mission He provides you the tools.

At the very beginning of our journey I thought a lot about Abraham....

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country^[b] and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”^[c]
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Genesis 12:1-4

Now, I realize the promise here is for Abraham, but the fact that God called him away from his home and he just went impressed me. He didn't question (at least as far as the Bible account shows). He believed God would do what He said He would do.  I also love the fact that God tells Abraham WHY He is sending him.  "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed".   We are one of those families!  The reason God sent Abraham to Canaan was not for Abraham's sake.  It was for the sake of God's people that He loves.  Abraham was just the instrument God used.  Our journey to Japan is not for our sake... it is for the sake of 98% of the population of Japan who do not know and trust Jesus as their savior.  We have been blessed so that we may bless. 

And did you notice he was 75 years old! How glad I am God chose to send us in our 40's!  Much easier to carry those suitcases!  :-)

Telling the Kids

For 3.5 years we didn't say anything to the kids about missionary work over-seas.  It's a weird thing to have something so big in our future, yet to the kids, life went on as normal.  About May 2012 we decided it was time to share with the kids. 

We gathered them together for a "family meeting".  We don't do this very often so everyone knew something was up!  First question was, "Mom, are you pregnant?"  Heh, heh... nope.

Greg shared with the kids the whole story.  The reactions from the kids were pretty much what I expected.  Jayden was excited.  Kylie was quiet.  Rylan (after interrupting the story with a million questions) cried and asked if they would want to kill us in Japan.  (I guess we've read too many missionary stories that don't end well!)  And Bryson rolled around on the floor during the entire annoucement and then proceeded to ask as soon as we were finished if he could play video games! 

The next morning Rylan came rushing down the stairs to find me.  First thing he asked me if there are waterparks in Japan.  He had a dream last night that he was at a water park in Japan.   I told him I'm not sure and let's look.  So we hopped on the computer and searched and we found out, yes!  There are!  I pulled up a photo of one and Rylan exclaimed, "MOM!  That's the waterpark that was in my dream!  I think God is trying to tell me, "Chill out dude, everything is going to be okay!"

How sweet to hear our 8 year old get a message from God.  Calming his fears in one night!  From then on Rylan has been excited about Japan.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Preparing

"How is God preparing you?"  That's one of the questions we have to answer on an application to a mission organization.  Wow, how do I answer that in 200 words or less?  I think I could write a book!  The past 3 years have been very challenging for Greg and I.  Learning to work through the differences in our personality, in how we act out our faith, man/woman differences and husband/wife differences.  Never has our relationship been so tested, but now on the other side of things never has our relationship been stronger.  Notice I said "stronger" not "more perfect!"  We are still two selfish individuals trying to live together (and trying to get 4 more little selfish individuals to live together with us!), but God has taught us both a lot about what it means to follow Him as well as what it means to love each other.

There are some practical ways too that God is preparing us.  Take our diet for one.  We've always strived to eat healthy.  Some periods of our lives have been healthier than others, but for the most part we try hard.  Well, due to some health issues with Rylan and I in particular, we have had to drastically change our diet.  What did we change to?  How about whole foods/no sugar/low grain.  Hmmmmm... wonder how we might eat in Japan?  Our kids (and us) have had to get used to a lot of new foods and old foods prepared a different way.  As we adjust to a new food culture I'm sure these lessons we're learning now will come in handy!

Isn't great that God led us into homeschooling?  We will begin our 5th year and the kids (and I) really do love it.  Again, it's not "perfect", but when it comes down to it, homeschooling allows our family to focus on the things God wants our particular family to focus on.  A great benefit in this is that in the midst of all the changes we will go through, the children's schooling can stay the same.  They will have that anchor to let down in an ocean full of unknowns.  Not to mention the fact that we can tailor our education to our children's particular needs... such as learning Japanese! 

A year and half ago, Greg and I took Financial Peace University.  This is a 13 week course designed by Dave Ramsey to help people get control of their financial situation.  We were not in consumer debt so that wasn't our issue... really we just needed focus on trying to stay in budget each month.  That class drastically changed the way we operate with our finances.  I believe God was giving us a format to manage our money well.  This will be a key skill as we seek to use money other people supply us with to do Kingdom work.  We now have been trained to be diligent about our finances.

We have been involved in our church for 15 years.  We helped start it from the ground up.  We are so greatful for the church God has provided for us.  I truly believe God has used the community around us to build a love for the lost.  Our church does not focus a lot on foreign missions, (guess we'll change that a bit!), but has taught us how to be local missionaries.  How to serve God to the best of our ability right where we are.  This has helped to give us a heart for those who God is still waiting on to come to Him.  Our church reaches out to people who probably wouldn't step a foot inside a traditional church.  We have all walks of people... rich/poor, black/white, advantaged/disadvantaged, churched/unchurched... all of us sinners needing redemption.  We affectionately refer to ourselves as "The Island of Misfit Toys".  That's who we are... and we're proud of it!

There are so many more things I could mention, but I'm sure I've hit the 200 word mark! I can rest easy knowing God will prepare us in all the things He would like us to be prepared in... and the rest.... gee, guess we'll have to trust Him!  :-)

Philippians 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

In the Beginning.....

If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would be authoring a blog such as this, I would have said you were crazy!

Our adventure starts in Sept. 2008.  It actually just started with Greg.  He had trouble going to sleep one night and had this horrible feeling he was about to "hear" something he didn't want to hear.  He tried to fall asleep, but the dog had to go outside so he had to go down and let her out.  On his way back to bed he heard a message from God telling him He wants our family to enter the mission field.  Greg (not really wanting to know) asked "Where?"  And God answered... China.  Greg was overwhelmed and really not all that happy about that plan.  It took him several weeks to even tell me.

Once Greg told me I was very excited and ready to board a plane.  Greg, on the other hand, wanted to be as far away from any plane heading anywhere that he could be.  We went through a rocky time in our family and marriage as we both struggled through the next 3 years of knowing this is on the horizon, but not really knowing what to do.  We can look back now and see God has done so much work that was needed to be done on Greg and I individually as well as our marriage and family.  The work is by no means done, but we've had some major refining along the way.



The red areas are people groups unreached with the gospel.  Notice Japan is RED!
Less than 2% of the population in Japan are believers in Jesus!

In December 2011, Greg came to me and said he felt it was time to pursue moving forward.  I had finally given up trying to convince Greg of anything and said I wouldn't mention China ever again unless he brought it up.  The only time I did bring it up was about 2 weeks or so before he came to me in Dec. I had sent him an email.  God had given me the thought that maybe Greg was not supposed to be the "up front" missionary.  Maybe that's my role and he plays a more supporting role.  Greg later told me this was the first thing that actually made sense to him.  Isn't it amazing that when God is really working in our lives things don't always make sense?  Why would someone "want" to give up part of their income to help the poor?  Why would anyone invite a stranger into their home?  Why would we uproot our family and comfortable lives to enter an unseen future?  Often times I find the way God works is very non-sensical to me.

So, I proceeded to call a couple mission organizations.  We are still in contact with both the organizations we contacted.  We haven't decided yet which is the better fit.  We had some phone conversations and filled out some preliminary applications.  Somewhere along the line I decided to email our good friends who had been missionaries in Turkey, now stationed in Japan.  They are prayer warriors and deeply devoted to Jesus, so I just knew their prayer support would be invaluable.  I sent one email with our prayer request for direction and such. 

I heard back from them right away the next morning.  They, of course, said they would pray for us.  But, they also wanted us to know of an opportunity to serve in Japan.  They did not want to misguide us at all, but as I later found out my friend had a burning desire to mention this position to us.  We know it was the Holy Spirit leading her to tell us.  I got very excited after reading that email.  What you don't know is that Greg has had an interest in Japan ever since he was a child.  In fact, many of his discussions with God early on in our "China" adventure had to do with "Why couldn't you have said JAPAN?"  My immediate thought was that because of Greg's faithfulness in following God to China (even though he didn't want to go there), maybe God was giving him the desire of his heart... to go to Japan.

So, we prayed about it to make sure we weren't disobeying and have come to the conclusion that God is leading us to Japan.  I have to admit, that was a little adjustment for me.  I had set my heart on China and was thinking up things in my head that I wanted to be invovled in.  All of them noble ventures, but my guess is God wanted more control over what I would do than what I was wanting to give Him.  I have NO idea really what we would do in Japan.  The position we were made aware of is an option, but God has not set my heart on that.  I believe it was just God's way of redirecting us to Japan instead of China.

So that is the beginning, but certainly there is no end to this story!  This blog is intended to document God's amazing work in us as He prepares us for a new chapter in our lives!  I'm hoping you'll join us in our journey to Japan!