Almost Africa

That's right. I didn't make it to Africa. After many trials, and hours upon hours at the United Airlines ticket counter, I made it to Paris. I won't tell the whole story here. Many friends have suggested I write a book to tell my story. The short version of the story is that United made some major mistakes, and they booked me out of a different airport than I arrived at in Paris. Having only 1 1/2 hrs to collect my checked bag, make it through security and passport screening, make the 1 hr trek across Paris, and go through the entire security/passport procedure in reverse, I wasn't even close to making my flight. Ouagadougou seems to be quite the popular place in February, since all seats on all airlines were booked until Feb. 22. So, it was either sleep in the Charles De Gaulle airport for a week, or return home. So I'm back home, and praising the Lord. I'm not sure exactly why He didn't want me to be in Africa, but I trust Him and know that His ways are Higher than mine.

Learning to Surrender

Its not an easy thing to throw your arms up in surrender. Its a pretty vulnerable feeling. Theres a reason you have to put your hands behind the back of your head when you are being arrested; the police know that you can't easily defend yourself this way. I've been getting a bit of an idea of what that is like. NO, I haven't been arrested, but I have sensed the Lord calling me to surrender to Him. I've always been a go-getter, a can-do type. Unfortunately, when this comes to our relationship with the Lord, it doesn't work out so well. We can get to the point of thinking our ingenuity or strength is enough to deal with a situation, and so we go it alone. When things work out OK we think, "Look what I did." Pride sets in. More often than not, though, we fall flat on our faces. We know our works can't get us to heaven. We know our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. But somehow we think we can still do it by ourselves. Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." I am learning that each day I must lay my life down. 1 Cor. 1 speaks of our weakness. But the great thing is, because of that weakness God can and will use us. Lets stay in a place of brokenness , relying on the Lord to be our strength.

As far as whats been going on with our family lately....We hope to be listing our home soon, and are praying that God will bring the right buyer at the right time. This will be one of the bigger obstacles before we leave for Vienna. The real estate market is slowly picking back up, so we are praying it will continue to do so. We also have lots of possessions (stuff) to sell before we go. Charis and Joel are both well, and Natalie is handling the pregnancy like a seasoned veteran. Nolan and Amy, along with Isaac and Tyge, came to visit this weekend. Its always good to see them. We went to Sisters yesterday so the girls could go to the fabric store, so the dads took the kids to the park.

I have a little over one week before leaving for Africa. I will be gone from Feb.13 - Mar. 1. I will be traveling to Burkina Faso, in West Africa. I will be staying at a compound in Ouagadougou with some friends who are missionaries there. Their names are Jerry and Jan Swanson. They work with local churches and pastors to put roofs on church buildings, as well as to teach and equip the pastors in the area. Their son Shay, who is the pastor in Vienna, will also be in Africa while I'm there. He teaches at a conference each February in Kaya. I will also get to share at this conference. If you want to learn more about Burkina Faso, you can visit this website: http://www.burkinaembassy-usa.org/. This has links to news as well as traveling to Burkina Faso. If I knew how to give you a link here for how to see the compound in Ouagadougou, I would. If anyone reading this knows how to make that happen, email me and let me know. With the latest version of Google Earth, you can get a great view of it.

Psalm 37:3-5

We just returned last week from Los Angeles. We left early on Monday morning to fly down there to turn in our applications for our Austrian Residence Permits. Just Natalie and I went down. Its been right around zero degrees here at home in Central Oregon, so the 85 degree weather was a delight. Natalie and I spent some time bike riding on Monday, going along the beach and seeing the sights. Tuesday we went directly to the Austrian Consulate in LA and turned in our applications, and the pile of paperwork that goes with them. I used Psalm 37:3-5 for the title of this post because that is the spot that we are at.

Psalm 37:3-5 (King James Version)

3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

As God opens the doors for us, we continue to go through them. This has been a desire of ours for several years, and as we delight in Him, He makes the way possible. I also know that these desires are from Him. Its not our great dream to leave our comfortable home, our family and friends, and move to a new place that is sure to be filled with difficulty. But God has given us this desire, and as He opens the doors, we move through them.

This last weekend we had our youth camp for Calvary Chapel Bend. It was Camp COLD, and we we at Suttle Lake. We had a great time up in the snow. The week leading up to the camp, there was absolutely no snow at the camp, which was going to be a real problem for our sledding and winter olympics. But, as always, God is faithful to take care of the details. Days before the camp, the snow started flying. Then on Friday night, we got another 8" of powder! We had a great time sledding and playing, and had a great time getting into God's Word. In the picture at the top is, from left to right, Steve, Noah, myself, and Jason. That picture was taken Saturday morning after the fresh snow Friday night.

Happy New Year!

Its the new year once again. Our family has gone through some changes recently which are quite noteable. Ben has wrapped up his construction business, and is now on staff full-time at Calvary Chapel Bend, Natalie is pregnant with the third Bronson child, and Joel decided Christmas Day was a great time to get his first stitches. He tripped and hit a chair, splitting his upper lip wide open.

This weekend we will be going to Suttle Lake Camp, for our annual youth winter camp, Camp COLD. We will be spending time sledding, eating, and of course drawing nearer to the Lord.

Next week we will be traveling to Los Angeles, CA, to turn in our paperwork to apply for our Austrian Visas. We have spent considerable time gettting all of our paperwork in order, so we are excited to finally be submitting all of it. Please pray for us, that God would lead and work out all of the details.

Until the Lord moves us to Vienna, we are thrilled to be here in Bend, OR, and to be serving at Calvary Chapel Bend. God is working in this fellowship, and the people are being blessed.

We are excited to see what this new year will bring. As always, God is faithful to provide and bless.