Car Accidents and More

Some of you may have heard that Matt and our little Blake were in a car accident on the way back over Snoqualmie Pass last Sunday. Both are fine and were not harmed in any way, praise God. The snowfall was getting heavier and another car started sliding into them, hitting the back corner of the van and sending them spinning out into a snowbank. They made it home okay from there, but there is about $3,600 worth of damages to the van. We are now just praying that things go smoothly with insurance and that there aren't any problems, since there were no witnesses. In addition, when they arrived in Seattle a couple of days before, the starter on the van stuck and burned up. Matt spent several hundred dollars to replace it. At the same time we've had more plumbing issues at home and I found a leak in the bathroom. One of our computers recently died altogether as well.

When we think about all that has happened to us in this last year and the timing of it all, it seems absolutely unbelievable, yet Peter talks about this specifically.

"Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you." 1 Peter 4:12

We have also seen God's protection in incredible ways. It's easy for us to get frustrated and focus on the negative, but there have been some huge things to be thankful for in each thing. Praise God the starter didn't burn up on the way to Seattle, at a rest stop or in a town! Praise God that the boys weren't hurt and that we have insurance. Yes, we are getting pretty tired of all of this. I'm pretty sure however that this is going to be great preparation for some of the struggles that we'll face in Indonesia. We still get discouraged at times and feel the frustration, but we are thankful for the ways God has had his hand on our lives and for the prayers and encouragement of so many friends and family.

It's Not About Us

I woke up this morning with a pit in the bottom of my stomach. I was scheduled to speak in a women's bible study group of about 40-50 women that I have been attending, and felt more nervous than all of the churches we have presented in to this point! I had to keep reminding myself, "this isn't about me God, it's about you." When I arrived at the church and started setting up, I wasn't able to get the powerpoint working correctly. I started to panic. Frantically, Matt and I tried to troubleshoot it over the phone, but to no avail. He ended up having to wake Callie from her nap and quickly drop her off at the neighbor's house. He raced to the church and we were able to get it working just in time.

I think this process has given me a few grey hairs along the way, but God is faithful. Afterwards the women showered me with hugs, encouragement, and excitement about the ministry that God has called us into. Some even had tears in their eyes. I was overwhelmed with love and kind words from these precious women of God.

This year has not been an easy one. We have been challenged in every way and have faced discouragement, exhaustion, and the feeling of overwhelming weakness. But God has proved time and time again that it is in our brokenness, our nervousness, our weakness, that his power is able to sweep through and accomplish his mighty works. This isn't about us. If he can use weak, fearful Moses to demonstrate his power, he can most assuredly use us.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Well we arrived back in Spokane yesterday evening and are just trying to get settled in again. We had an extremely busy time in Bellevue, but it was a good time of meeting many new people and reconnecting with friends.

On the way there we actually had trouble with a snowstorm and the mountain pass closed on us right before making it over. We turned around and went to check out hotels in CleElum but they had already filled up, so we headed to Ellensburg. There were only two hotels left that still had rooms and I ended up being on hold with one of them for 15 minutes. By this time I was getting pretty frustrated and the kids were starting to meltdown. On top of that, we had the poor cat and he hadn't gone to the bathroom in quite a while. By the time we found the hotel, we could see that people were overflowing the waiting area! What were we going to do? We could go to Yakima to stay with my great aunt, but that was 40 miles away. The next morning we were supposed to speak in a church in Redmond and we had no clue if the pass would even re-open that night. Just as we were about to head to Yakima, the pass opened up! It actually was a huge blessing that we were on hold so long with the hotel, because if we would have booked a room, the pass would have opened up shortly after. Overall the trip took us almost 9 hours (should have taken less than 5) and we were exhausted by the time we arrived in Bellevue, but at least we had space to spread out and didn't have to worry about missing our speaking engagement.

The next day as we were driving to the church, we realized that we had forgotten the most important thing...our thumb drive that had our presentation! Not only that, but we forgot BOTH of our phones so we couldn't call my parents to meet us halfway. Usually we aren't that flighty but we were extremely tired. I dropped Matt off and unloaded our stuff and raced back home. I got back to the church about 30 seconds before he called us up to do the interview in front of the church. WHEW! The presentation ended up going well and we were able to meet several friendly people. We spoke at another church the next Sunday and after showing our video people actually started clapping! It was encouraging to see people get so excited about what God is doing through MAF.

As usual, staying with my parents was awesome and they enjoyed babysitting (they did a lot of it!), which eased the stress of running from place to place. Unfortunately, one of the things I feared most about leaving Spokane again was disrupting Callie's schedule after she finally had started sleeping through the night. Sure enough, she started waking up again. We were up with her every night, sometimes for hours. Since she was sleeping in the walk-in closet off of our room, there wasn't much we could do about it. For me, that is probably the toughest part of this whole process. As a woman I just want to be settled and have a routine!

Overall, though, it was a good trip and I loved the times that we had with friends and family.

Blake having a great time with Grandma at Kelsey Creek Farm

Thankfully the pass wasn't as bad on the way home, but it was still crazy!

Beautiful Scenery

Quick Update - Seattle

We are gearing up for a quick trip back to the Seattle area to speak in two churches and some small groups as well. Though our time will be short there, we are looking forward to seeing friends and family and will hopefully enjoy some down time too.

Here's some things that you can be praying for:

• Please pray for health and safety as we travel.


• Pray that God would use our stories to touch and encourage people as we share


• Pray that Callie would sleep okay (she'll be in the closet off of our room) and that we get some sleep too. For those of you that know me (Ellie), I NEED my sleep!


• Pray that God would use these opportunities to grow our prayer and financial team. We are still hoping to be at 80% of our monthly ministry support by August.

Thanks to those of you that have encouraged and supported us in this journey. If you have a church, small group, bible study, or any other venue that might like to hear us share, please let us know!

Morning Surprises

Yesterday morning we awoke to about twenty piles of cat barf and a leaky hot water heater that had started to flood our downstairs laundry room, continuing a string of frustrating trials and setbacks. Before we even discovered these things I actually prayed, "Okay God, I don't know what is going to happen today and I pray that you take these trials away, but if they are going to continue, please help us through them!" Shortly after that we noticed the barf and the leak. Matt and I just looked at each other and had to laugh. "This is ridiculous!" In all of this however we are finding things to be thankful for even in the trials themselves, like how lucky it was that we discovered the leak before it flooded the entire basement!

We have begun to really identify with the verse in 2 Corinthians when Paul says "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." Is this all a coincidence? I don't think so. We are getting ready to serve in a country in which the majority of the people do not know the love and freedom that can be found in Jesus. There is an enemy that wants to stop us and to discourage us, but we know and hold onto the truth that God has called us to serve the precious people of Indonesia and He is more powerful than any opposing force. I believe He has allowed these things to accomplish His purposes and we are being refined on a daily basis. There have been days of discouragement, frustration, and I have cried often, but we have grown so much! He has asked us to follow Him no matter what the cost. When I am reminded of the stories of lives that have been impacted in such incredible ways, it gives me a new perspective on our current troubles. Is it all worth it? You bet.

The culprit

Funny Big Brother

Answers!!!

In response to some inquiries on the last post about how God answered our prayers, we thought we'd be a little more specific and answer some of those questions. For those of you who don't know, we are support raising full time this year with the goal of being at 100% of our monthly support and in Indonesia by January of next year. We call it ministry partnership, because those who have chosen to partner with us financially and in prayer are part of this ministry with us and have a heart to see God reach the people of Indonesia. This phase, before we go, is also a ministry. God has already been using our story and how we were brought to this point to touch people, and He has built our faith in so many ways as well!

Having said all of that, things have been extremely slow lately in ministry partnership and we seemed to hit a wall as far as moving forward. In addition to being bogged down with computer crashes and viruses, sickness, and several other distractions, not much was happening in the way of ministry partnership and several doors seemed to be closing on us. Feeling a little discouraged and at a loss of what to do next, we decided to devote a day to prayer, specifically asking God to open doors and open the floodgates of His resources, so to speak. And did He ever!!! Within a week of our prayer day, starting that very night, things started to happen. Here are a few:

• We received calls from pastors who wanted to meet with us or speak to the congregation



• Our missions pastor was able to arrange a meeting with two local pastors



• We were notified of a new monthly donor



• We were notified that a current supporter had increased their giving
  


• A church that we met with back in September gave $500 (I will mention that we never expected this church to give!)



• A current supporter called to tell us that they were giving an additional $700 and also increasing their monthly donations!
  

Praise God!!!! He listens to our prayers and He is working on our behalf.

I will extol the Lord at all times;

his praise will always be on my lips.

My soul will boast in the Lord:

let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the Lord with me;

let us exalt his name together.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant;

their faces are never covered with shame.

Psalm 34:1-5