1000 miles Deep in the Heart of Texas!

Yesterday we hit the 1000 mile mark of our trip. That number sounds impressive until we realized that we are still not to the halfway point. Today we pick up friends who will complete the rest of the trip with us. With that being said, we are currently trying to figure out how to fit two more people with luggage into a van that already holds our whole life!

We have tried to work in a Western theme in this trip with caving, a chuck wagon lunch, and yesterday a real deal Rodeo. The kids loved it, as did I. It was a great way to relax after the several long days of driving.

The last couple of days I have been listening back through Pastor Aaron's "One Month To Live" sermon series. It has really been reaffirming as it speaks to why Joy and I originally made this decision. We wanted to choose to live every day completely and love people passionately.

One thing though that I would not put on my bucket list is driving 2400 miles with a 3,6 and 7 year old. Please pray for our nerves as they are slowly shattering! We pity those who join us today.

MO and O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A

I am glad I decided to bring every person a set of head phones! It has been great! The kids so far have been doing a really good job in the car. We had our second longest drive day yesterday. The longest day will be when we drive into Mexico. Joelle has fallen a sleep in the car both days. Which is great for the car ride, but not so great when we get to the hotel.

Yesterday when went to one of the 6000 caves in Missouri. This was the first time they ever went into a cave and they thought it was pretty cool. Joelle was a little disappointed that she didn't get to see one of the bats that are the size of your thumb that lived in the cave. We also took a walk on a trail and had a little fun in the creek.

Our trip is going well. Things haven't always gone as we have planned, but we have still been able to stay on track. Today we will be in Oklahoma. I am sure I will have a song stuck in my head all day. O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A!

This post I started this morning and had a little tech problems. Since this morning we haven't done much different. Drive, drive and more driving. We have driven like 750 miles so far and aren't even halfway! We should be halfway by tomorrow.

We where swallowed by a whale on the way down and hopefully we'll be spit out in a foreign country in three days! No turning back!

Tonight we are hitting a minor league park.

The Long and Winding Road

So it began! The first step of many steps on the journey. It was such a relief to drive away from Indianpolis last night. While we were saddened about the many family and friends we have said goodbye to, we are also excited about the journey ahead. After the months of preperation and work to get ready for this move, we finally got the first feel of the wind in our hair. The first day was pretty uneventful as we primarily drove at night with the goal of just getting some miles behind us. Today we have a day of activities planned.

On a personal note, I spent most of the drive listening to my IPOD as Joy read. I was struck by the words of the song "Lead me to the Cross". The songwriter pleads, "all the things I once held dear, I now count loss." I started praying that as we waved goodbye to Indiana. The upcoming transition will provide us with great experiences, but also challenge us with things we would never have to deal with in the states. I just pray that I would not let my heart be held captive to the creature comforts of the past.

Will it fit?

This is what we have narrowed it down to. (Not including two bins and a keyboard already in the car.)

Now the question, How will we fit it in our van?! We will need to keep open two seats because we are picking up two people on the way. (Which we are so excited about!)

It definately looks like it's going to be a giant jigsaw puzzle. Or maybe we will have to limit it down even more!

Bigger Barns

The last two weeks my life has eerily mirrored that wonderful cinematic classic “Groundhog Day” featuring my favorite Cubs fan Bill Murray. I get up every morning and I start getting rid of things. Some days I give things away to family and friends. Some days I take loads to the Goodwill. Either way, I wake up the next morning and my house is still full of things and I begin again. This may be a bit of exaggeration, but it isn’t too far from the truth.

My family has become very good at accumulating things and this has gotten me to thinking. First, it reminds me of how blessed I have been as I am short of nothing I need and do have an overabundance. Secondly, it brings me a bit of sadness. You start to realize how much of your life has been spent in acquiring abundance. I have been reminded recently of the parable of the rich man (below).

I have spent years now in abundance and to an extent I have built bigger barns and filled them. Joy and I started our marriage in an apartment and a cottage in Chicago both of which had about 600 square feet. We then moved to 2 different apartments with about 1000 square feet a piece. We got a good job made some money and bought a house of 2200 square feet. We did better at that job and decided to buy a house of 3300 square feet. As we bought them we filled them, as they became filled we bought more.

As I was driving through our neighborhood today, I found myself looking in every open garage. Most were so filled the cars were forced to occupy the driveways. For the most part, like us, I assumed these garage items were used rarely. Like us, our neighbors have been blessed to the level that we have the ability to buy things that give us pleasure once or twice a year. We then stuff them in a corner. I, like them, have used my abundance to buy, to store, and to enjoy.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying our life; Scripture confirms this in several places. The thing that saddens me is that I have spent a chunk of my life building bigger barns and laying up more and more good things. I have so many good things the dust is collecting dust. All this while so many have so few good things. While I have tried to be generous, I think the parable makes it clear that the point of my abundance, any abundance, is to be rich towards God. I want to be richer towards God.

The funny thing about this passage is it is followed directly by a story imploring us not to worry. We do not have to store up treasure to assure our future.

Luke 12:16-22

And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

Do Not Worry
22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.

Rough Night

It was a long night! Joelle has been throwing up. This morning I finally took her down to Brian and said it's you shift so I could catch some zzzs. I had already gotten rid of almost all my sheets except the ones I packed. In the middle of the night I was scrounging around looking for sheets. Luckily, I found two sheets I just washed that missed the load to the Goodwill.

Even though Joelle is the youngest, she's my best at throwing up where you direct her too. All my bowls are gone as well, but I find that 95% of the time when kids are little they don't make the bowl. I think towels work better. (My little tip.)

I guess it's better for her to be sick now than on our trip. Hopefully no one else gets sick. I think the count down is 6 days until we leave!

A few things on my mind…

1~ “What do I really need?” is the question I have been asking myself. As an American I think I have fallen for a few lies that I think I need more than I do. I’m just not sure how much I need. Where is that line when I cross what I need, to being excessive? I don’t know that answer.

2~ Another little bump in the road has been insurance for us. The school supplies mine, but no one else’s. We’ve had a little problem getting it for the family. If all else fails I think I can get it with the school’s insurance policy, but to be honest the school doesn’t really cover anything, but accidents. Even the accidents are very limited to what it will cover. People are already going to have to drag me to the car if anything happens to me! It’s not really what I want for the others. Again this is coming from a crisis oriented American who feels the need to prepare for any situation.

3~ We have gotten all our important documents except my apostille for my degree. I was very relieved when I got my kids birth certificates, because I thought I might not have sent in the right thing.

4~ Other than that, things are slowly coming together. Only one more week until we head south!

Stressed and Stretched

Okay so I have to admit I'm a little stressed. It's not that I don't believe it will all come around because I do, it's just that there seems to always be so much to do. I come to the end of the day a little exhausted and stressed. There always seems to be things that pop up to add to my list of to-dos.

This experience is already stretching me. I have been learning to let go of my many possessions. It's not been easy at times. Through this time I have often been reminded of the story of Jesus in the Bible with the Rich man. The story of the one were he tells him to go sell everything he has and give it to the poor. I think I'm similar to that rich man. The Bible says he had great wealth. While I really don't think of myself as "wealthy", as I have been getting rid of many things and there's still so much, I have realized how wealthy I am. I might be just as wealthy as or wealthier than that "rich man". After all he didn't have all the little gadgets and do-dads I do, like a washer and dryer. I'm sure even this rich man would have been impressed with my electronics and modern day things. Yet he left sad, letting go was much to hard.

In reality Jesus was saying it wasn't about what you can do to get eternal life. The rich man says "what good thing must I do". (Matt. 19:16) It really wasn't about this rich man, but about God. God understood what was separating this man from truly following him. It was his attachment to the material world and what he felt he "owned". Jesus knew how to quickly reveal people's hearts. I feel like He's revealing my own heart. Sometime I find it more difficult than it should be to let go. God is reminding me of where my treasures are and where they should be.

Brian, on the other hand, would like to put everything in black bags and drop them off at the Goodwill, no questions asked. I think God is teaching him other lessons!

ASK

I am learning when you move to another country how important it is to keep asking questions! Ask them to anyone who has ever lived in another country. Especially the country you plan on living. Ask the same questions over and over. One person you might ask might not know, but eventually if you keep asking, you will finally get the right answer. That’s at least what I’m hoping. There have been several very important things we would have not been prepared for our trip if it weren’t for researching and asking questions.

I have also learned the importance of following up on people. It’s always a debate of mine. Do I wait patiently for my document or do I call and check. I felt almost guilty about calling and checking in on my college for the apostille, but I am so glad I did. It’s the one apostille I can’t do on my own and am dependant on my school to do at least part of it. When I called on Monday they hadn’t even STARTED! As you can imagine I was a bit perturbed. But honestly I felt like I handled it appropriately. (I have in the past occasionally blown up on the phone when these sorts of things have happened.) I stayed calm, but was firm to let him know that we are moving, like I already told him early back in May 24th, in two weeks. Then when I got off the phone I began to cry.

Thankfully there hasn’t been a ton of kinks in the road and fortunately we can at least get in with a tourist visa. We might just be taking a trip to the border in 6 months if we don’t get these papers in time. (I’m also waiting on my kids birth certificates) I knew that moving to another country wasn’t going to be easy. It’s definitely not, but I believe that all this hard work will be worth it.

“Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.”
Booker T. Washington

What about the kids??

Joy and I have given you our backstory about our developing desire to do this. I thought it fitting to follow with a little discussion about our kids. The first questions we often get about our children are how they will adjust or if they are also excited. These are all valid questions and all questions that Joy and I spent a lot of time going through as we prayed over the multiple possible destinations to choose from. These questions were big in helping direct us to Mexico.

But more then this, so much of Moving to Mexico is because of the desires that we have and that we beleive God has for our children. We want our children to know that the world is a big place full of endless opportunity. We want our children to learn that people across this world think differently, speak differently, and act differently then we do. We want them to learn to love others who are different. We want them to learn what it is like to be a minority. We want them to build empathy and compassion for others. We want them to realize that not everyone and every country has been provided the same financial blessings as we have had in the US. More then anything we want them to love God and people more than they love things. Of course, I think parents who plan carefully can provide all of these experiences for their children in the US. We felt this was one of the ways God desired to teach our whole family these valuable lessons. So as Joy and I have shared our desire for moving, we believe the moving to Mexico is just as important for the growth of our children as it is for us.

Why...

Are we doing this?

Last week Joy answered this question and I think it's my turn. I don't know when I decided I wanted to do this, but from an early age I wanted to make a difference. Growing up, my two favorite movies were "Glory" and "Lean on Me". These movies inspired me to want to do something great, to make an impact. After I became a Christian in High School, this desire to want to make a difference turned into a desire to be used by God to do great things. It was at this point that I started entertaining the thought of foreign ministry.

In early college, just like the movies which inspired a young kid, two books completely transformed my life. The first "The Shadow of the Almighty" about the short but glorious life of Jim Elliott gave me a personal hero to emulate. Likewise, "Rich Christians in Age of Hunger" convicted me of the type of person I did not want to be. I heavily recommend reading both.

As I neared the end of my college years I was contemplating mission work. It was then, at the beginning of my Senior Year that I met my lovely wife. We were married a year later and headed to Chicago.

Here I followed an early passion, in the footsteps of "Lean on Me", I worked in arguably the toughest High School in Chicago. It at times was too eerily close to "Lean on Me" for those who have seen the first half of the movie.

As can happen at times unexpectedly with marriage, we were pregnant a year later and a year after having the first we were pregnant with the second. Suddenly as is often the case, youthful dreams dissapear and responsibility takes over. I looked for any job I could get to pay the bills. Luckily, I wound up with a great job as an educational sales rep. Not only did it pay the bills, but with success it provided us financial blessings we never dreamed of or aspired to.

Regretfully for me, the success was intoxicating. I look back now remembering very little about a couple of years of my life that doesn't have to do with work. I have very few memories of my children at certain ages. I finally burnt myself out and as is the case it was here that I began to reflect on dreams and vision.

I remembered the person I wanted to be and realized that if I didn't embrace that desire now I probably never would. This led me to ask God again for what he desired for me. I have said this in a previous post also, but life with God is great. For years I forgot this, but daily now I am reminded that God can and will provide us with a life so abundant that our fleeting desires of this life will seem like trivial pursuits. I allowed these fleeting things to distract me for a time, but am now encouraged to think that there is no limit to what God might choose to do through me if I let Him.

"Do not where yourself out to get rich" Proverbs 23:4a Where I have been

"In the house of the righteous their is much treasure" Prov 15:6 Where I desire to be

16 Days!

We are now counting down in DAYS! We have been busy with what you would expect. Spending time with family, packing, getting rid of things, shots, getting paperwork for visas. At times we can be completely relaxed, calm, and at peace. Then there are other times when we look around and think how in the world are we possibly going to be ready to leave in 16 DAYS! It can be nerve racking waiting on important documents you need to take with you. I have a couple of these that I'm waiting to get. There also have been great moments of spending time with family and appreciating them even more because of our impending departure.

The Question

How long have you wanted to be a Missionary?

I have gotten a similar question like this a couple times recently. I really had to think about it. It was not over night that Brian and I decided to move to Mexico. It was many baby steps that brought us to this point. Brian’s journey is much different, but I’ll share mine.

When I was around 11 years old I saw a news special on Albania and the first video of this previously closed communist country. I had never heard of this country before, but I was so touched and distraught about the conditions of many of the orphans. This is the first time I ever remember having a desire to leave this country. I never traveled much growing up and this continued to fuel my desire to travel.

When I was 20 years old I was at a crossroads. I was losing my job and I was still on the waiting list to Moody. I had a missionary family I knew contact me and asked if I could come and stay with them for a month. When I lost my job that's exactly what I did. A first hand chance to see missions up close for an entire month. While there, I was fascinated that the kids on this island were trilingual.

After that month I was planning on working at an inner city camp for the summer with a mission I had been volunteering. Then after that I was in contact with another missionary family in Africa. They had asked if I didn’t get accept in Moody if I would come with them to Africa and start up some camps. There on the table was my decision. I would either go to Moody if I finally got in or go to Africa. While I was in Bonaire I got accepted to Moody. And was headed up to Chicago after a summer at inner-city camp.

I came home and the next day I left for Camp Hunt where I met Brian. We were engaged by the end of the summer and married the next summer. I went to Moody up in Chicago and my eyes were constantly being open to new things. I was involved in a ministry there called ISI (International Student Inc.). I was paired up with an international student as a conversational English partner. I absolutely loved getting to know each international student I had and was amazed at the many conversations that were opened up to share about what I believe with each one. One even brought me to a large church for an Easter explanation and then asked me questions on the ride home.

After Brian and I got married a year latter we were expecting our first and needed to move out of Married housing at Moody. We ended up moving into a Spanish speaking neighborhood. Ever since Brian and I have been married, every where we have lived, we have always had neighbors whose first language is Spanish. Naturally I thought it would be important if my kids learned Spanish. I thought it’s ridiculous how our education system is set up that we don’t study language until at the earliest Jr. High and for me not until High school. It didn’t really make a whole lot of sense. I decided I wanted my kids to learn when they were young. Since then, I have always wanted to serve in a Spanish speaking country. (Although it was a toss up, because I really enjoyed the Asian internationals I have gotten to know.)

I'm sure there is more of these little steps, but those are the main ones that lead me to decide to move to Mexico and become a "missionary". Obviously there is another story to be told, but I'll leave that one for my husband to tell.

The What Ifs?

As I prepare for the trip, my head tends to be filled with the What ifs? What if we have a hard time finding a good place to live? What if we run into snags driving down through Mexico? What if our kids have a hard time adjusting? What if we have a hard time building relationships or learning the language? What if I am not up for the task ahead? What if we have financial issues? What if? What if? What if?

I started to think about my faith and why it tends to be full of these types of questions. As I was thinking through this it struck me that God never has a "what if" moment. His plan for me never has a "what if" any where in it. I think every believer can take solace in this truth. He knows the answer to every question of my family's voyage. That should give me comfort during my "what if" moments.