Always be prepared

Earlier this year, I was honored when one of my former students from the youth group asked me to speak at his Eagle scout ceremony. Now, I was never really boy scout material growing up. I remember a distinct conversation with the pack master when I was in cub scouts that went something like “Son, some are made for boy scouts and others aren’t and well, you…er…well” and that ended my time in the cub/boy scouts.

Ironically though, I have always tried to live by the motto “Always be prepared”. I carry a pocket knife with me in the event that I run into a wandering bear or more likely need to cut open that bag of chips that just wouldn’t pull open. I love having a Palm PDA as you can cram tons of information in them for the “Just in case”. Need the wiring order for a pass thru CAT5 cable? Where’s the closest free WiFi hotspot? Need a calculator that can drawup your monthly mortgage payments? I sync everyday with multiple newspaper websites so that if I get stuck somewhere I have something fresh to read. I also have nine versions of the Bible in my Palm just in case I need to see if something is translated in a different way (this requires me to carry an extra SD memory card – but sometimes that’s what it takes to be prepared).

Now I know some of you are reading on in amazement and others have already stopped reading and are praying for us (especially for Krista and wondering how she lives with me). But being prepared is what this week and the following month are about for us. We leave on Tuesday, Feb 21st, for one month of Preparation Training in Colorado. We will be going through the SPLICE (Spiritual Personal Lifestyle Interpersonal Cultural Endure/Enjoy) at Mission Training International (MTI) in Palmer Lake, Colorado. Its just north of Colorado Springs. During this time we will be learning about how to live in another culture, work better in a team environment, and learning more about ourselves so that we are prepared to make the move that God has before us. We are also doing some logistical things like getting Colorado drivers licenses (these are equivalent to German licenses so we can trade them in when we get there whereas our North Carolina licenses would require we take driving school and exams – very expensive) and we are shopping for winter clothes – real winter clothes, not the kind you find in North Carolina.

So right now Krista and I are preparing ourselves for leaving my parent’s house (which is where we are living right now), making sure we are prepared for our trip (I have all our flight information, diagrams of all the airports and emergency phone numbers in my Palm), doing the last minute things that are needed to make sure the sale of our house is on track (we are closing on March 8th while we are in Colorado – thank goodness for power of attorney) and packing our suitcases.

We are preparing ourselves not only for this trip, but for the journey God has laid before us. Please pray that we will be open to how God moves us to be prepared. Please continue to pray that the sale of our house will go through smoothly. Also, please continue to pray that people will want to join us as part of our team in a financial way. Once our training is done and our house sells, all that will be left is for us to reach the 100% mark for our monthly expenses (we are currently at 63%).

PS – We will be blogging from Colorado however we don’t know how often but check back for pictures and information from the Mountain Time Zone.

Men, snow, and trust

My posts have been delayed due the fact that I actually spent some time away from the computer. I know those of you that know me are probably in shock but I handled the withdrawal pretty good. It was actually pretty easy as I got to hang out with a bunch of men from my church on a Men’s retreat this last weekend. We had a great time learning about how to fight not against our families but FOR our families.

One particular experience from the weekend was when we got to do a team ropes course. My team was made up of Keith, Eric, Burns, Mike (not pictured) and myself. It was very interesting as not only were we dangling about 30-40 feet above the ground but those on the ground had some really slow targets (US!) to throw snowballs at. We had just gotten a really good snow (for North Carolina at least) which meant that we moved slower up there and those below had a lot of ammo.

Several parts of the course had ice on them but to accomplish the course as a team meant that we had to hold onto each other (sometimes a little too much). When we got done, we felt great about what we had just done. It took a lot of team work, communication, and trust to get through the course. But isn’t that what life is about – a lot of team work, tons of communication, and then there’s trust.

I know this is something that I have struggled with as to trust someone mean’s that you give up control. Ironically, American money has “In God we TRUST” imprinted on it but does any country really trust God? Do they really give up control to God? As individuals, do we really trust God? I know that God has been moving us to trust Him more and more as we have been preparing to go out onto the field. There are so many things that have to happen before we can move to Germany but God just keeps reminding us that He has called us to Germany therefore we have to trust Him to make everything come together to make the move.

Please continue to pray that we will learn more and more how to trust God with everything in our lives and more and more of our lives we have to depend on Him.

New Contract on our house

Hey friends and family,

We got a contract on our house today. A little lower than the last but looks solid to proceed with a closing date of March 8. They already have financing and are moving from an apartment so they don’t have anything they need to sell themselves.

So Courtney’s done with school, we’ve got our Pre-Field Orientation in Colorado from Feb 21-March 17 and now our house under contract. The only thing left is the 100% mark. Yeah GOD! We were thrilled at our progress last month from 57 to 63% and moving on up… We’re meeting with a missions committee next Wednesday in Winston Salem so please pray for that.

Love you lots,

Courtney and Krista

How to pray for your missionary

Here are some guidelines to help you in praying for your missionary.

• SPIRITUAL HEALTH
1. That they would keep the Lord Jesus first in all they do!
2. That they would make time for prayer, Bible study, reading, and memorization.
3. That they would have good fellowship with Christians where ever they are serving.
• PHYSICAL HEALTH
1. That they would stay in good health and that they would be able to get help (doctor or medicines) if needed.
2. That they would be safe in traveling and safe from other dangers as well.
3. That they would not become too exhausted to be effectively used by God.
4. That their financial needs would be met.
• EMOTIONAL HEALTH
1. That their family relationships would be good.
2. That their relationships with nationals would be good.
3. That their relationships with fellow missionaries would be good.
4. If they have children that their adjustments would be good and that all of the schooling issues would be worked out well.
5. That they would not miss family and friends too much.
• MINISTRY
1. That they would reach lost souls for Christ.
2. That they would encourage and build up fellow Christians.
3. That they would teach God’s Word in all areas of ministry.
4. That they would have unity with fellow workers (other missionaries or nationals).
5. That they would learn and know the language in order to communicate God’s love to the people.
6. That they would learn and know the culture so that our “American” culture would not be a hindrance to the gospel.
7. That all of the necessary documents for living and/or working in “their” country would be attained.
8. That all of the necessary supplies and equipment would be available for the work of the Lord to go forward.

Please use your missionaries’ prayer card and pray for each family member by name. Pray for them every day, using these suggestions as a guideline. This would be a great time to teach your children about the importance of prayer!

Please keep praying for your missionary!! They need that support more than anything that you could do for them!!

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Current Prayer Requests – 12/30/2005

Thank you to everyone that prays for us. It is greatly appreciated while we are in this transition. When you pray, please make sure to lift these things up:

• Pray that our house will sell. We thought it was going to sell but that has fallen through. So the house is again back fully on the market with hopes that someone needs a house in the new year. We are going to stay in my (Courtney’s) parents house since we don’t really want to go through the move plus we sold most of our stuff in the garage sale.
• Pray that our monthly support will be raised up. We currently have commitments for 60% of our monthly needs but we can’t leave until we are at 100%. Praise God that we have nearly 100% of our outgoing one-time support needed to actually make the move.
• Pray that we find the time to complete all that needs to be done including one last seminary course for Courtney which is due at the end of January.
• Pray for our time in late February/March as we will be headed to Colorado for our prefield training. Its exciting as there will be three other people who are joing eDOT that will be there plus a couple that we went through orientation with.

Thank you all!!!!