Encouragement

Dobriy Dyen (Good Afternoon)
Well almost!

I just want to send a word of encouragement to you all! We are children
of the King of Kings! He loves each of us more than we can ever  understand.
He has chosen us for a special calling in this time in history.  We may not
understand all of it but we don't need to understand- just OBEY! Remember
Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him!

This has always been a difficult lesson for me! Being the quiet, meek, passive,  and
self sacrificing lady that I am, (not) :) I love for God to work on me my way!  I have
had some hard lessons to learn along the way. God is already showing me that this
trip is a lesson too!

I would like to share a quick story. 10 years ago I had the chance to go on my 1st
overseas trip. I wanted to go to China- period. When our church adopted the Buyi
people group. I had made loaves of bread- cinnamon bread, Ezekiel bread,
regular whole wheat bread. I made over 100 loaves of bread. And guys, I grind my
own wheat!  My kids and I sold the loaves at church, at the ball park, and in the
neighborhood so that we could make a good donation to the Buyi fund. We did
it all in one week. By the time I got to the 40-50 loaf of bread I was getting very tired.
What kept me going was that as I made another loaf and shaped it I told myself it
was 1 more Buyi soul that might come to know Christ. So when it was time for short-term
missions trips I knew my calling! However, God had a different plan. After weeks of
arguing with Ken Whaley - our missions pastor, I finally agreed to go to Spain and
Morocco. I can still remember turning to my daughter Rachel and in exasperation saying,
"Rachel for some reason God wants us to go to Spain and Morocco."I have still not
gone to China.  :( I look back on how much God has used that trip in my life and with
my current ministry with refugees and immigrants I am astonished.
God knew that He was preparing me with an understanding for Muslim people. He knew
that one day I would be living 3 miles from a Muslim school and a mosque. What blessings
I would have missed if I had refused His plan for me. What fun I have saying- A sa lama lakum
to the Muslims I pass in the stores. Sometimes it leads to conversations other times to
astonishment on their part.

Sunday I had the idea to talk Andrew out of changing our trip. (I had known since last
Thursday that he had decided to send us elsewhere.) After we got there and began
listening to Andrew, hearing his heart, and me surrendering my wants I knew that this
was going to be one of those lessons.

I am reminded what the Bible says in Isaiah :

     "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord. And my ways are
      beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher
      than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher
      than your thoughts."    Isaiah 55:8-9  New Living Translation

GOD is at work! He is in the midst of our team and our trip to Belarus. He has a plan
that we may not see right now but He knows what He is doing!!
I am so excited because I see this challenge as a direct confirmation that God is
up to something bigger than us and we are going to be allowed to participate if
we are willing to let go and let God!! Lets all continue in fervent prayer which is the
absolutely most important thing we can do in preparation for this trip.

I hope you are encouraged!
Love,
Cathy