Houston

Well, a major hurdle (my comprehensive exam) is out of the way…I hope! Regardless of the outcome, I know that I did the best I could in the time given to me, so we’ll see. I appreciate all of the prayers. I feel so free now! I’m free to start reading a few books that we were given to us by TAP when we interviewed in Houston in August. These are the books: Getting Sent: A Relational Support for Support Raising (by Pete Sommer), When Helping Hurts (by Stephen Corbett and Brian Fikkert), Searching for the Indigenous Church: A Missionary Pilgrimage (by Gene Daniels) and Missions and Money: Affluence as a Western Missionary Problem (by Jonathan Bonk). Here are a few pictures from our trip late August to Houston for our final interview with TAP. Better late than never, right?

 

Cockrell Butterfly Center

Overlooking Houston 

I’m thankful that now I only have my middle school internship and a couple of classes on my plate. Since we finalized our budget in mid-September, Chase and I recently have begun the process of getting in touch with various churches and individuals to tell our story. While we were in Houston, I remember wondering how I could do this nomadic type lifestyle. I feel like at least in the last few years, I have been many places...only for a time. My inflexibility has been exposed in each of these instances where I begin thinking about all the details that go into picking up and moving life elsewhere. I've found that wherever He leads, He always provides. 

When I felt like I was being called to go to Tanzania, I was afraid of going alone, but KNEW that God was calling me. As soon as I said, "I will go" (as scared as I was) two of my great friends from college, Sharon and Michael, along with my second cousin, Abbie, also decided that this is where they were being led. God provided. When I returned home, I was unsure about where to live given that I had already graduated from King. Should I move home? Where would I get a job? I stayed home for about two weeks before a job fell into place in the Bristol Tennessee City Schools. Where would I live? Through a series of connections at First Presbyterian, someone found me a house to live in with three other wonderful room mates.  God provided. After living there from February until end of May, I returned home to get my things to move them to Radford. We had no idea where we would live, but knew that we had to find a place before our wedding and honeymoon in August. With plenty of time to move our things, we found a place in July, moved our things and had our apartment ready for when we returned. God provided! When I look back at this list, I just want to shake my head at my continued disbelief. Looking back, I am reminded of the ways that God has provided for every single need.  

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Matthew 6:26