Overwhelmingly Blessed & Overwhelmed

I pride myself on being ahead of the game:  I plan, I observe, I anticipate, I am ready for 90% of the things that are thrown my way.  I always try to be a few steps ahead of the game.  However, I have learned over time that God doesn’t play the same game I am, nor does He play by my rules; and often, much to my pleasure, He continuously surprises me by how He surpasses my needs and wants with His great goodness. 

            
Originally this was going to be a New Years post, but life got in the way.  So much for that resolution of not procrastinating…To keep you all up to date, lately we have been doing a lot of traveling to different churches and visiting with different couples sharing what God is doing in our lives and our mission in Kenya.  It has been over this month and these travels, amidst all the busyness and “campaigning”, trying to express what we feel God is doing in our lives and our hope and vision for Kenya, in trying to get others to join on our journey (something I originally thought would exhaust and overwhelm me in a negative sense); I have been overwhelmed by His presence and goodness to us. 

            
To elaborate, I, like many other westerners, am very self-sufficient.  I like to do things my self without any influence or aid from others.  Over the last year, God has been continually teaching me, how much self-sufficiency is a façade.  Not only are we called to rely on Him for everything, the whole idea of a church body, of unity, depends on Christians relying on each other in areas that they lack.  Thus with unique spiritual gifts we make up one body, the church.  This too I have found is even more so the case in missions.  As I have spoken about before, we being called as missionaries, are not in this mission in Africa alone.  We are on this journey together with those who are in prayer for us, those who have supported us, those that may come visit and work along side of us, our Kenyan brothers and sisters on the ground, and those friends and family who are our support structures and sanity back in America.  It has been on our recent travels, spending time talking with these individuals who are interested in our mission, to join us on our adventure (whether by support, prayer, or community) that we have been more encouraged than exhausted.  We have been blessed by those who are devoted to Him and serving Him in His kingdom work, and in doing so have served and encouraged us on a journey that they are now a part of too. 

            
Over our travels I have been amazed and encouraged at how God has used new relationships, old relationships, and people we do not even know to continually bless us.  We have had support and prayer come from individuals and churches that we had never heard of before.  I have also been overwhelmed at how relationships that God has placed in my life from the time I was a small boy, with childhood friends and families whom I have grown up in their homes alongside their children, have blessed us and how those families have come along side us to serve Him and join in His work to all the nations.  I am overwhelmed and blessed to think that all along God knew these relationships would not just last for a season, or a semester, but would come to fruition again, to join along side one another in one accord for His work.  So thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, we are overwhelmed and overwhelmingly blessed at the love we have been and are continually being shown in and through you.