BLOWN AWAY, AMAZED, THANKFUL, HUMBLED, ENCOURAGED, BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE, LOVING JESUS!!

“How are you doing?” seems to be the common question of late.  Asked more times than we can count or even care to answer at times.  So many emotions, feelings, thoughts.  Overwhelming most of the time.  Hard to express exactly what we feel without tears rising to the surface.  So we simply nod our heads, smile and kind of throw out words that hopefully sound good, but not sure if we are saying much of anything at all.

HOWEVER, we are deeply touched by the love and care behind the asker and so appreciate  and thank you for asking.

So, How are we doing?  Well, here are a few emotions that stand out at the moment.  We are:

BLOWN AWAY by the generosity, faithfulness, selflessness of our dear families, our friends, God’s people, new friends, anonymous givers, new acquaintances.  Some with many years of familiarity and depth of relationship, to those whom we have just met and have quickly found a special place in our hearts!!   We are humbled at the graciousness of those who have given so greatly, out of great sacrifice!  Sometimes, we feel like weeping when we receive such gifts as these....knowing full well, that God is greatly touched by your giving and He will be faithful to bless each and every one of you above and beyond what you will ever imagine!!

AMAZED at God’s faithfulness.   Not amazed in the sense, that we are surprised that God would be faithful :)  just in awe and wonder at how God’s chooses to prove himself faithful and how much he delights in showing his children how much he knows, loves and cares for them.  I don’t know if I’ll ever fully understand or grasp the depth of HIs love for me.

THANKFUL for our families, friends, church!  You have been amazing from day one!  Thank you for believing in us!!  THank you for standing behind us wholeheartedly, Thank you for praying for us!  Thank you for encouraging us with the word of God and speaking life into us - that you have been pouring out on us from day one!!!

We can’t even begin to do this, not take one step forward without any of you!!   You are so extremely VITAL to all that we are about to do!!

Thankful for our Savior who goes before us, with us, beside us, behind us, over us!!!

HUMBLED that we are even worthy to represent you!!!  We are privileged to be your feet, to be your hands, to be an extension of the Body of Christ and to go forth in JESUS name for the sake of the Gospel.

ENCOURAGED as we say “See You Later”,  it does come with some  worry for our loved ones, for our friends, to wonder if this is the last time we will see some again, this side of heaven.   However, we are greatly encouraged by God’s word that speaks life to us and we cling to these promises:

*So do not fear, for I AM with you.  Do not be dismayed, for I AM your God.  I WILL strengthen you and help you.  I WILL uphold you with my righteous right hand.

*He will keep us/you in PERFECT peace, those whose minds are steadfast on Him  Isa 26:3-4

* Be strong and courageous, Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged for the LORD our/your God will be WITH us/you wherever you go   Josh 1:9

* God’s grace is sufficient for us/you for His strength is made perfect in our/your weakness.  So be Strong and courageous. Luke 18:29

* I am sending an angel ahead of us/ you to guard you along the way and to bring us/you to the place I have prepared.   Ex  23:20

So, until we meet again

MAY YOU BE BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE....May the Lord BLESS YOU and KEEP you!   May HIS FACE shine upon you and be gracious unto you!  

Do not love us more than you love JESUS!   

You know WHERE we are, and in WHOSE hands we are held in!!!

FAITHFUL

This past week was one that tried our patience to the max.  We had our summer pretty well laid out, with a timeline of things we wished to accomplished before we head to Kenya, exactly 15 days from now.  

Ordinarily, minor setbacks wouldn’t be such a big deal.  You just roll with the punches, be flexible with unexpected interruptions that life throws at you, go with the flow, Hakuna Mata - No worries, etc, etc....

However, for whatever reason it was this week, those unexpected “twist of events”, hit me like a ton of bricks.  

Much of my emotions were on the surface.  

Beloved friends of ours, said goodbye to their precious daughter, knowing it would be the last time they would see her - this side of eternity.

Our van which has been a source of transportation and great dependance to get us through this past two months, traveling many miles, decided to “break down” on us at the most in-opportune time.

The sense of urgency that “what if we couldn’t make it out to PA to see my family...would it be that last time that I would ever see some of them??”  

Plus add in the heightened awareness of time rapidly evaporating, and the longing to see my family, who I have not had the chance to see yet this summer, made me extremely emotional.  

I felt my determination to “roll with the punches” crumbling all around me and my normal calm demeanor breaking down in tears and wondering if God would be faithful to answer our prayers.

When I think of faithfulness, I tend to think of people who model that characteristic like my parents. They have been such an example of serving the Lord for all of my life.  Modeling selfless sacrifices with their children, demonstrating it with their words and with their actions and blessing the lives of countless people. Their quiet example of faithful obedience and steadfastness even in the midst of great trials and trusting in the Faithfulness of God.  

You see my Dad has Parkinson’s.  

Living with Parkinson’s is a lot like living with a villain and a thief.  

It robs him of his speech, memory loss, 
the ability to cope withstress, his strength, his manhood.
At times, it cause great despair and worry about the future.

I have seen them demonstrating their love and trust in God's faithfulness, which is but a mere reflection of God's never failing faithfulness towards His children.  
Even as I trust that my parents will try to be faithful to do what they say, they are still human and will fail at times.  

So, how much more will my heavenly Father, who loves me more than my parents, be all that much more faithful to do what He says He will do. He is the author of faithfulness and will always demonstrate His great love for me above and beyond what my parents can attain.   

Part of the enemy’s attack this past week was to put fear in my heart and doubt God’s faithfulness.  He knows what is important to me. His intentions for me are never good.  

But God says:  

"For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you....".  

This week was another reminder and opportunity to depend fully on God's Faithfulness

This week, I am thankful that my heavenly Father will ALWAYS prove to be

FAITHFUL!

“Yet we did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God.."

 At times, we find ourselves getting stuck in questioning God’s direction, wavering in unbelief, not sure if He will come through in all the details or even that He will be faithful to provide for us when it is blatantly evident that “God will do what He says He will do” which is right in front of us in His word.   

Its at that point that we begin to question our own ability to think clearly, or in some instances wondering “what in the world were we thinking”.  Did we actually hear from Him?  Have we made the right decision?  Inspite of the fact that over and over, time and time again, He has made it very clear to us that He has indeed called us out and that He IS faithful to fulfill his promises, even when we are not capable to keep our promises.

Having spent four weeks on the road, many miles traveled, left us much time for reflection, marveling at God’s love, His faithfulness.  In awe of His creation so evident and masterfully done and seeing Him present even in the midst of unknown danger, His protective hand stayed upon us, evidence of His faithful love and protection and provisions.

It also left time for notes of unwanted worry, fear, doubt, grief at the painful goodbyes to loved ones and loved things, a time for letting go...all those things, if not guarded against, can have such a subtle way of crowding in and intruding your thoughts and overshadowing the evidence of God’s presence.   

                                      

As we entered back into our home state of WI, a few days ago, we sighed a sigh of relief, welcoming the many familiar sights.  We were finally HOME!!  However, the dawning realization that even though we were returning “home”, we do not have a home to come home to.  At that moment, it became increasingly more evident of the sacrifices our family have made to follow the call God has on our lives was a stark reminder, that accentuated that unfamiliar and uncomfortable feeling with a raw sense of sacrificial loss.

What I love most about God is how in the moment of your greatest needs, His word is right there to encourage you, to strengthen you ….all for the sake of GLORIFYING Him in the midst of every situation. And so our prayer continues to be:

“Yet we did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God,  but was strengthened in our faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God has power to do what he has promised. “

Romans 4:20

“God is WHO He says He is

God will DO what He says He will do

We are WHO God says we are

We can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us

We are BELIEVING GOD!!”

Packing, Shipping, Moving, Homeless, Traveling...Our 50 Day Journey to Kenya

Monday, June 3rd marked the first day of our very REAL journey to Kenya!   

We packed up pretty much our entire household (minus all that was sold in rummage sales, to friends, on craigslist, consignment shops plus the things given away, thrown out and contributed to thrift stores) beginning the journey towards our new adventure, new life, new calling.

Its hard to describe how it feels to see all that you worked hard for, saved for, lived with, either be sold or given away!!  Often times, for pennies on the dollars. Much of what we sold, were things we didn’t necessarily have emotional attachments to, yet at the same time, still very bittersweet at realizing that letting go is sometimes hard to do.   

It did help our kids knowing that some of their special things, are able to go with them.  Some of those comforts that will help with our families transition and change.  Its not realistic nor healthy to give it all up.  Easier to say than actually having to do.

We didn’t really think how much it would affect our kids to see their belongings moved out or even when we moved out of our home of 5 years two days later. Some seemingly unemotional with the goings on, but as our house began to empty, we began to see the hearts of our children exposed and the tears in their eyes as we said goodbye to our home of five years and many of our possessions! A heart wrenching thing as a parent to see!   

As much as we have jokingly referred to temporarily being homeless, we are never truely without a home. "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

So, as we begin our journey, we are feeling the pangs of saying goodbyes, to what we had, to family and friends, to those things we hold so very dear and even that that was not so dear. We keep our eyes fixed on Jesus an press forward!   

Bloomington, Minnesota (Nairobi, only 8,181 miles away)

Wimbledon, North Dakota

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Somewhere in Wyoming

Missoula, Montana

No gold, nor silver, nor copper...

A recent post from our good friend Mike.  A very good read!!

"No gold, nor silver, nor copper...

In Matthew, Luke and Mark we read of Jesus sending his disciples out to the world.

These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.                                                                                   
Matthew 10:5-10

In verses 9 and 10 Jesus instructs the disciples to go without making additional preparations for their journey. I believe this instruction serves two purposes. 

The first purpose is to have the disciples rely completely upon God for their provision. God provides for the disciples through his children - the church. Learning to depend completely on God is essential for all who would be His disciple and providing physical, emotional and financial support to His disciples provides all of us with an opportunity to receive the blessing of spreading the good news of the gospel. 

I believe the second purpose of this instruction is to get busy now. We can prepare, wait, hope for better timing, etc. but there will likely never be a better time, we probably won't be more prepared and the only thing you are guaranteed to get by waiting is older. When God calls us to go and do something He wants us to go and do it as Elisha did - right now with no looking back.

As I was thinking about Matthew 10 and Luke 10 I started wondering what does it take to "go" when you are a family of six, like the Kellys, and the place you are called to go to is very poor, like Kenya. The first thing to understand is how far it is from Green Bay to Nairobi. There are several different routes you can take when traveling to Nairobi. Most involve flying from the United States to Europe, and from Europe to Nairobi. If you fly from Green Bay to Chicago, on to London then Nairobi the trip is 8226 miles. That is a lot of going!

As a side note, while I was figuring out the total distance from Green Bay to Nairobi, I learned that you can actually drive from England to Kenya. Driving adds about 2000 miles onto the trip but that would be an epic road trip. Something new on my bucket list :)

The Kelly's have budgeted $130,000 in start up costs. This includes their travel costs, the costs of their household goods (appliances, furniture, etc.), costs for a vehicle, security deposits on an apartment, utilities, etc. and everything else you would need if you moved around the world and set up a new home. So, a little math and I realized it costs about $15.80 per mile to send a missionary family of six to Nairobi, Kenya.

We have done a lot of fund raising lately. When I say we, I mean all of us, everyone at Living Hope Church. We have been blessed by the Peder Eide concert, the Great Commission Banquet and the Rummage Sale. The generosity of God's people is amazing.

Through these three events we have helped the Kellys raise almost 25% of their start up budget. Another way of looking at the funds raised - we have helped raise enough funds to get the Kelly family 2080 miles along there journey. That will get them someplace over the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Only 6146 miles to go!

Now, if we could just find 6146 people who would be willing to donate $15.80 we'd be all set. The only problem is I don't think I know 6146 people. I do know all of you though and between all of us we know way more than 6146 people. If we assume there are about 200 adults at Living Hope Church and those adults all know 30 other adults and those 30 adults also know 30 adults we are three degrees of separation from knowing 180,000 people. So, if we all took the time to share what God is doing through the Kellys with the people we know and we could get them to share with the people they know 180,000 people would hear what God is doing in Africa. If just 3% of the people who heard would choose to get involved in supporting the Kellys by donating $15.80 the Kellys would have all of there start up budget and they won't have to swim the rest of the way to England.

I believe this is what God intended for all evangelists, missionaries and disciples. Some He calls to go and others he calls to provide. We can't all go and we can't provide 100% of the support that is needed. But we can share what God is doing and how the believers we know can be involved. I believe we will be blessed for sharing, they will be blessed for listening and we will all be blessed by being involved with God."

Posted by Mike at 6:02 PM

Thanks Mike! We appreciate all you have done to help us go! We love you!!