I love how the Bible talks about our ministry. “Our ministry” as in your’s and mine. I’ll show you specifically where I’m talking about in a minute, but let me tell you why I’m so excited about how succinctly this is written. People sometimes say to me, “I could never do what you’re doing.” And though I respond in a myriad of ways, my first thought is usually, “Great! Praise God He calls some people to stay home (and I’m glad it’s not me)!” My response often mirrors those thoughts, though in more socially acceptable terms, -usually.

I realize that I am only able to go, because God calls most people to stay. My brother once preached a sermon on missions (it was phenomenal) and used the illustration of the army. For every soldier on the front line, nine are needed as support personnel, in order for the front line to be effective. That stuck with me as I could see how true it was for missionaries. And, while I know it wouldn’t be possible to go without the financial support, and I recognize the huge value of logistical support, what we crave most is the prayer support. 

Now for the coolest part. Look how the Bible states it in II Corinthians 1:8-11 (emphasis added) 
“8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, 11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.” 
Did you catch that? You join us in our ministry and help us through prayer. Then we all get to thank God together for the answer and corresponding work. I love it! (Not to mention the amazing lesson in the first half.) 

Meanwhile, think of the benefits on your part – while we get to be “burdened excessively, beyond our strength” (thank God for our hope in Him!), you get to pray for us. Then you’re credited with the ministry too. Not a bad deal. Because we know we can’t do this without God’s strength and guidance, we are SO thankful for our prayer partners; we can’t express it enough. 

Lance and I are specifically and fervently praying about where God would have us serve at the end of our training year. Please join with us in our prayers and our ministry.

Thank you,
Ruth, for our family.

After an initial “How’s it going?” the question we most often get is “How are the boys doing?” Thankfully, despite the first answer sometimes being dire, the second is always “They’re doing great!” The boys love it here on the mountain and with good reason – most weeks include multiple four-wheeler rides and random excursions or adventures. Their response to seeing another mouse in our traps, a new type of bug in the house or strange object wrapped in multiple layers of a spider web (or was it some sort of cocoon? – our latest find) is far different than their mother’s…

The training at The Master’s Mission (TMM) is designed to equip your whole family, as a family, for the mission field. So the boys are right with us in our classes or activities. They are sometimes a huge help with our tasks, but help or not, they are always definitely involved. While they have learned to sit quietly for morning devotions and play in another room or quietly with us during Bible class, if you asked them about the training, they wouldn’t mention either of those things. This is what they did mention when I asked them what they liked about TMM: 

Micah – the lake and Scott and Brittany (another candidate couple who often play with the boys), knife throwing, the fort we found, eating apples off the tree, Tink (one of the dogs here)

Josiah – riding on a front loader, doing backflips on Scott, visiting peoples’ houses, hiking down the hill, riding on the 4-wheeler, having people over, going to men’s class with Daddy, going to Jiu Jitsu with Momma, knife throwing, going to workout

Alex – dip my hand in the water at the lake, dipping my hand in again, forts in the woods, knife throwing, riding the 4-wheeler

I asked them to tell me a story about something that they’ve done at TMM and they all wanted to tell about the bee story. With good reason, being stung by bees the first week here is still a vivid memory. Lance had gone the pump house where we have our chest freezer and the boys thought it was so cool that they could go on top of him while he was inside, since it is housed in a hill underground. 

Micah (5): One time when I went up the hill I stepped on the beehive and we all three got stung even Daddy a little but not Momma because Momma wasn’t there. So we went to Paul and Betty Lou’s house and once we got a little better we went back to our house. The end.

Alex (3): ‘Siah went up on the bee’s house first and then Alex and Micah went on the bee’s house and then Daddy said run to him and the bee’s stinged Alex and ‘Siah and Micah and we run fast to Daddy and then we went to Paul and Betty Lou’s house and then we got ice and then we put ice on it and then it feel better and then we went home.

Josiah (7): One day we were going to our freezer in the door underground, sort of, and I wanted to go over top of Daddy over top of the ground so I went over there and when I got over there I stepped or maybe bumped a beehive so they all got mad at me and the brothers came too so they all got stung and I got stung too and we all ran down the hill. Daddy yelled, “Boys! Come here!” And Daddy got stung twice and we took off our shirts so they didn’t get stuck in our shirts and sting us. So we got in the car and went to Mr. Paul’s house and we watched some TV at their house to distract us from the stinging and then we went back home to Momma and we might’ve put something on the stings then and then after a long time they healed.

I though it noteworthy that they never thought to mention what us adults quickly see. They live in a cabin with only a wood burning stove for heat, a tiny propane fridge, minimal toys and no visible neighbors, electricity, internet, phones, carpet, cell service, TV, or any other kids their age to play with on the mountain.

While they are definitely living a different life than what is typical of their U.S. peers, we (Lance and I) are starting to be comfortable with the concept that different doesn’t have to mean good or bad, it’s just different. As the saying goes with most things around here, it’s all part of the training. 

– Ruth, for our family

Along with our post “A Day in the Life of the Boys” we thought you’d enjoy “a month in the life” through pictures as well. Each picture has a caption and if you click on the first picture then you can scroll through to see them all with the captions below.

We are in the midst of what they call 3-months-no-shopping as part of my women’s curriculum. In many areas of Africa where the staff has served, the closest stores were a few days drive away. While Betty Lou, one of my teachers, remembers her father shopping for food and supplies for a whole year, some of the TMM missionaries in Kenya now only have to shop for food for 3 months at a time. In preparation for this possibility in a remote area, one of my assignments is to plan, shop for and then live off of 3 months worth of food, supplies and any other item needed at the store. The exceptions are eggs, milk and gasoline. 

I bought most of my dry goods in bulk while at home for Christmas (50 lbs. of flour and oats, 25 lbs. of rice…); the car was more than packed. (and remember what fun we had coming home?) Then I went to Asheville (about 2.25 hours away) to get our produce. There was no way I’d be able to get all I needed in Robbinsville (the closest town to us, 40 minutes away) with only one grocery store, and leave enough for anyone else hoping to shop that day!

At the first store, when I checked out, the lady said “7 bags of onions?” I definitely didn’t mistakenly put 7 bags of onions in my cart (my kids weren’t even with me) – but I appreciated her trying to help me out. The onions I hung in a closet in 2 pairs of cheap stockings that I had bought for that reason. 

The next store I bought 14 acorn squash, 7 bags of potatoes, 11 bunches of parsley, 20 lbs of carrots and 13 bags of apples (which only equals 3 apples a week for everyone). Thankfully the parsley and carrots were on sale… The man who checked me out tried to be polite but eventually did ask what in the world I was doing. As I left the store I heard him telling the next customer, “She’s learning to live in a remote part of Kenya and buying enough food for…” Oh the stories we cause.

We learn other practical things in women’s class, like what you need for a safari camping trip. Apparently in Kenya the 3 day trip to Nairobi to buy supplies for 3 months, sometimes turns into a 2 week trip instead, because of a river flooding or car troubles, with nowhere to buy anything along the way of course. I’m sort of used to that already though, right? 

We have a huge 3-ring binder for class full of tabs and useful information which, for good reason, most women take to the field with them. We cover every area of life from practical to emotional to spiritual. Here are some of the subjects included in it: Correspondence and Record Keeping, Ministry Essentials for Women and Children, Media Presentations and Furlough, Safari – Camps and Cupboards, Food Storage and Bulk Shopping, Mechanics, and Danger, Loneliness, Illness, Death. We have class twice a week taught by two women (Barb Teasdale is the other teacher) who have both served as remote-missionary wives, so have first hand knowledge and very practical advice for every situation.

Thank you for your continued prayers as our family gets equipped for the mission field. They are so appreciated.

– Ruth, for our family.

We’re back on the mountain after a two week Christmas break. It was a great time of fellowship with our family, friends, and church family and such a blessing to be home. 

In what is becoming an alarming trend, getting back to TMM was once again an ordeal. We left on schedule from my parents house near Erie Pa, Saturday January 3. That’s about the last thing that went right. We were hoping to drive over half way to the mountain on Saturday, before getting a hotel (the total trip being 10 hours driving). We wanted to make sure we arrived Sunday in daylight since our cabin was without heat for two weeks (our only heat source is a wood burning stove) and our water was shut off so the pipes wouldn’t freeze. That SO did not happen.

After many issues and stops we made it a little south of Columbus OH before getting a hotel, in over 7 hours (what should’ve taken 4 hours). However, this turned out to be a Sovereign blessing as the staff at the hotel we stayed at was marvelous. Even before all the trouble started they were very gracious and helpful as we checked in with our boys at a very late hour. The next morning as we went to leave, our car started making an atrocious screeching noise and we discovered our serpentine belt wasn’t moving and we had no power steering. Apparently, it’s an important part. (Like wheels for instance, if you’re just joining us – see this post.)

As it was Sunday, finding a solution to get it fixed was a little difficult. The hotel staff started calling around for us while Lance tried to see if he could get it working on his own. Neither one was successful. After a few hours of calls between us and the TMM staff, towing companies and other places we finally made a plan, which was changed a few hours later, and then again that evening, and then again the next morning. During this time the boys and I played games in the parking lot and hotel lobby (I told you the hotel staff was gracious!) until it was determined we’d definitely be there another night. Some wonderful woman at the front desk had called her manager and they not only gave us our room for another night at a reduced rate, but also a voucher for breakfast in the morning and a gift certificate for a local pizza delivery place since we were stuck at the hotel for the day. (I told you God sovereignly chose our hotel room!) We spent the rest of Sunday and Monday morning entertaining the boys in the exercise room, (3 exercise machines, 3 boys, perfect.) pool (swimming in clothes! how fun!), hallways (…now try running down the hall as quietly as you can without stepping on any of the designs on the carpet…), and hotel room (TV time!). Alex only fell in the pool face first one time and I had packed extra clothes and food enough for 3 days just in case, so all in all we managed pretty well.

Monday morning we had our car towed and fixed. The hotel manager had one of his staff drive Lance in the hotel’s car to pick it up, so we didn’t have to pay a taxi. God provided for us every step of the way. 

We left Columbus Monday afternoon but only made it as far as Knoxville this time. It was getting late, dark (bad plan – see above), we were exhausted and the boys cranky (with good reason after 3 rough days). Also, Micah had been getting a fever every night starting a day or two before we left my parents and the upheaval of the past few days had done nothing to help him get better. We decided to get another hotel rather than push through and get to TMM at 10:30 (although we had heard that a wonderful TMM staff member had built a fire for us in our cabin). Again, God was sovereignly directing our steps. 

This hotel was unfortunately dreadfully dirty and smelly – but it did serve to show us what a wonderful blessing the hotel was that we had been at for the last 2 days. Micah had a terrible night, spending most of it feverish in our bed. Although it was then Tuesday and classes were starting, we decided to find a doctor for him before we headed back up the mountain and out of civilization. (No offense to anyone ON the mountain reading this blog…you know what I mean.) Among other issues, Micah has had a fever for a few day 3 times in the past 2 months and we were concerned there may be underlying health issues beyond the current symptoms. As God has continually blessed us, we found a naturally-minded doctor 13 minutes from our hotel room who was able to see him that morning. As with the hotel, the staff at the doctors office, Seasons, was wonderful. We found out later that they are Christians and start each morning with a staff prayer. They are also committed to healing with natural remedies if possible, which is exactly our health philosophy as well. Praise God for such a blessing!

After the doctor’s visit, we finally got back to TMM Tuesday evening and spent Wednesday unloading our car and putting everything away. (Actually it’s still not all put away, but we made a valiant start.) We kept Micah home for the rest of the week and he finally started to feel better Sunday evening and had no fever that night. We’ve had a message from the doctor that one of his tests show extremely low levels of vitamin D so we’ll start him on supplements as soon as they come in. We go back in a few weeks to find out the results of his blood, stool and saliva tests so we’ll keep you updated when we know more. Meanwhile we appreciate your prayers for him!

Next time I post, barring any other crazy situations, I’ll tell you more about my curriculum and other things that we’re doing right now. Until then, we appreciate your prayers.

Ruth, for our family.

It’s unbelievable what a difficult time I’m having trying to write a simple post about what everyday life is like here. We have a schedule, Devotions at 8, Bible class 9-10:30, Physical Training M, W, F at 12:30 etc., so it should be pretty straightforward. However, it never works out that way. Whether planned interruptions (all day cement pours) or unfortunate circumstances (mice in all my lower drawers and cupboards), all you can count on is that you can’t count on most plans going as planned.

So, in an effort to actually get this post written, instead of telling you about a typical week, I’ll just cover some of the highlights of our education since we’ve been here.

Lance has learned how to build multiple types of dams, water systems, airstrip construction, and bush driving. Each day after Bible class he has his technical class, which is the classroom instruction. After lunch he has his practicum class where he either does what he’s learning (built a dam, visited various water systems, drove down an impassible road) or he does some other physical labor if that class isn’t conducive to hands-on learning (cutting firewood for the winter in lieu of building a functional airstrip…)

His tests at the end of each section are varied. For the dam and airstrip tests he was given a topographical map and had to make all the drawings needed to actually construct one. It was incredibly complex and detailed – so ask him about the finer points if you’re interested. They cancelled the men’s classes all day (and 2 days for airstrip construction) to give them time to take the test and it did take that long. Water systems was just a typical test; bush driving just the opposite. During bush driving technical class they learned what you needed to have in your vehicle to be prepared when driving in a remote area – basically, the equivalent of a fully equipped mechanics garage, and a few other things. For the final they (Lance – he was the only one interested in volunteering) drove a truck over the edge of a drop-off in the middle of the woods and then had to get it back out however they could, using only a toothpick and some duct tape. No, just kidding. They had what you should have in your truck at all times – assuming you’re crossing the dessert or some other remote area that no one drives in (except you): 2 heavy-duty ratchet straps, a block of wood and 2 small shovels, and whatever they could find to use (i.e. rocks – for making a ramp to get it out of the creek they landed in.) No one was hurt in the crashing of the truck and they were successful at getting it back out. So, obviously that means they passed the test with bonus points for not injuring anyone.

Next time I’ll write about my curriculum and what’s coming up for us in the New Year. Until then, thank you for your continued prayers,

Ruth, for our family

I wrote this a few months ago but didn’t have opportunity to post it. The emotions are still relevant so I wanted to share it with you now. Next month I’ll post about our life here. Thank you for your prayers!

Preparing to start a “new life” is a little surreal. Selling belongings, sorting what to box for storage or take, trying to prepare for the unknown that will soon be everyday life in a week or so, knowing that we are ultimately preparing to leave for another continent as soon as God shows us the way, all becomes a strange mix of a rollercoaster of emotions and just naturally what you’re doing right now. It is definitely exhausting and you feel like your being pulled apart by emotion at times. A friend of mine, who recently left for her second year in a closed country, put it this way, “There’s a seismic shift that happens inside as you begin to release life here and prepare to embrace life across the world again.

I find myself overwhelmed at times with dealing with this shift and all the preparations that go into the adjustment. Something that gives me a lot of grace and stability is recalling that all the process of change is something that is merely fleeting. I do like the phrase, “This too shall pass!” The work that we’re apart of is eternal and all these details once gone are merely passing moments and we can find rest in focusing on the permanent rather than the passing but necessary details of life. May His perfect peace keep you in the journeys you take and the things you process.”

It’s hard and overwhelming to leave family and friends, let go of things we treasure, and say good-bye to an amazing God-centered church. We’ve had to choose to focus on the eternal rather than the temporal and we know, in the end, it’s worth it all, even when our emotions don’t currently line up. Now and in eternity, the life you get from following Christ is, far and beyond, worth more and is more rewarding than everything else outside of His will.

Amazingly, or not so much I’m finding out, God arranged for the last song we sang at our home church, before leaving for training, to be “our song.” It was the song that Lance and I have sung together or played really loud when we’ve gone through really hard times or new life situations. The one we like to start with and end on when we’re singing praise songs together. The one we’ve sung together since we’ve been married, we sang as the last song with our church family before leaving. Though most didn’t know it was special to us, it was a blessing to sing it with them. I’m crying now as I remember everyone we’re so far away from now, so I’ll just leave you with the lyrics from the group Selah and their song, “Wonderful, Merciful Savior.” 

Wonderful, merciful Savior

Precious Redeemer and Friend

Who would have thought that a Lamb
could
Rescue the souls of men

Oh you rescue the souls of men


 
Counselor, Comforter, Keeper

Spirit we long to embrace

You offer hope when our hearts have

Hopelessly lost the way

Oh, we’ve hopelessly lost the way


 
You are the One that we praise

You are the One we adore

You give the healing and grace 
our
Hearts always hunger for

Oh, our hearts always hunger for


 
Almighty, infinite Father

Faithfully loving Your own

Here in our weakness You find us

Falling before Your throne

Oh, we’re falling before Your throne
 
You are the One that we praise

You are the One we adore

You give the healing and grace
 our
Hearts always hunger for

Oh, our hearts always hunger for


 
God bless you,
– Ruth, for our family

As I write each post I am keenly aware that sometime in the future, someone may be reading this as they start their own missionary journey. I remember soaking in posts from other missionaries as we wrestled with the same emotions, doubts, questions and struggles that they had gone through – encouraged that we weren’t alone, God was sufficient and He would lead us through. So, I hope for two things as I write each post: that our partners feel closer to us and can share in the journey that is also theirs, and that my posts may resonate with and so encourage those who are praying about or endeavoring to take a similar path.

While I have wanted to be a missionary since the 6th grade and Lance since shortly after college, we specifically felt God told us to get ready to go in March of 2010. We had already tried various ways to get ourselves to the mission field previously, rather than waiting on the Lord to move, but all were (thankfully!) failed attempts on our own ingenuity. Now however, like Abraham, we felt He was telling us to get ready to “Go…to the land which I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1)

 In our eagerness, of course, we thought it would be just months, at the most by the next year, before we would be on the foreign mission field. However, we had learned to wait on God. So, instead of doing mad Internet searches for missionary information like I wanted to, at Lance’s leading, we started to pray and actively wait. Actively waiting for us meant getting rid of the vast amount of things that had accumulated in our basement and organizing the rest. God had told us He was going to send us, so we needed to be prepared for the time when He would tell us to go.

Apparently, much to our surprise, we needed 4.5 years of waiting and praying. During that time we sought counsel of others who had been on the field, prayed, got rid of many, many things, prayed, went to our church leadership for guidance, prayed, made life decisions based on our future assumed lifestyle, and prayed. Now we can look back and see Him leading and growing us in specific ways, until the time was right for Him to send us – but never did we expect 4.5 years! Thank goodness God is Sovereign and we don’t have to figure out what to do – because that would not have been my plan!

Now the actual time of going is here. True, we still don’t know where God will take us after our year of training, so in a way we are still actively waiting and praying. But like Abraham, and as He has shown us in our life, we know we can safely trust in Him to show us the way. And once we’re there, we can rest in the knowledge that it was Him who has led us, and not we ourselves.

Psalm 100
1. Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2. Serve the Lord with gladness;
    Come before Him with joyful singing.
3. Know that the Lord Himself is God;
    It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
    We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4. Enter His gates with thanksgiving
    And His courts with praise.
    Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5. For the Lord is good;
    His lovingkindness is everlasting
    And His faithfulness to all generations.

We’re here at The Master’s Mission! (TMM) It wasn’t the trip we had planned but we arrived safely and in God’s timing. 

One of the prayer requests posted last month was for an enclosed trailer to move us down here so I wanted to follow up on that. The week before we needed it, we still had no idea where we were going to get one. We continued to pray about it, ready to do something different if that’s what God showed us. As with the rest of our journey, He provided what we needed when we needed it. We didn’t even lose a day packing to buy it, because Lance’s parents were able to pick it up for us. We got it the evening before we needed to load it, and while it seemed “at the last minute” to us, we actually didn’t need it any earlier.

Our trip down went less than planned, to say the least. We had planned on leaving early Thursday morning (August 28), from Lance’s parents’ house, and arriving at Robbinsville, NC that evening, so we could we could be up the mountain and start moving in the first day possible on Friday morning. We would have Friday and Saturday to move in, Sunday to go to church and take some time to relax with the boys, and Monday to finish what we could before orientation on Tuesday. So not what happened.

As we left Lance’s parents’ house we had trouble due to the steepness, curve and gravel at the end of their drive. We started slipping backwards, with the trailer turning towards the drop-off in the woods instead of the curve of their driveway. (Their driveway is very like the “roads” here at TMM – actually their driveway is a lot nicer but just as steep.) Lance was stuck with his foot on the break so the trailer wouldn’t go further over the edge and down into the woods. We heard his dad start to head down on their 4-wheeler to see what was wrong, so I figured this was a good time to take the boys back up to the house to eat breakfast, rather than on the road as we had planned. As I finished washing our breakfast dishes, Lance’s mom came back up to the house to tell us we were out of the woods (literally) and ready to go again. As we started out I told Lance there must be a reason God didn’t allow us to get on the road an hour earlier. Mentally I told myself to take the day as it came so I would be flexible (i.e. not grumpy and destroy my family’s mood) if things didn’t go they way I had planned. Sheesh. Good thing!

A few hours into the trip Lance started to feel a vibration in the car. He pulled into a rest area to check it out, assuming it was the trailer. He couldn’t find anything majorly wrong, nor did his dad have any idea when we called him, so we got back on the road. I told him God was Sovereign and we don’t know what we didn’t know so we would just have to trust Him to keep us safe and get us there. About 12 minutes later the vehicle started swerving like it was on ice. I had no idea what was going on so just started praying out loud. It lasted long enough that I had time to pray at least 4 sentences that God would keep us safe, and keep us from flipping over. Once we stopped, Lance got out to see what had happened while I reassured the kids and got my bearings enough to notice that we were in the median. When he got back in the car I asked him if we had lost a trailer wheel, meaning the tread off the tire. He said, “No – go look at it.” Unbelievably – we had actually lost a car wheel! The whole thing. All gone. No wonder we were swerving. Needless to say, the rest of the trip did not go as planned. We just had new tires put on the car before we left and did not know that you need to tighten the lug nuts after about 100 miles if you have aluminum rims because they tend to come loose. Very important – now we know.

God, however, was so gracious. He allowed Lance to stay calm, not hit the break and steer the car perfectly to keep the trailer behind us when we went out of control, so we didn’t jack-knife and flip. There were no other cars around as we were swerving across both lanes (I couldn’t help but think of our hour delay that morning) and He stopped us about 2 inches from the berm of on-coming traffic. A trucker who stopped said he saw it happening and didn’t know how we were still alive. We were able to tell a lot of people that day it was God who had kept us safe.

The boys ate lunch while we watched the state police direct traffic and all the flashing lights. Then, after we told the paramedics we were fine and the police the story, we were towed (and drove by random people) to the nearest town and mechanic where I spent 6 hours entertaining the boys in a dusty side room and surrounding dirt paths while Lance sorted out all the issues and they worked on the car. After they got the car drivable again we drove a few hours to the next big town so we could get the right tires put on the car (instead of the wrong ones from a junk yard just to get us on the road.) The only place still open couldn’t work us in so we ate supper and found a place to stay for the night.

There were so many ways God provided for us through the people we met and how they helped us or the information they gave us during the days it took us to get to NC. However, this post is becoming a book so I’ll quickly sum up the rest of the trip. Friday took most of the day to properly fix both the car and trailer. When we got back on the road in the afternoon the car started overheating so that we could barely pull the hills with the trailer in the heat. We were able to call ahead to various mechanics (I was never so thankful for a smart phone!) who gave us lots of information but we couldn’t find one who could see us. We made it to Ashville and found another hotel for the night, which was less than a mile from a mechanic shop. (Note: see title of post) Saturday, Lance found someone who would look at the car that morning so he ran over there while I took care of the boys and our stuff.

Meanwhile, I just have to quickly mention that, this whole trip, we’ve had a freezer full of food for the year in our trailer and numerous thermal bags with our refrigerated stuff. (It was going to be a one-day trip, remember?) At each hotel we were able to plug our freezer in for the night and switch out the ice in all the thermal bags at night and in the morning. We lost NOTHING! Not even the lunchmeat. Some blueberries may have suffered some damage from being smashed with ice, but not most of them. (Again, note the title)

Ok – back to this really long story. The mechanic did indeed find the leak in the cooling system but it was a very specific part and would take a few days to order in. Since we didn’t have a few days we got back on the road around 11. We had to take some of the hills at about 25-30 mph so as not to overheat the engine – but we did eventually make it to TMM at about 4:00 that Saturday with a few hours to unpack and find what we needed before dark. Paul and Betty Lou Teasdale (the founders) had us to their house for supper and offered to let us stay for the night since we were in so late, but, as we had found our bedding, we stayed at the cabin so we could be up and unpacking right away in the morning.

Definitely NOT the trip we had planned – but God was with us through it all and provided what we needed when we needed it. Rob Dunn, our former mission’s pastor, has often told us there are 3 rules for being a missionary: 1. Be flexible! 2. Be flexible! 3. Be flexible! We thought our training would start once we got to TMM but apparently God had planned for it to start sooner.

Thank you all for your continued prayers,

Ruth, for our family

This shows how close we were to the berm of oncoming traffic and our axel buried in the ground. (The tire you see is the spare.)

It’s hard to believe we are leaving in two weeks for The Master’s Mission training center. Time has flown and we are in the middle of packing and sorting, as we get ready to go. God’s hand has been evident in so many areas as we prepare for the upcoming year, confirming over and over again He is leading us to go and at this time. As we obey Him step by step and wait on Him, He accomplishes all the impossibilities before us.

Lance quit his job at Erie Insurance at the end of July. The day after he gave his two weeks notice the offer on our house came in, only 16 days after it had been on the market. The closing, which we don’t need to be here for, is after we leave for NC so we don’t have to find interim housing. Someone has offered us storage space in their basement for our belongings that we won’t need to bring with us. We were given an ATV and generator, which we can also use once we go to the mission field. In just 4 months after sending out our first support letters we’ve received almost 70% of our monthly support.

In almost every area above we set about to solve the problem on our own: talked about what we could do so the house would sell, pursued buying an ATV, research alternate energy sources since we’ll have no electricity, and so on. As we did so, in each area, we were convicted to focus on what God had already told us to do – pack up your house and be ready to go – and then pray and leave the rest up to Him. When we did that, sometimes sooner than others, we watched God answer our prayers in delightful ways, as we waited on Him.

We are learning to present our requests to God, be obedient to what He’s told us to do, and then wait and watch what He does. Lance and I both would rather solve everything we can, but we’re catching on: if God hasn’t given it to us to do, it will only be wasted energy on something He wants to do for us, in ways we can’t on our own. The waiting part is what makes us uncomfortable. But if I examine that feeling closely, I realize it’s because I don’t trust God to come through, so then I take it upon myself to do it for Him, to make sure it happens my way. Hmh. It doesn’t sound quite right when I say it out loud.

Praise God with us for all the answered prayers!