Deployment Announcement!After two years of waiting, I can announce that the Australian borders are open, and I've been approved to deploy! Some details:- For immigration visa, I have received a clean criminal background report from the FBI, and should get a similar report in the next week from the Japanese consulate.
- While I have been anticipating a mid-May departure, that has been pushed back so that I can attend the Presbyterian Church General Assembly with my team leader with the purpose of recruiting additional missionaries, short-term teams, and interns.
- After General Assembly, I'll return to Jackson for just a few days, then go on to Iowa to see my mother, sell my car, and depart from there, likely on July 6.
- I have found a young couple who will be renting my house and managing the Airbnb apartment in the basement while I'm in Australia. There are many details to work out for the lease.
THANK YOU for your faithful prayers and encouragement, and for those who have faithfully continued to partner with me despite so many unknowns over the last two years. You've been a blessing to me. Wait for the Lord!When Covid shut down world borders, probably like everyone else in the world, I assumed Covid would run its course in a few months and the world would quickly return to normal. Never did I expect my move to Australia would be delayed more than two years!Once I bought my house and started renovating it, I seemed to settle into life here. In some ways, that's good; one should "be" where one is placed -- to live and serve God in the ways he allows in the moment. But it was also easy to forget about my calling to Australia, or to think "what if it never happens?" Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" Two years is like a single moment to our eternal God. He has been sovereign throughout the pandemic. While we may have felt like we'd lost all control, God never did. And really, we never had any real control anyway! All we are called to do is wait for the Lord -- to trust that he knows best, and is working all things for our good (Romans 8:28). Over the last two years, God has provided many ministry opportunities I never expected: - Participating in the planning and implementation of the Birmingham Missions Cohort, and then bring that to Jackson as well.
- Informal discipleship with several young men at my church.
- Participating in the life of my church including the choir, neighborhood growth group, and a men's Bible study.
- And of course God has provided the opportunity for me to purchase my first house, to be productive during the shutdown through the renovation of the basement apartment, and then to reap the benefits in the coming years of renting out the house and apartment.
- When there were slow times in recent months, I have driven Lyft and found many, many opportunities to share the gospel and to pray with and for my passengers.
God has been good! And it appears my waiting for him to move is coming to an end, at least in this particular situation. For each of us, our lives really is a series of waiting for the Lord -- to move, to open, to close, to heal, and ultimately to bring us to our eternal home. |
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