We boarded the plane at the airport in Arequipa and looked
at each other as we buckled our seat belts. “Let’s just stay another week,” she
said. I looked over at my wife and smiled, “You know, I’ve always been so ready
to get home after trips like this, but I really wish we could stay too.”
If you know me, you know I’m not really the “feeling” type. But
I felt something as we left Peru in January. I felt a strong sense of purpose
that I believe God put there to confirm us. Jaclyn did too. We left there with
a clear answer to our question, “Is this what God really wants?” Now it’s
August and we’re slated to punch our one-way ticket to Peru in two short
months. Looking back, we think we see what God has been up to for quite some
time to get us to this point:
1.
We know that God was behind the scenes getting
us to go on all of those short-term mission trips in college that got us all
fired up to make a difference.
2.
Jeremy and Katie Daggett’s invitation to come
meet with their prospective mission team in April 2012 was most definitely an
answer to our prayer as newlyweds asking to be a part of God’s mission in the
world.
3.
In 2013 we found out that our newly formed team
has what the Team Dimensions Profile (a team-building workshop) calls an almost
perfectly balanced mix of “creators”, “advancers”, “refiners”, and “executors.”
It seems to me that the composition of this team was no accident. Besides being
well-balanced, the Frouds, Morgans, and Daggetts have become our close friends
through this process and we are excited to embark on this adventure with them.
4.
A big gift God gave our team is allowing us to
skip the much of the hard stuff and jump right into a ready-made mission. The
McKinzie and Smith families (we call them “Team Arequipa 1.0”) have been
working diligently in Arequipa for six years and we (Team Arequipa 2.0) get to
springboard off of the foundation they have laid there.
5.
As soon as we moved to Houston two years ago, God
swept us up in the start of a home Bible study at Nathan and Lindy Ingram’s ranch.
Strangely, it ended up being almost exactly what we picture our house churches
in Peru being like in the future. We even had a token Latin American man named
Jorge. Leading that bible study every week taught us some very valuable things.
It’s like God was saying, “Here, I’ll let you practice this once before you
go.”
6.
The confirmation Jaclyn and I felt when we visited
Peru in January was due in large part to a young Australian couple’s
hospitality. Andrew and Bethany Gray call themselves “missionary apprentices”
and have been helping Team 1.0 for almost a year now. They housed us and spent
every free minute they had showing us what life is like living in Arequipa. We
would all do well to become “hospitality apprentices” under these two immensely
Christ-like Aussies.
7.
There was a glitch in our budget plans in April of
this year and we worried we wouldn’t be able to raise enough financial support
to pay our student loan payments. God was way ahead of us. We had just enough
time to apply for a grant program called Project MedSend, which pays medical
missionaries’ student loans while they are on the field. MedSend approved our
application in June and we literally danced for joy.
8.
Dr. Bill and Holly Richardson were a God-send
when they came to our sending congregation in Bonne Terre, Missouri in June.
They did a primer course for the leadership there on what to expect when sending
missionaries to South America. This was really the icing on the cake! God has
been so good to us.
9.
Most importantly, God gave us both parents who
love Jesus. Their dedication to the scriptures and living example have been
preparing us for 27 years to step out in faith. Ed, Carolyn, Jack, and Janet
have been God’s most miraculous intervention in this whole process. Thank you
God for these four pillars that we stand on.
I am grinning from ear to ear!!! I am so pumped that you are to the point of writing this post. And while I am on the opposite end of the spectrum with going through all the emotions and question marks of leaving AQP, I am so PUMPED to get a little overlap with you guys. We are so proud of what God is doing through you guys already. What an incredible story. Now hurry up and get here!
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Jaklyn! We'll be praying for you as you make your final preparations.
ReplyDeleteYou Dunhams gave us a vision for how medical missions can really touch lives and make a difference. You're a huge part of point number 1 above. And HTI is the only way we were able to qualify for MedSend.
DeleteGod bless you in this exciting adventure He has planned for you!
ReplyDelete