One Foot In Each Land

I looked for a picture from my 2nd Ecuador mission trip - but who knows where it is, so I'll just describe it.  The equator runs through the middle of Quito, Ecuador.  The team of 12 of us stood straddling the equator.  Half of our bodies are in the Northern Hemisphere and half of our bodies are in the Southern Hemisphere.  It was a fun shot and something fun to tell stories about.  Something we'll never forget from that trip.

But today I think Scott and I find ourselves straddling another kind of line - half of us are in tune with all that needs to be accomplished to allow us to go to the field in Spain and the other half of us has returned to life as normal.  I realized last night how easy it would be to let life return to normal and never make it to the mission field.  For the last two weeks we were surrounded by people whose total focus was preparing us to go to Spain.  We ate, drank, slept, and lived missions.  Now we have returned to Kernersville and we are surrounded by people whose total focus is daily life.

And where are we....trying to straddle both lands - missionary land and routine.  A friend in Greensboro said to me while we were in Michigan that Greensboro will not be the same when you return.  They were painting our office suite at work and assumed that was what he meant, but today I realize it has a much deeper meaning.  Where exactly do we belong?

A friend already serving on the mission field reminded us that Satan would love to steal the plans God has for us.  Pray with us as we try to find a way to straddle the line.  We have to continue with day to day life here and yet we have to be moving more and more to the Spain side of the line or we will never get there.  How will we do this?  We do not know the magic answer.  We do know it is going to require a lot of prayer, time in God's word, discipline, planning, and intentionality.  We also pray that it involves a lot of our friends joining us on the preparation side of this line.

Will you pray for us as we try to figure out how to do all that needs to be done - as parents, spouses, seminary students, chemists, children's ministers, friends, appointed missionaries, and more?  Will you join us in all the work that needs to be done to get to Spain?

Check back in a few days and I'll write about the things we must accomplish before we can go to Spain and perhaps you'll find a place to become a partner with us.  But for today, just pray that we do not allow Satan to take the every day routine and schedule and distract us from God's call on our lives.