It’s been almost 9 months since we felt God move us away from ministering through foster care and reconfirm that He was calling us to foreign missions. 9 months of actively knocking on doors and seeing if it’s this door God wants us to walk through or that door that we’re supposed to plan for.
We applied with Wycliffe to go to Papua New Guinea to support Bible translation efforts there. After working through the application process, interviewing with the folks that we would serve alongside, making a really long list of things we’d need to think about getting/taking (I’m a planner, ya’ll…), Wycliffe essentially told us that we could not go to PNG because we have an older teenager. They obviously have an extensive amount of experience in these things and they have seen too many older teens fare poorly on the mission field – particularly when sent SO far from home. They graciously offered us the opportunity to serve at their JAARS headquarters in Waxhaw, NC and then after Alyssa was settled in college, consider moving to Oaxaca, Mexico, to support efforts there. We traveled to NC to visit JAARS and although they have a lovely campus in beautiful North Carolina, it was clear to Scott and I that this was NOT where God was calling us. (Kind of a bummer, since I have dear friends that would have been nearby!) We decided to withdraw our application with Wycliffe. (If you’re ever in the area, definitely go through the museums they have at JAARS! They have a couple of days a year where they do helicopter rides and tours, too!)
We applied with Pioneer Bible Translators next. We had video conferences with the folks we would be working alongside in Vanuatu – supporting a center that is training natives to go back to their remote tribes and do Bible translation work there. This is an awesome work and we were ALL IN. We went through the entire application process, psychological evaluations, references, testimonies, theological questions – and in the end, we were told we were not being accepted. When we pressed for a reason, we were told it was “nothing specific.” Ouch. It has taken me a while to recover from the letdown of this rejection and the not knowing makes it harder. Did I totally bomb the psychological? Did we say something wrong? Did someone give us a bad reference? Ultimately, I’ve finally come to the conclusion that there was just something about our family that didn’t jive with PBT – whether it was doctrinally or what, I have no idea. I’m feeling okay about it now, but I’m still kind of mourning the “loss” of the South Pacific…
Next, we applied with SIM. We had actually spoken with them shortly after applying with Wycliffe back in October. The position we discussed with our recruiter was in Paraguay, helping do recordings for audio Bibles for indigenous people who do not have written language. We did the pre-application and had a big meeting with their divorce care pastor to go over our past history of divorce and to see how we’ve healed (or not) and it was decided that we were ready to move on with ministry. We began the application a couple of weeks ago. Today we met with SIM to go over all the various steps to the application process and when we got off the phone, Scott and I both just strongly got the impression that we are not supposed to pursue going to the field with SIM. Our meeting went well. SIM seems like a great sending agency doing a great work. But we are definitely sensing a “NO” from God. We’re kind of left questioning if we’re to go with a sending agency at all…
It seems that God may be moving behind the scenes, cracking a door open that we hadn’t believed was an option previously. It’s a door that is near and dear to our hearts, but we do not know if it will be a real possibility yet. We’ve decided to wait and spend some time learning and researching and seeing if there are opportunities for us there apart from a sending agency.
We are blessed to be surrounded by folks who have either served in the past or are currently serving as foreign missionaries and they have each shared so much wisdom and advice with us!
Would you pray for us? Specifically, for my heart in the waiting. Being in limbo is a very difficult place for me. I have a hard time focusing on doing the next thing because what that thing is sometimes depends on what path we’re taking and when we’re taking it! The slightly cracked door has encouraged me some and caused me to somewhat refocus on what I need to do before we go ANYWHERE. (Does anyone need any glassware or kitchen appliances? *smile*) Also, we need wisdom not only to know what steps we should take in preparation, but to know what to do about things like renting or selling our house when the time comes!
Thank you!
Adventures of a Peachy Georgia Girl... 