Catching up

Hello friends.  I want to apologize in advance for the long time between posts.  It’s been a crazy couple of months.  As much as I wanted to just jump right into missions, after speaking to a couple of full-time missionary friends, I stepped back a little and have been more deliberate on how i am approaching this.  The first thing that was decided on, both by myself and the mission director, was that leaving as soon as i was intending to would be more detrimental in the long run.  I have been meeting with him and a couple of other guys who raise their own support each week, and we realize the importance of making sure the funding is there before I go.  It was a hard thing to wrap my head around first.  It didn’t seem like that was “living in faith” but it makes sense.  If I am in Togo but worrying about where my next support check comes from, then I am less effective while i am there.  I can then concentrate on the job at hand.  So I will hold off until August and go to Haiti first (I am confident that I can be fully funded by then).  The group of men I meet with have gone through a book on full time missionary living and I just finished my support letter which will be going out in the next week or so.  In the mean time I am starting to put together a team of close friends here in Middle Tennessee that I can lean on for prayer and support and advice.  I meet with the first of those friends this evening.  I am certainly at peace where things are heading.

****************************************************************************************************************************

Last weekend, I helped a couple of good friends move.  They filled a 26′ box truck twice with their belongings.  This helped reaffirm my commitment to minimalism.  I never want to have to move with that much stuff!  I took some time during the holiday weekend and purged some more things.  i had some clothes that had gotten stained or ripped and I hadn’t cleared them out of the closet.  I did that this weekend.  I need to get rid of a couple of other things I am not using as well.  I think this is a good thing, personally.  I can continue to simplify my life and be ready to go wherever god leads me.