-This is a repost from 07/22/2016-
Our life has been really hectic lately. So hectic that Jonas and I have often felt like we barely see each other all day. So two of my brothers blessed us this week with an afternoon to get out of the house and run errands, talk, and pray together while they played with our two older children (the youngest still spends most of his time sleeping). We actually got to communicate with each other in full sentences, and ask each other questions like “So, how are YOU feeling about REV?” If you’re not sure what that means, REV is readiness evaluation, a 5-day event during which Mission to the World(MTW) staff will get to know us and decide whether or not we’re ready to enter the mission field, and what areas of our lives we should be strengthening or improving. We’ve been told the hours are long, they don’t give you a schedule so there’s no way to prepare, and they will intentionally put us into stressful situations to see how well we can handle them. In a surprising reversal of expectations, Jonas is feeling nervous and unprepared, while I (Christina) am feeling excited and ready to go get this thing done.
Mostly, I’m just thrilled we’ve gotten to this point where we’re actually HERE at the beginning of this journey, stepping out into the really deep waters. About 5 years ago now, Jonas and I were living in Newport News, VA where he was stationed with the US Army TRADOC Band. We were involved in a terrific church plant and had made some deep, inspiring friendships. We were hanging out with our friends Abbie and Joseph, who were just about our age and in our stage of life when God gave me a vision. He doesn’t do that often (maybe because I don’t listen very well), but it was just a flash - an image and a feeling that resounded within me and the resonance grew deeper and deeper with meaning the longer I pondered it. I saw the four of us, two couples standing hand-in-hand on the beach, staring out at the water. It started out clear and shallow like many beaches do, but the water grew deeper and choppier and more opaque the further out we looked. And as we looked, we all started wading in. I knew God was telling me that we were at the edge of the shallows, just wading into what he had in store. And I knew that our two families were going to be heading out into those deep waters - not necessarily together, but in parallel.
This isn’t really the beginning, because we’ve been beginning for a while. We’ve been wading through the shallows of our calling. But we’ve reached the drop-off now, and this is the beginning of the deep waters. And it doesn’t feel like a “sink or swim” situation, but it feels like a “get out of the boat and come to me” beckoning. Trust that in that depth is where we are meant to be, and it promises hard work and it promises not always knowing, but we hold tight to the promise that Jesus is there, is right there where we’re headed. And where he is, there is peace, and we need that.
I’ll ask you for your help as we move forward - pray for us, please! Pray for the staff and the missions candidates and the families of the candidates. Pray that we will all keep our eyes on Jesus. And we’ll update you soon on how things went.
Christina