It will be a 10-month program in the mountains, with the primary purpose of giving young men a season of life after high school and before college in which they can unplug from the distractions of today, learn skills and live life in a challenging environment, be mentored by older men while observing marriage and family life, experience short-term international missions trips, and most of all, have the time to cease looking at the Bible as a textbook and learn to really develop a close and personal relationship with Jesus. It's life-on-life discipleship, plain and simple.
How and when and why did all of this transpire? Read on! :)
The last post I published on this blog was on November 9th. I was milling over the fact that we hadn't really had a home since being married, and sharing thoughts as we were preparing to move from the RV to the basement of the yurt while finishing construction. Mostly, I was thinking about how temporary even a "home" really is in light of eternity, and wrapped up with this:
Yes, I am cherishing this unsettled feeling and the reminder that it brings. I am cherishing the sehnsucht... cherishing the longing.
And when we have our own "home," it still will not be home. Our brand new abode, in all spiritual reality, will not be home any more than the moldy house or the RV could be considered "home" right now.
Always, always, always, I want to remember that.
There's no doubt in my mind that God had those thoughts swirling in my head during the entire building process for a good and specific reason. How could we have possibly known how timely they would be?
The week we moved from the RV into the basement, we had begun praying seriously that the Lord would show us the next step for our lives. And it was that same week that we got a call from Dave Schroeder.
Dave was the Dean of Men when Joey and I attended NTBI, and at our request, he and his wife Missy had been our premarital counselors in the months leading up to our wedding. Shortly after we graduated, the Schroeders had left New Tribes in order to establish a new ministry God had planted firmly in their hearts; we've been aware of it for a few years. Now, Dave was calling to have us answer some preliminary questions and consider entering full-time ministry as staff with them.
Forms, references, a few hours of FaceTime, and many calls later, our little family packed into the car and drove out to Nebraska this past January for an interview with the board of Mentoring Timothy. We were unanimously accepted.
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| Checking out Mt. Rushmore on the way back from Nebraska. |
We publicized our move into the house, and so many dear people rejoiced with us; all the while, we and family were the only ones who knew our future plans, and our hearts were already bracing to break away from this place. We moved up with the bittersweet knowledge that we'll soon be moving on.
...I'd thought on many occasions, as I cooked on the campstove in the RV while wrangling a one-year-old and a newborn, that in so many ways it would be a loss to move into a house and get comfortable. I asked Jesus, over and over again, not to let us lose that feeling of being unsettled, because it was such a great reminder that we're not to settle into this life... this world that's not our home. Well, He answered those prayers with a YES.
Both of our immediate families are here in Wisconsin, and it's sad to think about taking our grandbabies away from their new grandparents. Not to mention our church family, and my midwife... I know everyone does it. It's common, and in a lot of ways, it's not a big deal. But that doesn't make it easy.
From a young age, Joey and I have both known what it is to move over and over again. I know what it's like to fix up a place that was dead, make it your own, scratch out a living there, and then leave. But somehow, there's something different and more difficult about this. We staked out an area that was just a patch of grass, dug a hole in the ground, and built a round house atop it for our family. It does hurt to leave the home we've poured literal blood, sweat, tears, and so much more into for the last two years. Joey's fingerprints are on everything... We'd envisioned being able to rent it out and come back to it while visiting home, even if we ended up overseas as missionaries.
A day or two after moving up, we just sat together by the fireplace one night as it all sank in, and cried.
It is strange to have these conflicting emotions-- to be weepy at the same time that we're genuinely over-the-moon thrilled for something that's so wonderful it seems like a dream come true.
I don't share all of this to seem pitiful or to convey that we're somehow suffering through this decision. The purpose of sharing the inner sadness is only to to let you into our hearts a bit and to emphasize THIS: that as hard as it is to leave the house we haven't even finished yet, that feeling pales in comparison to the passion we have for this ministry, the excitement we have for the next step, and the utter sureness we have that this is where God is leading us. It's only a house. It's going to burn in the end. All we're doing is giving up something that we can't keep anyway, that was never ours to hold onto.
There has been such a void in our society and churches of the strong, intentional mentoring of men. Marriages are falling apart, pornography addiction is commonplace, and families are shattering. Paul says in Thessalonians 3, speaking of believers, "...When I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain." As much as we have a heart to see the Gospel go where it has never been taken before, we also recognize the need for believers to be rooted, grounded, established, and thriving in Jesus, living out what they believe: discipled.
Discipleship is something we have both been involved in and felt called to for years now, even when we were considering missions. Thinking about our personal strengths and passions, it's mind-boggling how God has brought us to this place that in so many ways seems like our dream. It is certainly something we never could have even imagined. We pray that God will use this raw environment and the day-to-day of simple life for His glory, to raise up men of courage who love Him, love their churches, love their wives, love their children, and are not afraid to lead boldly and love sacrificially.
"God said to Abram: Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you."
We'd both happened to read through or be reminded of Genesis 12 right around the time that all of this was first happening. How amazing that we serve a God who brings encouragement at just the right time through words that were written centuries ago!
There is no way to know what the future holds. For that matter, there's no way to know much about even the near future of this ministry and our involvement. The goal is to move in about a year, and for so many reasons, it would be best to get out there as soon as possible; but we have no way of knowing how long it will take to raise support. We're trusting God to make that happen. No idea when we'll be able to sell or rent our house. The unknowns are countless. Our confidence is not in anything except the firm belief that God is clearly leading us here right now, and we want to be faithful and obedient to His leading. I don't have time to share all the unbelievable ways God is opening doors to make this ministry happen, beyond reason, and the things that have confirmed it for us personally along the way. We have no idea what's in store, but we trust Him fully and are utterly thrilled to be on this adventure with Him!!
Designing and building our own home, only to leave it behind so quickly and start from the ground up all over again? No, it doesn't make sense from a logical perspective. But God's timing is perfect. I believe that with all of my heart-- more than I believe that it will be hard to leave, more than I believe that the future is uncertain, and more than I believe that there are physically and spiritually difficult days ahead. His timing is perfect and He is a GOOD Father. These are things I know beyond knowledge. We are leaving our achey hearts in His ever-capable hands, knowing that we can trust Him implicitly.
We need so much prayer and would be immensely thankful if you'd partner with us in that way! Pray that we keep our eyes on Him daily, looking to Him for each step rather than taking grasp of this and just trying to run with it ourselves. The whole process will undoubtedly be incredibly humbling as well, so pray also that we respond well to God's sanctifying process in our lives.
We realize that a blog post doesn't answer all the questions, so please feel free to ask! You can call us, text us, email us, Facebook message us, or come on over and hang out. :)
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Thank you for sharing in this journey with us, heart and soul! We deeply love you all.
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| View from the Lord-willing location of Mentoring Timothy. |
