In my last post I promised to share some of our most Frequently Asked Questions, so here's the next installment!FAQ #2 - How long will you be on the mission field?
(REAL QUESTION - Surely this is just a phase you're going through, right?)
ANSWER - The short answer to this question is until the Lord sends us somewhere else or tells us to go back to the US.
Moving to Italy to plant churches is not something Stephen and I decided to do on a whim. This process started over 8 years ago and God has made it very clear that He has been preparing us for this our entire lives. However, when the Lord revealed His plan for our family to take the Gospel to Italians, He didn't let us in on all the details, including how long we will be there. All we can do is plan for what we know and trust that God will show us if and when He wants us to leave Italy.
When the Lord called Elisha to take up Elijah's mantle, Elisha slaughtered his work oxen, used his plow as firewood to cook them, and threw himself a farewell party (1 Kings 19:19-21). Because he destroyed his means of making a living, there was no turning back to his old life! Elisha may not have known what the future would hold, but if things got tough, he couldn't just go home and pick up where he left off.
That is how Stephen and I feel about our call to minister to Italians. There is no Plan B! We will sell or give away most of our belongings here and start a new life there, walking out Plan A - God's plan. While we will get to come back to the US every few years, we won't have a home here in the States. Our home and our ministry will be in Italy until the time that God shows us the next step.
2 comments:
I love this post! Especially the reference about Elisha. I remember when we living in Athens about 8-9 years ago, and God showed us this passage regarding the move we had just made from Jonesboro/Atlanta.
Too many people are hoping that when God asked them to make a big sacrifice that He's just going to say, "Aw now I was just joking, I really don't want you to get hurt or disappointed if this doesn't all work out the way I planned it, so I'll just save you the trouble and call someone else."
The fact is God IS STLL CALLING US (ALL OF US) TO MAKE A SACRIFICE. God hasn't changed. His message hasn't changed. His call hasn't changed, so why should we expect him to expect any less of us?
All Chips to the Center of the table please.--Andy
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