Reflections on our life and lessons in uganda |
I have been meditating a lot on what it means to rest in Jesus. We are covering the FOUNDATIONS of Christian faith in our class right now, and it has revealed a lot of things that have really impacted my faith in deep ways.
Exodus 33:14, “And He said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest’.” This is God speaking to Moses. I read this verse yesterday and it floored me because it is so in line with what God has been teaching me. See, the African worldview focuses a lot on manipulating and appeasing God (or the gods), but so often my own life is that way. I do things to try and please God in order to atone for my sins.I try to balance my sins with a quick prayer or some good action to balance the scale. It's an attitude of appeasement that has sunk into our understanding of Christianity, and it’s completely ridiculous. See, I KNOW that Jesus has washed away my sins. But I have had to ask myself do I BELIEVE it? Again, the answer is yes, but not fully sometimes. See, if I truly believe something I am going to LIVE it. So based on how I have lived and thought, I believed that Jesus MOSTLY paid for my sins, or paid for them up until my point of salvation. See, I always viewed repentance as a way of getting forgiveness for my sins after I screw up. I have been taught 1 John 1:9 in these kinds of terms ‘see, so when we mess up if we repent He will then forgive us and we can move forward’. But WHAT IF, that isn’t what repentance is about at all? Hebrews 10:12-14 says, “But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” So going based on this, I am (as a believer in Jesus) PERFECTED FOREVER. Jesus’ sacrifice was enough to make me righteous for past, present, and future sins. So if repentance isn’t about getting re-forgivened (as I always sort of subconsciously thought) then what on earth is it for? I believe it is for sanctification. If we understand the depth of our depravity, and the indescribable gift of the gospel, we are going to DESIRE to turn from our sin out of love and gratitude; not out of fear of being a bad boy or girl. And how that frees me up. Instead of trying to beat my sin on my own, I can run to my Abba Daddy and say ‘I know I am righteous in Christ, help me flee my wickedness in this (insert sin here)’. His presence becomes infinite comfort instead of infinite condemnation. But so often we misunderstand His goodness and flee from His presence until we can “sort ourselves out”. Look at David’s example. Psalm 25:11, “For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great.” (Clearly David knows he is a filthy sinner here). Then look at Psalm 26:1, “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity; and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.” Those two statements seem so contradictory to me at first glance, but what if they aren’t? Perhaps, David (like Paul in Romans 7:20-8:1) knows he is a wicked sinner, AND is washed completely clean by the blood of Christ… Doesn’t that give us great freedom! We are free to chase after God, and run to Him when we mess up and say ‘help me be as I ought, sanctify me’ without having to always worry about messing up our forgiveness. THAT gives me freedom to rest in Jesus. And it causes me to celebrate even more fully the grace and love of God! And when I walk in that, the presence of God in my life gives me such rest as I have never known.
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The Great Struggle of the Introverted Missionary (or pastor’s wife, or women’s ministry person…)2/5/2016 Anyone who has met me for 5 seconds will know that I am introverted. Not the cute, personable introvert who is a little quiet but is well liked. Let me explain it this way, on the Jungian personality test I score greater than 96% introverted (usually it is 98%). Worse than that, I am shy. Painfully shy. My closest friends have told me, “I see why people think you aren’t friendly, but it just takes work to get to know you”.
Knowing these things about me, it probably won’t surprise you that there are some struggles associated with being introverted and called into ministry. Now, I have researched more than once things like ‘introvert and ministry’ ‘how to do ministry when you are shy’,‘is it a sin to be an introvert’ (which is a sadly common google phrase). Even in my home church, where the folks are like family to me, you would more often than not see me in kid’s ministry or vacuuming. I used to tell our lead pastor that I did it to avoid talking, and I was mostly joking-ish. However, there is something to be said for those who prefer serving in areas where small talk isn’t required. Women are very talkative, social creatures. Even us introverts are, just in different ways. So it can become a great struggle to form relationships or feel included in the church world. It is easy to view extroversion as a good and introversion as bad. (I can’t tell you how often in life I prayed for God to make me an extrovert). But He didn’t make me an extrovert; and He still sent me to the mission field; and it is exhausting. I am in a world where I know one, ONE, person (it’s my husband). In many ways, the mission field can be an introvert’s worst nightmare (or women’s conference or even a crowded sanctuary on aSunday can be daunting). I am not only surrounded by total strangers, but they speak a different language, oh and I am being put into formal ministry to ADULT PEOPLE. (This has renewed my prayers for God to make me an extrovert; but He hasn’t yet haha). Introversion can be tough for ministry. I don’t have answers for my introverted or shy friends that will change your life instantly; this is probably my single greatest struggle in ministry. But I have learned some things which I must pray over and apply on a daily basis right now. 1. It is easy to get down on ourselves for being introverts. Or perhaps it draws you into a sense of inferiority or isolation. This is an attack. Whether you are inclined to feeling inferior, victimized, superior, lesser, whatever, it is an attack. Psalm 139 tells me that God fashioned me how He did and that He loves ME. Not the more social version of me. So we must stop focusing on ourselves. We must lift our eyes beyond ourselves and the things we like or don’t. Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus. (This is for all of us, not just the introverts). 2. Don’t let introversion become our excuse for isolating. It is hard for me to meet new people. But if I allow fear and shyness to prevent me from pushing myself to meet people I will be a) lonely and b) ineffective in ministry. I am not saying to become a social butterfly. I am saying to not hide in our room because ‘what’s the point of going to a women’s event, I’ll just get ignored.’ We all need to be in fellowship, and feeling isolated can be a great excuse for us to play the victim and hide away to protect ourselves. 3. God has gifted each of us in different ways. We must play to our strengths in ministry. I am not a great evangelist who can go street preaching easily. But I am very good at listening to those who are hurting, or visiting the sick, or vacuuming, or cleaning toilets. Now this doesn’t excuse me from sharing the gospel. But it allows me to find the places I am effective in ministry and service and utilize them. 4. Paul says multiple times, like In Colossians 3:11, “where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.” So what does this tell me? It doesn’t matter how I label myself, how Jung labeled me, how you label me or anything else. It isn’t about me. Christ has done away with our strife and division and instead gives unity. I am not less or more than an extroverted believer, we are part of the same body. Christ is in both of us. And all we do is for Him. So let us seek Him in prayer, study, fellowship and service. It is all about Him anyway. So, to wrap up. If I am seeking to serve Jesus and am sensitive to the Spirit as He calls me to ministry, then it won’t matter if I am shy or not. If He calls me to some form of ministry I will do it, and He will enable me. He doesn’t wish I was an extrovert. He loves me as I am, He loves you as you are. And He is pleased when the body works together for His glory. He pairs me in ministry with those who are weak when I’m strong and vice versa. “Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together unity!” Psalm 133:1. So I wanted to take this time to talk about things I am grateful for. At home I found it tough to remember to be thankful for things. (I doubt I was alone in that struggle). Even here it can be easy to focus on how much I miss pepperoni pizza vs. how much work the kitchen ladies put in to prepping our meals 3 times a day. But the other night it struck me that there were some things here I was very grateful for.
Background story: I have been sick the last few days with stomach problems (which I am determined is food adjustment and NOT a parasite), but the stomach troubles led to me getting dehydrated which gave me nausea and headaches which meant I didn’t eat which made me sleepy. So I was kind of a sad, pathetic mess for poor Jon to deal with. But then we were asked to housesit for the principle of the institute because they’d gotten stuck in Kampala overnight. (They and their 6 kids live in a semi-Americanized home [by that I mean they have plumbing]). So as I was standing in a cold shower, which suddenly became lukewarm, and was able to use a real toilet instead of a pit latrine; it hit me. I was so thankful that God had coordinated things how He did that it made my knees shake. So I began to think on other things I am grateful for. 1. I am grateful that God paired me with Jon and called us out here, because it is a privilege and honor. 2. I am grateful for our story: because in sharing how God has worked in our life and marriage, we were able to walk with another couple who are struggling and say ‘God redeems it, keep on’. 3. I am grateful for the grace that is given to Jon and I as we struggle to learn a new culture. Being at New Hope has given us a safe place to shed some of our American habits (like sarcasm) without causing TOO much offense. 4. I am grateful for the Godly leadership the Lord has placed over our Institute class and the wisdom they have to share. 5. I am grateful for pit latrines that have walls and doors (because as Chin tells us, that isn’t always the case). 6. I AM grateful for the wonderful kitchen ladies who work hard to make us food day in and day out, with a smile. 7. I am grateful for those who have adopted us as friends and mentees as we walk this new journey out. 8. I am grateful that we have water. (Many people and places don’t have clean water, or even accessible water). 9. I am grateful for the Godly leadership in our lives before we left, who support and pray for and pastor us even now. 10. I am grateful for those who support us in prayers, finances and encouragement. It is easy to feel isolated, and many of our loved ones have gone out of their way to not let that be so. I could easily make a list of 100 instead of 10. I could mention Jon’s incredible leadership, our family’s love and support, consistentish electricity and wifi, games, laughter, and chapati (you’ll hear more about chapati later on), but that would take too long. But for today, those are the things that I am meditating on and just basking in how good God really is. Psalm 34:8 tells us, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” Well I have tasted and seen and daily His goodness is beyond measure. I have tasted in plenty and found Him gracious. I have tasted in want and found His grace more than sufficient. I have tasted in heartache and found comfort. And I have tasted in celebration and found joy beyond my wildest dreams. And a new video from one of the pastors here. How do you bring the Fatherhood of God to the Fatherless? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wEsd1pXz-s You have probably noticed that we have been more active than anticipated online recently. One, we are utilizing good wifi while we have it (being that the power does go off for days at a time). Two, we haven’t started class yet (which starts Wednesday) so we are trying to utilize the free time we have to update before we get busy and cannot
So we attended our first Ugandan church service at Kasana Community Church here at New Hope. Church was a total of 2 ½ hours. We worshipped in song for an hour and a half! And I have noticed something incredible about the worship in this place: they can’t contain themselves! Especially the group of men leading at another city site which is specifically for the rehabilitation of child soldiers. They get so excited about worshipping Jesus that they just leap and dance and shout. I have to be honest, back in American churches I would probably have been offended by such behavior. But that is because I have much pride still for the Lord to rid me of and American worship culture is not that. As NHU Ministries US president said “In America we stand still and if the Spirit really works we might put a hand up”. To see someone leaping as high as they could in the air shouting would seem nearly obscene to us in a US church, right? Now I am not saying, NOT saying, that there is a right way to worship. The ONLY definitive I will make about a right or wrong way to worship is that “God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). So that is what I will say about that. But I will say that there is faith produced by trials and tribulations, and many of these people have known TRIALS and pains. And yet instead of bitterness, I see in these believers an almost uncontainable love for God. He saved some of them out of pits of despair so low I would have probably not survived had I been them. He pulled them through and was their guide. So now all they can do is proclaim what He has done and shout, sing, clap, dance for joy. I wondered to myself, ‘if I had known trials like many of those dancing men and clappping women, would I also find God so indescribable, so incredible, so beautiful that I wouldn’t be able to contain myself either?’ Now, I worshipped God wholeheartedly in the US (sometimes). But the more time I spend here, the more I am convinced that having easy, trial free lives is both a blessing and a curse. I can only truly know how far God can reach into the depths by being in them. David had an incredibly hard life, and He knew God so intimately because He was all David had many times. Now don’t misunderstand me, I am not about to pray for hard times (I don’t have that much faith yet haha). I am merely encouraging us to look deeply at our personal worship. How often do I stand in church with eyes closed merely making sounds while my mind is elsewhere? Too often. I am challenging myself (and all of you too) to take a minute every time we go to worship and think hard about where and what God saved us from. Even if your life has not been incredibly difficult (as is my case), there is still the awe-inspiring fact that Jesus kicked down the gates of hell to claim us as His own. If that doesn’t inspire a little jumping and dancing in me, I don’t know what will. Psalm 30:1-4, “I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God I cried out to You and You healed me. O Lord you brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name!” To see some worship from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPPTKQSxknM Well we are here in New Hope Uganda. It was not an easy trip getting here: (we got delayed coming out of Denver when the plane was late and then the de-icing truck broke; stayed overnight in Chicago, switched airlines, finally got here a day later; had 5 of 6 bags not here, had no driver, almost couldn’t get ahold of our contact, got a taxi to take us to our guesthouse, got lost going to the guest house, got there at 1 am, and didn’t receive bags until Tuesday night which meant the same clothes for 5 days). But in all of that, one thing remains true: God is so good.
I have found that the folks on staff here and the people in class in the Institute with us are so very in love with Jesus and His Word. They could easily spend hours praying just about the good attributes of God found in His Word. Many people here have had unpampered lives to say the least, and many have faced great struggle and pains. But they have a love of God and faith that inspires me to love Him better. Life runs on a different time here, and priorities are different. They believe that business can wait but relationship cannot. This makes them a (generally) very friendly people and they greet you heartily even if it is just passing on the street. I greatly enjoy the relationship investment of that (even if it can make getting important tasks done nearly impossible). I have enjoyed the vibrant worship (although I am not used to clapping so much). Many dance for joy during worship because of what the Lord has done. Though we miss those we love and hold dear at home very much, we feel very privileged to be a small part of what God is doing in this beautiful country. (And though I sometimes miss pizza and flushing toilets, I don’t think I would trade it).Thank you for your continued support, love and prayers. We also wanted to let you all know for anyone that has not yet seen the link on facebook. Our first YouTube video is live!!! You can watch it at this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOS0Lx0zuKI and we really hope you enjoy seeing what New Hope Uganda actually looks like. And finally, here is the part that I promised would be in every blog post we have. Romans 12:1-3 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” Here’s what we should remember. The problem with a living sacrifice is that when a sacrifice was made, it was cut up and usually burned. A living sacrifice would not be living for very long. In words of author Douglas Adams, “I always tried to dissect a cat to see how it worked, but the problem is, as soon as you start to dissect, the first thing you have is a non-working cat.” When we present ourselves as a living sacrifice, we must first be willing to die to ourselves, as that is the next thing that will happen. It says don’t be conformed, but be transformed. The only way to be conformed is again by continually offering ourselves as a sacrifice to God because it is only Him that has the power to transform us, which He does by renewing our minds. Remember, the heart and the mind work so closely together that it difficult for our heart to be changed without first our minds being changed. Then remember that we should not think of ourselves more highly than we ought, there is no work of our own to boast with but only God’s grace at work in us. Paul had every qualification to be a Hebrew of Hebrews, but not one of them qualified him to be a child of God, only God’s grace. We don’t know what the future holds, but we know God holds the future. In regards to God’s kingdom and His work, the greatest ability we have to offer is availability. by Jon
Hello to all of our faithful supporters and all those who are sending us out. I want to wish you a happy new year and a reminder that no matter what our resolutions this year, only what is done for the Kingdom of God matters. I’m sending out this blog post now to handle just a little bit of housekeeping before we hop on the airplane to our new mission field in 6 days. But don’t worry, after I know that I’ve thought of everything to tell you, expect to see some truth from God’s Word. It is our goal that you will never read a blog post or a newsletter and not get God’s Word in the process. First is that on the 7th, the day before we leave, we will be sending out our first newsletter. What you can expect to see in our newsletters is a list of specific prayer requests that you can pray for us as well as updates and pictures from our mission. Our desire is for all of our friends and family who support our mission both financially and in prayer to have the details on exactly how God is working in Uganda through your support. The reason I point this out is because there are quite a few people who read our blog posts but are not subscribed to receive our newsletters. If this is you, I want to give you the chance to get signed up now before we send it out. So if you need to get signed up...here’s how… Go to our website www.coupalstouganda.com, click on the tab that says “contact”, scroll down the page and look on the right side, there will be a place for you to type in your email address and subscribe to our newsletter. Secondly, I want to let you know that our YouTube channel will be going active this week. This is very exciting for us, because it will allow our supporters to get to see the work that God is doing in video. I know that we all have busy schedules and not everyone has the time, or sometimes the desire, to sit down and read a blog post or a newsletter, so this will allow a way for you to see what is happening without needing to sit down and read our updates. Although I recommend you still do read them, because we can’t put everything in the videos. I will include more information on how to find our YouTube channel in the newsletter this week. Third and final thing to say. And just so you know, this is our least favorite part of being a missionary, but we have to do it because how will you know what we need if we don’t tell you? So here is what we need. Our goal right now is to live on and run our mission on a budget of $18,000 dollars a year. This probably seems ridiculously low because most of us American’s wouldn’t dream of living on a budget that small, but we believe that it is totally do-able in Uganda. Now if you break that down it comes to $1,500 dollars a month. Now what this means is that in order for our mission to operate on a long-term basis, we need to have that amount coming in every month, and be able to count on that amount too (which means more than just one time donations that fluctuate every month.) So all that comes to this end...we need 10-20 families who are willing to make us your primary supported missionaries, and commit to monthly donations of $100-$200 dollars. I hope that every person who reads this blog post would prayerfully consider putting your money where your mouth is and supporting us in this way. If this is you, then let me tell you how to accomplish it… Head to our website www.coupalstouganda.com, click on the tab that says “get involved”, and at the bottom of the page click the button that says “online giving”, this will redirect you to Calvary Chapel Cherry Creek’s online giving page. Once there, input the amount you would like to donate, and select the frequency (again, please pray about committing to monthly giving), IMPORTANT: there is a drop down menu that says “select a fund”, be sure to select Uganda Missions. Input all your information and card information and click “give now” and you’re good to go. I hope that everyone will pray about committing to supporting us monthly, but even if you are not called to support us financially, or can’t, don’t feel like you are not a part of what God is doing in Uganda through our mission. Souls that will be reached with the gospel and kids without parents will see the love of a Father God through us by the consistent and deliberate prayers of the church. Even if you can’t support us financially, please don’t forget to join alongside us in prayer. Finally, the part that I am most excited to share, a message from God’s Word. In Matthew 4:17, we see the very beginning of Jesus earthly ministry after He was baptised by John the Baptist. It says, “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” This is very first time we see Jesus publicly preaching in the Bible, and what is His message? REPENT! GET SAVED!!! Knowing that the kingdom of heaven is at hand (our time on this world is short) means that if you are not saved, get saved. Stop waiting, there is no better time to start walking with the God who made the entire universe yet knows the number of hairs on your head. It means that if you ARE saved, take it serious. Don’t just continue in the way you always have. A relationship with God inspires change, letting His Word be effective in your life requires growth. Don’t be stagnant, be serious! Open Letter Series
In the 2 ½ years since we’ve been married we have had some ups and downs. 7 years now since you came back into my life. You have had moments where you have had to decide what our life was going to look like: would we be the average joe married couple, or were we going to be entirely sold out for the name of Jesus. I know the choice sounds easy, but I know it has been anything but. I have watched you consciously put your wants, desires and needs to death for the sake of the gospel, but also for my sake. I have seen you choose to be patient, forgiving, loving and sweet when I have deserved the opposite. Instead of trying to make me the wife you deserved, you chose to love me exactly where I was and prayed to be the husband I needed, a husband who lived and loved like Jesus. You became my example of how to be a spouse, and you encourage me in seeking the Lord. Given where we could have ended up I don’t think I could ever thank you enough for stepping up to be a Godly leader in our house. It is the steady and consistent leadership and love for God that makes me have no fear in following you wherever God calls. It is such a freeing thing to be able to confidently follow your leadership in our home. However, it was learning to trust in the Lord’s leading that was the most freeing. You are a wonderful husband. You are easy to submit to and love. But the amazing thing is that even if you weren’t I could still have confidence in submitting to you, because we serve a God who cares for us and blesses obedience to His Word. It took me so long to realize that I was only responsible for how I submit to you instead of for the decisions you make. I have seen you freed up to make choices as the Lord leads, because I am no longer trying to control those decisions. Your example of submission to God has given me the ability to freely submit to you as we seek His will together. You and I are so very different in many ways, and so similar in others.You are my best friend, my encourager, my favorite person. If I had to pick anyone to move across the world with, away from everything I am prepared for and comfortable with, I’d pick you every time. I know that you will show every soul we encounter the love of Jesus. You will bring love to the sweet kids who have never seen what love really is. You will be hot, dirty, miserable and I know that you will continue to praise Jesus even when it gets unbelievably hard. You’ll stand for what’s right, and share the gospel no matter the cost. I always joked with Maggie, before you showed up, that I needed to find my Jim Elliot. Then the Lord brought you into my life and it was infinitely better than I had imagined. We don’t fit like a puzzle piece (how boring that would be!). But you are my compliment, and the most perfect fit for me to walk in ministry with. All of this to say, I’m so excited to see what God has in store for us. I am thankful that you are a Godly man who leads with integrity. I love you more than I ever thought possible. And I am so thankful God brought us together. As we walk in to this new, unknown chapter I am so excited to be by your side and to let God use us however He desires. I love you TISSUE ALERT!- Anyone who is a parent may cry. It is a 3 on the tissues scale. I warned you.
A little background. Jon and I have parents (like everyone). They are incredibly supportive of Jon and I entering the mission field because they are wonderful believers. Ok, here you go. An Open Letter to our Parents While I was away on the women’s retreat, God showed me something really cool about you guys. See I am reading in 1 Samuel and I was on the chapter where Hannah prays for Samuel and then dedicates him to the Lord. She saw him once a year, when they went to worship at the temple. Then He led me to a verse that my parents have shared in my life before: 3 John 1:4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” I truly believe Hannah missed and loved her son, but I also believe that because she loved God she had no greater joy than seeing Samuel raised up in the service of the Lord. THEN He took me to John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” We all know this verse, right? But this shows the heart of God in a way that very few people on earth can relate to. God cared so much for seeing souls saved that He sent His Son into the world. Does that sound like anyone you know? It does to me. We know that we have asked you to do the impossible, to willingly send out your kids. But we also know that you do not hesitate. That you have constantly have to explain to people why you will not attempt to talk us out of this endeavor. More than that, you have gotten behind us to support and encourage us in God’s will for our lives. Because more than our safety, or fiscal security, or comfort or even our happiness, you desire to see us walk in God’s will to be used to see souls saved. We believe that you understand the heart of God in a way that only missions parents can. God so loved the world that He gave His Son; you so love the world that you give your son/daughter. We believe God will bless that immensely. We believe that He will give you a deeper fellowship with Him because you know intimately the heart of God. We know that you pray for us every day, multiple times a day. We know that you cry at the foot of the cross for us, and beg God to keep us safe if it is possible. We know that you plead with Him to use us to make His name known. And we know that it hurts more than we could ever imagine to give us the blessing to go, but you give it anyway. We pray for you. We pray that people come alongside you to love and encourage you when we can’t get in contact. We pray that people will come beside you to hold your hand when we are sick and you cannot come care for us. We pray for encouragement when holidays and birthdays come and go without us there. We pray for courage when you hear news that causes you to worry for us from around the world. We pray that you will be surrounded by people who genuinely love you and care for you. Because we will be aching for all those moments, just as you do. And we have people who are in support of us, but we pray that you do as well. You are sacrificing so much for the sake of seeing God’s will done, and we pray that He blesses you with support, peace, comfort and love. We pray that when it is hard to watch parents and kids together because you know we are 8 months away, that you have people around you to love on you and pray with you. But most important, we pray that you seek refuge and comfort in the arms of the Father who understands in a way no one else could. God understands the hurt of seeing His child far away, of seeing Him suffer, of seeing Him give His life to see souls reunited with God in redemption and salvation. We love you. We thank you, because moving forward in this with you begging us to stay would be infinitely harder. We will call often, and when we can’t we’ll still try. We will work more fervently knowing that you are behind us. We will work in such a way to make you proud, but more importantly to be worthy of the call of God in our life. Thank you for loving God and loving us. Jon and Kristin So, there's this new thing in blogging that has become popular: open letters. It is where you write a letter to someone, but do it in a forum that anyone can see. I have several in the works (we'll probably make a little mini-blog series out of it). So here is the first: an open letter to our church. However, I think it is really an open letter to any faithfully supporting church from any faithfully supported missionary.
An Open Letter to Our Church Dear Calvary Chapel Cherry Creek (C4), As you all know by now, Jon and I are less than two months from moving across the world to pursue God’s calling in our life. As our sending church you have had bake sales, fundraisers, you’ve bought hoodies, signed checks and lifted us up in prayer. We know what we are asking of you as our sending church: we are asking for you to give and support and pray for two kids barely into adulthood who say with certainty that God has called us to give up our lives here and go there, relying on the giving of His church to send us. This is scary for us, but an exercise in allowing God to show Himself faithful (spoiler: He always has). But I imagine it is also a little scary for you. We know that you have given and given and given, you have gotten behind us without hesitation. You’ve dedicated yourselves to seeing God use us in Uganda. You are trusting two young people with your love, prayers and money. But you’re doing so much more than that. You’re trusting God with all of those things, you’re trusting that this is His will in our lives, and you are trusting that investing into the Kingdom of Heaven is worth it. I assure you, it is. You have united as an army to battle against the gates of hell. All of you. The wonderful, amazing, loving children in this church have even joined the fight. I couldn’t possibly express the encouragement and blessing it is to watch your children get excited to be a part of God’s work, whether it’s the bake sale, the cards they made to bless us, or having more kids than I know of beg and plead to come on mission trips to visit. This tells me without a doubt that the parents in this church are raising their kids to have a zealous love for God. What could possibly be more important than that?? The road we are walking as we prepare has not always been easy (though the support of our friends and family has made it infinitely more so). Jon and I have chosen to be faithful in God asking us to sell our home, quit our jobs, sell everything we own, pack up, leave and go fight for souls halfway across the planet. We are leaving friends and family behind. It is easy to feel discouraged, afraid, doubtful, lonely, self-pitying, and even a little insane. God is growing our faith and showing up in huge ways. One of the biggest ways is by surrounding us with people who love Him, who love us, and who encourage us constantly. I cannot imagine being a part of a church where we did not have the love and support we do here. You have truly been and continue to be family to us and we love each of you very dearly. So I guess the point of all of this is to say thank you. We know we have asked a lot of you as our sending church. We know that it is hard sometimes. We know that it has required sacrifices we can’t imagine from each of you. We know that sometimes hearing our name or Uganda in the announcements may make you cringe. We know that you take the responsibility seriously unto the Lord. And we know that each of you has stepped up to join the work of God without hesitation and unreservedly. Having you, as our church, as our family, step up behind us to send us out with power, joy and love allows us to go confidently. We do not need to fear that suddenly the prayers will stop, the communication will cease, and we’ll be forgotten. I know each of you has determined that it will not be so. I can’t tell you the difference it makes in our lives. The difference it makes when the attacks come, or we’re told ‘no’ again from other churches, or when it just gets hard to pack everything we own into a trunk that isn’t even full. We are supported by people we love, that have our back, and who have given us to the Lord in prayer innumerable times. I can’t ever tell you how much that means to us. I can’t say thank you enough. Just know: that the Lord knows, we know, and each and every life that is touched in Uganda will know and feel the power and love coming from you as a church body, as a family. We love all of you. We could never say thank you enough to or for you. God bless. Matthew 25:40 Jon and Kristin Coupal Jon has written another update/post for us, I think it's great!!!
So, a lot of you who read our blog posts know that Kristin and I are high school leaders at our church. Thanks to the Kristin being on the women's retreat, I have had the pleasure of getting to teach for two weeks in a row. On Friday, we finished Colossians, and in putting the study together, God taught me a few things that I think are important for more than just mission work, but for all of life. I wanted to share with you here something that God taught me about prayer. Here is Colossians 4:2-4 2- Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; 3- meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4- that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter to the church at Colossae, we know because here he says that he is in chains for what he calls "the mystery of Christ". But here we also see that even in prison he understands the importance of prayer. Let's put ourselves in his shoes for a second, picture yourself in prison, if you want close your eyes and really put yourself there. A damp dark room, immovable stone walls and the only opening is covered in steel bars keeping you in; chains around your ankles and wrists probably chained to the floor in the middle, just another way of keeping you there. The shackles have been on for so long that your wrists and ankles are constantly sore and bleeding. It's to hot during the day and too cold at night. Underfed, malnourished and dehydrated, thinner than you've ever been, you can see your ribs under your skin and can barely stand from weakness. But even in the midst of this, Paul doesn't say pray that he will get out. He says pray earnestly, be vigilant (that's circumspect and without ceasing) in prayer, and be thankful in your prayers. Then when he does say pray for me, what does he tell them to pray for. Not for his escape or for his rescue, which God is completely capable of, but instead says pray that doors would be opened for the Word of God to move even in prison. He is praying for his guards and for his fellow prison mates, knowing that even in this darkest and most horrific of situations, God is powerful enough to move mountains and to remove the barriers in people's lives and the things that are guarding their hearts to make his name known. Paul knows why he is in prison, it's only because he is a Christian, that's the most unfair reason to be there, but he also trusts that God has not forsaken him. And God has not forsaken you either. That is why no matter what situation you are in, the best prayer you can ever pray is not "God get me out of this", it's "God use me in this situation to make your name known." How much more powerful is that prayer, how much less self-centered. I don't know about you guys, but I have a tendency to pray in a very self-centered way. Usually something like, "God, thanks for all these things that you've done for me, now please do all this other stuff for me too." Man, I am a fool sometimes, just walking in circles it seems like. I can't even think of the last time I prayed a prayer when I didn't ask for something. But God knows every hair on my head, so He must also know my every want and every need, how about instead of pouring out my Christmas list at the cross, I pour out my heart instead. Just once seek after His glory instead of my own. Prayer Requests: Everything is under way for the house to sell! We close on the 17, pray that God continues to work that out smoothly. Pray that we bless our soon to be roommates (Pastor Matt K and his family) as we live with them until our first deployment. And remember: THE OFFICIAL COUPALS TO UGANDA HOODIE IS HERE!! If you want some awesome gear and to support what God's doing now is your chance. www.booster.com/coupalstouganda |
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