A Deeper Explanation

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am!  Send me." - Isaiah 6:8 

Hello all!

It has definitely been a long time since I have done any blogging, as the blogs following this are from my last trip to Kenya in 2012.  However, I feel that these trips are all connected and purposeful, so it seemed appropriate to just continue where I left off.  It's all the journey that the Lord has sent me on, and little did I know just how purposeful He was in each and every trip.   

I just picked up the support letters for Thailand a while ago, and will be working on getting those sent out this next week.  However, as I sat here thinking and praying about the trip, I felt very compelled to write.  I will admit that I am a much better writer than speaker.  I tend to get my thoughts out much more successfully on paper (or, in this case, a computer), and I also feel when I get these urges that it's the Lord weighing on my heart to do so.  It feels so awesome to write - I love it.  But I wanted to provide you a deeper explanation of our choice to go to Chiang Mai, Thailand, next month.  I also felt it is a great opportunity to update you on where Korwen and I stand as far as our future and the plans we see.  We would appreciate it so much if you would pray with us.  

Some of you may know about my past travels to Kenya in 2009 for 6 months, and again in 2010-2011 for one year.  Let's just say....I didn't necessarily come home by choice in August of 2011, but felt like God was telling me to.  I had an opportunity from UNO to be a  graduate assistant while I worked on my masters degree, and little did I know that I also had a lot of healing to do in my heart.  When I came home, the Lord told me two things: 1) that I would never travel alone again, and 2) that he was going to use my education and knowledge in special education as a resource to others.  Regarding the first comment, my year overseas was extremely challenging, traveling as a single white woman.  There was something very exhilarating about it, but at the same time many struggles arose and made day-to-day things seem very challenging.  When I met Korwen in November 2011, I thought there was no way we would work out.  I truly never thought I would meet someone who shared the same heart as me.  I freaked out, honestly, when I saw the person that he really was, because it seemed so perfectly fit.  Part of my response was fear creeping in, thinking that everything I had just experienced and what "I thought" was going to come, wasn't going to happen anymore.  It was a very naive perspective.  But God knew my heart, and very quickly taught me about love, trust, and obedience through Korwen.   As we dated more seriously, got engaged, and now are married (almost one year!!), the more I have gotten to know Korwen, the more I have seen God's love for us, and just how in tune he is with our hearts for the world.   I have a ridiculous amount of respect for Korwen, and I see characteristics in him that are similar but also ones that I lack.  It's so cool to see how God has balanced us and made us a great team.  We spent a portion of our honeymoon in Istanbul, Turkey, having an awesome time seeing the world together.  The second portion we spent in Kenya, having a second ceremony and spending time with our ROCK family, so that Korwen could see the place that is so near and dear to my heart.  Our honeymoon was very significant to us in terms of what God wants for us, and we will never forget it.  

Over the last couple years, God has helped us see more clearly, and through the journey we are learning to walk in faith and trust in His plan.   Korwen has understood my heart for Kenya at the very beginning, and we've talked a lot about the where and the when.  I have kept (or tried to) an open heart about where we would go, despite my strong connection with Kenya.   Korwen has such a largely diverse background in missions, living in Pakistan with his family for several years, traveling all over Asia, and Mozambique.  He has a wide variety of experiences and huge heart for the world, but not necessarily a specific location.  He has prayed very intentionally about where we should go.  Let me just say, the Lord has been pretty detailed through prophetic prayer and other words spoken by our community about where He wants us to go.   We do know it's Africa...and we "think" it's Kenya.   We are still praying about it, waiting on the Lord, and seeing what comes our way.

In the meantime, we have also been told on numerous occasions that this is a season of disciplining, refining, and preparation.  To us, this means finishing up school, gaining more experience in our work environment, going through the discipleship and church planting school, and investing in our community and relationships here.   We are so content at where we are now, but yet when talks of missions come up, we both feel that fire burning inside of us.  It's what we're called to, and we desire it so badly.   

In regards to our trip, the opportunity for Thailand popped up when I was talking to my friend Samara, one of the church planters for Waypoint that lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  That week I had been praying about what God had said about using me as a resource, and asking Him exactly what that looked like.   I prayed for opportunity and clarity in that area.   That weekend, Samara and I were chatting on Skype, and she asked for some advice.  Right now she is teaching English to Thai children of various ages and backgrounds, some very traumatic.  She explained that she had received a new student in her class who had more serious learning needs, and she didn't know what to do to help her learn.  Like many cultures, and what I also experienced in Kenya, children with special needs are mainstreamed and "pushed along" with their age mates, regardless of their progress and abilities.   Samara questioned this girl's ability to learn, and it was very apparent that she was not where she needed to be for her current age.  After hours of conversing, Samara joked about us coming to visit and helping her out.  We glanced at dates that would work, but neither of us really were all  too serious about it.   But then, after some weeks, God spoke very clearly to me that we needed to go.   I looked at the dates again, and talked to Korwen.   The dates that would work best for us to go would be during my spring break, which is also the last week of the term for Samara's school.  At that time, Korwen was looking into two different programs to finish up school, so his start date was unsure.  We weighed the idea of me waiting and going in the summer, but as I prayed I remembered when God said, "You will not travel alone again."  I knew Korwen was supposed to go with me.  After a couple weeks, Korwen decided on the program that he wanted to do, and also found it it starts the week after we would get back from Thailand.  Coincidence? I think not.  Everything just seemed to line up.

So, we are going.   As you will read in our support letter, our trip is happening March 8-16th and is going to cost us about $4,000.  We trust that we will raise that, because God wants us to go.   We are using these experiences to walk in faithfulness and keep our eyes fixed on the purpose God has, and let the little things come together in time.   Korwen and I feel honored and blessed to have this opportunity to go, bless the church plant there using our gifts and skills, stretch ourselves in ministry, and grow close together in marriage.  When we think about the logistical things, we often just smile at each other and just say, "We better get used to this.  This is how life is going to be."  We love the world.  And we truthfully couldn't be more excited.   

If you would like to receive a support letter, please let me know.   We would love for you to have one as a reminder to think of us and pray for us.  If you have any comments or questions, feel free to send them my way also.  We hope to have opportunities in the future where we can share more with you. 

Love you all.  Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog and hear about where we are at.     

Be blessed,

Julie