Our God-Possible Goal

I've invented a new word to describe our current fundraising goal: GOD-possible.

It basically means us surrendering to the fact that we cannot raise all the money we need to raise, in the time we want to raise it, without God working big time.

So ... I'm putting it out there into the blogosphere: our God-possible goal is to have the last 45% of our monthly ministry support (around $3,300) raised by August. Ouch ... that sounds like a lot of work and a lot of ... impossible-ness.

But, it's out there now, so I guess I'm asking you ... if you pray, please start praying about this. Pray big! We know that God's timing is perfect, and that He already knows when we'll raise all our money and where we'll go. But because I need big goals to be motivated, and because we believe God can do incredible things, pray big. Pray for God to do the impossible.

Thanks, blog readers and prayer partners. So, so appreciative.

Kelly :)

30 Presentations Later... What We're Learning

It's hard to believe--Monday was our 30TH time presenting to a group about our future ventures with MAF. Wow! Time flies! What have we learned over the past few months?

1. Never trust technology (especially technology in churches). Always bring both laptops, all cords, and a USB to every presentation. Oh ... and like a million different versions of your presentation ...
2. After about 25 presentations, some of Marcel's jokes STILL make me laugh ... even though I know they're coming! I'm learning just how funny and amazing my husband can be!
3. We are always surprised by the massive outpouring of love, encouragement, and enthusiasm people have after we talk! Honestly, we have learned that people can be incredibly giving and loving.
4. We are always learning something about ourselves. Seriously, when we say our testimony over and over again, we start to notice some of the tiny, miraculous ways God has worked in the past to prepare us for the future. We notice seemingly "coincidental" happenings (like Marcel visiting an MAF base in Haiti, or meeting our awesome friend Joel Knapp at Urbana missions conference) that forever changed our lives. We see the ways God has prepared us from a young age for the mission field. We see how God used things like 4-H, homeschool, supply teaching, and airports. We reflect on some of the people who have forever changed our lives. We rejoice in the things we sometimes had to learn the hard way, or some of the values our parents instilled in us--even if we didn't like it at the time. 
5. We've learned to work together. This might be the most valuable thing we've learned ... and are still learning! It's not easy working with your spouse day in and day out, but we've learned a few things. We've learned to find our outlets--hockey, fitness, fixing airplanes, supply teaching. We've learned that Marcel's strengths tend to be my weaknesses, and vice-versa. We balance each other out fairly well. We've learned to trust each other (definitely easier said than done) and to learn from our mistakes. And through it all ... we've learned to pray.

So, although that's not an exhaustive list of what we've learned, that pretty much sums up some of the important things. Working for MAF has already been an amazing experience ... and we're not even overseas yet! Happy weekend, enjoy the weather!

Working together ... it's like riding a tandem bicycle. Throwback to 2010 when we were still dating!

"He who has called you will be faithful!"

This past weekend at Women's Retreat, I had the opportunity to open up in a rare moment of vulnerability. I had the chance to share about something that I had felt heavy on my heart for some time ... but had failed to acknowledge until, at 12:30 am, while fitful and sleepless, I had no choice but to acknowledge it.

You see, for some time now, I have been struggling with this feeling of inadequacy. Questions like "Why would God chose me to be a missionary?" and "How will God ever use me?" have been circling around in my head, as I look back at my own track record and think, "Am I even qualified to be a missionary?"

Here is what I know to be true about my life:

• I have failed to follow God many times in obedience.
• I have not always found the words to say to share about the wonderful saving grace of Jesus with some of my closest friends, family members, or even random strangers.
• I continue to struggle with reluctance--reluctance to speak about Jesus, reluctance to open up my life to someone who might need more help that I am willing to offer, reluctant to serve God in tough situations.
• I have not always been aware or attuned to how God wants to use me in different situations.
• I have purposely "shut out" God's voice when it's been inconvenient.

But, as I lay in bed on Friday night, God's magnificent voice spoke to me and spoke these more important, more eternal truths in to my life. He then reaffirmed many of them the next day in Shelley's talk:

• God has never failed me, never given up on me, and He will never leave me.
• God's forgiveness is complete--when Christ died on the cross, it was to cover all of my sins ... the ones I have committed and will commit.
• God is in the process of sanctifying me--every day, I will mess up many times, but God is growing me, teaching me, disciplining me to make me more and more like Jesus.
• God is with me. This was the big one. Isaiah 41: 10, 13 says, "Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. For I hold you by your right hand--I the Lord your God. And I say to you, 'Don't be afraid. I am here to help you.'" 
• And finally, God has a plan. A plan to use me to bring Him glory. It may not be my plan, but it will be the best plan.

God is with me. I was greatly encouraged by Shelley's illustration from Isaiah 41, that God is holding my right hand with His right hand. It's not us walking side by side--rather, it's more like a beautiful dance. God dancing with me through life, taking the lead--if I let Him.

I want to end in a word of encouragement. Do you feel inadequate? Do you feel struggle with the same questions I did, but maybe in a different area of life? Don't let your past--your track record--be the main voice leading your life. God is in the business of using broken, messed up people to do amazing things. He's in the business of redeeming track records. Talk to Him and trust Him daily.

"God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful!" 1 Thes. 5:24

Trail riding at Teen Ranch for WLA Women's Retreat 2014!

The ladies hoisting me up on the giant swing at retreat. 

I came in like a wrecking ball!

Teen Ranch where we stayed. What an amazing place!

Here comes the sun!

May has been a month of many blessings. It has been a somewhat restful month since we haven't had as many presentations. It was a well needed rest as we prepare for a crazy June and July and we recovered from an insane April. That being said, presentations, dessert nights, airshows, and meeting up with friends as we discuss support raising has become the new normal.

As we head in to June, we look forward to all that God has prepared for us and look back on what He has done for us. Some of the highlights of the past few weeks include:

• Two young girls from Sunday school set up a "lemonade" stand in their front yard to raise money for our mission work. They sold cranberry juice and made a whole $3.75 to contribute towards our mission efforts! These two girls are an incredible witness to us and to the faith that can move mountains! We were humbled by their heart for building God's kingdom.
• Several kids took part in our MAF May Challenge and we are still waiting to see the full results of how much money they raised! Their enthusiasm was contagious and we were excited to partner with our Sunday school in this effort.
• On May 31st, we had the opportunity to set up a booth at the Waterloo Aviation Fun Day. This was a long but fun day exploring different aspects of aviation and sharing with a different crowd than we usually do about our future work with MAF. We even got to take a ride in a helicopter!
• About a week ago, we hit the 100% goal in our one-time, outgoing funds! That means in only six months we raised $35,000 thanks to people like you! We feel incredibly blessed and just give God all the glory for making this happen!
• We ended the month of May off with a bang as we hosted our biggest and most successful dessert night at our home church of West London Alliance. We were praying for 60 to 80 people to come and we had over 60 people show up to listen, learn and enjoy some delicious desserts with us! That same morning we had the opportunity to present during the morning service at our church, and between the services and the dessert night we raised almost 10% of our monthly support (in one day!) with more anticipated to come in over the coming weeks! That brings us extremely close to 50% of our monthly support raised ... Definitely a glass half-full! Thank you to the many people who came out, gave, prayed, or help prepare food for the night!

Now as we head in to the summer, we are excited by all the activities that are planned or yet to be planned. We have church presentations and weddings, camping and road trips, air shows and soccer games, retreats and charity golf tournaments. If you don't see us for several weeks at a time you know why... we're gearing up for a busy, busy summer! That being said, we would love to meet up and share conversation, encouragement and fellowship over frozen yogurt, an iced coffee, or a good old-fashioned backyard barbecue! 

Here's to a fabulous May and the start of an amazing summer! We thank God for each and everyone of you and pray His blessings on your summer!