Well friends, if you read the title then you know we have a little bit of bad news to share with you…
We are NOT going overseas this winter.
If you follow our blogs then you know all the details of our plans to go to Thailand & Australia to do mission work this December – January. (See our blogs here : We are going to… AUSTRALIA! We are going to… THAILAND!)
We prayed about this opportunity and felt led to go. We shared the news with our friends, family, and supporters through letters and blogs. Unfortunately, we have been really struggling to raise support in this economy. This week, the time to buy our plane tickets came. Due to insufficient funds, we couldn’t make the purchase.
We aren’t really sure what to think or feel at this point. While we miss being overseas SO MUCH, we realize we have been traveling A LOT in the past year. Since last November, we have not been in the same city/state for a month straight. It’s been a tiring schedule, especially for a newlywed couple! We have been in transition now for 11 months. We have moved TWICE. We have struggled to get ‘settled in’ to our home and haven’t even had time to legally change my name yet! So, maybe this is God’s way of giving us a few months to rest, to spend time with our family over Christmas, and to spend time with each other and build an even better foundation for our marriage.
Still, I struggle with the WHYs. WHY has it been a year since I’ve been able to hold those precious orphans overseas? WHY did we get the opportunity to go if we couldn’t? WHY did we have to pray about it, and cry about it, and struggle with whether or not to accept it? WHY did I have to agree to give up Christmas with my family? WHY did God confirm it in our hearts if He had a different plan? WHY didn’t the money we needed come in? I don’t know the answers, but I do know that our willingness to say YES to all those things pleases the heart of God. And we will continue to trust Him! And we will continue to say YES!
So, now you may be wondering, “What’s next?”
- We will continue to raise support. We still have needs that are not being met and are in GREAT NEED of MONTHLY supporters! Even $10 a month will help us reach our goal. If you know ANYONE who could donate ANY AMOUNT, please send them our way! We’d be glad to answer ANY questions. Support Us Here!
- Once we have a surplus in our support account, we will look into planning another trip to Thailand. There is a still a need there, and we really believe in the orphan ministry they are working towards. We still hope to visit and join with their ministry to give those precious Thai orphans the love and care they need!
- Other AIM missionaries will go to Australia to fulfill the needs there.
- In the meantime, we will continue our mission work here. Rusty will continue to recruit missionaries and minister to them (and their parents). We will both continue to train them during World Race Training Camps (our next one is this month!) I will continue to work on fundraising efforts for orphans world wide through The Sound of Hope orphan campaign. I am excited about some recent developments in our campaign growth and look forward to sharing more info with you soon!
Please keep us in your prayers! We may not have all the answers,
but we can always choose to TRUST that GOD’s PLANS are always better than our own!
My experience has been that sometimes He wants to see if we really are willing to lay it all down for Him, to say yes to something that He puts in front of us, only to have Him close the door. Sometimes, I think He just wants to know that yes, we are willing to be obedient to His call, give up our rights and lay it all down for Him. Then as the doors we thought were going to open wide begin to close one by one, while we may struggle with the why of it all, we can still be assured that He does have a plan and a purpose in the closed doors. I know He has something else in mind for you for those upcoming months and it’s actually going to be way better than what you and Rusty expect. I’m going to expect big things for you both and can’t wait to find out later on what His plan was and how that is working for good!
Love you both…..many, many blessings, sweet friend!
Mama Sue
I know you are disappointed, but I say AMEN to what Mama Sue said. God is in control.
Love you