Ever since hearing this news, I have been anxiously waiting to share it with you. At the beginning of the summer, Thad was nominated, then selected to be the Keynote Speaker at a technology conference in 2016! They asked him to share his passion for seeing technology used not just “in” ministry, but “as” ministry. So often, people who work behind the scenes in the mission field feel as though their job doesn’t matter. Thad’s hope, as well as the conference organizers, is to encourage them to see that their work makes a difference. God created us, gifted each of us, for His purposes. I find it so exciting that Thad will have to opportunity to encourage others like him. He’s of course a little nervous, as there is a lot of prep work and planning ahead of him, not to forget the several days of speaking to a large crowd. The conference will be in Germany, and we will keep you updated as it draws nearer.

Our family was happy to reunite after having two weeks with an ocean separating us in June. I think Milo’s reaction was the most surprising to me, as I fully expected him to be wary of these “new” people making noise and trying to touch him. He was thrilled to see Thad, and Oliver and Simon. Oliver was the lucky one to give the first greeting and was met with a belly-laughing baby who couldn’t stop kicking his feet. At the end of July, Thad and I braved a road trip with all three boys. It was a fun and refreshing time for everyone. A couple of highlights: reuniting with old friends, a water slide, wooden toy boats, eating fondue in the summer, and a tour of a chocolate factory!

On the office front, the technology team seems to have found a good solution for improving the Internet connection at the Eastern Europe Headquarters. This will provide for smoother communication for all of the teams operating from there, and hopefully make work a little easier and quicker to accomplish. They are also updating the audio/ video system in the conference room, to streamline the setup for presentations. It’s amazing to me how something that seems so “every day” can have an affect on the Lord’s Kingdom, and I continue to thank God for letting these technology guys work for Him in this way. Thank you for praying with us. We feel so encouraged whenever we think of you!

This seems incredibly surreal to write, but we booked our plane tickets!! Our departure date is set for, November 17. We still have some financial needs remaining (we need only 8% more in monthly and 30% in one-time needs!!).

Our family is certainly no stranger to the whirlwind that comes with a transition like this, but please pray for us and all the crazy details. Our colleagues in Budapest are looking for housing for our family, Thad has been in contact with a shipping company (this may cost significantly less than expected!!), Jana’s doctor is preparing her medical records for transition to a new doctor in Budapest, Oliver will be able to celebrate his upcoming 6th birthday with family and friends, and the list goes on!

LOL Moment … Sometime last year, Oliver said, “Mom, next time we move, can we move to a spooky castle? Because there are spiders and ghosts and bats and it’s scaaarrry and things jump out to say BOO.” Jana would be unhappy about all the scarrrry things, but Oliver could get his wish. Above is a screen shot from the real estate site we are using to find housing in Budapest. Shhhh, we haven’t told Oliver that a castle is an option…ha, ha!!

Some specific things you can pray for as we depart from Fort Worth and arrive in Budapest:

• That we will be 100% financially supported (if you feel led to help with this, please follow this link to our giving site: https://give.cru.org/0556748)
• Good health, smooth travel, friendly fellow passengers, NO complications for Jana and the baby (at the time of flying, she will be 30 weeks pregnant)
• We are SO thankful that Thad had enough airline miles to book a Business class ticket for Jana. Thad will keep the boys with him to allow her to rest and sleep.
• Ability to make wise decisions amongst the fog of jet-lag and transition (particularly in relation to renting our home and purchasing a car)
• Strength as we take care of all the necessary registrations, documents, visa application process, etc. that comes with moving to a foreign country
• For the Lord to cover our boys in peace and security as all of these changes happen and they are dragged from place to place along with us
• For smooth removal and arrival of our things; that we find minimal damage from all the travel and minor water leak our storage facility had last year (it was inspected, but we’re still a little nervous to open all those boxes!)
• Most importantly, that along the way, in all of these comings and goings and happenings, that our hearts and minds will remain fixed on the Lord’s great love for us.

Thank you for the many prayers and offerings of encouragement. While our furlough lasted longer than planned, we have been refreshed by our time in the States. The boys in particular have had wonderful bonding time with their grandparents, something we wouldn’t trade for anything! It will be very difficult to say good-bye. Thank you again… our next letter should be written from Budapest!!

In recent months, I have struggled with the idea of “calling”, specifically a call from God to do something (or, perhaps, nothing).

There could be more, but I am pondering 3 versions.

A. A call to a specific thing, with specific steps.

B. A general call, perhaps to a specific thing, but with undetermined steps.

C. The call to a Christian life, which would include such things as the “Great Commission”, helping widows and orphans, and the like.

Calling “A” would be that God’s plan is for me to do A, B and C, then D, ultimately ending up in Z. However, some or all of those steps, including the destination may be a mystery. How do I discover them? Prayer to be sure, but is that call verifiable? How am I do be accountable to distinguish between what God has commanded versus what I strongly desire?

We see this in scripture, most notably God’s direction for Noah (boat specs are pretty specific), Moses, and Paul’s journey to Macedonia.

Calling “B” would be that God’s plan wants me to go from A to E. How I get there is my choice.

We see this in 1 Kings 18:1 – 40. God said to Elijah “Go talk to Ahab, and I will make it rain.” If Elijah was given more instructions, they are not in scripture. Elijah filled in the blanks, with God’s help and affirmation, and it rained. The call to “E” is still difficult to verify, but God showing up in between would seem sufficient.

Calling “C” is somewhat self explanatory. My goal is share the Gospel, help those in need, and love my neighbor. There are Biblical life principles to follow (i.e., Ten Commandments, Beatitudes) but the where and how are for me to be creative in how I get the job done. For now, I am a missionary doing Technology. I could be a Christian working in the IT Consulting world.

The “C” method has become appealing. For months, I feel that I sat around waiting for God to give direction. However, in the end, opportunities, all of them good, came across our path, and it was for us to decide which was “best” and choose. This philosophy has put more pressure on me to make sure that my decisions and actions are in line with what God has “called” me to do through scripture, as opposed to my job being the obedience to a specific call portion of my life and the rest is for my pleasure.

I am sure the Lord is laughing at me, at the moment. In His economy, all of those are both correct and off the mark in ways I will never comprehend.

Restarting anything can be a painful process.

Yesterday, I ran 3.1 miles. It was my first run in a while (1 run since November). My legs, and particularly my left foot, hurt. It always makes me wonder why I stop, or perhaps why would I restart? When I get my bike back, that pain will go to a whole new level. However, each time I restart, I remember how much I love to run. How I miss riding my bike!

I also opened my development environment, recently, to program something small. There was a pain in that. It was a different pain, but it is a form of muscle memory. I could not remember where things are. When I made certain mistakes, it would hit me like a ton of bricks that I have made that mistake 99 times before. It was nice to know the solution, but it took 99 mistakes to learn that solution. I will know it next time, too.

In the last few weeks, I have worked on contacting people to raise funds for our move to Budapest. In our recent newsletter, I mentioned “going from 30 to 100”, which was not a reference to our support level! It was a reference to our pace of life. We have felt like we were moving through molasses (which I just found out does spoil! Article, not experience.). To reach our goal by the end of the Summer, 100mph is probably nearly enough.

However, when I get to tell people about what the Lord is doing in our lives, I remember why this process is a good one; difficult, but good.

While restarts are painful, the pain subsides. Then I remember why I love running, cycling, coding, raising support, and a dozen other things I do it fits and starts.

During a recent trip, Jana and I were asked if we remembered what the 12 Israelite spies reported when they returned from the “Promised Land”. We remembered that Joshua and Caleb gave the report that the land was there for the taking, as God had promised (hence the name), Numbers 13:30. However, the other spies said there were people “of great stature”, in other words, giants. The person asking the question then reminded us that they also said “we seemed liked grasshoppers both to ourselves and to them”.

As we look at our future, trying desperately to figure out where we need to go, I am reminded of those words. How often I say those words, but the most damaging part of what the spies said is not that they were viewed as grasshoppers by others, but they seemed as grasshoppers to themselves. This is the difference between those spies and David, as he faced his own giant. Goliath thought of David as a grasshopper. David, with God beside him, had no such view.

So, which am I? Am I a grasshopper, afraid to take on the challenge? Or am I Joshua, Caleb, and David, boldly saying “we are well able to conquer it”?

Ever get to a place where roads diverge? How do you know when to stay on your current path, versus taking another? When walking in the hills around Kandern, this was a normal occurrence. Fortunately, nearly every path has a sign. The signs would tell you which cities were in which directions and how far away they are.

Would that life could be that way! If we could look down one path, knowing how far the goal is and what places are along the way, would that rob us of the joy of trusting the Lord in the choices we make? Or would we make the safe bet, seeing the distance is a bit further than we would like? Perhaps we would take the tougher road simply because we know a little more about it?

Either way, we come to choices often. Many times, I stand at the crossroad, pondering far too long, not realizing that life does not stop at all and I may have missed my turn.