By Grace Alone: How Beautiful: The Great Adventure Continues

"How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news'!" ~Romans 10:14,15

It has been almost one year since this adventure started...officially. There have been many other times we have stepped out in faith to see if God wanted us to move. Our philosophy has always been to walk as if God is in it, and let Him keep the door open, or close it. At least three times, He closed the door. Until this time. Last April, we put our house on the market and set our minds on the future. Every door has been wide open. God has been faithful at every turn...even to the smallest detail. I have sat back and watched in amazement as God has walked our little family through a very trying journey. At times, you can almost feel the cosmic battle being fought around us. It has been palpable. But, our God is faithful to fight the battle. He has the victory, and we stand in it. I thank God that He has ordained all our steps.

Since we have been here, Michael has begun school and God is honoring His faithful study. We have also had to pray through where he would work during this time. At the beginning, there was a church in need of help. We walked through that door, and God closed it. We moved on and God proved faithful again. This time, working with one of our dearest friends.

Mark 16:15 says, "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.'" This of course, is Jesus talking to His disciples before He left this earth. It was his commission then, and it is ours now. This is the mission statement behind Sixteen:fifteen, the non-profit organization Michael is now working for. Missions is what brought Michael and I together, and it remains one of the cries of our hearts...to see this Gospel brought to the world. To see God's children brought into the fold and experience His grace. Sixteen:fifteen's mission is to come along side churches to see the great commission fulfilled. They work to find unreached people groups for churches to "adopt" and begin setting out to fulfill the great commission. Already, since Michael has been on board, we have seen a local church work to set out to Kenya and to Mexico and build a 10 year plan on reaching two people groups who have yet to hear the Gospel. This is just one example of many, many churches living out the call of Christ. Michael has already traveled with this church to Mexico and seen God's hand at work. Not only is God at work in Mexico, but in my husband's heart as well. When he returned from that trip, I knew this is where God has called him to be at this time. It was written all over his face. He was alive with the Gospel. He may have the opportunity to travel to Kenya as well and I thank God for His timing in all things.

As many of you know, working for a small non-profit presents challenges. Because Michael's job description is administrative in nature, he does not have to raise all his funds, but does have to bring in a significant amount of his salary. This was something we prayed through in earnest. Was this what God was calling us to do? We have supported many friends and ministries over the years and understood what they went through to live by faith just the way we were now being faced with. Yet, God did not seem to be closing this door. It remained wide open, so we have walked through. We now ask for your prayer in this endeavor. We know that God has been with us in every step of this great adventure and will continue to provide our needs. In this, we are confident. We will continue to faithfully walk out this great adventure with faith and with the grace so freely given.