The checkered Flag

This blog is for you, guys—my family and friends. As I have observed Joel and Bethany doing Guest Home Hosting in Indonesia every day while at the same time caring for their 2 small boys dreadfully sick (from a grandpa’s point of view!) with tropical diseases and possibly newly acquired food allergies while at the same time doing repairing and remodeling of their house, I would go limp, except for the grace and peace of God.

They have prayed and prepared for 4 years to serve the Lord in Indonesia and they had finally arrived. They jumped into the fray with all 8 feet—4 adult sized and 4 kid sized. They were willing to do the work because it needed doing and they had believed God had called them to do Guest Home Hosting. Knowing Joel and Bethany fairly well, it seems a fit for their ministry gifts. According to Joel their move may not have been the right choice at that time but they would have probably not known for sure without trying. And try they did! This story is typically repeated all around the world with young people and some not so young people like us following their Savior and Lord’s desire to disciple the nations. We grow closer to God and His will as we persevere.

A heck of a lot of problems but they keep going. God will bless them, grow them, sustain them, comfort them and bring them out of the trials at the end because that is what He is committed to: keeping His servants going, growing and willingly trusting Him as teammates with Him even though there are lots of times when He has to take them through rough waters for His own reasons that they will understand and love Him for.

Know guys, family of ours, that as your parents we are so proud of you and honored to be a part of that team too. We thank God for the organizations that we have teamed up with.

Sometimes it seems that we are like stock car racers. Some drivers take the lead and some draft behind another car conserving gas by staying really close behind a car in front of them while waiting to be called to the front. The trials and struggles for each of us in our family come at different times so we trust God for His timing with the trials when He calls us to the front line. Our family is one in Christ and on the same team too. I do know that we will all drive stronger and smarter because of the faith and courage these servants of Christ have exhibited. Let’s re-read Hebrews 11 and 12 and commit ourselves afresh to following hard after Jesus—He has the Checkered Flag in His hands. We love you dearly.

Dad and Mom