To say that we have been busy these last few weeks would be an understatement. I finished up working at the credit union mid-April, all the while trying to work on the house. We've said goodbye to our church over a month ago now, and I really miss leading worship. It's going to be hard not doing that for a year (in a church setting). We had an extremely successful garage sale, and we have another coming up here pretty soon. The last few weeks we've been trying to finish up the house (tile, laminate flooring, kitchen cabinets, plumbing, painting, little things here and there). We finally finished everything that we really needed to THE DAY our renters moved in. Now we've been out of our house for almost two weeks and our renters said they love the house! (Big shout out to Ryan Showalter and Brandon Hickman for helping me really make the house look great!)
Office Office
Guest bedroom Guest bedroom
Master bedroom Kitchen
Kitchen Living room
Living room Master bedroom
This week we spent time in Arkansas with my family. I really didn't get a chance to relax much because my dad, brother and I were working on building a fence in the back yard for our dogs. It's been hard work, but it's looking great. I had the chance to have lunch with a mentor and former music minister, Jim. He had some really encouraging words for us as we gear up and take off on this amazing journey. Perfect timing.
Setting fence post Digging with the dog (Palmer)
Kari looking beautiful while I work Dad just got home
Finished fence Finished fence
Other side of the yard
So, what's coming up in the next few weeks? Well, I'm glad you asked! We have a few speaking opportunities lined up at churches and with friends, we leave for training camp in 6 days, 10 hours, more speaking opportunities when we return from camp, taking care of some last minute medical/insurance things, say goodbye to family and friends, and off we go! All smooth sailing, right? If only.
To be completely honest, I'm freaking out!!! Training camp is 6 days, 10 hours away! We still need to get our vaccinations! We still need to take care of insurance! We still have more people and churches to talk to! We still have over $15,000 to raise! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, take a deep breath……and exhale. Seriously, I really am freaking out right now, mostly on the inside. We do have so much that still needs to be done. At this point, who going on the World Race isn't freaking out about fundraising? And we fly out in less than two months! We will be leaving everything behind for an entire year! Is this what they call "radical obedience"? Call it what you may (radical, crazy, insane, love?), but I really am excited about going on this adventure.
Now, for those of you who know me personally, I'm not much of an extrovert. I'm not charismatic. I'm not really outspoken or outgoing. I'm usually pretty quiet and reserved. (I know, kind of hard to imagine coming from a worship and youth pastor. Trust me, God had everything to do with that.) I can be bold and outgoing when I want to be, but it's not my forte. On top of that, I am somewhat skeptical at times. I make friends easily, but I would prefer to keep to my close knit group. So, for me to take this bold step and surrender everything, step out of my comfort zone, try to become a family with people I hardly know (and only having one week prior to get to know them) is somewhat nerve wrecking. To be honest, I'm one of those people who likes to know what's going on. I like having expectations. I like knowing what I'm getting myself into. So, to hear that we are to relinquish all expectations, to relinquish all control, to hear that we may not know what's going on all the time, is a little scary.
But God has been working in my life in amazing ways these last few years. He has helped me to break out of this shell I've been in. He has called me out of my comfort zone over and over again, and this is the biggest call yet.Our squad leaders and those who have gone before are telling us to not have expectations. Well, I have one expectation: I expect God. I expect Him to show up and show off. I expect to not be the same when I come back, from training camp or from the Race. So, bring it on!
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Thank you, everyone, for supporting us and encouraging us so far. We've come a long way, but we're not finished yet. We still need just over $15,000 before we are fully funded, and it would be an amazing blessing not to have to worry about finances while we're gone. So, please, we ask for your continued prayers, encouragement, and of course, financial support. We can't do this without you. And again, thank you so very much for making this possible for us. God bless!
