There have been a handful of moments in my life that I’ve been aware that my life was about to change forever. I remember the day I got my acceptance letter to Moody, the day I accepted a position at a church in Connecticut as a youth pastor, the day I stepped onto a plane to head out on the World Race…I knew in those moments that everything would never be the same. Everything was different.
In the last few weeks, Ashli and I have had a few of those defining moments. And in the midst of them, we’ve known they were the types of things that change a person forever. It was just over a year ago we got engaged. We wanted God to take us wherever He wanted us and do with us whatever He would.
For a year now, that’s been the town of Normal Illinois. And life has been normal. We’ve worked at jobs we both enjoy, with a staff we both love…but we’ve kept praying that God would do with us what He wanted, when He wanted.
On April 29th, Ash and I found out our first kid is on the way. I’ve had the priveliedge of listening to it’s heart beat…a strong 150 beats per minute. I’ve seen it grow through ultrasounds, and come December 31st…or so we’re told…the Brown family will be three people instead of 2.
Looking at the ultrasound video hurled responsibility upon my shoulders like I’ve never felt before. I knew that life would never be the same, and I couldn’t imagine ever wanting it to be the same again.
But then things got crazy, once again. I got a call from a church that asked us to be their youth pastor. This wouldn’t be that out of the ordinary, but the church is different. This church is in Malaysia…in the city of Kuala Lumpur. Come August, Ash and I, and our unborn baby, will move half way around the world to step into a role we believe the Lord has prepared for us. 
The church is an English speaking, international fellowship that we’re so excited to become a part of. We have a lot to wrap up in Normal, but we’re excited that God made His voice heard and called us to partner with this church in Malaysia.
We’ll be setting up a new website with blogs for both Ashli and I, as well as other information, links, etc…so I’ll post that here once it’s ready. But until then, be praying for us. A list of prayer requests is below:
Thanks y’all…you are loved!
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1. Pray for our child. Pray about what the Lord is already preparing them for. Let us know if you believe God is speaking something over him (or her).
2. Pray that we get a work visa. For a lot of reasons, it’ll just make our lives a lot easier.
3. Praise that we don’t need to raise any funds for this job…we’ll be fully supported by the church!
4. Pray for the ministry we’re a part of here, as we wrap up and hand off the baton, pray we do that well and with integrity.
5. Pray for Ash as she finishes up the first trimester, deals with morning sickness, etc.
