Well, I believe it is either week 6 or week 7 of layoffs. Time flies by very quickly! God has been faithful in providing for all of my needs abundantly! I have been able to pick up some work doing odds and ends, including snow-shoveling, drywall,, & moving jobs.

I've also been able to get some studying time in as well. I was really encouraged going through Jerry Bridges "Trusting God, Even When Life Hurts". Sarah & I have also been attending the Sonship class at my church in La Crescent, which has been incredible. God has been showing me how desperately in need of Christ I am. I tend to think of myself far too highly, and very unrealistically. I tend to think that I've got it pretty well together, I know a lot, I'm full of grace, a strong Christian on fire for God, going to be a missionary in unreached place, etc. In reality, I am still very selfish, prideful, careless with my words, easily angered, lustful., and the list goes on! I am so desperately in need of Christ every moment of every day. Even this week I am realizing that I have zero game when it comes to dealing with people in a loving, encouraging way. I need the Holy Spirit's power every moment. Toward that end, I realize that I need to be actively pursuing the things of the Spirit, i.e. prayer, studying the Bible, fellowship with other believers, etc. I also need to be very careful with the things that can dull my sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, such as movies, games music, etc. In Christ alone, there is hope!
I've got some neat ideas that I am considering for this summer. One of them, which is extremely likely, is speaking at Lake Lundgren Bible Camp again on the subject of unreached people groups. Another is doing a trip to Thailand to help build a house for women coming out of the sex trade. I'm also interested in taking a "Wilderness First Responder" course. I also heard about a bike ride across Wisconsin that goes on in July, which would be really fun & a good opportunity to connect with lots of other Christians. I'm also poking around Craigslist looking for a Geo Tracker 4x4. Sarah & I have talked about getting one if we get married & go down to school in replacement of our two cars. I really like the idea of having a little 4x4 with more seats than my truck.

The pictures here are from last weekend's camping trip We survived outside during one of the coldest nights this year! We skied into Blue Mounds State Park with backpacks full of gear and camped for one night. It was a blast!

God Our Provider

It's about 40 degrees outside right now, which is quite a heat wave for January in La Crosse, WI! After spending my work day siding a duplex, sloshing through mud & climbing all over scaffolding, I decided to go for a run. It's a very beautiful night, and I had a great run, breaking by far my record for the route. I got back and laid down on my front porch to cool off and regain my breath. As I laid there and looked up at some of the stars, I was struck by how thankful I am that I can trust God to be my provider. He loves and cares for me as a father!

I had been thinking some about how we are starting to run out of work at my company until spring. Even though I have bills to pay & I will be laid off, I am not worried. God always provides, whether it's through a job, unemployment, or a gift. God has always supplied my need in abundance! He is a faithful God! I am so thankful for all that He has provided! A lovely girlfriend with a heart and passion for tribal missions, a supportive and loving family, a wonderful church body, many good friends, a job, a truck, opportunities to share the gospel, good food, warm clothes, a nice apartment, the list goes on! Praise the Lord, our Provider!

Change of Scenery

I'm sitting in my partment in West Salem, Wi. My truck is parked out on the street. I'm working for G-Mack again. Sarah and I are basically starting over from the beginning in our relationship. I'm not going back to school this year, and because of how the program works, I won't be able to enroll again until fall of 2013. And there seems to be cheap towel threads in all kinds of random places in my apartment, hahaha! In the midst of all these changes, I have joy in Christ!

There have been several interesting twists to my plans over this summer. The biggest twist is that I will not be going back to school this year. Instead I will be working full-time doing carpentry, establishing a strong relationship with Sarah, and a strong relationship with my church. As I earnestly sought the Lord over the past 4 weeks before making this decision, I felt He was strongly leading in this direction. I feel that the relationships with Sarah and with my home church are important enough to stay behind and nurture for this time period. In the big picture, my goal is for these two years to be fruitful preparation for the missionary task that God has called me to. And as I felt Him leading in a direction that I really didn't want to go, He was faithful in giving me the desire for this path, and a heart for the people He's called me to minister to and with right now. He is an ever-faithful, loving, sovereign God. I am very excited to see what He does with these next two years!

A life striving to glorify Him is where joy & fulfillment & peace are found. That is my prayer, that I would strive to glorify God in everything I do, knowing that I am nothing without Christ, and I can do no good thing without the work of the Holy Spirit. I want my life to be marked by obedience, confession, and repentance. I want to live according to Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect." "Lord, strengthen our hearts to this end, fill us with Your Holy Spirit, that we may glorify You in all that we do. Thank you for Your faithfulness in transforming us! Thank you that Your Son paid the price for our sin! In Christ's name, Amen"

Swimming

Last week I got to spend the afternoon with the youth at my church going swimming at a lake nearby. I lacerated my hand a couple of days before, so I wasn't really able to swim, but it was nice to be in the water and hang out with the kids from youth group. It's a real blessing to see the way that God is growing them and working in their lives.

How God placed Chambri on my heart

Note: I'm going to begin posting some of my old journal entries and pictures from PNG. God's really been placing the Chambri people on my heart, so I want to share more about them with you!

3/15/09

"We're crusing downriver toward Chambri Island! We're in a dugout canoe with a 15hp motor. Chambri Island is in view right now. The total trip time is 2-2 1/2 hours. We've been going almost an hour & a half. As we initially started out the canoe was rocking around a bit, which was pretty fun! My eyes got real wide under my sunglasses & I started laughing. We've been traveling through straight-up jungle. The river ranged from very wide to quite narrow. We've only gotten stuck once. I'm starting to get used to the feel fo the canoe now. The 6-hour trip to Blackwater should be pretty sweet. A village is in sight on Chambri Island!"