Hello to all! Once again I have to apologize for how infrequently I make the time to post here. Life seems to move at a breakneck speed a lot of the time, and weeks pass so quickly. I promise to keep trying to put something down at least once a week; many times I have great intentions, but they are unrealized. I ask for grace and patience!
This week in BSF we've been looking at Matthew 8. It's a chapter full of miraculous healings and freedom from demons. The last story in particular caught my attention. It's the one about the demon-possessed men in the tombs. Jesus heals the men and allows the demons to go into a group of pigs that subsequently jump off a cliff. This story has always been a little funny to me (pigs committing suicide? who says the Bible isn't full of interesting visual images!), but what grabbed me this time was the reaction of the people in the town after Jesus has healed the men. Instead of being amazed and begging Jesus to spend time in their town, they immediately ask him to leave. In fact, Matthew says "they pleaded with him to leave their region." Why in the world did they do this? Didn't Jesus just perform a pretty spectacular miracle? Wouldn't you think they would want more of that?
It made me look a little deeper at their reaction. Why wouldn't you want more of Jesus? And then it hit me: people do this today. There are lots of people who know of Jesus, who know a little bit of Him and have heard His name. They know He did some good stuff a long time ago. They may even know that He died on the cross for their sins, and they might believe that to be true. But it ends there. They don't want any more; they don't want their lives to change. Change is scary, and truly following Christ requires an openness to change that exceeds most people's comfort zones. If the people Matthew is writing about allowed themselves really to embrace what Jesus' authority to cast out demons meant, they would have to change their worldviews. They would have to listen and examine their own lives; they would have to surrender some of the authority they believed they had over their lives if Jesus really was who the demons said He was. If the demons are scared of this man, then He has some serious power! They didn't want to have to think about that.
I have to say, when I meet new people and they find out that Trevor and I left a church position in Colorado to become support-raising missionaries to college students, the most common question is, "Wow, weren't you scared with a family to support?" It is difficult for many people to understand why we would do something like this. Many say, "you guys must be stronger than me! I could never do that." But I think that's the point: we could never do this on our own. We never would do this of our own volition. It takes a trust that I never believed I had. It takes a whole new level of faith that I, honestly, never really thought I needed. But when you tell Jesus that you're all in, that you want to follow Him no matter what to the ends of the earth, He takes you at your word. Sure, the strength and faith and trust are all prompted by the Holy Spirit living in us, but we had to choose to step. To move. And we're definitely not super-spiritual holy beings-I'm pretty sure most of you reading this know just how human our family is! But we made a decision to follow Christ. And as we've been sanctified and stretched and grown by His grace, He's given us more steps to take.
So we choose to allow Him in. We choose to let Him wreak havoc on the lives we so carefully constructed. And it's scary, and messy, and some days I want to plead with Jesus to leave us alone!
But I don't. Because He does everything in love. Because He loves us too much to leave us in our junk. And because I hope that He'll use our journey to encourage just one other person to decide to follow Him wholeheartedly.
It's a wild ride, but we wouldn't trade it for anything.
Blessings,
The Bush Family
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
School Days
Our son Colson is in first grade this year. Because the timeline of our move down here was not set until weeks before we left, we decided to enroll him in our local public school (the district is one of the better ones in the area) and see how things went. This is our first experience with public school; Colson attended kindergarten at a church school in Colorado. So far, things have been alright. He loves riding the bus (I think one of his first words was "bus!"), and he has made some friends in his class. He comes home with stories of games on the playground, getting to borrow books from the library, and new songs he sings in music class.
However, as time has passed, I'm noticing some negative things too. Most days Colson comes home telling about how a child in his class misbehaved, so either the class was unable to finish what they had started, or they missed out on an activity. His stories often reveal frustration on his part because he feels punished for what other children are doing. We've had lots of opportunities to discuss why we obey authority and the rules put in place for us: we glorify God by obeying His word, and His word tells us to obey the leaders over us. But as a six-year-old, Colson still seems to feel like he's missing out on things. Academically I'm sure he's fine, if a little bit bored, but he's learning some interesting lessons socially.
All of this has caused me to question whether public school is the best choice for our boys. I have always been a firm believer that Christians should not exit the public school system entirely; if all the light leaves, it will be complete darkness. Our responsibility is to live in this world; our challenge is not to become of this world. I still believe that is true and is what the Lord commands us to do. However, can a small child, who has not yet learned to think critically but simply obeys what he is told, really sway those who would make him "of the world?" I wrestled with this question for several days, and when I went to Scripture, I was challenged. Deuteronomy speaks of fixing God's words in our hearts, of teaching them to our children "when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deut 11:19) So, that's pretty much all the time we should be talking about God's word and teaching them to our kids, but how do you do that when they spend 8 hours a day apart from you learning from people who may or may not know God's word?
The other thing that convicted me the most is in Proverbs 22:6: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." The author was talking not just about teaching Bible stories; he was talking about teaching children, discipling them to become followers of the Lord. Discipleship requires much effort, it requires love yet firmness, and above all, it should be rooted in the Word of God. Discipleship is not just overt teaching; much of what is learned is observed inadvertently. When I send Colson to school, he is getting eight hours of some type of discipleship. Some is from his teacher, and some is from his peers. When I send him to public school, where I know he most likely won't receive God's word, what am I allowing him to be taught? I always imagined that I could teach him about Jesus when he was home, but when a child is in school for eight hours, it's difficult to teach them much when they get home-they need time to play and to unwind, and they don't want to listen anymore! I realized I am having very little effect on Colson because I just don't have as much time to influence him now that he's gone all day. If my job is to train or to disciple my child, I can't do that job well if I send him to a place where he learns things contrary to God's word all day. I can't undo eight hours of training in the few hours I have him at home. I can't lay a sold foundation based on the Bible that way. And we are not alright with that. If I send him to school, it needs to be a place where the instruction and and environment are both based on the word of God, so I can continue to disciple and teach him the Word at home as he learns it in school.
So we're wrestling with what we should do. I think there are no easy choices-we can choose to keep him where he is, choose to put him in a charter school, choose to put him in a private Christian school (which costs big bucks as anyone who's ever investigated them knows!), or bring him home for school. We are praying hard about what God would have us do. He knows our boys and He knows us, and He knows what will challenge our children to become His followers. For some families, public school works because they have great teachers who love the children and are able, for now, to get around the negative bias against Christianity in public schools. For us, I don't think public school, at least for now, is the best choice. Even a charter school, although the academics would be wonderful, will not disciple my child to follow Christ, and that's the most important thing for him to learn.
All this to say, please pray wisdom for us! We are trying to decide whether to try homeschooling or to find a good Christian school. Thankfully, Arizona has some great programs for allowing families to send their children to a private school. There are scholarships and tax breaks and other things, and if that is what God leads us to do, He can pay for school entirely through those means. We will tour a couple of schools that have been recommended by friends in the next few weeks, but please be praying for our decision. We want to do what is best for Colson (and Kasen, since he will be starting kindergarten in the fall). Thank you our prayer warriors for being on your knees for us once again! May God bless each of you!
However, as time has passed, I'm noticing some negative things too. Most days Colson comes home telling about how a child in his class misbehaved, so either the class was unable to finish what they had started, or they missed out on an activity. His stories often reveal frustration on his part because he feels punished for what other children are doing. We've had lots of opportunities to discuss why we obey authority and the rules put in place for us: we glorify God by obeying His word, and His word tells us to obey the leaders over us. But as a six-year-old, Colson still seems to feel like he's missing out on things. Academically I'm sure he's fine, if a little bit bored, but he's learning some interesting lessons socially.
All of this has caused me to question whether public school is the best choice for our boys. I have always been a firm believer that Christians should not exit the public school system entirely; if all the light leaves, it will be complete darkness. Our responsibility is to live in this world; our challenge is not to become of this world. I still believe that is true and is what the Lord commands us to do. However, can a small child, who has not yet learned to think critically but simply obeys what he is told, really sway those who would make him "of the world?" I wrestled with this question for several days, and when I went to Scripture, I was challenged. Deuteronomy speaks of fixing God's words in our hearts, of teaching them to our children "when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deut 11:19) So, that's pretty much all the time we should be talking about God's word and teaching them to our kids, but how do you do that when they spend 8 hours a day apart from you learning from people who may or may not know God's word?
The other thing that convicted me the most is in Proverbs 22:6: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." The author was talking not just about teaching Bible stories; he was talking about teaching children, discipling them to become followers of the Lord. Discipleship requires much effort, it requires love yet firmness, and above all, it should be rooted in the Word of God. Discipleship is not just overt teaching; much of what is learned is observed inadvertently. When I send Colson to school, he is getting eight hours of some type of discipleship. Some is from his teacher, and some is from his peers. When I send him to public school, where I know he most likely won't receive God's word, what am I allowing him to be taught? I always imagined that I could teach him about Jesus when he was home, but when a child is in school for eight hours, it's difficult to teach them much when they get home-they need time to play and to unwind, and they don't want to listen anymore! I realized I am having very little effect on Colson because I just don't have as much time to influence him now that he's gone all day. If my job is to train or to disciple my child, I can't do that job well if I send him to a place where he learns things contrary to God's word all day. I can't undo eight hours of training in the few hours I have him at home. I can't lay a sold foundation based on the Bible that way. And we are not alright with that. If I send him to school, it needs to be a place where the instruction and and environment are both based on the word of God, so I can continue to disciple and teach him the Word at home as he learns it in school.
So we're wrestling with what we should do. I think there are no easy choices-we can choose to keep him where he is, choose to put him in a charter school, choose to put him in a private Christian school (which costs big bucks as anyone who's ever investigated them knows!), or bring him home for school. We are praying hard about what God would have us do. He knows our boys and He knows us, and He knows what will challenge our children to become His followers. For some families, public school works because they have great teachers who love the children and are able, for now, to get around the negative bias against Christianity in public schools. For us, I don't think public school, at least for now, is the best choice. Even a charter school, although the academics would be wonderful, will not disciple my child to follow Christ, and that's the most important thing for him to learn.
All this to say, please pray wisdom for us! We are trying to decide whether to try homeschooling or to find a good Christian school. Thankfully, Arizona has some great programs for allowing families to send their children to a private school. There are scholarships and tax breaks and other things, and if that is what God leads us to do, He can pay for school entirely through those means. We will tour a couple of schools that have been recommended by friends in the next few weeks, but please be praying for our decision. We want to do what is best for Colson (and Kasen, since he will be starting kindergarten in the fall). Thank you our prayer warriors for being on your knees for us once again! May God bless each of you!
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Whew!
Ever feel like your life is a roller coaster? That's how we've been feeling the past few weeks! We are finally fairly settled in here, so I actually have time to update this blog. My apologies for getting so far behind, but my hope is to post at least every other week to keep everyone up to date on our lives and ministry here.
The first amazing thing that happened was we reached 100% funding the week before we moved! God's timing is so incredible! He surprised everyone by providing people who pledged to give the funds we needed, and He did it in only 3 months! It was another amazing confirmation of our call here.
Our move was fairly uneventful, but the day we left Colorado Springs was not! We had the van all packed up and were preparing to put the last few items in and hook up the trailer for the car. We had parked the Durango right behind the moving van, and when we went to move it, the car wouldn't start! Ugh! Did I mention it was 50 degrees and raining that day? We finally were able (with the help of some amazing friends!) to get our car to the shop where they discovered we needed a new battery. Thankfully, that was the only problem. We got a late start, but we did make it to Albuquerque that first night with no problems. The next day was LONG, but we made it to our new house by about 9 that night. Several of the guys with whom Trevor works were already here waiting to help us unload, so they along with Trevor's sister and her husband unloaded us in record time. We are so grateful for all the help we received! God was definitely watching over our family and protecting us along the way.
Because we were fully funded, Trevor was able to begin working immediately, and he was so grateful for that. He was able to participate in the planning for this first semester and to begin getting to know his staff. He loves what he's doing down here. He's come home numerous times and said, "I love college ministry!" God prepared him and placed him in this exact place, and Trevor couldn't be happier. He spends lots of time hanging out with students, meeting new students, and really discipling the young men he's getting to know. He's had several opportunities to share about Christian Challenge with churches and on ASU's campus, and he's also had a chance to do a bit of guest preaching at a small church just east of here. God is using Trevor in so many awesome ways, and we are grateful for all the opportunities he is getting to use the gifts he has.
The boys have settled in wonderfully as well. Colson started first grade at the beginning of August and is thriving in his class. He loves riding the bus to school and has made some friends in his class. He will also start playing soccer at the end of September (when it is finally a tiny bit cooler!), and he's really excited about that. Kasen is doing preschool online right now and is busy each morning on the computer. He learns quickly and keeps running to find me and share what he's doing! He is also taking a couple of classes through the parks and rec-a singing class and a p.e. class. He seems to love everything he does, and he makes friends everywhere he goes! Our little social butterfly. Keegan is doing great also-trying to keep up with his brothers, starting to talk a bit (most of which we don't understand yet!), and he's going to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Bible Study Fellowship with Mommy.
We are doing well and enjoying our new home. We feel so blessed to be here and to be serving the Lord. Thanks for keeping up with us! Our next newsletter should be coming out in the next week or so!
The first amazing thing that happened was we reached 100% funding the week before we moved! God's timing is so incredible! He surprised everyone by providing people who pledged to give the funds we needed, and He did it in only 3 months! It was another amazing confirmation of our call here.
Our move was fairly uneventful, but the day we left Colorado Springs was not! We had the van all packed up and were preparing to put the last few items in and hook up the trailer for the car. We had parked the Durango right behind the moving van, and when we went to move it, the car wouldn't start! Ugh! Did I mention it was 50 degrees and raining that day? We finally were able (with the help of some amazing friends!) to get our car to the shop where they discovered we needed a new battery. Thankfully, that was the only problem. We got a late start, but we did make it to Albuquerque that first night with no problems. The next day was LONG, but we made it to our new house by about 9 that night. Several of the guys with whom Trevor works were already here waiting to help us unload, so they along with Trevor's sister and her husband unloaded us in record time. We are so grateful for all the help we received! God was definitely watching over our family and protecting us along the way.
Because we were fully funded, Trevor was able to begin working immediately, and he was so grateful for that. He was able to participate in the planning for this first semester and to begin getting to know his staff. He loves what he's doing down here. He's come home numerous times and said, "I love college ministry!" God prepared him and placed him in this exact place, and Trevor couldn't be happier. He spends lots of time hanging out with students, meeting new students, and really discipling the young men he's getting to know. He's had several opportunities to share about Christian Challenge with churches and on ASU's campus, and he's also had a chance to do a bit of guest preaching at a small church just east of here. God is using Trevor in so many awesome ways, and we are grateful for all the opportunities he is getting to use the gifts he has.
The boys have settled in wonderfully as well. Colson started first grade at the beginning of August and is thriving in his class. He loves riding the bus to school and has made some friends in his class. He will also start playing soccer at the end of September (when it is finally a tiny bit cooler!), and he's really excited about that. Kasen is doing preschool online right now and is busy each morning on the computer. He learns quickly and keeps running to find me and share what he's doing! He is also taking a couple of classes through the parks and rec-a singing class and a p.e. class. He seems to love everything he does, and he makes friends everywhere he goes! Our little social butterfly. Keegan is doing great also-trying to keep up with his brothers, starting to talk a bit (most of which we don't understand yet!), and he's going to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Bible Study Fellowship with Mommy.
We are doing well and enjoying our new home. We feel so blessed to be here and to be serving the Lord. Thanks for keeping up with us! Our next newsletter should be coming out in the next week or so!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
A God Thing
My apologies to everyone! I meant to post this before we moved but, as often happens, life got in the way! Here's the story of what happened before we moved-more to come on our move and our first six weeks in the next couple of days. May God bless you all! Chelsea
Things are happening quickly around here! We have been blessed beyond what we could have imagined, and we can only attribute everything to the Lord. He has been so good to us, and He has confirmed our call to ASU time and again as He makes details fall into place in His timing. Here are a few ways we'd love to share how He has blessed us recently.
First, we have a rental home in Phoenix! Last month we spent a few days in the sweltering heat looking for a place to live. The first day, we thought we could look at homes ourselves and not worry about using a real estate agent. First lesson-agents make things so much easier! We looked at a couple of homes that day and were not impressed; in fact, we were a bit discouraged. On our way home, we decided to get in touch with a realtor who was a friend of Trevor's sister. She was truly an angel for us! She quickly found a dozen homes that she thought might work for us, and we narrowed them down further. The next day, we ventured out again. The first few homes were, shall we say, not in the best condition, but we soldiered on. We finally found one that we really liked, it had everything we wanted, and it was well within our price range. As we were about to leave, the owner came by, and we were able to have a short conversation with him and introduce ourselves. We asked if he had any rental applications for his house, and he said he did have a couple he had received just that day. When we told him we were interested in his home, he told us he would wait to go though all the applications until he had received ours. Quickly deciding we really did want this home, we rushed to complete the application. An hour after we had parted, our realtor called us and said that she had just received a phone call from the owner's real estate agent. Not only was the owner impressed with us, but he had instructed his real estate agent to place our application ahead of the other two he had received and give us the house if everything checked out! It turns out that our landlord is also a believer, and when he found out that a pastor and his family were interested in his home, he wanted us as his tenants. However, the craziest thing happened after we'd already returned home. We looked up the house to refresh our memories about the layout and discovered that two days before we looked at it, the price had been reduced by $225 a month. It would have been completely out of our price range, and we never would have even thought about viewing it. God is so good, and He gives us what we need before we even need it!
Because things were progressing so well in Arizona, we had almost made up our minds to rent our Colorado home to some friends. We were still going back and forth about it, but we were pretty sure we would have to rent since we didn't seem to have any other options, and we had not received any reasonable offers to buy our home. The day after we returned from Arizona, we were informed that we had the Phoenix rental home. That same day, Trevor had made plans to meet with the young guys who were interested in renting our home in Colorado and to go over some particulars. The morning Trevor was to meet with them, we got a phone call from our realtor in Colorado saying that we had an offer on our house. However, the offer was not something we could accept. We countered, believing that, in this buyers' market, there was no way the buyers would accept it. Trevor went to lunch with the guys, and as he was finishing his conversation with them about renting and expectations, his phone rang, and our real estate agent said "They took your offer! Your house just sold!" Trevor was a bit flustered, but the young men were very gracious, and Trevor helped them look for another place to live. So in the space of two days, we found a home to rent and sold our current home. God does things so well when we wait patiently for Him!
Our final piece of great news is that we have reached over 90% of our support-raising goal! We are humbled by this and by the fact that, in about 3 1/2 months, we have received pledges from people to support our family for almost an entire year! It is amazing to think that God has impressed upon people to obey Him by supporting us. We will continue to walk in faith as people begin to fulfill their pledges, and we are excited to see how God will raise up people to fill in the last 10%. It is overwhelming to see how many people are excited to see how God will work at ASU!
Our next step is actually physically moving to Phoenix. We are in the midst of packing up our home here, and we plan to move July15-16. Prayers would be greatly appreciated as we make our way from Monument to Phoenix in a huge truck, towing one car, and followed by another. This will be a long, slow trip, but we know God will be with us. He has confirmed our call to Phoenix through so many ways, and we trust Him to take care of the rest of the details!
We are grateful to all of you for your prayers and financial support. Please let us know how we can be praying for you. We plan to get a newsletter out in the latter half of July, and we will be in touch with you all if you have any prayer needs or questions as to how to begin fulfilling financial pledges. May God bless each of you and receive all glory and honor!
Things are happening quickly around here! We have been blessed beyond what we could have imagined, and we can only attribute everything to the Lord. He has been so good to us, and He has confirmed our call to ASU time and again as He makes details fall into place in His timing. Here are a few ways we'd love to share how He has blessed us recently.
First, we have a rental home in Phoenix! Last month we spent a few days in the sweltering heat looking for a place to live. The first day, we thought we could look at homes ourselves and not worry about using a real estate agent. First lesson-agents make things so much easier! We looked at a couple of homes that day and were not impressed; in fact, we were a bit discouraged. On our way home, we decided to get in touch with a realtor who was a friend of Trevor's sister. She was truly an angel for us! She quickly found a dozen homes that she thought might work for us, and we narrowed them down further. The next day, we ventured out again. The first few homes were, shall we say, not in the best condition, but we soldiered on. We finally found one that we really liked, it had everything we wanted, and it was well within our price range. As we were about to leave, the owner came by, and we were able to have a short conversation with him and introduce ourselves. We asked if he had any rental applications for his house, and he said he did have a couple he had received just that day. When we told him we were interested in his home, he told us he would wait to go though all the applications until he had received ours. Quickly deciding we really did want this home, we rushed to complete the application. An hour after we had parted, our realtor called us and said that she had just received a phone call from the owner's real estate agent. Not only was the owner impressed with us, but he had instructed his real estate agent to place our application ahead of the other two he had received and give us the house if everything checked out! It turns out that our landlord is also a believer, and when he found out that a pastor and his family were interested in his home, he wanted us as his tenants. However, the craziest thing happened after we'd already returned home. We looked up the house to refresh our memories about the layout and discovered that two days before we looked at it, the price had been reduced by $225 a month. It would have been completely out of our price range, and we never would have even thought about viewing it. God is so good, and He gives us what we need before we even need it!
Because things were progressing so well in Arizona, we had almost made up our minds to rent our Colorado home to some friends. We were still going back and forth about it, but we were pretty sure we would have to rent since we didn't seem to have any other options, and we had not received any reasonable offers to buy our home. The day after we returned from Arizona, we were informed that we had the Phoenix rental home. That same day, Trevor had made plans to meet with the young guys who were interested in renting our home in Colorado and to go over some particulars. The morning Trevor was to meet with them, we got a phone call from our realtor in Colorado saying that we had an offer on our house. However, the offer was not something we could accept. We countered, believing that, in this buyers' market, there was no way the buyers would accept it. Trevor went to lunch with the guys, and as he was finishing his conversation with them about renting and expectations, his phone rang, and our real estate agent said "They took your offer! Your house just sold!" Trevor was a bit flustered, but the young men were very gracious, and Trevor helped them look for another place to live. So in the space of two days, we found a home to rent and sold our current home. God does things so well when we wait patiently for Him!
Our final piece of great news is that we have reached over 90% of our support-raising goal! We are humbled by this and by the fact that, in about 3 1/2 months, we have received pledges from people to support our family for almost an entire year! It is amazing to think that God has impressed upon people to obey Him by supporting us. We will continue to walk in faith as people begin to fulfill their pledges, and we are excited to see how God will raise up people to fill in the last 10%. It is overwhelming to see how many people are excited to see how God will work at ASU!
Our next step is actually physically moving to Phoenix. We are in the midst of packing up our home here, and we plan to move July15-16. Prayers would be greatly appreciated as we make our way from Monument to Phoenix in a huge truck, towing one car, and followed by another. This will be a long, slow trip, but we know God will be with us. He has confirmed our call to Phoenix through so many ways, and we trust Him to take care of the rest of the details!
We are grateful to all of you for your prayers and financial support. Please let us know how we can be praying for you. We plan to get a newsletter out in the latter half of July, and we will be in touch with you all if you have any prayer needs or questions as to how to begin fulfilling financial pledges. May God bless each of you and receive all glory and honor!
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Progress
Praise the Lord! We have reached 60% of our financial support goal! We are grateful and humbled to see the ways God has provided individuals to pledge their financial support to our ministry. It's amazing how we have connected with people we haven't seen in years, and it's such a blessing to hear how God has been working in their lives also. How fun to see how our journey intersects with others-truly breathtaking indeed!
Trevor has now completed his time serving at Crossroads Chapel. Last Sunday was a day filled with sweet blessings as our church family prayed over us and sent us out as missionaries to ASU. Trevor was also blessed with the opportunity to baptize Colson, our oldest son. Words cannot express the emotions that we felt as we welcomed our boy into the family of Christ. We are so proud of him!
We've now turned our attention fully towards raising support and moving to Phoenix. Trevor's full-time job now is to contact and meet with individuals who may be interested in supporting us. Please pray that God will continue to move people's hearts to support us. Our response rate has been incredible, and we can only attribute that to God's work. However, Trevor cannot begin actually working at ASU until we have reached 100% of our financial goal, so we are praying for the next 40% to come quickly!
In the next week we will travel to Arizona to visit family and to find a rental house. We plan to move the week of July 8, so prayers would be greatly appreciated as we figure out all the logistics to moving our family and all of our stuff! Why does it seem like things accumulate so quickly?!
We would also appreciate prayers over our home here in Colorado. It has been on the market for about a month, but so far it has not sold. We are praying about what God would have us do as far as continuing to pursue selling our townhouse or to rent it out to some friends for a year. Please pray with us that God will make His will abundantly clear to both of us and give us peace.
We are consistently overwhelmed by the goodness of God. We know He has already gone before us to prepare the way for us in Phoenix. Daily we are blessed to hear others' stories of faith as they trust God to provide the funds they have promised to us. We thank God, and we thank each of you for your willingness to share bits of yourselves with us. May He receive all the glory!
Trevor, Chelsea, Colson, Kasen, and Keegan
Trevor has now completed his time serving at Crossroads Chapel. Last Sunday was a day filled with sweet blessings as our church family prayed over us and sent us out as missionaries to ASU. Trevor was also blessed with the opportunity to baptize Colson, our oldest son. Words cannot express the emotions that we felt as we welcomed our boy into the family of Christ. We are so proud of him!
We've now turned our attention fully towards raising support and moving to Phoenix. Trevor's full-time job now is to contact and meet with individuals who may be interested in supporting us. Please pray that God will continue to move people's hearts to support us. Our response rate has been incredible, and we can only attribute that to God's work. However, Trevor cannot begin actually working at ASU until we have reached 100% of our financial goal, so we are praying for the next 40% to come quickly!
In the next week we will travel to Arizona to visit family and to find a rental house. We plan to move the week of July 8, so prayers would be greatly appreciated as we figure out all the logistics to moving our family and all of our stuff! Why does it seem like things accumulate so quickly?!
We would also appreciate prayers over our home here in Colorado. It has been on the market for about a month, but so far it has not sold. We are praying about what God would have us do as far as continuing to pursue selling our townhouse or to rent it out to some friends for a year. Please pray with us that God will make His will abundantly clear to both of us and give us peace.
We are consistently overwhelmed by the goodness of God. We know He has already gone before us to prepare the way for us in Phoenix. Daily we are blessed to hear others' stories of faith as they trust God to provide the funds they have promised to us. We thank God, and we thank each of you for your willingness to share bits of yourselves with us. May He receive all the glory!
Trevor, Chelsea, Colson, Kasen, and Keegan
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
A New Chapter
Life is one big maze sometimes. This blog is entitled "The Breathtaking Journey" because some of the twists and turns take your breath away-in both positive and negative ways! We have experienced both of those since we began our journey together almost ten years ago. A little background...
We have been working in youth ministry since our marriage in 2004. When Trevor graduated from Denver Seminary, he took the job of Youth and Worship Pastor at Crossroads Chapel in Colorado Springs. This was our first major step in our journey together: moving to a new city and getting settled before our first child made his appearance later that year. We have now been in Colorado Springs for almost seven years, and during that time have added two more boys to our family. We have witnessed God's provision in numerous ways, and we are so grateful to Him for providing things we didn't even anticipate needing. Trevor has served faithfully in our church and has seen youth meet Jesus and begin walking with Him, and he has enjoyed leading worship on Sundays. He has grown in huge ways both as a man of God and as a pastor. Earlier this year, however, both of us began to feel that God was preparing us to make some changes. So, we waited, prayed, and waited some more!
In January, Trevor was sharing with a friend how he felt God was leading him to move on, and his friend mentioned an opportunity for Trevor to join his ministry. The job was doing college ministry, which has been a passion of Trevor's ever since he was involved in Intervarsity at NAU. There was an opening at Arizona State University. But, there was one catch: the position was entirely support-based. We would have no salary; we would be considered missionaries by the North American Mission Board (in charge of stateside missions for the SBC).
Admittedly, our first reaction was not so favorable. Live in Phoenix? Where it hits 115 in the summer regularly? Leave the beauty of the mountains for the desert? And raise support? How do you even think about doing that for a family of five? Skeptical but trying to be open-minded, we agreed to pray about it separately for awhile to see where God led. And lead He did! Almost within the first couple of weeks, I began to feel that God was pushing us to step out in faith, to test His promises that He provides for His children and to take this step. Trevor also began to feel that God was pushing him to try something new, something for which he already had a passion but had never been able to pursue. In March, Trevor flew down to Phoenix to walk the campus of ASU, and God placed a passion and a burden on his heart for the thousands of students he saw. ASU is currently the largest university by enrollment on one single campus in the United States. As he walked the surprisingly small campus, Trevor saw the need of the students for Jesus, and he knew God was calling him to ASU.
Which brings us to today! Trevor has accepted the new position as Regional Director of Christian Challenge at Arizona State University. He has resigned from Crossroads, although we will continue to serve there until June 2. Our church has been amazing and gracious with their love and support, and we appreciate their help as we try to tackle all the details that come with making such a big move. We are putting our townhouse on the market (anyone want to buy it? great views!) and are hoping to buy a home in Phoenix so we have a place for students to come and be a part of our family. We are beginning the sometimes arduous task of raising support; it is challenging, humbling, and has forced us to re-examine our views about money and God's provision. We are trusting God in deeper ways than we have had to before, which is awesome and terrifying all at once. But as we lean into God's promises, we are seeing His provision in so many ways. God has already been making a way for us, and we know He has gone before us to prepare the way. We are excited to see what He will do!
We covet your prayers and are grateful for your support. Thank you for reading this blog; we plan to post regularly so you can share in our journey and see God working in our lives and the lives of the students at ASU. May God bless you and your families!
We have been working in youth ministry since our marriage in 2004. When Trevor graduated from Denver Seminary, he took the job of Youth and Worship Pastor at Crossroads Chapel in Colorado Springs. This was our first major step in our journey together: moving to a new city and getting settled before our first child made his appearance later that year. We have now been in Colorado Springs for almost seven years, and during that time have added two more boys to our family. We have witnessed God's provision in numerous ways, and we are so grateful to Him for providing things we didn't even anticipate needing. Trevor has served faithfully in our church and has seen youth meet Jesus and begin walking with Him, and he has enjoyed leading worship on Sundays. He has grown in huge ways both as a man of God and as a pastor. Earlier this year, however, both of us began to feel that God was preparing us to make some changes. So, we waited, prayed, and waited some more!
In January, Trevor was sharing with a friend how he felt God was leading him to move on, and his friend mentioned an opportunity for Trevor to join his ministry. The job was doing college ministry, which has been a passion of Trevor's ever since he was involved in Intervarsity at NAU. There was an opening at Arizona State University. But, there was one catch: the position was entirely support-based. We would have no salary; we would be considered missionaries by the North American Mission Board (in charge of stateside missions for the SBC).
Admittedly, our first reaction was not so favorable. Live in Phoenix? Where it hits 115 in the summer regularly? Leave the beauty of the mountains for the desert? And raise support? How do you even think about doing that for a family of five? Skeptical but trying to be open-minded, we agreed to pray about it separately for awhile to see where God led. And lead He did! Almost within the first couple of weeks, I began to feel that God was pushing us to step out in faith, to test His promises that He provides for His children and to take this step. Trevor also began to feel that God was pushing him to try something new, something for which he already had a passion but had never been able to pursue. In March, Trevor flew down to Phoenix to walk the campus of ASU, and God placed a passion and a burden on his heart for the thousands of students he saw. ASU is currently the largest university by enrollment on one single campus in the United States. As he walked the surprisingly small campus, Trevor saw the need of the students for Jesus, and he knew God was calling him to ASU.
Which brings us to today! Trevor has accepted the new position as Regional Director of Christian Challenge at Arizona State University. He has resigned from Crossroads, although we will continue to serve there until June 2. Our church has been amazing and gracious with their love and support, and we appreciate their help as we try to tackle all the details that come with making such a big move. We are putting our townhouse on the market (anyone want to buy it? great views!) and are hoping to buy a home in Phoenix so we have a place for students to come and be a part of our family. We are beginning the sometimes arduous task of raising support; it is challenging, humbling, and has forced us to re-examine our views about money and God's provision. We are trusting God in deeper ways than we have had to before, which is awesome and terrifying all at once. But as we lean into God's promises, we are seeing His provision in so many ways. God has already been making a way for us, and we know He has gone before us to prepare the way. We are excited to see what He will do!
We covet your prayers and are grateful for your support. Thank you for reading this blog; we plan to post regularly so you can share in our journey and see God working in our lives and the lives of the students at ASU. May God bless you and your families!
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