Finding the Balance

Last week was our Assemblies of God national pastors' meetings (Asamblea General) in Costa Rica. What a great time connecting with friends and making new ones. This country is in great hands with excellent pastors and leaders.

Beyond the meetings themselves, the 2 days I spent there really offered a good glimpse into the balance between finishing well here and preparing for our upcoming transition and itineration.

Double Duty Scheduling

As we told pastor friends our plans to leave in August, a number of them wanted to be sure to schedule us to come and preach at their churches before leaving. We also scheduled a couple of kids' ministry classes to teach and a potential final trip into the jungle to minister to the indigenous.

We had submitted our newsletter on one of the first day I was at the meetings. In the newsletters we let pastors know that we're beginning to schedule services from when we're home in August until the end of the year. So I was on my phone responding to requests for itineration services.

We were (are) building 2 different schedules. One for the remainder of our time here and the other for our return to the States. This really offers a good picture of where we are right now. We are committed to the people of Costa Rica and our responsibilities here until the end. We want to finish strong and finish well. And then there's the need to set up our schedule for when we arrive in the States to prepare for Bolivia. It's a balance.

Itineration

We are going to keep going strong here. We love the people and we love what we are able to do. And we look forward to still learning as much as we can these final months here. But I want to take this opportunity to focus more on when we'll be home for itineration.

As I mentioned we are looking to fill up our schedule from when we're home in August until the end of 2016. We can't really schedule further in advance because we still await official approval as appointed missionaries, which would be in October. We believe God is in this and that everything will work with this, but we still leave it in His hands and ask you to pray that His will be done as we go to our interview. If we are approved, we will immediately begin filling our 2017 schedule as well.

There are 3 encounters we would like to schedule:

1. Churches - We would love opportunities to come and share our hearts at churches in Sunday or Wednesday services, children's services, youth services, small groups, men's groups, women's groups, etc. This is true both for already supporting churches and potential supporting churches.
2. Pastors - We would love to connect with pastors and/or missions leadership of churches over coffee. While we love connecting with the whole church body, we understand that sometimes this works better for some pastors for various reasons.
3. Individuals - We have a decent amount of monthly support and one-time donations which has come from family, friends and complete strangers. We would love to connect and share our hearts on a personal level with those who partner with us financially or who would like to consider financial partnership.

We are also asking for prayer and really want to work on building our prayer team more intentionally and strategically so stay tuned for more about how we'll be implementing this aspect of partnership.

Please pray that the details will still come together regarding where we'll be staying, how we'll be traveling, Genevieve's schooling and other technically details.

We're doubly excited I guess. Excited for what's already here (ministry in Costa Rica) and what's to come (the transition to ministry in Bolivia).

One of Those Days

Have you ever had one of those days? As ambiguous as that phrase is, I bet you know what I mean and I'm sure you've had more than one of them. Well, today is one of those days for me.

So many causes.

So many things can cause one of those days, ranging from minor to serious. Some of my past examples include:

• Being stuck in traffic
• Running late for work
• Receiving bad news
• Receiving an unexpected bill
• Losing money
• Having car troubles
• Waking up with a cold
• Waking up "on the wrong side of the bed"
• Getting into an argument

A changed perspective.

I want to share something that changed my outlook a couple of years ago regarding "one of those days." I cannot recall the cause way back then but I remember that I was having one of those days. At one point I finally just said, 

This has just been a bad day.

I immediately felt convicted. God creates every day. And everything that God creates is good. There are no bad days! It would be disingenuous to suggest that some aren't more challenging than others, but they're not bad. This creates a philosophical shift in our thinking because no matter what discouragement may come along, there are encouraging things too.

Psalm 3 says (in the ESV):

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

1 O LORD, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God. Selah

3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the LORD,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.

7 Arise, O LORD!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Salvation belongs to the LORD;
your blessing be on your people! Selah

David was having "one of those days." But I love how David responds. He acknowledges that the Lord is the lifter of his head. And as verse 5 points out, even the fact that we wake up is cause to thank God.

What caused today's "one of those days"?

I just had a bit of discouragement with raising our budget. After an amazing 25 day period, we haven't seen any movement in our budget over the past 4 days.

It's hard work to raise a budget. It's tough to not be in control of our own future. Yet, we'd have it no other way. God has never let us down. His ways are always better than our ways. I trust Him to be in control more than I trust myself.

Thankfully I have an encouraging wife who reminds me to hold on to faith. I do believe that we're leaving in August. I know that doesn't add up using our logic, but I'm reminded of Proverbs 3:5, 6 which says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

I will trust in the LORD. Like David, I know where my help comes from. I know who lifts my head when it hangs low. So today, rather than simply pray to see the hand of God (provision) I will pray to see the face of God (intimacy).

I wrote this blog because I knew that I would read the Bible and be encouraged. When I write, I can read my own advice. Maybe you're having "one of those days." I pray you'll be encouraged and put your trust in God.

100 Days Campaign

"When are you leaving for Costa Rica?"

That is probably the most commonly asked question that Polly and I have experienced over the past year. Unfortunately, it's a question with no simple answer. In fact, I feel as though we can never answer the question without first qualifying the answer. An answer that itself has been a bit fluid during that time. So, I thought it would be helpful to answer that question here on the blog, with qualifiers of course.

One of the factors that makes the question a tricky one to answer is the fact that for a time, we only had a vague answer. When Polly and I responded to God's call on our lives to go to Costa Rica, the timetable for it was one of many unknowns. Pretty early on in the process we narrowed it down in our hearts and thinking to spring or summer of 2013. That was as close to an answer that we could give for a number of months. We usually began that answer with something along the lines of, "Probably..." or "Well, we're thinking maybe..."

We thoroughly enjoyed our experience of spending two weeks in Springfield, MO for Pre-field Orientation last June. Beyond learning and wisdom about missions in general we also became aware of an extremely important piece of specific information. We learned that due to the tourist visa situation in conjunction with the importance of being present for the first day of the semester of language school, there are only three dates during the entire year that a first time missionary to Latin America with Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM) can travel to San Jose, Costa Rica. Two of those three dates immediately jumped out to us -- May 8, 2013 and August 28, 2013 -- as those were the two dates that fell within the parameters of us leaving in the spring or summer of 2013. We felt strongly that we would leave on either of those two dates. Our answer had narrowed down a little more. We usually began that answer with something along the lines of, "Either..." or "Depending on how things go..."

We remained confused about which date to truly target for quite a few months after narrowing things down to those two. I put both into our calendar. The first I called "Target Date" and the other "Alt Target Date." We were clearly undecided. This actually made things tougher for us. Answering ambiguously with spring or summer of 2013 was easy. Having two dates nearly four months apart was tough. When we were leaving depending on how we were feeling that day. We listed May 8, 2013 in our written materials only because it was the sooner. If we were going to be wrong, we would rather have been wrong being ambitious than being conservative. I figured it would be better to have to wait four more months than rush everything for four more months.

I'll never forget the first time I booked a church service for a date after May 8, 2013. In making that decision, I was acknowledging that I felt that the August 28th date was the one we should target. In fact, Polly and I both felt agreement and peace about this. Of course, this didn't mean that the answer became more definitely. We usually began that answer with something along the lines of, "Hopefully..." or "At the earliest..." Then came the conversation that changed everything for us.

We were Skype-ing with John & Dina one night. We were telling them about our latest campaign we were calling the "Cup of Coffee Campaign" (still ongoing). We got into a conversation about our goal and the need to raise our budget at a quicker pace. I don't remember the exact words that John used, but I remember him saying how there just came a point for them when they had to just pick a date (for themselves to get to Costa Rica) and stick with it. They needed to change their language to express their earnest faith that they were going to leave at the time God put on their hearts to leave. I felt challenged.

Let's be honest, faith can be tough. Since generalizing is not normally a good practice, let me speak for myself here (though I'm sure I'm not alone). It's scary to take the leap of faith. All the doubts start creeping in: "What if I'm wrong and look like an idiot?" "If I don't leave in August people will think that either God doesn't care or that we weren't listening to Him." I dealt with all those questions. In truth, I still deal with them. But I come back to this: I'd rather take the leap of faith and find out that I was wrong than not take the leap at all. The one thing that I am certain of is that God does care and that we will get there at the exact time we should. He's not going to be the one to mess up or make a mistake. If a mistake is made, it will be my mistake. My pride might be a little hurt, but my trust will still be in the Lord. And I'm thankful that God is there with me even through my mistakes.

So, I'm done with the qualifiers. From now on, when people ask when we're leaving, I'm going to answer them that we are leaving in August!

Now, let's discuss a simple reality: We cannot leave until our budget is raised. You know what then, I guess we're just going to have to raise our budget by August then. This is where our latest campaign comes into play: the 100 Days campaign.

It occurred to me on Tuesday, May 7 that the following day was to be the "other date" we had considered for leaving for Costa Rica. After doing a little simple math, it also occurred to me that there were about 100 days from May 8th until the time we would need our budget raised in order to leave for Costa Rica on August 28th. A little more simple math (very simple math) brought to my attention that to raise the additional roughly $2,500 in monthly commitments, we would need to average $25 in new monthly commitments every day over that 100 day period. That's a big need. But it's not bigger than God's ability.

Two days into this 100 Day Campaign, we have received $100 in new monthly commitments from a total of three people (1 at $50/mo, 2 at $25/mo). That's obviously an excellent start. We need to keep that momentum rolling though. Will you considering partnering with us by joining our sending team and making a commitment to give $25 every month so that we can go and serve the people of Costa Rica? You can't do $25/mo? That's okay, can you do $5 or $10 or $20? You can do more than $25/mo? That's okay too. You can choose any amount up to the $2,400/mo we need. We're just looking to reach the average of $25/mo per day. And I have a goal of never being more than three days behind, so that a $100/mo commitment would catch us right back up. Don't wait until tomorrow to set this up...jump on board today!

You can set up a commitment attached to a credit card or set up the commitment without it being attached to a credit card (Acct# 2713097). That's your choice. If you want to know more about what we'll be doing in Costa Rica, please feel free to check out the Engage CR or FAQs pages by clicking the links here or at the top of the page.

As always, you can email us at mikeandpollybrown@gmail.com if you have any further questions.

God is Faithful

Two movie titles. One chapter in the Bible. One central theme.

Dr. Wave Nunnally, my professor for the History portion of the Old Testament History and Literature class at Central Bible College in Springfield, MO referred to it as "Back to the Future." Matt Travnik, a friend of mine from CBC referred to it as "School of Rock." They each used a different movie title to refer to the events of Joshua 4, but the central theme of their message was the same: God is Faithful!

For whatever reason, having heard thousands of sermons and lessons over the years, these two have always stuck with me. In fact, I've preached a sermon on the chapter on a number of occasions myself. With Matt's permission, I also title my sermon "School of Rock." But clever titles isn't what caused me to hold on to these two teachings over the years; the truth of the message is. Because through my life, God has made something abundantly clear to me over and over again: He is and will always be faithful.

Contrary to what I thought I was going to speak about on both occasions, this is the sermon I've taught from each of my last two services. And while it's a great truth that I think people need to hear, I also think that it's a truth that God has been wanting me to hear again too.

Joshua 4 happens at a time when the Israelites are miraculously crossing through the Jordan River as they are about to finally entire into the Promise Land after 400 years of slavery in Egypt and 40 years of wandering in the desert. God commands Joshua, the new leader of the people after Moses' death, to take 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan and set up a memorial at the place where they would be camping. They do exactly as the Lord commands and set up the memorial. In fact, it seems that they set up two: one in the middle of the Jordan and one at the place where they were camping. I think there are three valuable things we can learn from these piles of rocks:

1. The rocks were a sign of obedience

They obeyed everything the Lord instructed them to do surrounding the event of crossing through the Jordan and the event of setting up the stones. The act of setting up the memorial was a sign of obedience. I believe that the Bible is quite clear that God expects obedience from us. We must know God's voice, listen when He speaks and be quick to obey. What does God's voice sound like? I can't answer that for you. But what I can say is that if you spend time talking to God and reading His Word, He will speak to you. It may not be an audible voice (I've never heard one) but it will just make sense in your heart. It's one of those things that you'll know when it happens. And we must listen. Prayer is not simply us talking TO God, but it's us talking WITH God. It's a conversation. God may be giving you the answer to your prayers but you're not listening to hear what it is. And we must obey. Knowing what God says to us is not enough. We have to act on it. Why are Polly, Genevieve and I leaving our families and moving to Costa Rica? Because we feel so certain in our hearts that God is calling us to. And we know from experience that we're always better off when we listen to God AND do what He says! We would rather be no other place than in the center of His will for our lives.

2. The rocks were an evidence of the supernatural

They didn't have SCUBA equipment back in the days of Joshua. Have large stones from the middle of the Jordan would have provided solid evidence that a supernatural event took place. We all have testimonies of God's faithfulness, whether we realize it or not (if you're alive, you are a miracle). We can't hide those things. We need to display them as evidence for others. I've had more than one friend attempt to challenge the existence of God. And I've even known of some Christians that would deny His ability to perform miracles. But if you have never seen or experienced a miracle, I believe you're just ignoring the evidence. Miracles have made incredible believers out of even the most staunch of atheists. God is faithful!

3. The rocks were a reminder of God's faithfulness

The rocks served as a reminder of God's faithfulness to those who weren't able to participate in the event itself. But they were also a reminder for those who did. Why do I trust that God will provide for my family? Because He always has before. I can rattle off stories and stories of times where God has provided for my family. I have shared those stories before and I'm sure I'll share them again. Sometimes they were simple; other times they were much more intense. Regardless which they were, they serve as a reminder to me that He is able and that He is faithful. I'm not going to tell you that God will give you a sports car if you pray for one. And I'm not going to tell you that if you pray enough and live the right way, you will become rich. But I will tell you that God will supply all of your NEEDS! We become so focused on our own plans that we forget to ask God what His plans are. And His plans are always better! Let me share one example of God's faithfulness in my life. When we stepped down from the church last July to focus on itineration, we lost income; income that we had become dependent on. It's not like we were sitting there rolling in the dough and blowing tons of money. We were already living paycheck to paycheck. Yet through this time that we've made less money, we have paid every bill, been able to pick up new missionaries to support (yes, missionaries support other missionaries too!), and even had times of extra. Mathematically it doesn't make sense. Find the financial advisor out there that will tell you the best way to have more money is to reduce your income. You will not find it! I wouldn't recommend it myself. But that's what has happened to us. Why? Because God is faithful!

Polly and I are currently at 36% of our monthly budget officially (we're at 45% if you add in the amounts that churches and individuals have pledged which haven't been submitted or gone through yet). Our goal is to be at 50% of our budget by the end of March. That is a lot of extra commitments that we will need over the course of the next week (as well as movement in some of the pledges that haven't been submitted or gone through yet).  Our goal is to leave for Costa Rica in August. And even though it may not seem possible in the natural, we don't live by the natural. Are we being naive? Absolutely not! You see, we have a memorial that is made up of a pile of rocks representing God's faithfulness to us throughout the years. We we look back at what He's done for us in the past, we have hope for the future. That's what Dr. Nunnally meant when he called it "Back to the Future."

We are confident that God will once again show His faithfulness and that God will provide. We will not do it alone though. We need people praying for us and with us. Please pray that God will provide favor in this. Also please pray if you might be a part of the solution. This brings us to the second thing we need: we need people who are able and willing to partner with us through a monthly contribution (it can be $5/mo or $50/mo or $500/mo or $5000/mo or anything in between). We don't seek to manipulate or guilt anyone into giving. We're simply putting the opportunity before you and asking you to consider if you might be a part of the solution. God is faithful! And the cool thing about God's provision is that it doesn't always have to come out of nowhere; sometimes, in fact often time, He chooses to use people...ordinary people. How cool is that?!

Will you consider partnering with us? You can read more about partnering by clicking the "About Partnering" link at the top right or set up that commitment by clicking on the "Make a One-time or Monthly Donation" link or by clicking here.

Regardless of whether or not you will be joining our Sending Team today, I hope that this blog post may have encouraged you for your own life.

In Christ,

Mike

Finishing What I've Started

The email came in on May 7, 2012. I was at an off-site meeting for my secular job in Scottsdale, AZ. I remember this trip well because I flew out on my birthday and celebrated alone in the hotel restaurant. They were kind and gave me a free dessert to make the moment a little less sad. Anyway, the email was short and concise. It was from Missionaries John & Dina Mussachio and it went as follows:

Hey, Guys.

How are you doing? How was your weekend?
Maybe you've read it, but if not, I want to invite you to download a free book on ibooks: George Müller - Answers to Prayer.
Powerful.

We love you guys,
John & Dina

That's right, a simple email...a book recommendation. I love reading and am always looking for a good book. I used to read suspense novels and true crime books but I had given those up on account of them being a waste of my time ultimately. But this seemed like an awesome suggestion. We were just beginning our journey of itineration and fund-raising, so it was great timing. I had my iPad with me at the meeting so I downloaded it and began reading. Of course, I got distracted with work and other things so I didn't really read a whole lot. Then I did as I always seem to do: I forgot about it. I apparently remembered about it on June 3, 2012 because that's when I downloaded it to my Kindle app. Apparently I had also forgotten that I had downloaded it on iBooks. I'm sure I read a little more. Then, again, I forgot about it. I bought other books and started reading them. Of course, I'm not sure I finished any of them either. I am notoriously bad at finishing books.

If you were to look at my bookshelf, you're likely to see a number of partially-read, bookmark-sticking-out-of-them-somewhere books. It's not that I've never finished a book...it's that I rarely finish books. Why? Honestly, I'm not sure. Sometimes I don't like the book, but that's not usually the case. I think I just get easily distracted and lack motivation at times. I bring a book to work nearly every day. And nearly every day I don't crack it open once.

My secular job gave me the week of Christmas off paid. With the extra time off, we decided to spend extra time visiting with Polly's family. I packed my iPad and some books into my briefcase. We were already about an hour away from home when I realized that my briefcase was still on our couch. As Genevieve would say, "Oh no." So now we were going to be at Polly's parents' house for 5 days and I had no reading materials. This was not good. I mean, I love spending time with family, but not all day long. Relief finally came on Christmas day when Polly's parents gave us a Kindle. I know, we're slow to move on getting this stuff. I never really wanted one before but decided that it would be a good way to read books while in Costa Rica. Of course, I didn't know I was actually getting one, so I was incredibly happen when I saw it. After opening all of Genevieve's toys and putting things together, I finally sat down and set up the Kindle. I was going to try to find a book in the Kindle Store to read when I saw it... Answers to Prayer by George Müller was already on my account from when I had downloaded it for my app. I decided to pick up reading from there.

I didn't end up getting a whole lot of this pretty short book read during the rest of our stay. In fact, I was about 33% done with it (couldn't tell you in pages) when we left. Why? Well, we spent the next day watching movies which took up a lot of our free time. So once again I put it down. Then came that time of year that everyone looks forward to: New Year's!

Why do people like New Year's? Because they like the feeling of a fresh start, a clean slate. It's a time many people make New Year's Resolutions (the #1 resolution each year is weight loss). I loosely make resolutions each year. I use it as a reflection time to think through positive changes I should make. I mean, don't get me wrong...if I determine a positive change I need in my life during the middle of the year I don't wait to enact it. I'm just more likely to think of those changes when I take time to reflect and I'm more apt to take time to reflect around New Year's.

During my time of reflection I thought of a number of personal improvements I could afford to instill in my life. One of them: to read more. And the best place to start for me: to finish where I left off...in the books I've already started. Here's my goal:

I want to read at least 1 book a month this year. And the first book of each month much be a book that I've already started and have yet to finish. So if I want to start a new book, I must first finish one I've already invested some time in.

One week into the new year, I can happily say that I'm starting well. I've already finished Answers to Prayer. It was a great book to read. Simple, yet powerful! John & Dina were right. I highlighted a number of things throughout the book, but let me share my favorite thing which came from an appendix and agrees with my philosophy in reading (this seemed appropriate given the topic here):

"If any believers read this, who practically prefer other books to the Holy Scriptures, and who enjoy the writings of men much more than the word of God, may the be warned by my loss. I shall consider this book to have been the means of doing much good, should it please the Lord, through its instrumentality, to lead some of His people no longer to neglect the Holy Scriptures, but to give them that preference, which they have hitherto bestowed on the writings of men. My dislike to increase the number of books would have been sufficient to deter me from writing these pages, had I not been convinced, that this is the only way in which the brethren at large may be benefited through my mistakes and errors, and been influenced by the hope, that in answer to my prayers, the reading of my experience may be the means of leading them to value the Scriptures more highly, and to make them the rule of all their actions." (Page 119)

I encourage you all to read, but first to make a habit of reading the Bible. And then to read things that are beneficial.

Well, reading one book doesn't satisfy my resolution. So next on the docket to finish: The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns. As I said, I have started well. But real success in this quest will be measured not by how well I've started; it will be measured by how well I finish what I've started!

In Christ,

Mike

A Win-Win-Win Situation

Polly and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary a week and a half ago. We chose to get married in the fall because it's both of our favorite season. We chose the specific date because it was Columbus Day weekend and our traveling friends and family would already have an extra day to take their travels easier. Of course, the downside to that is that since we like to celebrate our anniversaries enjoying the fall in New England, we picked the most hectic weekend we could have selected. Prices, traffic and overall stress increases in New England over the Columbus Day weekend in northern New England. It is, after all, peak foliage season and the last weekend for most in that area at their vacation homes. As a result, we have had to be creative. On a couple of occasions, this has meant celebrating our anniversary a week late. And that's what we did this year. But this year's anniversary was unlike any other.

Genevieve was born in January 2011. She was 8 1/2 months old when Polly and I went to Maine for our 4th wedding anniversary last year. We contemplated the idea of leaving Genevieve with Grammie and Grampie (my parents) for the getaway, but Polly just wasn't ready yet (there was also the practical issue of feeding Genevieve since she was still being nursed at the time). So, we took Genevieve to Maine with us. She was her usual active self during our 2 1/2 hour steam-engine train ride through the woods of Maine and to the coast. Our walk through a lovely ocean community with fun shops was made more difficult by the need to maneuver her stroller through tight spaces at the small shops and she was way beyond tired. At one point, she finally fell asleep. For us, this meant no more stopping at shops. Movement is critical to keep that child asleep outside of a bed. While we enjoyed our trip to Maine, let's be clear...it was a family vacation and not a romantic getaway. It just happened to be around our anniversary.

In fact, Polly and I have rarely been on too many dates since Genevieve was born. And even when we have had the opportunity, we haven't really had to much money to do too much. That's why it was huge for us when our friends helped us win $100 in gift cards to a group of restaurants. We finally had something to do while we were away from the baby. We were telling my nephew's mom Siobhan and brother Jon about our date when we were visiting them in New Hampshire over the summer. It started off a bit slow with us walking through Malden Square (I wanted to see what had become of it; not good) and with us swinging into McDonald's for a snack wrap. But then it picked up as we mini golfed, ate dinner and then hung out at Jordan's where they have some fun free things and we furniture "window" shopped. Apparently Siobhan and Jon were unimpressed. That's when Siobhan made us an incredible offer that we simply could not refuse. She offered to let us use her vacation house the weekend after Columbus day AND to watch Genevieve while we were away. We made tentative plans. Over the course of the next couple months, Polly went back and forth on whether or not she was ready to be without Genevieve for a few days. While I have spent a number of days away from Genevieve due to travel for my job and when working doubles, Polly had only spent one day away from her (and that was for a youth convention we took our youth to so that wasn't a getaway for us either). Finally, we decided that it was time and that we needed it. Genevieve was a little extra trying that week so Polly was ripe for the break.

Polly and I had a wonderful long weekend away. It was much needed and much appreciated, just as we assumed it would be. But what about Genevieve? I mean, I knew that even if she had a rough time away from Mama and Da-da, she would be fine in the long run. But we also wanted it to be fun for her, Siobhan, Jon and Sean (my nephew). So, did she do okay? You look at the pictures below and decide for yourself:

Forget managing. Genevieve had a blast! She was so well behaved and loved all her play time with her auntie, uncle and cousin. In fact, as my brother was pulling away from the house (she stayed with us the first night in New Hampshire before my brother drove her down to Mass the following day) rather than crying, she just waved with a big smile. Apparently she didn't cry once during the car ride. She was okay with leaving us. Yay...right? I mean, that's a good thing. It's what we wanted. But it's also sad to think that they don't miss you. Of course she missed us (this was proven when she got so upset that I was leaving when we picked up my car from work on the way home...she was happy to have her Mama and Da-da back again and she wasn't ready to leave them again just yet).

Really though, I think that her ability to detach is a very good thing. It will be a necessary skill later in life. But I think a question is begged here. Since Polly's a stay at home mom and since Genevieve is not dropped off at day care or school each day, how was she so okay with leaving us. Well, I think there were 3 major factors:

1. Prayer - We, as well as others, prayed that she would be emotionally strong during this weekend and that everything would go smoothly. I've had way too many prayers answered to question whether or not it's effective. Hey, prayer works!

2. Practice - I think that itineration has brought with it and added bonus. Genevieve is put in different environments with different people nearly every week when we drop her off at church nurseries. And you know what I noticed at the last church we went to? She has begun to grow accustomed to it. No more crying and worrying that Mama and Da-da are going to leave her. No, I think she's becoming a confident little girl who trusts that her parents will return.

3. People - It didn't hurt that she already loves the people she was going with. Siobhan has given us picture books each year at Christmas chronicling Sean's life. Genevieve looks at those books nearly every day. She knows who her family is. Also, every night before she goes to sleep, we thank God for a whole bunch of people and things. Of course, our family is included in those thanks. She hears her family members names every night! She knew she was in good hands. We had been talking about the visit all week and she was so excited each time we did.

So, in the end, it was a win-win-win. A win for Genevieve, a win for Siobhan, Jon and Sean and a win for Polly and me.

In Christ,

Mike

Feeling "Youth"ful

Now, I know what you're thinking, "Mike, you just spent your entire blog post yesterday talking about how you're starting to feel old. Now, today, you're writing about feeling youthful? This seems a bit contradictory." First, let me respond to your supposed thoughts by saying that I am absolutely in a place where I sometimes feel young and sometimes feel old. I am torn. I suppose that it has much to do with the perspective and context surrounding my situation at any given time. But, though this is true, I actually don't want to talk about how young I'm feeling (in fact, there are certain aspects to what I want to share that make me feel old) but about ministering to youth--the term typically used in the church world to refer to adolescents.

I believe I have alluded to my feelings about transitioning from youth ministry to missions work in past blog posts, but I wanted to commit an entire post to it. Plainly put, I miss working with youth! I'm not going to lie...it was really weird and a bit sad to me that I had no youth ministry to be revving up for at the beginning of this most recent school year. This reality was already having me feel a little bummed. Then, Polly and I went to Six Flags with some friends during Labor Day Weekend. The day that we chose to go happened to be the same day that the Southern New England Ministry Network youth department was having it's "Six Flags Day." This meant that I ran into a bunch of my youth pastor friends who were having fun with their youth. I was having fun too, but had no youth. It left me feeling a little bit more bummed.

What's interesting is that transitioning to missions is not actually transitioning me out of youth ministry. One of the things I'll be involved with in Costa Rica is youth ministry. This is something that John & Dina Musacchio are big into (they too were youth pastors before becoming missionaries). It's more the itineration, preparation period that has left me wanting.

I did a youth service on the Friday night I was at my brother's youth ministry in Charlotte, NC in August. It was one of those last minute, "Hey Mike, can you speak tonight?" things. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I was already scheduled to do a couple youth services at the request of the church's senior pastor. So, I thought about it. What if, just what if Polly and I could expand our prayer and financial partnership not only through regular adult church services and family and friends, but we also could expand our partnership through youth services? Why not?! I mean, not simply asking a church if they can have us and being blessed with a youth services, but intentionally seeking youth services out. So, I started contacting my youth pastor friends and offering our services to come and share about Speed the Light, general missions, or any topic they thought might be beneficial for their students. And I immediately started getting results. We already have a number booked for the near future with more we just have to work out dates for. Talk about a win-win. In fact, out of these contacts birthed out of this desire I had two youth services last week. They were amazing. I loved every minute of being around teenagers. It was awesome!

I seriously can't wait to book more. Yeah, it's more time out of my schedule during the week. But you know what? It is so worth it! God gave me (and Polly) a heart to work with young people (as well as college students, though we have stayed involved in a local college ministry's Bible study during this itineration period so we're not really missing it). That's a fire burning within me that won't be extinguished. I don't want it to be extinguished! I love working with youth and I love the fact that I love it.

Let me quickly address the aspect of this that has me feeling older (as I alluded to in the intro). It's not that I've been out of high school as long as some of the youth I've encountered have been alive (though, come to think of it, that doesn't really help the situation). It's not that I have youth pastor friends who are young enough to have been one of my youth (that doesn't really help either...I need to stop dwelling on possible reasons and just get to the point here). It's that when I was at one of the youth ministry's service, the youth pastor described a contest they were about to do that caused the following immediate reaction out of me aloud to him: "Do you know how long I've been in youth ministry? Long enough to know this is a bad idea. I guarantee that someone will get hurt." Yep, I took on the role of the old, out-of-touch, no-fun adult yelling the situational equivalent to, "You'll poke your eye out." There was a time, I would have come up with such a game and acted upon it. I know that it's probably a good thing that I've matured to this point. But that doesn't mean that it didn't make me feel old. For the record, someone did get hurt. I felt too bad to say, "I told you so." Well, verbally anyway. I'm pretty sure I involuntarily gave a look that communicated as much.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to speaking at the youth services I already have booked. And I can't wait to get in touch with other youth pastor friends (and churches) to book more. I only wish I had thought to do this sooner. You don't know how much you cherish something until you miss it though, right? That's partially true. I knew I loved the youth at Calvary Assembly of God in Dudley, MA. I just didn't know how much they were such a significant part of my life.

What can I say? I heart youth.

In Christ,

Mike

Feeling Old

I've mentioned before that we spend a lot of time traveling around and sharing our hearts for Costa Rica with various churches these days. Some of them are churches we've been to before and some of them are churches we haven't ever been to. We love visiting churches whether it's our first time there or whether we've been there many times before. It's either an opportunity to meet new people or see old friends. I love both. The church we visited yesterday was one that I had been to before. In fact, I served as a youth/children's pastor of sorts at Vietnamese Christian Center (VCC) in Worcester, MA during the summers of my college years while my brother Stephan was serving as the church's interim pastor. So it should come as no surprise that I was excited to visit yesterday and see some old friends.

It wasn't my first time preaching at the church, but it was my first time preaching there in a few years anyway. At least, that's how I thought about it as I was getting ready for church yesterday morning. It didn't feel like it had been that long since I had last preached there. I then began to think of when the last time was. I used some simple deductive reasoning to assess that it was when I was still in college because I had become the youth pastor at Calvary Assembly of God in Dudley, MA in the summer immediately following graduation. Assuming (a fair assumption) that I last preached there during the summer in between my junior and senior years of college, that would mean that I had last preached at VCC sometime during the summer of 2004, or a little over eight years ago. That's when it hit me...I'm getting old. Let me explain.

The fact that it was eight years ago in and of itself is not really all that big a deal. I mean, as long as your over the age of eight, you clearly did something eight years ago. And nobody would argue that an 8-year-old is old. No, eight years on its own is not a big deal. BUT when you couple that with the fact that I viewed the eight years as a short period of time, it is a very big deal. I sincerely thought of it as though it wasn't that long ago, yet it was eight years. This means that eight years is a short period to me. This means that I'm getting old. I mean, think about it...eight years ago to a 16-year-old is half a lifetime ago. When I was a sophomore in high school (16), second grade (8) seemed very distant to me. That's because, relatively speaking, it was. Yep, the only reasonable conclusion to how I felt about that eight year period of time is that I'm getting old.

On the bright side, I can't be that old because I did still remember serving and preaching at VCC eight years ago. Really old people would have forgotten that.

Hmmm...you know on second thought, maybe I do feel like it was a long time ago and I'm just giving into Polly's constant reminders of how old I am as I close in on 30.

Well, regardless of how old I am or am not feeling, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit with the wonderful people at VCC yesterday. I hope it's not another eight years before I see them all again...even if it isn't that long a period of time; or is it? (this battle will be raging internally for a while). They were as loving and generous as ever.

In Christ,

Mike

We are looking for prayer and financial partners to make it to Costa Rica. Want to learn more? Click on the "Partner" tab at the top of the page.

Come with Us

I get so excited when I think about Costa Rica. There are a couple reasons for this:

1. I'm excited to have the opportunity to do what I know God is calling me to do. There is no more satisfying place for any of us to be in our lives than in the center of God's will. Jesus is our great example in all things in life. So, I think there is a lot to learn from the words of Jesus as He was praying to the father regarding the suffering He was about to endure: "41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, 'Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.'" (Luke 22:41, 42 ESV, emphasis mine)

2. I'm excited to serve the people of Costa Rica. I did not grow up my whole life longing to go to Costa Rica. God never narrowed it down for me like that. He always just gave me a heart for people. So when we felt like God was telling us to go to Costa Rica, it was easy to start gaining a heart for the people. We even got excited when their Olympic team was introduced during the opening ceremonies. I didn't have a heart specific to Ticos when I was younger, but I definitely do now. I want to see young people come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior and to see them make positive decisions in their lives. My heart breaks for little Costa Rican children who are being trafficked as sex slaves. I love Costa Rica (and I've yet to even go)!

3. I'm excited to serve alongside other missionaries and pastors for the purpose of God's glory. I didn't understand the scope of how much missionaries become a part of a family because now that I'm beginning to understand it more, I love it! We love seeing and hearing from other missionaries as they share their experiences. Everyone wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Nobody wants to have to go it alone. We are no different. We long for and look forward to the opportunity to serve alongside others who share our hearts.

4. I'm excited to share in this endeavor with hundreds of other partners. Polly and I have been called to Costa Rica. We will be involved in many different ministries such as evangelism, discipleship, leadership training, compassion, and many more. Proverbs 25:25 says, "Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." (ESV) Polly and I are willing to come from a far country, and we believe that we have Good News to bring, but we need to be sent. That's the simple reality of it all. We cannot go unless we are sent. We need to have the prayer and financial support of people willing to partner with us. This makes the team that much bigger. By partnering with us through prayer and/or finances, you are a part of everything that we are involved with in Costa Rica. It's like you're going with us (except that you don't have to deal with 8 straight months of rain or get to climb the volcanoes, but that's the much less relevant stuff).

Now you may be reading this and saying to yourself, "Aha! I knew money would be mentioned eventually." Well, to be honest, it's unavoidable. Costa Rica isn't going to be free. Genevieve's diapers won't be free. We need money to live. That's just how it works. It always has and always will work that way here on earth. And since we're going as missionaries, we 1. won't have work visas and 2. wouldn't have the time to work a paying job and still do the things we're called to do there. So, we need to raise our budgets before we go. Why is "budgets" plural here? Well, because we have two budgets: one cash budget and one monthly budget. What's the difference? Our cash budget is used for one-time purchases or services (i.e. language school, flights to and from Costa Rica, a vehicle, etc.) while our monthly budget is used for recurring purchases or services (i.e. rent, groceries, insurance, gas, etc.).

Now you may be saying, "Well that sounds great and I understand why they need it, but I don't have enough money to meet all their needs for Costa Rica." Believe me when I say that I hear what you're saying. The great thing, however, is that I'm not asking you to give enough money to meet all our needs. I'm simply asking if you would consider being a part of the team of people working together to accomplish the goal. On March 28, 1990, the Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-113. In that game, Michael Jordan scored an astonishing 69 points. Asked about the feat after the game, Bulls rookie Stacey King's famously quipped, "I'll always remember this as the night that Michael Jordan and I combined for 70 points." Maybe you don't have the financial flexibility to throw in $69, but maybe you can give $1. Maybe you can't give $100, but you can give $5 or $10. Maybe you can't give $25 or $50 each month, but you can give $5 or $10 each month. Maybe you can't commit monthly but could give $1,000 as a one-time gift. Or maybe you could give $100 or maybe $10 or maybe $1. I'm not asking anyone to partner with a donation beyond their means (that's for individuals to decide). I'm asking for people who believe in us and what we're doing to partner with a donation comfortable for them. Maybe it means sacrificing one Starbucks drink a month or something along those lines. Maybe it won't mean any additional sacrifice at all. Only you know that.

Is is hard to ask people for money? Well, that depends. I've been raising money for charities/ministries for much of my life. I've never really had any trouble asking. But when it's for the ministry we're involved with, it does make it a little harder. So, how can I do it? Because it's necessary to accomplish the task I'm so passionate about. And because I know that I have given/give to missionaries and other charities/ministries. I'm not asking anyone to do anything that I haven't and don't still continue to do.

You know what else is exciting? Assemblies of God World Missions just updated our giving page to be more user friendly. Donors can now:

• Sign up for recurring credit card donations, including monthly commitments.
• Opt to share their e-mail address.
• Do the above things immediately as a guest without setting up an account first.
• Using an account has benefits though, such as the bullet items below.
• People can use their AGPassport user name and password to log in to giving.ag.org.
• Manage their giving online without having to call the national office.
• Securely save multiple credit cards online and choose between them for future donations or give to past designations (“one click” checkout).
• Manage multiple recurring schedules.
• Optimize their giving on their smartphones/tablets.
• Track donations over time and graph them.
• Print off their own annual giving receipts. Please note that this will now be the only place where you can get your own receipt (for tax purposes) for giving to General Council accounts.

So, hopefully you can see my excitement for Costa Rica. And hopefully you understand my heart and the need to discuss the finances. Please know that I won't be offended by or think any less of anyone who chooses not to partner with us financially. We ask that you still think of us in your prayer and pray that God would send the right people to partner with us. We also would love to add you to our newsletter distribution list if you have yet to do so. We know that God will provide and we will arrive in Costa Rica when He chooses. Are you willing to allow Him to use you to be part of the solution in partnering with us!

In Christ,

Mike

Through the Eyes of a Child

I was thinking and reflecting on my drive to work this morning when something struck me. Polly and I have shared our hearts, thoughts and feelings about our missionary itineration journey through our blogs (this blog and Polly's personal blog) and our Newsletter, but Genevieve has not had the same opportunity. So I thought it might be fun, different, unique, interesting, (insert your preferable relevant adjective here) to try to get into the mind of a 20 month old and express her heart, thoughts and feelings regarding this journey. As such, the italicized section is meant to be read as though it's from Genevieve's mind. Emboldened portions are meant to show how she would actually verbally communicate. Enjoy.

Oooh, look. A room full of toys. I could have so much fun playing with all those. Yeah, yeah, I want to play with them. Mama, put me down, put me down. "Mama. Down." Wait a minute. This morning, Mama said we're going to church. And this doesn't look like Calvary. I'm not really sure who any of these people are. Every time Mama says we're going to church, they drop me in a room full of toys with people I don't know. Whenever I turn around, they're gone. Wait a minute. They're going to do that again aren't they. They're going to leave me here and I won't get to see them for a while. Maybe forever. What if they never come back. Maybe if I cry really loud they'll know how much I don't want them to leave me and they'll just take me with them or stay and play with me. "Waaaaaaahhhhhh. Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh. Mama. Da-da. No. No. Mama. Da-da. No. No. Waaaaaaahhhhhhh. Waaaaaahhhhhhh." What? They're going to leave me again anyway. Why would they do this to me? I don't like when Mama and Da-da leave me. I love them so much. They love me too. I know they do because they always tell me and spend time with me. But why did they leave me again? I miss them already. I think I still hear Da-da's voice. Come to think of it, I always hear Da-da's voice. He's really loud. Well, maybe he'll still hear me if I cry loud enough and then come back and get me. I wish I could look him in the eyes. I know he cannot resist me when I look him in the eyes. But he can't see me. I can't see him. I can't see Mama. I miss them. I want them to come pick me up. "Waaaaaahhhhhhh. Mama. Da-da. Mama. Da-da. Waaaaaahhhhh." They're still not coming. I don't know why. I've been crying for a few minutes now. Oooh, look at all these toys. These look so fun. I want to play with them all. Oh, look other kids my size. Maybe they want to play with me too. I want a snack. I wonder if that nice looking lady knows where my snacks are. I could show her where they are but my bag's way up on that counter. I know, I can point to it. Oh, she is giving me my snacks. Mama must have told her about them. I'm not surprised. Mama always remembers my snacks. She loves me. I hope they come back for me. What's that noise outside the door. It sounds like there are parents out there. Maybe one of them is Mama. Is she there? I don't see her. I want this other parent to move out of the way so I can see if Mama's back them. There she goes. Who else is there? Is it Mama. Yes, it's Mama. It's Mama! "MAMA! Ah yo (I love you)! Mama! Da-da?" Oh, I hope she's bringing me to see Da-da now. Yes, every time she comes and gets me and then she brings me to Da-da. Oh, I hear a loud voice. I know that voice. That voice is..."DA-DA! Ah yo! Da-da!" I knew Da-da would want to hold me too. I know he loves me. We had a long drive this morning. I'm getting kind of sleepy. We always each lunch before we drive home. I can probably sleep in the drive home. I hope Mama and Da-da let me listen to my songs this time instead of theirs. Anyway, I'm tired. I know. I'll just lay my head on Da-da's shoulder. Mmmmm. So comfy. I knew they would come back!

I can't be certain that this is an accurate depiction of what goes on in her mind, but based on what we can see, this is the way that makes the most sense to me in trying to piece it together.

You see, when Polly and I wrote about our sense of community and our feelings about visiting different churches each week, we failed to take Genevieve's feelings into account. I mean, don't get me wrong, we think about and discuss them. We just didn't think to write about them. The truth is that Genevieve never really experienced (or at least never communicated to us) separation anxiety until we started visiting different churches every week. It is tough on her and thus tough on us to drop her off at a different church nursery with different people every week. When we stepped down from Calvary AG and stopped attending there on a weekly basis, Polly and I were not the only ones leaving behind our church family, our friends. Genevieve has friends that she loves playing with at Calvary AG. When we visited recently, I think she very much enjoyed seeing them again. She had grown used to seeing and playing with the same kids every week. It's tough for her to see different kids every week. She was used to and had grown to love her teachers. It's tough for her to see different teachers every week. In fact, we have had her returned to us at one service because she never would stop crying. They brought her into the back of the sanctuary and all could hear her yelling for Mama. But, this is a good opportunity for her to grow too. Polly's a stay-at-home mom so we never drop Genevieve off at day care. She needs to grow used to not always being with us. This is an important step in the process toward the independence she will need to thrive later in life. Hopefully, there will come a point when she does realize that we always come back for her so she doesn't have to be worried that we're going to leave her hanging. Of course, hopefully there will come a point when I realize that God will always provide for me and be there for me and that I don't have to worry that He'll leave me hanging. Hmmm...I think I just got a good sermon illustration there.

Aside from the separation anxiety situation, the other major way that Genevieve has been effected through this process is with her schedule. She usually goes down late for a nap on Sundays these days. And she often has to ride in the car for stretches of over an hour. The blessing in this is that since we've started itinerating, she's become quite content riding in the car and has even actually started taking naps in the car in the afternoon AND we can move her to her crib when we get home (she used to go 6 hours car rides without sleeping and it used to be that once she was up from a nap, she was up). She's certainly reaching a much more reasonable age for this to not be such a big deal, so that has been beneficial.

The alternative, of course, is not bringing Genevieve with us when we travel to churches, but I love having the whole family there when possible. Genevieve is a part of our missionary adventure to Costa Rica. Let's be honest, people would rather see her than me anyway. There have been a couple services where we didn't take Genevieve along for her convenience. I've even done a couple services without Polly. But we want these occasions to be the exception and not the rule.

So, if you've been praying for us and want to know what you can pray for, please pray for Genevieve as we visit different churches.

Thanks!

In Christ,

Mike

Home Sweet Home

I mentioned in our last blog (and newsletter) about traveling around to different churches every week and how that has affected our sense of community. It has been great finding community with new people at new churches. We consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to see more and more of the body of Christ each week. We truly have enjoyed our visit to every single church we've visited. At each one we've found pastors with great hearts for missions and parishioners with a desire to hear our hearts for Costa Rica. It's been amazing to me how often I've felt as though I could see myself attending these churches on a regular basis. Yet, with all that said, there have been two churches that we've visited the last few months (one of which we will be visiting again twice next month) that have been a little extra special for us: North Shore Assembly of God in Malden, MA and Capital Assembly of God in Trenton, NJ.

North Shore AG in Malden, MA is the church my (Mike's) family started attending in the spring of 1988 when I was just shy of five years old. Twenty four years later, my parents still faithfully attend this church. Though I ultimately credit my parents first and foremost for training me in the way I should go (after all, this is the parents' responsibility), the church was a great complimentary assistant in that process as well. It was during these years that I was saved, water baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit and called into ministry. I have great respect for Rev. T. Kenneth Norcross (the senior pastor when I was a small boy), Rev. Steven Antin (the man I called my senior pastor for much of my life), Rev. Anders Eliason (the current lead pastor and an associate pastor of much of my life), Rev. Matt Yukon (my first youth pastor), Rev. Troy Mini (my youth pastor through my critical high school years) and all the other pastors who served that church during my time there. I also have great respect for the many, many lay leaders who poured into my life through the years. I could probably name them all but I don't want to list them for fear that I might accidentally omit one. If you're reading this and you're one of them...thank you! It's true, I have a lot of gratitude for the people who faithfully served in various capacities at North Shore AG over the years. This is why it is still so precious and special for me when I have the opportunity to visit. This is why I was so blessed to have the opportunity to preach there in July (non-missions related) and will have the privilege to preach there twice in October (once to the youth, once in the regular Sunday worship service; both missions-related).

Capital AG in Trenton, NJ (or Hamilton, NJ if you care to be technical I suppose) is the church where Polly's mom began attending as a teenager and where Polly was raised her whole life. Much like my own life, we know that her parents were the most important people with regard to her spiritual growth, but like North Shore AG for me, the church played a great complimentary role in Polly's life. She was dedicated to the Lord there as a baby by Rev. John Cairns (the current senior pastor's father), was saved, water baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit and called into ministry while attending Capital AG. I'm sure she too could list off pastors (including Rev. Jack Cairns, the current senior pastor and her youth pastor Rev. Jeff Spuler) and lay leaders who were valuable and instrumental to her life. This is also the church where Polly and I vowed our lives to one another in holy matrimony. This is why it was so special for us to have the opportunity to preach in their missions convention this past weekend.

Yes, we have enjoyed visiting other churches and meeting new people. Yes, we love our home church of Calvary AG in Dudley, MA where we now attend their new Bible study on Wednesday nights. Yes, we will undoubtedly love the body of believers we fellowship with and find community with when we will be in Costa Rica. But nothing can ever/will ever take away from the incredibly special, unique places these churches have in our hearts. This is why I'm unashamed to say that our recent visits (and upcoming visits) to these churches are very, very dear to us.

(To see when we'll be at North Shore AG and the rest of our itineration schedule, please click on the new link on the top of this page)

In His service,

Mike

A Growing Community

In our first official newsletter, Polly wrote a blurb about community.  That blurb was spurred by this simple question by a friend of mine recently: "Now that you are traveling around to different churches every week, how do you find your sense of community?" I hadn't really put much thought into that aspect of things, but thought it was a completely relevant, valid question. Polly's blurb read as follows:

Someone asked Mike recently how we keep up with "community" as we itinerate.  We are no longer a regular part of a church body, and it can be difficult to feel connected and to experience fellowship as we are busy traveling.  Our answer is simply that we have to work at it.  We try to spend time with friends and family as much as we can.  We continue to stay connected with our church family on facebook, and will try when we can to attend events and fellowship opportunities.  In ministry, we feel it is vital to maintain relationships with others as they can bring encouragement and accountability, as well as some laughter and fun, which is also good for the soul!

(If you have not received our newsletter but would like to receive the most recent and all future newsletters, you can sign up for our distribution list by clicking here)

I think Polly did a great job of communicating how we felt about this after we discussed it with one another. However, with more time to reflect, we have a new vantage point to add to that response. This addition came as a response to two specific emails that we received in response to that newsletter.

The first was a response from a missionary friend who has already gone through this process and who is currently serving on the field. She encouraged us to look at visiting new churches and meeting new people as expanding our community, not decreasing it. We don't lose the community at our church, but we do gain community with other people. I thought this was a great way to look at things.

That email was complimented by a second email, which was sent from a partner church who already supports us. It was a simple reminder that the community we became a part of at that church is thinking about and praying for us. What an encouraging email! This email proved the validity of the first email.

Polly and I really have felt so blessed at each church we have visited. The people we have met have been so warm and friendly and caring. It has been nice to connect with people we would not otherwise have connected with. Every time I leave a church, I'm sad to think that I won't see the new members of our community for a while. But each new week, we're blessed to keep adding to the scope and size of that community. It is easy to see how true that concept shared with us is. We just hadn't really thought through it to that degree.

Armed with this realization of that truth, I felt like we embraced the community we were blessed with this weekend just a little bit more than we had. On Friday, Polly went to a women's event at the church I grew up at. The ladies were so welcoming to her, really making her feel a sense of belonging. Yesterday, we had an opportunity to fellowship with some of the people at the church we visited. We really had a great time. I don't think we were treated any differently this weekend than we had been treated to this point. In fact, I know that's not the case. We just recognized and appreciated it more than we had to this point.

And even though, as I mentioned, we will not see many of these wonderful people for a while, we feel like the blessing of intercessory prayer (from us for them and from them for us) keeps us unified and connected. This is where we find our sense of community, as a body of believers. We just get the privilege of meeting different members of the body these days. God is so good!

God bless,

Mike

Fresh Vision, New Friendships

We arrived home from our Pre-field Orientation (PFO) a little over a week ago, but this is the first real opportunity to focus on writing to catch everyone up to speed on how things went in Missouri. I already covered the first couple days of PFO in the last post, so I will do my best to cover the rest in this one.

Saying Good-bye

As I mentioned before, this was going to be the first time Polly spent significant chunks of multiple days away from Genevieve. The first Monday morning (June 11) was the first session and thus, the first time Polly had to say good-bye to the little one while we were there. You never know how most kids will do being released to a complete stranger while watching mama and dada walk away. Notice how I say "most" kids. You actually do know exactly how Genevieve will respond...with no issues. We handed her over to her "chief" Chief Ommack and said good-bye. One look at all the toys and she was off to the races. She didn't even notice us walk away. She just wanted to play. This was basically the theme of each time we dropped her off (after breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner). She did have a couple times strewn in where she wanted a hug from mama and dada first, but she was still happy to see Chief Ommack and happy to play.

Sleepless in Springfield

As suspected, Genevieve had a tough time napping and difficult time falling asleep. One night, she even stayed up until 11:30 pm. That's 3 1/2 hours after her normal bedtime. Add that to the fact that we were an hour behind and you will understand why she was pretty tired at times while we were there. She did improve as we went along. Near the end, she was wanting Polly and me to be next to her while she fell asleep which is unlike her. It wasn't until we got home that we discovered that Genevieve had picked up a virus and was not feeling well. Things made a lot more sense. Still, she was a good baby while we were out there.

Friends for Everyone

I had heard from numerous missionaries that it's common to make strong friendships while at PFO. And sure enough, it didn't long for Polly and me to make new friends. Some will be friends for life, without question. What was fun for us, however, was that we weren't the only ones developing friendships. Genevieve made quite a few new friends of her own. One little girl, Raeah is only 3 months younger and is also headed (with her parents and brother) to San Jose, Costa Rica. Then there is Daniel. He is only 2 months younger than Genevieve and they LOVED playing together. They would tackle each other and giggle. One day, when Daniel and his family was heading to breakfast (after he and Genevieve had played a little) I took Genevieve's hand to walk her back to the room. She started fussing and said, "No. No. Daniel. Daniel." It was so sweet. We felt so blessed to not only make new friends, but also with the quality of those friendships!

Regionally Speaking

The Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the first week was broken down by regions. Costa Rica falls in the Latin America & the Caribbean Region. This was our first introduction to our Regional Directors - Dick & Cynthia Nicholson and our Area Directors - Jay & Nancy Dickerson. We also met other great Area Directors and new missionaries. We went for dinner with the Nicholsons one night and had smoothies with the Dickersons the next. We enjoyed our conversations with both.

Second Sunday, Second Preaching Engagement

My friend Bobby called me on Friday to ask if we would be willing to come and share our hearts for Costa Rica and preach on Father's Day. Of course we were willing. We were obviously grateful for the opportunity and had a wonderful service. We then went over his parents house for a wonderful Father's Day lunch. It was very special to be able to spend the day with a family I have known for most of my life and love so much. In fact, we ended up having a delicious steak dinner with them (the parents) later that week. Such a simple thing, but we were so blessed by it.

Commissioned

We were commissioned as official AGWM Missionary Associates at a nice ceremony on Thursday, June 21st. We were so blessed by all the people praying for us and wishing us well. Earlier that night they had the Missionary Kid (MK) graduation. Genevieve was so cute and got her first trophy. She loved the program so much. Equally as important, we loved the program so much. That was a special day all around.

Hard to Say Goodbye

It was not easy saying goodbye to our newly established friends, but such is life. We are thankful for the technology that will allow us to maintain those friendships.

Dinner & Wisdom

That last Friday night, our friends Jon and Jen took us to our favorite Springfield Restaurant, Zio's. The we went over Jen's parent's house. Jen's parents are very well known missionaries in the AG and wonderful people. Her dad offered up some fatherly wisdom and gave Genevieve a Bible (as in the same one I was thinking of getting her earlier that day). We had some great fellowship. Jon and I stayed up a while catching up. It was a great night to end a great two weeks.

Home Again

Naturally, Genevieve did not sleep until we were off the plane and on the ride back home from the airport. And I will tell you this, for as much as we loved our time in Springfield, we were happy to be home again.

Right Back at it

We came home on Saturday and relaxed a little while before going to bed. The next morning, we were right back at it again with a church service (Sturbridge, MA) which went well. That Sunday night, we had a party with our youth and I shared a little from my heart one last time before we prayed for each of them. It was a great way to end our time serving Calvary AG. But I'll share more about that next time.

I want to say thanks to everyone who prayed for us while we were at PFO in Missouri. Your prayers were greatly appreciated and incredibly efficient!

God bless,

Mike