Week 4 - "And that's all I know about that . . . ."

Welcome back for the fourth week of

"And that's all I know about that . . . . "

This week I would like for you to meet my friend

Nikki Antone

We have only been friends for 9 months.  I met her in October of 2011.  Her family graciously opened their home for a week and let the "Wild Wyatt's" move in.  We fell in love with this family from day one.  We just so happened to be in their home, in Detroit, the week that the Texas Rangers played the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship.  After church each night we would gather around the television cheering on our home teams.  I have to say, that their children stole our hearts that week.  We still laugh about sweet Danny sleeping in the closet!!  I asked Nikki to share her testimony with you this week.  She is a "new" Christian.  I hope you enjoy what she has to say.




Nikki, Jeff, Danny, Joey and Grace



I am Chaldean.  I’m assuming you have no idea what I’m talking about so I’ll explain.  It is pronounced CAL-de-ann. Many people living outside of the Detroit area have never heard of this culture.  In very simple terms, Chaldeans are Eastern Rite Catholic Arabs (the Eastern Rite is simply a minority branch of the Roman Catholic Church).  My husband’s parents were born in Iraq, and my dad was born in the US shortly after his parents came over from Iraq.  My mom is American, which makes me what I like to call a half breed J  The thing about being Chaldean is that it is a small group of people who came here with absolutely nothing and worked really hard to make a name for themselves and be successful. Everyone knows everyone, and everyone is the other person’s “cousin”.  I grew up watching people compete for material things like cars and houses, and watched so many people work countless hours in their party stores to obtain this kind of success.  Chaldeans are very proud of their heritage and in terms of religion, they are very proud of their Catholicism, even though I would guess, most of them don’t know what the Catholic Church truly believes. 

I fell into that last category quite nicely, despite going to a Roman Catholic school for 9 years.  My husband, Jeff, however, REALLY knew what he was supposed to believe, and he and his family REALLY believed the church teachings.  However, when Jeff and I became engaged and wanted to get married in a Roman Catholic Church, we were told by the Chaldean Bishop that our marriage wouldn’t be recognized under God because we were born into the Eastern Rite of Catholicism and needed to be married by an Eastern Rite priest.  It was then that we really started having some serious questions and it became much clearer to us that we needed to find some answers.

At this point I still felt I did most things right.  I was baptized as a baby, received my first communion in 2^nd grade, and went to church most Sundays.  I didn’t think I was such a bad person- in fact, I thought I was a pretty good person, but I always knew I didn’t agree with every teaching of the Catholic church.   I was what you would call a “Cafeteria Catholic”, picking and choosing what I wanted to believe.  I was okay with that because I loved being part of a big community and a worldwide religion.  I figured, if it was good enough for millions of people, it must be good enough for me. 

However, I started to feel uncomfortable with the fact that I knew something wasn’t right…now I know that was when God started working on my heart and that of the heart of my husband.  We began our journey by attending many different churches and talking to many different people of all denominations, while still attending the Catholic Church, but we were diligently trying to find answers.  This went on for a few years and it wasn’t until we started studying the bible that our lives were forever changed. 

It took a couple years of studying the bible and listening to sermons daily to finally realize it didn’t matter what denomination of Christianity I labeled myself, but what did matter was that I was a true follower of Jesus Christ.  Sadly, when I looked at myself through God’s eyes, I realized I wasn’t a good person at all.  I read that gossiping is just as wicked as murder, and that really made me think.  I read that nobody was good enough to go to heaven and there was nothing I could do that could get me there on my own.   But I also read that when we believe in Jesus and follow Him with our whole hearts we are clothed in His righteousness and only then does God see us as perfect.  It finally made sense that Jesus came to fulfill the law perfectly, because nobody else could perfectly fulfill it except God himself.

Finally I read that the truth shall set you free and for the first time in my life I knew I had the truth and I never felt so free. 

During this same time in which God was working on my heart, he was softening Jeff’s heart and his 2 brothers’ hearts, and his parents’ hearts as well…a mini revival some would say J  This was a huge deal for Jeff’s family because his mom literally had keys to the church down the street.  She would attend mass daily and she literally devoted her life to the teachings of the Catholic church and serving others.  She was the president of a very prominent Chaldean charity and when word got out that she was leaving the Catholic Church things got really crazy.  When I say people were gossiping about her, I am putting it mildly.  Not only did everyone in the community know, but there were letters that went out advising people to spit in her face if they saw her.  Obviously, the writer of these letters was a person on a mission to slander her and my family.  The letters called us devil worshipers and led my mother-in-law to file a police report.  She has since passed away and some people said it was because she “switched religions”.  Throughout it all, our faith grew stronger and God showed us what persecution was and that it was okay because we knew the truth.  I may have not known then but I know now what James meant when he said, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds”, because knowing Christ is more joyful than any evil on this earth that can be brought near you. 

Even though my parents didn’t agree with our choices, they still stood up for us, and stood their ground when people whispered behind their backs.  I am still in prayer that God will open their eyes one day soon.

Although, there was no one moment for me that I can say I was reborn, many things have changed for me in the past couple of years.  I no longer rely on any man or woman for the truth about God.  I rely on God himself through the gift of His word. 

I have had many struggles on this journey the past few years.  I don’t understand everything I read and frankly, a lot of it is very difficult to swallow.  The idea that there really is a hell and that many more people will be there than in heaven saddens me beyond belief.

But I also understand that the secret things belong to God and we are commanded to trust God, just like little children do, because he is Just.

I trust God and His promises.  I am amazed at His faithfulness.  I prayed for Him to open my eyes, and He did.  I prayed for Him to find us a good church, and He has.  I continue to pray for the knowledge of how to raise our 3 children in a Godly home even though we got a late start, and He is working there as well.  I have also prayed for my husband to be a Godly leader of our family, and because God is faithful He has brought 2 men into his life to mentor him and they are amazing.

I met Cristy when we hosted her beautiful family for a week last year when she was on deputation.  I didn’t know a lot about Missions then, and I think she found it interesting the questions I had because it was so second nature to her.  Now, I understand the great commission.  Now I understand the need to go out and tell the world, and now my prayer is that God gives me the power and strength and guts to go out and tell the world myself.  I know He will, because He is faithful.

And that is all I know about that . . .

Bible study

For the last three weeks my friend, Junko* and I have been meeting at Mr. Doughnut.  We arrive each week around 10 am.  We get a doughnut and an ice coffee for 300 yen.  We eat our doughnut and talk about our week.  The kids, the weather, what we are having for dinner.  {by the way, she wants me to teach her how to make Texas Taco's ~ the Japanese word for squid is tako so I call them Texas Taco's so she understands NO SQUID}  After our doughnuts are gone, we open the Bible and study. 

She has so many questions and she is slowing understanding about God.  We had to start at the very beginning - creation.  You see, the Japanese people believe in evolution.  And why should they not, they have no concept of God.  None.  They have gods and idols but they have NEVER heard about the one and only God ~ my God, Jehovah, my Provider, the Light of the world, Yahweh.


So each week we get a little bit more into the Word.  Each week she has more questions and each week I try to explain in simple words about Jesus and His love for us.

This Friday, we read the verse, Mark 16:15 "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to all the world."  She read it from the Japanese Bible, I read it from the English Bible.  She paused, and then she read it from my Bible.  She looked at me and said, "That is what you did.  That is why you left America."  A lump grew in my throat, my eyes welled with tears.  I swallowed hard and said, "Yes, this is why I left America.  This, pointing to my Bible, is why I left my family.  God tells us that we should share this Good news of Jesus with everyone."  She grabbed my hand and said, "Thank you."


Please keep praying for Junko. 


*Junko is pronounced June-co

Parachutes, water balloons and sight seeing

Over the last two week we have been super busy.  There was a missions team from New Hampshire that came to help with Vacation Bible School.  They were here for 12 days. 

We started off with an International Children's Day at the town community center.  We had a good turn out of parents and kids.  We played games, sang songs and had a Bible story.  It was a good chance to meet many people from our town. 

Playing the Waddle Walk game.  She was so excited.

Playing a game with the parachute.

We then took a few days to take the team sight seeing.  Over two days we visited Karatsu, Arita, Nagasaki and Beppu Japan.  We had a chance to tour a castle, visit a pottery village, see Peace Park and the Peace Museum, play with the monkeys on Monkey Mountain, and see the 7 jigoku (translated hell) hot springs. 

Armor from the castle in Karatsu

The pottery village in Arita - made to look like Europe.

A monument in the location of the bomb drop in Nagasaki, Japan

1000 folded paper cranes for prayers of Peace.

Makes me think -

No God, No Peace.  Know God, Know Peace.

A monkey in Beppu, Japan

Soaking our feet in water from the hot springs!

Then we had a two day Vacation Bible School, called Summer Splash!!  With our church building being so small we had to break the VBS into age groups.  This way we could have more kids attending all day long.  ::This also meant we were at the church for 12 hours each day putting on the VBS::  So we started the day with ages 3-7 for 2 hours, then 8-12 for 2 hours and then 12-14 for 2 hours.  It made for a long day but the kids had fun and were able to hear about Jesus. 

Even in the rain the kids wanted to play with the parachute!!

The older (and last) group of kids had fun with the water games too!

One thing that made a huge impression with the Japanese kids was the parachutes the missions team brought with them.  Most of the kids and parents had never played with a parachute before.  They loved it!!  It was almost as big a hit as the water balloons.  Mike and I are looking to get one now.  There are so many games that can be played with the parachute!!  This would be awesome to use with the park ministry.  The kids would love it!! 

A few from inside the parachute.

Here is a video of some of our high lights from the last two weeks.  Thanks so much to those of you who help to support our ministry here in Japan.  This is why we are here.  Because of those who have never heard of Jesus. 

 Thank you!!

PS - the story of the little girl in the video is of me!! 

Week 3 - And that's all I know about that . . .

This week I would like for you to meet my friend 

 Amy Litton

I have known Amy for about 20 years.  The first time we meet was at my sisters wedding.  I was 15 years old.  She was decorating the fellowship hall at the church and I was amazed at how she had turned the drab tan room into a beautiful spring bouquet of colors.  I don't think I talked to her again until 1997, when I was asking her to help decorate the fellowship hall for my wedding.  And again she did an amazing job.  Because that is what Amy does!  She is the most creative person I know.  Our friendship didn't really bloom until 8 years ago.  God placed her right in my path again.  Mike and I and the kids had just moved back to Texas.   I was hurt and really needed a friend.  Someone who understood how I felt.  Understood how hard it can hurt to be wounded by another Christian.  Although we never really got into deep, theological discussions about picking yourself up, dusting off the hurt and moving forward.  She helped me so much.  We did however, bury ourselves in late night scrapbook parties, and scraping my parents life in an album for their 35th wedding anniversary.  Our families grew closer and our kids became "cousins" because they didn't understand we are not really related even though they both share cousins.  She has been an encouragement to me in so many ways, a sounding board for me and someone to help me keep my focus. 

Without further ado . . . . here's Amy.

JOY

My subject is 3rd generation Christian.  I am supposed to tell you all I know about being a third generation Christian (really at least 4th generation, maybe more...).  Well, I thought maybe I would just give you a list of who I am and what I know/think about being a Christian:

Sam , Don , Am y, Susie , Eli

I was (obviously) raised in a Christian home.

I was schooled in a Christian school.

    I loved Christian school - for me it was a wonderful and safe place to grow up.

I was at church ALL the time and I do mean all the time.

The earliest lesson I remember from Sunday School is JOY - Jesus, Others, You.
   This really works, by the way.

My parents divorced -

research your facts and you will see that this is very common among Christians.

I love my KJV Bible -

 there is beauty in the words that I do not find in the newer 'more understandable' versions.

    PS - I believe the KJV has much to do with the fact that I had a fairly large vocabulary at a young age.

I do not know all there is to know about my Bible or Christianity or the Baptist church.

I do not believe that I am better than anyone else - Christian or not.

 Ephesians 2:8-9 

"it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

I NEVER pray for patience.

I have a terrible temper.

I fail every single day in some way.

To quote Keith Green (http://www.lastdaysministries.org/),

"I'm such a bad example, and you know I'm so full of pride."

Something Pastor Jim Schettler preached when I was in college changed the way I think about being a Christian - the 'broad' and 'narrow' roads are not separate paths, rather the narrow road runs right up the middle of the broad road, only in the opposite direction.

Something I've learned in life - Christ-like is not the same for everyone.  There is no long list in the Bible that says, "To be Christ-like you must..." and if there were my life would be a whole lot simpler.

I don't agree with everything every other Christian says or does

(see 'Christ-like' point above).

I have family and friends who need Jesus.

I fear that my children could make mistakes that might doom

future generations to a Christ-less eternity.

I don't care for most tele-evangelists.

I think I am a fanatic - I hope so, anyway.

I don't present the gospel like I should.

I fear rejection.

I get depressed.

Sometimes I question...shocking isn't it?

I know that sin is humbling, pride goeth before a fall, hell is real, God is not fair - He is just and merciful but not fair - life is short, opportunities to serve and minister happen every day, and God loves me in spite of my many shortcomings.

I know that I am going to heaven when I die - not because my grandparents or parents believe but because I accepted Christ’s sacrifice for my sins.  My relationship with God is mine and no amount of belief on the part of past generations of my family could have given me eternal life.  Their examples may have led to my own acceptance, but it had to be my choice.

I pray for future generations of this family that their choice will be Christ.

And that's all I know about that . . . .

Did you enjoy this?  She writes her own blog.  You should go check it out.
http://cropcirclesamy.blogspot.jp/2012/06/christians-are-never-depressed.html

Week 2 ~ And that's all I know about that . . . .

I would like to take a moment and introduce you to my best friend.  We  have known each other for 36 years.  For about 15 years I was convinced she would never be my friend.  We love each other unconditionally and know many secrets about each other.  For instance - she can pinch you hard enough to bruise you with her toes!  She does not ever want her feet touched - EVER.  If you do, there is a good chance she will kick you.  She hates mice.  She loves to have fun.  She knows how to fry just about anything.  Her favorite desert is Lemon Ice Box pie and she eats it straight from the pie pan.  She talks with her hands.  She loves jewelry, purses and shoes.  She is a little OCD because she will point out when someones shoes and purse don't match!  She loves a good bargain and will buy two or three of something if you tell her it's on sale!  My children think she is awesome.  She tells them they are precious and she lets them eat desert first.

I would like for you to meet my mother

Sheila Scott

This week she will be telling us about being a Pastors Wife.

Pastors Wife

Our life in the ministry:

July 1977  Bill surrender to preach

January 1979 move to Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College

July 1981 moved to Lubbock, TX

February 1982 moved to Dumas, TX

November 1983 moved to Early, TX

June 1984 to 1985 Rest

June 1985 moved to Snyder, TX

August 1987 moved to Clyde, TX

February 1994 moved to Merkel, TX

May 2011 retired

June 2012 Grape Creek, TX

We started out on this journey with the Lord as two twenty-somethings with 2 young girls and now we are a little older and a lot wiser.  We have 3 children in full time service and 8 Grandchildren.  God is so good.

Bill and Sheila Scott

We mostly pastored small churches.  Small country churches.  We didn't always have a full staff.  And by staff I mean unpaid, volunteers to teach Sunday School, to clean the church, to work on the church bus or even to lead the music.  Sometimes we even didn't have a piano player.  Its fun to try and sing without a piano player.  God is so good.

Some things I learned along the way -

1.  Every church has “Busy Bee”. 

She will tell you more than you ever wanted to know.  She is the one who always has the best "prayer request."  She knows every detail about everything and everyone in town. And she loves to give the gossip details, just ask her.

2.  Every church has a “Granny”.  

Her kids and grand kids will say, after you tell them they can’t do something, “But my Granny said I could!"  She is the one who has been a member the longest.  She was there when they first hung the picture of Jesus and the children in the church nursery, so don't you move it, because Granny said it could stay forever!!

3.   And every church has a “Shirley”.

Every pastor’s wife needs a Shirley.   She is always there for you. She never complains.  She just wants to serve the Lord.  She wants to help the pastor’s wife. She is your biggest cheerleader, yet she wants no recognition. 

And of course there will always be someone who says,

“We’ve never done it that way, we always did it this way”

Or they’ll say

“You can’t take that down, Granny made that and put it up in 1950.”

You have to learn to have thick skin. You have to learn to smile and say,

"Is that so?"

Meagan, Sheralyn, Rachal, Noah, Jonah, Maylee, Nate and Eli

During the early years of ministry we moved every 1-2 yrs. This was very hard on the kids.  It was hard to end friendships and build new ones.   When we told the kids we were moving from Snyder, TX to Clyde, TX Cristy sat in the living room floor and said “I’m not moving!!” but of course she moved with us and after the first day of school she came home and said “I just love it here”.

My biggest pet peeve was when people placed restrictions on my kids because of the position my husband held.

“Since your kids are preacher’s kids do you really think they should do that?”

We always taught our kids that

you do it because it’s right and you don’t do it because it’s wrong

it has nothing to do with being a preachers kid. 

This helped them to not feel labeled.  They are each different people with different interest and personalities.  Why should they be held back at something because their father is a preacher.  Holly was a cheerleader in high school.  Cristy played softball.  Phillip played football.  They each had friends in and out of church.  They each had the chance to see life and work though some tough things while still under our roof and our guidance.  They each had a chance to be a kid, make mistakes and watch us show them grace and love just like our Father shows us.

Cristy, Mike

Rachal, Eli, Jonah, Noah

We have always had to live by Faith.
Very early on in ministry I claimed Psalms 46:10 as my life verse.

Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Sometimes it is very hard to be still.  Sometimes I just want to take the reigns away from God and drive this wagon in the direction I think is best.  But God has had to whisper in my heart many times - Be still and know that I am God.

When God called us to Bible College, Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in San Dimas, CA,  we stepped out on true Faith. Bill and I went to California to look at the college.  The Lord found us a place to live that was less than a mile from the college. We came home and started packing our stuff to move. We did not have the money for a moving van but we knew God would provide. One morning a U-Haul pulled up in front of our home in Sonora, Texas, all gassed up and paid for a trip to San Dimas, CA.

We were your usual Bible College students, we were broke and had to learn how to fully rely on God. The first Christmas in college we went to Sears and bought a $2 Christmas tree, it only had 2 limbs. The girls made homemade ornaments.  It really was a sad looking tree. It made Charlie Brown's tree look good!   If you were to ask our daughters now of their favorite Christmas memory it would be that year. They don’t remember us being broke they remember making the ornaments and making memories. God is so good.

We had also been told that everyone in Bible College has a baby. Well, we knew that wasn’t going to happen to us. And we almost made it. Our son, Philip was born March 1981 and Bill graduated May 1981.

Philip, Michelle and Maylee

We didn’t make much money especially in the small churches. We are not in the ministry for money.  The first church that Bill pastored only paid us $100 a week, but we knew on the first of the month we couldn’t get the kids in the car because our back seat was full of food.

  I remember one time complaining to my Mother that I was so tired of eating Sirloin Steak. She said “Do you hear what you just said?  It sounds like they love you if you are having to eat sirloin every day." The Lord has always blessed us. We never went without food.  We never went without shelter.  We never went without clothes. He gave us everything we needed, in His time and just what we needed.  God is so good.

Phill, Holly, Sheralyn, Meagan, Nate

My favorite thing about ministry has been the Ladies Ministry.  I always want to set an example for them as well as be a spiritual guide.  Ladies Retreats were always a fun time. We would have a Bible Study time and a time to share our burdens and our blessings. This was always kept in confidence and I have never had a problem with burdens being repeated outside of the retreat.  We always find time for some shopping and of course time to let loose and be silly.  One year we slid down the stair case in sleeping bags.  The ladies ministry has been a huge blessing for me.  A chance to really get to know the ladies of the church.  God is so Good.

Bill and I have had the chance to build some amazing friendships over all these years.  We have always been blessed with a family that was just the encouragement we needed.  Children the same ages, going through the same growing pains of life together and growing in our walk with the Lord.  As I look back at all the places that God has taken our family, I look back and think of all the friends we have made.  Friends that have driven miles to attend the weddings of our children, friends that have shown up on our front porch to take us to lunch, friends that have called just to say, "I was thinking about you today."  God is so good.

My husband has always said the best part of our ministry has been our children.

Our oldest daughter (Holly) is married to a wonderful Christian man; she helps him in his prison ministry in Springfield, MO.

Our next daughter (Cristy) is also married to a wonderful Christian man and they are missionaries to Japan.

Our son (Philip) is married to a wonderful Christian lady and they are on staff at Calvary Baptist Church, Odessa, TX

With the three kids we have we also have 8 wonderful Grandchildren that are all active in their parent’s ministries.

God is so good!

And that's all I know about that . . .

Have you ever had one of those days?

Where nothing seems to go as planned?

rained all day

laundry didn't dry

kids not in the mood to clean house

"Don't touch me!"

"She keeps looking at me!"

"Why do we have to clean the toilet EVERY day?"

fighting over Legos

playing together with the Legos

"Lets dump all the Legos out and build the most amazing building!!"

bored with Legos after 10 minutes

forgot to start the rice for lunch

lunch is served at 1:30

two boys playing sumo wrestling

 "Stop!  Someone is going to get hurt!"

bloody nose for 10 minutes

time for supper

clean the kitchen

start baths

iron clothes for church in the morning

sew on a button

kids in bed

mom gets in the shower

mom drops a brand new pack of powder on the floor!

"I give up.  I am going to bed"

Yeah, me neither.  My days always go as planned.

So how was your day?

And that's all I know about that . . . .

Hello friends! 

Over the next 6 weeks I will have a few ladies that

I admire and adore helping me with the blog. 

I want to take this time to share with you how

God uses many different people

in many different places

 to accomplish a common goal -

 seeing lives changed because of God. 

This week it will be me writing.  I want to talk about being a "new missionary". Although I don't know much, here is what I do know.

Let's start from the beginning . . . .
I was raised in a pastors home.  I am a PK {Preachers Kid}.  I always hated that term.  I hated how people assumed I was either really good or really bad.  I never understood why we had to be the first ones at church and the last to leave.  How come we never could skip church on Super Bowl Sunday?  Why did all the good TV shows come on Sunday nights or Wednesday nights?  But anyways, back to the point of the blog.  So I grew up in and around church, from as far back as I could remember we have always been in church.  As a teen I remember telling God at church camp one year - "I sure hope you don't want me to do anything in ministry because I have done my time."  I wanted to be an artist. 

a piece of the puzzle

Jump ahead about 7 years and I am married, two kids, home owner, living in the Holy Land Texas and just about as happy as can be.  My husbands says to me . . . "I think God is calling me into ministry.  I think we should go to Bible College."  So in a matter of two months we both had quit our jobs, sold our home and loaded a moving van and was heading to Springfield, MO again.  {in the 7 year gap Mike and I had met and married at Baptist Bible College in Springfield and then moved back to Texas}

a piece of the puzzle

We had another baby.  
Mike graduated college.  
We moved to the Detroit area.
We worked in a church for a little over a year. 
We made some friends. 
We had another baby.
We moved back to Texas. 
We worked in a church for almost 4 years. 
We built some friendships and learned a lot about ministry.  

a few more pieces to the puzzle

Over all this time Mike would bring up missions.  We would talk about different countries.  I was always negative. I always tried to find an out, an excuses, a reason we could not go. 

"Why another country?  America is full of heathens!  Just look around." 

 But always, we would come back to missions on the foreign field.  And each time I would think back to church camp - "I sure hope you don't want me to do anything in ministry because I have done my time."  I would cry and beg God to change Mike's mind.  One day God changed my mind. One day,  I saw a group of Japanese people and I didn't just see people, I saw souls.  Lost souls.  {This will be a story for another blog.}

a piece of the puzzle

So here I am, a new missionary in Japan.  We have been in Japan for 6 months. WOW - 6 months. We are doing well. We are all learning the language - some of us better than others!! The kids are making friends. Mike is helping to start an English ministry at the church this week. I have made a friend and we are having a Bible study once a week. I have plans to start park ministry in the fall {if I can read the Bible stories by then}. I really am excited to see how God is going to use our little family from Texas in this country, this city, this neighborhood. I feel that we are on the brink of something big here. 

God has done some amazing things in my life.  God has grown my faith by leaps and bounds.  I have a real relationship with God.  Not just Sunday morning, "bless this food", only when I am in trouble, kind of relationship but the real, can't live without Him kind.  And because of this relationship with God all my other relationships have fallen into place too. {not that they were really out of line to begin with} 


You see God took each of these little pieces of the puzzle to start a masterpiece in the Wyatt family, in me.  Each time something happened I questioned God just like the Israelites wandering around for 40 years - Why now?  What are You doing?  How come we have to move again?  Why missions?  Why Japan?  One day I will learn to have complete faith and trust in what God is doing.  One day I will understand in my heart as well as my head that God will not leave me nor forsake me.  I am ready, for the first time in my life, to be completely used by God ~ however He sees fit. 

And that's all I know about that . . . .

"For I know the plans I have for you,”

declares the Lord,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

 plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11