The Lord determines our steps

Hello everyone,

As some of you may be aware, lots of changes have been happening in our lives this year and we are due for an update!

Toward the end of December of last year we thought we should start our "long term missions, short term mission trips" in the summer of this year. Our plan was to go to Mongolia for a few weeks to partner with missionaries and do some evangelism, and return to the same people for the next couple of years in order to build lasting relationships and ensure that they are growing in their faith (see our "Following wherever He leads" blog). As we were eagerly planning for this trip we were unsure whether we should go or not. Since we were not clear on what God's will for this trip was we decided to continue planning until He clearly said 'stop.'

In mid January of this year our financial support began to significantly decline, so we sought the Lord about whether Steve should continue in YWAM or not. Again, God did not say "yes" or "no," so Steve began fundraising. He contacted over 300 churches from Hope, BC to Seattle, Washington and only a small handful considered to even meet with us. It was about the beginning of February when we asked God for a clear sign that Steve should continue in YWAM: God would significantly increase our financial support by the end of February, and if He would not increase our financial support by the end of February, we would take that as a sign from Him that Steve should take a break from YWAM for the foreseeable future.

The beginning of March came around and our support actually slightly decreased with no prospective new supporters. We thought that maybe we should give it some more time, but we also knew that God is able and willing to answer our requests if we are in His will - and He did, in fact, clearly answer our request, and the answer was "Leave YWAM." So Steve informed his boss of the situation, and his boss was very supportive and encouraging.

Steve continued to work with YWAM until the last week of March, when he began looking for a job. He had an interview sometime in the last week of March, and was hired to start work the following week! We were amazed, but certainly not surprised, at God's faithfulness to us and His providence. During his interview Steve also found out the his new employer attends the church I grew up in and that we actually know each other - God has an interesting sense of humor :)

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jag64551/

Since then, Steve has been working as a painter and has been learning a lot from his job. He has learned not only the skills painters require, but has also learned that he wants to do something that challenges him and requires critical thinking. After researching some career options, Steve has decided that he wants to work toward becoming an electrician. 

Steve is currently in the process of applying for schools. That is, meeting with academic advisors, figuring out if his courses will transfer, ordering transcripts - all that fun stuff. Please pray that the application process will go smoothly and that Steve will be accepted to a particular program- The Electrician Joint Training Committee - as this program offers paid work experience and has great reviews. The application deadline is June 7th and we are waiting to see if the courses he took in college will satisfy the prerequisite requirements for this program. If the courses don't transfer, Steve will have to take them and work at the same time, which would be very difficult, and he would not get in to the September 2013 intake.

On another note, I have successfully completed half of my nursing degree and have recently been hired as an Employed Student Nurse (ESN). I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity to practice the nursing skills I have acquired while getting paid! (A good wage, might I add!) I will officially start on Tuesday, April 30th :) Please continue to pray that I do well in nursing and that I always remember to treat each patient with individualized care and compassion - as simple as that sounds, sometimes it's easy to forget in the midst of textbooks, exams, assignments, and medical jargon. Please also pray that I manage my time well this semester, as I will have a full course load and a job that consists of 12 hour day or evening shifts (up to 4 shifts per month).

As this blog is getting a little long, I will write another blog in the next few days detailing our plans for the future in regards to missions. In case you are wondering if this means we will no longer be involved in missions, the short answer is "definitely not!" We know God has called both of us to be missionaries, but we are unsure as to how that will happen...but that story is for the next blog! During this period of transition in our lives we are reminded that "we can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps" (Proverbs 19:6 NLT).

Thank you all for your prayers and support :)

Easy reading is hard writing

It's taken a long, long time, and the journey has been one of a thousand miles, but the work is finally done! You are probably wondering what on earth I'm talking about. Well, as a few of you may know, Steve has been working on writing a book for the past two years or so. It has been hard, unrelenting, brain-wrenching work, and after hundreds of hours of researching, editing, writing, re-writing, and editing some more, Steve has finally published his book on Amazon Kindle! We are very excited for this opportunity to reach out to and encourage our fellow believers. What is the book about, you ask? (Actually, most of you are probably wondering, "What? Steve wrote a book?")

The book is called What you are made for: A journey in learning to follow Jesus, and it details some of Steve's experiences in missions and how he has learned to deepen his relationship with Jesus. He explains what a deep, intimate relationship with Jesus is, how we can deepen our relationship with the Lord, and the effect that an intimate relationship with God has on our lives. He also talks about the importance of understanding our position "in Christ," and explains how our position in Christ practically affects our lives and our relationship with God. He does a great job of entwining his life story with Biblical truths to show how we can live out our faith and cultivate a fulfilling, meaningful, and everlasting relationship with God.

So, how is it that Steve started to write a book in the first place? He never actually intended to write a book - in fact, the idea of being an author never even crossed his mind. He started writing out of utter frustration, in an attempt to understand how his own faith is applicable to real life. A two-page journal entry turned into a 10-page paper, and after weeks of researching the Bible and Christian books (by authors such as Watchman Nee, C.S Lewis, Andrew Murray, and others), Steve began to find the answers to some of his questions. He continued to write out his thoughts and findings, and roughly 200 pages later, a book was born.

So there you have it. Steve's book What you are made for: A journey in learning to follow Jesus will be available to purchase for $3.99 on your Kindle or Kindle app on and after February 20, 2013. We hope you take a look at it and that this book will be an encouragement to you!

UPDATE (Feb. 20, 2013): You can find What you are made for: A journey in learning to follow Jesus on the Amazon US store and on the Amazon Canada store.