If you would have told me that nearly a year from that day that Jessie and I would be where we're at today I would have told you that you needed help.
For starters, we were at a church that we loved... serving on a staff that we loved. Our house on Blackfoot was exactly what we wanted... even had the wood deck that I just had to have! We were surrounded by friends that we loved and were very excited about what God was doing in Sandy Lake. We loved our students and looked forward to spending many years of our lives with them.
It's funny how quickly things change...
If I would have known that a year later that Jessie and I would be in Kalamazoo serving at a new church, that my mother and grandfather would have passed away, and that we'd be living in a new home, I'm not sure what I would have done. But thankfully, God didn't reveal those things to me... not all at once anyways.
Has 2008 been a tough year? Yes. Has God been faithful? Absolutely!
Looking back, it all went so quickly. I received the call to consider submitting a resume at Lighthouse, two days later I left with a mission team to Hephzibah in Macon, GA. When I returned, I wrestled with the decision to submit a resume. After praying and seeking guidance from a few men I deeply respect, I decided to submit the resume. Just a day later, I got the phone call that they wanted to have Jessie and I up for an interview.
The night of the interview, at 4am, my stepfather gave his life to Jesus Christ. Just 8 hrs later, I was across the table at lunch with my mother listening to her tell me how she desired to recommit her life to Christ. Shortly before that lunch, I had received the phone call extending the offer to join the ministry team at Lighthouse Community Church.
That Wednesday, I met with the Board of SLW and shared with them the incredible story of how God had clearly called us to Kalamazoo, then shortly after announced to my leaders and parents Jessie and my departure. The following Sunday, I did the same to the entire congregation. We cried, laughed, and celebrated what God was doing and certainly the decisions that my Mother and StepDad had made to put their trust in Jesus Christ. Jessie and I agreed this was the toughest thing we had ever had to do... to leave a church and people we loved.
Then on Saturday, September 13, at 7am, my phone rang. I ignored it. Then Jessie's phone rang. So I figured it was serious. It was my brother. It was serious. Mom had suffered a major heart-attack. I had heard of going into shock, I'd even studied it from a psychological and physiological standpoint in college, but I'd never experienced it until that morning.
Five days later, on September 18, my mother went to be with Christ, just 20 days after recommitting her life to Him. On the 22nd, I officiated the hardest funeral I'll ever be a part of. I was blown away by everyone who was there, the stories they shared of how Mom had impacted their lives, and the number of people who came to support us from Pennsylvania.
On Oct 1, I joined the ministry team at Lighthouse Community Church serving as the Student Ministries and Young-Adults Pastor. Over the last 2 1/2 months, we've grown to love our new home and our new church. We love our students and the people of LCC.
God has stretched me personally in many ways.... far beyond what I could have prepared for. He's allowed me to look back on my time at Sandy Lake Wesleyan and see that it was an equipping time for me. In my year and a half at Sandy Lake, I was able to watch and learn from two men that I'll always admire and look up to, Shawn Cossin and Ken DePeal. I worked alongside a staff that wouldn't settle for anything other than what God had for the church. I caught a glimpse of what it meant to be a missional church, to be about the Lord's work, seeking the lost and broken.
God has been very good to Jessie and I. As hard as this season of life has been for us, God has been more than sufficient. In fact, as I write this I wouldn't ever consider going back and changing a thing. My mother and grandfather (who passed away last Sunday) are both with the Lord and Jessie and I are right where God wants us to be.
It doesn't get any better than that.
Just a picture for your viewing pleasure. Yes, that is Joe the Plumber and Barack Obama... aka Jessie and I at LCC's Young-Adult Costume Party
