I think this might be my 20th time at taking a stab at this particular post. Most of that comes when I'm in a decompressing mood and just need to type for a bit. If you've been following me to this point, then you know my best processing is often times through blogging. Shall we start?
The last time I had blogged was when I was going through another miscarriage in February this year. And the amount of love and support we received from people/family was just astounding; so THANK YOU to all who supported us through such a tough time! We are doing much better and feel much at ease knowing we have so many loving people who are supporting us.
Just after February, Jared and I decided to put our focus on what the next step was for our family. We had so many people flooding in, and all with one question..."So...what's next??" They all knew that Jared's last year of school was this year with him graduating in May of 2017. (Not that I'm counting...but y'all, it's SO CLOSE!!) This was the question that has almost haunted us for years because we have ALWAYS wanted to live life and raise our family serving people in different cultures, and most everyone knew it...but yet we just seemed stuck with no answer to that question. We had pursued various opportunities, and many of those pursuits never really came to fruition. To put it mildly, the attempts at some of those opportunities were quite devastating to say the least. Anyone who knows Jared and I well, know that we've always had a heart for serving people overseas. To be more specific to that passion, we have been particularly drawn to being in community with people who have been exposed to sub par representations of the gospel, who Jesus really is and what He means to this world. For as long as we can remember, we've always been in close proximity to those who have endured some pretty severe heart break from the Church. For Jared in particular, his schooling has very much prepared him for encounters like this. The amount of depth and exposure to the context and history surrounding every aspect of biblical times has opened not only his eyes to truth, but mine as well. (Shameless plug: Thanks, Pillar Seminary) So, we've prayed and we've prayed hard with what to do and what the next step was in our walk. Where did God want to take us? WHO did he want us to live our life among?? Pursuit after pursuit and door opening after a door slam, we finally feel we've gained at least a little bit of traction.
Not but a couple weeks after the miscarriage, and Jared and I having a heart to heart about Omaha, did something just kind of plop into our laps. We had literally just told God, "listen, we're going to plant ourselves right here. We're not going to do anything besides focus on right now.". You'd think I would have learned my lesson in the realm of telling God I'm going to do this or that...haha! Because He ALWAYS has a different thing in mind. Not long after, Jared was out to coffee with a friend he had met a few years ago. Little did he know that this friend, and missionary, was going to tap into some of our deepest heart strings and in what seemed to be the most unlikely scenario.
In a place filled with beauty and history was a place also in rapid decline for any affiliation with religion, especially Christianity. In the last two most recent census' taken, religious affiliation has dropped by 10% each time in this particular place...and continues to do so. Just in 2013, 4 out of 10 people claimed no affiliation to religion in any way. That, in turn, means an entire younger generation bringing up their own children with little to no understanding of who Jesus even is. Which begs the question...what happened?? How did a country who is considered a "reached nation" come to where it is now? Who and what were they exposed to? Having said all that, let me say this...what snags me the most is not what you might think. We are not ones to go out and bible thump people, preach in their faces and turn blue trying to convince them to follow or go to hell...no. No, that's not how Jared and I roll. What is so concerning to us in this scenario is that there is an entire nation who is quickly turning away from Jesus...and it has been incredibly thought provoking to try and understand the "why". Why if the Gospel is so compelling, and we believe that it is, are people so eager to walk away from it? So Jared and I found ourselves becoming increasingly more interested in finding out more about the "why", and even more so, we found ourselves beginning to feel like we needed to experience this firsthand.So, where would a place like this be? New Zealand. Yep, you read that right! We were quite baffled ourselves, but at the same time not entirely surprised considering our own exposure to many other countries who have found themselves in this current state. However, we've not ever been to this particular country ourselves, but we felt led to start praying about an open door to experience it. Not long after we began praying, we actually got invited to join in on a 10 day exploratory trip with that very missionary..for October. Of THIS YEAR! We were invited about late August and thought, "there is absolutely no way we can raise funds and put together an itinerary in that small amount of time!" But, we figured we'd keep it in prayer and give it a valiant try. So try we did...and did we succeed? Holy. buckets. Yes!! Some of our closest friends and relatives caught wind of what we were doing and attempting to plan and wanted on board to support us in every way possible. So we set a goal: $2,500 by Sept. 20th (just one month from the day we were invited to go) or we would shelve the idea for a later time. Little by little, and with a generous contribution from the organization we would be working with long-term, we made our goal...a week early! So we bought our plane tickets! And now we only have a small chunk to raise before we actually take off for New Zealand. How crazy is that?! Our consistent prayer in all of this has been, "God, if you want us on this trip, provide the way and the people who want to support us. If we are not to go on this trip, give us peace about not going and close the door, giving us clarity."
We're very excited for this trip and what it could possibly mean for next steps for our family. While we are in country, we will be meeting with various families and individuals who are church planting and working in different areas of the northern island. For me, one of the most exciting parts is that I will be doing a campus visit to a university to inquire about the midwifery programs!! I will also get the chance to sit and be with a midwife who has been in practice for quite some time now!! EEEKKK!!! Needless to say, we will be busy but it will be absolutely worth it.
Before I leave you, I want to ask one thing: will you pray with us? Send good, uplifting vibes? We are asking for strong discernment and guidance while on this trip especially. And on a related note, will you pray for our kiddos as this is the first time they will be away from us for this long? Both Sonja and Harper will be staying with my parents up in Iowa, so maybe pray for my sweet parents as well as they take care of two cute but crazy kids!
And lastly, thank you. Thank you to all who have followed us on our journey, loved us no matter where we've been and also continue to support us in all the ways you have. We are SO appreciative and eternally grateful for each and every person who has contributed in the many ways you have. I will continue my blogging as much as I can while we are in New Zealand. And once we return I will be sure to give you all an update! Much love to you all!
- Anna & Jared
