The New Bike!

When Justin got home from Kz, the Lord gave him a very special blessing. He went out to go on a bike ride... but came back to ask me where our bikes were. Alas... they had been stollen right out of our patio! Although this may seem like a weird blessing, it was actually an amazing act of God. Justin had been hinting, while training for the Kz bike tour, that he had the wrong type of bike for road cycling and that his bike was not technically the right size for him. However, sweetly he dismissed thoughts of getting a new bike because there was no way financially. Praise the Lord for renters insurance on our stolen bikes, Justin got money for his bike our baby bikes seats and parts, and my bike (which I bought for $20 at a garage sale and was way too big for me) and was able to buy a new bike. Also, in the Lord's providence, the only bike in town that was big enough for Justin was on sale at a bike store down the street from us. I was able to replace my bike with a cheap one from Craigslist (I don't foresee my self ever riding more than a few miles :). Now we both have bikes that fit our height and Justin has the nice new "hybrid" bike he was dreaming of (I didn't even know there was such a thing- it means you can ride it comfortably in dirt or on the road).  Because of Justin's height restrictions for a new bike, Kalena figured that daddy would have to settle for a black or grey bike. She was sad because she loved all the bright fun colors of the other bikes. Even though we took the teachable moment to combat materialism in her little heart, sure enough, the only bike that fit him had gold accent stripes around it. This was so exciting for her because her favorite color right now is shiny gold.

God is good to us and he gives us special blessings when we commit our ways to Him, love Him, and obey Him. 

Krapina, Croatia

About 10 years ago I had the privilege of going to Croatia with NorthCreek Church for several summers in a row. We worked with a church there in Zagreb doing outreach into the community with conversational English. The pastor took me and his daughters on a day trip to this little town called Krapina, to encourage the believers there. This little trip changed my life. Never had I been in a place that was so spiritually dark. I had read about these places where there was little to no church established but the actual experience of being there really touched my heart. There were only a handful of Christians there and I knew we had past numerous towns on the way, that were in the same spiritual condition. We could have driven all day and not found one church. I equate this experience with reading about starving children in a magazine, but then to actually holding a starving child in your arms is a totally different experience.

I came home from Croatia with a new passion to take the gospel to places Jesus' name has not yet reached. I was given the opportunity to speak at NorthCreek about my time in Croatia and this experience of going to Krapina was my focus and passion. "Imagine if even some of our church (of thousands) brought the gospel to a place like Krapina!!" I said to my missions minded listeners and prayer worriers. My heart was on fire to make God's name known in places like this and I let everyone know about this little town. I also mentioned it to my supporters in my return letter.

Today, 10 years later, I headed over to Every Woman's Grace at my church, 300+ miles from the church I went to Croatia with. I was attending the Mindset for Missions fellowship. Little did I know, as I took my seat, what was about to happen. The missionary was from Croatia and started with a presentation about his ministry. It turns out that he is a lives a short distance from Krapina and is a seminary instructor IN KRAPINA at a seminary there!! The first class of the seminary graduated in 2004! I did not keep up with the news of Krapina, but of course I never forgot about it. It felt like years since I have thought about this little town. How amazing that right now, a time in my life of such uncertainty in my future, and facing the very real possibility of leaving all my family and friends, God would send me this not so subtle reminder. It is a reminder that when we pray for workers in the darkest harvests, God will hear and answer. When our passion is God honoring, He will confirm it to us. Out of all the places in this world... God chose to let me know, today, about a seminary that has started in.. of all places.. Krapina.