During the preparation, so many neat and wonderful things happened, sings from the Lord of comfirmation of our desire to live in Kazakhstan. We met a woman we had known and worked with in Kazakhstan more than 10 years ago in Walnut Creek, just a few days after we had made the final decision to persue moving to Kazakhstan. She is Kazakh and her husband is from the P. People group in a country below Kazakhstan. This is a completely unreached people group. We got together for breakfast and I will never forget her words. As we are sitting at the NorthCreek Cafe, she is telling me about how much a training center is needed and how tired and weary the believers are in this part of the world. She said she had just gotten an email that morning from a pastor who is exausted and needs a break. He needs to be trained. She urged us, encouraged us, and implored us to go, train and refresh the people of Central Asia. It was a bit surreal siting across from her, hearing about the desperate need and getting encouragement my own hesitant soul needed so badly. It was as if God had sent her to Walnut Creek just for that specific day, and that specific breakfast to spur us on and give us the confirmation of the decision we had just stepped out in faith to make. Until listening to this dear sister, I was scared, tenitive, and very sad that God would uproot all the good things in our life. I was worried about the kids. After this sister's encouragement my soul was at rest. I would follow my husband. I would leave the life I loved with all my heart, so that some in this world might have a heart that can come alive in Christ. How can I truly be happy and content in this life, how can I settle down and rest in comfort, when I know there are so many in the world who are spiritually lost, without anyone to go to them? There is a God who is calling "Who will go for Me?" Could he use me to reach the lost in Walnut Creek? Yes, he could, but he could also use hundreds of thousands of other believers. Does he want some of those thousands of believers to re-locate to where there are just handfuls of believers... scattered random pockets of very few believers.... who's light is small against the darkness of false religion? Yes, with all my heart I believe He does. It makes sense scripturally and logically.
Preparation was not easy, and the transition has not been easy. We have had our share of discouragements and hard times. Is it worth it? Absolutely. As long as our family can thrive among a spiritually dark nation, then we will do it. We will be here where the harvest is plentiful and the workers are so very few. We so desire to be used by the Lord, and raise our hand and beg him to "Pick me! Pick me!", when it come to spreading His word and truth of scripture.
Thank you Lord for Your word and your encouragement to our family to relocate and become migrant workers for the kindgom. May our kids see the goodness in your plan, and may they understand why we wouldn't stay. May they never resent or be confused about who they are or why we are here. May they never linger in loss, grief or pain or feelings of rootlessness. May we all have a deep sense of our citizenship which is in heaven. Help our family be strong, grow closer to one another, and a mighty tool in your hand to be used in whatever way you would choose.
