The Great Commission Sandwich

Last week at the English Center Bible study we were talking about the Great Commission and I noticed something for the first time.  Here is the passage:
Matthew 28:18-20
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

The part I had memorized in the past starts with “Go therefore” and ends with “commanded you.”  Although this part is our “commission,” what comes before and after the commission is essential to the fulfillment of the commission.  I thought, what if the great commission was a sandwich?  A sandwich isn’t a sandwich without the bread on both sides.  When I saw this passage in a fresh way this past week I realized the commission is only the meat of the sandwich.  The bread that makes the Great Commission work is said before and after by Jesus and is IN Jesus.

The first slice of bread:  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
If the God that I “Go” for has all authority, how does this change the way I “Go”? 
First of all, Jesus has all authority and he tells me to “Go.” I follow the small authority of a policeman in the middle of the bush in Madagascar, why do I sometimes not follow Jesus who has all authority? 

Secondly, there are times we face evil powers that scare and freeze us up from “making disciples.”  Here in Madagascar it may be a witch doctor that doesn’t like you preaching the gospel, a bandit road block that makes you not want to travel to villages, or disownment from family for not following ancestor worship traditions.  In America it may be ostracizing from family for trying to reach your lost family members, loss of a job for shining your “light” too bright for your boss’ taste, or abandoning a materialist lifestyle that ties up all your money that could be used for the Great Commission.  No doubt about it, Jesus has all authority and our working in the Great Commission should convey His authority.  Jesus’ authority over heaven and earth should change the confidence and trust we “Go” in!

The second slice of bread:  “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
This is a promise!  The purpose of Jesus being with us is that our “Go”ing will be in His strength and for His glory.  We are not in this alone and we must not rely on our own strength, ability, and understanding!  We are walking with Jesus into that village, office, or holiday party.  I’ve realized that the work of making disciples is something I can not control or do by myself.  When we left a small town 2 weeks ago after watching 8 people be baptized, I prayed that God would grow their trust in Him through situations and prayers answered in the coming weeks.  Going back to that town this weekend I heard from a new believer that he has a testimony of God providing.  I am not alone to make this young man a disciple!  Christ is with me, and now with my new brother also!

So, as you “Go therefore and make disciples” don’t forget the “Bread” of Life; remember that Christ is with you and that He has all authority!

For His Amazing Work,

Andrew

The light of the world in a Malagasy Prison

Over a month ago, our Malagasy friend's dad and brother went to prison.  The brother and dad were security guards for different shifts at a local shop.  The brother stole some things from the shop and because he is related to the other security guard, his father, the court system put them both in prison.  They have both been in prison for the past month and a half.  They were waiting for their trial.  While in prison, there is no food provided, but the family of the prisoners must bring meals for their family members to eat.  Sometimes the food is stolen by prison officials or other prisoners. 

The brother was guilty, but the father was not an accomplice.  However, they both were in prison until the trial because they did not pay the bribe or the bail to get out.  While the father and older brother are in prison, the stresses of providing for the family are no longer spread out, but fall on our friend and the remaining relatives.  It is a trial for them, a test of their faith.

Two weeks ago the trial came to court.  I went with our friend to the court.  The judge said that the father seemed innocent and should be released, however the accuser didn't come to court that day so they put both men back in prison for two more weeks.  As I watched my friend watch his father be handcuffed to his brother and be walked back to prison with an armed guard, I knew what I needed to pray for his family.  We prayed together that his family would not be labeled/justified by this world, but put on the label that they have from our Father in heaven.  My friend's father is a Christian and he is a "child of the King."  I prayed that he would not let the court, accuser, or neighbors label him, but that he would see himself as God see's him.  A justified and loved, child of the King.  "Lord, may he not look for approval of man, but look to glorify you!"  Our friend was really inspired by this prayer and we've prayed it several times in the past few weeks.

Yesterday was the court date and we watched the brother and father stand before the judge and prosecutor.  I stood there, not understanding much of what was said, but praying for the release of the father.  The prosecutor slandered the father for the shame his son had brought on the family and claimed that the father was an accomplice.  My friend listened as they hurt his father's name and reputation with their words.  In the end, the judge sentenced the brother to one year in prison and a $2000 settlement (3-4 years wage).  But she set the dad free!  We all celebrated and thanked God for the father being set free.

Our friend reported to us today of the happenings of his father's arrival home.  His story reminded me of the prayer we prayed.  I'll let you decide how God answered it.

His father said that the other prisoners were sad that he was leaving prison because they were losing someone who prayed for the sick in the prison.  This man has been the light of the world in the prison!  Praying for the sick in the midst of his own trial!  Wow, that's called being a "child of the King."

The father's extended family came into town from the bush and is telling the father to return to the homeland and sacrifice a sheep to be cleansed from the dirty prison.  The father refused, at the disapproval of the extended family, because he is not approved by extended family or by the spirits, but by his Father in heaven.

I saw my friend smiling today.  He is proud of his dad.  He is proud that his father is a man of God.  Extended family, neighbors, and accusers have said many bad things, but this man is not approved by man, he is approved by God because he is a "child of the King."

Glory to God!

A Call to Action:

Pray:

+ Pray for the father to find a new job and continue to trust God in the next part of this trial.

+ Pray that the extended family is reached with the Gospel through this testimony.

+ Pray for the brother in prison.

In the midst of the trial or situation you are in right now, how can you bring Glory to God?  Maybe you can start by thinking through Galatians 1:10, "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."  Next, think through Matthew 5:16, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

For His Amazing Work,

Andrew

"I desire mercy, not sacrifice"

Well,  I've wanted to write to you about one particular journey that I've been on since I arrived in Madagascar, but at times it's difficult to write about what God is teaching you when you are not anywhere close to where you know He will finish with you.

You see, several years ago I took a personality test and on the bottom of the list for my personality was mercy.  Honestly, I kind of thought it was funny at the time, but as I look through my life I see how the area of not having mercy has hindered relationships and stolen my own joy.  In the first weeks here in Madagascar the Lord spoke a verse into my life as I was reading in Matthew.  Jesus quotes to the Pharisees Hosea 6:6 when he says, "Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:13

Mercy, not sacrifice??  Wow, it hit me pretty hard because I had sacrificed a lot to come to Madagascar.  If God desires mercy and not sacrifice then I could quit my job, move a half world away, sell my stuff, eat weird food, live without amenities, learn a language, and be away from family and at the end of it all if I didn't have mercy then it all could amount to nothing.

A few weeks ago the Lord reminded me while reading His word of this pursuit to be merciful.  I prayed that I would not quench His Spirit's leading.  

That afternoon I was finishing up playing some soccer and a man approached me on my walk home.  He spoke English and was telling me about his life.  Often we get approached by people asking for money for a sickness or food.  This man told me about several sicknesses he had and said he was in need of surgery, but did not have the money.  In talking some more we found out that we both play guitar and we discussed where he lived and worked.  I thought to myself that I should give this man some money, maybe $4 (2 days wage).  He continued to talk and invited me to his house.  I told him that I would come by the next day and visit with him.  Before we walked away I prayed with him.  When walking away I said to myself, "Mercy is not throwing money at someone to get them off your back, mercy is visiting this man's family tomorrow."

The next day came and I walked to the man's house.  Before going I prayed for God's guidance and work.  Little did I know that I would be at his house for over 2 hours just talking.  We sat on a wooden bench and I listened to him play guitar and sing quietly because it hurts him to sing loud.  I let his chickens run over my feet, his toddler cry in fear of me, and his cigarette smoke fill my lungs.  After an hour and a half of being there I was asking for the road (permission to leave) and he began to tell me a story about a dream he had when he slept for 3 days straight.  He went to heaven in his dream and traveled a hard path to get to where Jesus was.  Upon entering the house where Jesus was a man approached him with a huge book.  The man asked his name and looked in the book for his name.  My new friend's name was not in the book.  Two big men grabbed him and took him out of the house and began to drown him in some deep puddles.  Then he woke up.

The man told me that he had the dream so that he could tell his friends the path to take when getting to heaven.  I asked him why his name was not in the book.  He did not know.  I explained the book of life to him briefly and told him that if I had a dream and my name was not in the book I would be afraid.  He thought he had a dream about how to navigate heaven, but I think he had a dream about not getting into heaven.  I encouraged him to pray and ask God the meaning of his dream.  I also told him that Jesus was the only way to get to heaven, the only way to be justified.  Jesus is the only map! 

He looked at me with concern and said, "I will pray."  He also invited me back to play guitar with him and his friends and told me to bring a Bible next time so we can read it together.

I'm left with one question in mind, what if I would have thrown money at him in an attempt to get him off my back? 

I believe that the Spirit's leading in our lives to DO something doesn't stop with us doing something, but makes an impact on His kingdom. 

So get out there and let mercy make you DO something!

For His Amazing Work,

Andrew

The Prosperity gospel: Lesson #1 learned at English Center Bible Study

I'd read that the prosperity gospel was going rampant in Africa and now have found this as truth in Madagascar.  In thinking about how the prosperity gospel fits with Malagasy customs as well as human nature in general, I can see how this false gospel is so easily accepted.  The Malagasy live for today.  Each day is a new day to find $2, buy your needs, and survive.  When the prosperity gospel describes an opportunity to make today better, of course its attractive.  However, works-based salvation instead of Christ-based salvation leaves people in a worry and panic that they will never be good enough to have a relationship with God, and teaching of prosperity on this earth leaves people angry and confused when God doesn't provide on a promise He never made.

Last week I was sitting in a Bible study with 15 young men at the English Center and they began to ask questions about what the Bible says about certain topics.  One boy had a story of a pastor who told him to put money in the offering basket at church so that he will receive an answer to his prayer request.  In talking about this we asked, "Who are we to test God?"  This led to further discussion about what God's plan is for our life.  Romans 8:28 says "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."  The prosperity gospel says that "good" is defined by humans (i.e. money, girlfriend, nice concrete home, health), however the Bible clarifies the "good" in verse 28 when it is described in verse 29.  Romans 8:29 says, "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."  So the "good" in verse 28 is "to be conformed to the image of his Son" in verse 29.  God's good for us is that he is making us like Jesus.

We got finished discussing this and minutes later a young man answered another's question with this phrase, "If you believe in your heart about Jesus and say it with your mouth you will be blessed."  I felt like nothing I had explained earlier was even comprehended after this comment, but then I realized the opportunity that God had just given me to contextualize the point.  I asked the young man what he thought the "blessing" was.  Then we looked at a similar statement in scripture: Romans 10:9 "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  Again I asked them what the "blessing" was.  The greatest blessing we receive from God is salvation through Jesus Christ.  The young man was right, if we believe and confess we will be blessed!  Blessed with eternal life with God almighty!  However, I know he had heard this statement used in a different way to prove a point that sounds right, but promises the earthly treasure that our Lord Jesus spoke against.  

If you don't think that the prosperity gospel is satanic then you should compare the lies of it to the lies of Satan in the garden of Eden and to Jesus in the wilderness.  Temptation takes our focus away from God and puts it on ourselves.

The prosperity gospel is a constant attack on the church and if we want to fight it then we must learn to value God's "good" more than anything else.  When we celebrate our sanctification in Jesus and define it as good we will not be tricked into storing treasures up on earth.

Seeking His Glory in the midst of Change

Several weeks ago we were finishing up a study of the book of James with the young believers in Sambava.  These men have been having Bible study at our supervisors, Kurtis and Holly's, house a little less than a year.  Some of the men had read about baptism and wanted to be baptized while other men said they did not know enough about the church in order to be baptized.  There are several types of churches in this area, but few if any solely teach the Bible here in Sambava, Madagascar.  So the Baptist church and sole submission to God's word is new.  We decided that when we were finished studying James we would study Acts.  This would help the men understand what a true church is.  It's been great to learn under our supervisors, God has richly blessed us with their mentorship.

We recently studied James 4:13-15

¹³ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— ¹⁴ yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Little did we know that the teaching from this passage would come into affect very soon in all of our lives.

Last week Kurtis and Holly came to our house with sad news.  They will be going back to the USA to have their baby, but due to pregnancy risks they will have to leave this coming week and be gone for a long time.  It is possible that they will not be able to return here due to medical reasons.  Then came the second wave of change, since the next closest supervisors are 20+ hours away from us we will not be able to stay in this city. 

We prayed and asked God to reign over this situation.  We were led to ask for the decision to be reconsidered for us to stay in Sambava and continue the ministry here.  However, it was not approved and this Wednesday we will be moving to Fort Dauphin, Madagascar.  God is giving us peace with this and we look forward to how He will use us for His glory in this new area.

Many changes come with our move.  Leaving our friends and young believers here, learning a new city, learning a new dialect of Malagasy (which seems to be completely different than what we have studied for a month and a half), moving our belongings, and meeting new supervisors and team mates.  Many times in the past week and a half we have just had to say, "God, you are still God."  We have already seen His peace overwhelm us.  Wow!  Some of the things He's shown me through reading John during this time, I wish I could write them all to you.  I know He is seeking my good(molding me like Jesus) and His glory through this rough situation.  I've seen Him take ugly situations in the past and make them beautiful.  I pray He gives me a glimpse of the beauty in the future, but for now we will trust Him and expect His greatness to come of the heartbreaking present.

Last week we had to tell the men at Bible study the sad news.  We retold James 4:13-15 and told them the news.  They were shocked that their teachers were leaving.  We tried to answer all the questions they had about the situation and we have all committed to pray that Kurtis and Holly can return next year.  "Can other people come teach us the Bible?" they asked.

Then we began to read Acts with them as we had planned.  Do you know what the beginning of Acts records?  I believe God knowing ahead of time the situation prepared this study for us.  The disciples are standing looking up into the sky because Jesus has just ascended into heaven.  I think half of them were thinking, "What do we do now??"  They soon remembered what Jesus had been teaching them for years.  They received the Holy Spirit in their hearts and began to preach the gospel.  "Repent and be baptized in Jesus name!"  Thousands of people were baptized in the first days of "the church."  The church learned together, fellowshipped together, ate together, and prayed together.

I'm not saying we are Jesus himself, but I imagine that on Wednesday when we fly out of Sambava the men will be standing there just like Jesus' disciples.  These new believers from the Bible study are having to grow up fast like the disciples did when Jesus ascended, but just as the disciples did, these men have something better than a teacher, they have God's Spirit!  We entrust them to the Father.  I pray they will continue to learn, fellowship, eat, and pray together.

I can already see God's glory shining in the midst of sadness.

Yesterday, not just the 2 men that wanted to be baptized, but 5 men made a public proclamation of their faith in Jesus Christ through baptism!  These are leaders of this town, business men, leaders of families, and forever changed men of God.

There is already talk about where Bible study will take place next week when we are gone.

To add another "Halleluiah" to all of this, one of the villages a well was dug in last month has asked that these men come teach them the Bible.  We have given the men this challenge and they are excited to begin this ministry!

There is a hard road ahead of these new children of God.  Please earnestly pray for them as they continue to grow in their relationship with God.  Ask God to give them opportunities to pray and see His answers that will build their trust in Him.

Although Leah and I are very sad to leave our new home and friends and travel to the opposite end of this huge island, we know that God will provide.  Pray for His glory to come of it all!  He has sent us out and we continue to follow Him--wherever.

Seeking His Glory in the midst of Change,

Andrew

I was "Happy" and rejoicing!

Indian Ocean Baptism=Watch out for that wave!

To God be the Glory!

Trip to the Market: He knows every hair on her head!

Cooking meals(sa-ka-fu) here starts with a trip to the market.  We can walk to the market in about 5 minutes, so we put a little folding cash in our pockets and head out of our house(tra-no) with a straw basket and calculator.

Walking along the street is full of life. Tuk-tuks beep as they pass by, dogs(om-boo-wa), chickens(ah-ko-who), and goats(bean-ge) roam around.  People greet us foreigners(va-za) with "Bon Jour" because they think we are French.  We respond with "Mbolt Sara" (bullet-sah-rah) which is the Malagasy greeting and receive surprised(ga-ga) looks.

The market has plenty of fruits and veggies to choose from, many fruits that we have never heard of before.  The prices range from 100 ariary(5 cents) for 5 small peppers to 4000 ariary($2) for a large pineapple(ma-na-ce).  One of the staples in our house is beans and rice.  I ask the "bean" lady how much a cup of beans cost.  Numbers are a little tricky here because they use both French and Malagasy numbers as well as two different figures of money.  So at times we have to ask for the number to be typed on our calculator.  She dumps the scoop of beans in a thin small plastic bag and we put them in the basket.

When receiving change in the market, I'm mindful of potential germs on the cash because I've watched a lady count back cash on the zebu butcher block.  Many new things to get used to.

We lug our basket full of goodies back to the house and begin the process of soaking produce in bleach water, putting meat in the freezer, and (the slightly more tedious) sifting beans.

Last week I was hand sifting beans from the market before I soaked them overnight and then cooked them for a few hours.  I find little sticks, rocks, sprouting beans, ants, old beans, other types of beans, and occasionally a small curly hair.

This week when I found the hair, I began wondering whose head this hair came from.  How far away was her village?  Did it come from the person that harvested it, dried it, transported it, or sold it?

Then I thought, I wonder if she knows that when she lost this hair that God knew.  He knew that she had one less hair on her head.  I wonder if she knows her creator, the Creator?  I said a prayer for her and asked God to bring His kingdom to her village and to use us as His messengers.  I pray that she meet her Creator through our Savior Jesus.  Oh, that she would know that God almighty cares about her and wants her to be His daughter.

All of these thoughts from a hair in some beans.  The Bible says to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.  There have been times in my past that a hair in my food made me angry and entitled to something free.  What if during little inconveniences I decide that my quick listening will be to God instead of myself?  May God mold my heart toward mercy for man and hope for their salvation.

So what will you do next time you find a hair in your french fries?  I pray you will lift your future sister or brother in Christ up to the Father and ask God to make you apart of His amazing work.

For His Amazing Work,

Andrew

Trip to Antananambo Village

We had a team come here from KY Baptist to dig a well in a village in our region.  When I first heard of this team I questioned in my head how impactful on the Kingdom of God a well being dug would be.  After being approached by a woman in Nigeria years ago with the statement, "We will all become Christians if you did us a well." I had a tainted view of humanitarian efforts like well digging mainly because the lady in Nigeria had a wrong view of Christian mission efforts in previous villages. (Missions is not a game of number of converts, but a quest to chase darkness with light, offer hope in the place of fear, and bring the God of the harvest glory!)

I looked forward to God showing me how He would use a well and clean water to reach a people with His gospel message.

We went to the village on Friday and very quickly began digging.  A man donated a piece of his property in the middle of the village to put the well.  The team's plan was to manage the well project and help the people dig the well themselves.  Quickly there was a line of men waiting for their turn to dig and within a few hours we hit water.  A few hundred people gathered throughout the day to watch the process and see what the foreigners were doing.  As we would explain our purpose there we said we were there because God sent us to them and the well is a gift from God.  That night we showed them the Jesus film.  Hundreds of people watched in amazement at the miracles of Jesus. They laughed, chattered about what they were seeing, and became silent when they saw the Christ hanging on a cross. We told them that in the morning we would meet to share more about Jesus.

Sleeping in a village is interesting.  My hammock was hung in some mango trees with huge centipedes and monster spiders(but I had a bug net), and next to the trees was a few zebu tied up and a chicken coop. There was a radio that played till about 2 AM (probably when the solar charged batteries went out), crickets, dogs, roosters, babies, snoring, and buzzing bugs are all apart of village noises at night.

 On Saturday we ate breakfast and began the day in the community shelter teaching about creation, Jesus, and the woman at the well. We made it clear this morning that humans have a decision to turn from sin and follow Jesus or believe in other things and live in sin which is all under the devil's reign.

All of the men were still very eager to help and we dug to 28 ft. before hitting a rock we could not get past.  We also started teaching the women and children Bible stories on Saturday.  I was playing soccer with some kids and they thought my mannerisms for encouragement (clapping) and celebration (arms raised and shouting) was hilarious enough to mimic. Later during our second time of teaching Bible stories I was asked to lead a song. Seeing as how the children were already good at mimicking me I led a song with motions.  "My God is so big, so strong, and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do. The mountains are his, the valleys are his, the stars in the sky are too."  After we sung it a few times I asked for the song to be translated into their language by our Malagasy friend that came on the trip. I told the kids that my God is bigger, stronger, and mightier than any other thing or spirit. He created everything and he owns everything.  I kept speaking of "my God" when one of the children said through translation "your God is our God too." Wow! God is at work!  Later we heard a woman singing the song because she had been listening from behind the children. An English song sung by children that don't speak 2 words of English can make an impact on their lives and the Kingdom.  We thought the children were probably tired after our team had shared several Bible stories with them so we were about to dismiss them when our Malagasy friend asked if they were ready to stop and the children said they wanted to learn some more stories! They are eager for education and for God's word.  When we told the story we'd ask them to retell it and one little girl stood up and retold the whole story word for word. I was so glad the lady from the KY team came ready to do things with and teach the children.

At the close of Saturday we put a pipe into the well hole and were discouraged by what we found.  The water was very dirty and it was not replenishing near as fast as it needed to in order to have a sufficient well.  When we explained the situation to the people, the man who donated the land suggested we put honey into the well (this village believes that if you put honey in the well the ancestors will make it produce clean water).  Our Malagasy friends who came with us are new believers.  They told the man that this well is a gift from God and we will trust Him to make the water clean, not the ancestors.  The team, and many other people, gathered around the well and we prayed that God would make the water replenish and make the well clean.  My prayer was that God would show that this well was a gift from Him by making the water clean and replenish it.  I prayed that the people would see His miraculous power and that this story of God providing would be one they tell for generations.  Oh, that He would be solely glorified for His gift, not a team from the USA or the ancestors.  My heart was heavy for the people and their deeply rooted faith in their ancestors (the devil's schemes).  We prayed throughout the night.

Sunday morning we had a church service and the two Malagasy men that came on our trip shared their testimony about God's work in their life. These men are a part of the Bible study that meets at our supervisors house twice a week. We were all encouraged as we watched and listened to these two new believers be missionaries to their own people! Now it was time to see if the well was producing enough clean water.  We all gathered around and began to pull tubes of Clean water from the well.  Tube after tube we discovered that the water level stayed the same and was sustaining its clean water level.  Immediately without prompting the two new believing Malagasy men, they went to the president (chief) and the man who owned the land and said, "We didn't put honey in the well, and God answered our prayer for clean, replenishing water."  Praise the Lord!

We filled in around the pipe with cement and assembled the pump.  We also taught the children and women about keeping the well area clean and how to wash their hands properly.  Leah, me, and a KY team member acted out a skit to show the importance of hand washing.  When it was time to finally pump water from the well we had a few hundred people gathered around and we prayed and thanked God for the well.  When the water came out of the well we all clapped and praised the Lord.

We packed up our campsite and the tools and said good bye.  The president formally thanked us with some other men and asked us to come back and teach the Bible there. 

God is at work, and I can't wait to see even more fruit from this trip to the village!

Leading the song

Brothers sharing their testimony

Boys in the village

Praise the Lord for answered prayers and clean water for this village!

Good Bye Asheboro

Well, our apartment is now vacant, a car is sold, our stuff if packed away, and we are in Virginia about to start training.  Looking back over "The Rush" from the past 2 weeks makes me see the power and importance of prayer to my Father.

Multiple times in the past few weeks I've felt overwhelmed, stressed, and frustrated by the long list of tasks from our move.  Leah and I both have struggled to give God full reign in our circumstances.  Worry and stress are not of God, so why did I experience them?  I was replacing God's role in my life with my own power and obviously I was not equipped to be god.  I'm awful at being god.  Leah and I both knew in those times that we needed to submit the craziness we were juggling to the one true, almighty God.  We would pray and say we were giving Him control and would ask for His peace.

Sometimes I'm not yet submissive by the way I feel but I know that I want and need to be.  It's in those times that I've learned to tell God that I am submitting to Him and have faith that He will bring me to submission and trust in Him.  I don't mean to lie to the Father, I mean to express my problem and tell God where I want to be.  (First step to recovery, right? "I have a problem")

Several years ago a phrase was really popular among Christians, "Let go and let God!"  I've heard pastors preach for this idea and against it, I've been confused about it since then.  I'm coming to realize that it is a good idea if I submit and entrust things to God.  I don't let go of the problem or responsibility, but I let go of the worry and stress.  It's the difference in these two prayers: (throw hands in the air) "I'm done with this!" vs. (on my knees) "Abba, I submit and entrust this to you."

Recently I put 3 items I really wanted to sell up on Craigslist, our couch, washer and dryer, and car.  I knew that cars can take months to sell and I knew that I didn't have months to sell it.  I worried that we would not sell our things and started to scramble for a backup plan.  I was worrying about the "what if's" and forgot about who "God is."  I submitted the selling of our stuff to God.  I remembered that God gave us all of this stuff in the beginning and had faith that He will give us buyers to sell it to.

After four days of our things being on Craigslist I got a phone call at 9am, they wanted the washer and dryer.  At 12:30 I met someone to test drive my car, by 2:30 they bought it.  When we got home from selling the car a lady was waiting for us at our house and bought our couch.  Did I mention that we were paid more for each item than I even hoped to receive?

I believe that it is in our submissive and obedient moments that we truly understand what it is to be a child of God.  Whether it be in a time of blessing or a time of trail, when we are submissive and obedient we will see just how much our God loves and cares for His children!

The life verse for our marriage is Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

We believe there is power in prayer.  Our journey to Madagascar began with Leah and I on our knees in a hotel room at Ridgecrest Conference Center, continued at church altars, and I look forward to the day that I get my knees dirty on the soil of Madagascar!

In His Love,

-Andrew