STEP BY STEP

Wow, God has brought circumstances together so quickly in the past few months! It hardly feels possible but, Lord willing, I will be leaving for Ukraine on August 27th!!

God has already laid out the path, and step by step He is revealing that to me. I continue to be amazed at how He is at work in my life, and I hope that never changes, because He is an awesome God!!

My visa application is filled out and pretty much ready to go; I'm just waiting to receive the LOI (Letter Of Invitation) that is on its way to me, and then I can send it off to be processed. The plane tickets have been purchased and paid for - hooray!! And I am slowly but surely making progress with the packing.

My financial support is still lacking a little bit -- I continue to pray daily that God will raise up the people He wants to partner with me in this ministry so that my support will be at 100% by the time I leave.

I have a wonderful team of prayer supporters all across Canada -- and words are inadequate to express just how thankful I am!!

This past week I just finished my Pre-Field Orientation at EFCCM Home Office - it was very challenging, but also very encouraging as we shared our journeys and learned and gained insights from a couple who have been missionaries for many years. I am looking forward to the next steps of the journey!!

"Oh God, You are my God, and I will ever praise You! Oh God, You are my God, and I will ever praise You! I will seek You in the morning, and I will learn to walk in Your ways, and step by step You'll lead me and I will follow You all of my days."

More Than I Can See

How often we think that "I know what I'm supposed to do and why I'm supposed to be here" and then God bursts our bubble in a gentle way and reminds us that He has a plan so much greater than we can see.

This is what happened for me the week of June 24-30 at Lake Of The Trees Bible Camp -- I went to help out for a week, to assist with admin duties and whatever needed to be done, and thought that would be my main job. And in a sense it was, but God was doing such a work of healing and revival in the hearts and lives of the staff that were there for staff training that some of those more routine things took a back seat.

About mid-week, God lovingly showed me that even though I was there to help with practical tasks (which I did), that He had also placed me there so that I could be an encouragement to the young people who were struggling with letting go of the pain in their past and learning how to trust God and walk in obedience with Him...

There was more going on than I was able to see at the time, and at the end of the week I was so overwhelmed with joy and peace that He had chosen to use me in that way -- far beyond what I had expected to take place!

I praise God for the moments that He opens my eyes to what He is doing, which is often more than I can see in the midst of everyday life.

I need to remember this -- as we all do -- because it's so easy to focus on what we can see, and we may miss some blessings and the little glimpses God gives us of His plan, which is so far beyond our vision and comprehension.

As I prepare to go to Ukraine, I know that there is more than I can see happening in the lives of the people here in Canada who are part of this ministry, as well as the people whose lives I will be part of in Ukraine...and I am excited about that, even if I never get the full picture!

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!

Because I don't know much about science or astronomy, the things that Louie Giglio shared about the "known universe" just stunned me...sometimes it's really good to pause and think about the vastness and awesomeness of creation because it really puts into perspective just how much greater God is than anything we could ever know!

To think that the same God who made billions of galaxies with billions of stars in each of them and that "He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name" (Isaiah 40:26) is intimately acquainted with me -- Psalm 139 says that He "is familiar with all my ways" -- is astounding!!

In light of this, when God calls us or asks us to do something, we should be able to respond in obedience and complete trust, because He is the God who spoke everything into being and sustains it by His Word, who also came to earth as a tiny human baby to live among us and make it possible - through His death and resurrection - for us to one day live in perfect harmony with Him.

To us, who see only "dimly, as in a mirror," (2 Corinthians 13) the challenges we face daily are sometimes huge and insurmountable. But we "live by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7) and so in those times we need to remind ourselves of just how great a God we serve!

This is a timely reminder for all of us, and it is profound to me at this time, as I am feeling awed by how quickly God has brought everything together for me to go to Ukraine and yet I am acutely aware of how daunting some of the tasks ahead of me are (learning Russian, especially). I NEED to remember that the God who made not only the universe but every little thing about me, the same God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead and won the victory over sin and death, is the same God who called me to this ministry and HE will equip me for every task!

"How great is our God, sing with me, how great is our God;

and all will see how great, how great is our God!"