As we have moved in to our new life in Georgia, everyone’s favorite question is “Are you settled in?” I appreciate this question a lot… especially because when the answer is “no”, what follows is often God providing what we need. Now the answer is most commonly “yes” … simply because we don’t currently need any more stuff. However, I think we need a new word rather than “settled” because life doesn’t seem very settled to me. When I think of settled, I imagine feathers being tossed up and “settling” back to the ground. It’s a calm, peaceful picture that ends in stillness. Of all the words to describe life right now, “still” just doesn’t fit!
Our ministry here at AIM is going great. We have 134 participants on the field and another 217 in some state of preparing to go. My favorite moment in this “business” is seeing all of these starry-eyed faith-walkers come through the doors for training camp. We just finished a camp at the beginning of April and have another at the end of May. More often than not, camp becomes a defining moment in the lives of these 20- and 30-somethings. I am overwhelmed with the privilege of being part of God changing their lives.
I work mainly with those in the preparation stage; making sure that this is the time and place God has called them to and getting all the ducks in a row for them to make it out there. God has completely changed my perspective so that every piece of paperwork, every interview, every phone call, is no longer another item on a task list, but is a person who could radically bring the Kingdom of God to the lost and hurting of the world. That’s paperwork worth doing!
In addition, I have become the resident finances guru. It’s funny to me that I… who hated math with every ounce of my being… now take care of money. While solving bank account problems internationally comes with its share of headaches… I actually enjoy this part!
All of the participants… all of the training camps… all of the hours… Life doesn’t seem very settled to me. But you know what? That’s not all in our world! Stay tuned for all the happenings outside my little office space!
to be continued…
