Chapter Next

I’ve always loved those little milestones in life: crossing another state line on a long road trip; chapters in a book; progressing years in school.  They always seem to carry a confirmation of progress but with a fresh start on something new.  We’ve hit such a milestone in the last few weeks and it’s great to be moving to the next phase.

The milestone is that we have essentially completed our partnership phase.  We have reached our goal of monthly financial backing and can now proceed with our move overseas.  We do still have a small amount of outgoing costs to cover, but knowing how the Lord has provided thus far, we have no doubts or fears of swift completion in that area as well.

Doing the work of financial partnership has been interesting to say the least.  It has taught us a lot about our reliance on God for our very breath among all other provision.  It has taught us a lot about commitment and faithfulness.  The stories that we’d love to share about this are many. 

I can’t say that we’ve seen “everything” there is to see, but it’s been an eye-opening experience, to say the least.  We’ve visited churches that have a long and rich history of missionary affiliation.  We’ve visited some to whom our endeavor is new.  We’ve enjoyed showing the possibilities of engaging the artistic and cultural life of a community to be a carrier of the gospel message.  We’ve enjoyed encouraging people to see worship as a global endeavor and arousing curiosity of what brothers and sisters in Christ do to express their worship half-a-world away.

Many times, our methods and results didn’t line up as we expected.  We enjoyed our most prosperous times while speaking mostly to grade school kids about African arts or geography.  We saw the words of some dedicated advocates pay greater dividends than our own polished presentations.  I can say it was fun most of the time and always interesting.

The next things on our plate include obtaining visas and selling a few things that we didn’t get rid of before our move to Dallas.  After we have the visas in hand, travel plans will be made and the countdown will be on.  Looking forward to it!

Passports are ready...now for the visas.

I need those red areas at the top of my application to become green!  When they are all green, we can schedule our interview at the consulate in Washington, DC.

Easter 2013

40 Days is over  ~  Easter is HERE!  He is Risen!

Nothing about our 40 day push turned out as we thought it would, but everything is right!

We planned on blogging often during the 40 days.
We planned on being busy.
We planned on traveling and speaking in a lot of churches and small groups.

We did not plan on stomach bugs, food poisoning, a kidney stone, our planned language school closing, or my Dad passing on to glory on March 3rd.

We did not plan on taking a few weeks to stop, wait, and listen, to receive guests and sympathy, and to pour over paperwork.  And then we resumed at full-speed even though we were exhausted from receiving guests and from grief.

We did not plan for those things, but God did.
He knew everything.

And it's the little things that get me.
The moment when my dad died was the only time my brother, sister, mom and I were in the room alone with Daddy.
I held his hand.
His last food was a pepermint patty.  Remember taste the sensation?  And we could laugh.  We needed that.
And then there was the friend who just happened to be close by that weekend, who could come for the funeral; the cousin who was able to come from far away; the scarf from a Texas friend to keep giving me hugs.

Even through the ups and downs during the 40 days, and without being able to work as hard as we planned, God provided new partners and supplied our needs.
We have now made it to 94% of our monthly support.  We're so close!
We have a new language school destination in Albertville, France.  We are applying for visas and plan to depart as soon as possible.
The coming weeks are full of appointments and sharing about our EthnoArts work in Cameroon.  It's coming together after all.

Thank you for praying and keeping us busy.  Keep praying!

Enjoy these photos from "Talents Unmasked," an event held last week at our church as a fundraiser for the Grant family and us.

Sisters Heidi & Melissa perform a piano duet

Dave shredding out a solo

Kristin, with Andrea, her piano teacher

Ben performing a solo

The fabulous Garber sisters

Peter performing a blues rendition of Blessed Assurance

Noah sliding an oreo from his forehead to his mouth.  He was victorious!

Sunset over the Peaks of Otter this week

Day 17: What a weird couple of weeks...and finally back in the saddle

Well, this 40 days thing was supposed to be a time of being very busy and blogging a lot about what we were doing every couple of days.  Then craziness broke loose on our family!  It's been quite a ride for the past two weeks, but finally we're getting back in rhythm.

I (Chris) have no intention of fishing for sympathy, but I thought it best to relay the events of the last couple of weeks to show how we can rely on God's faithfulness through all kinds of things.

When last we checked in, we were at the JAARS center in Waxhaw, NC.  On Friday morning, Feb. 15th, Lori and I were privileged to take a class in off-road driving.  We had about an hour and a half in the classroom discussing some techniques as well as equipment choices.  Then we got in a well-equipped Isuzu Trooper and hit the course.  We had to traverse some steep hill-climbs, some big mudpuddles, lots of deep-rutted trails, narrow passages between trees, and even a staircase of boulders. We had a blast!  Lori especially loved moments such as when she asked the instructor about "that fallen tree across the trail."  "Just go right over it," was the instructor's advice.  She was quite wary, but enjoyed the adrenaline rush after going over it!  You can view a very shaky video that we shot during our driving here.

With our instructor after dirtying up the Trooper a bit.

Later that afternoon, things went bad.  We went up to Charlotte to visit some cousins of mine, and illness set in for myself.  That evening we ended up back at our room in Waxhaw with me running a fever and having stomach-flu symptoms.  After a night's sleep, I felt better and we proceeded with our plans to travel to Cross Hill, SC (our hosts had already been through the flu, so they welcomed us just the same!).

In Cross Hill, I was set to preach the Sunday (Feb. 17th) morning service at Liberty Springs Presbyterian Church.  We had a great time visiting with Lori's distant cousin and her family while we were there.  Sunday morning went well sharing with this small but enthusiastic congregation.  Immediately after lunch, we bolted for the coast and our evening engagement with Grace EPC in Hampstead, NC.  It was a long drive, the kids were very cooperative, and we made it thirty minutes before we were to begin presenting!  That evening went well as Lori shared with an adult small-group and Chris presented to the youth group.

The next morning (Monday, the 18th), as we were finishing breakfast and getting set to head to Newport News, VA, Noah came down with the stomach bug.  So, we changed our plans and decided to head straight home to Lynchburg.  We did stop at the beach and played for a short while before lunch (Noah claimed to feel well and enjoyed the beach too).

The kids playing in the sand at North Topsail Beach, NC

When we arrived home, I was feeling sick again, and this time we suspect something amiss with the lunch we ate.  It took a couple of days before I was ready to eat much, and by Wednesday (the 20th) I was feeling better.  Then that afternoon...the kidney stone.  All I have to say is it was very, very painful.  It was a roller coaster ride of pain medication and constant drinking of water, gatorade and apple juice for three solid days.  Finally, on Sunday morning, when I had gone by the hospital to get a refill of pain medication from the ER doctor, I passed the kidney stone!  It took a couple of days to feel back to normal, but we're good to go now.

For the sake of perspective, we staged two of the kids' lego mini-figures fighting over the kidney stone.  It's amazing how something so small can cause so much pain!

Last night (the 28th), we had our first presentation since all of the sickness and such.  It felt good to be back doing what we're supposed to do.  I know the sickness all had a purpose.  It quite likely was God's way of showing me that I can become too task oriented and forget about the most important things along the way.  The roadblocks were a reminder to keep important things where they belong.

So we're down to just over 20 days left in our 40 day push.  It's hard not to think that the last couple of weeks was time lost.  But I have to remind myself that it was time used to get/keep my head and heart right.

40 days and a kidney stone?

40 Days.

We invited you to pray. Keep us busy.  Help us share our story.

Ever had a kidney stone?  I haven't, but now Chris has.  I've never seen him in pain like this, or had him ask to go to the doctor - much less the ER!

Why? We've had to cancel our schedule since Monday.  But, as a wise friend just reminded me, when we are weak, HE is strong.  We can not do this on our own.  We are frail and weak.  We are hurting and sinful.  We need our savior, our redeemer, our friend.  And we need you.  We need your prayers.

This battle is not against flesh and blood (and kidney stones and stomach bugs), but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. (Eph. 6:12)

Why are we planning to go to Cameroon?  It's not a holiday or a thrill seeking time.  This is a work we have been called to - a work we feel God has lead us to do - glorifying Him through Arts, helping music and Art to be used for His purposes; using the talents, skill, and education he has blessed us with for Him; and sharing this work with you so you can pray and join in the work with us.

We can't do it alone.  Will you pray for us?  Will you write and email encouraging words?  Will you partner financially with us?  Will you invite us to share with your small group, Bible study, friends, or family?

Continue to pray for Chris - and we'll keep you updated....

40 days: Day 2 - Hanging out at JAARS

Today we have something of a free day, although we've spent a bit of time working on some things such as pre-requisite reading for the off-road driving course tomorrow.  But, today after lunch, there was a fun little event that happened.

A brand new aircraft arrived at JAARS today.  Yesterday, it left the factory in Idaho where it was built, and arrived in North Carolina at around 1:30pm today.  About 80-100 folks showed up to see the plane arrive.

The story of this aircraft is pretty cool.  It is a Quest Kodiak, an aircraft designed for short takeoff and landing on less-than-perfect runways.  There is a two-year waiting list for these aircraft.  When an order was cancelled by a customer several weeks ago, JAARS was offered the aircraft by the manufacturer if the money could be raised in less than two weeks.  Amazingly, hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised and the aircraft, destined for Papua-New Guinea, is expected to be in use in the South Pacific by this summer.  You can read the whole story in all of its detail here.

Another cool story about this aircraft is who will fly it.  We know a pilot or two in PNG, but we're very attached to a pilot who will, Lord willing, be flying for JAARS (likely in PNG) in the near future.

Matt Stoker, while he was a student at Liberty University, became a friend of our family.  He was a part of a small group that met in our home, had some meals with us, and is one of our kids' favorite people.  Matt recently has gone through the application and evaluation process with Wycliffe and JAARS and will be going through training and partnership development over the next 20 or so months.  We are very excited for Matt and were happy to be at the airstrip today and see his chariot arrive!

Matt, about to give his mom a ride on his motorcycle.

Enjoy the pics from the arrival today.

40 Days: It Begins

Thanks to our friend Russell Darnell for all of the recent cool pictures!

40 Days.  It's kind of a thematic device used throughout the Bible for periods of time used for refinement.  Jesus was tempted for 40 days in the desert (not that Jesus needed refinement...).  It rained on Noah and his family for 40 days.  The western world widely observes the Lenten season of 40 days of spiritual preparation for Easter.  In some cultures, people wait 40 days before they bring a newborn outside of the home.  And there are many more...

So in the great tradition of 40 day refinements, we decided to do one of our own.  And we've produced a video to introduce it:

So, to elaborate of some of what is in the video, our 40 days is meant to be a time for us to do two primary things.

First, we want to focus with prayer and fasting.  Prayer is essential.  Is fasting outmoded?  How do the two connect?  What is fasting anyway, and why does it appear in the Bible?  One of the best explanations of it that I've ever heard is from Michael Oh, a missionary with Mission to the World in Japan.  I heard him give this presentation a few years ago and it is enlightening.  He addresses it in the context of cross-cultural missions, but in the process defines the general purpose of fasting quite well.

Our second point in this 40 days is to make a concerted effort to finish our partnership development.  We are at 85% of our monthly commitments and can see the end.  We want to make this 40 day period like that point in a race where you pick up the pace with a final sprint, making sure that you gave it your all and left nothing on the table.  We want to spend these 40 days working very hard, presenting more, and finishing our time in the States with a flourish.

With all of that said, here's what we've been up to so far.  Yesterday, day 1, we had a Skype meeting in the morning, wrote and sent lots of e-mail, and then headed down to Waxhaw, North Carolina to the JAARS Center.  If you want to know what JAARS is, check out their site or our blog post about JAARS from last summer.

At JAARS, we're doing an off-road driver training course on Friday.  On Saturday, we'll head to Cross Hill, SC and speak at Liberty Springs Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning.  After the Sunday morning service, we'll drive over to Hampstead, NC and visit Grace EPC Sunday evening.  On Monday, we'll head back toward Virginia.  Prayer for all of these events is welcome!

R is for Ready and Waiting....

Ready.  And waiting...

About 19 months ago, we crafted a "pre-field plan" that was a basic timetable of our leaving for the field.  It had entries for December, 2012 (complete studies at GIAL - DONE!) and January, 2013.  The January entry was "Depart for Language Study in France."  Well, it's February and we haven't left yet. So why are we still in Lynchburg?

We have no doubts that we are called to do this work of ethnomusicology and arts in Cameroon.
We are here, practically speaking, because we are lacking 15% of our monthly support, and we need some special gifts for one-time costs overseas.  But God owns 'the cattle on a thousand hills' - everything is His!  Knowing that God will abundantly supply when necessary, we believe we are still here for other purposes.

Lori's dad is very sick.  He has kidney failure, dementia, and is very weak.  But because we are here, we are able to help him and Lori's mom.  What a blessing!  Please pray for the Rundles in this difficult time.

Because we are here, we are able to continue to be the ambassadors for the Bibleless.  We get to share our story of how God called us, ordinary people, do to an extraordinary thing.  We get to spend time with friends and family that we would not have had time to see and encourage otherwise.

This friendly horse decided to join us in a picture as we were doing some video shooting this week.

We are beginning a 40 day push beginning Sunday, February 10, to share our story with as many people as possible, to complete our prayer and financial support, and to get the word out about what God is doing with arts in missions.  At the end of the 40 days, Friday March 22, our home church, Redeemer Presbyterian, is sponsoring a "Talent Unmasked" event to help raise the final needed amount for ourselves and for our good friends, the Grants, who will be leaving soon to serve in Spain.

The Grant family: Jamie & Rachael with Amelia, Anna, Andrew, and Abigail

Please consider praying and fasting for our family and Cameroon during the 40 days.  Also consider hosting a small get-together or dessert night with a few friends for us to share our story.  We're confident that we'll be set to go soon if we're faithful to what lies right in front of us - serving our family and being ambassadors for the bibleless in the here and now.

We are READY.  Help us go!