So, I never thought I'd actually do a blog, but here we go. I'll give some background for everyone and promise to update at least once a year. OK, that might be a bit ambitious, but I'll make it a priority! =) With very few exceptions, it will probably be Tara doing the writing. I'm usually the one with the most to say!
Our story begins about four years ago. With each mission trip Tim took, I waited for him to return with a heart ready to serve in missions full time. His first trip was in 2006 to China and then he went to Haiti in 2008 and Romania in 2009. He loved the trips, loved watching God work, but at that time, he thought it would be something we would do later in life. He had a family to support. After the 2006 trip to China, he met Mr. Bill, who first told him IT people were needed in the mission field, specifically at Wycliffe. God continued to work in Tim's heart and his passion for missions continued to grow with each trip. About a year ago, after returning from Romania, he said "I think this is something we could do full time." We began fervently praying and looking at what the needs were with different mission organizations. We shared with just a very few people at that time. We spoke with different people and continued to pray. We knew Wycliffe had an IT conference at their JAARS headquarters in Waxhaw, NC (South of Charlotte) at the end of February. We began making arrangements to attend. It was an incredible weekend. We met some great people and got a better idea of how God is using the IT field in the work of spreading His Word. The impatient one, that would be Tara, expected clear direction and confirmation upon leaving. That didn't happen. Tim is definitely the one that takes more time to process things. We continued looking at two other organizations, but we were continually "pulled" back to Wycliffe. About a month later, we officially began contact with Wycliffe to pursue becoming members.
After the conference at JAARS, we kept feeling a tug toward Papua New Guinea (PNG). Honestly, before that time, we really had no clue as to where PNG was or the needs they had. You can call it coincidence, but God began to put PNG in almost every situation in our daily lives. He confirmed to us very clearly that He wanted us to serve Him in PNG. The irony was that we were thinking (and hoping), we would stay stateside and either work at JAARS in NC or at Wycliffe USA headquarters in Orlando. You know a big part of us was really hoping to head back home to Orlando! Well, when God speaks clearly, you obey. We knew that was where God was leading us even before we began the "official" process with Wycliffe.
Well today, we are official members of Wycliffe Bible Translators. We complete the six week online portion of our training this week. In two weeks we head to Orlando for two weeks of training. As I look on the past year, I'm amazed at all that God has done in our family. It is safe to say that a year ago, we would never have dreamed we would be preparing our family to move overseas. As God says "His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts."
I will do as much as I can to keep the blog updated. Please feel free to post comments and to send us an email. We appreciate any encouragement and all the prayers!
