Taking a step of faith...

Our lives are full of changes these days. There's another big event coming up in our lives this summer. We are moving across the pond to Northern Ireland. This hasn't been a hasty decision on our part. It doesn't come as a surprise to us. We knew we would be moving back to Geoff side of the world sometime this year, we just weren't sure when.

If you want read the full story and start from the beginning go here and then here.

When we left the missionary training two and a half years ago we felt lost. Where do we go from here? We still had the desire to work overseas but we didn't have a church behind us willing to send us out. That is a major requirement of New Tribes Mission. They want the local churches to be the ones sending out missionaries. And NTM is there to equip the people the churches send out. So with out a church here in the States we couldn't continue with NTM here.

Last year Geoff finally received his green card/ permanent resident card which allowed him to leave the country and go visit his home in Northern Ireland. So last June we flew back for our first visit since we got married. While we were there we got to meet with the pastor from Geoff's home church there and were very encouraged by what we heard. So many folks from the church came up to say they had been praying for us this whole time! It meant to much to us!

We went back for another visit this past December and got to spend some time with the pastor again. He said that if we wanted to move back and work with them for a year or two and got to know the church again that they would be happy to send us on to the NTM training over in England.

We knew we wanted to continue pursuing missions. So that left us with the decision of what mission organization to work with. We have a good understanding of NTM and what they believe and Geoff feels like that is the direction we need to go in for now. So now we needed to find a church "home". It makes more sense to us to move back to N. Ireland and build up the relationships we already have with the church there. Rather than try to start from scratch with a church here. Especially since they are asking us to come back! That was when we decided that we would indeed move back some time this year.

We came back to Florida and things just got busy again and we fell back into the routine of things here. But when Geoff's accident put him off work for so long it seemed like the right time and it gave us time to work out the details.

We need to take this step in faith. It's time to do something to get the ball rolling again instead of sitting around waiting for something to change. We need to take this step now because the longer we wait the harder it will be.

So even though I'm dreading the goodbyes. And not looking forward to packing up and moving again. I'm excited about having a plan and goal in mind again. I'm also excited about spending more time with Geoff's family and getting to know them better.

The bible says that man makes his plans but the Lord directs his steps. I'm so glad we can trust Him to direct our steps in the right direction. We need His wisdom and guidance more than ever!

Another plus is that I get to take you all with me on this adventure! I don't have to say goodbye to any of you! What do you say? Want to come along with me?

PS. I'm sorry it's all in one big paragraph! I didn't write it that way and for some reason i can't make it separate.

Photos: Christmas sunrise in Northern Ireland; Elijah and his grandad working together in the garden.