On and On We Go, Come Love Take My Hand

Life is waiting for you,

And life I have given to you.

Tell me what else can I do?

What more have I left to prove that I am what you need?

Still I will hold on to your heart 

    through the chaos and the dark

    when your eyes fail to see.

So what are you waiting for?

On and on we go, come love take my hand.

On and on we go, as you run away again.

On and on we go, back to where this all began.

Broken I was for, broken I'm still for you

My broken heart breaks for you, broken I'm over you.

This is the last half of "On and On" by Tenth Avenue North.  I've been trying to think of a way to share with you some of my friends' stories.  Some are serving here in Moldova, some are ministering in other countries, and some are seeking the Lord in the States.  We're all doing different jobs, but we each face struggles and big questions about life.  And the most amazing part is, God is working in each one of us.

In our different places and different ways we have each chosen to embrace the life that Christ offered unto us.  Sometimes, "missionaries" tend to be placed on a pedestal of having complete faith and perfect walks, but as our blogs tell so honestly, we face "the chaos and the dark" too.  The first verse of the song talks about God's faithfulness though "the pain and through your pride."  The mission field, whether that be Brazil or Moldova or Indiana, can be a painful place of hard lessons that break our pride.  Yet our God is so faithful. "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love." Psalm 103:8

Though we may have had the faith to jump off the side of the boat in pursuit of Jesus, like Peter, our sight fails too.  But our stories are of our broken Savior taking us each by the hand back to that place where we see our own brokenness covered by His grace.  We are each discovering that:

 "Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.

 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us,

 but our sufficiency is from God, 

who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, 

not of the letter, but of the Spirit. 

 For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."  

2 Corinthians 3:4-6

Our stories, typed on computers all over the world, are testaments of the message written on our hearts and showed forth in our lives.

 "And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." 2 Corinthians 3:3 

I hope that through our messages you will be encouraged in your walk with the Lord and reminded that you too are a missionary.  

So where are these stories?  There's now a small section on the right hand side of my page, and there are links to each of the blogs!  A quick intro:

  Amazon Impact - Logan and Elizabeth Bennett are currently serving in Belem, Brazil.   Logan and I met at Charleston Southern.  We had some pretty intense disagreements during out time leading the SIFE team together, but at some point we realized we might actually make decent friends.  Now I consider him my "other brother."  Liz is an amazing girl, truly the helpmeet God designed for Logan, with enough tenacity to keep him in line and enough faith and heart to follow him to Brazil.  Their stories are never dull.  Actually, they're crazy and almost unreal, but they show God's faithfulness over and over and over again.

Life Happens - Amanda is one of my dearest friends from Charleston Southern.  We were roommates my last year in Charleston, and I really don't know what I would have done without her.  She finished school recently and has a heart for kids, especially inner-city kids, missions, music, and the Lord!  She's moved from Charleston to Indiana to get away and see where the Lord is leading her.  One of reasons Amanda is so incredible is that she doesn't hide her heart.  She pours it out honestly with a vulnerability that I envy (in a good way).  So often her posts give words to situations I've been going through too, so I hope some of you find the same challenge and encouragement that I do from Amanda.

Meeting Moldova - Sarah has become a really dear friend to me in Moldova.  We came in on the same flight to Moldova, went through the policlinica experience together, and go to a international fellowship together.  She is a nurse and is serving at a transitional home for trafficked women.  Her blog offers a lot of insight on the challenges of ministering in this culture and presenting the gospel (and health lessons) with grace and delicacy.

Ministering in Moldova - Bethany is practically my neighbor here in Chisinau!  She is attending the Bible school here, as well as working in children's ministry.  She teaches the English lesson during the kids' club that I've started helping with.  Bethany such an inspiration.  She just graduated from high school and decided to come to Moldova before going to college.  Her heart for the people here, her willingness to serve, and her bold faith as she tries to figure out what's next is so precious.  And I admit, it's really nice to have someone younger than me to talk to.  It helps my perspective to be able to encourage her as she thinks about college and that life, while so many of the rest of us are trying to figure out what jobs we should pursue for our careers.

*Bethany has pictures on her blog of the children's club we help with.  Those kids are so great!

The Wee 1 and Me 2 - I don't actually know Dana and Brad personally.  Dana's dad, Dr. Clerico, was one of the professors who went to China with me back in 2008.  Dr. Clerico is one of the most encouraging caring people I know.  He shared a lot of wisdom with me as I tried to figure out where I wanted to go and what to do.  So naturally, Dana is a pretty incredible person.  She and her husband are teaching English in the same city that I studied in, Qingdao.  Dr. Clerico shared their blog with me.  It is really hilarious and challenging all at once.

Thanks for all the prayers!!!

Much Love,

~ Redeemed