I have redesigned the blog and made some changes to it recently, mostly in keeping with the change our direction or family is taking in ministry. In January we shared how God was redirecting us out of faith-supported overseas missions and to a stable place back in Orlando, at least for now. Our blog over the last year was a place for us to write and keep partners updated about the work we were doing in preparing to serve in Nigeria. The blog existed before our mission work and it will continue to exist.
The blog has grown to be place for me to really write and share with others. At the beginning of the year I felt God calling me to grow the blog and be intentional about using in the coming year. I put any planning and dreaming on hold until we figured out our new direction and could get settled which leads us to now. I was praying for a new name that would be more descriptive of the changes in our life and the content of our blog. I feel God gave me the name, "failed missionaries living faith filled lives" Here'n Now was the name of our missionary newsletter, with a play on our last name.
Many people have questioned the "failed" in the title. I don't like it either as a word to describe our career change, but I do like the phrase. "failed missionaries living faith-filled lives" One of the leading causes for a missionary to leave the field is burnout of their work and faith. We didn't have this happen to us. Instead the last year has grown our faith. We saw God work in our lives personally in a way we never expected, and also those around us. In having the depression arise that most immediately led to our change we have received only the greatest care and support from our organization as we have transitioned. We very well could have been kicked to the curb since we weren't full members having not completed our fundraising. We were not, I am receiving counseling through our organization, Bob's old position in the organization opened up and we are looking for other ways to stay involved.
On paper our career as missionaries failed, at least for now, but it left us with even more faith in our everyday lives and and even greater passion for world missions and Bible translation and that is what our new name and blog direction is going to be. Writing about the God moments we get to experience, witness, hear and share. God is sovereign and we wouldn't be in a place to write what we are if it not for the trials and difficult times we have had over the last year but we have let the experience grow us instead of break us.
The blog has grown to be place for me to really write and share with others. At the beginning of the year I felt God calling me to grow the blog and be intentional about using in the coming year. I put any planning and dreaming on hold until we figured out our new direction and could get settled which leads us to now. I was praying for a new name that would be more descriptive of the changes in our life and the content of our blog. I feel God gave me the name, "failed missionaries living faith filled lives" Here'n Now was the name of our missionary newsletter, with a play on our last name.
Many people have questioned the "failed" in the title. I don't like it either as a word to describe our career change, but I do like the phrase. "failed missionaries living faith-filled lives" One of the leading causes for a missionary to leave the field is burnout of their work and faith. We didn't have this happen to us. Instead the last year has grown our faith. We saw God work in our lives personally in a way we never expected, and also those around us. In having the depression arise that most immediately led to our change we have received only the greatest care and support from our organization as we have transitioned. We very well could have been kicked to the curb since we weren't full members having not completed our fundraising. We were not, I am receiving counseling through our organization, Bob's old position in the organization opened up and we are looking for other ways to stay involved.
On paper our career as missionaries failed, at least for now, but it left us with even more faith in our everyday lives and and even greater passion for world missions and Bible translation and that is what our new name and blog direction is going to be. Writing about the God moments we get to experience, witness, hear and share. God is sovereign and we wouldn't be in a place to write what we are if it not for the trials and difficult times we have had over the last year but we have let the experience grow us instead of break us.
3 comments:
Chris and I agree with "many people" - we don't like the "failed missionaries" thing, either. You are definitely not "failed." Redirected, maybe, but not failed. You are where God wants you to be right now, getting the healing you should be getting, and there is nothing failed about that. It takes courage to take a step back from a wheel in motion, faith to walk away from a dream you were pursuing and great trust to believe that no matter what happens, God will still - is still - direct your path. It takes a lot of strength to admit to a lot of people that you are struggling with depression and to turn around and say that now is not the right time for you to go overseas.
There is nothing failed in that, and I pray that God will encourage you of that truth in your own heart that you wouldn't carry, even subconsciously, the slightest hint that you are a failure because of what you have gone through and are going through. While I can definitely see how these experiences have deepened your faith and am glad they’ve also deepened your heart for missions, I still would hate to think that there might also be lingering a hint of being failures because of it, too.
Sorry to be so blunt, but like I said, I really don't believe that any of this makes you guys failures in the least bit!
With love in Him,
Christie
We don't see ourselves as failures. People get hung up when they read our new title by the first word, its the whole phrase that sums up who we are, we didn't the failure, set back or redirection weaken our faith but strengthen it.
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