Ridin' in Style

Recently our team was able to purchase a "previously owned" 9 passenger van. We have been price checking and shopping around since the beginning of the year. We desperately need one for the summer because we have some teams from the U.S. coming to visit. (The first one arrives next week!) A van would mean less vehicles to carry people around in, which means less gas, which means less money spent! Woohoo! Besides, it is always more fun when everyone is in the same vehicle. ;-)

Darren and Dana were out driving and spotted one that looked really nice. A little too nice, if you know what I mean. ;-) They stopped and inquired, and it turns out the people selling the van were willing to make a great deal. It was in great condition, had low miles, and the price tag was just right. What were we to do?

Dana crunched some numbers to make sure the team had enough money because the euro/dollar exchange has been CRAZY lately. We were good to go in that department and voila, a team van. Isn't it pretty!

We want to thank everyone who has ever given to the Mediterranean Team vehicle fund. You know who are! THANK YOU!!! This van will be a huge help to our team, and we could not have gotten it without YOU. Merci Beaucoup!

Leaving a Legacy

Leaving a Legacy

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to leave a legacy. I know that my thoughts have partially been along those lines due to the sudden passing of Joy’s mom, Christina. She was young and was suddenly taken into eternity in a fraction of a minute. Some people have more time to prepare, time to say goodbye, time to be sure that they have left an inheritance for the ones that come behind. Looking over her life, through my friend Joy’s eyes, she didn’t seem to need that time all that much really. She invested herself in her family, her friends, and her church. She didn’t need months of suffering to be sure that she had invested wisely or to impart one more word of knowledge. She really liked to talk (and laugh), so she must have said all that she needed to say here. She left a legacy to those near to her, showing them how to invest wisely pouring their lives out to improve the lives of others. She was a big cheerleader for our team and above all for Shane and Joy, always supporting in every way she could. She will be dearly missed by all of us.
Another reason that I have been thinking so much about the subject is that I have just finished reading Safely Home by Randy Alcorn. It has much to say about many things, but it paints such a beautiful picture of the type of family legacy that I want to leave. The book focuses on a family, where one generation after another stood firm in their beliefs despite persecution. Behind the scenes in the book, you get a glimpse (albeit fictional) of what the great cloud of witnesses might be doing as they observe us, cheering us on to walk worthy of our calling. It has made me think about how my everyday choices impact my children and my sphere of influence. Am I showing them that I value community by placing the needs of others before my needs? Am I showing them that I trust Him more than all other things by releasing control (or the appearance of it) over the things or people dearest to my heart?
This past month, our account dipped fairly far into the deficit. Normally when our account takes a big plunge, I immediately feel panic and fear, especially when I know that the very people that He will be moving to give more are enduring a strong economic recession of their own. But this time, I tried my best to look at the situation with regard to the legacy that my actions will leave. If I allow panic, fear and discouragement to set in, then I am choosing a legacy of distrust or self-trust. If I rest in Him by trusting that He is in complete control and limit my own actions to ones that honor Him, then I am choosing a legacy of trust. I am choosing to rest in the knowledge that I serve at the pleasure of my King, whenever, wherever and however it pleases Him. I am thrilled that it pleases Him for the moment to have us here in this place working among these people. What a joy it is to watch His hand move among them, we have had a small victory lately with an employee of a man tutored by Darren (head on over to our site to read more if it pleases you). Thank you for being a part of all of this and for serving at His pleasure as well.