Holding the Rope

So tonight at about 10pm one of my sweet friends and her family will be on their way to Papua New Guinea to continue following God on their journey to assist in spreading the gospel of Jesus to people in their own heart language. This is their first term. There are lots...and lots of unknowns. But they have faith in a BIG God..that same God who has led them every step of the way...and He will not fail them.

Sunday night in church we were challenged to help hold the rope as our church held a commissioning service for the Brewers. It was beautiful to see the body of Christ praying over them, crying (a lot), rejoicing that this time was finally here, loving on their parents in the service, laughing, letting go, holding on, embracing, taking photos of tear stained faces with smiles and watching as we help send this family to the other side of the world to fulfill God's call on their lives. Again, it was beautiful. God's presence was all over the place.

So, here they are...

Jason and Jaime Brewer Family

From tonight at 10pm until Friday morning around 1am they will be flying to Australia, then to Papua New Guinea and once in the country they will be flying to the city of Madang where they will catch their breath for a couple of days and then head to 4 months of intense training before finally making it to the city of Ukarumpa where Jason will be a pilot for the JAARS/Wycliff associations. He will be assisting in getting translators, Bibles, missionaries and supplies into areas of that country that otherwise would be nearly impossible to reach.

You'll notice the three little munchkins in the picture...Mal, Dylan and Mo are gearing up for their own adventures....Schools, culture, food, language.

As Christians, we all have some level of sacrifice that God has called us to. What God has asked us to give or sacrifice doesn't even begin to touch what we have been given because of His own sacrifice. Like most missionaries I've met through the years, the Brewers are humbly sacrificing relationships, convenience and security to be sure that others know of the greatest sacrifice that has ever been made.

Will you pray with me, for them? Especially for these first few days of travel, time zone craziness (they will travel 16 time zones!), emotions running high and low....just whatever comes to your mind.

You can follow the Brewer's journey at Jaime's Blog HERE

..."We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first." — Oswald J. Smith

Shopping with a Missionary

So after seven heavenly days in the peach state, we headed to North Carolina to see one of my good friends and her family. They are currently living in Waxhaw, North Caroling at the JAARS training facility. Jaime's husband is doing his final training to be a missionary pilot in the country of Papua New Guinea. He will be helping take the Bible to areas of PNG that do not have a Bible in their language yet. They have an amazing story that has GOD written all over it. You can read more about it at her blog, My Head in the Clouds .

BUT, as spiritual as all that sounds, if you know Jaime, then you also know there are lots of fun moments when you are with her. And that being said, I feel a responsibility to give you an inside peek into what challenges a missionary woman faces in finding the appropriate clothing to take into a country like Papua New Guinea. I realize this is not a struggle all missionary wives have to deal with. But, in PNG it is highly offensive for women to wear anything that is fitted around the hips and waist, so with today's styles, this is a bit of a hunt.

So, when Jason and Bruce offered to watch all five kids for a few hours on Saturday evening, we did what girls do...SHOP...at Kmart...where they were playing some of the best jazz tunes of the 1980's! Here are a few of the outtakes from our evening:

We decided this might be just a wee bit much for the natives of PNG

We texted Jason about these...his exact words "that's not appropriate for anywhere". Darn.

"Booty" inflatable boot supports made us giggle....
and we decided these probably wouldn't be
 the best use of this missionary's money

BUT....here it is...the fashionable long cotton skirt...
in not just this color...but also blue and black! And they were on sale!
 It was a very profitable night for Jaime's wardrobe!

Pray for the Brewer's as they finish raising their support.
When we left they were at 68%. The goal is to have it all raised by the end of May.
I've never been happier to say goodbye to a good friend.
God has special...wonderful...amazing plans for them!