Johnstein!

Hey everyone…the last couple of entries have detailed some of the frustrations that Rebecca and I have been experiencing. We know and trust that God will be faithful in providing for this call. We know that what God demands, he provides…BUT, we are still lame, and we get caught up in the details and the “now”, rather than strive towards the end goal. We forget that God’s timing is perfect… One of the administrators at AAE (where Rebecca and I are currently working) sent the following devotional to Rebecca and I yesterday…I’d like to share it with you; God will not fulfill your dream immediately  By: Rick Warren " But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!" Habakkuk 2:3 (LB) "We all have to go through these waiting periods. Even Jesus waited fo...

We've had a couple of great opportunities to share over the last week. On Tuesday, we got to share with some families of kids that I have taught and coached at AAE. It was a very encouraging (as all these presentations have been). Last night, we presented to about 25 or so college students in the AVBC college age bible study. It was nice because it was very different from our other presentations. I basically just spoke to them about the path that Rebecca and I have been on, including all our "testimonial" stories...very fun to break away from the "standard" presentation. I was bummed that we couldn't stay for the whole bible study, but with Justin needing to get to sleep...too many late nights have definitely been taking their toll. If you could, please keep all of us in your prayers as we are all battling some nasty cold symptoms...I have been feeling bad (stuffy head, fever, body aches, soar throat) this whole week, Rebecca just went to the urgent care...

We had the opportunity to present our calling at our home church, Apple Valley Baptist Church. It was a very long, but encouraging day. We showed a shorter version of our video, and I spoke a bit. We spent some time speaking to the bible study classes and answering questions. We are praying that God will use the members of our home church to partner with us on our support team. While we were walking around we were asked if we had any specific requests and needs that needed to be met. We told the group that we needed to rent out our house. This was the only time we mentioned this during the morning. There just happened to be a lady in the room who will be in need of renting a house! She seemed very interested in renting our home, the size and location of our house is perfect for her. Please keep her family in your prayers as they decide if this is something they need/can do. We still have about 80% of our monthly support to go...please pray that God will give us patience in this pro...

So the plan is to update this blog a lot more regularly than once a week...but things get busy. We have been very busy...We spent a very wonderful mother's day weekend in Orange County; we went to the Anatolian Food and Cultures Festival, spent time with our moms, and I was able to go to a movie with my dad, Justin, and my nephew Nathan. Very fun. I took the day off on Tuesday to take care of some paperwork hoops in that are necessary for our visa application. I ended up driving most of the day: driving from Apple Valley to Downtown LA, Downtown LA to Santa Ana, Santa Ana back to Downtown LA, and then back to Apple Valley. At the end of the day, I ended up with 3 documents with an Apostille, but also with the realization that I would have to do it all over again with another doc...oh, well. Yesterday, we went to the Air 1 Appreciation Tour. It was Justin's first "show" and he was loving every minute of it. He and his buddy Ray, and Ray's sister Jenna, were f...

So...lots to write about today This weekend was a very interesting weekend... We started the weekend off with officially putting in our letters of resignation at the Academy for Academic Excellence. This is a huge step. Obviously. But it means that no matter what happens with our support raising...we won't be coming back here. Saturday was a very busy day. I attended a men's event at Apple Valley Baptist Church which was chock full of amazing and encouraging Bible teaching...and a fantastic breakfast burrito. While I was at the church, Rebecca was taking care of our garage sale, selling all our stuff. We were able to get rid of quite a bit of stuff. It has been a very freeing experience to begin to empty our home...My mom and dad came up to help us with the sale which was a HUGE help to Rebecca. My dad took Justin to his game while mom stayed with Rebecca, and I went to the Men's event. I must say that all these events were extremely encouraging...it was nice to spe...