The Bad News: Our visa package didn't arrive when FedEx said it would.
The Good News: Our visa package arrived!
The Question: Will our visas pass through the bureaucracy without any hang ups? Well, you can pray with us that it does. As it has been through the entire process so far, God has met our needs and exceeded our expectations.
Please continue to pray for us as we approach the final stretch before our departure. Pray that God will continue to prepare our hearts to enter a new culture and lifestyle, final preparations will be met, prepare the people of Buff Bay for our arrival, and that we will rest on God's grace!
Grace and peace,
Jon and Kirsten
Friday, November 6, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Haikus, visas, and the sovereignty of God
The cost of 25 photocopies: 75¢
The cost of extra passport pictures: $8/person
The cost of mailing documents to Jamaica for processing: $42
The cost of your prayers as we wait to hear about whether or not we will receive visas with cost exemptions: priceless!
I was thinking a haiku may be more impressive, but have you ever tried to write one about traveling visas? Yeah, neither did I. Anyway, we hope that you will keep praying with us about preparing to ship off. We sent off our visa information last week and hope that by the end of this week it will be in Kingston being processed. We also hope that all the information they need is there and/or nothing is rejected or in need of supplement. God has proven himself faithful in each step in the process by repeatedly exploding our expectations. So we trust Him even in this. It is often said that the devil is in the details, but as it was recently said at a conference on the sovereignty of God - God is, in fact, in the details. Therefore there is no need to stress about whether we will get the visas in time or not, because the reality is whatever does happen with the visas...God is certainly still sovereign and in control!
More to come.
Jon and Kirsten
The cost of extra passport pictures: $8/person
The cost of mailing documents to Jamaica for processing: $42
The cost of your prayers as we wait to hear about whether or not we will receive visas with cost exemptions: priceless!
I was thinking a haiku may be more impressive, but have you ever tried to write one about traveling visas? Yeah, neither did I. Anyway, we hope that you will keep praying with us about preparing to ship off. We sent off our visa information last week and hope that by the end of this week it will be in Kingston being processed. We also hope that all the information they need is there and/or nothing is rejected or in need of supplement. God has proven himself faithful in each step in the process by repeatedly exploding our expectations. So we trust Him even in this. It is often said that the devil is in the details, but as it was recently said at a conference on the sovereignty of God - God is, in fact, in the details. Therefore there is no need to stress about whether we will get the visas in time or not, because the reality is whatever does happen with the visas...God is certainly still sovereign and in control!
More to come.
Jon and Kirsten
Saturday, October 24, 2009
God's Providence
I just got off the phone with a very good friend, and it reminded me of God's providence and incredible grace. Why? Well, I had been meaning to call this person for weeks, but for whatever reason it was either too early or too late in the day to do so. However, my butt accidentally called today (ever have you butt call someone?...my phone was in my back pocket), and it was a very pleasant surprise. It always amazes me how God shows up when we need Him most. It is my tendency to explain this away by chance, but there is no real reason that my phone should unlock itself and call a person in the "D"s on my call list. You may call it chance, but this one I am chalking up to God. The conversation was a like ice cream on a hot day. It was what both our souls really needed!
The reason I tell you this is because the whole process of preparing for Jamaica has functioned this way. We have taken very small steps, and God has worked them into big ones. We began fundraising only a five and a half months ago, and it is indeed looking like we will be spending the Christmas holiday in Jamaica! No tickets have been purchased, so this could in fact change, but the truth is that God has worked incredibly throughout the whole process. My tendency (as with my phone call tonight) is to rely on a network of wonderful people such as yourselves or our superior skills (i.e. numchuck skills, computer hacking skills, etc.), but each of these is wrong. If we are really honest, we will certainly see God at work in each step in the process.
There are still some thing that need to happen in order for us to get to Jamaica before the new year, however. We need visas! Not the plastic variety; we need approval from the Jamaican embassy. We are currently working on this, but time is of the essence. So please pray that paper work will go through for us to attain a long-term visas (with this working visa we will not need to leave the country every 3-6 months). Also, we are hoping to be in the last weeks of being at home, so please pray for us as we say goodbyes and finish packing! Lastly, please pray that we will continue to trust God's timing and providence.
Grace and peace,
Jon and Kirsten
The reason I tell you this is because the whole process of preparing for Jamaica has functioned this way. We have taken very small steps, and God has worked them into big ones. We began fundraising only a five and a half months ago, and it is indeed looking like we will be spending the Christmas holiday in Jamaica! No tickets have been purchased, so this could in fact change, but the truth is that God has worked incredibly throughout the whole process. My tendency (as with my phone call tonight) is to rely on a network of wonderful people such as yourselves or our superior skills (i.e. numchuck skills, computer hacking skills, etc.), but each of these is wrong. If we are really honest, we will certainly see God at work in each step in the process.
There are still some thing that need to happen in order for us to get to Jamaica before the new year, however. We need visas! Not the plastic variety; we need approval from the Jamaican embassy. We are currently working on this, but time is of the essence. So please pray that paper work will go through for us to attain a long-term visas (with this working visa we will not need to leave the country every 3-6 months). Also, we are hoping to be in the last weeks of being at home, so please pray for us as we say goodbyes and finish packing! Lastly, please pray that we will continue to trust God's timing and providence.
Grace and peace,
Jon and Kirsten
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Are you still there?
Hello!
We apologize that we have not updated for about two weeks, because there has been lots happening! We have been to Boston and back and then to NYC and back while moving into our new (temporary) apartment. We thank you for your prayer support over the last couple of weeks. We will be posting some pictures and a video update to tell you all of our travels...
Please be in prayer for us as we continue to raise support and prepare to leave. You can also pray for me as I will be preaching Sunday night at Ocean City Baptist Church at 6pm. If you can make it, great!
Lots more to come!
Grace and peace,
Jon and Kirsten
We apologize that we have not updated for about two weeks, because there has been lots happening! We have been to Boston and back and then to NYC and back while moving into our new (temporary) apartment. We thank you for your prayer support over the last couple of weeks. We will be posting some pictures and a video update to tell you all of our travels...
Please be in prayer for us as we continue to raise support and prepare to leave. You can also pray for me as I will be preaching Sunday night at Ocean City Baptist Church at 6pm. If you can make it, great!
Lots more to come!
Grace and peace,
Jon and Kirsten
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Beantown! and some other news
Kirsten and I are on the road again this week. We are going to spend the long weekend in Boston. We will be visiting a church a little outside the city as well as hanging out with some good friends. Please pray as we will be presenting our ministry to the saints at Sovereign Grace Chapel, and I will be teaching a Sunday school class. As for the rest of the weekend, we will be kickin' it in Beantown! The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind, but God is good, and we are excited to mix some business with pleasure in John Adams' hometown!
In other news, Atlantic Christian School has asked me to step in for the first couple of weeks of school to teach a Bible class. You can pray for their new Bible teacher as he is recovering from a burst appendix! That said, please be in prayer for me as I try to get back in the mindset of school, having spent the entire summer trying to get out of it!
We will share more later...but for now, I am posting some of the pictures of the Glenn Taylor Band benefit concert. Enjoy the pictures and the holiday weekend!
Grace and peace,
Jon and Kirsten
In other news, Atlantic Christian School has asked me to step in for the first couple of weeks of school to teach a Bible class. You can pray for their new Bible teacher as he is recovering from a burst appendix! That said, please be in prayer for me as I try to get back in the mindset of school, having spent the entire summer trying to get out of it!
We will share more later...but for now, I am posting some of the pictures of the Glenn Taylor Band benefit concert. Enjoy the pictures and the holiday weekend!
Grace and peace,
Jon and Kirsten
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Two Debtors Sermon
Below is the audio from a sermon I preached at Ocean City Baptist Church. As we get ready to go, I have been asked to preach at church. This is a learning process but I thought that I would share it with all of you. That said listen, comment, enjoy...
Jon
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