Hear it and Rejoice!

Each time I sit down to a blank screen, I feel so inadequate. My thoughts are so simple and God is working in such a way that even if I describe these blessings with the most accurate of adjectives, I still would fail miserably at describing the goodness and faithfulness God has shown to our family over the past couple of weeks.  But I know you want more to read of His blessings than my inadequacies, so to the best of my ability, I will share.

My soul will make its boast in the LORD; The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.  ~Psalm 34:2-3

On Monday, February 10, our family had a meeting with the pastor's council of our church. It was a precious time with the men of our church as they prayed for us, encouraged us,  and asked the hard questions about the current condition of our spiritual lives in order to provide accountability.  We, in turn, had the opportunity to really talk about the mission and vision we have to reach the people of Ecuador for Christ. After the meeting, we were called and notified that we had the full support of our church leadership and we had their blessing to begin our support raising efforts!

I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.       ~Psalm 34:4

Can I be honest and say that, for me, receiving the "go ahead" from our church to start raising support was exciting for all of 5 minutes? Once it finally sunk in that this is where the "rubber meets the road" so to speak, the fear slowly started to creep in. I began having thoughts like: How are we possibly going to raise the amount of financial support needed to make this happen? Neither of us are great public speakers and we only have so many friends to reach out to. What if I start to lose friends because they fear that every time they see me they think I am going to ask them for financial support? And to make matters worse, I had these thoughts all the while realizing that this is the calling God has placed on our lives and knowing that He already knows how He will provide for our needs. I was slipping into Satan's trap; I was overcome with worry and fear; I was in sin and I had to repent.

The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry. The righteous cry, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles.       ~Psalm 34:15, 17

We are now in our second full week of support raising and indeed the Lord has heard my cry and has delivered me from my trouble of worry and fear. God is providing us with a sweet group of partners who have committed to pray for and support our family as we make arrangements to move to another country. These partners are as excited as we are about the advancement of the Gospel and will likely never realize the degree to which God has used them to be a blessing in my life, specifically. They are a vital part to the success of our ministry. Without their support, whether prayerfully or financially, our vision for Ecuador would remain just that - a vision.

O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want.       ~Psalm 34:9

In addition to the very first ministry partners that the Lord has blessed us with, He has also provided David with a few churches that have graciously scheduled him to speak to their congregations about the need in Ecuador. We are prayerful that these opportunities help us connect with other like-minded Believers who desire to partner with us. As of now, we have two local churches scheduled and one church in Kentucky! Please continue to pray for us as the dates for these speaking opportunities approach. You could pray specifically that David would not be nervous, that we would represent Christ well, that the congregations would be eager to hear about the ministry, and that God would already be preparing the hearts of those whom He would have to partner with us. In return, we commit to keep you updated via newsletters and blog entries. We also would love to pray for you (please feel free to email us specific requests you may have so that we can pray specifically for you).

O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! ~Psalm 34:8

Grace and Peace,
~Lindsay
That Family [that's not quite yet] in Ecuador
godseyfamily@reachingandteaching.org