Drawing To a Close

We leave in less than three weeks. Even as I type that it’s difficult to believe.  Within 20 days from now we’ll have closed a very significant chapter in our lives, both individually and as a couple.  And while I’d by lying if I said that I wasn’t excited to go home, I know full well that JBay is going to be a very difficult place to leave.  I’ve already started my goodbyes and they haven’t been easy in the slightest.  Christina and I are beginning to look at things in the context of, “This is the last time we’ll do this.”  We’re looking at restaurants to make sure we get out last meal in there.  We’re making appointments with ministry partners not just to get their feedback on how our students did there, but to give a personal “thank you” for their partnership as well as their friendship for the past two and a half years.

 

 Christina with one of our friends from Ithemba  In the center is Jaap, our Joshua Project partner

 

But as hard as this is, I can take comfort in knowing that long after we are gone, God will remain here.  God has amazing plans for this town, I know it, and we have been privileged to be a part of those amazing plans.  We can definitely see a change in this town since we arrived over two years, and it’s more than just the landscape.  We’ve seen changed lives, changed hearts, and even changed businesses.  And we know that what the Lord has started, He will continue on to com
pletion until the day of Christ Jesus (Php 1:6).  And we know also that there’s so much more that we can’t even see – progression towards the Kingdom of God that will be brought to fruition sometime in the future.

  Our good friends, George and Michelle                Me with one of my closest friends, Kevin

 

That’s one of the things I love about God.  He doesn’t need to use us, but He wants to.  Would what the Lord want to have happened to JBay have happened whether we had come here or not two years ago?  I believe that in some way, shape, or form that it would have.  But He chose me and Christina to work alongside of Him in bringing His glory to this place.  He knew that what He had planned here was so fantastic and, being God, couldn’t keep Himself from wanting to share that fantastic-ness (I know that’s not a word, but go with me here) with His children.  And during it all, He’s blessed us with some amazing friendships, community, and a deeper love for each other than we would have known otherwise.   

 

Until our departure date on the 21st, however, we will continue to work here with the full knowledge that God hasn’t finished using us yet.  That there’s still more for us to do here.  As challenging as it is to not look ahead to what’s next, we know that we are still called here.  So we would appreciate your prayers for perseverance to finish strong, relishing every last moment, acknowledging that it comes from the Lord because of His love for us.