I am sitting here enjoying some rare and wonderful warm weather and sunshine in Scotland. We have just returned from Manchester, where we found a home for our family and a place for our future new friends to congregate with us! Ramp UK will be officially kicking off with our first UK conference this fall. We would LOVE to have you with us during this history-making moment! The big event will happen October 7th and 8th.
Claire and Chloe on the edge of the North Sea. // St. Combs, UK
Game-Changing Grace
We will be making the 400-mile relocation to Manchester this summer. Moving a family of five and a wild dog is no small feat. I can understand why some people would use their children as a reason to opt out of Jesus’ instructions to “GO into all the world.”
I’ve had to push through intimidation and worry as we’ve uprooted our kids from their amazing church community and stellar grandparents. It’s in these stretching times that the conviction of God’s grace rises up within me. His grace and truth help steer my emotions back to a calm, tranquil place.
When God calls, he provides the grace that makes it possible to obey in joy and peace, and his joy and peace are real. They’re not something I just hope for. God's grace is a game-changer, available in everyday life.
Olivia finding solace from the endless activity in an orphanage. // Ialoveni, Moldova
You Are Needed
Alongside directing Ramp UK, we are still working with Stella’s Voice. Years ago, I had a narrow view of what missionaries do. I pictured grass huts in the fields of Africa (like I’ve been to on my own African trips) and walking hut to hut with a Bible “converting” people. Thankfully, my perspective has grown, and I hope it will continue to grow. This past year, I’ve been able to see firsthand the necessity for every gift and skill set on the mission field.
If I can take one word from Joe and my experiences over the past 15 months to encourage you, it would be this: You are needed in this world and specifically, in the missions movement. Your gifts, your passions, your testimony, your abundance, your struggles and victories, and your story are needed among the world’s most vulnerable, most desperate people.
The world needs your light and testimony of God’s life-changing gospel at work in you. Like Paul tells the Ephesians, seize every opportunity for doing good because the days are evil, and don’t shrink back when opportunities come in unexpected—or even disappointing—circumstances.
Scottish wheat field nearly ready for harvest. // Stonehaven, UK