What's the plan?

Anyone who has known me for a significant amount of time knows that I like plans. Actually, scratch that…I LOVE plans! I love planning for the plan, making the plan, following the plan, and completing the plan. (I’m all for planning trips, budgets, menus, meetings, outfits, social gatherings…you get the idea).

Now before you decide that I need an intervention, let me just say that in the past five years, God has transformed my thinking in regards to my plans. He has taught me so much about releasing them to Him and allowing Him to decide if and when they will come into play.

I fully recognize that my best insights into the future are pitiful compared to God’s sovereign purpose and eternal vision.

That being said, on a practical level, creating a plan is still necessary in order to get moving and accomplish a long-term task. As the saying goes, “it’s much easier to steer a moving car.”

So, with the recognition that God is the one who is steering and He can choose to change any element of this plan that He desires, here is the plan for steps that I will be taking over the next four to five years.

- April 2016-July 2016: Complete final practorium classes; Speak to churches and individuals and build a team of prayer and financial partners who are excited to see God build His church among an people who have yet to even hear of Him; Finish well at my job at the crisis pregnancy center by completing the training for those who will take over serving and counseling with our clients; Prepare to move

- August 2016-December 2017: Move to Ontario, Canada to study at Emanate, a New Tribes Mission missionary training center; Graduate from the program in December 2017

- January 2018-June 2018: Finish raising financial support

- July 2018: Move to Papua New Guinea and begin learning the trade language while living at a training center.

- January 2019: Move into the tribe and join the Noyes and Swenson families as we learn the language and begin the process of making disciples

                                                                                                        

Honestly, sometimes it’s hard to wrap my mind around the idea that less than three years from today, Lord willing, I will be living in the jungle of Papua New Guinea, surrounded by people with whom I can’t yet communicate, and starting the 10-20 year process of planting a church, translating the Bible, and discipling them to maturity in Christ!!

(To get a visual understanding of the building blocks of this process, check out this video from NTM.)

In January, I visited the Emanate training center where I'll move in August 2016.

So, this is the plan; I’ve done my best to listen to the wisdom of godly men and women as I’ve worked to create it, and while it is incredibly exciting and overwhelmingly scary to consider, I know it can only come about through the guidance and provision of God. He may choose to rearrange some dates and alter some details; please pray for me that I will be sensitive to His leading and allow Him to do as He pleases with my life.