It has been eight months. It seems like just yesterday, but eight busy months have passed since we moved from Kings Lynn. The Lord has done amazing things in and with our family since we left, so we thought it would be a good time to share what has been happening in those eight long months.
Leaving was a very sad decision for us, and it was only because we felt it was the Lord's leading that we were able to make that decision; we prayed very hard that He would give us the strength to make another move across the world, and we saw the Lord clear the way before us. Before we even packed up the house, the Lord provided a job interview for me, so I flew to Boulder, CO to talk with a company about managing a coffee shop; I started work there three days later. I have a friend that I knew moved to CO not too long ago, but wasn't sure where he was living, come to find out it was about 20 minutes from my new job and I was able to stay with him long enough to find an apartment to rent. The Lord also provided a car for me to use through our good friend Alex Spampinato, which was a huge blessing. So in a matter of days, I found a job, a place to stay then a place to live, and a car. What a huge God we serve! Carleigh and the kids joined me soon after, and we have since started settling in to our new life here. The job is still going well, and I enjoy every day. The biggest blessing here though has been our new church. We found a small church in our town called Whitefields Community Church, which is a solid Bible teaching church full of on fire people. We have been able to get involved in childrens ministry, website and graphic design ministry, and setting up for Sunday mornings. We have been blessed getting to know our pastor Pete Nelson, and his family, and look forward seeing how the Lord can use us; simple sinners.
We have been reminded once again about the faithfulness of the Lord. When looking at the possibility of moving from England, we were very sad, and couldn't understand how this could be God's perfect plan for our life; but once again we get to see (even if it's only little by little) God's plan coming together. And even though we still miss all of our dear friends in King's Lynn, we undstand all the better What our Lord says in Isaiah - ""For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."" (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Nehemiah 9 is such an encouraging chapter of the Bible. Here the people of Jerusalem have just rebuilt the wall and in the previous chapter they reconnected with His Word, and now here in Nehemiah 9 they are connecting with God through prayer, and I am so encouraged.
The people prayed to God and they reflected on all that He had done for the Jewish people, going all the way back to Abraham. They listed the faults of the past but more importantly they listed God's faithfulness. And man is His faithfulness great! Every time the people failed God stayed strong.
"Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; for You are God, gracious and merciful." (Nehemiah 9:31)
And as I look back at the last few years, I see continually the Lord's faithfulness throughout every aspect of Calvary King's Lynn, from getting the Proffit family to England, to starting a Bible Study in our home, to now having a building of their very own. And so I am convicted to continue to pray for Calvary King's Lynn and those that are serving the Lord there. As we look to the future, and wait to see what the Lord is going to do in the city of King's Lynn, my hope is that those of us praying for this town would be convicted to pray faithfully, myself included. I pray that we would not grow weary in praying but that we would do our best to stay faithful to the call that God has for us in this church plant.
Let us come together as one body and pray without ceasing for the Lord's work in King's Lynn.
Carleigh
I have been talking to God quite a bit lately about all the changes that are taking place. Sometimes things that God does just don't make sense. Sometimes, they seem downright crazy and yet when we finally see the big picture it all comes together perfectly and everything makes perfect sense. And so I have been reflecting on Hebrews 11 for the last few weeks, because the Lord has done some crazy things which have caused the people to have to trust in Him completely as well as bring Him glory.
Here are a few examples:
Noah: "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen" (Hebrews 11:7) God was going to flood the earth. It had never even rained before and God told Noah to build an ark...and he did. Noah did something crazy because the Lord told Him to and in the end, he was saved, along with his family and all the animals, all because he listened to God.
Abraham: "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called,' concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead.." (Hebrews 11:17-19) Abraham waited years for the son that God had promised him and when he finally receieved that son, God asked him to give him up. It made no sense and yet Abraham was obedient to the Lord even at the cost of his son. In the end we see that God spared Isaac's life and from him came the nation of Israel.
Gideon: Gideon had an army of 22,000 men and the Lord told him that was too many to fight for Him. It made no sense to dwindle an army of that size down to 300 and yet that is exactly what the Lord did. With those 300 men the Lord delivered the Midianites into their hands. And this brought glory to the Lord.
There are so many more examples of the things the Lord has done that don't make sense and yet know we can look back through the Bible and see how each of those examples brings glory to Him.
And I am thankful for those examples in the Bible, especially now, when things don't make sense. Jared and I are preparing to move back to the states. We are unsure why the Lord would call us to leave King's Lynn and the work here. We are unsure why the Lord is sending us to Colorado, a place we have never before been. But He is and so we are stepping out in faith and trusting that He will show us the big picture in His perfect timing and that all will bring glory to God.
Please be praying for Calvary Chapel King's Lynn as well as the Proffit family and the McGinty family. Pray that the Lord would use them to further His kingdom. Pray that they would be able to find a building to meet in and that the Lord would provide all the funds needed for that.
And please pray for our family as we step out in faith and go to a new place. Pray that the Lord would give us opportunities to be missionaries in Colorado. Everyone needs Jesus!
"By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace." (Hebrews 11:31)
I love how God will use us despite our backgrounds, mistakes, or circumstances, and that He can use any of those things to draw people to Himself. He doesn't have to use any of us, but He chooses to because He loves us.
Take the harlot Rahab in Joshua 2. She brought the spies into her home and then hid them from the king and helped them to escape. God could have stopped there but He didn't because He wanted so much more for Rahab's life. She had heard the stories of all God had done for the nation of Israel,and she believed. Rahab knew that she wanted their God to be her God. And so God saved her life physically (by letting her escaped the city of Jerich0) as well as eternally. But God is so awesome and the story doesn't stop there. Rahab goes on to be grafted into the nation of Israel and ultimately is part of the genealogy of Christ. Did God have to do that? No, but He did because He loved her, and He loves us too.
My prayer is that I would be willing to be used by God no matter how big or how small, the opportunity may seem. Please pray for those of us serving here in King's LYnn, that we would be living by faith and looking for opportunities from the Lord to reach the lost here.
Carleigh
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31
I think if we are all honest with ourselves, we can say that each of us grow weary at some point in our lives. I know I have. But these verses brought such hope to me this week. I looked up the definition for the word weary in the Greek and it means: to be utterly spiritless, to be wearied out, exhausted. How awesome is it to know that our Lord never gets exhausted, or becomes utterly spiritless?
This last week was a rather exhausting week for me. We were struggling a lot financially and I couldn’t understand why the Lord was allowing certain things to happen. And then I found out that my Dad has cancer. It isn’t easy to be away from my family to begin with but then to have to be so far away while my Dad is sick, it’s almost unbearable. I felt I had reached my limit. Part of me wanted to just throw in the towel and go back to be near my Dad but deep down I knew that the Lord had brought me to England and that He would prove Himself faithful even in my weakness.
And He did! The Lord performed miracles. He provided the money we needed to get caught up on our bills. He showed me that He is taking care of both me and my Dad and He confirmed that I am exactly where I need to be. And He did all of it in His perfect timing. I am reminded of Isaiah 55:8, “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways’ says the Lord.” Looking back over these last few days I see how the Lord’s plan was perfect and He allowed things to happen in a certain order for a reason. I am so thankful that my God never grows weary.
So I ask you to pray for us, the missionaries this week. Pray that we would not grow weary while doing good. Pray that we would wait on the Lord and He would renew our strength. And pray for the people of King’s Lynn that they would come to know the living Saviour who can give them the strength to “run with endurance the race that is set before them, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the Joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”. -Hebrews 12:1-2
Carleigh
On Saturday I was able to attend a Calvary Chapel Teach the Word Conference and it was so refreshing. Twenty-seven different bodies of believers sitting together hearing the Word and worshiping together was just amazing and exactly what I needed.
One of the speakers was Brian Broderson and he spoke on trials and there were a few things he said that really stuck out to me and encouraged me.
1 Peter 1:6 “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials.” Trials are temporary. They don’t last forever. That isn’t to say that there won’t be another trial after this one but each trial is just for a season to grow us in our walks with Him. It is in these trials that our faith grows stronger and we rely more on Jesus and less on ourselves.
Trials are necessary to strengthen our faith in the Lord as well as the faith of others. God uses these trials that we go through to encourage other people in the same situation. If a trial I go through will one day encourage and draw someone closer to the Lord than it is worth going through.
Now, I have days where it seems like these trials I have, no matter how worth it in the long run they are, just seem like they are too much to handle. But then the Lord gently reminds me that He never gives me more than I can handle. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) How awesome is that! Even in the midst of trials our God is looking out for us.
Please pray for the lost people of King’s Lynn who don’t know that there is a God who will make a way of escape for them and take care of them even in the darkest moments. Pray that they would find the light of Jesus before it is too late.
Pressing on,
Carleigh
Matthew 6:26
