To our family, and friends around the globe,
Just a few months ago my new wife and I plunged into the second biggest commitment of our lives. That is, we came together in holy matrimony which is second only to a commitment to God in Christ Jesus as it is in itself designed to be a physical representation of the self-sacrificing love of Christ and the incredible respect and submission of His bride, the church. This most holy covenant we entered into with great reverent fear knowing that these shadows of spiritual substance imply a weight of glory far greater than we can yet fully comprehend. Day by day I am discovering how zealously I must guard this fundamental institution of family because it is through this basic structure that we have all come to be. The foundation of every firm family is Christ and then the husband and wife and then the children they raise and then other family and friends. The enemy desires to destroy this beautiful structure instituted by God. However, the enemy does not have the power to destroy the unshakeable foundation that is Christ Jesus therefore the most strategic point of attack so as to collapse the whole structure is to attack the husband and wife relationship. Therefore the wife and I's relationship will be a continual focal point of the enemy's attack. This may not be new information to many people and I know it was not new to us. We knew this to be true but we knew that God had given us the weapons in Christ to overcome the enemy. Amen.
The next step we took was returning to our work in the mission field of Germany. We knew it would not be exactly like home but we figured as long as we were together it would not really be like going to war or anything it would just be continuing our labor. So we returned to Germany full of the Holy Spirit and working powerfully for Him yet since our return we have been repeatedly walled-up and hedged-in from pursuing the ministries that were really on our hearts. It seemed like the more we pushed the more entangled we got. It seemed our struggles only continued to multiply and increase with time and we could feel the multitude of these outside factors weighing heavily on our new marriage. Housing was a continual issue and then visa problems multiplied further as did employment and insurance issues and with other limitations, hindrances, and trials so we began diligently seeking counsel and direction. (Also for those of you who have not heard we are expecting a baby in December!! One might be able to imagine how this could add further complications to many of those situations.) I do, however, know that God is fully able to easily fix all of those things. In this sense I do not need to have a thorough understanding of everything going on but in that case I need to have that "peace that surpasses all understanding" and that too was lacking which was rather bothersome.
One older man counseled us by taking us back to Deuteronomy chapter twenty-four, "When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken." I was fairly familiar with the verse but as I have said I had reasoned that Germany was not really like going to war for us but this man said, "You are in a different land with a different language with a different culture with different laws. You came to the frontlines. You should go back and establish your family first and then press on to missions." This brought more relief and peace than anything else we had considered and as we began investigating the option God brought us many words of encouragement that it was the right way to go. And so we have decided together with the Holy Spirit that the next right step is to return to the States to focus on our family for at least one year before pressing on into missions with renewed strength. We know this may come as a surprise to you just as it has to us but so goes the exciting journey of faith. We are quite convinced that this is the wisest thing to do and that in the long run we will be more fruitful and productive for having taking this time to start it right. We want to focus on our cleaving to one another so that the enemy will not find any fissure by which to separate that which God has brought together. We appreciate your prayers through this time and if anyone has any additional leads on work or housing we would be very thankful for that as well. May the grace of God be with you all as you abide in Him.
Mr. and Mrs. S.
Mr. and Mrs. S.
p.s. we will be arriving july 7th (two weeks from today) see many of you loved ones soon!!
- Thursday, June 23, 2011
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