Thanksgiving

I do not think that I would do well posting every day for Thanksgiving during the month of November but I certainly can write a post about my thankfulness. This year has been wonderful for us. This year I have told many people that we have a great life. God loves me and has saved me and my family. We can have joy in Him daily if we so choose. This has been so clear to me this year. Misery is my choice; circumstances do not determine my happiness; I do. I am thankful that God has shown me this and that more often than not I am choosing joy.

My wife and children have been wonderful to me. Sarah has grown so much spiritually and is a great friend to people in our church. She runs and organizes the women's group, children's ministry and our household all at the same time. The girls are growing into well behaved sweet girls with their own personalities. Evelyn is growing up and taking on responsibilities. Anna Claire is a little crazy but is more and more sensitive to how to treat others.

God has sent awesome people to our church. We have many involved in ministry to the point where one visiting pastor said our people ministry involvement ratio is out of the roof. We have a solid Bible study in another town that is probably going to take a big step in organization as a church next year. So many people work hard with us and are so kind to us.

When I signed up for missions I thought I was signing up for a life separate from family and the benefits we enjoy as Americans. I thought we would be poor our whole life and would have many difficulties. While some of those thoughts may be true to a certain degree I feel like the missions life is not as difficult as it has been in the past. I prefer to be in Brazil; we are very comfortable here and our family has only extended to include Brazilian family. Our other families are a Skype call away and our furlough schedule has made it possible to see them fairly often. Missionary families use to move to the field and pack their belongings in coffins as it symbolized giving their lives for the ministry of the gospel.

We have a load of faithful supporters. There are 62 churches/individuals that give to us regularly. It blows me away that there are that many people who make us enough of a priority that they send their hard earned money to the mission so that we can live, work and make disciples in Brazil. We often get single gifts or anonymous gifts that carry us as well. Our actual monthly support level has been below our need for a while but because of people who give a little extra here and there we have not gone in the red (at least not since 2012). 

Continuing to list everything would probably bore you as there is so much more. I do want to say though that I am thankful for my failures and weaknesses. We are all born with pride and it can come along so easily in life. I am already pretty prideful, but if I didn't mess up so much it might be worse. God is gracious, merciful, kind, good and Sovereign! Blessed be His name.