Change of Plans

Our lives have suddenly taken on a completley different direction. We will no longer be going to Mozambique as missionaries, instead we will be returning to WI to find "normal" jobs. We receieved the news last Saturday that WELS (our church) no longer has the money to support the mission work that was planned for Mozambique. Due to the economic crisis in the world, WELS is also facing severe money problems, and unfortunately these money problems have trickled down the ladder. Many home and world missionaries have lost and will loose their calls (jobs).

As we plan the next step in our lives, we find ourselves dealing with many different emotions, and the most common emtion is a feeling of great sadness and loss. Bill has worked for nearly three years to get to Mozambique and we have been in transition to get there for two. It has been a long and difficult two years and it is hard to believe our hard work will not accomplish our goal, to proclaim Christ's love to the lost souls in Mozambique!!! We are so willing and ready to do this work and yet......we will not be going. How does one come to accept this and move on?

The only way we can come to accept it is to focus on Christ. We do not understand God's plan for our lives at this time. We do not understand why the Lord is not using our gifts in Mozambique, but we do trust Him. He knows what is best for us and will use our gifts somewhere else. He will give us the peace we need to move on and accept the new path our lives are going to take.

As we deal with our emotions and try to accept the direction our lives are taking, I find myself thinking of the many other people affected by these budget cuts. There are many other missionaries who have lost their calls and are dealing with many of the same emotions we have. There are many national church's in many countries that will be left without missionaries. Are these national churches mature enough to take care of themselves and do the work? Are the national pastors equipped to shephard the sheep that have been left behind? And what about the souls that have not year heard about their Savior (Mozambique)? Who is going to tell them? Who is willing to leave their family and homes to go live in a foreign land and tell them? So many lives are affected by the budget cuts, and yet the Lord is still in control Our earthly minds can not understand these problems, but the Lord understands and will take care of all who are effected. What a GREAT GOD we have!

I once again ask for your prayers. Please pray that we come to accept this decision and find peace. Please pray for the many other missionaries and pastors who have also lost their jobs. Please pray for the souls in Mozambique and around the world that Christ's love will still be proclaimed to them, despite us not being the ones to tell them. Thank you for your prayers!!!