Ending is Beginning

It's amazing how the ending of one thing is the beginning of something new.  My daughter, Caitlyn, went home earlier than the rest of us to attend several of these events.  First, she went to her best friend's graduation.  Then, she went to my nephew's graduation.  Next weekend, she will take part in our close friend Dawn's wedding.  All of these events are the celebration of the ending of one part of life and the beginning of another.  Caitlyn's best friend and my nephew have both completed high school and are now entering the next stage of their lives which could include college, trade school, marriage, etc.  There are many roads to follow, yet they must choose the path.  My friend Dawn, on the other hand, is going from being a single teacher in Vietnam to a wife.  She is moving into a new stage of life where it's no longer just her opinion and desires, but her and her husband's.  Whenever someone has an ending is beginning time, the world is open before them.  There are so many options.  What we do in the beginning is very important to lead to the next ending is beginning stage.

We are also at one of these ending is beginning stages.  We are leaving Korea after almost 5 years here.  This chapter in our life is closing, but the next chapters haven't been written for us yet.  We don't know where we will go from here.  There are so many things we could do, but what does the Lord want us to do?  This is the real question.  We want to follow Him and do His will and work.  It feels like this time in Korea was walking in the wilderness and desert.  I have felt dry and all alone.  Lost in the hustle and bustle of life, but still held in the hands of the Father.  This time has served to help me learn and grow.  I know I am not the same person I was when I left the U.S.  He has used this time to strip away many things in my life that were not needed.  He has helped me to see that many things in life need to be simplified.  We complicate things that should be simple.  When we came to Korea, we only had what we brought in the luggage we brought.  Now we have so much more that has cluttered our lives.  As we prepare to move, we are evaluating all of our things to see if they are worthwhile to keep.  We have found that many things clutter our house and our lives.  It complicates our daily functioning and makes us grumpy continuously cleaning them up.  Our whole lives are just like this.  We have many things, many relationships, and many actions that have no purpose or that clutter our lives.  Our family is trying to clean out the clutter of our home, but more importantly the clutter in our lives that distracts us from being on mission with God.

God has blessed me with finding some new friends here in Korea.  They are all foreigners here that are studying to be pastors or missionaries.  Many of them come from countries that are closed to traditional missionaries.  They have helped me remember what God has called us to be and do.  I feel that God is leading us back full circle to where we began many years ago when we were in Bible college.  We felt then that God was calling us to a Hispanic country to make disciples and start churches.  We are not sure how this can be accomplished now, but we know that God will provide.

Please be in prayer for us as we consider what the Lord is leading us to do.  Thank you in advance for your prayers.  If there is anything we can pray with or for you about, please let us know.