Are we ready?

Looking over what all has happened since we last updated this page, it would seem that that question keeps coming up. Are we ready?

When we last updated you there was flooding all over Ecuador. Were we ready?

Before that one of the volcanoes here was spewing ash all over the countryside around. Were we ready?

We have tried to be, both individually and as a mission. We went to help out those in the flooded regions here in Ecuador with both medical and material (food, clean water, clothing) help (see the video posted in the prior news item). It was close enough to home that many Ecuadorians could be involved and provide more coverage in evangelism and counseling.

When the Missionary Personnel Director asked me one afternoon in passing if we would be willing to move to Shell, Ecuador to work half-time in Information Systems (IT) and half time in Community Development, were we ready?

Well, frankly it was a little bit of a surprise. Though we have had an interest in Community Development and have been helping out there, we didn't expect the proposal.

We thought about Keilah getting comfortable with her schoolmates, that we had bought into the townhouse where we are living, and that our kids are able to know and interact with their cousins with Pauli's family being close by (which is a mission-field in itself).

We started praying about it and the long "Labor Day" weekend here (May 1-4) went to visit Shell which is about four and a half to five hours south-southeast of where we are now.

We came back feeling that that was where we should go and talked to the Missionary Personnel Director about accepting the position. There are still quite a few details to be worked out, but that is the direction we are heading now.

We will be taking over for the IT person who is leaving HCJB Global at the end of the summer (Keith Isbell) and we will be working with Alfredo and Alex León in Community Development. You can see a little about the Hospital Vozandes del Oriente here and about the Community Development Department here.

Please pray with us as we continue to work out the details of the transition including who might rent our place in Quito and where we might live in Shell.

Please also pray for us as this will incur an additional cost for us transitioning to Shell and right now we are having to take a reduced monthly allowance already as some supporters have had to drop from our financial team. (Would you consider sharing this need with any friends who might be looking to support missions?)

Getting back to the "Are you ready?" part, Steve is still trying to test out a system for backing up the computer systems in Quito. It is going on four months now and due to different interruptions, technical problems, waiting on other people, and other things it is still not finished and in place. We know we aren't ready for problems that would need us to recover computer data from backups. We thank God for his grace and mercy in helping keep things going while in this state. Please thank God with us for this and continue to pray for us in this time.

While thinking about this, I started thinking about some of the following items:

When the cyclone in Myanmar or the earthquake in China occurred, were we ready?

We hear of the wars all over Africa, the Middle East, and Afghanistan. Were we ready?

When the mortgage and credit crisis came and the oil prices kept increasing, were we ready?

When, as a result, charitable giving dropped off to missionaries and we had to take a reduction in our monthly income, were we ready?

When food prices have risen (e.g. the cost of flour here in Ecuador doubled), were we ready?

Closer to us, when the Academia Cristiana del Aire had to close down for an indefinite period of time, were we ready?

When our backup system for the Computers hasn't been working reliably for a couple of months and the testing of a new system keeps running into snags, are we ready?

Many of us find it easy to think about providing material help like donating money, food, clothes, time or other such things which are really needed, but how often do we think about spiritual help?

We read the Bible and the book of Revelation or other books like the Left Behind series by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye or the books in the series beginning with The Last Jihad by Joel C. Rosenberg and some of us think that the end times could be upon us. Are we ready?

Regardless of whether the end times are upon us or not, when we look at the natural disasters, the random crimes or terrorist acts, or even the mundane traffic accidents or health issues we need to admit that the last days for many people are here now each and every day. I would challenge each one of us to think if we are ready to meet God face to face today. Are we personally ready and sure we would end up in heaven? Are you ready?