Jesus did not call me to be comfortable

On Monday we will have been here in PA for three weeks. Crazy how time flies. We have been catching up with friends, enjoying meals with grandparents, hanging out with my brothers and parents, seeing other relatives, and meeting with ministry partners and supporters. To you this probably sounds like a great time, but there are a lot of emotions that come with spending time with people in this area. Being here, we both have sensed a feeling of being comfortable. As I was playing in a church softball game this past week, it felt comfortable for the 10th summer in a row. I had the privilege of leading a worship team at Dillsburg BIC this past Sunday. It felt comfortable to be back in that role after the hundreds of times I’ve been on that stage. I have been able to help my brothers with their mowing business a few days. It felt comfortable to get my boots on, mow, weed wack, and run a blower. I was able to hang out and play some basketball and spike ball with some of my college friends last weekend. My friends are who I feel comfortable around, speaking the language that I am comfortable with. I have to constantly remind myself that...

JESUS DID NOT CALL ME TO BE COMFORTABLE.

He called me to take up my cross and follow Him. 

In Matthew 16:24 Jesus tells his disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Berean Study Bible)

“Radical obedience to Christ is not easy... It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And he is more than enough for us.” – David Platt

“I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what was radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable.” – David Platt

Being a follower of Christ I should not be comfortable – I don’t know what will come and so the only thing I can do next is to trust God. I have a vision and plans to start an after-school program as one of the first steps with Push The Rock. Krishauna has plans to start a special education training program for teachers. Do we both have all the details laid out? Absolutely not. Do we have vision and passion? Absolutely. Do we know what both ministries will look like next year at this time? Nope. Are we afraid, anxious, worried, and uncomfortable? Oh yeah. Are we the most qualified? Highly doubtful. Do we enjoy asking people for their money? Ha, yeah so much fun *sarcasm*. Do we believe God will provide no matter how much our budget is? Well we have to or else we aren’t putting our full trust in Him, but it's so hard. Has God called us? Well, we probably wouldn’t be in Guatemala if it wasn’t for His calling and our obedience to that call.

You don’t know how much it means to hear those of you who have said, 'we have been reading your updates' or 'we have been praying for you.' We are so thankful for your excitement to see us and to give us hugs. If you didn’t realize, the Holy Spirit is speaking through you to encourage us whether it is through audible words, a hug, a smile, or message or e-mail.

Our first steps as we head back are to find a new house to rent and finalize and sign paperwork to purchase our vehicle. We need to move houses because there is not a garage or place to park the vehicle where we currently live. We will be staying in the area we live now. We came to that decision because of connections with have made with different ministries and people, the very friendly town and area, accessibility to the city, Antigua, and the airport, and the amount of resources that are nearby. Lord willing, my residency paperwork will be completed and we can take the next steps to getting a DPI card (ID card) and Guatemalan driver’s license. These two items we are also currently working on for Shauna because of her name change. We ask for your prayers for these things!

I will be posting again before we leave, hopefully with many more photos of our time here, and also more specific details of what plans will be for the after-school program and vision of Push The Rock Guatemala!

This weekend I will be cheering on Dillsburg BIC quizzers at the national finals. Brings back lots of great memories, but one of the greatest memories was in the championship quiz in California in 2012. I jumped on a question, was able to finish the question and give the answer early in the quiz, and will never forget what that question was, "What is living and active?" THE WORD OF GOD. Keep in mind that The Word of God is not just a book, but is His Word to us, and it is constantly around us.

Jesus did not call me to be comfortable,

Andi