Transition
It’s funny how a place that seemed so foreign, so difficult, and so uncomfortable could suddenly be so hard to leave.
It’s funny how a place that seemed so foreign, so difficult, and so uncomfortable could suddenly be so hard to leave.
I distinctly remember the morning we drove away from sunny, familiar California and set out on a three day road trip to unknown, midwestern Missouri.
We had no friends there.
We had no family near by.
We had no community waiting for us.
We had no church body ready to welcome us in.
We knew no one.
They say Papua New Guinea is the “Land of the Unexpected,” but as far as I was concerned, Missouri was pretty much the state-side version of that, and I had mixed feelings about what we had just committed to for the next two years.
Sure, we had an address to the Missionary Training Center of Ethnos360 and knew we were taking part in a world-class training program with other students, but although we had a map, a plan, and appeared fairly confident that we knew what we were doing, I felt sick to my stomach with every passing mile.
The night before we left I laid awake in bed in my childhood room staring up at the rusty tweety bird keychain hanging from the fan that had probably been there for the better part of 20 years. That room and that house were full of so many memories and all I could think about was how the thought of leaving my family actually physically hurt. I spent the better part of that night with my knees to my chest in tears, processing with Michael, praying, and talking to a mentor on the phone. Were we making the right decision? Why does following in what God has called us to cause so much pain for us and our family?
I wrestled with God that night and over the course of the next 1,659 miles on the road the next day. Every time I took a turn driving, I fought the temptation to turn the car around right then and there; to go back to the familiar. To go back to what was comfortable.
“We all have wilderness seasons in our lives, times when everything that feels familiar, stable, and comforting falls away. But that’s exactly why the wilderness is a place of transformation. With nothing to distract us from ourselves, and with no one but God to rely on, the conditions are ripe for growth and change. If we embrace the wilderness wholeheartedly, it becomes a place in which we are freed from our bondage to fear, insecurity, and disappointment. A place where we move from being self-absorbed to others-minded. A place where we quit trying to be self-sufficient and learn to be interdependent with one another and entirely dependent on God. It’s where we learn to live wholeheartedly - to fully embrace the adventure that comes with the unexpected.” - Christine Caine
Transition is hard.
We came to Missouri not knowing very much about what we were getting into. We had more questions than answers and the whole first semester was honestly rough on our family in so many ways. But God has been so good and so gracious to us throughout our time here.
Missouri is where dozens of unfamiliar faces quickly became some of our closest and lifelong friends.
Missouri is where we’ve had the opportunity to sit under amazing teaching from seasoned missionaries who have years of experience on the field.
Missouri is where God strengthened our marriage and showed us how to function together as not only spouses, but students, parents, and coworkers together in ministry.
Missouri is where we’ve been privileged to live in community with some wonderful students and families with hearts to see the least reached people on earth become mature believers in Christ.
Missouri is where God allowed us to get plugged into a “home” church, Calvary Lake Ozark and feel known and loved every Sunday.
Missouri is where these California natives got to experience all four seasons for the first time (burrr, winter is cold!)
And Missouri is the place where although we came with fresh grief over the loss of our first baby, God blessed us with our sweet boy, Nash.
I see so much of His goodness intertwined with every bit of the transition, change, and unexpected we’ve faced; not merely in our two years here, but in every season. He is faithful, and His Word promises that He will never leave us or forsake us.
As we wrap up our final semester of training here, suddenly a place that I used to say I could never imagine myself living in has become home.
I was challenged throughout our time here by a chapel speaker who encouraged us to be good stewards of transition. He explained how transitions in life are inevitable, even more so with the missionary lifestyle. However, instead of being surprised or uprooted in our hearts when these seasons happen, what if God wants us to steward transitions for His glory?
“The unexpected is never going to stop happening, so let’s be disciplined enough in the wilderness to strengthen our hearts and live wholehearted no matter what is going on around us: Lord even if I cannot see you, I trust you. Even if I can’t hear you, I trust you.” -Christine Caine
As I think ahead towards the next step for our family - moving back to California to plug into our local church and reconnect with supporters - I look forward to what God might do in yet another season of transition. His past faithfulness gives me confidence for His future grace, and His unchanging character gives me a secure place to put my trust in an ever shifting, ever changing world.
See MORE BLOGS & posts
Final Semester!
We wrap up our final semester and give some updates on our future ministry out in the 20-degree weather!
Check out More videos on our blog!
You Asked, We Answered!
Check out all of the videos answering questions you submitted! Have any more questions? Send them our way!
WHAT IS NASH’S ROLE ON OUR TEAM?
WHAT IS GOD TEACHING US RIGHT NOW?
HOW DID YOU MEET?
WHAT ARE YOUR FEARS ABOUT MOVING OVERSEAS?
WHEN WILL WE GET TO PNG?
WHY DOES CHURCH PLANTING TAKE 10+ YEARS
Check out More videos on our blog!
10 Days in the Woods
We are back in civilization after spending the past couple weeks living in the woods and learning about sawmills, animal butchery, small engines, and a whole lot more!
Check out More videos on our blog!
Drone Shots + Semester Updates
Check out some aerial footage of our campus as well as the latest updates on our semester and when we graduate!
Check out our other recent posts!
Welcome Home Nash!
Our son was born Friday, June 8th at 8:59pm! Check out a full gallery of pictures below! [cover art by Dylan Simmons]
Springing into Summer
Time is flying by and the semester is quickly coming to an end. Take a look at what filled our busy Spring and what lies ahead in Summer.
54 MISSIONARY GRADUATES!
99% of us have experienced a graduation at some point in our lives. For some, this is in junior high, and for others, high school, college, or maybe even a post-grad program. This graduation was like no other. Not because of what has been already been accomplished, but with great expectation of what will be accomplished. We stood in the back of the auditorium as we watched some of our dearest friends walk across the stage, receiving a "right of passage" as they begin the next (and likely most challenging) stage of their ministry careers. 54 missionaries graduated this past Saturday morning and are preparing to move to over 10 different countries around the world that are unreached and desperate for the name of Jesus.
TRAINING AT A GLANCE
We are 3 weeks away from finishing up our first year of training; our final class of the Spring semester is May 18th! We will then break for summer until August 14th. During this break, Michael will be taking a Greek course (see more details below) on campus as we prepare for our son, Nash, to be born in the middle of June.
The past few months have been incredibly busy with travel, classes, and ministry, so we apologize for any lack of communication. This semester has been filled with courses and teachers that have challenged us and made us so grateful for the training we are receiving. These courses include Phonetics, Animism, Communications Practicum, Honor and Shame, Overseas Safety Training, Grammar, and CLA (Culture & Language Acquisition - we usually try to avoid using acronyms, but this one is worth learning!). Continue reading below for a brief overview of a few of the courses!
GRAMMAR ON A WHOLE NEW LEVEL
When was your last grammar class? 10, 20, 30 years ago? The title of our class is a bit deceiving though, as we aren't analyzing English grammar structures, but those of languages around the globe (Russian, Vietnamese, Bolivian, etc). What are the rules, combinations, and patterns that make that language unique? Where do morpheme and word breaks occur? Why on earth are some words 54 characters long? We always thought that the noun-adjective flip-flop in Spanish was hard enough! Unfortunately, that is only the tip of the iceberg in solving these linguistic puzzles, but we are thankful for the preparation in order to one day solve these same puzzles in the tribe.
HONOR & SHAME
Did you know that shame is mentioned in the Bible 10 times more than guilt? Guilt is associated with one's actions, addressing the question "What I've done," while shame addresses the question of "Who I am." Back in Genesis, man was created in the ultimate position of honor (image bearers of God) and lived in perfect shalom with Him. Once sin entered the world, however, shame plagued our existence and is still something we battle today. Shame is prevalent in the US, however, there are people groups around the world that are known to live in predominantly "shame-based cultures." These are the contexts we are heading into, and we just had the opportunity to take a class about the complexities of ministering in this type of context and the reality of the Gospel on the lives of people in these places.
NASH LEBLANC
We are 33 weeks pregnant (due on Morgan's birthday, June 16th!) and ready to have our little man outside of his mommy's tummy! He is healthy, very active, and giving his momma quite the range of emotions lately. Lots of ups & downs, back pain, and tears for no reason I can explain (thank you, hormones)! Side note: we are still thawing out as Spring is finally blooming!
AN IMMERSIVE APPROACH TO BIBLICAL GREEK
Translating the Bible is a huge responsibility, and not something that we take lightly. The opportunity to learn Greek this summer will allow us to translate directly from Greek to an indigenous tribal language, deepening our understanding of the Scriptures and skipping English as the middleman when possible. The 8-week course will run from May 21st to July 13th, 8:00am-2:30pm daily. Our instructor best described it as brainwash!
Our instructor for the course is a top Greek scholar, and one of very few instructors in the world with the knowledge to teach Greek as a living language (Living Koine Greek). We will be utilizing an "immersive" approach that focuses on listening, comprehension, and speaking in order to learn the language how it was learned back in the first century. This is very different from the traditional methods of Greek that you would learn in a university setting. If you want to see a demo of this type of approach, check out these pre-class "warmup" exercises we are doing!
WHEN WILL WE BE BACK HOME NEXT?
We are coming back to CA at the end of July for about 2 weeks! We are planning to be at Chino Valley Community Church on July 29th as well as Oceanside Christian Fellowship on August 5th. We would love to see you on either of those days! We will be heading back to Missouri on August 12th to begin our second and final year of training!
PRAYER REQUESTS
We covet your prayers and are so thankful for the team that God has given us to support us in this way. Please pray for perseverance and diligence to finish well as the semester comes to an end! Not only for us, but for the 54 new missionary graduates that are beginning the process of moving overseas and transitioning into a foreign context. They are headed into places that are new, uncomfortable, and spiritually very dark. We thank you for your prayers for community and church fellowship; we have been enjoying making deeper connections with families at our local church in Missouri. We are so grateful for this body of believers, and excited about the mission they have to reach their community - locally and globally. Michael also had the opportunity to teach at church this past Wednesday night on Colossians! Last, Morgan has been having a rough time physically and emotionally with this pregnancy and is ready to enjoy Nash outside of the womb :) Pray for meaningful time spent together as we transition to a family of three!
We praise God for you. Seriously. Especially those that read to the end! May the Lord bless you and keep you in this current season of your life. He is faithful and so so good to us.
We would love to hear from you!
March Ministry Update
Check out what we are learning in classes, why we will be back in CA in just 2 weeks, and what we are doing over summer!
LEARN MORE ABOUT SYNCRETISM
This article gives a great synopsis of what syncretism is and the dangers it poses to foreign missionaries.
2017 Annual Impact Report
Over a year ago, we set out with the dream of reaching an unreached people group. Here are some of the highlights of our first year in ministry!
2017 Annual Impact Report
Over a year ago, we set out with the dream of reaching an unreached people group. Here are some of the highlights of our first year in ministry!
Arriving June 2018
We have one in heaven and one on the way! We are officially 12 weeks along and can't wait to meet him or her!
