The Miracle Got Bigger

This morning during my devotional God gave me Matthew 21:21-22, He knew what He was doing.

April 16: Andrew opens the e-mail that we got from Back2Back telling us the amount that we need to raise to be able to start our ministry in Haiti.

Our response to the e-mail: WOW!!!

We knew that the amount we would need was going to be big and for a moment thoughts of fear and failure flashed across our minds, but at the same time excitement filled our hearts. While the number may seem like a giant in our way to some, we know that it will just make the miracle that much bigger.

You might ask "why are you guys excited about raising support, or that huge amount?"

"Why are you excited about leaving everything you ever new and loved?"

"Why are you excited about living by faith?"

Our answer: Because serving  and trusting God has brought peace, providence, happiness and freedom that passes understanding. It is a new life that we wouldn't change for anything because we know that we cannot be in better hands than His.

We are living an adventure. God has closed doors and we have felt discouraged at times, but He has opened better doors and now we understand His purpose for our lives.

It has been challenging, but who doesn't like a challenge?

It makes you feel alive. It helps you see that Glorious King that is bigger than the air we breath. It takes you one step closer to reality and away from this earthly dream.

Matthew 21:21-22
"I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

"whatever you ask for" We are led by vision, not an amount of money, and we know that it is only through Him who gives us strength that the vision will be provided for and fulfilled because He has not failed His promises and never will.

A New Normal

Over a month between blog posts seems a bit "procrastinatorist".

You can tell it has been awhile by how big Kai has gotten!

I am fighting the urge to use this post to go on a diatribe attesting to all of the many things that we have been up to so as to prevent you from thinking that we have been idly lounging around.

Instead I will just tell you that, adjusting to a life in which you are neither here, nor there, but here and preparing for there, is busy, and filled with uncertainties, challenges, and many, many opportunities for exercising patience.

We are very thankful for this time that God has given us to prepare to go. For the wonderful home He provided for us, and for the support that we have. But we still have a mountain to climb. So we progress, daily, to seek strength and patience while we wait on Him to provide the next step to take in faith. We are getting closer as we finish up the paperwork process with our organization, Back2Back Ministries. The biggest challenge has been the fact that we are creating a budget and fundraising goals for a place in which we have not lived and the organization has not yet operated.

So we are creating and making best guesses based on our research while in Haiti in February and March as well as Back2Back's previous site start up experience in other countries. It has been slow but is progressing.

So now that we have our "in flux" working budget and fundraising goals, we are just about ready to begin fundraising to achieve the Kingdom-sized goals for the vision that God has placed on our hearts as well as Back2Back's for the orphan child in Haiti.

While we  have been working with Back2Back on paperwork, we have also been busy with other things, including getting plugged back in at our home church, Faith Community Church working with the youth, worships team, and starting in May, helping out in the office during the week.

We also decided it would be best to file for Citizenship papers for Anna, so two weeks ago we mailed those off and started the 6 month process to get that taken care of.

We are also very close to launching our new website home, www.agconrad.com !!!

Also in the last month, Kai has been growing like crazy and now crawls...

And stands up...

And laughs hysterically...

And even hates some types of food...

Have a great Holy Week!