I reached a turning point in my life when I deployed to Iraq the first time, in 2006. There, I had a taste of battle-the flesh and blood kind. And I saw my share of both. The daily adrenaline rush, the intensity, the immediacy, the brotherhood, the bonds–were all things I would never forget. I couldn’t go back to a desk job. My Air Force bosses kept telling me that I had a bright future: I received medals, accolades, and job offers, but none of it could replace the thrill of battle. Until God revealed to me the other battle I had signed up for long ago… one that wasn’t flesh and blood, but it was no less real: A battle in the heavenly realms, where the fighting is fiercer, the stakes higher, fought between principalities of darkness and messengers of Light. At the same time that God was tugging my heart the hardest, I had the opportunity to join my friends at Adventures in Missions. It was an easy decision.
From Bec-
I can’t tell you how much I long for “real church.” I dream of having a worship party, not a worship portion of a service. I dream about meeting friends for coffee and a good chat, while at the same time figuring out what this ‘whole thing’ is all about, finding each other’s gifts and helping each other become exactly who God made us, not who the latest sermon says we should be. If I stop trying to be me, and let God make me me, then His goal can be accomplished. I think we have complicated Christianity, so many rules, so many sermons and tape series–it seems to me that we already have the commands of “go and make disciples” and “defend the widow and the orphan,” and that we should spend less time reading another book on the seven steps to a happy life and go and do what Christ told us to do… as a byproduct, we will be a happy life.
And so I am totally excited that we are able to join up with G42 and do what God told us to do. Discipling the way Christ did, over dinner, on hikes, in a field, in a house. Making life and discipleship one and the same. As for the widows and the orphans, what a fantastic opportunity we have to change a nation (Swaziland) through living out such a commandment. It is not just about feeding them for the moment, but about changing a society and breaking the cycle. It is about life, not death (spiritually and physically), it is about families and it is about God. It is about being a mommy to mommyless, a friend to the friendless and being hope to the hopeless. This is a most wonderful, exciting, and scary endeavour… but I would rather tell Emma, Gabriella and Ben that we risked it all and took them along for the ride, than we were too chicken but hey the Range Rover looks good!
Our Mission-
Dave will be involved in the leadership team in G42 (www.g42global.org) – establishing a leadership training center in Spain and assisting in the organization of orphan villages in Swaziland, Africa. Both Dave and Bec will be involved in training and discipling a younger generation of “radical Christ-followers”-in the training center and as part of the World Race ministry (www.theworldrace.org). Above all, Dave and Bec strive to live their lives and raise their children to the glory of God!
So you really weren’t kidding! I’m excited for you.