AsburySkinsFan Posted April 11, 2013 Author Share Posted April 11, 2013 A friend of mine just forwarded me a link to this beautiful documentary about some of the work that God is doing in Guatemala! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted September 26, 2013 Author Share Posted September 26, 2013 Figured I'd give an update since it's been awhile. It has taken longer than we had wanted, but we have officially transitioned out of pastoral ministry, and we've completed our move back to Central Kentucky. We faced some some real trials and struggles over the past six months, but we have always kept pushing on toward this calling to Guatemala. It has also adjusted my estimated timeline of when we had planned to be in Guatemala, at first I wanted to spend about 18 months in this transition phase while we built our support network, but with the difficulties that we have faced over the past few months I've come to realize that the 18 months is pretty optimistic, that said, if support floods in over the next year in a way that I don't anticipate then we'll stick with the 18 month plan! LOL! I've learned a lot over these past few months, primarily about how to work through very real financial struggles, and without fail every time I just wanted to drop my head and give up on this craziness the Lord would supply. Case in point; for years as a pastor I have worked under the IRS designation of self employed and every year during that time our tax responsibility has been the same. So this year when we sent our taxes to be prepared we were thinking everything would remain about the same. To my utter shock it came back that we owed about $1900 MORE than we've ever paid before! I was crushed, to pay that would mean that our money for moving would now go to pay taxes. I didn't know what to do, no idea how any of this would happen, and sending that money to the IRS about killed me but we paid it. And we trusted....and doubted a lot.... My wife just looked at me like "what are we going to do?" I wish I had an answer. Over the next few weeks we talked with others about the situation and we received a blessing from family, friends and mission supporters in a way we did not expect, the amount we received off-set our tax payments almost to the dime, at that we were elated!! But the story doesn't end there. Two weeks after tax day I go out to get the mail, and I see a letter from the IRS. My heart sunk, I had never been audited before and I had heard horror stories of pastors who got audited every year, this was the last thing I needed. Reluctantly I opened the letter, and it stated that they had reviewed our tax filings and they had determined that we had over paid!!! To the tune of $1925!!!!! My mouth was slack jawed and as I continued to look through the stack of mail there was the refund check! Then about three weeks after we moved I went to the mail box and there was another $500 check from the IRS!! My kids will tell you that they have never heard me scream so loud or jump so high as I did when I opened that $1900 check. My wife wouldn't believe me when I called her and I had to take a picture of the check and text it to her before she slowly accepted that I was telling the truth. I know that numbers like these seem pretty small to some, but for us it was the equivalent of jumping the Grand Canyon! Over the last three months I've gotten work and we've spent that time transitioning to a home we could rent on a longer term basis than the one we were in, and each time God has opened the door for us, even as my wife and I looked at each other and wondered to ourselves, "what are we going to do?!" I've preached God's faithfulness and provision for years, but I have never found myself where I have been more aware of my dependence upon His provision as I am now and every time my God is there, my church family is there, and my family is there. This walk to date has been humbling and at times humiliating, scary and yet joyful, terrifying and yet comforting. Right now, we are once again scheduling churches and mission groups to speak with, this is a difficult and painful process as we have many times heard "no" from close friends. But, we continue on. I have no idea what tomorrow holds, and I can't even pretend to know how all of this is going to happen, but every day I wake up and utter, "For your glory my Father." Please continue to pray for us and if any one has a church family or mission team that might be interested in hearing the missional vision for Guatemala, I'd love the opportunity to share it with them. I know it's a drive, but the Lord will provide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrypticVillain Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 Praise God for your blessings ASF! Your story reminds me of Proverbs 3...Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted September 26, 2013 Author Share Posted September 26, 2013 Praise God for your blessings ASF! Your story reminds me of Proverbs 3... Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Thank you so much!The more I travel this road the more I feel like the Israelites in the wilderness collecting daily manna. I just keep reminding myself "don't cry out for meat....don't cry out for meat!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 First of the year update. We are now making plans to spend two months this summer in Guatemala. This will be our long term prep time to get us ready to serve in Guatemala. For the first week we will be leading a team from our church, after that we'll spend the remainder of the summer working with various mission groups as we start to finalize what the focus of the ministry will be on. We have seen the Lord provide in ways that still continue to amaze me, our network is continuing to grow and we are getting more and more excited about what lays ahead. We are very close to announcing ways in which folks can contribute financially if they feel so led. I want to thank you for continuing to pray for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
757SeanTaylor21 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 All I ask sir is that you continue to seek The Lord and what He has in store for you to do there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Be safe, be generous, and do good works. Very cool that you are doing this and able to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceDragon38 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 My wife was born there. Beautiful country (well most parts anyways), she's says we're going to go there eventually but I'm deathly afraid of flying. Good luck man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Asbury is your church part of the Holston Conference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 My wife was born there. Beautiful country (well most parts anyways), she's says we're going to go there eventually but I'm deathly afraid of flying. Good luck man!You could always drive. I hear the Mexican drug cartels are very nice this time of year. Where was she born in Guate? I would highly recommend Antigua or the Lake Atitlan (Panajachel) areas, both are simply jaw droppingly beautiful! Asbury is your church part of the Holston Conference? I am currently not serving as a pastor of a church, but when I was serving I was appointed in the Kentucky Annual Conference. The two conferences are close, but pretty much separated by the Red Bird Missionary Conference in SE Kentucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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