A Change in Plans

“And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.  And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.  So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.  And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”  And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”                                -Acts 16:6-10  

I don't know why I get frustrated when plans change or when God seems to close a door.  It isn’t anything new.  I love the passage above because it make that pretty clear.  And it makes me thankful that I’m not Paul, who apparently had several doors close on him while he was out on the road.  I also love this passage because it seems to embrace the unknown and being okay with living in the tension of not really knowing where God is leading quite yet.

This past week we sent Luv-Luv back to the field.  Because of tensions between his home country and the country he’s ministering in, he was only given a 10-day visa.  We talked to some people we’re working with and were assured that’d be enough time to get him switched over to the business visa once he arrived.  We found out last Wednesday that he was denied his business visa and yesterday we had to fly him back home to the Philippines.

The plan is for him to only be in the Philippines for a short time while we, as an organization, seek the Lord on next steps and a new location.  We’d also like to invite you to pray with us for that new location.  We’ve had some issues with Luv’s visa over the past couple months, so we’ve been talking to people in a smaller country further south about possibilities there.  Things aren’t quite ready there yet, and there are several towns that we’re still trying to sift through, but we feel like God is opening a door there and there are some exciting possibilities.

So please pray with us as we start to step out on faith and make the move.  We’re not 100% sure where we’re going quite yet, but neither was Paul.  When God closed a door, Paul sought Him and tried somewhere else.  Then tried somewhere else again.  Then tried somewhere else again…  Let’s just hope, for my sake, that we don’t have quite as many closed doors as Paul.  We’ll update you more once we get it figured out.