Change, growth and new paths

Since the last blog post about our student life, many things have changed around us. Donald Trump is the new president of the USA and there will also be a change in leadership in Germany. We are significantly busier than we were last year. Here are a few stories and insights from the last three months.

Change

Our babysitter gave birth to her third child and for a few weeks we and the other student family watched our two boys ourselves in the mornings. It was great how understanding Charis was in supporting us in this situation. Simply missing out is not an option here. Over the last 6 weeks, each of us has missed at least one day a week at school, sometimes even two days, and spent the morning with Elijah and Matteus. We are so thankful for the three students who let us use their apartment in Woodland Park for the mornings. It made the whole situation so much easier.

And then we moved!

Even though it's close to the end of the school year and our time here in Colorado, we started looking for our own apartment and found one that works well for us. Why?

Testimony time of Betty:

By now I am convinced that God has not called us to live in the same house this school year as last year. The people we have lived with so far have a place in our hearts and are precious to us. However, the last few months have shown how different our life situations currently are. We are the only ones with a young son and our housemates have other needs, that are absolutely justified, but we are unable to accommodate them. We tried to make it possible for too long and created problems for ourselves that were unnecessary. Johann and I talked about moving out again and again and also looked around for suitable apartments. However, I was never at peace about making the final decision. In the last few weeks, there were a few events that simply brought me to the point where I could only give up. And I had to realize that I had not been listening to God in this matter. My feelings of obligation to our roommates, as well as my people-pleasing tendencies, had hardened my heart and I wasn't looking out for the best interests of my family or listening to the Holy Spirit in this regard. On Sunday morning, I told Johann that we should move out (something he had known for a long time). The sermon in the service spoke so much to my heart and our pastor said, “Often we face a warfare, but beyond it is peace.” But we have to face the battle in order to experience peace. In this case, it took place in my heart and I decided there that I am not obligated to anyone except my husband and my son. I want to be ready to obey immediately when God calls us into or out of a situation.

Within the last week, God has provided us with a furnished apartment where we can live until May. We have a beautiful, large, fenced-in backyard where Elijah can play. And we have already met the neighbors above us. A lovely young family. We are looking forward to what awaits us in the near future.

Growth

We love student life here. It brings challenges, but we are always able to experience that God's hand is over us. For us, there is nothing better than knowing that we are currently in the right place at the right time. Living in the will of God has changed every area of our lives.

Last year was the first time we went to a marriage conference together. It literally knocked us out of our chairs. And in a positive way. Some of the topics were a refresher for us and it was good to be reminded of them again. On the other hand, some new spiritual principles were explained and given to us. Truths that we wished we had heard before our marriage. Once again, we realized that if we in the body of Christ remain silent about certain topics or do not provide answers, the world will!

Since the beginning of this year, Johann has been working almost entirely on project management. Working on projects is a big part of the third year. Every third year student has the opportunity to submit their God-given calling in the form of a project. In Johann's class, which consists of 94 students, 67 projects were submitted. Of the 67, 24 were selected by a committee of faculty to give a presentation to the class and committee. All students were then allowed to vote on which project they would like to work on, with only 15 projects remaining at the end. Johann's project proposal was chosen and he is now working on it as a leader with six other students. As you might guess, he presented our intended church plant as the project. Now the team is working on presenting the project at the end of the school year and handing it in as a final project.

Johann has therefore been given the opportunity to take on the role of project manager again, which has led to a major change from our student days. Once again, he has had to leave his comfort zone, which has led to new paths and encounters that have allowed us to grow.

New Paths

One of the most important lessons we learned for our time here and the time after our graduation was from Elijah in the Bible.

The Bible gives little background information about Elijah. It wasn't his family tree or his education that put him in a position of influence and power. Elijah was a nobody until he received a word from God. It was the revelation God gave him that put him in a position of leadership.

When Elijah spoke the prophecy to King Ahab, he didn't have all the answers and he especially didn't know what was going to happen next. (1 Kgs 17:1) He had received a word from God and acted on it, even though Ahab had forbidden the worship of the true God and introduced the worship of Baal. He killed the prophets of the Lord and Elijah put himself in danger by obeying the Lord and giving the word to Ahab.

After Elijah delivered the word of the Lord, God spoke to him about how He would protect and preserve him.

One of the great lessons we can learn here is that God does not reveal his entire plan immediately. He reveals His will to us step by step. After we have followed the first step, He shows us the next. Why would the Lord show us step two or ten if we haven't followed step one? That would only put more responsibility on us. So we don't try to figure out the next step if we have not yet obeyed and carried out the current step.

We also learn from Elijah that that the needed provision of God is where His way passes. God called Elijah to the brook Crit, where he was fed by ravens. Elijah did not experience his miracle where he was, but where the Lord provided it. He then went on to a widow, who also had the task of providing for Elijah. God's provision often comes in unusual or new ways that he offers us. We need to remain open to his words and not build in our own ways or get stuck in a circumstance that seems comfortable for us. God does not leave us hanging in our situations. If we stay connected to Him and are obedient, we can expect God's provision in every way.

At the end of January we had the pleasure of enjoying the company of Betty's siblings for two weeks!