Our New Normal

Each morning last week, I woke up, got ready, left our trailer, and walked across the parking lot to the church.

This past Wednesday morning, we closed up the trailer, unhooked the power and water, hitched up to the semi, and started our trek to the next church.

This is our new normal, folks.

It’s hard to believe, but six months ago, Amanda and I said yes to God and began our efforts to come on staff at Life Action and join their Silver Team on the road. We really had no idea how long we would be raising support or what it would look like to transition from a full-time job and house in the DC suburbs to vocational ministry as domestic missionaries living in a 57-foot trailer.

Suddenly, we’re two weeks in to our new life and about to start our second conference.

It honestly feels kind of surreal.

The last month has been a whirlwind! Shortly after I left my job, we started packing up the house. Then we moved most of our possessions out to Amanda’s parents’ place in Iowa (thanks Donald and Nancy!).

We were at First Baptist Church in Suffolk for a full 8-day Summit. Part of my role was to bring a 30-minute message on relationships and family each night before the main preaching (Sunday-Thursday). On Saturday, I led a 4-hour family seminar called Home Life Café. While this was going on, Amanda was busy getting our trailer to feel more like home.

Our time in Suffolk was great. Through the week, my comfort level in my new teaching role increased. From the testimonies at the end of the week, it was clear that God was working in several hearts about their marriages and families. In addition to teaching, Shane and I met several times with the pastoral staff for encouragement and counsel. Behind the scenes, Amanda and I have started to connect with team members and build our relationship with the Black family.

It’s so great to finally be on the road with our team. Thank you to everyone who has been giving to allow us to do this! Your sacrifice is already bearing fruit. As we continue on this road, please keep a few things in prayer:

• Pray that we will be able to rent our house in Virginia. This will make our budget much easier to handle.
• Pray that our family will settle in to trailer life, develop new routines, and learn how to be at home on the road.
• Pray that God will provide the final 25% of our monthly support. Maybe you could join our team as a financial partner and ensure that we can remain on the road for the foreseeable future.

We’ll be in Tennessee for the next few weeks putting on several 4-day Thirst Conferences. Give us a ring if you’re in the area!