Why We Have Warning Labels

This is a tale of why one should not become a missionary. I mean if you really think about it, why would you want to become a missionary? Leave all that is familiar to you, friends, family, and your routine, and uproot yourself to a place where all of that will be different. You will have a new place to live, meet new people, try new foods and learn new languages-- all of that won't be easy. And it is not as romantic as novels make it out to be, I mean you have to find a place to live. In some places that is really hard! For example: Click Here...And meeting new people is not always easy, relationships take time, and more so in not your native land. New foods are not always the greatest thing. You try learning to eat beets and fish salads--- and languages- languages are hard, and communicating effectively and meaningfully takes a lot of time and dedication.

And as you begin to fit in, and when you call the country home, you still have to deal with the politics of the country. Which means the government holds the power to allow you to stay in the country or they can kick you out of their country. You will always be the foreigner, and at any moment, your heart can be crushed, your ministry stopped, your home torn from you. At any moment. So logically you can understand why I say this is a tale of why one should not become a missionary... Trials, heartbreak, and the fact that you will be a foreigner at the mercy of the government for permission to live in their country means you have no power.

Turning a country that is not yours into your home, takes time, energy, and many trials and errors. Through that time though, you adapt. The country that once seemed so comfortable is now the foreign land, where as now, that foreign land you call home. Being a missionary is not easy, and it is not always fun, but the love that fills your heart for the people of that country makes every strange meal, and frustrating miscommunication worth it. So don't become a missionary if you have a romantic fantasy with "adventure" but do become a missionary if you want to see how big one's heart can actually be! But then be prepared for the possibility that one day, that can change, and just as you uprooted your life to be a missionary, you can uproot your life to back to your previous ways...



Recently I've been struggling with the "what ifs"... I'm sure you've all read by now that me (and my family) have been having issues getting the documents we need to renew our permits to stay in Ukraine. So my brain has been rattling thoughts, " what if I have to leave Ukraine? Where will I go, what will I do? Why has the Holy Spirit not revealed the answers to me ( He is normally very clear with me on the topic of moving)? Why God, you are so big, just make this work? God? God? God?..."

Then I realized something, I don't need to ask God why, and I don't need to have the answers... Because 1. I can't live life in fear of the what ifs.  Life is always moving forward, you can't prevent death, you can't prevent change and you can't prevent the will of God.  2. God is for me, not against me. If God is for me, then what should I be worried about? Nothing because he see's each sparrow in the sky, so how much more does he see me! 3. Worry- worry is sinful. Stress- sin. Does that mean we get to wonder with our head in the clouds without cares or responsibilities, no, what it does mean though is that God see's the big picture, and he will provide and he will be my guide.

With all that-- we are still fighting to get the documents we need to get our living permits. We've switched gears, and are no longer fighting to renew our ones from last year but we are now working on getting new visas (which means we will have to leave the country) and then returning and trying for new registration cards. I know that is hard to understand if you've never had to get a visa or residency permits, but it's basically just getting someone to invite you into the country, the government approves that organization as someone who has the power to invite you-- you then take the letter of invitation and the paper saying the government approves and you go get a visa. Then you have to register that visa and get a residency permit, that proves you live somewhere, and the government knows where.

We've had all the documents we've needed from the beginning ( which was back in December)... The problem has been with the government in Kiev (the capital of Ukraine), and the government in L'viv (where I live), having conflicting views of the law. So we have several lawyers now helping us, and several letters that have been sent to those offices, all in hopes of getting someone to figure out what the heck is going on... It is a frustrating experience to say the least. But hopefully within the next week, we will have the documents to go and get new visas. Hopefully....

PLEASE PRAY WITH MIGHTINESS

So here are the potential options of what might be:
1. We get the documents we need to get new visas-- we go to Poland to get them, and return. And then we will have 45 days to get our registration, which hopefully will go smoother than the last time and there won't be any issues. If we get the visa but not the registration, then we will have to pack it up and leave Ukraine.
2. Our neighbor and friend used to work in the office that gives out the documents we need. She said, on thursday we should go to her old office, and she will figure out a way to solve it all. If that happens, then Praise Jesus! Then my family and I will still cross the boarder to Poland for a few days because everyone needs a vacation to a first world country every now and then.
3. We don't get the documents we need. We don't get new visas. We pack it up to leave for the states( either for 3 months which is when we can re enter the country without a visa, or for good). And pay a fine for overstaying our welcome as we leave.

So that is all the information and update I have to give. Still not sure what will happen-- but it is in God's hands.

Besides prayer, and more prayer, there is a financial need. All of those options do require funds for travel. And the possibility of funds for new visas and registration. It just all depends really on the next few days, and how they go.

I hope that I don't have to leave Ukraine. My heart is here, so my home is here. So please pray for me, my family and our situation. Please give to make the financial burden less. And if you are considering being a missionary just know that you should only be a missionary if God has called you, because you have to have faith that God knows best-- even when one or more of your options ends with heartbreak...  But if God does call you, Go, because even in the moments of insanity  God will provide, and he will be your guide. Just go knowing that trials do happen and always live like tomorrow is not a guarantee.

If you would like more information on how to Give you can visit Radical Feet's website at: http://radicalfeet.weebly.com/hom.html

Thank you for the time you took to read this blog post. May God Bless you as you all have blessed me. And again, please pray for me, and pass it along!

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