It's good to know that CRAZY has company

If I had a dollar for every time we've heard, "Y'all are crazy," well....let's just say our ministry would be almost fully funded.

Yes, I agree, we are crazy. But you know what?

There are others like us.

Sure those other families may look different and maybe they don't dance quite as well as we Beavers do. But they are crazy too. And I take some comfort in their craziness. These families are sold out for Jesus, serving Him radically in missions. And I'd like to introduce you to some of them.

(Click on their names to go to their blogs)

This sweet family are the Helsbys. We "know" the Helsbys through an ongoing relationship via email. They are serving orphaned and vulnerable children of Tanzania and they have SIX kids as well. We "met" them through Chris and Lindy since they stayed at Livingstone Guesthouse when Becky neared her due date with their littlest one a few years ago. Becky has not been afraid to be real, practical and encouraging to me through many, many emails. She's set me straight on things I thought I knew and tenderly encouraged me in areas where she sees my heart aching.

We are crazy, so are the Helsbys.

Then there are the Swansons. We met this sweet family the 1st night of Candidate Week. The first thing Geoff asked me was, "So, do y'all know where you are going?" When I said, "Not a clue" we both breathed a sigh of relief that neither of us had any idea where the Lord was leading us.

The Swansons have 3 kids, one of whom, Sophia, has a manageable, yet serious, medical condition. They are leaving for Namibia (pronounced: Nuh-mi-bee-ya) in 2012.

We are crazy, so are the Swansons.

Then there's the Bentz Family. They are current Africa Inland Mission (AIM) missionaries heading to Lesotho (pronounced: Lee-sue-two) at the end of December. They have 4 children. I don't know them personally but from reading their blog it's obvious they have been on a faith journey since their initial pursuit of missions.

We are crazy, and from the looks of it, so is the Bentz family.

We also met the Tuckers at Candidate Week. Their sweet girls (along with Sophia from the Swanson family) loved on our kids so much during that week. They let our kids join the "big kid" table and Elizabeth really assumed the role of teenager much too easily.

The Tuckers are leaving to serve with AIM Air in December of 2011. Their servants hearts were so apparent to us while we were at Candidate Week.

We are crazy, so are the Tuckers.

Also there's the Lockwoods. Again, I don't know the Lockwoods personally. They have TWELVE children and serve the people of Mexico. Jaynee writes with such love for the Lord and such a heart of service. Talk about people who are CRAZY! Twelve kids AND missionaries.

We are crazy, so are the Lockwoods.

And then there are other families we know that aren't what normal people would call "missionaries" but are, in fact, on their own mission field.

There's this family who adopted from Rwanda when the world said, "Why? You already have enough kids?"

And this family who fostered then adopted a son. And if that wasn't enough they are now fostering a teenaged boy and LOVING IT.

And this family who is adopting from Ethiopia when they too "Already have enough kids."

And this family who is fostering two little ones while their own kids are still "young."

And finally, this family, who just adopted their 4th child (and it's their 2nd adoption) from China. Both adoptions were special needs children. Both frowned upon by the world around them.

And so many others that I can't even begin to list them all. Folks I know planting churches in cities that border our own. Folks loving on kids, teenagers, adults, people with special needs and orphans and following God's calling to pursue something crazy and beyond their own ability.

We are crazy, and so are most of our friends.

I hope that if you are reading this and not feeling a little crazy that you'll pray about the area of your life that God wants, desires and dreams to use in a crazy way. And join our family and our friends in being crazy in the eyes of the world.

Apparently, we Beavers aren't alone in the crazy. It's so good to know that CRAZY has company. And what awesome company it is, too.