Beaver Family November 2012 Update

As most of you know, in July we lost a close family friend, Paige. When we sent out our September newsletter, our hopes were to take a Short Term trip (3 - 12 months) with Africa Inland Mission to Southern Kenya. (If you missed our September Newsletter, you can read it by clicking here.)

After reviewing our situation and looking at the logistics and the assignments for a Short Term trip, AIM’s recommendation was not in our favor for us to proceed with a short term trip. One of the main reason we decided to go on the field with an experienced organization like AIM is because they have experience and wisdom in sending missionaries.

With that in mind, we have chosen to go on “Hold” with Africa Inland Mission and our plans. Basically, that means that the money we’ve raised thus far will be put aside for us until we are ready to resume support raising and head to the field as full time missionaries, like we had previously planned. We wish we knew now what that time frame would be, but we don’t.

Our children (as well as us grown ups) are still grieving the loss of Paige daily. Several times a week one or more of the children will come to us with a memory of Paige. While we welcome this grieving process, it is also very painful and often, these memories turn into tears, questions and sorrow.

Since soon after our wedding, we have been very convicted about being good stewards of the things God has entrusted to us, especially our finances. God showed us early in our marriage the importance of handling our finances in a way that is pleasing to Him and most effective for His kingdom. We feel that if we chose to press forward with our 4 year term right now we would not be making wise and effective choices with the monetary support raised to put us on the field.

That’s the long of it. The short of it is this:

Our family needs time to heal.

While this is certainly not the choice we wanted to make we know that it is necessary. We know that being good stewards of the hearts of our children is of the utmost importance right now. Second to that is being good stewards with the funding God would provide. We know that if we went onto the field now, we would spend a significant portion of our time healing, grieving and just trying to survive. Very little ministry would be done and we know that would not be using the resources of the Lord wisely.

Even still, this is a hard newsletter to write. We want to be people who honor their word, do what they say they will do and live up to our end of the deal. However, we acknowledged a long time ago that our primary ministry is our family. Right now, our attention and our ministry needs to be solely focused on healing.

Thank you for walking this journey with us. We pray that you have seen in us a desperate desire to obey the Lord faithfully, trust Him in all things and that He alone is worthy of any sacrifice we could make.

If you would like to discuss the contents of this newsletter with us further, we welcome that. You can contact us at beaverbunch (at) gmail (dot )com or by simply replying to this newsletter.

May the Lord bless you richly as you have richly blessed us,

Luke and Jessica Beaver

Elizabeth, Lucas, Ashlee, Aaron, Olivia, Ella and Abigail

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

(Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 ESV)

September 2012 Newsletter

Several years ago, when we set out on this journey of missions to Africa, we told God that we would go wherever He called us. We meant it. If God called us to go to unreached people, we’d go. If He called us to stay right where we are, we’d stay. If He asked us to go for multiple terms, we’d go. If He asked us to go one term, we’d do that too.

Ashlee and Paige, family trip to Paige's college - April 2012

Our desire is to experience Jesus like never before. We’d been on the mountain top with God and our desire is to be in His presence as much as possible, experiencing intimacies with Him.

Aaron and Paige, family vacation - May 2011

It’s been a hard summer for our family. As most of you know, in July, our family lost a very special person. Paige is a young girl we’d been discipling for over 5 years. Over the years, she became a part of our family. She went on vacations with us, helped us shuffle kids to and from events, spent countless hours around our kitchen table and playing games with our family. Her unexpected and sudden death has rocked our family.

Olivia and Paige, family vacation - May 2011

In light of our challenging summer, we put all of our speaking and support raising engagements on hold. We began just trying to survive day to day without our precious friend.

Jessica and Paige - 2008

As we made our way through our days, we began to wonder if maybe we shouldn’t ask God for confirmation on our calling to Kenya. As we prayed, we felt God moving us to consider some other options.

Paige and the kids - family trip to Paige's college - August 2010

To make a long story short, we have decided to take a SHORT TERM trip with Africa Inland Mission.
A short term trip with AIM lasts anywhere from 3 months to 12 months. The support goals will be significantly less and, our prayer is that our family will still get to travel to Southern Kenya where our hearts are still burdened for the unreached Duruma and Digo people. Our hope is to return there full time after our short term service period has ended.

Paige and Lucas have special time - July 2012

Currently, the short term department at AIM is researching our assignment options.

Luke, Mary and Paige - our first discipleship weekend - 2009

Will you pray with us that:

* God will make clear the assignment He desires for our family.

* We will hear His voice and see where He is moving.

* Our prayer and financial support will continue to increase. Even going short term, we still will have support needs that need to be completed.

* Our family will continue to heal the loss of our beloved Paige.

Elizabeth and Paige, family vacation - July 2012

Thank you for joining us on this journey. You are so faithful.

Blessings,

Luke, Jessica, Elizabeth, Lucas, Ashlee, Aaron, Olivia, Ella and Abigail Beaver

On being a sender

I've told myself that even short blog posts are worthy of this space. That's true, right?

With that said....

I recognize that not everyone is called to go to a foreign country and be a missionary. Some people cannot because of health reasons. Some can't because of family responsibilities. Some cannot because of situations beyond their control. Some cannot because they are scared to tears of flying.

The point is, not everyone can physically go. But the truth is, everyone can go in some capacity. Romans 10:13-15 is scripture very close to my heart.


For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (ESV, emphasis mine)

You see, we can all go in some capacity. Some of us go physically but the vast majority of people will not go full time. And that's okay. In fact, dare I say, that's how God designed it!

After all, Romans is clear, it takes each step, each person, each team member to get the gospel into all the nations, to the very ends of the Earth.

Some are sent. Some are senders. My dear friends, it is no more important to be one that is sent than it is to be a sender. The truth is, the sent can't go without the senders.

As I sat here tonight figuring up what our monthly and outgoing support needs are, I realized something.

I have around 830 facebook friends. If HALF of the people I'm friends with on facbook committed to partnering with us in the amount equivalent to ONE FAMILY MEAL of fast food per MONTH we'd go from being at 18% to 100% of our monthly support goal!

ONE family meal out per MONTH. One.

And I'm not talking Chick-fil-a. I'm talking McDonald's. For the cost of about 3 value meals per month, pledged by about 400 people we'd be fully funded. Take that down to 200 people and it's becomes the cost of a mediocre sit down meal for your family (or still fast food for a family the size of ours!).

I've heard people say several times, "Oh, we could only give just a tiny bit per month. Not even enough to make a difference."

Can I challenge you on that?

I promise you, every amount makes a difference to the people in Kenya who have NEVER heard the name of Jesus Christ.

Won't you go with us? Even if not in the flesh, will you live out Romans 10:13-15 and be the sender? We'll never get there without you.

If you'd like to go with us, you can start by clicking here.

Break our hearts: Our April ministry newsletter

The song Hosanna is a favorite in our family. In fact, we considered naming Abigail "Hosanna" because we liked it so much. None the less, there's a line in the song that I (Jessica) often sing with half my heart filled with longing and half of my heart hesitant for the Lord to answer my request.

"Break my heart for what breaks yours..." The worship team belts out this line and I must confess that each time I wonder if I really want the Lord to break my heart for all the things that break His.

After all, can you imagine all the things that must grieve the heart of our Lord? I'm sure I can hardly imagine it. Yet, somehow, I do desire for my heart to be broken for the things that break His heart, even if it's just one at a time. And, in those requests, the Lord has answered. Pain and suffering are all around us. It's not hard to go through an average day and see a homeless person on the corner or hear of a tragedy in the news. But real heart break, things that drive you to action, we believe those heart breaks come from the Lord.

What breaks our heart? Many things actually, but at the top of the list is unreached people. What is an "unreached people"? Good question. According to JoshuaProject.net, an unreached or least-reached people group is a population of people with less than 5% professing Christian. To put that into perspective, according to JoshuaProject, 80% of the people groups in the United States are professing Christians. In Canada, that number is slightly higher at 84%. Joshua Project breaks down countries by people groups. The US has 365 total people groups. Canada has 247.

Remember, that for a people group to be considered unreached, less than 5% of that group will be professing Christians. In Kenya, East Africa there is a reported 117 people groups. 38 of them are totally unreached. Our family will be going to work, live among and share the Gospel with 2 of those 38.

So what about this breaks our hearts? Well, both Luke and I had the opportunity to visit Guinea-Bissau, West Africa in 2011. There, we experienced unreached people first hand. The image at the top of this newsletter shows a man with amulets on his necklace. The sweet little baby pictured above also has amulets around her neck. Amulets are tokens from Witch Doctors meant to ward off evil spirits and, for some, to bring good luck. For many African people groups, amulets are a part of every day life. But Christians know that true peace, joy and healing can only come from one person.

Jesus Christ.

Most of the African peoples practicing witchcraft have never heard the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. They've never had the chance or opportunity to hear about the One who can heal all hurts, not just the physical. That, my friends, is what breaks our hearts. We long for those who have never heard to hear the name of the Lord. We desire, desperately, for them to encounter the One who loves them, cherishes them and desires a personal relationship with them.

We are glad that God has not chosen to burden our hearts with every heartbreak He has. Yet we are honored He would reveal to us this specific heartbreak, one so dear to His heart. And it is because of this heart break that we are compelled to go, share and live among Kenya's unreached people.

Will you go with us? You can! Maybe not physically (though we'd love visitors once we get settled in!), you CAN go with us!

Right now we are raising up both PRAYER and FINANCIAL partners to GO with us to Kenya!

Want to partner with us and take the Good New of Jesus Christ to the unreached? You can, by emailing me at: beaverbunch (at) gmail (dot) com and putting "Missionary Support" in the subject line. I can email you a pledge card that you can complete and return.

Or you can click here for Online Giving.

We are so excited to see what the Lord is preparing for us in Kenya and we are honored you'd consider to GO with us!

Blessings,

Luke and Jessica Beaver
(Elizabeth, Lucas, Ashlee, Aaron, Olivia, Ella and Abigail, too!)

Support Needs

Financial Needs

Outgoing Support Needed:
$39,082
We are at 30%

Monthly Support Needed:
$7,999
We are at 12.5%

Prayer Needs

Praises!
* Abigail arrived safely and was EARLY! A first for Beaver babies!
* We are actively speaking with small groups and enjoyed a wonderful Sunday with Wellspring Community Church!
* We are continuing to receive people who are interested in partnering with us in prayer and financial support!

Requests
* For Luke and Jessica to organize their time so that Bible Requirements, Outbound Training and Paperwork can be completed efficiently
* For us to prepare the children, as much as possible, for the move to Kenya
* For God to raise up prayer and financial partners

December Newsletter

Our December Ministry Newsletter is out! Below is a modified version of what we recently sent to inboxes all over the globe.

Hope you enjoy!

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“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t .... Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory.” - John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad, p. 35

It’s a season of worship in our society. During the month of December, service, love and charity is often dubbed as having the “Christmas Spirit.” And yet, many of us would agree, that as the spirit of Christmas washes over us and those around us we really wish the joy, hope and peace of the season would ring true all year long and not just for 25 days a year.

It’s a spirit of worship, a spirit of thankfulness and reverence for the birth of Christ that bids our hearts to spread the love and joy we know in our Savior.

As I (Jessica) read through the Introduction and first part of Chapter 1 of Let the Nations Be Glad by John Piper, his statements (quoted above) about worship sat with me, uncomfortably.

Does missions really exist because worship does not? Should our love for missions be fueled by our love for worshipping the One True God? Or should it be fueled by obedience, service and sacrifice?

And then, as December so quickly rushed upon us, it made perfect sense. Why am I so eager to practice love and charity this time of year? Why are we so eager to spread joy?

Because this truly is the best time of year! It’s the celebration of the birth of our Risen Lord. It’s the hope that was birthed into a hopeless world over 2,000 years ago. It’s the worship of the One who came, died and rose for all people in every nation on earth.

Worship is denying the desires of the flesh because of your love for the King. Worship is speaking softly to those you love when you desperately want to scream. Worship is purposeful prayer over those the Lord has brought to your mind and laid on your heart. Worship is sending, going and telling because of the joy of the Lord that you know is true in your own life.

“[Missions] is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.”

We pray that this Holiday season finds you in fervent worship of Jesus Christ, as you celebrate His birth. We also pray that we all continue to worship after the gifts are unwrapped, the trees are taken down and the New Year rolls around.

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So what’s new with the Beavers?

We found out in October that Beaver Baby #7 is a GIRL! We are so excited and we all continue to eagerly anticipate her arrival in March of 2012. We ask for your prayers for a continued smooth pregnancy and delivery.

We are continuing to meet with families and small groups to discuss our calling and our assignment. God is proving to be faithful in providing prayer and financial partners!

Currently, we are at 11.5% of our monthly support goal and at approximately 22% of our outgoing support goal!

We have added several new prayer and financial partners in the last few months. What a praise and answer to our specific prayers.

After much prayer, discussion and exchanging of emails with Africa Inland Mission, we have elected to postpone our departure date to January of 2013. This will give us an additional 9 months after the baby is born to get documents in order, items sold and loose ends tied up. It feels much less stressful than the original departure of July 2012.

Please continue to pray that we budget our time and resources to complete Outbound Training Requirements, Bible Requirements and Document Preparation over the next year. These tasks, along with normal, everyday life, can get overwhelming.

Please pray that we can aquire additional prayer and financial partners to reach our prayer and financial goals.

Please pray that God will continue to prepare the hearts of the people of Southern Kenya and our assignment location. Also pray for the leaders and citizens of Kenya as they face an ongoing war on terrorism.

If you are considering partnering with us in prayer and/or financial support, please email us at: beaverbunch (at) gmail dot com for further instructions or you can click here to be directed to Africa Inland Missions' online giving page.

We are so blessed by our prayer and financial partners and we desire to know how we can specifically pray for each of you as well.

We pray that you have a season of love, joy, peace and worship as you prepare your hearts for the celebration of the arrival of the King of Kings!

Merry Christmas!

Luke, Jessica, Elizabeth, Lucas, Ashlee, Aaron, Olivia & Ella Beaver

Worth more than a thousand words: A Ministry Fundraiser

I've always loved pictures. Those precious moments captured on film to be forever saved when your memory one day fails you.

When I was in college I remember getting my first camera and rushing to the one-hour photo lab, getting a roll developed while I waited, and then scouring through them to see if even one was worth the price of developing.

(courtesy of Autumn Song Photography) 

Sometimes I'd get a picture where not everyone was looking but instead, a moment in time was forever inked onto paper, creating a visual memory I could tangibly hold in my hands. I still flip through old photos sometimes and memories come flooding back. Friends I've lost touch with, then remember how much I miss them.

(courtesy Bill Broere Photography)

Now that I'm a mother, pictures take on a whole new meaning. I look at the images that have been captured behind the lens of a camera and I see so much more. I see chubby fingers that have grown slender and will no longer get tangled in my hair. I see plump cheeks that have turned into distinct kid faces, no longer squishy and covered in drool.

(courtesy of Autumn Song Photography)

And when I look at pictures of my kids now, I think about how the faces I'm seeing will morph from the face of a little girl, into the face of a woman. I wonder what features will remain distinctive and which will fade with maturity and time.

(courtesy of Autumn Song Photography)

So when Autumn Song Photography and Bill Broere Photography agreed to partner with us to do a photography fundraiser for our ministry, I was beside myself with joy. Not only do both of these men capture breath taking moments from behind the camera but they both have a heart for the Lord.

(courtesy of Bill Broere Photography)

On October 30, 2011 both of these men are donating their professional services for the sole purpose of raising support for our ministry and the people of Africa.

(courtesy of Autumn Song Photography)

These two men are taking their God-given talents and using them for the glory of God's name to be taken to the ends of the earth.

(courtesy of Autumn Song Photography)

Not only will your sitting fee be tax-deductible but you will also have the joy of looking back on memories that will last a lifetime. Images that you can look at years from now and remember that two-toothed grin that has now changed into a toddler boy, then later into a young man.

(courtesy of Autumn Song Photography)

As you reflect on the joy of the blessings in your own life, you will also be blessing others with the joy of Christ's name being proclaimed to generation after generation.

(courtesy Bill Broere Photography)

If you live in the North Carolina area and you'd like more information on how you can participate in this amazing fundraiser, get some amazing photographs for your family and help take the message of the good news of Jesus Christ to the unreached people of Kenya, you can email me at:

beaverbunch (at) gmail (dot) com

Please put "Photography Fundraiser" in the subject line.

All donations from this event will be tax-deductible. We look forward to seeing you on October 30th!

Want Updates?

Just wanted to hop in really quick and let you all know that we are trying a new email system for updates with our ministry. The plan is to send out newsletters once every quarter and only on rare occasion email our entire contact list with specific needs outside of our quarterly publications.

If you would like to subscribe to our ministry newsletters, you can do so using the widget over on the left sidebar of my blog. I promise your info will be kept confidential and never used for anything other than contacting you about ministry news. And, I'll never sell your info or use it to garner extra chocolate or a kidney on the black market. Not that I need a kidney, but I do need chocolate. In large quantities. Often.

Anyway, if you subscribe and at some point realize you no longer wish to receive updates, you can unsubscribe hassle free.

Hope y'all have a great Tuesday.

More answers to your ministry/Africa questions!

In my last Q & A post about our ministry, my sweet, bloggy friend Holly asked some great questions. Apparently, it sparked some questions some others of you had.

So here's round 2 of Questions and Answers....

Amym asked....

Any ideas on what homeschool curriculum you will follow while in Africa?

Um. No. Right now we use Spell to Write and Read and I like it so-so. It's suppose to be able to be used through High School, but I think Lucas will struggle with it. So right now, I don't know. We also use Math-U-See and I like it alright. I don't know, it's hard for me I think because I used to be a public school teacher so I have in my head what "school" is suppose to look like and Homeschooling looks NOTHING like public school (which, isn't that the point?).

So, all of that to say, Homeschooling and the materials involved is still a work in progress for me. I really need to spend more time in prayer over our schooling in general. This year (starting yesterday actually) we are going to function on a year round school schedule. We'll do 6 weeks on, 1 week off. I'm pretty excited about it. I'm adapting some resources from a (very old) version of Sonlight's Grade 1 (before they even named them "Core"...yes, it's old) and yesterday went well. The twins are officially in Kindergarten and Elizabeth is hovering between 1st & 2nd grade. Lately I've been thinking a lot about how/when to get school books to Kenya. I know the Lord will work out the details, but it never hurts to use the brain He's given us to think!

Any of you have suggestions?

Beth asked....

1. How often will you come back to the states... during the 4 years I mean?

The plan is to not return to the US until after the 4 years is up. But, people can come see us at anytime! (GREAT BIG HINT!)

2. How will I be able to keep in touch with you when you are living in the wilderness? Is postal service totally sketchy... will you have interwebs access?

We will have internet access (do you think I could live without it?) and we will also have cell phones. From what I understand, postal service is not great.

3. Will you instead consider moving west with us and create a baby making Jesus loving commune with us? We can get house help. (I kid, I kid, sort of).

At this point, I will consider anything. I am not kidding. Okay, sorta.

4. Do you realize how much I'm going to miss you? And how much our kids will miss your kids?

Yes I do and if I dwell on it I turn into a bucket of tears. Thanks for the reminder.

Holly asked....

Yes, will you have internet access?

Yes! It will be the main way we stay in touch with family, friends and supporters!

Will you live on a compound with security?

From what I understand, most houses in Kenya are gated. We will likely have a day guard and a night guard. There will likely be bars on the windows. We will probably also get a (large) dog once we get there as well (our kids have already began talking about that). It's just common there to have guards, gates and bars on the windows, from what I gather.

How do the locals feel about white people there? (I know some places are superstitious)

We have not been told that there is any hostility or superstitions surrounding the people groups that we will be working with. I feel strongly that our sending organization (AIM) would have given us a heads up about that when we were selecting our assignment. AIM makes every effort to give their missionaries as much information as possible and to keep them as safe as is possible.

Will you be one of many families there with this organization or others?

Just depends on who is still there/going there/staying there when we get there! From what I understand, plans can change quickly. Though there are suppose to be other AIM missionaries in the area jobs, life, ministry changes and the Lord may change all of their plans. With us still being a year away from departure, it's hard to say how close we'll be to other AIMers. The good news is that our Pediatrician has traveled to this region of Kenya before on a mission trip and she knows Kenyans! She's promised to put us in touch with those folks. I'm holding her to that promise!

Will you get a vehicle once you get over there?

Yes, we will have to purchase one.

How big of a city/village is it?

We have a choice of 3 places to live. We will most likely choose the most urban setting. Honestly, I'm not sure what size of a city it is. Luke will probably drive out to the villages as he works with the Duruma and Digo people.

What is the main religion there?

Muslim is the main religion, though from what we understand they are not avid mosque attenders. Mostly the people are Muslim because their family is Muslim (sound familiar to our culture much?). There are also some Animistic religions as well as a predominance of folk Islam.

Emily Doss asked....

Is there a required amount of money to raise before you go? Do you have to have so much pledged in monthly support?

We are required to have 100% of our monthly support pledged by June 2012. Our monthly support goal is $7,338.

I know.

It's a LOT of money. Well above what our family lives on here. The reason it's so much more than our current standard of living is because we are not only funding our family but also the entire ministry we will be doing. Imagine having to furnish everything for your husband's career: paper, pens, gas, supplies, basically everything that makes your husband able (or yourself) to work.

Right now we are just under 10% of our monthly support goal. We have to have $38,071 in an outgoing account to get us there and set up. We are also at just under 10% of that goal as well.

One year from right now if we are not fully pledged monthly and fully funded in outgoing, our departure date will be bumped to the next Africa Based Orientation (ABO) departure date (which I think is September?). We are praying that July 2012 will remain our departure date but trusting that the Lord will bring in our funding in His perfect timing.

If you are interested in supporting us either in prayer or financial support, or if you'd like us to come and speak with your church or small group (and you live relatively close) please email me at beaverbunch (at) gmail (dot) com. Please put "Ministry Support" in the subject of your email.

Laurel asked....

Will you all be taking Malaria meds?

While I took Malaria meds for my short term trip to Guinea-Bissau, for the duration of our time in Kenya our family will most likely NOT take prophylaxis year round. Right now we are praying about how often/when to take meds or if to take them at all. I've thought about us taking them during rainy season (when mosquitos are more prevalent) and also having us all on them the first several months we are in Kenya (if we're already adjusting to African life the last thing we need is Malaria). But both our pediatrician and other missionaries (one of them being a pediatrician himself) have suggested that taking that heavy of medication for 4 years continually would do us and our kids more harm than good.

Thanks for chiming in with your questions. If you have more, feel free to ask. My hope is to publish my thoughts and experiences on my time in Guinea-Bissau and how that relates directly to us going to Kenya long term.

Happy Tuesday!

Prove it

True story.

If 135 people pledged $50 per month toward our ministry, we'd be FULLY FUNDED. But I understand that $50 a month is a lot of money.

But you know what? Forget us.

Our sweet friends Sam and Hanna need just 80 people to pledge them $20 a month to be FULLY FUNDED.

Seriously. TWENTY DOLLARS A MONTH.

That's the price of the pizzas I ordered last night (actually, those cost more than $20). That's the price of a trip to the movies (sans kids). That's the price of one Mocha Frapp per week. That's the price of a trip through the drive through for burgers and fries.

Moreover, that's the price of obedience.

Will you obey?

Click here to pledge Sam and Hanna and further the kingdom. They're weeks away (June 17th) from their deadline of having 100% pledged support. Should their pledges not come in, they'll have to postpone their departure.

They're both going to be teachers at Rift Valley Academy. They themselves were students there.

Do you believe in changing the world in the name of Jesus Christ? Do you believe change can happen through children and teenagers?

I do.

If you believe that teachers teaching the Glory of God can change lives, prove it.

Prayer Cards

With each step of this process of getting to Kenya it's becoming more and more real....we are really moving to Africa.

We are going to be international missionaries.

We have an amazingly talented friend who can just about whip up anything on the computer. I'm sure our new prayer cards only took him about 10 minutes, but man, they are impressive!

Here's the frontside:

And here's the back....

I didn't upload these to Flickr so that if you desire, you can enlarge them and print them. Or, if you'd like a "real" one, you can email me your address and I'll stick one in the mail to you. (Don't be alarmed when a pledge card shows up with the prayer card. For some reason, the two refuse to be mailed alone. Funny how that works. ;)

They make great decorations on your fridge, bathroom mirror, dashboard of your car, forehead, ceiling above your bed, in your Bible, on the microwave door, on the coffee pot, on the wall beside the toilet.....you know, anywhere that you will see it often and pray for us. We cherish your prayers as this process is becoming more challenging with each step.

We are at just under 10% of our monthly support goal which is A-MA-ZING! I can hardly believe the ways God is using His people to support His ministry. Thanks for caring about us and the ministry God is preparing us for in Kenya. I can't wait to see how He's going to unfold all of this!

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On a sidenote: Our treasured friends, Chris and Lindy over at Only Servants Ministries are expecting their little miracle, Ezra, any day now. Lindy's been having contractions about every 10 minutes for about 24 hours now. She'll be delivering the baby in Kenya with a great doctor at a great hospital. Please pray for Lindy, Chris and baby Ezra as they journey through the process of labor and delivery. Thanks friends!

BE the church

Just wanted to hop in very quickly and ask you all BIG question...

How much are you willing to sacrifice to advance the kingdom of God?

Is it worth one meal out per month? How about two? Is it worth forgoing one shopping spree per month? How about your daily stop at Fivebucks?

Our sweet, new friends Sam and Hanna are set to leave for the field on JULY 17th!! However, Africa Inland Mission's policy is that all missionaries must be fully funded/pledged ONE MONTH before they depart. That means, by June 17th (about 3 weeks away) Sam and Hanna must be FULLY PLEDGED.

Yikes! My understanding is that they are at about 50% of their target support.

So, again I ask you...what are you willing to sacrifice to advance the kingdom of God?

One meal out per month? Two? Your non-fat double shot latte?

Can you sacrifice $50 a month? How about $100? Depending on the size of your family (or how extravagant your favorite take out place is) that's 1 or 2 meals out per month.

There's no need to stop and pray about the decision to support missions. It's Biblical. Take the step of faith and support this sweet couple. I promise you won't be sorry.

Click here to see how you can support Sam and Hanna.

And click here to read more about who these sweet people are and what they've been called to.

Don't just GO to church folks, BE the church.

A's to your Holly's Q's (Also known as FAQs)

We had another amazing discipleship weekend (d*weekend) with our students as I watched teenage girls serve others selflessly, like never before. But, more on that later.

For now, I want to answer some of the questions left in the comments of my Q & A post.

And Noah. Babies are made when husbands don't take care of the dirty dishes and unfolded laundry.

Thank goodness Holly had a laundry list (badoomching) of questions or else my self esteem would have been shot. Heh. Just kidding. Sorta.

Here are Holly's questions for any of you who A) Care or B) Want to know the same.

Most of Holly's questions are also common Frequently Asked Questions that we receive.

Questions #1 was: What will happen to your home there and your cars and such- do you sell everything you can't take with you or does a lot go into storage while you rent your home out?

Actually, March 1st marked one year that we've been living in a rental house. We sold our house last year when we felt the Lord asking us to be completely debt free and ready to go when he said "Go." Thing was, I was 10 months pregnant and just a week away from my due date and we really didn't think Missions was anywhere on the horizon. It's a really cool story how God brought Africa back to the forefront of our minds. I should probably blog about it.

As for our stuff. Well, we will probably keep only the bare basics. The beds and dressers will probably be put into storage, somewhere. Most of them are pieces of furniture we inherited from Luke's grandfather, so they hold quite a bit of sentimental value. We'll probably also keep some of our "keepsakes" like pictures, jewelry and other stuff like that in storage as well. Everything else that won't fit into 12 large suitcases (and weigh less than 50 lbs) will be sold! Including our vehicles. Shipping anything to Kenya is just too costly.

Question #2: How long of a commitment are you and Luke making to serve in Africa?

Right now we are looking at a 4 year commitment. Of course, God's plans can change that but we feel it would be a waste of resources to go for less than 3 years. And, our first 6-12 months in Kenya will be spent learning Swahili. So, we figure why not just go for a whole 4 years? After 4 years, Africa Inland Mission (our sending organization) will require us to come back for one full year. We'll visit our families, go on vacation, see our supporters and just spend a year recharging our batteries. Or, we could spend 4 years on the field and decide we are done and just come home for good. We're not sure exactly what the Lord has planned!

Question #3: Will you homeschool your kiddos there?

Yep. That's the plan.

Question #4: What will your role be there other than to take care of your children and home?

What will Luke's role look like?

My role will be very similar to my role here in the US. I'll be the manager of our home, the teacher of our children and probably manage most of our household and ministry paperwork (at least the ministry portions that AIM doesn't handle for us, like newsletters and maintaining contact with our supporters). I am SO VERY excited that I will have house help! I look at having house help as my main area of ministry (outside of my family). AIM encourages us to receive house help as it boosts the local economy and also provides stay at home Mom's with a resource and confidant in the community.

Luke's role will be basic church planting duties. He will build relationships, hopefully harvest new believers, disciple them and then train up Kenyan leaders for their own church. How this looks in a tangible sense is still to be determined. We anticipate that there will be a very real, physical need that the Duruma and Digo people will have. Hopefully, we can build relationships with them by helping them to meet their physical needs.

If we've learned anything through this process though, it's that what we have in mind is hardly ever God's plans and to truly maintain a spirit of service to Him, we need to be flexible and meet Him where He is already working! I'm excited to see what God will reveal to us once we are on the ground in Kenya.

Question #5: Will you have medical insurance or is it a pay as you need kinda thing? Is there a good medical facility nearby? (thinking of my own kiddos with medical concerns)

Our medical insurance is paid by AIM as part of the monthly support we raise. It's international insurance so it's good at pretty much any medical facility in the world. We will be about 8 hours (by car) from Nairobi which has a couple of decent hospitals.

Question #6: Will you go through language training before you go or is it an on the job learn as you go sorta thing?

One thing that I loved most about AIM is the pre-field and on-field training they provide for us. When we leave (in July 2012) we will meet up in Kenya with every other new missionary family going onto the field with Africa Inland Mission (they have 10 sending regions - US, Canada, Brazil, Europe, South Africa, Australia, Hong Kong, Korea, Netherland and New Zeland). Every missionary going into Africa with AIM in July 2012 will meet just outside of Nairobi, Kenya.

There will have approximately 3 weeks of Africa Based Orientation (ABO). At ABO we will learn basic and general ideas and practices of African culture. I've heard this ABO is rich and very vital to sustaining yourself in African culture.

After that, we will all disperse to our specific ministry sites. Since ours also happens to be in Kenya, we will travel to Southern Kenya and spend 1-3 weeks in a home with an African family. Yes, our WHOLE FAMILY will live with an African family. Yikes! After those 1-3 weeks, we will then move into our own home. For the next 6-12 months we will spend 3-4 mornings a week working with a tutor/translator learning the language. We will be using the LAMP (Language Acquisition Made Practical) method of language learning. From what I understand we will record specific phrases onto a recorder then go practice those phrases in the markets and with other Kenyans. This will surely be a season that will stretch us!

Question #7: What are you most nervous about in regards to leaving the country and continent?

Honestly, there is so much I have anxiety about that I don't know that I can pinpoint just one thing. We are going to an area that has seasons with high cases of malaria. That worries me.

I will not have the convenience of a grocery store or Walmart, so that means just about everything will be made from scratch. Even bread. I'll have to boil our milk, our water and figure out how to safely wash our produce because tap water is contaminated.

Pretty much everything about living life will become more difficult and I have anxiety about adjusting to it all and having 6 kids adjust to it all at the same time. I wonder if we will be able to find trustworthy house help and/or how many times we will have to fire someone who is being dishonest or untrustworthy.

So, there's a lot I worry about if I dwell on it. But I know that God is bigger than those circumstances and He has called us to this place. I must trust that He will take care of details and when disappointments come, He will sustain us. No one said life as a believer is Christ was all rainbows and unicorns, right?

Question #8: What are you most excited about?

Again, I think there are too many things to list! I'm so excited that our kids will grow up bilingual! I'm excited to see the first of the Duruma or Digo people come to Christ! I'm excited to be IN THE WILL OF GOD! I am so looking forward to how God will confirm that He has led us there and I'll be able to be in the presence of the sweet, intoxicating, addicting aroma of Christ. I think the latter is what I am most excited about. Because I have found that when you are living life in obedience to God, living within His will for your life, His presence is almost intoxicating. It's addicting and He lavishes Himself upon us. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THAT. And I love that He gives me glimpses of that now.

Question #9: Do you have pets? Will they go or stay?

We do have pets. We have an undefined number of fish (because those suckers hide) and a sweet, adorable, totally amazing and lovable Golden Retriever named Brinkley (no, not after that movie). She's the best dog in the entire world and is so patient, kind and loving with our kids.

I think I will sob when we leave her. Unfortunately, I don't think she could make the move and even if she could, I doubt I could stomach the cost of getting her there. I'm hoping that some dear friends of ours who have several children (one of which adores Brinkley) will ask if they can be her new family.

I've heard that people who deny their children the privilege of adopting sweet and innocent Golden Retrievers (that their children already adore and love) end up having triplets. But maybe that's just a rumor. Wanna chance that, Noah? ;)

With hearts for the LOST: Ministry Newsletter #2

Ten-forty. For the last several years, these numbers have been the topic of much discussion in our house. (And no, it’s not CB radio talk for “ay-okay” either!) 10/40 represents the latitudinal lines circling the globe 10 to 40 degrees north of the equator. This 10/40 window is home to the largest number of unreached people groups in the world.

According to the Joshua Project’s website, an estimated 2.27 billion individuals reside in approximately 5,905 different unreached people groups within the 10/40 window. Those numbers do not include people groups outside of the 10/40 window!

As we continued to pray about the burden God had placed on our hearts, we felt less drawn to the 10/40 window, yet still drawn to unreached people. As we prayed through assignments with Africa Inland Mission, we kept coming back to the people who were marginally or completely unreached. The Lord kept drawing our hearts back to His Word, particularly Romans 10:13-15 which says,

“For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”

(Refugee women pray at an Africa Inland Church in Kenya*)

How can anyone call on the name of the Lord if they’ve never heard? And how can people go tell others unless they are sent? This, friends, is where you can join us in what God is already doing in Africa! We have chosen an assignment in Southern Kenya, working with 2 marginally reached people groups – the Digo and Duruma people.

Our goal is to take the good news of Jesus Christ to lost people, hear them proclaim the name of Christ, disciple them and then train up leaders for their own, local church.

However, we cannot take the gospel to Southern Kenya wihout SENDERS. Senders who are willing to

become a part of a team of believers taking the Light into unreached places.

Will you be a SENDER? Will you partner with us financially to take hope to the Duruma and Digo people?

Our monthly support need is $7,338.00 and our outgoing funds needed is $38,071.00. We realize these are daunting numbers! Yet, we are so excited to see how God will stir the hearts of His people to make these numbers a reality! Our target departure date is JULY 2012. But, before we can step onto the airplane our monthly support must be fully pledged and our outgoing expenses must be fully funded. Any contributions made before July 2012 will roll into our outgoing fund.

If you are interested in meeting with us, or if your church or small group would like to hear more about our ministry vision, please contact us by emailing us at: beaverbunch (at) gmail (dot) com. Please put "Ministry Support" in the subject line.

Thank you for considering joining with us in what God is already doing in Africa.

With hearts for the lost,

Luke & Jessica Beaver

(Our assignment is located in Southern Kenya, near the Kenya/Tanzania border.

Here you can see Kenya highlighted and it's relation to the continent of Africa.)

*Photo courtesy of Africa Inland Mission's On-field Media Team.

Identity

This is a video our sending organization, Africa Inland Mission (AIM), produced about the Identity of AIM and what their purpose is in Africa.

The good news is that Luke and I HAVE chosen an assignment! The bad news is I'm not at liberty to discuss it with the interweb just yet. (Soon though!)

Until I can tell you more, enjoy this video and know that we will be doing something very specific and very dear to our hearts and I'm so STINKIN' excited! God is GOOD y'all. Actually, He's better than good.

Identity from AIM On-Field Media on Vimeo.

If you'd like to join with us in what God is already doing in Africa and become a part of our support team, you can email me at beaverbunch (at) gmail (dot) com. Please put SUPPORT TEAM in the subject line.

Y'all have a great Monday!

Here I am

It's becoming real.

We are really going on the mission field.

To Africa.

And the truth is, that lately, I've asked God, "Are you SURE?" about 7,493 times. Each time He's assured me that each step we are taking is within His desires for us.

I want to share with you something I wrote, nearly two years ago, on February 24, 2009. This is the 4th in a series of posts I'm publishing from a private blog where Luke and I have journaled our calling to Africa.

The others are titled:

From the Darkness (This isn't from the private blog but is the introductory post leading into the others.)

The Initial Cry

He is calling, just like before

And while I could never fully summarize every single reason we feel called, these old posts that I'm publishing are the highlights. Below is certainly one of the bigger confirmations that God revealed to me. I've only modified it slightly, so that it makes sense to you. I'd also like to add that I am grateful to the Father for now giving me a hunger for His word, even when we are not in the midst of a trial.

Thank you for taking this journey with us.

-------

Originally posted on February 24, 2009 on our private blog:

I really stink at remembering scripture. Generally I can remember roughly what the verse says, but never, ever (or very, very rarely) can I remember the reference (book, chapter, verse). Let's just say that Bible Gateway is my hero.

This is not the case for Isaiah 6:8. Back in November of 2007, we were still getting settled into our new house. I had felt the stir for more children for a few months, but I was NOT all about getting pregnant again. Puke was not appealing to me, especially with 3 kids 3 and under. One night, Luke turns to me and says,

"You still think about doing foster care?"

I looked at him in disbelief. We had discussed this almost a year earlier, but when Luke quickly nixed it, I all but forgot about it. Where was this coming from?

The next day I called our county's Department of Social Services and asked for some information on foster parenting. Then, I dove into my Bible. You see, I have this major, major flaw. I usually ONLY stay consistent in the word when I'm having a crisis of belief in my life. In January 2007 I grew and grew and grew spiritually because I wanted desperately to sell our old house, but I knew it needed to be God (and Luke) led. Now, here I was faced with another crisis, the decision to foster.

As I dove through the word, soaking up everything the Lord was showing me, I began to feel that familiar pull. Missions.

At the same time we were becoming closer with some friends. Our bond with them grew as did their call to missions. Just as we began to form a serious kinship, they pulled us into the basement of our home one night and revealed to us their calling to missions, specifically Kenya. Chris outlined every reason why they felt led to go and I wept, knowing that good friends were moving so far away and also for the tremendous display of obedience I knew I was about to witness.

That night solidified for Luke and I our calling to foster. We knew, without hesitation, that God used them to teach us about obedience. We proceeded with fostering, certain that our obedience to God would be blessed.

Sometime during our initial decision making about whether or not to foster, I felt drawn to the book of Isaiah. Never, ever had I read Isaiah (other than as a cross reference). Desperate to find 3 types of confirmation (Godly Counsel, Scripture and Prayer), I began to look at scripture with fresh eyes.

One night I felt the Lord saying, "Go. Start with Chapter 1 and read until you see it." So, I did. I began in Isaiah Chapter 1 read and read and read, not really understanding much, but desiring to find that one piece of scripture that made it all make sense. Suddenly, I started to feel pulled. Only it was a duel tract, with one branch taking us to fostering and the other to the mission field.

Then, I saw it. Isaiah 6:8,

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

I sat back in the bed and wept. I knew that we were being called to foster. Who else would go? However, something about this also SCREAMED missions. Foreign missions. The thought of going onto the mission field scared the bejebbers out of me, so I pushed it out of my mind and applied this verse solely to fostering. I knew in the back of my mind this was not the point God was making. But, you see, I'm one track minded like that. Why would He pull us two ways?

Surely missions was Chris and Lindy's area. Here I am Lord. I'll foster. But send Chris and Lindy.

Only a few days later, as we entered church on Sunday, God decided to get up in my business in a big way. We were running late, as usual, and as we walked into the back of the Multi-Purpose Building, where our church has our service, the lights were low and there were people lining the stage.

A spot light was on a single woman, and as the door behind me clicked shut I heard her say,

"God, I know you want me to go on that mission trip but that's not really my thing. And I'm scared. My sister Jane loves missions. You should send her. Here I am Lord. Send my sister."

The spotlight illuminated another person, a teenager I think, and he said,

"God, I know you want me to befriend that kid in my class. But he's weird God and no one really likes him. Plus, I have friends already. My friend Tim is really good at reaching out to people God. He should do it. Here I am Lord. Send Tim."

Person after person stood and gave an example of the Lord working on their heart. Whether it was to minister to a friend, go on a mission trip, be bold in their workplace or move in some area that they felt God calling. Then, at the end, they would close by saying,

"Here I am Lord. Send 'So-and-so'."

As I stood there, behind the crowd of people in the dark, tears rushed to my eyes and flooded my cheeks. I held back sobs and I felt conviction like never before. You see, this was EXACTLY what I had felt only days earlier. As I felt the pull to missions, I pushed it from my mind and said,

"Lord, Chris and Lindy are going. Send them."

I don't want you to think that I felt any less called to begin fostering because such is not the case. I know, without hesitation, that the Lord called Luke and I to fostering without wavering. However, He also began to stir in me another calling. A calling to a new place, when our first mission was complete. A mission that I am still trying to understand and one that He has been pointing to for years.

To use an excellent example from a friend, I have been Moses. A bush has been burning for quite some time, yet I have failed to see it or allow it to have my full attention. Well, my attention is here. I am seeing so clearly that these stories and stirrings in my heart are not random or misaligned. I'm scared. I'm anxious. I'm fearful. However, I know that when my Savior calls, I must obey. A life without obedience is a life not worth living. So it is with this fear, anxiety and fright that I boldly say,

"Here I am Lord. Send me."