“Ask and you shall receive”
About a week ago, God’s will for Jacob and I became a little
clearer. We have spent the first few months of our marriage up in Kenai Alaska.
It has been am amazing summer to say the least. Although there have been some
challenges and the fishing has not been the best this summer, it has been such
a learning experience and incredible first season of marriage. Throughout the
summer we have mentioned different options for when the summer is over…move
back to Washington, live with friends for a while, move to the Portland area,
travel? If we travel, where to? Kenai, Uganda, New Zealand? So many different
options have crossed out mind. The amazing, yet scary part is, there are so
many options and decisions to be made. But together, we get to pathe our future and with every choice we make,
create the life we want to live.
About a month ago there was a guest speaker, Todd Bentley,
at the church we have been attending this summer. Throughout the conference one
of the big take aways for us was “ask and you shall receive.” Having an
attitude of expectancy, without any doubt. The Lord provides our daily bread,
so there is no need to worry or be anxious about the life or our future.
(Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the doors will be opened to you.")
Another key
point that really resignated with us was living a life according to God’s will.
Living a life with purpose and intention. What did that look like? The new
point of discussion and prayer for us then became “Where is God’s will for us
in the Winter?” While there are so many different options and opportunities for
us, we want to go with purpose.
Throughout the summer we have both really been drawn to New
Zealand. Jacob has a lot of relatives in NZ and “family” and discovering our
roots seemed like a good place to start. It must have been a Saturday afternoon
when I prayed to God “Please make it be known if NZ is where we should be.”
With a mentality of expectancy I truly hoped and believed God would give us
some kind of guidance and direction. The next seven days, the most incredible,
clearly God-ordained events occurred. Every day “New Zealand” came up
throughout the day—whether that be on the radio, through discussion with guests
at the lodge, a sermon at church, emails from our boss, or conversation with
strangers. Every day, the Lord quietly, but very distinctly spoke to us. Wow!
Ask and you shall receive. By the end of the week, it became very clear that
New Zealand is where we will be spending the next season of life. We are unsure
of how long we will stay and exact plans while there, but that’s the beauty and
fun in it! We will definitely be spending more time in prayer for more guidance
and direction of God’s purpose for us in NZ. We are so excited to go! November
13 the journey will begin. Prior to that we are really looking forward to
spending time with both our families and friends in the south and northwest.
September 27: Leave for WA-Roadtrip from Kenai, Alaska to
Tacoma, WA
October 3: Fly from Seattle, WA to Dallas, TX to spend time
with Hirst family and go to Jacob’s cousin’s wedding
October 24: Fly from Dallas, TX to Seattle WA to spend time
with the Daniels family
November 13: Leave Seattle, WA to Auckland, New Zealand!!
Fun Facts about New Zealand:
- The Maori were the first to arrive in NZ, journeying in canoes from Hawaii about 1,000 years ago.- Population: about 4 million people
- There are about 9 times as many sheep in NZ than people (The # varies depending on location). 36 million sheep!
- New Zealand is about the size of Colorado, Japan, or Great Britain
- It will be the end of Spring and the beginning of Summer when we arrive.
- The emergency number is 111
-A New Zealander is known as a "Kiwi"
See you all soon~
~Jacob and Jordan :)
