Casting In All We Have

Over the last couple of weeks, we have had a lot of downtime.  It's been good for us.  We are currently trying to rent our home.  So I have been packing away items we do not use on a regular basis.  So when we do have someone to rent our home, it will not take nearly as long for us to get out of the house.  We still need to paint and do some minor repairs before anyone else moves in...and some of that we are trying to do now...while we have the time to do it.  Brian has been spending many hours in his study making phone calls and sending emails to churches and Pastors.  Working hard to try and fill up our schedule for the next year.  We are still hoping and praying we will be in Ukraine by next June. Mark 10:27  And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. And were trusting that the Lord will help us to gain favor with Pastors and churches so we can soon impact Eastern Ukraine with the gospel of our Lord and Savior!!! Mark 9:23  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.  And we are asking everyone we know to help us pray to that end...believing that the Lord will answer our prayers....for Jesus said....Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.  Mark 11:24 

We know the Lord is soon coming back...and we want to be able to make a difference in Ukraine while we are still serving the Lord here on earth.  And we're also praying for God to burden the hearts of His people to help support missionaries who are trying to do the will of God, but have to wait on the obedience of Gods people to do so.  I believe that God calls a missionary to go to the mission field. But God also calls ALL His people who can't go to be involved by assisting those missionaries (in any way they can) to fulfill the will of God in their lives.  I was reading in my Bible the other day about the widow women who gave 2 mites...Mark 12:43-44  And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.... If we would be honest with ourselves....the majority of the time, when we give, we give out of our abundance.  Especially when it's time to give to missions.  But this women gave all she had.  I know I have heard many, many messages about giving of ourselves fully to God.  "Lord, I submit it all to you"  But do we really mean what we say?  Are we really willing to give it all to see someone saved, even if it is not on our side of the world?

Fellowship with fellow Missionaries

We just got back from visiting with some fellow missionaries.  They are leaving in the next couple of months to go to Peru.  I was able to learn a lot from the missionaries wife about deputation...how deputation affects our kids and our families.  It seems I still have so much to learn, and it also seems we will never get to Ukraine.  But we are watching as this family, which have been on deputation for 2.5 years, are finally realizing their goal of going to Peru. And one day it will be a reality for us too.  Hopefully sooner than later. 

We are in the process of trying to sell our home, and also rent it out to cover our mortgage.  We are looking for somewhere to live that is very inexpensive and closer to town.  We have had 2 yard sales, selling everything that we don't use on a regular basis.  That includes a lot of our furniture.  I am ready to sell it all just to get to Ukraine as soon as we can.  But I know it's all in God's timing, not mine.  Please pray with me that our schedule will soon be booked until God's ready for us to step foot on Ukrainian soil again.

Confidence

I found this sweet little poem, and loved it....I though you might like it too =)

Confidence

I know that when the path seems long,
   Jesus is there to keep me strong.
I know that when the way looks dark,
   Jesus is there to cheer my heart.
I know that when I can't go on,
   Jesus won't leave me all alone.
He doesn't care how big the load,
   Jesus is there.  My load He'll hold.

Long Time, No Blog

It has been awhile since I’ve had a chance just to sit down and update my blog. A lot has happened in the last year. We took our survey trip to Ukraine in June….I tuned another year older in July….we took a respite at the beach for a couple of days in August….our family “officially” surrendered to be missionaries to Ukraine in September….in October was the first time Brian stood in a church to present our burden for Ukraine and also we received our first support check this month =)….and November was a busy month…we visited 2 other churches and was privileged to hear Stinnett Ballew in a missions conference at our home church. In December through March, we were able to present our burden to many churches, including one in Baton Rouge Louisiana. That is the single longest trip we have taken so far!!! We have also had several more churches take us on for support!!!  PTL!!!!! 

My husband’s last day of work is today, April 1, 2011. We are praying that our schedule will soon be full… We would love to be in Ukraine by next summer!!!!


We now have a Facebook page….http://www.facebook.com/faulkners2ukraine

And a web site….http://www.faulkners2ukraine.com

You can see our survey trip pictures from our trip to Ukraine. It’s amazing how different it is…but how much the same it is. Their manner of life is so much simpler in many ways. But how they need the Lord…they don’t have a Baptist Church on every street corner like we do here in the south. They need the truth…not tradition (which they have a lot of). Please pray that we will do the Lord’s will in Ukraine, and also while we are on deputation!!!

You can also see on our web site and on our Facebook page, “Our Journey on Deputation”. I have tried to get pictures of every church we go to. Hopefully, I will be more consistent on my blog posting, and not wait a year before I post again…lol….

Louisana

We had a wonderful time in Louisiana!  The trip took us 13 hours to get there from NC.  This is the single longest trip we have taken so far.  We past through 5 different states to get there.  We were going to support the O'Brien family while they were in Louisiana.  We stayed in the prophets chambers at Temple Baptist Church in Baton Rouge.  Brian was able to give his burden at the Wednesday evening service.  The Pastor and his family was so hospitable to us, providing us a place to stay and paid for several of our meals.  We just pray God will bless them abundantly for there kindness to us!!!

Our visit with the O'Brien family has stirred the fire even hotter, giving urgency to our need to be in Ukraine!!  We're praying that God would work a miracle and raise our support speedily so we can be in Ukraine as soon as we can!!!!!!!  There is nothing to hard for God. *Jer 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:*  Please pray with us, that the Lord would grant us favor with every church we visit, that He would open all the right doors, and that our schedule would be full with churches that can and will support us!!!  Please also pray that our fire would not be put out by the strain of deputation!!!

The Begining of our Deputation Journey

We have been on deputation since October, and it has already been a blessing and a adventure, especially for our kids.  We are currently on deputation part-time, but that will soon be changing.  On April 2 we will be "officially" full-time.  We are depending on God for all of our needs.  We are taking that first step into the Jordon river, just as the Israelites did before going into Cannon Land, and waiting to see the Jordon part for us to walk across. 

We have only been in NC thus far.  So far we have been to Albemarle, Kannapolis, Hickory, Cleveland, Burlington, Lexington, Taylorsville, Boone, Rockwell, Newland, Troutman, and Charlotte (just to name a few).  We are very excited for we will be having our first "out of state" visit next week.  We will be heading to Baton Rouge, LA.  None of us have ever been to Louisiana, so it will be a adventure for sure.  Anytime we travel with four kids it's an adventure, but this trip will be even more so, for we will be in the van for 13 hours....

Our Trip to the Ukraine

26 days, 23 hours, 30 min., and 45 secs till we leave on our trip to the Ukraine.   There are long time missionary's there we will be staying with.  It's very exciting...yet very scary!  We have been told that the Ukraine is a country of complete lawlessness. We have done a lot of reserch on the country and trying to learn the laungue through Rosetta Stone.  My mouth is having trouble pronoucing some of those words, lol.   How do I feel...I don't know exactly...if this is were the Lord leads my husband to be...then I will follow.

 I have been so oppressed lately....the battles in my heart and mind....the pressures of life in general...it all seems almost overwhelming at times....I wish sometimes I could speak my heart completely...but the Lord knows my heart and hears the crys of my heart for grace and mercy!  In my distress I called up the Lord, and cryed unto my God, he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.  Psalm 18:6.

In the next couple of weeks...this is what I have to get done....preparing for our trip to the Ukraine...prepare crafts for our VBS for when we get back....prepare a skit and finish the program for our Mother/Daughter banquet next week...get all our laundry caught up (and with 7 people in the house...it's almost impossible)....finish homeschool for the year...and take our CAT test.... get the kids packed and ready to stay with some friends....am I forgetting anything?????

And on top of all this...I have caught and bug and have been sick since Friday....ughhhhh.....off to run some errands...