It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. As I sit here watching the snow come down I can't help but think about the ability of the snow and cold to slow people down. You have to drive slowly, you move slow and when you are cold you just think slower.
Slow has been the operative word for these last 2 months. And even though is has been slow it has also been a bit of a whopper for us. I am afraid that in keeping everyone out of the loop we have alienated many readers. For this I am sorry. For those of you who continue to check our blog I hope the next few entries provide some much needed information and brings you up to date on our little adventures.
It was January 3 ish that we where completely done with our application process and left it in the hands of the Board of Directors to approve us. After a few weeks we were sent a very peculiar email from the founders that left us feeling perplexed and a little discouraged. In it they mentioned one of the staff in SA was leaving and that they had some concerns about our expectations in going. They also said that we would most likely not use our business and counseling skills; a key reason we chose this group. They said that because they were just starting the boarding school we would spend most of our time doing labor, building and cleaning. We then corresponded with the staff member who was leaving to understand what had happened. She said that it was just a change in direction and that she would still recommend us to BHI. So we wrote back to the founders with our continued desire to come. We wrote out our expectations and understanding of the situation, along with some clarifying questions.
For a week we did not hear from them and then they wrote us to say they would consider our application on January 30. Again a week past and we heard nothing. The date came and went and another week passed. I finally called them a few days after our last blog entry to see what had been the hold up. They said that they had considered our application but had not made a decision. I asked them when the next time they might be able to make that decision. The first of March was the reply.
Needless to say this was more then a little discouraging. We then asked why they had not made a decision about us in the last meeting. They said that another staff member was leaving and they wanted us to have the opportunity to talk to him before we decided to go. We wrote him an email and asked what was going on. He didn’t reply for a week. So we started to make a plan.
We went to the beach cabin for four days; from February 11th to the 15th. The day we began our retreat to the cabin we fasted, prayed and sought God and His direction for us. We didn’t speak a lot and spent most of the seeking God individually. At the end of the day we compared notes and found that He had been telling us both, South Africa was not where he wanted us now.
Needless to say this was tough to take. We had worked for so long, tried so many different organizations, and had seen God move in incredible ways to get us there. We had quit both of our jobs, saved our money and rented out our house in preparation to go. We felt like we would be a great fit for this ministry. We had very deep and difficult feelings as God shut the door. I (Matthew) felt almost like I was in a state of morning, like my purpose in missions had ended. But God being God kept steering me back to his faithfulness. It wasn’t long after that I started to feel my heat awake to new ideas that He could be calling us too.
For Leslie it was even more freeing. Throughout the time of fasting God revealed to Leslie that she was holding on to Africa believing that this would be her only chance to serve there. God then asked her to trust him and this wasn’t the right time to go. Since the coast God had been working on her heart and using other women in Sisters to mend places in her heart by breaking down walls of protection and revealing lies she believed about herself. Things which she might not have taken the time to work on if we were preparing to go to SA.
As always, God has a plan for us and it is as adventurous as anything we could have come up with ourselves.
The rest of the vacation went great with Valentines Day and just a break from the stress of waiting. When we got back we told our parents what had happened and then wrote Bridges of Hope to withdraw our application. We also wrote to the staff member who had most recently quit and found that he had also quit on good terms.
It was awesome to see what God did next. He is so Faithful! Within three days of getting back we were already given three different ministries that could use help right now! As we prayerfully consider God’s calling in our lives be it overseas or here at home we would ask for your continued prayer for guidance.

We love you all and look forward to the adventure that awaits!

To God Be the GLORY!

Matthew and Leslie