Shelley

Hello friends, supporters, and interested readers,

It's about time I let you all in on a part of my life with whom God has been growing me in awesome ways since early January when I left for Costa Rica.

You see, unbeknownst to much of the world, Shelley and I had spent the past two and a half years with a growing interest in each other, but until now, had purposely never crossed the boundary of friendship within the community group we were both closely involved with.  We hugged and said goodbye as close affectionate friends, but knew we were headed into closer relationship, finally feeling the blessing of God to start growing and fostering a relationship with each other that would add to our close friendship.  

And over Costa Rica, God did that very thing.  He has led us both into growing close with each other, and learning the roles each of us plays in God revealing His love to the other, and we've been seriously blessed simply because of God's abundant fatherly love that we simply get to experience on His merit alone.  

But there's a time for telling of histories, and I want to let you all in on the way things are going between Shelley and I today.

Over the past month since I've been back, I've been kind of in transition, awaiting employment, and left with "so much time and so little to do," as far as busy work is concerned, which has left some awesome time to explore with Shelley both the awesome activities we love to do together and the inner workings of how we interact.  We frequent things such as chasing photos, climbing, anything outdoors and exploratory, REI, the Oakridge Disciple House on Thursday nights, and dancing to her dad's band, the Hot Texas Swing Band.  But we're also learning a lot about each other, how we manage time spent with each other, how we handle and approach conflict, how we dance together, how we each relate with God, and how to best love each other and direct our hearts to our first true love, Jesus Christ.  

And yet the resounding theme in the whole relationship is the posture of our hearts, which is what our satisfaction depends entirely on.  And we've learned that that involves keeping our eyes, our hopes, our desires, keeping the source of our satisfaction, looking to the one who fills every desire in our hearts who is Jesus.  And keeping our hearts set on Jesus has been the number one most relevant and most involved work in our relationship, and that which drives everything else.  We're continually finding ourselves repenting for not abiding in Jesus, and we both see the effects in our heart of not abiding in Jesus almost immediately reflected in our relationship with each other.  Whether that be leaning on each other, selfish desires, or an unhealthy pull to want more of each other before its appointed time, they all begin to surface when we realize that God is patiently yet firmly calling our eyes back to Him.  

And that's what I personally need prayer for in our relationship.  Pray again that Jesus would be the deepest desire and motivation of my heart, and that Shelley and I's relationship would grow into its right place as a means to that end, not as a distraction to that end, as it can so easily be. 

p.s. As always, you should all go look at her blog, and like her business page on facebook

Update on Nanny!

Micah and Beth found a nanny!  Praise God.  They'll be on their way back to Costa Rica this Wednesday the 22nd.  

Here's a quick favorite from CR.  Meaning I saw it in Costa Rica.  In total honesty, I may actually do this one day, but enjoy.  

Brad

Re-Immersion

First, I want to share with you a need of our office director Micah and his wife Beth, who are looking for a nanny, so if anyone knows someone you think would be qualified and willing, please look this over and let me know or contact eMi. It says a 6 month commitment, but they would be thrilled to find someone willing to commit to a whole year.  If 6 months is all though, please don't hesitate to still contact them or myself.  Here's the notification from eMi.


Additionally this month, EMI has an unusual need for their Costa Rica office. Office directors Micah and Beth Florea are urgently searching for a new live-in nanny to join them in Costa Rica to help care for their 2-year old son Logan, who has moderate special needs. They are looking for a qualified and compassionate woman to help with Logan so they can continue to serve effectively with EMI.


Micah and Beth Florea's urgent nanny need!
Hopeful for a 6 month commitment

DESCRIPTION

EMI Costa Rica Office Director Micah and Beth Florea are urgently searching for a new live-in nanny to join them in Costa Rica and help care for their 2-year old son with moderate special needs. Logan is a social, smart, and sweet little boy, but his developmental challenges require extra effort and energy. They have come to realize that our ability to serve effectively with EMI while raising a special needs child overseas is completely dependent on receiving help. Their hope is to find a qualified, compassionate, mature woman who has a desire to help them proactively care for Logan, including helping with his in-home therapy exercises.

Preferred (but not required) Qualifications:

• Mature and compelling faith
• Humility, Patience, and Flexibility
• A Servant's heart
• Compassion for the poor
• Content with simple living
• Beginner level Spanish
• Experience with other cultures
• Experience with toddler-aged children
• Experience with special needs children - especially autism spectrum
• Cooking skills
• Upbeat and energetic personality

My first day back, I spent much of my time looking up, quietly musing over the grandness of many buildings that populate this foreign land I apparently call home.  Every car is shiny, the houses are huuuuuuuugge, everything is so spread out, the roads are very wide.  There's a lot of concrete everywhere, everything is so polished and manicured, organized and finished.  


And being welcomed home has been a great joy as well, seeing faces I haven't seen for over 6 months.  But it's different.  I've changed.  The face everyone is seeing belongs to a soul that's been reshaped and reformed to a very unique person from the man that left for Colorado on January 13.  And maybe that's part of the shock of re-immersion.  So much has  happened to me, and the majority of my friends and family won't know the half of it.  But God has definitely grown my roots in Him deeper, and stronger.  


After common "mountain top" experiences with God, returning to the normal world sometimes seems hum-drum.  Although my experience didn't necessarily feel like mountain top, it was as shaking and powerful.  And I guess as a part of any transition period, where everything from housing to transportation to job to social/spiritual associations is up in the air, it seems kind of directionless.  And even the vision for community that God has given me is so unknown that beginning to surround myself with a group of brothers and sisters to share life and ministry with arouses fears and doubts of God's assurance in all of it.  


So, reverse culture shock, coming back deeply changed, and unknowns in my immediate future have left me simply ... dull.  I'm having a hard time processing all this change and future unknowns and left feeling slightly directionless even though I sense God leading me down specific paths here in the next few months that will establish much of what my life will look like over the next few years. 


So in these times that are so critical and that God wants to establish my roots firmly in Him in specific ways here in the Austin area, pray for vision, purpose, specific confirmations of where God wants me to be, and as I've recently added to the "always" list, pray that I would grow in greater intimacy with Jesus every day through everything I do.  Here's a short list of specific areas where these requests apply:


Job - I'm waiting (last I heard) to receive an offer from a local civil engineering firm.


Housing - I'm currently living with my parents, but God may change that.


Church - Shelley and I along with some others will be praying about what church God wants us to serve in.  Our individual home churches have both served us in amazing ways, but we're looking to start going together somewhere. 


Friends - The small group I was a part of in the fall has dispersed in some ways to serve God in other places/ways, and my current friend group is Shelley and (by default) her roommates.  May God bring brothers on whom I can lean and depend in addition to Shelley and other sisters.  


Also, if you have any information, connections, links, etc that will help me get to a few of these any sooner, most of you know how to get in contact with me, and I would greatly appreciate any help.  


I bless you all for prayers and your generous donations.  I'll check again sometime this week, but my last fundraising update is I'm still lacking about $2400.  Now that I'm post internship I will arrange a payment plan with eMi once I have secure employment, and once my account is paid off eMi will close it.  Until then, you can still give money on the donate section of their website.  I pray and trust God will provide, but He does so through you.  You all have already been so generous and I thank you for that.  


Now that I'm back in the States things will look different, but re-adjusting and re-establishing myself here is still a part of the internship experience with eMi, so I will certainly keep you updated on me getting settled in for the next season.  Then I may see about starting another blog, so any ideas/suggestions will be welcomed.  


May God fill your life with vision and purpose,
Brad