Written by Mary.
The month of September is quickly coming to a close. Ben is finishing the last few days of his EMT training, and Mary is growing rounder by the minute.
This month has been full of blessings.
For those of you who don't know, Ben has been taking a month long intensive course out in the Okanogan forest, learning about how to respond to medical crises in a remote location. When he is finished he will have four certificates: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Wilderness First Responder, Medical Person in Charge, and First Aid/CPR. We are both thankful for the security that this training will provide when we are living in our remote village in PNG. God answered our prayers for Ben to be able to focus on and retain the
information he is learning in his course. He loves the information, has been diligent in his studies, and has done well in all the exams and practicals so far. His final is coming up on Thursday (the 29th), so keep him in prayer!
While Ben has been away, Mary has been staying with some dear friends in Bellingham
anticipating the arrival of the Grimmling sometime in the next few weeks.
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Results are in
Written by Mary.
Well, I confess, I am surprised by the results of this election. In fact, I may have been in a suspended state of disbelief for the last year. This morning out of the melee on social media, a good friend of mine's post stood out:
Please pray for Donald Trump.
He will need wisdom.
Please pray for those among us who feel threatened.
They will need comfort.
Please pray for those among us who feel emboldened.
They will need humility.
Please pray for our country.
It needs healing.
This I can say 'amen' to. I will strive to encourage others to take a stance of power, love, and self-control. When you are tempted to fall into fear mongering, blaming, crowing, or complaining stand instead in the power and love of God and pray for our nation and for your community.
Two words have come back to me again and again through this season.
FOR
and
BOLD
If God is for us, who can stand against us? What fear has power over us?
As the body of Christ, we are for the world:
For healing, for love, for reconciliation, for abundant life.
Our part is not to fall prey to division and fear, but to pray for each other.
In this word 'FOR', I feel challenged to orient myself toward others, even when that means engaging grief and suffering.
Do not go numb, do not give up.
Be for wholeness. Be an ambassador for Christ.
BOLD is something I have not been.
I have not been bold to proclaim Christ to the dear people God has placed in my life.
I confess I have let the fear of rejection overwhelm my love for them.
I have not been bold to prepare financially for our mission by seeking aid from our community.
I confess I have let the fear of shame overwhelm the vision for what God will do in the village of Baku, in PNG, and here in my community.
I have beat myself up inside, telling myself I should have more courage; but when the moment arrives, I let yet another opportunity to glorify God slip away.
A good friend recently shared a sermon with us on the topic of Boldness.
The speaker pointed out that even Paul was constantly pleading with the Church to pray for him to have boldness!
LIGHTBULB!
This isn't an attribute I can manufacture in myself. Part of a bold ministry is a dependence on the people of God. Boldness is God's gift.
So please pray for me, for Ben, for our Church to be BOLD.
To those of you who have been praying for us: Thank you, again and again, thank you!
We have had a couple answers.
First, a good friend of ours gave us the kick in the pants we needed to really get moving on fundraising. We are both feeling more empowered and focused in this area.
Second, we had a consultation with the executive director of our organization and received the following counsel:
- Do not deplete your savings to buy tickets for Romania. Start a fund drive specifically for that purpose and see what God does. Tentatively, keep the plan to go in February.
- Hold the date of April for departure to PNG loosely. Keep praying, keep raising funds, but be willing to push the date back. It may be that the timing of a later date will be better for everyone involved.
- Keep seeking prayer and advice from your community.
God is good. When we call, He answers. We trust that He will work His own purposes through all of this, and that He will provide for us to walk in His will.
We do deeply believe that He loves the people of Baku village and the people in the surrounding language groups and that He will provide for them to grow in the knowledge of Him and in healthy community. So we continue to press forward to answer the request that they have made of us, in the hope that God will use us as His tool to bless them.
Will you please pray about being a part of this long term ministry through prayer and financial support?
Will you consider being a part of sending us to our training in Romania? We need to raise roughly $3,500.
We know that this has been a rough year for many, and we ask that if you cannot support us financially that you would continue to support us in prayer - that is exponentially more important!
We love you all and are, as ever, overwhelmed with gratitude for you and for God's hand in our lives.
Stand FOR each other.
Be BOLD in the faith.
In Christ,
Mary (and Ben and Joya) Grimm
Well, I confess, I am surprised by the results of this election. In fact, I may have been in a suspended state of disbelief for the last year. This morning out of the melee on social media, a good friend of mine's post stood out:
Please pray for Donald Trump.
He will need wisdom.
Please pray for those among us who feel threatened.
They will need comfort.
Please pray for those among us who feel emboldened.
They will need humility.
Please pray for our country.
It needs healing.
This I can say 'amen' to. I will strive to encourage others to take a stance of power, love, and self-control. When you are tempted to fall into fear mongering, blaming, crowing, or complaining stand instead in the power and love of God and pray for our nation and for your community.
Two words have come back to me again and again through this season.
FOR
and
BOLD
If God is for us, who can stand against us? What fear has power over us?
As the body of Christ, we are for the world:
For healing, for love, for reconciliation, for abundant life.
Our part is not to fall prey to division and fear, but to pray for each other.
In this word 'FOR', I feel challenged to orient myself toward others, even when that means engaging grief and suffering.
Do not go numb, do not give up.
Be for wholeness. Be an ambassador for Christ.
BOLD is something I have not been.
I have not been bold to proclaim Christ to the dear people God has placed in my life.
I confess I have let the fear of rejection overwhelm my love for them.
I have not been bold to prepare financially for our mission by seeking aid from our community.
I confess I have let the fear of shame overwhelm the vision for what God will do in the village of Baku, in PNG, and here in my community.
I have beat myself up inside, telling myself I should have more courage; but when the moment arrives, I let yet another opportunity to glorify God slip away.
A good friend recently shared a sermon with us on the topic of Boldness.
The speaker pointed out that even Paul was constantly pleading with the Church to pray for him to have boldness!
LIGHTBULB!
This isn't an attribute I can manufacture in myself. Part of a bold ministry is a dependence on the people of God. Boldness is God's gift.
So please pray for me, for Ben, for our Church to be BOLD.
To those of you who have been praying for us: Thank you, again and again, thank you!
We have had a couple answers.
First, a good friend of ours gave us the kick in the pants we needed to really get moving on fundraising. We are both feeling more empowered and focused in this area.
Second, we had a consultation with the executive director of our organization and received the following counsel:
- Do not deplete your savings to buy tickets for Romania. Start a fund drive specifically for that purpose and see what God does. Tentatively, keep the plan to go in February.
- Hold the date of April for departure to PNG loosely. Keep praying, keep raising funds, but be willing to push the date back. It may be that the timing of a later date will be better for everyone involved.
- Keep seeking prayer and advice from your community.
God is good. When we call, He answers. We trust that He will work His own purposes through all of this, and that He will provide for us to walk in His will.
We do deeply believe that He loves the people of Baku village and the people in the surrounding language groups and that He will provide for them to grow in the knowledge of Him and in healthy community. So we continue to press forward to answer the request that they have made of us, in the hope that God will use us as His tool to bless them.
Will you please pray about being a part of this long term ministry through prayer and financial support?
Will you consider being a part of sending us to our training in Romania? We need to raise roughly $3,500.
We know that this has been a rough year for many, and we ask that if you cannot support us financially that you would continue to support us in prayer - that is exponentially more important!
We love you all and are, as ever, overwhelmed with gratitude for you and for God's hand in our lives.
Stand FOR each other.
Be BOLD in the faith.
In Christ,
Mary (and Ben and Joya) Grimm
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Written by Mary.
Dear friends,
The last few months have been so full - Ben going to EMT School, me farming through the summer, and of course us getting to meet our beautiful Joya Tov - that it's been easy for me to put off the question of funding for our mission.
Unfortunately, despite my greatest hopes, this question doesn't disappear with neglect. Neither does the process of funding magically become easier if just I slim our budget down to bare bones. While consulting with a veteran missionary (per. our pastor's advice), I was told with blunt honesty that this is going to take as long as God wants it to take in order to teach you what He wants you to learn.
I'm pretty sure He has a doozy of a lesson coming up because at this point three out of the four Churches that we were hoping might support us have said that they are not at a place financially to do so. If I could predict the future in my current mood of apprehension, I would say the fourth Church will probably have a similar response to our inquiries.
So, here we are again, hoping so very much that God gives us an open door to go to PNG in April and craning our necks to try and see the top of the wall that seems to be blocking the path.
Meanwhile, we are faced with the decision of whether or not to go ahead and purchase the tickets for our training trip to Romania. We have enough money set aside in savings to do this out of pocket if we do it soon and if we don't mind slimming our buffer fund down to a sliver.
TRUST. I do, but....
WISDOM. Are we just kidding ourselves?
ACTION. Do we take our current situation as a sign to back off and wait or to step forward boldly in faith?
Your prayers would be much appreciated... as would a monthly pledge (just being honest).
I know that getting into each others business is generally frowned upon in the Northwest, but we really, truly want your feedback on this one. Pray and tell us what you believe God would have us do. We are trying to listen to Him and to His people, the Church (that's you).
Thank you for your love, prayers, and support.
As ever, we are full of gratitude to God for the good people He has placed in our lives. Whatever comes of this season, we are thankful for you.
Love,
The Grimm Crowd
Dear friends,
The last few months have been so full - Ben going to EMT School, me farming through the summer, and of course us getting to meet our beautiful Joya Tov - that it's been easy for me to put off the question of funding for our mission.
Unfortunately, despite my greatest hopes, this question doesn't disappear with neglect. Neither does the process of funding magically become easier if just I slim our budget down to bare bones. While consulting with a veteran missionary (per. our pastor's advice), I was told with blunt honesty that this is going to take as long as God wants it to take in order to teach you what He wants you to learn.
I'm pretty sure He has a doozy of a lesson coming up because at this point three out of the four Churches that we were hoping might support us have said that they are not at a place financially to do so. If I could predict the future in my current mood of apprehension, I would say the fourth Church will probably have a similar response to our inquiries.
So, here we are again, hoping so very much that God gives us an open door to go to PNG in April and craning our necks to try and see the top of the wall that seems to be blocking the path.
Meanwhile, we are faced with the decision of whether or not to go ahead and purchase the tickets for our training trip to Romania. We have enough money set aside in savings to do this out of pocket if we do it soon and if we don't mind slimming our buffer fund down to a sliver.
TRUST. I do, but....
WISDOM. Are we just kidding ourselves?
ACTION. Do we take our current situation as a sign to back off and wait or to step forward boldly in faith?
Your prayers would be much appreciated... as would a monthly pledge (just being honest).
I know that getting into each others business is generally frowned upon in the Northwest, but we really, truly want your feedback on this one. Pray and tell us what you believe God would have us do. We are trying to listen to Him and to His people, the Church (that's you).
Thank you for your love, prayers, and support.
As ever, we are full of gratitude to God for the good people He has placed in our lives. Whatever comes of this season, we are thankful for you.
Love,
The Grimm Crowd
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