Answering the man of Macedonia

A vision apeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:9-10

Well, I have managed to walk, shower, have a quiet time, and make blueberry muffins for my family (we just can't do the cafeteria three meals a day), so I have a couple of minutes to blog this morning. I really am trying to find time to do this, but there is little down time here.

The Macedonian call is one of the key scriptures for explaining why we go across the world to spread the gospel. I am especially fond of this passage because Macedonia is in the Central and Eastern Europe Region of the IMB, and someone we really adore is headed there. If you have ever felt that call, that tug at your heart that this is what God has for you, then you can understand what it is to long for a place that isn't your home. I am in love with Moscow, not because it is a beautiful city, though it is, but because God has given me a longing for the people of Russia. I can't explain it, but it's pretty unavoidable. God is nothing if not persistent.

Last night we went to Dr. Clyde Meador's house for a fellowship with the top three couples at the IMB: the Meadors, the Forts, and the Rankins. I've already written how much I like Jerry and Bobbye Rankin, but last night was amazing. Jerry Rankin is an extremely powerful man in Southern Baptist life, but last night he plopped down on the floor next to me to chat with a group of us about where we were going, our hopes, our fears...everything. I can't say enough about these servants of God. For my friends who are not Southern Baptist: if you could come here and meet these people, it would improve your opinion of Southern Baptists. They have all served overseas. In fact, no one who speaks to us has NOT served overseas, down to the lawyer who spoke to us yesterday. That gives them such a perspective of who we are and what we're about. They are compassionate and kind, and they're intensely aware of those in the world who need us. The IMB has a completely balanced budget--we know because they explained where every penny goes. Unlike other organizations, the IMB spends 85% of its budget overseas. I can't tell you how well they are taking care of us. It's unbelievable.

Something to pray about--we have some visa issues. I won't go into exactly what's going on, but suffice to say that we are likely looking at a delay. Remember that we are homeless, so if we're delayed, we kind of have a problem. Dr. Rankin did say last night that they weren't going to leave us on the street, which was actually kind of comforting. Of course, our friends here teased us that there's a trailer park on the bad side of Richmond that we can use. I'm pretty sure that's not what Dr. Rankin has in mind.

Well, the muffins smell like they're done. Please continue to pray for us. The next couple of weeks are going to be difficult beyond belief. We are definitely being stretched to our limits. But hear me on this--I have never been happier in my life. I miss my family immensely, I'm tired, I'm overwhelmed by the visa process...but I'm exceedingly happy. Know that you are loved and prayed for by me. Blessings!
His,
Kellye