Answer to Prayer

Kristina at 14 weeks.

As we began our ‘official’ trek to Tanzania by deciding we would join the team, we thought we were experiencing one of the biggest changes in our lives. This was in mid-August as we came back from our two and a half week survey trip. However, God had a few more lifetime changes in place. Our next big decision was “When are we going to leave?” The team had planned on leaving September 2010, but i thought it might be valuable to have a year of experience in the hospital after i graduate. And so the prayers were sent…..”When do you want us to go, Lord?”

He answered that prayer 3 days after we had been back from Tanzania when we found out we were pregnant. With the recent decision to commit to 10 years in Tanzania along with now realizing we would be taking a newborn with us, we were initially in shock. However, with the support of our family and friends and the inital shock wearing off, we began feeling the excitement of the situation. We also realized that God had answered our prayer. Knowing i would not work with a newborn at home and also that the Fraser’s(our fellow teammates) were also expecting, we felt this was God telling us to go with the team in September. Oh the ways God gets His message across!

Now i am 14 weeks pregnant(as pictured above) and balancing the fatigue of pregnancy with the busy-ness of my last semester in nursing school. Caleb has been a great support to me even amidst his hectic engineering projects. We are excited and anticipating this gift God has blessed us with. Please pray He will prepare us well enough to care for this child as He cares for us.

Kristina

Designing Fishing Poles

You have heard it said “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”.

But what I want to know is, “Where are the fishing poles coming from?”!

Who makes the fishing poles?

What if you want to feed a whole village, people group, or nation?

Are we giving away the fishing poles instead of teaching them how to make them?

My dream is to design fishing poles:

technologies that address the problem of poverty and allow men and women to care for their families and bless their communities.

Two organizations that I would love to model any future work after are Kickstart International and Appropriate Technology Africa.

I love the way they incorporate their technical skill, business savvy, and faith to fight poverty in Jesus’ name.

This Kickstart irigation pump is a simple yet effective tool used to fight poverty. -image from www.kickstart.org

—– We are about to leave for our survey trip to Tanzania.  Keep us in your prayers!

-Caleb

To see some projects I have been involved with visit the RocketStove Boy’s blog.

A New Beginning

“Of all things if a man begin it well ’tis like the end will be the same” – Anonymous

Our editing and planning of life has led us to this point.  But we can’t help but believe that there are themes in our story board not placed there by ourselves.  Themes that draw us like powerful under currents towards a deeper existence.  An existence where we are not alone.  Purpose beyond our own selves and an ethereal moving of our flesh hearts has led us to a place of jumping off.

Have you ever been paragliding?  One would think it a fast rush, blood pumping, swallow your breath, adrenalin ride… not true.  As air power fills the paraglider wing ropes untangle themselves and the instructor signals you to stride forward.  ”Whatever you do don’t stop running,”  his words echo in your mind as your tip-toes grip earth and then nothing.  Wind and a quiet jubilation rush in.

Who would have thought paragliding was one of the most peaceful and beautiful experiences I’ve ever had.

On the precipice we stand again, trusting our tandem instructor.  We wait for his signal to run.