This week I stand at a crossroad. A road between who I am now and who I was before. I am changed. I am being restored and refined. I have a purpose.
This new road has changed my life.

So, what do you do at a crossroad in your life?

Run?

Stand still?

Look both ways?

My answer is ALL OF THE ABOVE…..let me explain.


RUN = Not in the way that most of you may think. You don’t run (away), instead you run down the path less traveled. The path carved out for you. You RUN. You run towards the ultimate goal.

1 Corinthians 9:24 "Don't you realize that everyone who runs in a race runs to win, but only one runner gets the prize? Run like them, so that you can win."

There are going to be things that look 'greener on the other side'. God has called us to plant seeds, it may take a while for those seeds to grow and HE may ask us to move on while the ground is still just dirt. Don't give up. Keep moving.
It is easier said than done, I know.

STAND = Although we are to run down the path less traveled, sometimes God calls us to stand.

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

As I stand at this crossroads, I want to STAND when I know I am called to “wait on the Lord.” Right now, I know that path is leading back home to Iowa, but from there, the world is waiting. As am I, waiting that is, to see where God will take me on the next portion of the journey.

LOOK (ALL) WAYS = The whole world is waiting to hear the Good News of Great Joy!

Psalm 2:8
“Ask of me,and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.”

No matter where God places us in life there is always Kingdom work to do. I have learned that even in the waiting there is work to be done. Jesus always gives us the “green light” in sharing his love. We may not know our next step but we know that wherever we are we are ambassadors for Jesus.

Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”

So, I am at this crossroad. How do I fit back into life? Where do I fit?
A friend of mine who also spent the year overseas (the one who I adapted this post from), was given an image of a person wearing a coat that was too big for them at the beginning of her training. In the picture, the person swam in the coat. Like that picture, at the beginning of this part of my journey I was “swimming in the coat”. Now it is the end of this (part of the) race and it (the coat) is tight and confining. I am ready for the next size up; I am ready for the next step in my life. I am not sure what or where that is, but isn’t that a life of faith? Living not truly knowing what’s ahead.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see.”

I know I am not going to fit in the same way I did before. I know that things are going to be different. I know that I have a bigger purpose.
How do I fit now? I don't know. All I know is that I have to keep looking ahead. Not looking back at the person I was before.
I don't want to be that person.
I want to outgrow many more coats. This year was just one of many I have coming to me.

Although I know what I want and need, I still stand at the crossroad.
So, I stand here asking for your prayers, and your encouragement along this journey. I can't do this on my own.

And as “tradition” I leave you with the words to a song,

Our God is in Control
by Steven Curtis Chapman

This is not how it should be
This is not how it could be
This is how it is
Our God is in control

This is not how it will be
When we finally will see
We’ll see with our own eyes
He was always in control

And we’ll sing
Holy Holy Holy is in our God
And we will finally really understand what it means
So we’ll sing
Holy Holy Holy is in our God
While we’re waiting for that day

This is not where we planned to be
When we started this journey
This is where we are
And Our God is in control

Though this first taste is bitter
There will be sweetness forever
When we finally taste and see
That Our God is in control

And we’ll sing
Holy Holy Holy is in our God
And we will finally really understand what it means
So we’ll sing
Holy Holy Holy is in our God
While we’re waiting for that day
We’re waiting for that day
We’ll keep on waiting for that day

And we will know
Our God is in control
Holy Holy Holy
Holy Holy Holy
Our God is in control
Holy Holy Holy
Our God is in control
Holy Holy Holy

(this post is adapted from my friend Bekah who also was working overseas this year)

Hiking, Hounds, Hospitality, and Holidays

Where do I begin? This is the problem with me and blogging, when I go for such long periods between posts there is too much to catch up on and I don’t know what to include. I’m more of a twitter / Facebook status updater I guess.
So anyway, I will back-date from my last post and briefly summarize what I have been doing.


In October both D’Andra and I began teaching English courses. She has level 2 students and I have level 1; each class with approximately 15 students. It has been a wonderful experience for me; reminds me that I enjoy teaching and am honored to be using a natural and spiritual gift God has given me! I only have 1 woman in my class, so I admire her for her desire to learn and willingness to be a strong minority. All the men in my class are great as well. It is fun to run into them around town. One of my students works at our favorite fruit and vegetable stand and ends up giving us free fruit!

October was an eventful month for us. Not only did we start our teaching, but we also had a team of 4 guys from Dallas Baptist here leading a conference on leadership (and in between I had a bout with the flu – no fun!). What a wonderfully busy and productive 8 days while the team was here!


We hosted a 4 day conference here in Koya for educational leaders from all the major cities of Kurdistan. Around 80 people attended and were infused with the idea of servant leadership. It was really remarkable to watch the participants grow in their understanding throughout the 4 days. The culture and climate of Kurdistan – in many facets of society, is that of just getting by. Looking back at their history of war and oppression, it is no wonder why people are not empowered and don’t know how to lead even in small ways. My passion is education so it was an even greater joy to see that these administrators and leaders were learning a concept of serving those whom they were leading.
Not only did the team from DBU lead the conferences, but because they were here we had some amazing experiences.

We had the university president and VP and his wife over for dinner, we were the VIP group (on Kurdistan TV!) at a celebration of a famous Kurdish singer, we had lunch with the mayor at her home, we went out for dinner with the staff of the Ministry of Education in Erbil, and the thing that topped the cake……we went on a real live hog hunt (complete with machine guns and all!)!






Many great relationships were formed while the team was here that will lay a foundation for future work. Many people were greatly affected by those few days. And for D’Andra and I – we were greatly refreshed and encouraged by having the team here! You know me – I thrive from being around people so it was wonderful to have a full house for a few days!

Also, in October, the same time the DBU team arrived, 2 contractors from TX arrived. Eric and Ryan will be here through December 18 and have been a huge blessing to us. They are working on various aspects of getting the project ready to begin again. And they have been a joy and blessing in our lives. We have had some fun times having them around.

A few weeks ago (early November), Eric, Ryan, D’Andra, and I took a weekend hiking trip around the mountains of Kurdistan. We saw some of the most breathtaking views and I was in utter amazement of God and his creation; amazing mountains, canyons that rival the Grand Canyon (and are more beautiful in my opinion), waterfalls, etc.











There were many “adventures” on our weekend trip which will have to wait for “in person stories”. But one of my favorite was as we were at one scenic point, waiting for Eric to rock climb his way up to a cave, this un-Kurdish man walked up to us and in perfect English (with a beautiful Indian accent) said “Are you Americans? It is so wonderful to see you! My name is Van. I am from IL and travel all over the world!” He proceeded to tell us he had been to over 150 countries in the world! It was defiantly one of those amazing God moments.

Another highlight of the fall has been “our puppies.” In Islamic culture dogs are considered unclean animals so there are many that run wild and are filthy and unkempt. In fact, people are downright cruel to the dogs; we often see children kicking and throwing stones at the dogs. Well, a momma dog in our neighborhood had puppies a few weeks ago and we have taken them under our wing. They are now known as the “American’s puppies” and even the little boys are nice to them – they made them a little house, bring them food, and check on them and play (nicely) with them on their way home from school. There are 7 puppies – the biggest of the bunch who looks just like Marley!






As for hospitality, not only is that the greatest thing about Kurdish families (they are so welcoming and inviting; you never meet strangers), but we have been trying to be good hostesses! We have had our Kurdish family over several times along with some of the other American workers. The other team that’s here had all their female workers off at a women’s conference in Thailand; so while they were gone, we had the “single parenting dad” and the 3 kids over! It was so much fun!

Then there comes the holidays. This was the 2nd Thanksgiving I have spent overseas (the first being with the Adair Community Choir in 1998 to Vienna), but the first Thanksgiving without my family. While I did miss gathering together with them and giving thanks, there were 22 of us (20 Americans and 2 Kurdish friends) who gathered together to celebrate. And I must admit that it felt like celebrating with family; cuz after all, we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord. And wow, we had some good eats, not going to lie! We can whip up some pretty tasty traditional Thanksgiving food using what’s available here and from generous packages from back home. It was a beautiful and wonderful day (we even watched “Elf” – oh yes, a holiday classic!).





Then, the day after Thanksgiving while crazy folks in America were “celebrating” Black Friday, our team celebrated Quarbani (or Eid Al Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice) with our Kurdish friends. We went to 6 houses in 1 day; and ate sweets and drank coffee/tea at every one! Talk about a gorging experience. The Feast of Sacrifice is one of two great festivals in the Islamic faith, the other being Eid Al Fitr, the Feast of Breaking the Fast, which occurs at the end of Ramadan. Eid Al Adha occurs on the tenth day of the last month of the Islamic year, Thul-Hajjah, which also coincides with the last day of Hajj, the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. Eid Al Adha is called the Feast of Sacrifice because it is observed to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's (Abraham's) great faith in his willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of supreme obedience to Allah (God). Since Abraham is a revered prophet who was considered a friend of God and father of the faithful, Eid Al Adha is the greatest feast in the Islamic year. Every Muslim household is required to make a sacrifice on this day. Many families chose to kill a sheep to commemorate Abraham's submission to God (thanks to my friend Bethany for letting me “borrow” the explanation of the holiday from her, http://agape824.blogspot.com/). Many people here seem to celebrate it as a cultural holiday rather than a religious holiday, like its history suggests. But because the historical nature and focus of the sacrifice, it is a great time to share about the ultimate and complete sacrifice of Jesus. If nothing else, we were able to plant seed and share our joy. At one house, we were watching CNN and Steven Curtis Chapman was on Larry King Live, and we were able to watch the interview and him perform a song from his new album –all with our Kurdish friends! It was pretty spectacular, I must say!


Although these are days of mixed emotions for me, I look forward to my final 28 days in Kurdistan with eager expectation to see, experience, and be a part of the work of God. I have been reminded again in these days that nothing in this life is mine, really. Everything belongs to the Lord. So, as “tradition” has it, I will close this post with selections from Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “Yours”:

It’s all Yours God, Yours God, everything is Yours
From the stars in the sky to the depths of the ocean floor
and it’s all Yours God, Yours God, everything is Yours
You’re the maker and keeper, Father and ruler of everything

It’s all Yours, God

The glory is Yours, God
All the honor is Yours, God
The power is Yours, God
The glory is Yours, God
You’re the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords

And it’s all Yours God, Yours God
Everything is Yours
From the stars in the sky to the depths of the ocean floor
And it’s all Yours God, Yours God
Everything is Yours
All the greatness and power, the glory and splendor and majesty
Everything is Yours
It’s all Yours

I’ve walked the valley of death’s shadow
So deep and dark that I could barely breathe
I’ve had to let go of more than I could bear
And questioned everything that I believe
But still even here
in this great darkness
A comfort and hope come breaking through
As I can say in life or death
God we belong to you!