Getting Started

How and why does a family go from a busy, fulfilling, and enjoyable life in America to a challenging life in a totally new corner of the world?  We've been getting this question a lot lately, in one form or another.  It has some from friends, from family, and from patients.


The story of how we came to be preparing to move from North Carolina to Kenya has a lot of twists and turns, but at the core we have felt for a long time that this is what God has equipped us for and is calling us to.  There was no burning bush, and no booming voice as we walked on the road. So how then did we hear the voice of God?  For starters, there was a series of pastors preaching faithfully from God's word about what the Father has done for us in giving His son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice to atone for our sin.  The undeniable truth is that we were bought with a price.  We also read a number of books by learned authors about how we are called to live our life in response to the freedom from sin that we have been granted.  One book of particular importance to us was If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg, from which we borrowed the name of this blog.  Over the years there were short-term trips that demonstrated to us that our skills can make a difference for children and families in underserved areas, and that God can use us to spread the message of Jesus Christ to one more corner of the earth.  But most importantly, there was the consistent, eternal truth of the Scriptures that kept staring us in the face.  For example, we kept coming back to the second chapter of James, and then later to 1 John 3:16-18.  The Bible is very clear that each Christian has a part to play in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, and we had a deep and unmistakable conviction that our part was to serve in international missions.  We couldn't get away from it; ultimately we both knew that the time had come to surrender to what we knew God was asking us to do.

So, we contacted a mission agency and began the long application process...interviews, applications, essays, physicals, psychological tests and lots of visa and passport paperwork.  Through it all, we have seen God's steady hand open doors, answer prayers, and smooth our way.  In a few short weeks we will board a plane for Nairobi.  We do not know what He has in store for us.  We understand that there will be challenges, joys, struggles, laughter and some tears.  We are certain that our Lord and Savior will stand with us and guide us if we will only seek His face.  We are planning on a two (or possibly three) year term in Kenya.  We will share our life here...join us for the ride!

We will be posting periodically to share our ups, downs, adventures, misadventures, challenges and surprises as we live life in a new land.  Some posts, like this one, will be by both of us.  Others will be from one or the other of us, in order to share our different perspectives.  Enjoy!

Rick & Sarah
Raleigh, NC, USA