HoveyServinGod

  There are times, moments......when it is difficult to sit behind the screen and share. Instead of a warm hug and a friendly greeting, I am met with nothing personal. The iPad offers no response. And ya know? As I was reflecting on that and lamenting how much I miss connecting with others face to face over a meal or a coffee, I thought perhaps it’s from MY end that I can bless, encourage, and build up. Dressed and ready for the Christmas program at church! God has been beyond gracious to us as of late. Not very long ago, we were made aware of an opportunity to help fill a 40’ shipping container that is headed to PNG by boat. It will take several months to arrive, but Lord willing, it will arrive in the first half of 2021. It was then crunch time! Brian spent countless hours researching and trying to find good deals on equipment and tools that will be needed in the future for Goroka Baptist Bible College in PNG. He traveled north, south, east and west from our location in southern MN a

We have really enjoyed our time of furlough as an overall picture.  It has definitely had some trying moments, but Our Good God has crafted a special strain of ‘beautiful’ written in the threads and knots on this side of glory!   This past month, our dear children were exposed for the first time to cemeteries here stateside.  We were recently in Pennsylvania making some memories and visiting supporters, family, and ABWE personnel along the way.  On our road trip, we drove past several cemeteries.  Anyone who knows Gunner knows he loves a ‘punny’ joke.  Now, I'm pretty sure that the humor is over his head at this juncture, but he LOVES to make people laugh.  In a straight tone as we drove past one on our road trip, he commented, “Mom?  Do you know that that’s a cemetery?” “Yes,” I replied.   Not to be outdone, he continued… “Mom?   Did you know that that’s where all the dead people live ?” It was all I could do to keep from busting out laughing.   I love that boy!   As I refle

T omorrow I turn 36.....the age my dad was when he died.  Sometimes I wonder how life would be different had he lived to share it with, but it doesn’t take long to see how God has used his death for my good and His glory in my life.  I never imagined a time when I would be able to say that when the grief was fresh and the pain was deep.  I am SO grateful though that our Heavenly Father is able to do "far more than we can think of or imagine...” (EPH. 3:20).  When my dad died, I was 16 years old.  At age 36, my children will be five and three.  What a different life stage I am at than my dad!  I was reflecting on what a different impact it would have on my family if I died at 36.  My kiddos would likely not remember me much other than in pictures and in my journals.  I couldn’t help but thank the good Lord for those ways that they will have the gift of knowing me. For today, I have the gift of time. How am I spending it?  Am I investing it well?  Am I squandering it?  Yes, on all t

When looking at sports or really any kind of activity the end result is generally what counts.  It is very possible to play an amazing game and choke in the end loosing the game.  If you're anything like me some times we tune in just at the end to see how things turn out.....So? Finishing strong matters.  Life often seems like a game or race where we are doing our best to cross the finish.  We often get lost looking for short cuts and often end up taking harder routes and unfortunately many do not ever finish the race.  As believers we are also running a race.....I think The Bible says it best in Acts 20:24 (NIV) “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” That is a very lofty goal, and I must admit, is doesn’t always seem attainable, yet it is.   Today I want to highlight and share a shining example of someone who finishing well!    W

There has been more than one season in life in which I have felt that God’s Will is elusive or hard to find.  I am looking for clear, direct marching orders so I can do the “right” thing.  In my single days, I spent a lot of time pondering what I SHOULD be doing because I was so afraid that in and of myself, I would choose the “wrong” thing.  However, upon reflection tonight, it has ALWAYS been in front of me…. it’s really the matter of if I choose to obey or not.   God is constant.  He does NOT change according to Heb. 13:8.  That being said, I can KNOW marching orders by looking into His Word, the Bible.  The Israelites, God’s people in the Old Testament, did NOT always pursue God.  As they were leaving Egypt and a life of slavery, they looked back and longed for leeks and onions….food!  While they might have had arguably ‘good’ food, it would’ve meant SLAVERY to get it back!   People have asked us WHY we want to go back to PNG.  They make a good case.  There’s not access to great he

To God be the Glory, we have good news to report!  Moriah was able to step down one of her medicines last week...we were encouraged at the good progress!  We have been in touch with her doctor on Mayo Clinic’s portal, and so far things are progressing as planned.  Whoop!  Whoop! This last week we also underwent some testing for Gunner in the form of a sleep study at Mayo Clinic. We received the test results and they stated that he is not experiencing sleep apnea as we thought, so there is NO NEED to have his tonsils out at this juncture.  Whoooooo-hooooooo!   Thank you for all the prayers sent up on behalf of us and our sweet kiddos.....we have felt uplifted and upheld as we have navigated through these waters.  We couldn’t have done it alone!  When prayer warriors unite, we accomplish much by God's Grace and provision!   We do have one request.  A few weeks ago Brian was having a lot of tooth pain.  We found out that one of the many Covid related side effects in our culture is tha

As of late, Gunner and Moriah have been enthralled with the idea of pirates.  Gunner is convinced that when he grows up that will be his occupation.  Moriah will be his first mate, if you ask him.   This week he found a treasure map and he thought he was the richest kid in the world because the treasure chest he discovered was full of gold coins and jewels!  I wish I could capture his enthusiasm on paper in words, but there are some things that must be experienced first hand to fully appreciated.   Today as I was reflecting, it occurred to me that Jesus was no pirate, however, he knew what treasure was.  He saw infinite worth and value in the lives of human souls.  THAT is where His eyes were fixed when he thought about treasures.  In Matthew 13:44 (ESV), the Bible records a parable Jesus shared about treasure.  It reads as such.... "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buy

Rhythms, instruments, voices, rests...they are all play a critical part in making music.  Many have asked what we are doing with our time now that we are stateside.  Let me assure you, it is not a slower pace but definitely different!  We have been doctoring for Moriah’s tummy issues.  We have been trying to meet with family, supporters and friends to share the work of God in our lives over the past two and a half years.  Not only that, but we are keeping up on the basics of dishes, laundry and household happenings while trying to establish some sort of routine as is necessary in the lives of littles!   Some of the highlights for our kiddos have been 'playing' with water.  Sprinklers and full bath tubs have been new experiences for Gunner and Moriah.  While that sounds so simple, it has been the root of much conversation in our family.  "Mom?  Why haven’t we played with water like this before?" Gunner asked the other day.  It is a simple question to answer but hard im

There have been many changes that have taken place over the course of the last few weeks.  We are thankful to report we arrived safely in Minneapolis on May 30th with all our luggage and a couple weary smiles!  Gunner and Moriah were champs overall!  Our trip had a couple stressful moments, but honestly?  It wasn't nearly as hard as we had anticipated....to God be the glory! Another huge blessing is that we got in to see our family doctor....this was an answer to many prayers!  We are trying some things to clear Moriah's bowel system as an X-ray showed significant blockage.  THANK YOU for joining us in prayer for our sweet little one!  We all are doing our best to work together to get this figured out, but it is hard to see her in pain.  Please keep praying with us that things get cleared up and we can find the root of the problem.  We thank you in advance!!! As of the weekend, our quarantine has been completed.  We even got to attend church at our home church in Waterville, MN

Thank you to everyone who has joined the ranks in praying for our daughter, Moriah!  Last week, we sent out an update letter sharing that she has been having some issues with her tummy and skin irritation.  We were advised my our mission agency to consider coming home earlier to try and get some answers to these issues as we have been treating symptoms and not addressing the root issue.  After prayer and deliberation, we have been pursuing the option of coming home sooner. Currently we are trying, Lord willing, to come back May 30th.  Because our part of the world is mostly in lockdown or closed borders, that is the soonest that we could realistically try to leave.  We have applied for special transit visas to travel through Australia and we would appreciate prayers that these are granted because if they are not?  We will not be coming home yet.    Thankfully, we can trust our omnipotent Heavenly Father.  We can also place our dear little girl in His capable hands, knowing that He

  There has been much talk about quarantine, self isolation and restrictions about going out around the world with the global pandemic at hand.  As we have heard others talk and have read articles about life in the US currently, we must admit there are some striking similarities to being a missionary.  Let us explain... The first is being separated from your "normal" life and really not knowing what to expect.  You can't go visit friends, catch a movie, or go to a nice restaurant.  The world can become very small and isolating.  When we first signed up for missions full time, we expected a lot of things to be the same as going on short term trips or even the couple years we served in Chile.  However, we changed fields, so things changed a bit more drastically for us.  We also went from serving in a first world context to a third world/developing world context.   We were in for many cultural adjustments!  Phyllis didn't know how to wash dishes safely due to contaminat

Have you ever thought about what is church…...most would instinctively say it’s a building, maybe a place of worship?  Undoubtably your definition of what church is has been changed or restricted over the last few months.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the church as a building for public and Christian Worship. So, what happens what we can’t meet in this building…or in our case what if we don’t have a building…. does this mean the church stops or doesn’t exist? I (Brian) heard an interesting thought the other day about early Biblical leaders…..Do you think Paul asked Timothy, “Did you go to church this week?”....or Peter ask John, “What church have you been attending?”  I personally don’t think so, because their definition was different than what is common today.  So, what was their definition and what was the early church?  To start I looked up and found the word church is used 108 times in the Bible (New Testament only).  The first time the word church is used in the

I reread a story in my Bible tonight that really got my attention in light of the current state of the world and the pandemic, COVID-19.   It reads as follows: Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet.   He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame.   And his name was Mephibosheth. 2 Samuel 4:4 Our Gunner will turn five in just a couple weeks.   He can’t wait!   Hahaha….isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?   Children should be celebrated as they are a gift from God. :0) Mephibosheth’s dad, Jonathan, died when Mephibosheth was only five years old .   That hits a little close to home!   Given the recent pandemic prognosis, it would be easy to become anxious at this possibility living here in PNG.   Weighty stuff to consider on a Sunday evening. Still, this story so captures the effects of fear driven actions and how crippling they c