Winter
“Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time
is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him;
he refreshes the spirit of his master.”
The shift from autumn to winter in England brings much more than subzero temperatures or a frost-laden landscape full of barren trees and somber skies just outside your doorstep. Along with the month of January, it brings forth new inklings and outlooks as one gazes at the seemingly lifeless and desolate horizon. We embrace the cold—like a drink chilled by the frigid climate, we are being prepared (in faith) to refresh our Lord as He sends us to reinvigorate those tired and restless souls amid the harvest. We carry the Gospel from the cold stillness of the season as faithful servants sent out to places of great need.
This winter, the final stages of our transition are underway, and there is an eagerness and excitement about our new ministry assignment in Birmingham, England, that fuels our perseverance through the lengthy slog of travel, logistics, and relocation. We marvel at His faithfulness throughout and are sure to mark out memorials of His movements amidst the hardships related to this next chapter of ministry. There is a very real daily temptation to bank on my resourcefulness and competence during this period of time instead of acknowledging the Lord. These qualities are of no use unless we allow the Rock and Provider of our lives to be our Ebenezer-Stone of help (1 Samuel 7:12).
As this new year unfolds, my family and I have continued to commune with the Lord daily in Bible reading, prayer, worship, and other spiritual disciplines. Even in the harshest of frozen climates, new fruit can be cultivated and born on the branches of those nourished by the Vine (John 15:6). To be clear, we’re not presuming any brand of legalism about such means of intimacy with the Lord. You can pray once daily with intent, yet if you pray twice or throughout the day, it yields more opportunities for the Lord to minister to you. Sometimes, He may not change your circumstances, but He will change you from the inside out despite your circumstances.
Updates, Praise, and Prayer
There are many reasons to praise the Lord during this past month. Here are a few updates:
The Lord provided for the cost of visas and immigration health surcharge (for three years) through our partnerships with LB Charitable Foundation, various churches, families, and individuals!
Christ Church Birmingham submitted their application to become a visa licensing agency on Thursday, January 19th. What was said to take weeks or even up to a couple of months only took a few days—their application was approved on Monday, January 23rd!
I was issued a CoS (certificate of sponsorship) on Friday, January 27th—the day before we flew out to San Diego to process our new visa applications!
Join our family and ministry partners in prayer:
Pray for a timely decision on our family’s visa applications, which we will submit in Los Angeles (the nearest UK visa processing centre).
Pray for Coral and the Cook family—San Diego natives—who are also being sponsored by Christ Church and will be joining their church planting movement.
Pray for our upcoming meetings with prospective ministry partners who are prayerfully considering investing in what we’re looking to accomplish in Birmingham. We still need to raise a lot of funds for our monthly support to help us sustain life and ministry in the UK!
Pray for Birmingham—the second largest city, which recently became a minority-majority city (along with London and Leicester)—for more workers to be called and sent to the city.
Return to San Diego
Similar to our reception last year during our brief furlough in the Bay Area for my youngest brother’s wedding, my family and I were given a warm San Diegan welcome. After a very long and arduous flight traveling with two small children (and all their luggage/personal items), which could be its own specialized strength sport, it was nice to feel the warm weather and hospitality!
Coastlands Community Church came together as a church family to provide a property for us to stay in while we’re Stateside, which included new beds, a crib, a toddler car seat, loads of supplies, groceries, and a lovely welcome basket. My in-laws came all the way down from Temecula to shower us with love through groceries, supplies, clothes/toys for the kids, and warm-cooked meals. Last but not least, some good friends and ministry partners helped us find a vehicle to use during our stay.