Post By Tami Webb
Recently I shared several prayer concerns, but I realized that I merely shared facts without any personal background. Some people were overly concerned about us after I shared those burdens.
While I am so thankful that you care enough to be concerned for us, the truth is that I see these opportunities, moving and Jim’s job search, as opportunities to grow stronger in my faith as I learn to adjust my life so that I can be available to work where God is.
Let me explain. Each day I get to learn from the giftedness of each of our team members, but it is the willingness to adjust that I witness in the lives of Pastor Buff McNickle and his sister-in-law Ashley Fierros which challenge me the most.
They are both self-described “nomads,” who are eager to change, relocate, or start something new because they enjoy the challenge and want to be involved where God is working.
This is not my natural tendency. I can be described as “dependable,” but I am not know for making radical change. You see, I held the same job for 33 year, lived in the same house for 28 years, and moving to New Jersey is the first time I have moved from Tampa since the day I was born!
So, ask I ask you to pray for me as we move, it is not with regret or unwillingness, but it is because I am so inexperienced with change. We have loved and appreciated every place God has provided for us since moving to New Jersey.
Our family loves to camp, so Jim and I were very content in the travel trailer. Yes, there were some challenges, but we will treasure the memories of the times we shared in that space. We thought we could spend our first year in the trailer, until this Florida native discovered how cold a New Jersey winter can be and that the trailer door can be frozen shut! (Thank goodness for a fast thinking husband who can wield a mean hair dryer to insure freedom!)
What I considered to be our biggest challenge was the time we spent in the McNickle’s guest room. While they provided comfortable accommodations, the warmth of electric heat, and the access to indoor plumbing, I did not want the presence of Jim, myself, and especially our dog, to impose on the hospitality of our Pastor, his wife and their children. Yet, my concerns were not their concerns and they were the most generous host who always put our needs above their own.
Recently, we are also so thankful for the leaders of NAMB who allowed us to stay in the house adjacent to the Grace Falls campus, which they purchased. This house allowed us some privacy, the sense of not imposing on others, and yet it kept us in close proximity to our team.
NAMB purchased that house with the specific goal, which is to penetrate the lostness of North America and they want to do this by planting churches. We know that the house will be used as a training/transition house for church planters, specifically in the South Jersey/Greater Philadelphia area. Which is why we are here and we are excited about welcoming future planters to join us as we seek to EXPAND THE KINGDOM one life at a time. Realizing that this house was only a temporary solution for us, we can only be thankful for the time that we have been allowed to spend there.
As we look forward to moving to a new location, my prayer requests are not filled with fear or regret, but with great anticipation.
We are learning to reach out to our community, so as we move a couple of miles away from the Grace Falls facilities, please pray that Jim and I will learn to:
Build new relationships as our circle expands. Personally develop ministry skills that can be carried wherever God calls us. Be flexible and willing to adjust to whatever God has in store for us!
Thanks for following along with us as we learn to follow God better each day.
