That's right. We are moving to Beijing.
Let me back up and explain how we got to this point for those of you who didn't even know we moved out of Texas :). God has been amazingly generous to Lauren and I in our time in Georgia. We have met amazing friends, found a young church that is trying hard, and I have had an opportunity that few young guys my age have. I haven't always enjoyed the stigma that comes with being an intern, but I would never trade this year and the value, wisdom and friendship I've gained from working with Chuck Bentley.
It was, in fact, a trip I took with Chuck that really led to our decision to move to China. In January, I had the opportunity to travel to China to meet phenomenal business leaders and to share the message of God's economy in a country growing at an inconceivable rate. While in Beijing, I had the chance to meet students from Tsinghua University, the top school in all of China and Chairman Hu Jintao's alma mater. So much has happened between the time I arrived back in Atlanta and now, but to save you from an endless read, I'll just say that I applied to Tsinghua, was accepted, accepted their offer, and now we're moving to Beijing!
As excited as we are about the move, I would be remiss if I did not take the chance to appreciate the past year. Do you ever take time to stop and look back at all that has transpired in your life? Maybe the day that has just passed, the month passed, or maybe even the year? Unfortunately, I tend to think that many of us don't. I'm typically the guy that puts my head to the plow and hardly comes up for a breath. What's in the past is in the past and I can't change it. But I'm beginning to realize that even though I can't change the past, the past can change me. The Lord has done things so obvious in mine and Lauren's life over the past year we can't help but gaze into the rearview mirror and see his handprint on the canvas of our lives. I wrote in my journal some of the obvious ways the Lord has provided for us over the past year and I'd like to share those with you:
- Many of you know that we moved to Georgia because I accepted a year-long internship under Chuck Bentley. What you may not know is that Chuck grew up in the small town of Iowa Park, Tx, the town my parents currently live in; and he was saved at Faith Baptist Church, the church my dad is currently the pastor of. We made this connection the first time we ever spoke over the phone.
- Before we moved to Atlanta last summer, we met Adam Blakely at Carter and Sarah Stubbs' rehearsal dinner in Fort Worth. Adam became our first Atlanta friend and introduced us to Renovation Church, a small church plant in inner city Atlanta that hadn't even launched at the time we moved here. Through this church we have made life changing friends. We would never have even known this church existed had it not been for the way the Lord wove our path into Adam's. By the way, we just returned from a wonderful weekend trip to Hilton Head, SC with Adam & his bride Gina :).
- One of those contacts at Renovation Church is Luke Davidson - who connected me to a guy named Barrett Parkman - who I have still never met in person - but who moved to Beijing in 2007 to go through the same MBA program I'm about to go through. He still lives and works there and he has already offered tremendous insight via email into the never predictable life in China.
- When we departed Dallas last summer we had no place to stay in Atlanta. I was trying to have strong faith and believe the Lord would provide, but I won't lie, I was scared. We'd already booked a hotel for the first couple of nights in Atlanta but the first morning we woke up, we received a phone call from Lauren's step-grandmothers stepsonk who she had never met or spoken to, offering to rent us their home they were trying to sell in a perfect location for us. And if that's not enough, they dropped the rent $300 for us.
- After renting for a month, we bought a home that we had no business buying but that dropped $40,000 in price the weekend we saw it.
- Lauren's employers allowed her to keep her job and work remotely from home. This was probably not the most efficient route for her employer, but they sacrificed and made it work and blessed us tremendously in doing so.
- Some of our great friends, Brian and Christie Holben, got married last summer (like us), and moved from Virginia to Atlanta about a week after we did. They are moving to Asia 3 days before us. The Lord has given us them to walk through this process with.
- Like I mentioned earlier, the Lord gave me an opportunity that most guys my age don't get. I have seen a great leader honor God in leadership in good times and in very, very hard times. In the process, I've had the chance to meet leaders from all over the world, many of whom are from Beijing, that God has used to shape my vision and clarify the direction in which he's leading me.
I wanted to share this with you for two reasons: 1) because the Bible is true and God is faithful when he says the he looks out for those he loves; I hope you are encouraged by this, and 2) we need prayer because we still have fear that creeps into our souls and tells us that God has abandoned us. Moving to Beijing is a big step for Lauren and I. There are lots of uncertainties and there are undoubtedly many tears that will be shed along the way. But how can I not be fully convinced that our all-powerful and loving God has not gone before us after all the ways I can so visibly see he has carried us in the past?
I encourage you to take a moment, reflect, and look for him. I think you will see him if you look hard enough. And don't be discouraged by your past; though you can't change it, it can change you for the better and it can bolster your faith. If you pray for us I hope you'd pray that our fear would be replaced with strong faith in our God who has taken us this far and who continues to faithfully show his face.
Sojourning,
Jon
