Life

I'm not sure when it will hit and sink in, perhaps this fall, but our ACWR Team Jamaica has been going through a lot of change. I remember reading a book, "When Your Iceberg is Melting," for work when our company was experiencing a lot of change and being re-branded and combined with other acquired firms. I should probably dig through my things at home in August and see if I can find my copy...cuz if I step back and look at it, our Jamaican iceberg is melting in the sun. Change isn't a bad thing, but it is certainly not an easy thing. With our beloved teammates, Chad and Pam Huber and family, leaving in April and now the Plattners leaving last week, it has left a large hole. We went from 7 adults to 3 and from 17 people to 3. We went from being a vehicle short to having an extra one sitting around waiting to be sold. I have gone from having two seasoned brothers that I love and esteem highly to look up to and follow their lead, to now realizing that I have a lot more responsibility for on-island leadership. And that in itself is something that I haven't even really thought about. When I do stop and think, like right now as I blog and process all at the same time, I just kind of resort to, "ok Lord, what do we do now? I know you know what's going on, but where is all this going? What do you have in store for us? Who, what, when, where? God help!" 

With time, I know things will be clear, but we are definitely in that time in between, where the change has occurred but has not yet been realized. Please pray alongside of our team. Pray for the Hubers, as they are certainly still adjusting to the realities and complexities and trials they are certain to face. Pray for the Plattners, who return to the States being called to a different area of our ministry team, but don't even know what State they will call home. Not knowing a lot of things but moving by faith. Pray for our teammate Erin, who had a strong support group in Mandeville with Hubers and Plattners and now will face times of feeling alone. Pray for Tashi and I, as life seems to be going by so fast (one year anniversary is this Tuesday, WOW) that we don't even think about all this change, and accept this as God still in control rather than thinking negatively. Chad and Kirk were role models for me, and taught me a lot. They were both instrumental in counseling and advising and listening to me as I sorted through the burden to pursue Tashi in 2010. They were encouragers and it's probably not until reality sinks in that they are gone that I will realize how blessed I was to be with them both for 3 years. Tashi is able to emotionally process a lot faster than I, and it's been hard for her to see both families go. Knowing their hearts and attitudes for the Deaf of Jamaica is really hard because she's seen many missionaries come and go and not often do they "get it" on the heart/attitude level. I'm not even sure this is all making sense. Hopefully you understand. We will all miss the kids so much. Such energy and joy and friendship. Arriving at JDV is odd without Dylan running out to give me a hug, or the next time I pull in at Knockpatrick and Drew doesn't come running out saying "Blake, you wanna shoot some hoops with me?" or there is no sweet-cheeks Daisha trotting over to give me a hug. Pray for all of us. God is good, all the time, no matter what. We know that. We've experienced it in many areas of life. But we have not experienced it in our team dynamics changing so drastically, so quickly. But He is still the King, and He is still sitting on the throne. I could keep processing but we are already late for Deaf Camp, so I'll stop rambling. Be blessed because you already are!