The Cost

Over the last few weeks, I have been listening to a song called “The Cost” by The Rend Collective Experiment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2TxahqbSbU

The song is based on the passage in Luke that says:

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.  Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’  Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.  So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26-33

Several weeks ago I heard a sermon about these verses, and the pastor talked about the two different costs that Jesus speaks of in Luke. In the first case, the man does not build a tower until he is sure he can complete it. In the other case, the king at war finds that the cost of going to war is too great, and that he cannot afford to pay it. The pastor reminded us that the cost to follow Jesus is great, and we must be willing to pay it. At the same time, the cost of not following Jesus is TOO great. Whatever the cost might be of following Jesus, the cost of not following Him is higher.

All through training, I have been thinking about these verses. Last night after dinner I sat at a table with other people at training at SIM. We talked for over an hour and I was overwhelmed with story after story of God’s faithfulness. Although we have had lots of trainings over the last few days, one of the most helpful things about training at SIMGo has been listening to the stories of people that have years of combined experience in ministry. Over and over and over, they have told of trials and suffering, and the message is always the same. Whatever the cost, Jesus is worth it!

I am so thankful for this time, and for your prayers. Please pray that the Lord would continue to prepare my heart, and the hearts of the people in Bolivia to know His love more and more, and the things we hold onto in this world less and less.

Hello from North Carolina!

For the next two weeks I will be in Charlotte, North Carolina for SIMGo! I will be learning more about support raising, meeting other missionaries, and learning more about what it will be like to serve with SIM in Bolivia!

Friday I left DFW and felt like a tourist in my own city! Airports are so exciting, and there’s something about them that makes me feel really small, but also more aware of how big God is. I ended up at the wrong terminal, so I got to use the Skylink for the first time in Dalllas! I got on the plane, and ended up in between a group of pastors from the East coast. It was so encouraging to hear them talk about how God has called them into ministry, and how He is working in the communities they are in.

I arrived in Charlotte, and a couple from SIM picked me up at the airport and brought me back to the residence hall. I will be staying with 17 other adults, and 12 children that are also in the process of going all over the world. So exciting! Several people that were here in January for SIMStart (orientation) will be here again this week, so it will be great to see them again too!

I will do my best to keep you updated (but not TOO updated) throughout the next two weeks! I listed some ways to be praying, if there is anything I can be praying about for you let me know! I would love to be praying for you as well. J

**WAYS TO PRAY**

Praise God for this time that He has provided, that He might use it as a time of learning and growth for myself and the other missionaries.

That we would continue to be dependent on God through prayer, rather than looking to our own abilities or strength.

For creativity and wisdom as we learn about communicating well at home and cross-culturally!