We are surrounded by other families, mostly all seminarians themselves, working either toward Masters of Divinity or counseling of some form or another. There are kids EVERYwhere, and my doorbell, which virtually never rang at the old house, now rings 10 times a day or so.

  God has used this move to move us forward spiritually in some amazing ways.

  Being surrounded by believers, people who are committing their lives to God’s work, has opened up worship opportunities and learning opportunities and even simple conversational opportunities that have blessed us immensely.

  I meet on Saturday mornings just after dawn with a Sri Lankan gentleman named Vimal who has become a very close friend for bagels, coffee and Bible study. Sometimes we simply spend our time praying together. He, his wife Louise and their two young daughters previously lived just south of Frankfurt, Germany, where they serve as missionaries and have started a church for Tamilian refugees.

  See, Vimal spent quite a bit of time in a refugee camp himself when he was younger and had to flee his country due to civil war. He found Jesus in one such camp.  He has since made the Gospel and the Great Commission his life’s work.

  Ours is a very multi-cultural little community here on the outskirts of Jackson, MS.

  There are many Korean families here. Seems Korea has a much, much larger Christian population than I would have thought. Talk about your megachurches! Some Korean churches have congregations that number 40,000 people! The families come here to study, so that the men can receive their pastoral instruction, then go back to Korea to serve.

  One very gifted Korean lady here is teaching my eldest son piano. She’s doing it for free! She said teaching American children helps her learn the English language, so she’s receiving her payment that way.

  Our lives have changed in so many amazing ways since we decided to step out with absolute blind faith and place our collective fates totally in the hands of God.

  It was a very hard decision for me, I’m embarrassed to admit. We are in our mid- (well, let’s say "late-mid") thirties, with two kids, and we’re back in student housing. We are back to being financially strapped like all college students.

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

  We are learning very rapidly that less is indeed more. I could write a small book about the many ways in which God is using this move to bless and enrich my family, but unfortunately space won’t allow me to go on.

  There are so many people here I would love to tell you about, and so many wonderful windows and doors God has opening and continues to open for us.

  My wife might be the actual student in the family, but I have learned something incredibly valuable about myself.

  Sometimes we can become too comfortable, too set in our ways and circumstances, and then we stagnate. We don’t give God room to work in our lives because we’re not doing anything for Him to work with.

  When you find yourself in an uncomfortable circumstance, in a place you’ve never been before and don’t know what to do, remember Psalm 46:10..."Be still and know that I am God."

  God just might be preparing you for innumerable blessings you’re just not capable of seeing yet.

  Thank you Martin, for letting me share a little of our experiences, and for your work with the Devotions and what it has meant to me already. And thank you all for reading and letting me take you with me for just a bit, for a brief look at what is quickly becoming an amazingly wonderful journey.