Here's a brief summary I wrote up to help explain how our decision to move to Indonesia was not a spur of the moment decision, but a decision God gradually and graciously moved us towards.
It all started over 16 years ago. Actually it started after my first mission trip to New Mexico and the Navajo Indians. I remember coming home, crying, telling my parents that I had to be a missionary to the Navajo. I was in the 9th grade. Throughout high school and my college years, I continued to go on mission trips in the summer and personal trips in the winter. By the time I was ready for college, I was looking into the possibility of flying for the military or MAF (being a missionary pilot). God had other plans. I finally noticed Erin, who was also interested in missions to the Navajo, and we spent a summer working with Evan Freymiller, the local missionary in Prewitt, New Mexico. It was 1992. From that summer on, Erin and I were inseparable. After about two years of college at LeTourneau University, I came home to finish a new degree in English. I choose it for two reasons: 1) It was the fastest way to get a degree of some sort, and I was tired of going to school; 2) I figured an English degree was an easy way to get into a closed country and use my degree to pay the bills while my real job- missions- was carried out. After Erin finished her degree, we headed out for the reservation. It was 2000. We have loved our time among the Navajo, and have made wonderful friends. In 2010, after my school and area were rocked with suicides, we decided to find a solution that would give kids real hope- Jesus Christ. We started doing “movie nights” in the summer, sharing the Gospel through Veggie Tales and Billy Graham movies. Next, it appeared that God was putting into place the pieces to build a basketball camp for the Thoreau area. Erin remembers talking with family in December 2010 about how “Matt thinks God is going to do something big- maybe we will even go overseas.” We were praying as God led us on the journey of starting a camp. After about six months of talking, Drew from T Bar M, and Keith decided to come out and see what could or should be done concerning a camp. Erin and I went to T Bar M Camps in the summer of 2011, and things really started to seem to gel and it appeared God was doing something big. Every step of the way we prayed that God would open or close doors so that we would be pursuing His will and not our own. By the beginning of the new school year in 2011, it looked like camp was still a go- even though my job had been transferred to Crownpoint. By October, we had three coaches ready to help with the camp, a date set, and two churches that supported us in our endeavor to get a camp started. Then things started to get difficult. It seemed like every movement toward starting a basketball camp was met with equal or more opposition. The date we set for camp was not going to work for getting a gym at two of the local schools, and while we had three great coaches, more were not being found, board members willing to serve on the camp board were unwilling to step up, and it just seemed like God may be telling us to slow down. I talked with Drew and my parents about the situation. We decided to continue to seek God’s will and that hopefully more direction would be made clear in January. It is amazing how God works, and even more amazing that we are surprised by it!
January 2012. Erin and I were struggling about what to do about our house, my long commute, and my not-so-fun job at Crownpoint. Our house had been on the market for ten months, six of which during the time that I was at Crownpoint. The house never sold, and we figured God was having us go through a wait and trust in Him period. Erin contacted a friend we knew that worked overseas, and we found out about NICS. (Network of International Christian Schools) Erin called me at work, and I was intrigued by the mission and vision of the schools. I decided to apply. We decided to put the house back on the market. (it was the only thing holding us back from moving overseas or to Crownpoint, so we figured we needed to try again) The date was January 7th. We met with a realtor, told him our situation, and signed a 6 month contract. We began to pray specifically that if God wanted us overseas, the house would sell quickly. On January 11th, I get a call from a friend I used to teach with at Thoreau. (I had emailed him before Christmas, and he wanted to catch up.) I told him what we were doing- the house for sale, seeking God about overseas, etc. He said we should meet and have dinner. January 14th- my friend and his wife come over to look at the house. They liked it. January 16th- we get an offer on the house, and come to an agreement on a price. January 19th- we finalize the initial contract, and on Saturday (Jan. 21) we signed papers to finalize the sale.
While the house stuff was going on, the application process at NICS was going into high gear. We were called by a lady that talked with us about two prospective schools- Kenya and Indonesia (Jan. 17). We decided to try to apply to both and see where the Lord led. The next day, we received an email from the school in Indonesia saying they would like to interview me. By Monday (Jan. 23) of the next week, we had talked with the director in Kenya, and then on Tuesday, we had our first interview with Indonesia. By Thursday (Jan. 26), I was interviewed by the team in Indonesia, and by Tuesday of the following week, I was offered the job. After a final day of prayer and seeking the advice of others, we accepted the position on Feb. 1st.
Obviously, accepting the job overseas means the camp is no longer an option. But after seeking God’s will and praying for guidance, it was obvious that the Lord was opening doors in a different direction. We asked God to show us over the Christmas break what He wanted us to do about camp, and He clearly gave an answer. This is why I have not blogged or contacted everyone for a while. The situation was moving quickly, but we did not want to say anything until God’s direction was made clear. I wanted to let everyone know what was going on before we started blogging again online. There is much to share about the story, and if you want more details, feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email. Thanks to everyone that prayed for the camp, and we hope you can now pray for us as we get ready to go to Indonesia.
