I wanted to use this post just to update everyone on what has been going on in Laura Ashley and my life since we have moved up to North Carolina. We moved to North Carolina in May of 2010 for me to attend seminary at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. We moved here with the plan to be here 4 to 5 years for me to get my Master's degree with the hope to take a job as a pastor wherever the Lord took us. In our minds there was no way that this would change but it usually when you feel like you have your plan that God changes everything, and that is what has happened in our life since moving here in May.
Shortly after moving here we began to attend the Summit Church (www.summitrdu.com), which happened to have one of its many small groups meeting in our apartment building. Some things that really attracted us to the Summit was its focus on planting churches, reaching out to the community we live in, and finally the pastor J.D. is an excellant preacher. So, after a month of attending the Summit we joined and have really enjoyed getting to be part of the community of believers at the Summit. In the last couple months we have had the opportunity to start a small group which has been an awesome, and we are very glad God has seen it fit to bless us with this responsibility.
Our first summer flew by and it was time for me to start school, which is when all of our plans for our life began to change. Every Tuesday and Thursday we have chapel here at the seminary and usually the 2nd chapel service is called the "Great Commission Chapel," the great commission is found in Matt. 28:18-20:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The chapel service usually consist an update on what the seminary is doing in missions across the world, and then a sermon on missions. At the end of this particular chapel they challenged everyone to grab a map of the world from the back of the room and to begin to pray for the people in the world who had not had a chance to hear about Jesus. Laura Ashley and I thought this would be something good to do, and so we bought a book that had info about missions in all the countries of the world and began praying for a country a night. As part of this time we also told God that we would be willing to do whatever he wanted us too and would not let our plans get in the way of his. After a few months of praying for different countries and for God's will I looked over to Laura Ashley and told her, "We are going to go." Laura Ashley I think had known this for a while but just wanted me to say it to her so I wouldn't feel pressured. (What an awesome wife I have!) So, the next week I change my degree program to what is called 2+2 program, which means I will take classes here for 3 years and then we will be going oversees to live as missionaries for 2 years where I will finish my degree. To answer those questions in your mind:
Where are we going? We wont know until May or so.
When will we leave? Next Summer or Fall.
Finally, WHAT ABOUT HOLLAND?
As much of you know the biggest change we have had in our life since we came up to North Carolina is the birth of our beautiful daughter, Holland Grace Harper. I would be lying if changing our plans did not cross our mind with the birth of Holland, but God has defiantly not changed his plans so we have chosen to follow him. Why? One reason is when I look at Holland I see a baby that is blessed beyond belief. She was born in a safe environment where she has everything she needs, she has family surrounding her that loves her very much, and finally she will hear about Jesus over and over again and by God's grace will some day become a Christian. It breaks my heart to think that there are million upon million of Hollands around the world who have absolutely no hope of hearing about Jesus and will spend eternity in hell if no one goes and tells them about Jesus. See Holland is not a hinderance to going she is a motivating factor in going some where else in the world to share Jesus with parents, children, and people have no hope without him. Finally and most importantly we are still going because of the unbelievable grace and love we have received through Jesus' death and resurrection, and also because Jesus is our KING who we will follow anywhere and we will do what ever he tells us.
I know this a long blog but as you can see a lot has happened since we have moved to North Carolina, and we cannot see what God has for us next...
Lee Harper
Our first summer flew by and it was time for me to start school, which is when all of our plans for our life began to change. Every Tuesday and Thursday we have chapel here at the seminary and usually the 2nd chapel service is called the "Great Commission Chapel," the great commission is found in Matt. 28:18-20:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The chapel service usually consist an update on what the seminary is doing in missions across the world, and then a sermon on missions. At the end of this particular chapel they challenged everyone to grab a map of the world from the back of the room and to begin to pray for the people in the world who had not had a chance to hear about Jesus. Laura Ashley and I thought this would be something good to do, and so we bought a book that had info about missions in all the countries of the world and began praying for a country a night. As part of this time we also told God that we would be willing to do whatever he wanted us too and would not let our plans get in the way of his. After a few months of praying for different countries and for God's will I looked over to Laura Ashley and told her, "We are going to go." Laura Ashley I think had known this for a while but just wanted me to say it to her so I wouldn't feel pressured. (What an awesome wife I have!) So, the next week I change my degree program to what is called 2+2 program, which means I will take classes here for 3 years and then we will be going oversees to live as missionaries for 2 years where I will finish my degree. To answer those questions in your mind:
Where are we going? We wont know until May or so.
When will we leave? Next Summer or Fall.
Finally, WHAT ABOUT HOLLAND?
As much of you know the biggest change we have had in our life since we came up to North Carolina is the birth of our beautiful daughter, Holland Grace Harper. I would be lying if changing our plans did not cross our mind with the birth of Holland, but God has defiantly not changed his plans so we have chosen to follow him. Why? One reason is when I look at Holland I see a baby that is blessed beyond belief. She was born in a safe environment where she has everything she needs, she has family surrounding her that loves her very much, and finally she will hear about Jesus over and over again and by God's grace will some day become a Christian. It breaks my heart to think that there are million upon million of Hollands around the world who have absolutely no hope of hearing about Jesus and will spend eternity in hell if no one goes and tells them about Jesus. See Holland is not a hinderance to going she is a motivating factor in going some where else in the world to share Jesus with parents, children, and people have no hope without him. Finally and most importantly we are still going because of the unbelievable grace and love we have received through Jesus' death and resurrection, and also because Jesus is our KING who we will follow anywhere and we will do what ever he tells us.
I know this a long blog but as you can see a lot has happened since we have moved to North Carolina, and we cannot see what God has for us next...
Lee Harper
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