How big is my family?

Hello all,

Sorry, I did not update last week, it has been a busy month…like expected. I am alive, healthy and getting rested, thanks for all your prayers around the trips and decisions current and upcoming. This week is just as crazy, I have a surprise trip to Frankfurt Germany to meet with a few of the operations staff of CAI, and then next week I have a trip to Brussels Belguim to help with CAI’s Field Orientation for new missionaries. I am looking forward to all of this, but continue to pray for my health and mental focus.

Ok, updating the past two weeks. Let’s see. Last time I wrote I was on a train to Stockholm and since then I was in Stockholm for 4 days helping my friends the Hyltegard’s move into their new flat and, at time, holding their beautiful new baby Ella (3 months old). From there I was back in Den Haag for three nights then off to Lisbon Portugal for CAI’s Leadership Summit. This was a very intense four day conference of all the team leaders from all around Europe, North America, and South America. It was a great conference and for me personally it brought a lot of clarity and focus for my future with CAI. Again, thanks for your prayers around this area as well.

Now the heart stuff. Even though the past weeks have been very draining I have had people coming up to me, praying and supporting me. There are two stories I want to share around this. First is the Fritsch’s in Goteborg Sweden. I first met Marcus Fritsch two years ago in Goteborg. Marcus is a native German, he and his wife Karen were called out of their native Germany to plant a church in Sweden. When I met Marcus I realized very quickly that he was a man of prayer, well over the past couple weeks I realized its not just Marcus, but Karen and there Children as well. When I was in Sweden visiting with the church I was reminded that this small church has been built on prayer and guidance from God.

When I was leaving Goteborg I got a text from Marcus’s oldest son Ollie, who said, he was praying that God would bless me and lead me. When I got this text, it just melted me. Ollie is about 12 or 13, I mean what can you say to that, there is something about a child’s prayers, I was really touched by this. I told Marcus in Portugal that I appreciated him and his whole family for praying for me. I feel as though I have been adopted by the Fritsch’s, even by their kids. I don’t know if I will ever end up in Sweden, but I do know that I will have a family their.

The second story is about Jim. Jim was a guest at the conference in Portugal. Jim is from an organization that has planted 1,000 churches in the last 5 or 10 years. This was one of those strange meetings. I saw Jim in the lobby and something was different, we looked at each other and greeted, then went on our way. A day later the same thing. Then we saw each other and both decided we needed to sit and talk. We did the next day for lunch. Jim and his wife are from Ireland and have ended up in LA via South Africa. Jim is a soft spoken sweet man. Jim is a grandfather figure, humble, caring, and gentle. I don’t know exactly what this relationship will bring, but I asked Jim and his wife to pray for me and he accepted, then Jim said, “Jason we want to support you. If you need anything, let me know.” Then Jim invited me to visit him and his wife in LA this June. I had just met Jim and already he wanted to support me. I was overwhelmed, but it was not totally unexpected. See I had been praying earlier in the day and I felt as though God was creating some connection between us. This was confirmed at lunch.

I have been humbled by the fact that I now have clarity about my future with CAI, but that is not the best thing to happen in the last couple of weeks. The best thing that has happened is that God showed me that he is caring for me. It is a very humbling thing to have a person you just met say, “we want to support you.” It is a humbling thing to have a family pray for you, a family you see maybe 1 time a year. I am excited about the future, but right now, I am grateful and humbled by the present. There is a lot going on, there will always be a lot going on, but it’s those encouraging things that I hang on too. It’s the prayers of a 12 year old over SMS (text) that really keep me going.

Thank you, Thank you all for your support.
Jason

Prayer Requests:
1) Health, Praise I am healthy and pray it will stay that way
2) Relationships here and back home. I am going to be leaving on May 1st for Minnesota. I have made good relationships here and want to continue to learn how to maintain those relationships an ocean apart.
3) Support, I will be returning to Europe, hopefully in the fall. This summer I will be fund raising and working from Minnesota. Pray that God will rise up people to pray for me and to financially support me.
4) My sister’s wedding, Along with the addition of new families. I have been moved very deeply over the past weeks about my own family and how great they are. Pray for my sister and her fiancé, Ben. Praise God that they are such a blessing.