December Update 2014

Greetings from the Tisbury Family,

We hope that you’ve all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are not too overwhelmed as you begin to prepare for the Christmas holidays. In this exciting season of celebration and thanksgiving make sure to remember the most important reason that we have to celebrate; the Life, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. As I (Chris) was spending some time in the word and prayer this morning, I was overwhelmed with some of the wonderful truths of the Gospel message. The two scriptures that I was meditating on most came from Romans 5:8 which says, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” and also in 1 John 4:10 which says, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.” Think about that! It brings my heart such comfort and peace to know that while I was in complete rebellion against him, driving the nails into his hands and feet, HE still took the initiative to save me. He wasn’t sitting up in heaven waiting for me to get my act together before he would intervene. THIS IS THE “GOOD NEWS!” Just as we are, be encouraged in this glorious truth today and in this season as we celebrate the Savior who left heaven and came to earth to make reconciliation for us.

We want to briefly update you on our journey to the mission field, but before we do that, we would like to once again thank everyone who has invested in us so far. Your prayers, encouragement, and support have sometimes been the things that have spurred us on to keep pressing forward. Our journey has been filled with ups and downs and has gone just about the complete opposite of what we imagined when we started, but we know that God is faithful and his Word will always prove true. With that said, let us fill you in on some of the details. Our plan is to be on a plane heading to Bolivia on January 27th. The only reason that date would change is if our documents got tied up somewhere in the approval process. As of right now, all our documents are being translated into spanish. When that step is completed we will have to get them authenticated in Jackson and then they’re off to the Bolivian consulate. Please be praying that The Lord would give us favor in this process because they tend to drop the ball on foreigners coming into their country, especially since they recently changed the laws on visas. The president has completely done away with volunteer and missionary visas, which has actually left us scrounging around looking for other options on how to get in. We are still pretty confident that we will be able to find a loophole somewhere and get in, but for if some reason we can’t, we have talked about attending language school in either Peru or Guatemala since that will be our main focus for our first year in Bolivia anyways. As far as when we get there, we actually have some friends that will be moving out of their place at the same time we will be moving in. They have said that we could probably move straight into their place and they have also offered to give us all their furniture, which is a HUGE blessing. Needless to say, we still have some obstacles ahead of us in getting there, but we are confident that God is going to provide a way and our trust is completely in him alone.

In closing, We would like to give you a couple of things to be praying with us about. 

First, we need wisdom in how to go about which visas to apply for and the actual process of getting into Bolivia. 

Secondly, pray that the Lord would provide for all of our needs. We are still not where we need to be budget wise, but however the Lord chooses to provide, with that we will be content. One of the biggest things we feel The Lord has been teaching us in this process is to trust him completely even if we can’t see how it all works out. We choose to believe God’s word more than our doubts and worries. 

Thirdly, pray that God would give us the grace to learn the language and adapt to the culture quickly, especially our children. And most importantly, pray that Jesus would be glorified in Bolivia. Pray that as the Gospel is preached, the Bolivian people would be cut to the heart and reconciled to our loving Father. Pray that the Holy Spirit would lead the Bolivian believers into all truth and illuminate the scriptures to them. Pray for revival in Bolivia, the U.S., and all over the world. We are confident that you will do these things and for that we thank you.

Love, 

The Tisbury's

The Waiting Place

The Waiting Place

God’s plan is so much bigger than my plan. When I get frustrated that “my plan” isn’t happening as quickly as I would like, I have to remind myself that God’s sovereign plan is in effect. If I will quit trying to help him and hurry him along, I can walk calmly beside the still waters where he promises to restore my soul. (Psalm 23)

I am very fond of the writings of Oswald Chambers. In one of his writings titled “When Vision Becomes Reality,” he says, “God has to take us into the valley and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision.” He goes on to talk about the importance of waiting on the Lord after receiving a vision from him. How will we “go out” if the vision isn’t real inside of us? How can we ever hope to accomplish the vision if we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to do his work?

Being adventurous and spontaneous is not a challenge for me. I like change.
What I don’t like, is waiting. I’m pretty terrible at it. One of my favorite books by Dr. Seuss is “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”. In this book, he describes “The Waiting Place,” a place we all come to while off on our adventure. People there are waiting for “a string of pearls or a pair of pants or a wig with curls or another chance…everyone is just…waiting.” It reminds me that this Waiting Place is to be expected, and this time of waiting is only temporary. 

This waiting season has been very challenging for me, but I have learned so much! The Lord is so patient. I have developed a new adoration for his steadfast love and faithfulness. I am reminded that “Those who WAIT upon the Lord will renew their strength and mount up with wings as eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). Why is the strength found in the waiting? 

I believe we find our strength in the waiting because it is there - in the valley, in the waiting place- that we are confronted with our sin, our doubt, our shortcomings, our selfishness, and our failures. While we wait, we cry out to the Lord! We go to him for our daily bread. He becomes our everything, and that is where we find our strength- because it’s not OUR strength at all. We are emptied of all of us, and we are filled with all of him.

When he puts us through the floods and fires, he is accomplishing something if we will let him. Too often we beg and plead for the battering to stop, and by doing that, we stop the work of purification. He is trying to get us to the point that he can trust us with the vision. 

Lord, my Shepherd, lead me through this valley with your rod and staff. Don’t hold back the floods and fires that will shape me into the vision you have given me. Continue your work in, and through me, Holy Spirit. When my heart and flesh grow weary, be my strength and my song. My life is in your hands, and I trust you. To have you trust me with this precious vision would be my greatest joy.

Here is our January Newsletter!

A Step Toward Hope

We would like to share with you a little bit of the journey we are on. Many of our friends and family ask, how we are doing, what’s the latest on our plans, what do we need, and most importantly - how they can be praying for us. We treasure each and every prayer. They come at just the right time and we can feel the encouragement.

We are going to start sending out monthly newsletters to keep you up to date and to let you know any prayer needs we have. We would also love to hear from you! We want to know the needs that you and your family have as well. We hope to begin partnerships with the people that God has placed in our lives that will be lifelines to us in the coming years.

The journey we are on isn’t an easy one. We are learning the true meaning of trust and surrender. As we prepare for our move to Bolivia, we are in a season of constant change. We never know when the next step will come, when our faith will be challenged, or when the next wave of discouragement will hit. We are learning to put all of our hope in Christ, for He is the Eternal Rock. We are reminded of Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”.

With each new season there is hope- hope that we are moving with the Holy Spirit and are in His timing. With Him we are able to navigate through every obstacle because we can see the change and  the importance of waiting on His timing…moving WITH Him. Our faith has grown, our confidence in what he has spoken is firmly grounded and there is a peace “that passes all understanding” (Phil. 4:7) that guards our hearts and minds. We are very thankful for where we are, despite how hard it is at times. We truly feel privileged that he has lead us to go to the Nations. We feel our hearts expanding and our excitement growing. Things are starting to become clear. 

 Our children have been encouraging in this season as  they pray for God to sell our house and help us raise our  money. The simple faith of our children challenges us. They KNOW that God will help us and are excited to go.  We are very thankful that the Lord is preparing their hearts because this is a family call. 

As we continue forward, we do so with hope. We are strengthened and encouraged by the Word and the love that we feel from those around us who have invested in our lives. You have a crucial role in our lives, and we need you! Please keep us in your prayers. 

          Walking by faith,

      Chris, Erin, Asher, Jace, Avery, Scarlet & Anna