Happy Easter Week! We hope you are feeling the hope of Jesus in your soul and a spring of joy in your step this season. Mustard Seed Happenings Thanks to all of you who have prayed for us this transition as I have taken up the U.S. director role for Mustard Seed International. I’ve been doing some trips to share MSI’s vision with churches and small groups, places like Los Angeles, Seattle, Colorado, and Houston. I’ve got an upcoming trip to the San Francisco area fromMay 2-5 that I would appreciate your prayers for. Let me know if I could visit your church or small group as I’d love to share more in person. For our friends near the Austin area, we want to invite you to a special event introducing Mustard Seed International to the Austin community. It will be fun evening: fajitas, stand-up comedy from Eric Bryant, stories of kids’ lives transformed, and the best kicker of all…free babysitting! It will take place Friday, May 30th, at Hope in the City, from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. The event is free but you need to click here to register and get your tickets: MSI Presents: Tex-Mex, Humor and Hope (also let me know if you would be willing to volunteer to pull this off!) The Year of Transition Moving from Indonesia, the place that was our family’s home for nearly 14 years, and settling back into life in the U.S. has been a monumental adjustment in just about every category. We feel have felt God’s grace with us and have been so thankful for all the ways He has provided. We’re also so grateful to be plugged back into our church community, even as there has been grief as we miss our ministry, friends and teammates in Indonesia. Something we have been encouraged to do to round-out this year of transition for our family is attend a conference in Colorado specifically designed to help returning missionaries. It’s called a “Debriefing and Renewal” (DAR) program, put on by an experienced group called Mission Training International. We have heard rave reviews about this one-week experience, and our pastor recently urged us to go. We actually had wanted to do this earlier, and had already put down a deposit, but have run out of funds from our “O’Quin Transition Fund” to be able to attend. In light of that, our organization has re-opened this fund, which was closed at the beginning of the year, for people who would like to specifically give so that our family could have this experience in August. We think it would help us more fully process this transition, a season in which a lot of other returning missionaries struggle. See the information at the bottom of this email if you would like to help us go.
Butterfly Kisses and Sweet Sixteen Stephanie and I had quite an emotional wallop this last weekend. Naomi’s little ballet class has a recital, and one of the songs they danced to was “Butterfly Kisses” by Bob Carlisle, a song written for maximum emotional impact. Part of the lyrics: “Sweet sixteen today She's looking like her mama a little more everyday One part woman, the other part girl. To perfume and make-up from ribbons and curls Trying her wings out in a great big world. But I remember.....” The day before that recital was Ana’s Sweet Sixteen Birthday Party! We celebrated at the one Indonesian restaurant in town, Java Noodle House, and showed her friends a slide show of Ana growing up, from ribbons and curls to today. A touching weekend, and mom and dad were known to reach for a Kleenex a time or two.
We think it’s kind of funny how we are in so many life stages all at once: a child in college, one in high school, one in junior high and one little ballerina princess in PreK. Keeps us on our toes! (no pun intended). Recent Podcasts One of my favorite hobbies is interviewing friends based on their expertise on certain areas that I find stirring, and then posting them on the blog I started with Paul Richardson, Faith Activators. Here are some recent conversations:
My friend Shane Harris and I recently did a series on revival, based on his research on past spiritual awakenings: Part One: The Fulton Street Revival of 1857 Part Two: The Welsh Revival of 1904 Part Three: Positioning Your Heart for Revival My most recent podcast is an honest conversation with my friend Russell Grigsby on rejecting the lies you believe about yourself and walking in God’s truth: Uprooting Lies and Renewing Your Mind Hope you enjoy! If so please let us know and spread the word! Thanks for all the ways you walk with us! Love, Mike and Stephanie
Support Information for DAR Program As stated above, our former mission’s agency, Hope for the Nations, is re-opening our “O’Quin Transition Fund” on a one-time basis to help our family attend MTI’s “Debriefing and Renewal” in August in Colorado Springs. Cost of the one-week conference, including room and board, is $3,741. Adding travel costs of estimated $2,250 comes to almost $6,000 we need to raise. If you would like to give toward this trip, please click here and follow the on-line instructions, making sure to add a note that your gift is for this designated fund. Or you can make out a check to "Hope for the Nations" with an attached note and send to the following address. All gifts are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated! Hope for the Nations 4407 Monterey Oaks Blvd. Building 1, Suite 120 Austin, TX 78749 Phone: 512-892-4673
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