OUR STORY
WHAT DOES IT MEAN
Israel’s old history calls us today to lives of renewed faithfulness to Jesus, to lives of refreshing contrast to everyone around us. It is a set apart life! To go all in!
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1 Kings 9:19-21 says: "So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”
“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”
21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant."
The calling of Elisha reveals a consistent reality of the contrast life of following Jesus:
“Embracing” God’s future means “letting go” of my past! Holding on to today and yesterday prevents me from taking hold of tomorrow!
God is all about setting us free from our past so He can give us His future – that is the contrast life!
When you go with God…… go big! Trust His call completely. That means leaving nothing behind. No chance to change your mind. No safety net! Go all in
Follow us as we trust Him completely and burn the plow!
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Hear It From Me
You’re about to take a leap into the next phase of life. You have a beautiful plan, dreams you can’t shake, and you are prepared as you could ever be. The big moment comes and…Nothing happens. God stopped me in my tracks and made me re-examine my expectations and my trust in Him. To make a long story short, after a year and several months and lots of prayer, here we are. My “little” family of 6 is about to embark on the adventure of a life time. It took a lot to get us here: Crushed dreams, abandonment, heart break, lost hope, forgotten dreams, and a sacrifice unlike anything we knew. We have quit our jobs. We have committed to God fully and that meant selling our home, downsizing our life, submitting to His will, and following His lead, wherever that might be. We are challenging the (wrong) belief that God wants to send us to a familiar place to do easy things and live comfortable lives. We are challenging that faithfulness is all we need; that playing it safe IS safe; that there is some greater privilege than sacrifice; and that God simply wants your life to be normal. These are all so wrong! As a family we are demanding that Jesus did not die to keep us comfortable. He died to make us dangerous. We are going all in and burning the plow so there is no turning back. We are fully surrendering our life to the daring plan God has for us. If Jesus is not Lord of all then Jesus is not lord at all. It’s now or never. It’s all or nothing. Leave it all behind and follow Him.
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sailor
In June 2008, Justin and Kara joined the US Navy from nearly opposite sides of the country. It was here that they met and he won her heart. A few long four months of training to be an Aircraft Support Equipment Technician (Justin) and an Air Traffic Controller (Kara), they were stationed apart. Justin was in Florida and Kara was in Virginia. Unsure of their future and if they would be able to see each other again, they were married in Norfolk, Virginia in February 2009. This led them to be able to receive orders together after months apart and never having lived together.
family
They started a family in Virginia. Their first a boy named Jason, didn't survive until birth. But they were blessed with their eldest, Jessi in 2010. Mason came a year later during Justin's year long deployment. Mason was 6 months old when Justin met him. Kara was honeerably discharged at the end of 2011 and got her degree in Medical Assisting. In 2012, Kara moved to Colorado with the kids to look for work. This would ensure that they would have income when Justin got out of the Navy in the summer of 2013. In 2015 on Christmas eve, they welcomed Levi. Justin had a great job and Kara got a higher level degree in Healthcare Administration. They added one more to complete their family in February 2019.
church
Justin and Kara didn't grow up going to church regularly or with a strong faith. But they fount their way together. Through their strong faith and willingness to follow God, Justin started his degree in Biblical Studies. Soon God led them to quit their job and work in ministry full time. Justin quickly became an exceptional Pastor who found connection with the youth in particular. Kara found her calling behind the scenes and worked in Children's ministry, design, computer graphics, worship web design and more.
direction
In the summer of 2019, they decided on leaving to do missionary work. Finding where was a challenge. Through applications and research, the ideas and longing to go different places past them by. Liberia, South Africa, Ship ministry, and even placs in the US were almost realities. Even so much so that they downsized their possessions and made plans to leave. With each "no" came heart ache and the hard task of starting all over.