looking backward & forward

Isaiah 26:3-4

You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

Can you believe that it is 2010?

I remember thinking as a kid about how weird it would be to live in the year 2000 and now here we are... 10 years in! So much has happened this last year that it would be impossible (and exhausting) to recount it here - BUT there are noteworthy blessed moments that must be remembered with much thanksgiving.

- After 8 years, this spring we transitioned from our nieucommunities family to begin working with The Berean Way. We praise God for the friends and experiences that we were gifted by nieucommunities and are thankful for their great work.

- After 8 years, this fall we moved back to Portland Oregon. It has been great reconnecting with friends and family as well as seeking out new relationships and ministry.

- The kids started into their third school in three years... one they will (God willing) be settled in for the next season. They love their new school and have begun to really flourish.

- After 10 years, I started back (very part-time) at Western Seminary. I have felt God leading me for many years that it was time to continue my education. As I have found myself doing more discipleship and teaching as of late it has been exciting for me to be in an academic sphere.

- This Fall we were extremely blessed to have Sam Apollos and his family come to Portland for several weeks. It was an amazing blessing to have him here, to talk about the future in India and spend time getting to know them all better.

- After being gone from Glasgow for almost a year and a half Britany and I were able to return for some training and reconnecting... it was fantastic to be able to see our friends and RE:hope.

So what of 2010?

What an amazing year we have ahead of us... starting this February with my first trip back to India in a while. We have been planning, writing/translating material and fundraising for our next trip to the northern boarder of India. We will be doing three different training events for the barefoot pastors there (one of which will actually be in Nepal)... please be praying for money for the events and my visa!!

Beyond that we have plans for travel to Canada in March, Israel in May, Malaysia in July, Uganda in September and back to India in October... we would appreciate your prayers as we navigate all these trips!

Pray also for all the AMAZING opportunities God is opening up here in Portland. We have been so humbled and thankful for the doors that are opening up here. Pray specifically for two different equipping tracks that I am developing/teaching here for our teams and a handful of churches in the area. One is for those going on short-term mission experiences and the other is for those wanting to grow in their discipleship and disciple making. These are things that I have almost stumbled into but am excited to be a part of... God is using SO much of these last years for His work here and around the world.

Finally, would you join us in this prayer... this commissioning - that our minds would stay on our Lord, that we would not be distracted by issues of money, fear or doubt and that all of us would find our perfect peace in trusting in our everlasting ROCK.

Amen Lord. Amen.

Nov/Dec UPDATE!

Season's greeting to all of you! We pray you all had a wonderful time giving thanks last weekend. I think that probably my most special moment, besides being with family, was when McKenzie brought home her Thanksgiving book she had made at school. It was filled with 5 pages of things she was thankful for. On the first page she wrote, " I am thankful to be a christian because God is on my side!"... along with a picture of her and God. I stopped as I read the first page and thought, WOW Lord how many hands helped her with this book and got to hear a tiny bit about Your goodness and a little girls heart! My prayer for all of us as we enter this time of year where Christ should be the most awaited event is that we would give someone a little glimpse of Christ goodness this Christmas!
Thank you to those of you who prayed for me as I finished my training in October. It truly has been an incredible journey from it's beginning 2 1/2 years ago. The path God lead me on has been life changing. A few of the nuggets I've learned are: Always be open handed with the Lord as he is redirecting your life and taking your faith to greater levels through it. Secondly He also calls us to put on our armor everyday whether that means putting down our fears or stepping out in faith. The Lord also reminded me that life will go by in a blink of an eye so take every opportunity to share my faith, stop and take time for a cuddle with one of my precious babies and to minister out of the gifts God has given me despite my weaknesses. A key verse I have taken on these past few years is 2 Corinthians 12:9...

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

When we first arrived in Portland we told God that we would take all the opportunities that He opened to us. It has been amazing to see all of the teaching, training and discipling that Tim has literally had opened to him here with the Berean Way. In the midst of all this, an opportunity opened for Tim to do some training in Glasgow! We were so blessed to be able to meet in Scotland at the end of my trip. Tim did leadership training with the Re-Hope team (and other friends) and then we just met with everyone under the sun, err, I mean rain!

Our time in Scotland was wonderful!!! The first few days were a bit surreal, but once I could get my feet under me I was pleasantly surprised at how good it felt to be back. We were able to visit with all our friends and team mates. I was able to go to the kids school and see all the mum's I knew, I even helped in one of my kids old classes (with our favorite teacher). I saw all my kids' old friends and could not believe how many of them remembered and loved them still. We were blessed to see Re Hope in their new building, visit our closest friends homes, have coffee with people we had discipled and see those who we had ministered to. It was so important that Tim and I were able to meet and experience it together though we really missed the kids not being there. I think the best part was being there and it feeling good NOT sad... it was a true blessing to visit a huge piece of our lives and to see just how much ministry is still happening even from a far.

It has been a very busy fall between settling into a new role, Tim starting school part-time, Sam and Suzannah visiting, kids getting set up in another new school and our trips overseas. BUT even in all the craziness of planting roots God continues to confirm this has been His plan along. Thank you for walking our journey with us as we seek to be all He asks of us... truly our motto as a family is to simply share the love of Jesus through our lives, all 6 of us! From the village pastors in India to praying for my kids with Mom's In Touch to my kids sharing about Jesus in their school... may He continue to use us were we are.

Merry Christmas to you and your families!

Much love,
Britany

pictures AND prayers

Well, after the last few updates ALL the requests have been for more pictures SO, in light of our busy schedules I thought I might share some pictures and some prayer requests!



October is a big month for birthdays and this year we were able to have a party with old friends and family... it was great fun! Celtin and McKenzie were able to eat their share of the cake though!!


Once again the McDonald clan has found the local zoo... not quite as close as the one in San Diego BUT with all the beauty that comes with the Northwest!



We were due for a new family pic and Chase makes seven... why don't we just call this shot, "The Trouble Makers!"




The past month has been a whirlwind that started with a miracle. A little over a month ago we decided that, if God would make it happen, we would like to have Sam and his family come from India to connect with supporters and communicate a clearer picture of the work being done by The Berean Way in India. We prayed like crazy and God did what seemed impossible... He pulled together a passport, three visas and several thousand dollars in less than a month to make it happen! It was a powerful and beneficial time for us as an organization as board members, supporters and key leaders were able to meet Sam and his family. On their 3 week trip we were able to sort through some of the next steps in India AND give Sam's family faces for the names of supporters and prayer warriors. Praise God for this time.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1 - Pray for Britany as she is traveling for the next 15 days (but who's counting). She is participating in the final training experience with the Women Of Influence in Austria this week. Pray especially for her travel - as many of you know Britany HATES to fly and she has 8 legs to her journey! She will not only be participating but also sharing her story and would appreciate your prayers as she shares. Pray also for me... I will be Mr. Mom alone for the first 5 days until MY mom comes and helps... thank you mom!

2 - Pray for me as I prepare and teach over the next few weeks. I will be teaching at a STM conference on the 24th in Portland (leadership/discipleship), doing leadership training on the 28th-5th in Glasgow AND again at a youth pastor conference in Portland on the 7th. It has been a pretty incredible fall... I prayed that God would open doors and they seem to keep opening.

3 - Pray also for me tomorrow (Oct 18th)... I have my first midterm in over 10 years and I am a bit nervous - its for Greek!

Thank you SO much for all your support and prayers!
Blessings,
The McDonald clan

and so it begins... again!

An update from Britany.


Hey everyone... Well, our transition to Portland has been nothing short of amazing. Everywhere we turn the Lord opens another door for putting down roots. As you can see from our faces our first day of school was filled with smiles (as where last year 4 out of 6 of us were crying as we left each other). Can you also see all those green trees around us... Tim and I have officially decided that we love the cooler, wetter climates. Yes I do know the rain has yet to start in Oregon, so I will let you all know soon how it is going.

Well after 8 years out of the housing market we are "back in the game", thanks to our friend Dave Hopkins. It took a lot of hunting to find a house that was close to work (Jeff & Erin), not too big, with a yard, a place for Tim to finally have an office, on the cheaper side but not a total fixer upper (still not the right season for that) and 200 years of history... o.k., I guess we had to compromise on something! We love our semi fixer upper and could not have gotten all the pieces to fit if the Lord had not led the way. What a wonderful God we serve who knows the perfect spot to place his children. So the cleaning begins... as you can see we have all pitched in!


So we begin setting up ministry life again, although God continues to blow us out of the water. Tim has had one connection after another come along his path. He has had several opportunities to speak/teach and more to come, just what loves to do. He is also developing all the materials for the discipleship training that The Berean Way will be doing. Tim has also started school again after years of the Lord prompting him to get more training. He is taking the slow track to getting his MDiv to be more equipped to teach/disciple people all over the world. Some of the most exciting recent news is that Sam Apollos and his family are here in America as of today for a few weeks. Sam is the director for the Berean Way in India and we are so excited to see all that God is going to do while Sam and his family are here. If you meet them and hear their story your life will be changed and blessed at the same time.

Where am I in all this? Well, I'm doing what I do best which is to get everyone settled. As Tim wrote back in January I pulled back from the daily job of missions because our family needed it. So with a lot of prayer I'm going to get involved in Mom's in touch, volunteering at our kids school, being apart of the team that hosts Berean Way events and volunteering to teach a 3's class for Womens Bible study at our church. I'm thrilled for this season ahead as God really has lead me to these places of service. I have also had the privilege of finishing up a training piece for 18 of us women in CRM. Some of the seasoned leadership women have taken on passing their "nuggets of wisdom" to us younger ladies ~ what a honor it has been to be poured into by these amazing women. Please be praying for our last time together starting October 17th -23rd.

Well, as you can see, we have begun to settle and a new season of life for the McDonald Clan has begun.We would love to hear from you when you have the chance. Many thanks for all your words of encouragement, prayers and financial support! You are amazing.

blessings,
Britany and the McDonald clan

Settling and Running

Settling and running... those are the two words I would use to describe this last month.

It has been very exciting to get our feet on the ground in Portland and begin the process of settling into a rhythm for our family. We have been painting rooms (something we have not done in our 14 years of marriage), unpacking boxes (some that have been packed for almost 8 years) and hosting (family and friends from Oregon, Washington, Alberta, North Carolina and Scotland). We even had the opportunity to attend two weddings of very dear friends - one from Portland and one from Scotland (It was such a blessing to be able to lead worship at one of them). Every step has made it feel more like home. Of course, in a lot of ways, Portland IS home to Britany and I, which has created a strange mixture of the old and the new.


We have had the amazing opportunity to reconnect with so many people (and there are still many we have still not yet seen). Yet, at the same time, we come to Portland with a new vision and the new ministry we are joining with a new set of eyes - new opportunities! Everything feels new... and so we have hit the ground running. We have been eager to meet with new and old friends to ask the question... Lord, what do you have for us here? And who do you want to join us in that work? The common response time and time again has been discipleship - which is so near to my heart and passions that I know it cannot be an accident.


My new job description describes my role like this:

The Director of Discipleship will be responsible for the discipleship branch of The Berean Way – which is found within the Equip and Duplicate mandate. This will include the development/writing/teaching of resources and material for discipleship, discipleship training and leadership development among Berean Way volunteers and indigenous Pastors (in India, Uganda, etc). In addition to basic discipleship development, the DD will also focus on pre-trip and post-trip equipping and leadership development for Berean Way volunteers.

Secondary responsibilities may include (but are not limited to): expanding the relational base of the Berean Way through meetings – for prayer and financial interest, teaching (when given the opportunity) locally and internationally – to generate interest and increase exposure, modeling the mandates of Teach, Equip and Duplicate in everyday life – for integrity of mission and authenticity of message.

So far, since we've been in Portland, this has looked like... getting to know the ministry, meeting with potential volunteers, developing/writing discipleship training material (and tools) and helping strategize and plan for our upcoming trips this next year. It has been pretty exciting to see how much people have been anticipating our involvement here with The Berean Way.

Our most pressing prayer requests are:

1 - That God would bring the right people for our upcoming trips to Uganda, India and potentially Nicaragua. People with a passion for prayer, discipleship and God's Word. We are looking for people to be a part of a 16 session discipleship training that overlaps the trip on both sides AND for people to support those doing the training.
2 - That our kids would have a smooth transition into their new school. They are fairly excited (as excited as kids get to go to school) but very nervous. Pray especially for Duncan as he navigates his new Individualized Education Plan.
3 - Balance. That we would figure out a way to balance all the new relationships with all the old... and that we would BE the people God has called us to be in this place.

grace and peace,
Tim