Jonathan & Lauren being

Lauren & Jonathan moved to the St. John’s neighborhood in view of a call.  But that call was not just to their neighbors in need that would physically surround them here and now.  The call was one of preparation for a different task… to one day move to Southern Sudan to live out the gospel to a people in need in a far off land.  And every decision they make is a reflection of this goal.

I have never heard of someone preparing so methodically for their pull to the nations.  It started with Jonathan doing weeks of research on the internet, narrowing his gaze to Sudan.  Next was a vision trip for Jonathan himself. Living 4 months in Sudan, he met as many church planters, ministry organizations, and locals as possible so he could witness first-hand what the needs are in Sudan and how Jesus is using His people to meet those needs. Since then, they’ve returned as a couple twice… once just the two of them, and once leading a team of other believers.  Being on the ground over there has been crucial to their preparation, and with each trip God connects their hearts more & more deeply to the cause of Christ in Sudan.

After Jonathan & Lauren were married, they settled on a home church in Austin (Austin Stone), knowing that they needed a place to get trained and fed.  Plus they recognized a hunger within themselves for a community of senders and encouragers.  Next they moved to St. Johns neighborhood to practice cross-cultural interactions and the art of living simply.  But their choice for a home also has paved the way for a good deal of practice in perseverance, fighting the spiritual warfare that encircles them, and understanding the need for constant prayer.  Being connected to a local church and a local community here in Austin, while they are in the mode of preparing to GO, has been pivotal for their development.  Plus it is forcing them to daily put into practice now what they hope to live out when they move to Sudan.

Last summer, the two of them served as team leaders for several summer mission trips back to Matamoros.  Knowing that one day they would be leading groups of people who will come to Sudan they wanted to practice guiding and helping others experience the global work of God.  The mindset of replication has been a high priority for them.  On the one hand, they want to reproduce themselves here, so that when they move to Sudan there will still be an advocating voice left behind to continue to connect Austin to Sudan.  And on the other hand, they also want to be mobilizers for the nations at large.  Yes, their heart is for Sudan.  They want people who are willing to join them by going (some short-term, and some to stay).  But their heart is also a replica of God’s heart, which is for the whole of this world.  “We desperately want people to come with us to Sudan, but we also want people who are willing to stay and keep the ball rolling for those in the field,” she says. 

They’ll return to Sudan in February 2009 to plant a garden and build a house, then come back to the states to attend an intensive 5 month training camp through Heart of God Ministries.  After that, they’ll head out to Sudan until God calls them home or to somewhere new.

Once they move, Jonathan & Lauren will be living among the Sudanese people, working with a Sudanese church-planting pastor & his family.  “I am excited to be discipled by this couple… to learn from those who aren’t just talking about church-planting or reading about it, but from people who are actually doing the work in a hard place and pressing on in the midst of difficulty,” says Lauren.  “They are church-planters with a vision for the unreached and they’re pushing the front lines further and further out from their home.  We want to be a part of that.”  William & Eunice are the Sudanese couple they’ll be working under. Their love for the people of their own nation runs thick.  They also believe strongly in development, not relief.  So all of their projects help to train and develop the local people to provide for themselves and each other, together. 

The project that Lauren will work on once they get to Sudan is a boarding school the church started.  The purpose of the school is not just to provide the kids in the region with an education—of both traditional school subjects and the gospel—but also to immerse the children in ethnically diverse groups, encouraging the development of inter-tribal relationships in hopes of one day eliminating the tensions felt between tribes.  Jonathan will serve as an assistant pastor to William, helping out in all-things pastoral, which in Sudan encompasses just about everything under the sun.

Boarding School classrooms being built

In addition to the boarding school, William & Eunice’s church has also created adult literacy programs, pastor & discipleship training for church-planting movements, a clinic to aid in mercy ministries to the locals, a women’s ministry, a grinding mill program that helps up efficiency of the labor needed just to provide food for the community, a nursery school, a micro-enterprise loan program to help locals start new businesses… the list goes on and on.  Each project has as the heart behind it a chance to share the gospel and redeem a people for Jesus Christ. 

Jonathan & Lauren have always had an element of missions intertwined in their story.  Jonathan and Lauren met while on a trip to Matamoros, Mexico, and their relationship began on a trip to China.  Jonathan initially made his intentions for marriage clear during his first stint in Sudan.  And they spent several months in the first year of their new marriage in Sudan, exposing Lauren for the first time to the land they felt called to long-term.  Their focus is directing all their energy to preparing to go back. Their heart remains there, even as they live here in Austin, because they are moved by the people who need love & mercy demonstrated to them through the lights in the lives of Christ followers.

To move to Sudan will certainly come with sacrifices for Lauren & Jonathan.  But what it boils down to for them is asking of themselves, “Am I all talk, or am I really willing to suffer for the gospel?  Do I say I would suffer, because I know that’s what I am supposed to say, or will I really do it?”  Not to suggest this answer has been easy for them to make.  Almost daily it is an issue of God having to soften their heart, bring conviction to their spirit, and remind them of the faces of people they know in Sudan who God has asked them to help on His behalf.  It is a struggle to continually surrender, but it’s also not a choice for them because of the call Jesus has placed on their lives. 

Jonathan preaching in the church in Sudan

“There are many days when we just look at each other and want to say ‘let’s leave tomorrow and do it by ourselves,’ because of all the work it takes just to prepare.  But we know we can’t, we shouldn’t.”  They know they need a sending church, a group of advocates helping to keep their arms raised when they get tired.     

It would take nearly a year for me to meet Lauren face to face.  And I am glad I did.  To be in her presence gave me a clear sense of her dependence on God.  She takes her walk, and her call to Sudan, seriously.  She is no different than you and me, except maybe that she knows where God is taking her. 

Before she met Jonathan, she felt God speak a passage of Scripture over her life: Jeremiah 1:4-8—

“The Lord gave me a message. 

He said, ‘I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.  Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.’ 

‘O Sovereign Lord,’ I said, ‘I can’t speak for you!  I’m too young!’ 

‘Don’t say that,’ the Lord replied, ‘for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.  And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and take care of you.  I, the Lord, have spoken!’”

This is what drives her to press on.  Knowing that what seems impossible with man is possible with God.

Our church, Austin Stone, recently showed a follow-up video to tell their story one year after their first testimony video.  To see the follow-up video, watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVLGCd28xzM

Jamie & her husband Aaron

Where in the world is Haiti?

In November 2006, Jamie went to Haiti for the first time.  It was a short-term mission trip where they were going to pass out school supplies, pray with kids, and tour some of the villages.  Just in walking off the plane, Jamie was struck by the depth of poverty that was surrounding her.  “I had never seen extreme poverty like that. It was such a needy place… it seemed so hopeless,” she shared.  When she returned home, she felt a deep sense of urgency for Aaron, her husband, to go.  She says, “I just really needed him to see it… I just knew deep in my heart that God wasn’t done with us there.”  In the mean time, she started stalking blogs (to use her own words), researching and learning everything she could about Haiti and the Christian workers sacrificing their lives there. 

Eventually, she and Aaron planned and led a team from the States to go and experience Haiti for themselves.  The goal of their trip was to bring exposure and awareness to their fellow teammates.  “For a lot of people, Haiti is this whole other world you may never know about.  We just wanted to bring awareness to people, because awareness alone can change you,” she says. “If you can see something first hand, you can believe it more… and then you think of it more.”  Her idea was to take people from simply having abstract thought about poverty and giving that cause a face, a smell, a personal experience, a memory… in hopes that we might all be moved to do something about it.

And it’s not just Haiti, the country, that Jamie loves.  There is also a small organization there that has captured her heart called: REAL HOPE FOR HAITI (RHFH).  RHFH operates two distinct ministries: a Medical Clinic for Haitian locals and a Rescue Center for malnourished children and kids who need continual care while recovering from illnesses.  The Medical Clinic and Rescue Center are run by two sisters, Lori & Licia, whom Jamie found during her blog-stalking days.  The work that is done in these two ministries is purely incredible… there are really no other words to describe it.  And to Jamie, these women are her heroes.  After hearing about RHFH from Jamie, I, too, have started learning about the daily life of these ladies and the work they do.  To read about the family tree of RHFH, click here.

The thing about RHFH is that it is a small operation.  They don’t have big money or big organizations backing them.  They’re not a part of a giant anything.  They are just living in obedience to a small and specific call on their lives—to live and serve the Haitian people by meeting tangible, physical needs and caring for those around them with the love & character of Christ.  The more Jamie talks about, writes about, and spreads the story of RHFH, the more people she influences to support the ministry through much needed prayer, through new threads of people encouraging the workers in Haiti, and by raising funds for this organization.  Her dream would be to one day travel the U.S. speaking to different churches and groups about RHFH and declaring to them all why they need to care about Haiti.

“We will always, we will always, we will always advocate for Lori & Licia,” Jamie says.  For Jamie & Aaron, it’s a personal investment… they are adopting two children from Haiti: Amos & Story. (Amos was abandoned at the Rescue Center a little over a year ago.)  They view their commitment to Haiti as a long term one, since two of their children will be Haitian.  One of their biggest hopes is that one day those kids would want to go back to Haiti and serve in their homeland.  They plan to take family trips there often as their young kids continue to grow up.  

Amos & Story

Their family is committed to telling the story of RHFH so that not only will people’s lives be changed here in America—by witnessing first-hand the daily lives of those in poverty—but also possibly some children’s lives will be changed in Haiti—through meeting their real needs.  “Going changed my life and the course of my life,” she says.  Jamie doesn’t consider herself a materialistic person, but even she admits she can lose sight of what’s important at times.  But going to Haiti keeps her in check, it reminds her of what life is like for a lot of the rest of the world and helps her stay focused on helping others instead of taking more for herself.  Jamie has a dream of taking two teams (made up of new people each time) to Haiti a year.  “I don’t know what will happen (in the hearts) of the people that go down, but I just wanna take ‘em!  They have to see it!  They have to see it for themselves!”  Look out, if you meet Jamie one day, this just might be you she’s talking about… and don’t say I didn’t warn you. 

Meet Jamie on her blog: http://dreamingbigdreams.wordpress.com/   

Meet Jamie’s husband Aaron on his blog: http://aaronivey.com/   

Check out Licia’s blog: http://haitirescuecenter.wordpress.com/   

Check out Lori’s blog: http://www.xanga.com/haitinurse4life

Read about Real Hope For Haiti on their website: https://www.realhopeforhaiti.org/

As a little “extra”—Haiti was very much devastated by our recent friend, Hurricane Ike.  When you go and read the blogs from the Haiti workers, you will see tons of pictures of the destruction.  They are in a unique position to help some of the villages and people in greatest need.  If you feel like helping them restore this community, you can make donations online here.  Jamie will actually BE in Haiti this week, visiting her children, visiting the Rescue Center and Clinic, and touring the damage done by Ike in person.  Keep tabs on her blog this week as she’s post updates regularly.

Jamie & Aaron with their first two kids

Jamie agreed to let me tell her story on this website only if I emphasized her “ordinariness.”  Already a wife and stay-at-home-mom of two, she’s anxiously awaiting the arrival of her next two kids.  She has one domestic adoption under her belt, and two international adoptions in the middle of the process.  She, in some ways, laments that it is not her who lives on the front lines, doing the hard, hard ministry in Haiti.  But for now, that’s not her call.  Perhaps someday God might change that, but in the meantime, she sees her role as an influencer and a change-agent.  And what a valuable role that is.  Our extraordinary God uses her in this way to ignite change into the lives of those who meet Jamie!

Katie, with her husband Steve

Katie was born and raised a central Texas girl.  The oldest of four kids (now many more thanks to her parents’ volunteer work in the Texas foster care program), she had the unique experience of witnessing her mother use midwives during her pregnancies.  She remembers it, and recalls being fascinated by it.  At a young age, she was always asking for books on the subject at the public library and would learn about its practices as a hobby.  In many ways, she had always dreamed of growing up to be a midwife.

“Midwifery” is a health care profession where providers give prenatal care to expecting mothers, attend the birth of the infant (in most cases as an alternative choice to a doctor), and provide postpartum care for the mother and her baby.  Midwives strive to help women have a natural birth experience.  When Katie talks about helping in the delivery of a baby, as a midwife, she might say something like: “I caught a baby yesterday.” When I asked her why she called it “catching a baby” she replied that “if all goes well during the birth, that’s basically all you’re doing—catching.”  Simple enough. 

At the age of 18, Katie was offered an apprenticeship with an Austin-area midwife.  This is one of the requirements for completing your training.  In addition to the schooling and testing mandated by the state, to receive certification an apprentice has to be a part of approximately 60 births under the leadership of their mentor.  After that, you take a national exam and begin your own practice.  For Katie, rounding the corner to the end of her training was such a joy.  But the circumstances of her life were also quickly changing.  Right as she completed the national exam, she got engaged to Steve, and was unsure she would even go on to practice after all. 

Katie & Steve were married in December 2007, and this past spring they took a city-wide course called Perspectives (www.perspectives.org).  Katie said, “Perspectives made God’s call on our lives more real to us… it shifted our outlook to think: not only is living this out do-able, it’s essential.  Instead of thinking: I could be a missionary, I started thinking: no, I am a missionary… I just need to live like it.”  It was during that class that one of the friends who’d been with me when I heard the request for a midwife in the Middle East met Katie.  When Katie told her what she did for a living, my friend about passed out from shock.  After further research, Katie & Steve decided to go to Arabland for a month, as a trial run, and see if the hospital (and country) would be a fit.  So this summer, the two of them went in search of answers—was God calling them to serve as His light in this foreign land? 

The place where Katie would work is a missionary maternity hospital.  They provide patients with prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care.  The hospital sees about 75 births a month.  In Arabland, there is socialized medicine and government hospitals will deliver the nationals’ children for free.  But still almost 40% of the national population pays to come and have their babies at this missionary hospital.  Why do they come to the missionary hospital?  Because the care is that much better.  The workers there are truly a reflection of Light and Life, as followers of Jesus Christ, and it overflows into their work every day.

In Arabland, it is illegal to evangelize, and there are strict anti-conversion laws in place.  At the hospital, though, if a patient asks for Christian materials, the workers are allowed to give it to them.  Even with such strictness around sharing, the people seem very open to asking questions.  When they see an American, they automatically assume he/she is a Christian.  And if you do not beat around the bush, and directly or openly share about your faith, they actually respect you.  “They talk about religion like we talk about the weather,” Katie said.  “There is constantly an opportunity to talk about what you believe.”  The hospital administrator advised Steve and Katie to be bold in sharing.  His “encouragement” to them was, “If you are found out to be the one who led a local to convert, the police will put you in jail.  But go ahead and do it anyway. Because you are American, the worst that could happen is you are jailed for a week, the embassy will get you out, then they will kick you out of Arabland and you’ll never be allowed back.  The end.  But you become a testimony of the faith that you believed in so much that you were willing to go to jail for it… and you can still go on to work in its neighboring countries.”

Today, the hospital is in the heart of the city.

There are only 3 male and 6 female Christian workers in the whole of Arabland.  So the need is great.  The woman who started the hospital in 1967 still lives there and in all her years serving the people of this country, she hasn’t seen many converts (that she knows of).  But she has loved well.  She doesn’t attend the births anymore (she’s 86 and in her time delivered more than 25,000 babies), but she’s always at the hospital—she sees every baby and every woman, she says goodbye to each patient before they leave, and she PRAYS.  Everyone in the city knows who she is—they even call her the Mother of the city, because when she started the hospital, the “town” was nothing but desert… but now a city has grown up around this centerpiece.

When it was built, the hospital was in the middle of the desert.

After spending a month there—Katie catching babies and Steve researching what kinds of jobs he could get—they came back to Austin eager to prepare the way for their return.  They both had always thought “missions” sounded neat, like something they’d enjoy doing “someday… maybe.”  With this opportunity in their heads, Katie has started to remember back to her teenage years.  She used to be intrigued with and wondered about Muslim women.  She remembers dreaming—“wouldn’t it be cool to go to the Middle East to help women.”  She was concerned about the oppression of women in the Arab World.  She thought about the limitations women faced in healthcare.  She used to ask a lot: “who helps these women?”  And God is now opening the door for Katie to be that person. 

Fast forward to today.  She’s schooled in her trade.  She’s ready.  She’s called.  And she’s going.  Oh, and did I mention she’s a brand new mom?  Sienna Louise was born a week ago.  Now they will apply for a passport for their baby, wrap up their house, and hop a plane back to Arabland sometime this fall (or winter).  Steve & Katie cannot wait to serve the Lord in this desert land, caring for a people who do not know Jesus as Lord, doing their best to love them well. 

(Please pray that their house sells or they find a renter in this dismal housing market so they can get there faster.)