Our Family In God

John Thomas is currently fascinated with the difference between who is in our family, who we consider strangers, and who is our family "in God". It isn't an easy concept to explain to a four year old boy who happens to be a bit shy. Afterall, we want to encourage him to be friendly and respectful of all people, but in todays world you have to teach them to be cautious. Just one of the many perils of parenting.
But in the midst of this adventure the Culbertson's are on, we have met some amazing people who help to make the idea of "family in God" much easier to understand. God has cared for us in so many ways, and not the least of these are the amazing people whose paths he has allowed us to cross. Just this past week at Interview and Orientation with Mission To The World we were blessed to go through the process with an incredible class of people. These people inspire me. We met couples, who by all rights should be setting their sights on future retirement and stable, prosperous jobs, but instead are uprooting themselves to go forth and obey God's call to minister to all people. We met singles, who again should logically be concentrating on career or schooling or maybe even future family, but instead they are heading forth to the Far East, Africa and to Latin America. We had the distinct pleasure to fellowship with a couple whose own missionary adventure to Thailand has taken them 6 years. These people are truly amazing to me, not just because of who they are, but also because they have chosen to obey the call God has placed on their lives to go forth into all nations and make disciples of all people, from Uganda to Japan. I have been challenged by them, encouraged by them, and made part of their family by our common Father.
In addition Ryan and I met the wonderful staff of MTW. I have new respect for these people who serve tirelessly behind the scenes so that we and others can go to our destinations with proper education, resources and support. The Culbertson family adventure is backed up lovingly by a whole building of cheerleaders. In fact, in God's great provision, I can safely say that we personally have been paired up with the most perfect MTW representative possible! I honestly cannot wait to talk with Kelley again!
And ofcourse, our family in God is bigger because it now includes the amazing staff of Isaiah 55, our new, official team members. We are so excited to get down to the border and join with them in all that they are doing in service to the Lord and the people of Reynosa.
My sweet John Thomas, we are very blessed to have many members of our family in God.

Karen

Celebrate!

With great thanksgiving to our God we are so happy to announce that Mission To The World has approved our desire to go to Reynosa, Mexico and serve with Isaiah 55. We can not thank you all enough for the support you have given to us thus far. We prayerfully hope that you will continue along with us the rest of the way!!! "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

Karen

Grateful

Finally. The checklist, so long, has come to an end. Here we sit in a hotel room in Atlanta, GA. The first day of Interview and Orientation with Mission To The World is over. By Wednesday afternoon we will know if our missionary adventure has come to an end or if it is truly just beginning. Will we have more to check off as we pursue funding and prayer to go to Reynosa, Mexico or will we drive home to process what God had for us in the journey yet destined to go no further for now?
Don't know yet. What Ryan and I do know is that we are so grateful. God is so very good. Incredibly generous to his people. In so many ways He has already wrapped His arms of love around us, encouraged us, confirmed us, and lifted us up. He has done it through...YOU! The response we have had is overwhelming. Our Facebook Page has 272 friends! We have already had people speaking to their church missions boards about supporting us if the time comes. We have had a monetary offer of support, and we haven't been officially confirmed. Words of encouragement and prayer have been lifted up for us. This week while we are away our sweet children are being cared for not only by our family, but also by our christian family, taken in each day by people who love them and want to help us in a very real and physical way. God in His amazing grace has sent us a whole team of people to walk with us, counsel us, pray for us, serve us. All this for the mere possibility that we may be missionaries. Just for a maybe.
Friends, we love you so much. We are grateful for every thought and prayer you have lifted on our behalf, every wise word you have offered, every meal you have given our children, each scripture offered, and every listening ear. Ryan and I "thank our God with every remembrance of you." (Phil 1:3)

Karen

The Doors

Yes, it has been a long time since any updates. I have come to the conclusion that May is just as busy or more than even December with its Christmas rush. We have been up to our eyeballs in recitals, programs and even kindergarten graduations. That's right, we have an official 1st grader! Would seem that our family has many doors to walk through these days. We watch our children grow every day, changing sometimes before our eyes. With the end of this school year, we start a new chapter in our lives. I am now a retired preschool teacher. Yet my teaching career is only beginning as I will now prepare to start homeschooling both children. I am so excited about that adventure. It is just one of many facing the Culbertson's these days. Things have been crazy, to say the very least. But even in craziness, God is good. Because the other reason there have been so few updates lately is because there is nothing to tell. Since news of our invitation from Isaiah 55 we have been playing a waiting game. There have been some things to accomplish, more testing and forms to fill out. But mostly we are waiting and praying. The craziness of May and the milestones of our family life have certainly helped in that waiting and kept us from too many feelings of anxiety.
Now we find the next, and maybe biggest moment is at hand. In one week we leave for Atlanta to meet face to face with staff of Mission To The World and seek final approval to be missionaries and go serve in Mexico. One more door to walk through. One more chance for God to confirm or to say "Far enough, the door is closed." We still believe with all our hearts that we are on the path God has set before us. We still feel very called to this mission. And we still hold fast to our hearts desire, to follow God, door open or door shut, and to learn from Him what He has for our family.
The updates will come quicker now friends. Pray!

Karen

Marching Down The Checklist!!

Exciting News!!! God continues to open doors and answer prayers. The team of Isaiah 55 has extended us a formal invitation to join the mission in Reynosa! We are so thrilled. Honestly I kind of feel like the new kid at school who just got asked to sit at someone's lunch table for the first time! After our trip in March we felt even more strongly than ever that Reynosa was where we wanted to be and for now God is saying YES! The reality of what we are setting out to do is really hitting home now.
But...we are not packing our bags and our boxes. This is just step number two in a long checklist. First was the application, then obtain a team invitation. Next, Interview and Orientation with Mission To The World in June. They still have to accept us as missionaries. Then we start raising money, go to more training, raise more money, go to language school. The process is long. Depending on how fast God were to raise up the necessary funds, it could take years to get down to Mexico. On one hand that is frustrating. We feel truly called by God to do this. Why the waiting. Let us go!!! But on the other hand, we are attempting to uproot our lives, move our children, jump into very unknown territory. This is not something to be taken lightly. We should not take it lightly. I55 does not take it lightly. MTW does not take it lightly. And as Michael Card says, "There is Joy in the Journey."
Dear friends, continue to pray for us.

Karen

The Tie That Binds

We are back from Mexico, and I want to update all of you on our trip. But I am finding this blog difficult to write. This week has been full of emotions, most of which are difficult to put into words. Not to mention that I don't feel that I can rightly sum up for my whole family. So, what did we do? That is a good place to start. We worked. Ryan did some welding and put vinyl decals on the mission's trucks, vans and trailers. I assisted with his work and painted, folded a few towels, helped with meals when possible. The kids played, and played, and played - at the work site, at Casa Verde (Isaiah 55's home base), all the time. I spent a lot of time watching them and praying for everything. And there was a lot to pray for. The town of Reynosa is a town in the midst of dark times. The drug cartels are at war and the people are in fear. No one wants to travel at night. Border guards want to know why in the world you want to cross into Reynosa, or why any of the missionaries would choose to live in Reynosa. The climate has changed. But my impression is that the border has never been like the rest of Mexico anyway. It is a different beast. Not the vacation destination most Americans think of when Mexico comes to mind. Truth be told, it is ugly. Buildings are in ruble, trash is everywhere, the poverty is evident and in your face. In fact my first impression, never having been out of country at all, was Oh No! Can I do this? I felt painfully American. But within hours of getting to Casa Verde and having a chance to settle into our room, God began to quiet my heart. He used my own children to minister to my fears. As we came in to Reynosa I noticed every sad scene, cracked building, pile of trash. Ellie made comments about the pretty colors things were painted, how nice that girl looked, the trees and the flowers and even the pigeons! See waved and said "Hola!" to every national she met. John Thomas, who does not open up as quickly, took to Casa Verde like home. He was playing and happy, the same kid he would have been at home. When the work team began to arrive from Indiana and Illinois, both kids were so happy to see them, comfortable with being around them. They made fast friends. Within two days they had made favorites among the group and the whole work team loved on my kids. And of course by then all the staff of Isaiah 55 had arrived to Casa Verde from meeting the work team and getting supplies. My impression of them: Family. They loved each other and they loved us. They loved Ellie and John Thomas, which is the quickest way to my heart. By the end of the week my fears were gone. I was even attempting high school Spanish to communicate with the ladies that cook and clean at Casa Verde and some of the teachers also. And Ryan? He was happy, content, at peace. So now we will wait to hear back from I55 and see if their impressions are as favorable, and we will all pray for God to reveal His will to us. Waiting will be hard. Honestly I would have sent for my furniture if it could all work that way. And yet, I was also so touched by friends here in Greenwood. Not a day went by that we did not get a text or phone call from some friend or another, lifting us in prayer, encouraging us from scripture, just telling us they loved us. The blog page on Facebook jumped from 90 to 143 fans in the week we were gone. I could truly feel the prayers. Greenwood is not going to make it easy for us to leave. Yet I know this, the tie of Christians is a strong and quick bond. The work team from this week, a group of mostly college students all from the Apostolic Christian Church, made that bond very clear. They were so nice to us. They welcomed us into their group, invited us to worship and devotion, played with our kids, shared their hearts. And if you are unfamiliar with the AC Church, they worship differently from Presbyterian. Yet despite the difference it was a joy to live with them for the week, they are our family in God (as John Thomas says). As we were leaving on Thursday, they for the work site, our family for the airport, they sang us off. "Blessed be the Tie That Binds." It was so beautiful. Those people from Indiana and Illinois are my family now. Brent and James, Kimmie and Erin, Kate and Nono from the Mission are my family now. Erwin, Amalia, Moises, and Karina, the nationals who work with I55, are my family now!!! Because Christ is Christ no matter what church denomination, and no matter what country. Christ is Christ for the deaf and the hearing, for the ugly and the polished clean. And the tie that binds our hearts, binds them forever and ever. Amen.

Karen

Alive With Such Possibilities

Ryan has been listening to this one song all week. It is not Christian, but the chorus still sums up our feelings as we prepare for our coming week in Mexico:
"I don't know what tomorrow brings.
It is alive with such possibilities.
All I know is I feel better when I sing.
Burdens are lifted up from me.
That's my voice rising."
How true. None of us know what tomorrow brings. Anything could happen, anything could be. It could even be the end. At the thought of that may our voices, my voice, Ryan's voice rise in praise to our great God!! Rise in praise as we prepare to leave.
Our bags are packed. The children are in bed. Ryan and I were going to go to bed right after the kiddos, but I know now there is no sleep for me tonight. By 5 AM we will be at the Atlanta airport, luggage in tow, children half asleep, preparing to board for Texas. Once in Texas we will be greeted by James, one of the missionaries from Isaiah 55, and he will take us across the border to Reynosa, Mexico. Our family's missionary adventure is beginning. Full speed ahead. It seems a long time ago that Ryan and I had our first conversation about this possibility. And now, the night before we leave to be informally interviewed, it seems no time at all has passed. It seems we are caught up in a whirlwind. And as you would expect there are too many emotions to even talk about. We feel fear of rejection, excitement to serve, delight in the possibilities that are ahead for us, confused to think that this may be the end of the adventure even as it feels like the start. We are aware that we may post pictures from this trip and then find out that for whatever reason, the answer is no. It is so hard to put yourself out there. To offer your heart and take a chance and know that we are in someone else's hand. It is not just up to us. Many have sweetly expressed the sentiment that any group would be lucky to have us join their team and come to serve. I am deeply moved by this idea. My pride is tempted to raise its head. Though I mostly believe it to be Ryan that is the commodity. No, I am all too painfully aware of my sin to think all too highly of myself. If I have anything to offer, if Ryan has anything to offer it is because of the grace of Christ in us. If He should choose to use us for one week, or for ten years, how humbling is the thought! Christ does not need Ryan and Karen Culbertson to move the nations to Himself. But if He should choose to use us may we be willing to answer the call, whatever it may be. Whether in Reynosa, Bulgaria, Cambodia, or back here in Greenwood, SC. This decision is not in our hands. Thankfully, it is in God's hands.
I have been reading "The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe" to the kids. Tonight we read about Aslan as he made the journey back to the Stone Table to be sacrificed by Jadis in Edmund's place. Lucy and Susan cannot sleep and so they see Aslan steal out of the pavilion and into the wood. So they follow him and are, of course, discovered. "Please, " Susan says, "May we come with you - wherever you are going?" Oh, my Lord. Yes. Please, may I come with you. And then, as if yes were not enough, Aslan asks the girls to put their hands into his mane so he can feel them. Oh the intimacy of that request. I could barely finish the passage. Please, Abba, may I come with you - wherever you are going?

Karen