After a trip back to Colorado, countless prayers, fasting, and seeking wisdom from our mentors, clarity has come. We believe the Lord has asked us to lay down our ministry in Brno and move back to Denver to care for my dad who is suffering very much alone from Alzheimer’s Dementia.
From our human perspective, this is an unexpected and abrupt transition. Just when we had gained enough fluency to be confident in many settings, just when chemistry and like-mindedness with our Czech church was really gelling, just when a local team was poised to launch an international church here in Brno, the Lord has asked us to lay it down and minister instead to my dad.
Isaiah 55:8 reminds us that our thoughts are not God’s thoughts, our ways are not God’s ways. Not only that, but our lives and our ministry were created by Him and through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16-17). As a mom I often assign my daughters tasks and then I assign them new tasks and redirect them—as a parent I’m doing 100 more things than they are aware of, I can see a bigger picture, and I know better than they what is best for them. And so it is with our Heavenly Father.
By God’s grace a new missionary family that we recruited arrived in Brno while we were in Colorado. Kim and Adam Forney attended the Harbor when Adam was a pilot in the Navy in Okinawa. They both served as effective leaders at the Harbor and they sensed the Lord calling them to church planting in the Czech Republic a couple years ago. Of course our plan was to work WITH them, but we now have the joy of settling them in and handing over ministry ideas, momentum, and relationships.
Just because my dad has Alzheimer’s Dementia doesn’t mean our hearts for the Great Commission have waned one bit. God's heart is for the nations, and so is ours! As you guys know, we are mobilizers at heart. Whether it is in preaching from the pulpit, in small groups, in one-on-one discipleship, or simply casting vision for others over a shared meal--we love to encourage and equip people for the great adventures to which God has called them. Our plan is to continue on as Pioneers International missionaries. We are currently working through details to see how we might leverage our 15 years of missionary experience in order to raise up, equip, and send out a new generation of missionaries to the ends of the Earth.
Taking my dad to get a haircut during our trip home was a micro-sample of what it will mean to serve him. While he is fed and safe in his Medicaid Memory Care Facility, he is not receiving personal care and attention. Like his wild hair and beard, he is drifting down the path of terminal illness without special intervention from a loved one. I believe love from our family will honor God and make a great impact on his quality of life.
We are so thankful that the Lord brought the Forneys to Brno! We know God has great things in store for this city through them.