Letting Go

These last few days, our son Caleb has been at the Springs Rescue Mission. Our good friends, Kevin and Patti Diffee who attend First Presbyterian, invited him to go with their church youth group. So Caleb spent the last three days and nights at a homeless shelter spending time with the homeless and serving in different ways. It was really tough to let him go. He's our first and oldest kid. We haven't let him go stay in a setting like this, outside of our wings, except for Christian camp last summer and sleepovers, let alone among a bunch of homeless people! But God, in His infinitely inspired way, has taught us two things through this. First, we need to be more open and less judgemental about the homeless. Even before he left, we went through the litany of warnings and cautions. Tonight, we went to the closing dinner and heard the testimony of the middle school kids about their encounters. Amazingly, none of them were killed, beaten up, or even robbed by the homeless (although Caleb got a chance to talk with a man who had killed someone). The stories were of how caring the people were, how they showed love and community with each other, and how they desire to find a better life. God opened up our eyes to some hidden prejudices we held, and how we need to see others as Jesus does. From the different testimonies shared, God allowed this group of 18 middle schoolers to bring hope as they spent time and served those in need. The kids shared over and over that their eyes had been opened as they spent time and got to know some of the homeless here in downtown Colorado Springs.

Second, in letting Caleb go on the Urban Immersion trip, we had to let him go and trust God for His protection over our son. God gave Wendy a beautiful Psalm - Psalm 91. David starts with, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Later in verses 9 and 10 he continues, "If you make the Most High your dwelling, even the LORD, who is my refuge, then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent." God would be our son's protector. He would keep Caleb from harm, He was giving us his promise and telling us to claim it. All of the worrying about Caleb's safety didn't have to be, since God would be his refuge. We need to let go of our kids and let God take control of their lives, and trust that He knows the best way and will keep them safe along the way. We will be the first to say there are many times we struggle with being overly protective and hanging on too tight, but God is slowly teaching us to surrender and let go of our kids. We are learning the only way we can do this as parents is to entrust them to God and claim God's promises for them as we let them go.

Through Our Kids’ Hearts - Rachel

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." – Romans 8:28

Last summer we were praying about going on a missions trip to Swaziland. Our youngest daughter, Rachel, was going to be entering second grade. God, in His perfect planning, had already decided Rachel's teacher for the year – Mrs. Hayden. Not only has Mrs. Hayden been a fantastic teacher with academics and character for Rachel, but she also grew up as a missionary child IN SWAZILAND! Of all the places her family could have been missionaries, they were from the small country of Swaziland. Throughout the year, Rachel has been listening to many wonderful stories about Mr. Hayden growing up in Swaziland and learning different interesting facts about Swaziland. Mrs. Hayden even went to boarding school in White River, South Africa, where our friends, the Laubscher's, are serving God through Hope In Africa. Mrs. Hayden has been an inspiration and encouragement for Rachel all year long. What a wonderful God we have that He would have planned this blessing in advance for our youngest child.

God gave us another amazing blessing last week. We had been looking and praying about plane tickets for a number of weeks and the prices were up to nearly $1850/ ticket. God led someone we were working with to mention changing flight dates. By moving our departure date one day, we were able to get tickets for $1550/ ticket! The prices on the date we were going to leave are currently at $2000. What a great blessing to have saved $300 per ticket! Thank You God!

Though our kids' hearts - Hannah

We have met a number of wonderful people during our time here in Colorado Springs. One of the families we've met is the Black's. They are a family which worked as missionaries in Swaziland, ministering to thousands of people and continuing to make a difference with the Swazi people in Nsoko, Swaziland. One of the things Gary said during a visit to our house was that sometimes God uses our kids to lead us into His will. Our wonderful daughter, Hannah, is a good example of this. A little over a year ago, she had to write a personal information speech for one of her classes. We had been praying and talking about the possibility of taking a trip to Africa as a family, but didn't have any real direction at the time. In her speech she wrote at school, she said that one of her dreams is that "I want to go to Africa and help the orphans whose parents died from HIV/ AIDS." She even drew the picture below to demonstrate her dream of giving Bibles to the Africans. Since that time, she has continued to be excited about going to Africa. She even wanted a camera for Christmas so she could take pictures of people while we were on our trip. She's also very excited to see the animals in Africa, as she wants to be a vet when she gets older. It's amazing that God used her desires and heart to direct us into His will.

The World Race

During the last year and a half, one of the things God has used in shaping our direction and opening our eyes is the World Race (www.theworldrace.org). This is an eleven month long missions trip through Adventures in Missions which goes to a different country every month. One of the countries they minister in is Swaziland. Reading about their journeys has opened our eyes up to what is going on in the world outside of the US and has helped direct us to Swaziland. We have gotten to know a number of racers and have had four of them take some time in our basement. The World Racers all have a deep heart for God and helping those in need. These are some pictures from one of the racers, Tara Bruce, who is on the field now. Her current blog has lots of great pictures and information on Swaziland: tarabruce.theworldrace.org/?filename=swaziland-photos.

Our First Post!

So welcome to the Ingram family blog. In case you don't know, our dog is Lucky (hence the title.) We are currently planning on going to Swaziland this summer for a short term, 3 week missions trip, and wanted to keep people informed on our progress. We are so excited! I hope we can grow not only during the trip, but also as God prepares us to go. Welcome to our journey!

This is a video from the Luke Commission who we will be going with.