This morning I woke up to go for a bicycle ride, and it was 40 degrees. It’s official, seasons are changing. And I love it. Many people get reflective around the changing of seasons, and I think God wired us that way. Why not join in with all of God’s creation and recognize that everything is shifting around us?
Many things are changing in the Swan family these days. Maxi is a little man now who speaks, “reads” (via pictures), laughs at his own jokes, cares deeply for his stuffed animals and has a personality and will of his own. Ruby crawls, stands, gets into everything, and smiles and giggles so hard that you can’t help but laughing yourself. Our lives have become more full and more simple than ever, and we are squeezing the most out of every moment.
Life at Adventures in Missions has been a wild ride and an exciting one! Our season here is far from over, but recently it has become more focused and has awoken more passion in me than ever. We who are in leadership have been seeking God about who we are and what we are supposed to do as a result of that, and He has shown us so much in the process.
One of the guys I do life with here at Adventures said it best in this statement: “We’ve been trying to produce the fruit of the church without having established the church.” In short, we’ve spent many years taking people on trips and trying to accomplish the mission that God gave the church, namely to build His kingdom by bringing the love, peace and hope of Jesus to this planet, but we ourselves haven’t become the body of Christ.
What would it look like if each of us were to use our gifts to serve those around us and to show one another what Jesus is actually like? What if the 120 people at Adventures in Missions who live in Gainesville were to love and serve their neighbors, friends, families and enemies the way Jesus called us to? What if when people came to us to go on missions trips, we could just show them how we live as an example of what it looks like to be the church wherever we are?
These are the questions we’re asking, and the possibilities that we as leaders are chasing. It’s a pleasure to work with other men and women who take Jesus at His word and are striving to give him their all. Thanks for sharing the journey with us!
Much Love,
The Swans
