Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Jesus


I love you, Jesus. I love that you were, and are, and always will be the very essence of God's kingdom. My friend and brother, I deeply adore you. The very essence of God and humanity, undefiled and radiant. I love you. I long to see you. My soul is filled with indescribable gladness at the thought of you. I rejoice in our friendship and in your love for me and my family. We are protected by your love and we have no fear. I dance to the strangely familiar tune of your love. It is not of this world and yet of this world. I love you Jesus. You are beautiful. Your kindness is from everlasting. Your love is ancient and enduring. I love your ways. Your ways are right. Your ways are good. I love you Jesus. I adore you. I abide in your unfailing love.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

View from the Valley


Hi friends,

Just glancing at the calendar its hard to believe that we have been gone 3 weeks now. There are aspects to this journey that will go by so quickly and then there are aspects of this journey that will sludge along in anticipation of being reunited with our family back home in the states 10 months from now. My fear and prayer request is that we would not leave this beautiful island without being changed by the Spirit of God. There is no question that God has led us to this island at this appointed time. For what exactly we do not know. We are humbled and pray for a teachable spirit. I do know he longs to change and strengthen us. He longs to reveal Himself to us in deeper ways. What a tragedy it would be for us to miss out on what God is longing to do in the next 10 months. We pray for His eyes and His perspective. We pray for wisdom and discernment. We long to know Him more and to experience the power of His resurrection in our lives. We long for His power over sin and a complete conformance to His Holy will. The past 6-12 months have been so challenging for our family but we have seen the faithfulness of God in all its splendor and glory and we would not trade those precious moments of awe for anything in the world. To behold His glory is the longing of our hearts! We have learned that if the glory of God is to be seen in the valleys of life then we are content to remain in the valley to behold His beauty and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness. Amazing grace, the God of the universe is love!!! Worship Him with us in awe and wonder!

Love,

Andy, Kim and Katherine Rose

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Europe is Expensive!


Hi Friends,

Kim and I are constantly reminded of how expensive Europe really is! The weakness of the American Dollar has given us a new appreciation for missionaries who have had to adjust to this decline over the past several years. We are faced with budget realities of our own as we move towards acquiring a new apartment. Please pray that God would continue to meet our needs as we continue to serve Him in Ireland. Dublin is really expensive and since we do not have a car we need to rent property that is in walking distance to a good railway system (in our case the "Luas"). Properties strategically located near the railways of Ireland tend to be the most expensive. We are convinced however, that God is greater than money. He is faithful and holds the keys to life and death. As our view of God expands we find comfort and rest in His person and promises and leave these details to Him. 3 weeks into this incredible journey and we are already being stretched and deepened in our faith. We are going to learn so much this year and our prayer is that we would become more and more like Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father.

Thanks for your prayers to that end!

The Baligians

Thursday, May 08, 2008

The first two weeks in Ireland


The past week and a half we have been here I have learned a lot already. I love Ireland. The people are friendly, the land is gorgeous, and everything is in English. I still do miss home though quite a bit. Especially our friends and family. Also, I think I miss the familiarity of home. At home Katherine had a schedule that she was pretty used to. I know that will come here with time, but the last few weeks have been long for her. She has been a trooper though. She is such a blessing, and a happy baby. I am excited to get our own place. We have been staying at our supervisor's house (who is in the states right now) and are really thankful for them letting us stay here. It has been a huge help to have a place for Katherine to run around (which she is walking pretty good these days) and for us to get food and eat here instead of eating out. But I think having our own place will be nice because we'll be able to fully unpack and get used to the area we are living in and start building relationships with others. What I have realized most of all the past week and a half is how much I need Jesus. Even though I miss my family, friends and home, I have Jesus. He'll never leave me, and he completes me and satisfaction is found in Him. I think it's alright to miss home and family but I can't let it paralyze me or forget that God wants us here and that I will find joy when following Him. Andy has been a huge source of encouragement, and we've had a lot of fun this past week. I love traveling with him and getting his insights on things. We have a blast together. With all that being said, please pray for me and that I will keep my focus on Jesus. I want to enjoy Ireland to the fullest and soak up all that God is doing and will do this next year in our lives. Thanks for your prayers and your friendship.

Kim

P.S. Also pray for Katherine she's getting 3-4 more teeth in and it's been a bit painful for her.

Reflections


Hi friends,

Today I have had some time to relax, think, and pray and as I was reading this morning I came across a powerful section of scripture. In Revelation 2:1-7 Jesus confronts a local church for their heartless participation in ministry. In other words, they were doing a lot of stuff in the name of Jesus and for Jesus but their works/ministry were not being driven by their affections for the Savior. I'm not sure what was driving the ministry of this local church (popularity? self-righteousness? reputation?), all we know is that the One who sits among the burning lamp stands discerned their motives and called them to repentance. This morning I felt His burning pure eyes gazing into my soul to discern my motives. It was then that I realized afresh how often I am engaging in ministry for other reasons besides my deep affections for the Son of God. There is a wonderful simplistic aspect to ministry: we come to Jesus with all that we are in response to all that He is done. It is a life driven by worship and affection for a God who is so infinitely beautiful and kind and compassionate that He alone is worthy of every ounce of affection I can squeeze out of my existence.

Christianity is all about the heart. That's why Jesus addressed the issues of the heart over and over again. The heart is the seat of our affections, what we long for and care about and also what we hate and despise. Jesus gazed into my heart this morning and what did he find? God forgive me for engaging in ministry for any other reason but you.

Today I repent and I commit to recklessly pursuing a life completely driven by a deep and honest affection for Jesus Christ. God protect me from any sin or good gift that would keep me from seeing and savoring you with all that I am. My delight in Jesus will save me from the sin of the Ephesians.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Make Thy way straight


Hey everyone,

We are doing really well today (Monday). We have enjoyed some great Irish weather and yesterday we went down to Bray, Ireland for some relaxation. We explored the city a bit and then headed down to the water (where everyone else was!). It was so beautiful to walk along the ancient coast of the Irish sea. God continues to deepen our affection for the land, people and culture. We've been using the Dart to get around (we don't have a car)---which is a newer railway in the Dublin area---and there is a station within walking distance from where we are currently staying in Shankill. The village of Shankill (pronounced Seanchill, meaning "old church") is beautiful. It's on the coast of the Irish sea and surrounded by rolling hills (check out our pictures).

We were encouraged today by a friend from our church back home who sent a note expressing his decision to send a generous gift of $1,200 to support our work here. It was perfect timing. We were looking at apartment prices in the Dublin area and were shocked by the cost of living in the area. When we received the email this morning, we were reminded that God will meet all of our needs.

As we slowly get settled here in Dublin the gaze of our hearts slowly turns to London and what God is doing in that great city for His namesake and how we might link up with Him. In my scripture reading for today I came across a powerful verse in Psalm 5. It was a prayer that David prayed centuries ago and yet my heart really identifies with David's ask: "Make Thy way straight before me." This is the longing of our hearts. That God would make His way straight before us in the next 10 months and beyond. We know He is at work. We can feel it and sense it but what this will become is a mystery and will require faith and dependency on the Holy Spirit...and there is no greater place to be as a follower of Jesus...it's where I need to be and I am so thankful that He is my good shepherd who leads my family to green pasture.

Prayer requests:

1. Keep our family healthy, strong and rested
2. Grace to find the right place to live (pricing, people, location, etc)
3. Continue to see the wonders of Christ in every aspect of life
4. Comfort and encouragement as we miss our friends and family
5. Guidance for our missions future work in London
6. Hatred and protection from evil, sin and disobedience

Thanks for the love, prayers and support,

Andy, Kim and KR
http://www.gemission.org

Arrival


Hi friends,

We have arrived safely to Ireland. It has actually been a crazy week for our family. We arrived in Ireland on Monday and then headed off to Berlin on Thursday for a conference on cross-cultural ministry. I can't explain in words what it is like to finally arrive in Ireland with my family. We are so in awe of what God is doing in our hearts. We are tired and exhausted but have no doubt whatsoever that this is where God has our family for the next 10 months and possibly beyond. On the way from Dublin to Detroit the fuel pump on our plane malfunctioned and we had to turn around and land at JFK (NEVER EVER FLY AMERICAN AIRLINE). We were placed in a hotel for 2-3 hours and returned to the airport for our 11:00 AM departure. We got on the plane and ended up sitting on the runway for two hours. We left Detroit and 28 hours later we finally arrived in Dublin. We stayed in a B & B in a small village called Swords, Ireland which was actually founded in the 400's (By a disciple of St. Patrick). For the next month or so we will be staying at house in the Shankill district (South of Dublin). The house is 2 minutes from the beach (Irish sea). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shankill,_Dublin

Prayer requests:

1. Please pray for energy and strength for our family.
2. Please pray that we would continue walk in step with the Spirit.
3. Please pray for Katherine Rose (health, strength, protection)
4. Pray that we would find a great deal and housing situation.
5. Pray that God would continue to teach us and change us.
6. Pray that we would adjust to life in Ireland/England.
7. Pray for God's provision, financial support, etc.
8. Pray for humility and wisdom. That we would be real learners.
9. Pray that we would connect well with our GEM missionaries and be a blessing to them.

Finally, how great is our God? Seriously---we are in awe that we have the opportunity to be called and sent by the Lord of heaven and earth to serve Him and magnify His beauty and worth to the Irish and English. Pray that we won't distort in anyway the beauty of the gospel message...even in the most simplest of tasks---let it be gospel/kingdom driven.

Thanks for your prayers and support,

Bali
http://www.gemission.org