The Grant Family in Spain

The title of this entry basically sums up our life these past couple months because I’ve traveled on all of the above as I’ve gone from VA to GA to SC, back to VA, to Spain and back to GA, and now in VA again.  Did you follow that?!?  I know it’s been a while since we updated our blog, but it’s not due to lack of activity here, just that we have been busy and progress is being made!  We’ve attended missions conferences, spoken with churches and community groups, moved to a new city, spent 10 days in Spain . . . just to name a few things!  The cool thing is that God continues to work and we are excited to know that we will soon be serving Him in Spain!  Here’s a quick review of what’s going on with us:

We’ve moved!
Since we sold our house last year it was only a matter of time before we had to leave Lynchburg, VA after living there for 8 years.   It was a strange feeling!  At the end of March we packed up the temporary home where we were staying, loaded the moving van, and headed for our new temporary home in Athens, GA.  We have had so many friends and family help us with the move—from helping pack and clean, loading boxes, watching kids, driving the moving van, etc.. we couldn’t have done this alone! Thank you all!  Although we will miss Lynchburg, we’re looking forward to the months ahead reconnecting with old friends in GA (and possibly going to a UGA football game in the fall).

A new location
We’ve also seen the Lord working in our lives lately as He has closed doors in some areas and opened doors to new opportunities.  While he continues to call us to Spain to work with church planting, God is redirecting us to serve Him in another part of the country.  We look forward to seeing what God has in store for us!   The need for the gospel is great in Spain, and there are many places that need missionaries to help start gospel-preaching churches.   Stay tuned for the details—we should know our new location in a couple weeks!

A trip to Spain
I recently took a 10 day vision trip to Spain to visit mission teams in both Granada and Barcelona.  The toughest part of the trip was leaving Rachael and the kids behind in GA just 3 days after we moved!  It was a great trip though, and I was so encouraged to see that God is at work growing His family as Christians share the gospel and plant churches that preach His word.  We are so blessed to be a part of that!  We are also excited that with any of the teams we are considering, our budget will be lower, so we will be much closer to reaching our support needs and will be able to leave for Spain soon, Lord willing.

It’s a boy!
    The title says it all!  Baby and mother are both doing well, and we look forward to a July delivery in GA.  Thank you for your continued prayers for our family and please keep them up!  Please pray specifically for a healthy baby, for Rachael during the pregnancy, and for our family as we prepare for this new addition.

Missions to Spain fund raiser:

Tomorrow night (Monday, April 22) some friends from church are doing an open house/Tapas night to help support missions in Spain—if you are in the Lynchburg area, please come join us!  There will be some snacks, a time of fellowship and prayer, and a chance for us to share about what God is doing in our lives and in Spain.  Any support given on that night will be matched up to $5,000!! Wow!  If you can’t make it to the open house Monday and would still like to send in support and have your donation matched, please contact us at jgrant417@gmail.com or call/text us at (434) 229-5260 and we will let you know how to do that.  Please pray for the Lord to use this night for His glory and to give people a burden for seeing the people of Spain come to know Him.

Thank you all so much for your support and prayers.  We are so blessed by your friendship and encouragement and will try to update again soon.

In Christ,

The Grant

P.S. Below are some more pics from the past few months.

Lynchburg friends, we need your help!

Looking at the calendar last week we realized that our time in Lynchburg is quickly coming to an end!  In case you didn’t know, we are moving back down to Athens, GA after 8 years in Virginia.  We are hoping to reconnect with friends, family, and churches back in our home state, and complete our support-raising there.  We are moving the first week in April and from now until then we want to get together with as many people here as we can!  We have actually been going through this process following almost a parallel track with another dear family from our church, Chris and Lori Gassler.  They are going to Cameroon with Wycliffe Bible translators and are scheduled to leave Lynchburg for language school in France around the same time we head to GA.  Since we are both being sent from Redeemer PCA here in Lynchburg, we decided to team up and present this “final push” idea to our church together!

The idea is simple- we want our last few weeks  in Lynchburg to be full of meetings to present what God is doing in Spain and how He has called us to serve Him there.  We are asking our Lynchburg friends to help us do this by inviting us into their homes for get-togethers with neighbors and friends who may not know us, or letting us speak with your community groups or other churches.  Here is the video we put together with the Gasslers explaining this to church:

Would you consider helping us do this? Would you seek out opportunities to let us share with others about this ministry?  Would you consider  praying for and supporting us?

We are a little over 50% of the way there, and we need you to help us reach full support so we can leave for Spain this year.  Every little bit counts!

You can email us about any of these requests at grantfamily@mtwspain.org or by calling (434)229-5260.

God Bless,

The Grants

Exclusive, behind the scenes photos:

So when I said “we” made a video with the Gasslers, I really meant to say that the Gasslers did all of the set-up, shooting and editing (not to mention it was their equipment!).  We just got to stand there and look pretty .  But I took some pictures!  That helped, right?

 

Our latest newsletter is in!  Click here to check it out.

Happy  Thanksgiving  from the Grants !  This was intended to go out before the holiday, but since we’re still eating leftovers it counts, right?  We hope you had a wonderful day reflecting on the goodness of God and the blessings He pours out on His children.

We had a quiet day at home, which, after lots of traveling, was exactly what we hoped for.  It was pretty uneventful except for the drama of Anna losing a tooth . . . and swallowing it.  That’s the third one she’s accidentally swallowed (poor girl!) so the tooth fairy got yet another note for the “cute-stuff-the-kids-make” file.   We made a “thanksgiving tree” with scripture verses printed on leaves, Rachael made a delicious meal (Jamie made the turkey!), and the kids got to make Indian headbands and read about how the Pilgrims left their families and country and risked the dangers of the sea, cold winters, etc..  because they so valued the right to worship God.  What a privilege we have!

Thanksgiving Tree

In Madrid. . .
Our team in Madrid does a Thanksgiving meal with their Spanish friends each year and it’s a wonderful way for them to share the gospel.  This year they expected 60-70 people, so please pray for those who attended and who have heard the gospel through this event.   God’s word does not return void!  We have gotten several updates from our team, and long to be there serving with them soon.  They have seen interest in the gospel as they have shared their lives and God’s word with the people there, and that is so encouraging especially considering the hardships people in Spain are now facing. The atmosphere of the country is changing a lot, as there is much political unrest and the streets are filled with angry protestors.  Spain has it pretty hard right now, with the unemployment rate there rivaling that of the Great Depression—still at 25% (50% among new grads).  Please pray for the people in Spain—that these difficult times will cause them to turn to the LORD—the giver of peace amidst life’s storms.

SOLD!
Speaking of thanksgiving, we are overwhelmed with gratitude that our house SOLD!!  Contract signed,  yard sign removed, no more frantic last-minute clean ups for showings that are always right at dinnertime.  It is SOLD!   Everything worked out so perfectly, it’s obvious that the Lord has orchestrated all the circumstances.  Thank you so much for your prayers!  We will be moving the week after Christmas, so December will be very busy.  Please pray for our family as we make this transition.  This is the beginning of our move to Spain, as we will be getting rid of all of our “non-essentials” and settling into temporary housing.  *****UPDATE:  Our temporary housing option has fallen through and we are now looking for somewhere to live in the Lynchburg, VA area from January until March of 2013.  If you know of any options (and possibly one that would allow us to bring our small 20 lb beagle) please let us know ASAP.  Thanks and God Bless!*****  We have reached 50% of our support, so just 3K more of monthly support to raise before our training in July– Praise God!  Crossing the half-way mark is quite a milestone for us, and we are excited!  God truly is faithful.

Please keep us in your prayers, as well as our team members;  those in Spain, those  just arriving in Spain this week and making the transition (with kids!),  those still waiting for their Visas , and those,  like us, who are knee-deep in the process of support raising.   Please pray for peace and patience for all of us in each phase of the process!  And please pray for the Lord to continue to call people to partner with us and help send us to Madrid. We are truly thankful for all of YOU…. Without your prayers, encouragement and support we could never do this.  We are not meant to.  We are a part of something much bigger, and we see over and over again what a blessing it is to be part of the body of Christ.  We look forward to seeing that body grow as the Church grows and people come to know the Lord in Madrid.

Thank you, and may God bless you richly!
The Grants

“Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 118:1)

Here are some more fall pics:

[The title of the blog is not to be confused with a cheesy chick flick that my wife made me watch.  Sorry to disappoint]

Hello dear friends and family. I hope you are all doing well! We have had a busy and wonderful month, and as I contemplated writing this September blog, I had planned on updating you on our itineration trips, the wonderful Living in Grace conference we attended with MTW, the beach, or any number of things that have been part of our lives lately—but something happened this morning that I thought took precedence.  It’s nothing really amazing or significant—just a tangible reminder of God’s provision and the work of the Holy Spirit in my life.

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to teach a Sunday school lesson about missions at Mercy Presbyterian in Forest, VA.  I was really excited because we had just learned some very important lessons about God’s grace and the work of the Holy Spirit at an MTW conference, and I was eager to share.  I spent a week studying, preparing, and making notes, and I even stayed up late the night before making nifty handouts with scripture references and an outline.  I was genuinely excited about the opportunity to share about missions and the church; although I’m not going to lie, I was feeling a little proud of myself for being so prepared and organized.  And the handouts were a definite plus.  All was going well until. . .

It was an honest mistake, really.   It could have happened to anyone, right?  If you have kids, or have been around kids, you will understand the chaos that is involved in loading up the van on Sunday morning.  There I was, baby in one arm, diaper bag strung over my shoulder, children’s jackets and shoes (for the daughter who didn’t realize she was barefoot) in the other arm, and barely holding on to my folder and notes for Sunday school with one hand.   I ran to the van to unload and buckle the baby into her carseat before jumping into the driver’s seat and taking off.  I ran through the lesson in my mind during the 20 min drive to church, and we pulled into the church parking lot with just a couple minutes to spare.   I reached behind my seat for my black notebook that held my notes, handouts, Bible, prayer cards, and basically my brain, and. … hmmm.. where was it?  Under the seat?  Nope. Under the coats? Nope.. it was not there!

  Suddenly I had a flashback—of me stashing it on the roof of the van during the chaos of loading up; which meant that my “precious” notes could have been anywhere on the road between my house and Forest, VA!  Panic struck.  Desperation.  All my planning and here I was empty handed.   Well, not totally.  Thanks to the fact that we live in the age of technology, Rachael and I both had our smartphones, and since I had saved my notes in an email I could pull them up on my phone.  I then grabbed my wife’s phone and used the Bible app to look up the scripture references and I began the lesson.  There I was, trying to teach with two phones in hand, scrolling down my outline on the tiny screens and the phones powering off every three minutes.  Believe me, it was definitely not what I had planned, but it worked.  How well? I don’t know- ask someone from Mercy Pres., but it was the best I could do.   As I approached the room full of people I paused to cry out for help.  I asked for the Holy Spirit to illuminate scripture (even if it was from my phone) and to work in spite of all that seemed stacked against me; to work in spite of me.  I was not totally empty-handed because while I was teaching from God’s Word the Holy Spirit was there to work and move in the hearts of His people.  And how ironic it was that much of the lesson was on the work of the Holy Spirit!

Oh, but it doesn’t end there.  On my way home I received a phone call from one of our prayer partners who happened to be in Sunday school that morning and knew of my notebook predicament. His name and phone number had been scratched on a page in the notebook which had been found by a random construction foreman on the highway.  This construction worker had picked it up and, having found that number, he called my friend who then contacted me.   We went to the construction site on the way home and the foreman of the crew met us at the van and handed us the long lost notebook.  With a smile, he said “I left a little something inside to help you with your travels” and walked off.  We have no idea who he was, or what moved him to leave a generous financial contribution folded into one of our prayer cards in the notebook, but we drove home in quiet contemplation of what had just happened and thankful for the Lords provision in ways that we never expected.  He truly does work all things together for good. In case I was ever tempted to think that we were raising support based on our own abilities, here’s proof that it’s not about me. . . praise God!

^“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,  for those who are called according to his purpose.”  (Romans 8:26-28)

Below are some pics from a busy month: travel to Savannah, a beach trip, an MTW conference (more on that later), and life in general.  Thank you for your continued prayers!  God Bless.

The school year is in full swing this week at LU and for the first time in seven years, I’m not there preparing for class, adding and dropping students, and teaching Spanish.  There is no 7:40am class to rush to, and I am basically making my own schedule as I work on support raising full time.   I guess it feels a little strange not being in the classroom any longer, but I am very excited that the Lord has called us to serve Him in Madrid and that we are able to devote our time to that calling.  It is amazing to see how far He has brought us, but we still have a long way to go!  The actual process of getting there can be overwhelming at times- there’s a house to sell, meetings to set, presentations to give,  a blog to update, newsletters to write, etc.  It seems like so many important tasks that need attention are demanding my time and I admit that I sometimes don’t know where to begin.

It’s funny how God uses the most unexpected circumstances to help us when we need it most.  This past Sunday we visited First Presbyterian in Columbia, SC to hear Sinclair Ferguson speak.  It wasn’t a scheduled visit, rather we happened to be passing through the area at the time and, having read a book of his recently, I was eager to hear him preach (in that really cool Scottish accent too!).   Dr. Ferguson spoke from Ephesians 5 about, if you can believe it, time management!

^“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5: 15-17)

He suggested that the more accurate translation of that phrase in Ephesians 5 is “Redeeming your time” because it’s the same language Paul used to describe our redemption in Christ!  As such, the way we redeem the time is compared to Christ’s work of redemption on our behalf.  So we Christians are called to reclaim what time has been lost by our laziness, distractions, not seeking Him in prayer, etc… and honor Him in all aspects of our lives.  Not that being a workaholic would fix this, rather the work we do and the relationships we foster should be a direct reflection of our identity in Christ.  If you are interested you can click here to hear the sermon.  It’s a good one!

So I’m not teaching Spanish any longer, rather the Lord is providing for us through the contributions of our amazing supporters while we complete the task of fundraising.   The question then becomes, how do I redeem this time by making the most of the money people have faithfully given?  On a practical level I’ve been organizing myself, trying to prioritize, setting daily “goals” and seeking the Lord in prayer, and I ask you to pray for me- specifically, that I would be focused on my task and that I would set priorities well, but at the same time that I would remember to rely on the Lord, not my own efforts, as I do these things.   I am also learning more and more that prayer is not for my leftover minutes—it is the start to any endeavor!  When days are busy, I can’t afford NOT to pray!  Please pray for me to be teachable as the Lord works in my life during this process!

Blacksburg visit

Living in Virginia all this time and constantly hearing from Hokie fans about VT football (something usually off the radar for a UGA alum), we finally made a family visit to Blacksburg.  I have to say that the town and surrounding area are very nice and the driving tour we made through Virginia Tech was a definite highlight.  The main purpose of our visit, though, was to visit Grace Covenant PCA- and there we spent time with one of the friendliest congregations we’ve met.  It was a wonderful visit.  We worshiped with the church, gave an update, and met several of the members afterwards.  One couple from the church even opened their home to us  (no small task when 4 children are involved)!  One of the most “fun” parts of fund-raising is meeting all the wonderful people belonging to the body of Christ as we travel.  We definitely will look forward to visiting again.

Madrid Team Update

The Lord is doing some exciting things in Madrid!  The team there has been working hard to develop a pastoral training curriculum, and they had 13 pastors ask to receive this training!  What an opportunity!  They are also working with three other evangelical churches to assist them in planting new churches.  Please pray for the team, the Spanish pastors, and the people who are coming to these churches and hearing the truth of God’s Word in a city where that is not something they hear often! The team will also continue with university ministry this fall, and they are now preparing for the arrival of some new team members to Madrid soon. Please pray for the other team members who are in the same process we are—support-raising and preparing to be a part of God’s work in Spain!

How can you help?

As I mentioned before, we are busy making fall plans and would love to visit with your church, small-group, Bible study, or family.  I hope you can tell that we are really excited about the ministry that God has called us to, and we are eager to share!  We also need financial supporters, so if you have questions or are interested in helping send us, please let’s arrange to meet – phone, Skype, or in person.   You can reach us at grantfamily@mtwspain.org, or (434)229-5260.  You can also get more info about supporting by clicking here.  We have several church visits lined up and a week of training with MTW in North Carolina coming up in September, so please pray for safe travels and that the Lord would increase our faith as we follow His lead to Madrid!

As always we thank you for your prayers and support.

God Bless,

The Grants

As we’re preparing to sell our home, we need to have a Yard Sale!.  

If anybody is in the Lynchburg area, we need help!  Here is a link to the craigslist post: http://lynchburg.craigslist.org/gms/3170201259.html

Here is where we need people. . . 

Thursday, Aug. 2, 7:00pm – Organizing items

Saturday, Aug 4th, 6-7am  - setup

Saturday, Aug 4th, 12-1pm – cleanup, hauling items to the dump, goodwill, etc. (if you have a truck, please help here)

Contact me by phone, (434)229-5260 if you can help.

Thanks,

The Grants

Our summer newsletter is in!  Click here to check it out.

Remember that you can always access the newsletter archives by selecting the “About Us” tab on our website and selecting “Newsletters“.

Thanks for reading and God Bless!

Greetings friends and family.   We have been busy, to say the least, and have been meaning to update for a while now.  In fact, last Friday we were planning an update after spending a long month traveling through Georgia and South Carolina, and we were just returning to our home in Lynchburg, VA when the wind arrived!  Many of you have probably heard about the storms  (el derecho) that tore through Virginia and other states in the region last week, leaving thousands without power, including our family!  The 80mph winds suddenly hitting our home were frightening for us and our children, but God is good and we made it through with minimal damage.  We fared better than most, though, and we ask that you please pray for the thousands of others who continue to suffer from the damage this storm left.  Not wanting to risk the heat wave with small children we packed up once again and returned to stay withfamily in Newberry, SC.  We are thankful for the Davis family, for being willing to host us for so long;  what a blessing it has been to spend this time with them, knowing that soon our “visits” will be limited to skype and email once we move to Spain.

Through all of the destruction we saw, we are amazed that more people were not hurt.  We have seen trees that  fell just inches from homes and power lines all over the street.  We’re reminded that even in this our God is in control– as the old hymn goes:

“Be still, my soul: the waves and wind still know the Christ who ruled them while he dwelt below!”

(Several friends of our have shared this blog, which has several pictures that will give you an idea of what this storm did to our little town)

 

Athens, GA

Our trip to Georgia for the month of June was a good one! We were able to meet with old friends and churches that have been instrumental in our lives and share what God is calling us to do in Spain.  These times are always very encouraging to us, and as we share, it’s hard not to get excited about what God is doing, and what we are looking forward to being a part of in Madrid.  I spent about 10 days of the month in Cincinnati grading AP exams all day, and Rachael and the kids got to participate in VBS and visit family.  Thank you all for you prayers for us while we traveled!

Coming up. . .

Next on the agenda is to sell our home, and continue to support raise in Virginia this fall.  Please pray that the Lord will continue to give others a burden to see the people of Spain come to know Him, and that He will call people to support His work there by partnering with us financially.  Might you be one of those people?  And please continue to pray for the sale of our home and for our family in this transition into full-time support raising.

Pray for our team members who just arrived in NYC for a month of training, and for the team in Madrid and the Spaniards who are hearing the gospel there—that the Lord would add to His family  as people come to know HIm!

God bless, and we hope that you all enjoy your Independence Day holiday!

The Grants