Whirlwind of a Trip

This past week I got a taste of what the twelve spies experienced when Moses sent them into Canaan to scope out the land. Moses directed them to:

"Go, see what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are 

strong or weak, whether they are few or many. How is the land in which they live, 

is it good or bad?" 

Go. Check things out. See what lies ahead of us and what God has prepared for us - the people, the land, the obstacles ahead. Go. And come back with a report.

Well, I just went to the Basque country for the first time. I scoped out the land, the people, the obstacles, just as Moses instructed the twelve spies to do. My report could be stated very much like the men's report:

"The land where  you sent us certainly does flow with milk and honey. Nevertheless, the 

people who live in the land are strong and the cities are fortified and are very large... We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us."

I, however want to be a Joshua, a Caleb. I want to see the Basque country through the Lord's eyes and heart. It would be easy to see things just as the ten spies did. For though the Basque country is beautiful - you really couldn't ask for a more picturesque place - the Basque people are strong of head and heart. Many of the Basque people are blind to the truth of the Gospel. It is hard to enter their lives, their homes, their hearts. It will be a difficult place to try to share the Gospel. We will be rejected, seemingly defeated, and emotionally bruised and battered if we enter the land. 

BUT

The Lord is good. The Lord is strong. His Word is true. He sent His Son for these people. His Spirit wants to possess the hearts of the people in this land. The Basque people need to know that. They need to hear the truth of the Gospel in their own language and express that through their own culture. Therefore, we will go.

I am greatly looking forward to what lies ahead. It will be a struggle for both Jonathan and me. It will be hard on both of us in different ways. I will be learning two new languages, a brand new culture, meeting many many many new people, starting a brand new life as a brand new wife, and leaving all I have ever known behind me. Jonathan will be leading us, helping me, learning patience as I slow him down at first, continuing to learn Basque, and helping keep us focused on what the Lord wants us to do in the Basque country. 

What an adventure! Pray for us. Pray that we would enter this new land with zeal and joy and confidence in our Lord. Pray that we would continue to learn how to trust Him, follow Him, and help each other become more like His Son. May He show us the path He wants us to follow and may He give us the strength walk it faithfully.