March 27, 2008

Dear Billy,

I cannot fully express how thankful I felt to receive your letter. It has been too long since we last talked.  I am sorry that we all did not do a better job of following-up.

Your letter has been a great source of encouragement.  I was thrilled to hear of your decision.  Certainly, it is the answer that you have been seeking.  You expressed that Shannon is also onboard with the commitment as well.  I really need to hear the whole story of how that came about.  Somehow, I had always believed that she might be reluctant to commit to the missionary life.  She has such strong ties to her family, I guess it just seemed like she would not be able to loosen her grip.  Don’t get me wrong, she will do a wonderful job!  God has gifted her in so many ways.  The real problem will be deciding which opportunities to take and which to refuse.  Nothing personal, but you really married up!  I know that I did!

Has it really been three years?  For me it seems hard to see you guys as married adults.  I can still see you two as love-struck teenagers sitting around your parents’ dining room table when we came to visit.  You both sure did put up with a lot of grief from us.  Seriously, I am really happy for you both.  Please communicate with Shannon how happy I am with the idea of one day having you both form part of our team here in Honduras.  We cannot wait to have you here with us.  Kathee and I, and the whole team, we are overjoyed at the possibilities.  Please know that we consider your decision to be a real answer to our prayers.   God is meeting our needs.

Hey – you wrote with some fairly serious questions in your letter.  First, let me say that, Yes, I am more than willing to correspond with you over the next year as you prepare to make the move.  I consider it a privilege.  I’ll try to answer your questions as best I can – but some of them are going to take some real thought.  Maybe God thinks that I need a little stretching, maybe a lot!   Your first question about the proper missionary motivation is challenging and certainly worthy of the investment (time and effort).  Give me a couple of days and we’ll see what happens.

In Him,      Tim