Trail to Hope

We've moved...

2011-11-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

...our blog:

http://trailtohope.tumblr.com/

SPLICE, week one

2011-10-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

What an amazing adventure this month has been! God has been so good to us.

For those of you who can't keep up with our life and where are and where we're headed (don't worry, we can't either!), here's a little list:

We moved all of our belongings except 3 suitcases and a few carry-on sized bags into storage on October 4 and drove to Spokane, where we spent the next week participating in Foothills Community Church's missions conference. It would be an understatement to say that we were so blessed and encouraged by this time there!

Then back to Seattle on October 14, where we enjoyed a day and a half with my family. Then on October 16, we got our two girls on a plane (a serious feat of trusting in God!) and flew to Colorado. We had been generously given two guest tickets from a pilot friend, which meant we were flying standby. I was anxious, but we got right on the first flight of the morning and were in Denver by 11 am mountain time! We spent the night in Denver before driving down to Palmer Lake, which is outside of Colorado Springs, for our three week missions training at MTI (Missions Training International). The training we are participating in is called SPLICE (an acronym for the different areas covered: Spiritual, Personal, Lifestyle, Interpersonal, Cultural, and Endurance/Enjoyment).

It is hard to describe just what we are doing at SPLICE but I should really make an effort. We spend the mornings and afternoons in training, under teachers who have significant experience in cross-cultural missions and/or missionary care. The insight they are blessed with is amazing and I can't imagine going on the field without this specific preparation. It is a holistic approach to teaching and has a strong emphasis on community building - in part to develop close relationships with like-minded Christians going to many places in the world - and in part to help us put into practice things we are learning about ourselves, communication, bearing up under stress, conflict management, and more.

It is a great joy to spend so much time with these new friends who are preparing to move around the world in service of our great King. There are people here going to so many different countries but we all have the same goal and same mission. Thank you, Lord, for the many gifts you have given your children to minister to so many places in the world!

Pennies Pennies Pennies!

2011-07-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

I have attended the same church, (First EPC), for most of my life. As I grew up, I attended VBS there every summer starting at age 5, and then helped as a teacher throughout junior high and high school! I haven't been able to be a part of it for the past 10 years, since I have always had to work, but it was surreal to be asked to be the VBS missionaries this year! Jesse and I had such fun going from class to class sharing about our ministry, the needs on the Rez, and being blessed by the interest, prayers, and questions of the children. It is so refreshing to share with kids, who have such a simple and uncomplicated interest about the people we love so well. Adelaide got to be part of VBS in the 2-year-old room (even though she's not yet two - she had so much fun with the other kids!) and Amelia spent the week happily snuggled up to me or Jesse...

Every year, toward the end of the week, there is a huge penny drive and all the money that comes in goes to the missionaries of the week. I remember the penny drive as a huge highlight of my childhood, since the winning class gets an ice cream party on Friday! It was really amazing to be on the other side as an adult and see the pennies come pouring in. We were blessed with almost $600 from the drive and whatever else came in as offering the rest of the week. The Lord has truly blessed us through the wonderful adults and children at our church, and He is clearly providing the funds for us to be able to go to our training, SPLICE, in Colorado in October!

Last but definitely not least, we are so excited to have had some sponsors step forward who are interested in sponsoring kids for the after-school program we will be starting, Lord willing, this fall or early winter! We continue to move forward with our plans to move and trust that He will provide the last bit of money we need along with housing. Everything we see, read, and hear lately seems to be pushing us to step out in faith, to rest in His promises, to remember that He has brought us this far and will continue to do the work He has started- and we are getting EXCITED! As it stands today, we have reached 84% of our monthly income in pledges, meaning we are only waiting on the Lord to provide about $900 before we are at 100% of our budgeted needs! Friends, the time is near that we will be able to move on the field and get our feet on the ground! Praise the Lord!

Stories from the Team Week June 19-24

2011-06-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of spending a few days out on the Rez this past week with teams from Faith Bible Church in Seattle and Faith Presbyterian Church in Tacoma. It's amazing how much the place is becoming a part of me; even though we've yet to live there, going there feels in many ways like coming home.

A story:

I met a little four-year-old named Jake at kid's club on Friday. It was his first time there. We played cars under a tree, making roads in the dirt with him and a couple other friends. Then we went to the table where a team member was making balloon animals and got a balloon sword, which of course Jake spent much of the rest of our time there slashing me to pieces with, and giggling like crazy as I pretended to be hurt.

But the highlight was storytime. We sat down under the shade of the tree in the field at Totus Park, Jake in my lap, and listened to Joshua tell the story of Jesus entertaining children to the chagrin of his disciples. Upon hearing the proclamation that "Jesus loves children," Jake grew incredulous. "What! Me too?" he asked me.

"Yeah, Jake, Jesus loves you, too."

"Why?!?" he asked in disbelief.

"Jesus loves all children, Jake. He wants to be friends with all of them."

He seemed satisfied with this, and went back to listening to the story. I, however, was moved to reflect on the wonder Jake expressed when hearing, presumably for the first time, of the love of Jesus. We don't often think too much about the "why" anymore, and forget that it's truly incredible, nearly unbelievable news to hear that God loves us despite so many reasons not to.

And it makes me all the more anxious to be there, sharing the gospel with more kids like Jake, and seeing the wonder on their faces as they hear about the unconditional love He offers them.

And an observation:

At the end of the team week, a number of the youth and adults from the community who had worked alongside the team all week shared their thoughts about the impact working with the team had had on them and ways they'd seen God moving that week. And two things struck me during that time. The first was how amazing it was to see so many kids and adults whose lives have been changed through the influence of Sacred Road. And the second was how miraculous it all is: not only are these people whose lives are changed, but whose eternities are changed permanently. These are people who have moved from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of the Beloved Son. And it's even more miraculous when considering all the cultural, historical, and social hurdles and roadblocks put up between them and the salavation they need. To see such a thriving core of young people who are so clearly impacted by their relationships with the Sacred Road people is, for lack of a better word, amazing. And I can't wait to be a part of it.

Why An After-School Program?

2011-05-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

So the whole thrust of what I'll be doing when we get to the Rez is helping develop an after-school program, with the eventual goal that it will become a school at some point, God granting the financial and staffing resources.

Why the focus on education? Not because we believe it's a solution to all the problems in the community, but because a) it's a need that's felt deeply by the Yakama people, and b) because it gives an opportunity to love kids and share the gospel with them. It's a discipleship thing.

Over half the population of the Yakama tribe is under the age of 18, meaning that the next generation of Yakamas outnumbers all other generations combined. They are indeed "the future," and as that generation goes, so goes the people. That's a large part of why Sacred Road focuses so heavily on children's ministry, and why they've had the vision for an after-school program. The importance of teaching kids learning skills and a love of knowledge in a Christian context is incalculable.

We're called to love our neighbors. And while this command does have ties to the Great Commission's command to go into every nation, they are not one in the same. Loving our neighbors is not limited to preaching the gospel to them, though preaching the gospel cannot ever be excluded from genuine love. Conversely, preaching the gospel to someone is not necessarily a loving act in and of itself. Preaching the gospel should come from a motivation to love the person being preached to, because love looks out for the interest of the other regardless of whether the person receives the word given or not.

In that case, education is a means of love. A child knows they're falling behind and struggling in school. They don't like the feeling of failure; they want to do better. It is therefore an act of love for us to meet that need and instruct them, helping them to understand and succeed. And in doing so, we can also preach the gospel, having earned the right to be heard by way of the love we've shown. In this way it doesn't matter whether we've "won a convert" or not: we have loved our neighbor by helping them and sharing with them the means for a life abundant, without requiring anything in return.

But I'm waxing philosophical again. Here's the scoop: the plan for when we get on the Rez is to start small with a handful or two of kids, meeting a couple times a week to have time to do some homework, and to practice reading and learning skills. It'll be a time where we practice teaching kids how to love learning and discovery. More than that, though, it'll be a time of relationship building, of reassuring kids that they are loved, not only by us, but ultimately by their Creator.

I'm excited, especially feeling like the dream's approaching a reality as we pull closer to our total support level. I hope that, when our feet are on the ground there, we'll be able to report back stories of the challenges and success we'll have in this endeavor. It's getting closer, praise God!

Amelia Kay

2011-05-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

Our family grows to four now.

Jericho

2011-03-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Why, in the case of the fall of Jericho, did God instructed the Israelites to march around the walls for seven days before they came down? Was there some sort of correlation between the marching and trumpet-blowing which caused the walls' foundations to be weakened? If so, why did He instruct them to only do it once a day for seven days? And why seven times on the last day? Was it some secret combination to unlock the foundations, or was there a greater purpose?

While I wouldn't discount entirely a link between the act and the subsequent falling of the walls, I think the principle behind it is the greater point here. God, through Joshua, is asking the Israelites to trust Him. There was no reason for them to think that circling the city once a day for a week would do anything to bring the walls down. There was no reason why they shouldn't have attempted a traditional siege and starved the residents out. But God told them He would give them into their hands, provided they followed His directions. And while His directions didn't make any sense to them, they followed His commands, and He gave them the victory.

This month I've been thinking a lot about Jericho. In some ways I see what we're doing in raising support as the same kind of obedience, circling the walls simply because that's what God has told us we're supposed to do right now. As hard as we might try to knock the wall down on our own, it has to be done in God's timing. We can't do it on our own. God often puts us through things that don't make any sense to us and require us to trust Him. This is a time where we're learning that He works in His ways, and they're always better and always on time.

And lately we've gotten the sense that we're in the victory lap, that's it's the seventh day, and we're making our seven circles around the walls. We've seen cracks forming - doors opening to churches, new supporters pledging, and small, everyday miracles - that have shown us that God is moving still. He's called us to this battle and has given us our orders; we can only obey and trust that He will carry out His promises.

Dempsen Doings - February 2011

2011-03-04T15:05:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow I will hit 31 weeks of our second pregnancy, and I feel like I've been holding my breath for the last few months, watching events occur and swirl away like the foamy bubbles on a quick-moving stream. I think pictures give a glimpse into what's happening with our family.

I love this picture, even though Lyddie's not smiling We got snow here at the very end of February... and we are still waiting for spring weather to arrive!

Grammie Becky (Jesse's mom) came to visit and we got to take Lyddie to the Seattle Aquarium on Saturday. She loved the fish and was completely intrigued by them (and all the other kids running around)! As you can see, baby girl #2 is growing larger by the day, and looking at this picture from a few weeks ago shows me that I'm growing bigger right along with her by the minute! We are eager for her arrival around the beginning of May.

(my little ham dancing in the jellyfish "spotlight")

As you can imagine, my life consists mostly of giggling at Adelaide's current antics, which change on a minute-by-minute basis. She is busy and keeps me busy every waking hour!

On a serious note, the last few weeks have seen significant answered prayers for Jesse and I, including some new movement in our support raising, which is our foremost goal.

1. We have enjoyed sharing at church services and fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters in the faith. While support-raising is challenging and stretching, often painfully so, the joy of growth and visiting with other churches is my favorite part of this stage of our life. I am so often encouraged and overjoyed at the Lord's faithfulness to His people, and the variety in His beautiful body.

2. Jesse and I have also begun in the last few months to be more diligent in praying and having devotions together as a couple in the evenings after Lyddie's bedtime, and I can't believe the blessings God has wrought in our relationship from just setting aside a half hour to pray together every single day. We have always intended to be faithful to this but the Spirit really convicted and challenged us both to make this commitment to one another this year. I am even ashamed now as I think back through the years that we should have been doing this regularly, but the shame is removed as I think about the wonderful fruit that even this small action has had in our lives, relationship, focus, and joy since the beginning of January. We will never go back, and I now encourage every couple I know to set aside this kind of time for each other and the Lord.

3. I have been praying since last fall for the Spirit's clear guidance in pursuing a new vehicle for our family, since having two kids and a double stroller in my little Dodge Neon seemed like a tight fit - doable but tight. I was also concerned about the traveling we do over the mountain passes for support meetings, family visits, and trips to and from White Swan, knowing that with two carseats on the bench seat of Jesse's truck it would be next to impossible to fit all our gear and stuff in for trips when we needed to take his 4x4 truck.

The other night, I think an angel of the Lord might literally have thown a concrete slab in our path as we drove home, and we dragged this piece of concrete a little ways before being able to pull off to the side of the road. It's never a hopeful sign for your car when a piece of metal is dangling underneath and coolant is puddling within seconds. So much damage was done by this concrete slab (we think it was a segment of median that might have gotten clipped by oncoming traffic, although I still can't even really picture how that happened) that the car is totaled, and praise the Lord, the insurance company is giving us double what I dared to hope for it at this point, meaning we will be able to buy a bigger vehicle for our family.
Right now we are hunting for the right option and confident that He will help us find the exact vehicle we need for the time being.

To all who read this and are praying for us, I sincerely thank you and our God for your prayers. We are blessed beyond imagining by you and by our Lord Jesus, who has given us life and steadfast love, even when our hope and trust in Him wavers, even when it feels like His promises might never be fulfilled. He is always faithful, and His steadfast love never ceases. Please praise Him with us!

The Two-Year Mark

2011-02-18T09:52:00.000-08:00

It was two years ago this month that we received word that we were approved by the Sacred Road board to begin raising support to join the ministry as full-time staff. February 2009. It seems like a long time ago, reflecting back.

God has done so much in our lives from that point forward, and, apparently, has more to do as we prepare to go. As much as we'd like to be there yesterday, we believe in His timing. Even as we see what He's done so far, we can only imagine what He has yet to teach us before we arrive.

Since we began that journey, our family has grown. Shortly after learning that we were approved by the board, we also learned that we were going to have a child. Adelaide was born that fall, and we spent a couple months adjusting to parenthood before leaping back into the support-raising fray.

Last year we saw our support surge from 15%, raised in 2009, to 54% by the end 2010. It's still been slow going, given the economic environment and the hesitation of churches to commit funds to any new missionaries, but God continues to remind us and confirm to us that He is leading, that this is the path He has for us and the calling He has put on our lives. Small things, answers to specific prayers, remind us always that He has our good in store.

2010 also saw our family unexpectedly growing again. We found out in August that we're expecting our second child, so we prepare again for what God has in store as we plan to go to the mission field with two young children.

An that's only scratching the surface of what we've learned. I haven't mentioned things like discipline in our finances, the importance and impact of praying together as a couple, the need to trust in God's provision, and the truth that no matter how much effort you pour into something, it won't succeed unless God blesses it. And - often - God brings us support from places we didn't work for or expect.

So as we look at more time here before departing, we hope in His goodness and fatherly care. He loves us, and will teach and prepare us to do His work. May we increase in our faithfulness to Him.

Grace

2010-12-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot this year about grace. It's incredible to consider just how free God is in His love. It's hard to even begin to try to convey it, because for the Christian, grace seems like a given. We tend to think of it as what we got when we signed up, but we don't think of it as being the thing that sustains us our whole lives and on into eternity. We hear the word and it loses its power and meaning. Not only that, but we also attempt, often unintentionally, to sabotage its meaning.

Here it is: grace is the unmerited favor of God. Unmerited: meaning we do nothing to deserve it. In fact, we learn from the Word that the opposite is true. We daily do things to earn God's displeasure and anger. But instead of getting His disapproval - which we rightly deserve - we get His favor. Unmerited. Undeserved.

Favor: in English, that's a word that doesn't hold a lot of weight. We most often use it in the context of asking for small things ("Hey, can you do me a favor?"), or when talking about something we prize over other things in a certain category ("What's your favorite color? Who's your favorite singer?"). Both uses connote triviality. We don't typically ask people for "favors" when the task is huge. So when we think about God's grace as unmerited favor, it takes on a meaning (at least to me) of God's mild acceptance or tolerance of us -His preference for us over something else almost as appealing. Which, let's face it, is better already than what we deserve.

But when it comes to grace, it's more than God's tolerance of us. It's a never-ending shower of His unfathomable love. He doesn't treat us like a misbehaving animal He lets in so it can keep warm by His fire; we are adopted by Him into His family. We're not only allowed in the house, but raised as His children, fed, sheltered, and doted upon. He celebrates our accomplishments with joy we can't begin to understand, and disciplines us with a loving patience we couldn't even hope to achieve with our own children. And all this while we continue to misbehave in ways that would drive even the most patient parents over the edge.

And He doesn't care what we do. If we are His children, we can stay out late drinking every night and never come home to a locked door. We can never clean our room and let unwashed dishes rot away in the corner, and He won't tell us we need to clean it up or get out. He'll lovingly allow us to suffer consequences, but He won't stop loving us any more or less than the kid whose bed is always made.

-------------------------

A common reactions we receive when we tell people we're planning to be missionaries on an Indian reservation is "That's a hard job. Good luck." And I think there's varying thoughts or attitudes that accompany those words:

It is a hard job. Native American culture is generally closed to the gospel, and working to make inroads into a culture so mistreated by Christianity is extremely difficult.
Reservations are some of the roughest places in the US in terms of poverty and crime.
It's easy to think there's something "wrong" with the people who live on reservations. Why would anyone choose to live there, when there are no jobs, no good schools, and no opportunities? Most people in white culture want to believe that the problems in Native America can be easily corrected with a few simple choices, or that the problems exist because the people don't choose wisely. And while there an element of truth to that, it's far too simple to dismiss the issues in that way.

And it's this last attitude that I'd like to talk about in light of grace. Here's a question: what's our natural condition as a person born into the human race - as sons of Adam? That's right: slavery to sin. Our weaknesses and flaws are so much a part of us that no amount of willpower or good intentions can overcome them. We're trapped. We can't get out, and we can't escape. We are in need of someone more powerful than ourselves to do that for us.

The problems of our culture are in some ways different than the problems that plague Native America, but they are at their root the same in origin and in cure. It takes a powerful grace to overcome our sins and weaknesses and set us on the path to freedom from them, and that same powerful grace is the answer to the sins and weaknesses that have enslaved the Native American culture. And while there are myriad and complex reasons for the particular sins that enslaved Native American culture, it doesn't change the fact that they require the same cure.

We are all of us in the same condition. The only answer and hope for any of us is through the grace of Jesus Christ setting us free from the sins that have beset us by birth - both the ones inherent in our natures and the ones taught to us by the culture we've grown up in.

So the answer isn't in better educational or economical choices, but in "being transformed by the renewing of your mind." The gospel must come in all its power and might, to set free the captives.

Jesse's story

2010-08-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

It began nearly three years ago, in church.

Of course, beginnings are relative, especially to Calvinists. I could just as easily say like Jeremiah that it began at my conception, or that it began before the dawn of creation. But it's just as easy to say it began three years ago. That's when I became aware of the call.

My story up until that point was mostly defined by a sense of aimlessness. I had just finished college (a process that should have taken four to five years, but due to that aimlessness from beginning to end was about seven - "A lot of people go to college for seven years." "Yeah - they're called doctors."), just finished student teaching, and was substitute teaching as I sought a full-time position as an English teacher. I was newly married, just a little over a year, and felt lost.

My chosen profession was not appealing to me. I'd had a murderous experience in student teaching, and came out of feeling completely disillusioned and drained of any desire to enter the field. It wasn't the kids that I'd had a problem with - it was the system. Trying to manage classes of 35 eighth-graders discovering their individuality and get them to to retain information at any sort of decent level's a challenge for even the most skilled of teachers, let alone a rookie. And all due respect to my master teacher, I would spend long hours at school lesson-planning and grading, often until seven in the evening, then felt like my best-laid plans were poked full of holes when I brought them to her, which shattered my confidence day after day. I eventually felt like I couldn't hack it, like I lacked what it took, and by the end just felt like I was a prisoner looking forward to my release date.

Now there were other contributing factors involved in the experience, but I'm not analyzing that right now. This is all just set-up for the main storyline.

When it began, I was in a long-term substitute position at an alternative high school. I was teaching a couple English classes and monitoring an in-school suspension program for a school in its first year of existence. But I had applied and interviewed for a full-time position there, and they gave it to a teacher already working at another high school in the district. Another blow to my confidence. Even so, I continued in the long-term position there, hoping it might at least lead to some good references.

Then it happened. A fateful November night in 2007. We attended a missions conference at our church, and heard Chris Granberry speak about his ministry, Sacred Road, working with the Yakama Indians in Central Washington. He talked about the need, statistics I can now easily quote from memory: a 65% dropout rate from sixth to twelfth grade, a 70% homelessness rate among teenagers, 100% of families affected by substance abuse, a life expectancy of 39 years, and only 2% of Native Americans nationwide espousing faith in Jesus.

And it wasn't just the statistics. It was the pictures. Kids at the kids' clubs with dirty faces and big grins as the "church people" blow bubbles and jump rope with them, adults moved to tears as their houses are roofed and repaired, and the Christians working among the people overwhelmed with the need to share the love of Christ with a group largely forgotten.

One image sticks with me even now. I don't even know if I remember it correctly, but I know the association I have with it. It was a tree-lined hillside, the sun shining behind the branches, silhouetting them against the sky. You wouldn't think that, among all the images of children and adults responding to the love of Christ, it would be the shot of a tree-lined hill that would be the one that sticks with me. But the reason this one was so powerful to me was because I immediately connected it with an image I'd woken up with every morning of my childhood: a tree-covered hill, right out my bedroom window on Mt. Spokane, Washington.

I was moved to tears. How could such need exist, right outside my bedroom window? Why had I not known before? Why wasn't the church doing more?

Chris talked about the vision Sacred Road had for a school, beginning as an after-school program, and eventually, as time and resources allowed, to build that into a residential school that would give kids not only exposure and immersion in the gospel, but a loving, stable place to live and grow up - a rarity on the Rez. I caught that vision immediately, and my wife next to me, too. "Maybe you should teach there," she said. I don't know if she knew then how powerfully I wanted to.

So we talked to Chris after the conference. "We want to find out more about your ministry," we said. "We think God might want us to join you."

"Come on out for a weekend," he said. "We'll show you around and you can consider it more fully then."

So we did, after the holidays the following January. We'd never felt more comfortable about anything than we did about the way they approached ministry and the gospel. The Granberrys felt like kindred spirits; they clearly loved the people and the community, and understood the need to walk gently as Christians, given the history between Native America and the church. We left only further convinced that we were being called to join them.

So we went through the process laid out to apply, going through a cross-cultural missions training and evaluation, and in February 2009 were accepted to start raising support to join Sacred Road. And now, after serious support-raising for over a year, we're at 50% of our monthly goal.

That's the story so far. Where we hope to be in the next few years is "on the field," as they say - living on the Yakama Reservation, having a home there that we can use to host guests who want to, like we did, come and see the work God's doing to bring hope and light to the Rez. I want to see a place where kids can come have a quiet, safe place to study with adults who love them, accept them, and help them learn how to grow up. I want to work teaching youth skills like woodworking and gardening, things I enjoy and give me a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that I hope would give them the same. I want my story to be defined by God's will and work through me, and by the way that He uses me to give others stories to live.

Brother

2010-07-30T09:52:00.000-07:00

Meek and lowly, little child
Stains and dirt lines crease and sear
Scars slash deep so daily keep
Watch over them, my dear

Little ones, the babes in tears
The gentle-wild love and fear
Fierce and steep, so nightly keep
Watch over them, my dear

You but a child and half-grown man
Guard and nourish, follow and steer
Since mother sleeps now you must keep
Watch over them, my dear

And when the evening seems so drear
And daybreak equally unclear
Rest in Him, who e'er will keep
Watch over you, my dear

Sarah, December 2008

A Glimpse

2010-07-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

Our family is on the Rez this week for the last team week of the summer. We're here with Covenant Presbyterian Church (from Issaquah, WA) and First Presbyterian Church (Chattanooga, TN). I usually have a hard time catching my thoughts and holding them in one place for long when we're out here, but writing typically balances it out a little, and stories are so important in this culture of ministry. Here's a glimpse into my life this week, an excerpt from my journal.

Yesterday at Kid's Club, two little boys came walking over the sparse grass toward the many adults and other children playing with Nerf rockets, jump ropes, crafts, and balls. One of them, the one who stole my heart yesterday, I think was named Devon, although I probably misheard. (Names are still so hard for me out here because I'm at Kid's Club so sporadically still. The faces change but not all of them and I already struggle with names.)

This little one was holding his left hand up to his ear and as I got a closer look, I saw a bandage peeking from beneath his precious little fingers, the very ones the Lord formed in his mother's womb. I held out a matchbox car to each boy, silently inviting them to sit on the dusty tarp and join the other boys so contentedly zooming cars up and down my arm and creating roads in the dirt. (The typical boy-ness of the play stood in such stark contrast with the broken hearts and painful lives I was conscious these children were going home to face.)

Devon and brother sat at a corner and slowly crept closer to me, clearly wanting one of the more desirable cars in my lap. I asked "Do you have an owie on your ear?" and Devon's brother looked gravely at me, nodding. "He got bit by a dog," he said. My heart breaking yet again at the fresh tragedy of his little pain, I gently rested my hand on his back, softly stroking it. "I'm so sorry, " I said, "That must hurt a lot." His eyes, big brown pools, looked into mine as he nodded his head. Not once the entire two hours at Totus did his left hand leave his ear.

(I longed to pull him into my lap and tenderly whisper the love of God to him but, torn between this longing and knowing the likelihood that many touches he knows are hurtful, I settled for building trust while showering him with gentle words, kind pats, and allowing him to lean into me while playing with cars. I delighted in meeting other small needs like playing and helping him get a cup of water.)

We played, we loved, we listened, we talked, we prayed. I pray for this precious one today, that his ear would heal, that you would take away any infection, that you would relieve his pain so he can come back to Kid's Club today and feel your love through your children.

Another step in the journey

2010-06-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

So we begin another phase of our journey to work with the Yakama people. Today is the last day of school for the 2009-2010 school year, and the first day that we begin full-time support raising.

What does that look like?

Well, I don't really know, having not really done it before. But my goal is to put in at least 40 hours a week doing phone calling, scheduling and having meetings with pastors, mission boards, and people who may be interested in getting involved in the ministry, as well as sending emails and keeping in touch with people already on board with us.

The real difference in all that to what we've already been doing is the amount of time I now have to do it. That, and the freedom to travel if necessary, something that was harder to schedule before. We're hoping to be able to visit churches in the Portland and Spokane area this summer, and perhaps venture further away as well.

I think most people, including myself at times, look at the support raising process as drudgery - a "necessary evil." But God has reminded me time and again through this journey that it's nothing of the kind. We have continued to be amazed at the beauty and diversity in the body of Christ as we meet with all sorts of people who love and live to serve God, and visit different churches and experience the worship there in ways we're not accustomed to. God has been using this time to show me the truth of Ephesians 4:4-6, that "there is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." We have been blessed with getting to know people we would not normally get to know, and have been exposed to the beauty of God's grace in the lives of His people as we share our stories and sufferings and joys.

This time of support raising, then, is far more than just asking people for money - a sort of glorified "holy panhandling" - but rather a time where we are building more than monetary support. We're building a family, who encourages and strengthens us both now and as we move forward to do the really tough stuff on the ground.

So as we now transition to doing this full-time, pray that we will continue to live in the constant awareness that God prepares the way for us, that this time is part of His work for us just as much as the work in White Swan is, and that we will live faithfully in "the good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Meditation on Isaiah 35

2010-05-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

"The wilderness and dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and bloom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing."

I can't read promises like this any more without thinking about the applications they have to the Yakama people. In this chapter, Isaiah is discussing a return of Israel's former glory through God's restoration of their nation. But the promise here does not stop in application only to the return of Israel from exile - it reaches through all history and speaks to the ongoing restoration, the ongoing work of Jesus to restore all things to Himself. And it's in that vein that I can read these verses and see the promise it holds for White Swan.

"Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, 'Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.'"

I wonder sometimes at the purposes of God, and why He has caused so much suffering to come on the Yakamas, and truly, all of Native America. The hope I can cling to is that He does it so that when His gospel moves forward and changes lives, there can be nothing else to which anyone can attribute such a miraculous change. How did "those who have an anxious heart" find strength and hope? Those who look can only find the answer to that question in the transforming work of Jesus.

"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert..."

This is what Jesus does: this is why we pursue His call to go and share His Word. We hope to see these miracles done before our eyes as we bring His gospel -life-giving, hope-bearing, thirst-quenching - to those who need it desperately.

All About Community

2010-03-24T09:50:00.001-07:00

I love that new show on NBC called Community. Have you seen it? Not only does it remind me of my community college days, it is a hilarious blend of characters who, although ridiculous, have some depth. But one of my favorite parts about the show is the love that the members of the Spanish "study group" have for one another. Of course, I love their antics, but what keeps them going through all their bizarre circumstances, is the solid faith that there are always people rooting for them, even if the young football star decides to take modern dance, or the always cool Jeff gets dumped by his girlfriend, or the fuddy duddy Pierce accidentally gets high during the Halloween party. Community is about just that: community.

Recently a dear friend said that she feels the Lord is slowly pulling our roots up as we prepare to go into full time ministry on the Rez. These words got me thinking and ended up relating to the topic of community, which has been a frequent conversation theme for Jesse and me these days. I hope my friend doesn't mind if I copy a little of my response to her.

I realized, as I chewed on this analogy of roots, that I believe instead of pulling up our roots, our Father is actually sending them further down and into the rich soil of fellowship. Our family on and off the mission field - and by family, I mean all those who love us and are connected to us by His grace - is our lifeline and our "sap." This is true of all those who are supporting us with prayer and financial support. We recognize that God delights in using the fellowship of His saints to build His kingdom. As we seek to forsake all that holds us too tightly to this world, the Apostle Paul's description of the Body and it's interconnectedness never was clearer to me than it is now. While we are blessed and pleased to be those who are called to go to the Yakama people, we greatly need the love and support of those whose ministry is elsewhere.

This is why we are investing so carefully in the lives of those who are committing to support us. While our current need seems to be mainly financial, I know there will come a time that we will need much more, including fellowship, encouragement, accountability, a place to stay when we visit, people to love our children as aunts and uncles and grandparents, and a listening ear when we need to talk and process.

We have recently encountered surprise that we are seeking to meet with all of our supporters, since this is so time consuming on our part, and while we don't force people to meet with us before committing to support us, we do encourage it and make it available.

Why would we do that? people wonder. We do it for a few reasons. The first is that it logically builds up a stronger base of support and investment on the part of our supporters. I would be much more likely to take a keen interest in the ministry of a couple that I had actually spent time with rather than having just heard at church, and we feel this is probably true for others as well. The second reason is that one of our top priorities in going is that the church in Kent, Spokane, Renton, San Diego, and beyond would be strengthened and would see new arenas for service to the Lord in caring for the poor and needy.

So, to bring it full circle, in true Native style, all believers need community, complete faith in Christ and the outworking of His grace through His children to meet our needs and the needs of others. We need to have solid trust that our family "has our back," even if we do something that seems as ridiculous as leaving home and family to enlarge His kingdom.

(Image credit to Paul Zadet's blog, although I don't know for sure where it originated)

March 2010 Update

2010-03-10T21:41:00.001-08:00

Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,

Here we are in March now and the past month has been full of wonderful blessings!

We are excited to share that we are now have 36% of our monthly income pledged, an 11% increase in the past month! If the Lord continues to bring pledges in at the same rate, we will be at 100% of our monthly support in six months! This is our main prayer right now and we hope you will join us in praying for this as well. Our hearts yearn to begin our work in earnest on the "Rez" and we are so thankful for the reminders of God's provision and encouragement.
We were able to visit all of the Sunday School classes at our home church, First Evangelical Presbyterian Church, over the past month, since we were selected as the missionaries of the quarter and the children's offering is going to us. It has been a privilege and joy to visit with the children and describe the situation on the Reservation in simple language, as well as the gospel and work we believe God has in store for us.
We have been stunned to see miraculous provision in this financially tight time for our family and can only give praise to God for always taking care of us and meeting our needs using His other children and other means. This is a significant answer to prayer for us!
We have the privilege of sharing about the Yakama and our calling during a special missions focused service and First EPC in Renton this coming Sunday, March 14!
Jack "Wildman" Spencer, who professed his faith in Christ last month, shared his testimony with Hope Fellowship, the Tuesday night Bible study group that meets in the White Swan Longhouse. Praise the Lord for the mighty works He is doing through the Sacred Road team already in White Swan!

Ways you can pray for us and the Yakama Indians this month:

We will be traveling to Spokane to visit with friends and family in the area for support raising and fellowship on the weekend of March 19-21st. If you live in the Spokane area and you are interested in setting up a meeting with us, let us know and we will put you on the calendar! Please pray for successful meetings, joyful fellowship, and safe travels to and from as we drive over the mountains.
Pray for continued endurance and diligence in the work of support raising as we send out "batches" of letters to potential supporters and continue doing many phone calls.
Pray for the spring break teams working with Sacred Road in White Swan for the next three weeks - for safety on the work sites, for relationships with the children in the housing projects during Kids Club

Love in Christ,

Jesse, Sarah, and Adelaide

Hitting the trail again

2010-02-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

Dear ones,

It's been obviously some time since we've posted anything here - it's been a busy few months, and seemingly only getting busier as we are in the midst of a serious effort to get the rest of our support in. Our hearts are ever drawn to be on the reservation, and it's been doubly hard because we've had no time to visit there since last April.

We have been adjusting well to being new parents. It's amazing how fast little Lyddie is growing. Sarah posts pictures quite frequently on her blog, so those of you who wish to do so can check those out there. She is a joy, and I have to say I've truly loved every minute of being a daddy. We took some "time off" after she was born and during the hectic holiday season, but now that Christmas is over and spring is coming, we're anxious to be over the mountains by the end of this year if God sees fit. It's incredible how packed the days are: I feel as if I'm constantly moving, yet sometimes it seems that for all that motion, there isn't much to show at the end of the day. Yet I know what we're doing now - the letters, the phone calls, the meetings - is the groundwork God is laying for our future work.

So we look forward to talking to many of you in these coming months as we need so many more people to partner with us in this ministry. I can't wait to be able to post on here the things God is doing on the ground with the Yakamas. Even so, this time has been immeasurably good for us - for our marriage, for our faith, and for assurance of our calling. We thank God for His infinite wisdom and His impeccable timing.

November Changes

2009-11-30T09:25:00.001-08:00

Hi all! Happy Thanksgiving and holidays!!

It has been a while since our last update and many exciting things have happened in the past few weeks in our lives! The most important and life-altering is the arrival of our baby daughter, Adelaide Renee Dempsen. She was born November 17 at 4:51 am, weighed 7 lbs 2 oz, and was 19.5 inches long, although she is growing fast and is probably bigger now! She has been such a blessing to us already and Jesse and I take such delight in watching her, holding her, and caring for her. She is a really good baby and is sleeping at least a couple 4 hour stretches most nights, for which her mommy is very grateful! God has been so good to us!

The other big piece of news is that we moved into a new apartment at the beginning of November since our old place was in a zone predicted to flood this year. After much prayer and (on my part) anxiety for more than a month, the Lord proved once again that He is faithful to provide exactly what we need when we need it. We found a place that was offering a special with a free month's rent, low move-in rates, and lower rent than we were paying at the other place. It is a beautiful apartment, bigger than our last place, newly remodeled and still close to our church and family in the area. The move in special was only offered about one day after we found it so we feel certain that this was the Lord's provision specifically for our needs, especially since we couldn't have moved without a month of rent-free because we had to pay the lease-breakage fee for the other apartment. We give Him such praise and thanks for taking care of us in ways we couldn't see any possibilities. Thanks to many friends and family, we got all moved in even though I was on bed rest at 38 weeks pregnant! Looking at the apartment now, you would never guess we have only lived here for a few weeks! Thank you to all who helped us pack and move, sacrificing time and energy to help us. Your help was so invaluable during this time of our lives!

With all of the big changes in our family, on top of the arrival of the holiday season, support raising has taken a little bit of a back seat but we are hoping and praying to jump back in as soon as possible. We would so appreciate prayer for this, as it is such a huge task that it is easy to feel overwhelmed when thinking about it. We know that it is the Lord's work and we are just called to be faithful, but sometimes it is so easy to start to depend on our own efforts. If you or anyone you know might be interested in meeting with us to learn more about the work the Lord is calling us to in White Swan, please let us know. If you are in the Spokane area, we will be visiting December 23-27 and would love to meet with anyone who is interested!

A few areas in which we covet your prayers:

Continued energy and excitement about support raising for the work we are so eager to begin with the Yakama tribe in the White Swan area
Prayer for the work of the Granberrys and team already in White Swan, especially moving into the dark and difficult winter season. You can read about some of the current work they are doing at the Sacred Road blog: www.sacredroadyakama.blogspot.com
Provision of medical insurance at the end of Sarah's maternity leave; Sarah is returning to work only 1 day a week beginning in February or March and at that time her insurance will no longer be available for either her or Adelaide, and Jesse currently does not have insurance. We are praying hard that the Lord will provide for us exactly what we need when we need it and also praying for peace and patience as we wait on Him.
Job possibilities for Jesse while we live here in Kent. He has recently returned to substitute teaching because he can earn more than where he was working before. He is currently looking for a part time job that he could work just a few afternoons/early evenings a week, leaving time for support raising as well.

Little by Little

2009-07-31T21:37:00.000-07:00

Life keeps moving along at a pace faster than we are ready for. We are now just 15 weeks away from the due date of our baby girl, and I know those weeks will fly by faster than I can prepare for. We have been so busy the last month with all of our regular commitments along with meeting with families and individuals about support-raising.
It is amazing to me that just when we start to be overwhelmed or discouraged, the Lord provides for us and pushes us to keep trusting Him. I think a lot of people talk about "trusting in the Lord," and I know I have talked about it for a long time now, but this active trust is taking on a new meaning and dimension for me as I learn to lean daily on His promises of provision and acts of mercy to us. As Scripture says, we are saved and are being saved by the gospel, and I need saving and continued life every day. And almost every day, the Spirit speaks to me in some small way, whether in a specific Bible verse in my daily reading, a passage from Spurgeon in his Morning and Evening meditations, or a surprise support check coming in that we weren't expecting. This week, we received a letter from a family that we haven't even met with yet that stated they wanted to support us with a specific monthly commitment toward our budget. It is such a mercy and reminder that He is truly the one moving the hearts of His children to share in His work when people step forward to support us that we haven't even MET with or asked! It's not our work or doing, but His alone, and He will always meet our needs, even if we don't always like the way the needs are being met. We believe firmly that He has placed a call and passion in our hearts for Native America, and we trust that He will finish the work He has started.
So we press on. People ask how I can keep up with all that we are doing on top of getting ready for a baby, and the truthful answer is that I don't most of the time. I fall back, I fail, I drop the ball on things that are important, and I don't get the privilege of making a priority of some of the fun things I want to do, but that's okay because His grace alone is and always will be sufficient for me, and my failings only prove His grace the brighter and stronger.

~Sarah~

Providence

2009-06-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

I was talking with a friend yesterday about the effect of the economy on his paycheck, and how because of the way his pay is structured, with a heavy emphasis on bonuses based on the company's profits, he's out a fair amount of money this year compared to last. I didn't say this to him thlen, mostly because I wasn't thinking it then, but I've really been struck lately with how God provides so richly for His children. That may not exactly follow, but what I mean is that nothing happens to us believers - God's children - by accident. And nothing has made me more aware of our utter dependence on God than stepping out in raising financial support. Even as I've been keenly aware of God's guiding and provision in my entire life and His leading in my career choices, I think I've been impressed lately with just the degree to which God is truly in control of our lives, and how He leaves nothing up to us.

When a person works a traditional job, with a steady paycheck that depends solely (we think) on how many hours you've worked or what your salary is, maybe with some sort of variance because of bonuses, commissions, tips, etc., there's a tendency to believe that we are somehow involved in the making of that money. It's ours - we worked for it, we earned it, our hands did the labor. The money couldn't be any more our own.

But we who follow Christ know that's not true. Yes, we did the work. We showed up every day and performed the assigned tasks. But it wasn't us who got that money that pays the bills that keeps us living and surviving in relative comfort and ease. God gives us our very life, and the skills needed for doing the job that He leads us to do. We cannot claim any of the credit.

Yet it is so easy to then say that our money is "hard-earned," or that we worked for it, so we ought to get to enjoy it, as excuses for being able to spend it (or hoard it) as we wish. But it's not ours, is it? We only think it is because our name's on the paycheck.

Living on support eliminates that mentality. I've become sensitive suddenly to the idea that the money we make now as we work at the jobs we currently hold is no more or less God's provision for us than the money that will sustain us when we begin living from support. It's not as if God has changed His approach to the way He provides for us - it's that we see it more clearly as coming from Him because we're not getting paid in a traditional way. We think it's more miraculous - it seems more supernatural to us when the Holy Spirit prompts someone to mail a check at the last minute than when we hit a month with three pay periods at a crucial time. Both are works of God; both are just as much directed by Him. But in our imaginations we can see one as more clearly a work of God, and the other a fortunate coincidence.

There are no coincidences with God, however, just as there is no such thing as "my" money, "my" house, "my" stuff. One thing I look forward to in this new venture is for is the constant reminder that this is true. And even as we venture into this, I hope to remember each day the providence and sovereignty of God. I encourage us all to consider this: no matter what we do, it is God the Creator who sustains us, and not our own hands. So we need not worry; He will provide.

The Long Haul

2009-05-13T18:29:00.001-07:00

We are currently praying about this whole big process of support raising and trying to trust that Lord will guide the hearts of His people to participate in ministry to our First Neighbors by financially supporting us. We have put together a letter and are sending it out so that others become more aware of our new venture.

I have ready many books in the past year that have challenged and encouraged me to trust the sovereignty of the Lord in all of our financial needs. One includes the book L'Abri by Edith Schaeffer. Edith was the wife of Francis Schaeffer, the well known Christian philosopher and writer. What I didn't know until I read more about them in her book was that they left his senior pastor position when their children were small and moved their family to Switzerland based on what they felt strongly was a call from the Lord to work for His Kingdom in Europe. The ways that the Lord used them and provided for them are described in L'Abri. There were times that they literally were waiting hour-by-hour for the money to come in for bills or for the next step in their ministry. By living there and being available, the Lord used them as a center for a community where young people could come learn about Jesus and learn that educated and "modern" people are included in the body of Christ, combating the post-war ideas of a world without God and religion as a drug for the masses.

I am anxious to see how God works to provide for us to participate in the ministry we believe He is calling us to. I am overwhelmed at the word inherent in this move and all of the other things going on in our lives but I am excited to see what He does. Please be praying for us to trust Him!

Our first team meeting

2009-04-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend was an exciting one since it was the first time the newly forming Sacred Road team was able to meet and fellowship in White Swan. In the picture above are the current staff (including short term associate staff as well as potential long-term staff like us). We were so thrilled to meet Chuck and Neena Clevenger, who moved there from Chattanooga, TN in February, and to spend more time with Bill and Tina Yarbrough and meet their 4 girls from Birmingham, AL. And as always, it was a joy to spend time with all the Granberrys as well. There was also a team from Faith Presbyterian (Tacoma) and our home church First Evangelical Presbyterian (Renton).
We spent Saturday hauling wood from the mill, splitting it into firewood, and stacking/delivering it for elders of the tribe. This is a huge blessing for these elders since most of their homes rely on wood heat through the frigid and long winters. Without this firewood, many would likely become sick and may not make it through the winter. It was amazing to watch such a big group of believers reaching out to our First Neighbors. It was humming like a beehive, which I tried to convey in the photos and video below.

A snapshot of the work

Jesse taking a break for a picture

Jesse and Stephen teaming up

Our friend and brother, Allan, working hard with the men

Our truck full of wood to take back for splitting

Yarbrough girls and me... wasn't much for a pregnant lady to do at the mill...

A scanning view of the worksite

The Yarbrough girls stacking wood at an elder's house
Our beloved Pastor Tom Ramsay working the wood splitter with ease
The beehive of activity moved to the elder's house
The wood stacking assembly line
Lunch after church with the teamBill and Tina Yarbrough
Fellowship at the bonfire - Ann Marie and Beth Granberry and Miranda Yarbrough (and Bobo)
Me looking about 10 weeks pregnant
The Merry MenThe Married Women

Goodbyes were hard but hopefully temporary. We can't wait to get back out there for at least another visit and really can't wait to move and begin the work we feel called to with this special people group.

Introductions

2009-04-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

In November 2007 at a missions conference at our church, we believe God placed a call in our hearts to minister to the Yakama Indians with Sacred Road Ministries. We began exploring this call, and in January 2008, we visited the town of White Swan on the Yakama Indian Reservation near Yakima, Washington. We have been drawn back repeatedly since then to spend time working with the Native Americans there and learning more about the vision of Sacred Road.

Sacred Road was started by Chris and Mary Granberry, from Birmingham, Alabama, who felt the call of God in 2002 to work with the very needy people on the Yakama Reservation. Their hearts were moved to plant a church in the midst of the overwhelming poverty and oppression that the Yakama people face. They have been working tirelessly since that time, and a small community of believers now meets faithfully on Tuesday nights, and looks forward to soon having Sunday services.

These are a few of the staggering statistics of the needs that exist on the reservation:

70% of teens on the reservation are considered to be homeless
The dropout rate in the Mt. Adams School District is approximately 75% by high school
100% of Native American families on the reservation are affected in some way by alcohol
Only 2% of the 3 million Native Americans in the U.S. claim to be Christians
Suicide and accidental deaths are common, and access to health care is minimal on reservations, resulting in a life expectancy of 39 years old for a Yakama Indian

We believe that we as Christians are called to bring light to the darkest places. Jesus came to heal not the healthy, but those who need it most. Our hearts continued to crack open with grief as we dug further into the history and tragedy that has fallen on this broken people. We acknowledge that the most important healing that can be given to the people of White Swan and surrounding Native American towns is the same important healing that we ourselves have received as children of God, and believe that the Lord has planned to use us as conduits of His grace on the Yakama Reservation.

With Jesse's background in secondary education and working with at-risk youth, and Sarah's background in speech therapy, we believe God has equipped us with skills He wants to use to meet the needs of the Yakama people. One vision that Sacred Road has is the building of an after-school program, which would aid teens in graduating high school. This would serve as an opportunity to build positive relationships and share the gospel with kids who more than likely have no positive role model in their lives. Sarah hopes to partner with another team member, a registered nurse, and work with young mothers, educating them in child development and parenting and building relationships in order to share the gospel.