Sheeran Family News

This is my first update for 2014, uh, maybe just in time for Valentine’s Day(?)  January was a busy month for us with the startup of the Spokane Perspectives course, and a 2-week trip I made to Orlando for Wycliffe mobilization meetings. Because of limited budgets, we mobilizers don’t get together very often, but it was a fantastic time—deeply spiritual, emphasizing our dependence on God for what we’re doing, with lots of sharing and practical ideas. I was invited to help with the worship and so I brought my mandolin along (it has a lot of miles on it!). The week after the conference I was due back in Orlando for meetings with Wycliffe’s Marketing folks. Since I had a long weekend ahead I flew up to North Carolina to spend time with son Paul and his wife Ansley.
 
As of January 15, Paul is a newly-minted PhD in the field of BioMedical Engineering. Good news—he says we can still call him Paul. (I tell people he’s the kind of doctor that doesn’t help people!) He successfully defended his dissertation and is now looking at post-doc (internship) opportunities. People have been congratulating me, but hey, he did all the work! Way to go, Paul & Ansley!
On my return to Orlando I attended a center meeting where they introduced the newest Wycliffe members, who had just arrived for training and orientation. Surprise! Over at the next table was a familiar-looking young lady. I first met Laurel when she was only 5 years old; she was a fellow missionary kid and classmate of Beth. Now as a pediatrician and a mom with 3 kids, she and her husband are headed to Thailand to work in vernacular media for Scripture and language projects. And yet another surprise—another young couple, Andrew and Elizabeth, had attended our Spokane Perspectives class in 2008. Andrew came up to say we were a big reason why they are there now a part of Wycliffe! (And we thought we were just helping with the Perspectives class.)

I'm driving, I'm driving!

When we were serving with Wycliffe in Guatemala we often looked for fun things to do on weekends, like getting out and exploring the country, and doing dangerous things like eating food from street vendors (i.e., "Don’t tell mom!", or DTM for short). Another thing in the “DTM” category happened when I would take the kids for “driving lessons” to a place that had lots of wide open space and empty streets. With the kids sitting on my lap and me operating the brakes and gas pedal, my hands would hover over theirs on the steering wheel as we drove along at the breakneck speed of 10 miles per hour. Beth (always more expressive/ dramatic) would scream in delight, “I’m driving, I’m driving!!!!”
As I reflect on that fun time, I see how it applies to our Wycliffe ministry, especially since we returned to Spokane. We have interacted with many people at missions conferences, local schools, missions events, Perspectives classes, and even through the Internet. Some have joined Wycliffe in to work in translation, literacy, IT, and other fields to help the Bible translation effort, and others have gone on to other missions and ministries. That's very rewarding, and it would be tempting to look at the results and think, ‘Wow, look what we did!’. But in a way that would be like Beth screaming, “I’m driving, I’m driving!”. Yes we have played a part in their lives (and it was fun!), but we really had a small part, and we see the much bigger part God played. His hands covered ours on the steering wheel, and His foot on the brakes and gas pedal in the lives of these precious people. (Note: Jeanette tends to look at each of them now as ‘our’ kids!). It’s fun to follow them in their ministry careers now and see what God is doing through them.

Prayer items

• Race to 2025 event is coming up in March -- we need more people to register for the event in order for it to take place
• Navigating job changes for Chris, interacting with new teams and lots to learn
• Finances needed for trip to NC in May for Paul's graduation

So, what is our job? Our job is to be a channel, one through which God works to accomplish His purposes in His time. You are really a big part of that channel, too, through your partnership and prayers. Think of it: there are people now serving in missions because of you! We are very thankful for you, and we pray that 2014 will be a year of blessings and joy for you and your family.
Blessings,

Chris & Jeanette.