"Here am I, send me."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I, send me!'" -Isaiah 6:8 A few months ago I could not get this verse out of my head no matter how hard I tried. After several sleepless nights, I gave in and got up to put my thoughts down on paper which is where this blog began... At this point, I want to back up and give you a little history on my family. Brandon and I were married on September 17th, 2004 and moved to Beauvais, France one week later. I had a position teaching English to French students and Brandon was "along for the ride". While we were there we attended a small protestant church and became friends with the missionaries who were working with them. By the time that our year-long adventure was over, we both felt a call to return someday as missionaries ourselves. We began to prepare for this as Brandon attended Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a Masters of Missiology degree in May of 2009. We also began the process with a mission called World Team. We were accepted and did our vision trip back to France in July of 2008 with our 6 month old daughter, Karis. After that, things got crazy as our son, Micah, was born in April of 2009. Brandon is the high school minister at First Baptist Church in Millington, TN. He, of course stays very busy with his ministry there and we had been thinking less and less about our calling to France. I must admit that I had even begun to doubt that call. I could not and cannot imagine taking my children away from their family and friends, but Brandon and I came to a crossroads where we had to make a decision of whether we would GO or not. A few weeks ago we drove to Montgomery, AL to meet with our missionary friends, David and Kathryn Lohness, while they were in the states visiting supporters. They encouraged us and prayed with us and by the time we came home a few short days later, we were ready to move forward. So, that brings me to the title of my blog "Allons-y!" which in French means "Let's go!". I feel it is appropriate to say "let's" including YOU because whether you are called to physically go to another country as a missionary or not, we are all called to "go" in Matthew 28:19-20. Brandon and I cannot go without you! We need your prayer and support. I am starting this blog to keep you informed about our process of getting back to France. I will try to keep you updated on our progress and let you know of any specific needs, prayer or otherwise. Thanks so much for being a part of this journey with us!