It’s 3am and Don is working at the local Academy Sports store. I’m wide awake and I wish I weren’t. But I am. So I begin to pray. What do ya know – I fall asleep. Prayer often does that for me. I wake up to my alarm at 8am. I hit snooze a couple times before getting up to take the dogs out. My day has begun…and I mumble a prayer I’ve recently memorized.
Oh Lord, my soul rises to greet you as the day rises to greet the sun. Glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now and will forever be. Amen.
Oh, AND Lord – would you provide Don with a new job/career, one that he loves and uses his gifting and appreciates him. We are on our second leg of this life – just a reminder. We need your help. Maybe some handwriting on a wall. But whatever really – we want to be in your will. As long as….. (insert my greedy list of wants)
It’s around 10am and I’m in the store. I’m reflecting on the last 13(ish) years at Adventures. It starts with a visit to my parents who were already on staff with Adventures In Missions. Our visit to the office, turned into a interview and job offers if we could raise 100% of our support. Challange accepted. Within a few months, we raised enough for me to start then a couple months later, Don followed. I began with Shepherd Services, a department caring for the long term missionaries and their families. Don would soon be managing the Ambassador, high school age program. Up until this point, it had been lumped in with the college program.
As years came and passed – our positions changed many times. As did our financial situation. Don left to work at a church in Roswell, then later in a church in our own back yard. Finding a job in your late 40’s can be difficult. But God in His all-knowing … provided a financial gift that allowed Don to begin working at Adventures once again with Ambassadors. It was at this time that I began focusing more on our local community and chose to invest more of my time and relationships here. I opened a brick and mortar store in Gainesville, where you will find me most of the time. It’s become a safe place for people to hang out and share life. My role with Adventures is “domestic missionary”. I still lead trips as needed, but have found myself more involved in customized trips for a small group or individual. I fill my time up connecting with other business owners, attending meetings and networking right here in Gainesville! Business as missions….where radical kinship is being built!
It’s August 2019, and they have consolidated programs at Adventures. In the last 8 months, over 40 individuals have left, many as a result of the downsizing. Adventures is restructuring, cutting budgets and re-thinking their future goals. And so, Don is working unloading trucks at 3am. It’s not his dream job. He is always tired, and his body aches. But with his education and background being in Bible Theology, non-profits… what does one do?
Today is his last day at Adventures. He recently wrapped up another great summer filled with missions trips. Check out the Ambassador blogs to hear all the ways God worked through these high schoolers and their leaders. It was an honor to work with such a fine group!
We know that this too shall pass, but….would you pray for/with us?
A job. (Preferably in this area – but should the Lord want us elsewhere then… we want to remain open)
Encouragement for both Don and I. Like many of you – we are in a season of long, hard work days. Grabbing jobs any/everywhere we can find them. It’s discouraging to receive, what feels like a lot of rejection.
Pray for closure, as he moves on to another career.
Financial support for our continued missions work here in Gainesville, and around the world. Your support allows me to work at Purchase Effect and not take a salary. Therefore – it makes having a small 400 sq ft store possible.
Don’s uncle in MI recently passed away. Prayer for Don’s family as the funeral is this week.
Join us in thanking God for Don’s season at Adventures! Despite this difficult time, we are excited for what the future holds for us.
Thank you for your friendship, support and prayers over the years! Happy to share this journey together.
-The Rocks
If you have any questions about any of this, we’d be more than happy to talk. Call us! We are not the best at staying in touch and can see how this news could come as a surprise! If we haven’t exchanged communication lately – we’d also love to hear how you and yours are doing.
