Isaac is 8!

On September 22nd we celebrated Isaac's 8th birthday.
When I think of his rough beginnings, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. His birthday is always a very emotional day for me as I remember...

Hurricane Isaac (really!) 2012

The Great Lego Contest!!

Yesterday I announced The Great Lego Contest. I originally thought only the boys would participate. Much to my awe (and delight),our two teen girls jumped right in. This was even before they knew that all participants were granted a reprieve from Math for the day and a grand first place prize of no Saturday chores. Wow!
They Lego-d for hours. Here are pics of the fun. A panel of grandparents,parents,aunts and cousins acted as long distance judges, voting anonymously (without knowing who built each creation of course). At the end of the day, Isaac reigned supreme as the Lego master.
But great fun and camaraderie was had by all:)

I love being a Mom!

The Great Conard Easter Egg Hunt

Isaac won this year despite Mark trying to wrestle candy away from everyone!

TRUST AND OBEY

Recently, we have let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, about my resigning from the Chaplain Corp for us to go back overseas as missionaries. It has come as a shock to a few people. But most people who know us said things like: “We wondered when you were going to go back!”

 A few people have reminded us what a great mission field we are already in here in the military. No doubt about that. Zambia was a great mission field, too, and it was hard to leave. Many people did not understand why we left Zambia for the military six years ago. We did not completely understand either, but we had to obey. And now, looking back, we can see more clearly. Not only has the Lord allowed us to minister to families and Marines here, but He has grown us up a lot too. And we would never have been able to bring Josiah home without the good military pay (and a beautiful church family:) in America.  When we left Zambia, one of the things we prayed was "Lord, please never let us get too comfortable that we are unwilling to go back."  So here we are, six years later, and we are experiencing that sense of peace, of "oughtness" about going back.  It is completely and utterly unreasonable. We are very comfortable. We are happy.

 But a few months ago, when we sat down as a family to discuss our future, it became clear that staying in the military was not what any of us wanted. We all agreed that the separations (almost 3 years apart in the past 6) are too many and not good for our family. So the next, natural question was "Lord, what are You doing?" We talked about the pastorate or other chaplain ministries in the States. But for our whole family what we kept coming back to is that we are missionaries, and if not in the military then perhaps God was directing us back overseas? We had been thinking and praying about that idea for a good two years anyway. (And specifically, we had prayed about the possibility of somehow going back to be missionaries and minister to missionaries –to help them stay on the field).

So once again we brought this before our children. They were enthusiastic and willing- all five of them! So we began to pray and earnestly seek God's will and His direction (Which, I have to say, no matter how all this turns out, has brought us so close as a family that it will all have been worth it - to see how our kids have grown deeper in the Word and in prayer because they all realize what a huge decision this is). Its one thing to tell your kids to obey God and follow Him -even when it is difficult and involves something painful, but it’s another thing to do it. We've taught our children about missionaries, about unreached people groups, about our fellow Christians suffering in places like the Sudan, but it is another thing to sell everything (again) and quit a great-paying job with benefits, and go minister in a strange culture with five kids in tow. We even have to ask ourselves -do we believe God is able? Could He really mean for us to do this?  His ways are not our ways... So we plunged ahead…

We began to research missions agencies and the work they are doing, and finally began phone interviews. We narrowed it down to two and then finally one –SIMUSA (Serving in Missions).  Having worked with several SIM missionaries while we were in Zambia, we were impressed with their focus on evangelism and discipleship alongside meeting physical needs like medical help, food, education, etc. We also appreciated their good stewardship as a sending agency.  When we went to complete their application and 12 page doctrinal questionnaire, we were even more impressed with their Biblical integrity and felt that we would fit right in.  From the beginning, the staff of SIM has prayed for and with us through each step.

The position that we are seeking to fill is based in Nairobi but working on the Sudan mission team. I would be filling the role of Missionary Chaplain – heading up Member care and Pastoral Care for the Sudan missionaries. Basically this means that I (and sometimes Stacey) would fly into Sudan (both Sudan and South Sudan) several times a year to minister to the missionaries and national Christians there –and basically lending a hand in whatever areas are needed. Currently, the team is comprised of 60 missionaries doing church work and evangelism, various food and water projects, education, and providing medical care (especially in the South where refugees are flooding in from the North). It is a stressful and sometimes dangerous area to work in. Missionaries there are in desperate need of Pastoral Care to help them stay the task. They also come out frequently to decompress and resupply in Nairobi, Kenya –that’s why our family will be based there.  We will assist and encourage the missionaries when they come into Nairobi through hospitality and further pastoral care. We also expect to have an active ministry in Nairobi sharing the Gospel and discipling believers.  

All of that said, we will be attending a selection conference with SIM in May where we will (hopefully) officially become SIM missionaries and begin the journey of raising finances for our ministryJ

That is a really loooong discourse explaining this process we are in. But maybe it will answer a few questions. If not, feel free to write and ask.

If you want to stay abreast of updates or possibly be a future prayer and finance partner, then send us your email address and your regular mail address. We will let you know how things proceed and what the needs are.

In the meantime, please pray for our family as we make necessary adjustments and seek God’s direction daily.

And please pray for our brothers and sisters in Sudan and South Sudan.

Blessings and peace,

Mark and Stacey Conard

usnfam4him@gmail.com

276-791-0615

106 Constitution St

New Orleans, LA 70114

“But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:32

One Year Home This Month!!

Yesterday marked Josiah's "first" Birthday and his Adoption Day. In China, his birthday (November 8th, as given to him by the orphanage when he was found) was never celebrated. It turned out that last year, I actually met Josiah and signed the adoption paperwork on November 8th. So we get to celebrate TWO special things with him this year. Since Nana and Poppop came to visit last week, we had a special early "Thanksgiving"dinner last Friday and celebrated being a Family. Nana and Poppop gave Josiah a Star Wars blanket for his bed and we gave him some Star Wars pjs.

 Yesterday, we celebrated Josiah's birthday with a Peanuts/Snoopy theme. He was so excited leading up to November 8th. I don't know if any kid has every enjoyed having a birthday so much!

Last night at bedtime, Benjamin prayed with a heartfelt gratitude that matched what we all felt: "Thank You Lord for letting us adopt Josiah. Thank You for bringing him into our family, because we love him SO much!".
Amen.