As we have shared over the last few months with different folks that we are preparing to move to Billings, MT, we are most often given a quizzical look, followed by the question "Montana? Why?"
So for our first blog entry, here is the long-winded explanation for why we are moving 1,595 miles from Memphis to Billings [That is 22 hours, 44 minutes according to Google Maps].
It all started 2 Aprils past (2008) when our good friends Eric & Shelly wanted to have dinner with our family. We had them and their [then] 2 year old son over, ate dinner, and put the boys to bed. What followed would be the beginning of a year-long decision making process that would lead us to this point in time. Eric & Shelly began telling us about where they were looking to move & find a job for Shelly post medical residency, their criteria for choosing a city, and their desire to move out west where Eric is originally from. They continued by telling us that they had narrowed it down to Billings, Montana and shared with us some research they had done regarding a low-income neighborhood there, called the South Side. They showed us maps highlighting the neighborhood and shared demographical information. They concluded the conversation with this request: We are asking you to consider partnering with us in moving to Billings, living and doing ministry in the Southside, and planting a house church. To say the least, I did not see this coming.
Of course, Steve's initial reaction is excitement at the prospect of living in a beautiful part of the country with loads of adventure to be had. I did not react quite so excitedly, after all we were finally finishing fixing up our house and getting settled with Isaac. Fortunately, the Lord worked in both of our hearts (mostly mine) and we gradually became comfortable with the idea. This led us to visit the city last October to explore the neighborhood and see what folks there were already doing.
After many more months of prayer, Steve returned to Billings in March with both of us knowing that a decision needed to be made: Was the Lord calling us to remain in Memphis and continue the work we were already doing, or was he was calling us somewhere else?
The Lord made it very clear to each of us, Steve in Billings and I in St. Louis, that He was leading us West. The South Side is similar to Binghampton (our current neighborhood) in many ways, but we kept coming back to the most important difference: a lack of presence. The Word tells us that the workers are few, so it is difficult to say that Binghampton is 'saturated' with believers doing ministry, but in many ways it seems to be. The Lord was pressing on our hearts that the few believers working in the South Side were in need of community and spiritual renewal, that the significant impact of incarnational ministry that we have seen here in Memphis was nowhere to be found in Billings. We could no longer remain where we had become comfortable and complacent, the Lord was pushing us onward.
As we are preparing to move, we must be reminded each day that although we are sad to leave the many friends and relationships we have in Memphis, and the close proximity of family, the Lord tells us in his Word that we are to 'offer our bodies as living sacrifices' and to obey him completely. Whatever the Lord has for us in Montana, we are confident that there is nothing better anywhere else because Billings is where God has sent us.
