He Knows the Plans

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you." - Jeremiah 29:11-12

The Long family waits...

Waits for the time when we will get on a plane and fly to the land of the Magyars. We wait for the day we arrive in the country to which we have been drawn by God. We wait for the "Go into all the world". We wait to be transplanted onto a new soil on the other side of the sea...

And yet, in the waiting God works. In the waiting we work. Each day we share again our vision for the Gospel to reach another soul. We walk where He leads and we tell the story of how He has changed everything. We work to grow our faith and our committment to His will in our lives. We pray...and we call upon God. He listens...and we listen. We search out His guidance and His direction.

Why all the working and waiting? Why not just go? Others have gone before with less...why?....Because He knows the plans He has for us. Plans to prosper and not to harm. Plans for hope and a future. We encounter setbacks...He anticipates them. We fight against struggles...He fights for us. We come up short...He makes up the difference.

God has a future for the Long family...and so we wait.

To Boldy Go...

A few weeks ago, while visiting a church in North Carolina we had the privilege of visiting Kitty Hawk, the site where Orville and Wilbur Wright first experience flight. Many of you are probably familiar with the Wright brothers and their historic plane. As we walked through the museum at Kitty Hawk, I soon realized there was so much more to the Wright story. The Wright brothers were dedicated to there goal. They lived on site at the airfield for months. They built models and gliders and had numerous test flights. They failed and tried again, and had teams of people to help with their tests. And finally, they had success.

The past week and a half our family has been residing at the headquarters of OMS as we participate in CROSS Training (OMS's preparation for cross cultural ministry and living). We have learned alot about everyday life as a missionary, as well as various aspects of our ministry. What continues to amaze me is the incredible team that stands behind us here in the United States and supports our efforts to go! God has reminded us that He not only provides through finances and prayer, but also through the faithfulness and guidance of men and women in leadership and support at OMS. We could not be successful missionaries to Hungary without an incredible team! We are thankful and blessed to be part of such an organization.

While we were at Kitty Hawk, we enjoyed photographing Carter posing as an astronaut in the history of flight pavilion. It has been a long path from first flight to walking on the moon...and our journey in missions sometimes seems to reflect this idea. As ambassadors of Christ we strive "to boldly go..."

Our New Year's Resolution

On the eve of 2009, we cannot help but think of one American tradition...The New Year's Resolution. Historically speaking, these resolutions are usually grand in thought, but somewhat short lived. This year our family has but one resolution that we intend to keep long after the celebrations have ceased:

To walk in God's will in 2009, wherever or however He may lead.

We are excited to know that He does have plans for 2009, and those plans seem to be heading us toward Hungary in a short time from now. Much of 2008 has been spent in preparation for this journey. As we consider the past year, we see how God's provision and timing has been perfect. We originally had prayed that God would provide for us to be in Hungary by the end of January, but as we neared the end of the year, it was clear this was not God's plan. God has given us several more opportunities in January, February and March to share our ministry with churches and people across the country. Also, we still need additional people to come onto our support team so we can meet our financial goals. Therefore, we anticipate our transition to Hungary with take place the end of March. We are praying that God would provide all our needs so this can be possible. Things look very promising and we trust that God's timing is perfect in all things.

As you consider your resolutions for the coming year, we pray that 2009 would be a time for you to draw closer to God and to walk faithfully in His will for you life.

Looking Forward,
Jonathan and Corinne