There’s been adventure…

some that involves water.

There have been nature documentaries.

There’s been lions and tigers and bears, Oh my! (and puppies and kitties and cheetahs, too)

There’s been a few Hallmark Specials…..

filled with indescribable sweetness.

There has been a LOT of DRAMA…

Some incredible action…

The occasional scary feature film…

And, of course, there has been comedy.

Romans 1:5 “Through whom (Jesus Christ our Lord) we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations.”

We are given grace – receiving that which we do not deserve and not receiving what we do deserve – so that we may spread his name among the nations. Why? “For the sake of his name.” What does that mean? It means for his glory. We receive grace so that all the nations may know him, receive him, have faith in him so they might glorify him.

But how can the nations be brought to an “obedience of faith” if they do not hear about the God in whom they can trust, in whom they can have faith? The apostle Paul asked this same question in Romans.  “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”

From the beginning to the end of scripture this is what we see – this is the purpose of creation – to point to God Almighty. And time after time, we see failure. Failure to understand the importance of the task given to God’s people. They were chosen by Him so that others may come to know Him. We fail to understand it still. Our lives point to everything but God so often, and as a result we fail to live lives that point people to Jesus. Why should our lives point to Him? First, because He is worthy of it. Second, our lives should point to him because God wants all the nations to know the One who made them, to know they are worthy in His eyes to be saved from a life of meaninglessness to a life of fullness. They need to know they matter.

This is accomplished through the church. Yes, the church. The church is the means through which God has chosen to accomplish His redemptive mission to the world He created and loves. We are saved by grace through faith not just for ourselves so we can wave a flag bearing the words “I’m Saved” or “Heaven Bound” on it, but so we can open our mouths and live our lives in such a way that others can know the mighty awesomeness of the God who gives them breath every single moment of every single day.

We are so selfish with grace. We fail to see its greatness, its purpose, and its beauty. We receive this wonderful gift of grace as we put faith in God and then we think little more about it. We may become emotional when we sing a particular hymn or praise song or when we hear a sermon which makes us reflect on grace for thirty minutes, but do we ever see it as a means to an end? The end being the return of Christ. If we are saved by grace through faith and we are given grace so that in turn all the nations can be led to obedience in faith and we know Christ will only return when every tribe, tongue, and nation has heard his name proclaimed then it only makes sense that grace is not only the means through which we are saved but also gives us a purpose and task in order to accomplish the mission God has given His church with the power of His Spirit, which is to make all things new, restoring His perfect creation and in turn bringing glory to His name.

So the question remains…what am I…what are you…doing with the grace we have been given?

MacKenzie

Grief is as much a part of life as death and taxes. It will rear its head to every person on the planet in some form. Grief is a necessary emotion as we move through different situations that life brings us. We mostly associate grief with death, but that is not the only time it comes to life. 

Since the last part of May, Paul and I have been grieving. Nobody died. Nobody called and told us they are diagnosed with a terminal illness. We grieved because we knew what was coming in the months following our decision to return to Italy. It wasn’t getting rid of most of our things that made us grieve. Stuff can be replaced. No, that wasn’t it. What grieved us was knowing that we would say goodbye to people we loved…again. Except this time, there were more people on the list of goodbyes. I know that some of you reading this are sad at our leaving, but please keep in mind, that you have to say goodbye to four people while we have to say goodbye to everyone we know. That’s a cause for grieving. 

There were times I would sit on the couch, thinking about the many conversations I have had with good friends on that couch, and cry. There were other times while I was cooking I would think about how few meals I had left to share with people I care for deeply. And I cried. 

We grieved the things the kids would not have when we moved. We grieved over the kids saying bye to their friends. We grieved not being a part of Sundays at REVO. We grieved giving up our cat. We grieved the last holiday season we would spend with our families for a while. 

We grieved so very deeply. In some ways, we still do.

But there is such a thing as “good” grief.

We have been given the opportunity to be part of the greatest calling one can be given. We get to share the love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness of God to people in a place that has no idea what those concepts truly mean. This is a good thing. At times, I am overwhelmed that I get to be a part of it. After all, the God of the universe doesn’t need me to accomplish His mission, but He has chosen and asked me to be a part of it. This renders me speechless and makes me ask, “How could NOT go?”

So while we walk through this process, one that is at times painful and sad, we look on towards the goal of what Christ has called us to do and excitement begins to course through our veins. And it makes the grieving good. 

MacKenzie

 

When I first wrote about us going back to Italy I promised to answer some questions at some point. Some point has arrived. Here are answers to some of the questions we have been asked and some that we know will be coming. 

Where are you going and where is it? We are headed to Salerno, which is about 30 minutes south of Naples.

Why are you going back? If you are a follower of Jesus, then you are sent to someone. For us, that someone is Italians. Our question for you is to whom are you sent? Is it your co-workers, your neighbors, the people in the apartment complex down the street, college students? And what are you doing to be part of their lives?

Why don’t you want to stay and minister to people in America? See answer to the above question.

What will you be doing? We will be working with a church plant, Nuova Vita. We will also be heading up a team to reach out to university students at the University of Salerno. 

Will you be by yourselves? Nope. We will be working alongside Justin and Abbey Valiquette. They are pretty great and we can’t wait to work with them. 

Do you have a sending organization? We are currently applying to go with Great Commission Ministries. 

Are you being sent out by a church? REVO church is our sending church, which means they pray for us, encourage us, maintain contact, and support us financially. 

How will you be paid? We will rely on monthly donor support. If you would like to support us click on the donate tab at the top of the page. 

Where will you live? We don’t know yet. We will find an apartment when we get there. 

What did you do with all of your things? We sold most of it. If it won’t fit in one of twelve bags, then it doesn’t get to go. We will have to furnish our apartment when we get there from top to bottom. 

What will you do about the kids schooling? We will send them to public school. Going to school with Italians will help them learn the language, make friends, and acclimate to the culture better than homeschooling. And honestly, it’s not in my DNA to homeschool. 

If you have any questions not answered here, please ask! We love talking about what we will be doing.

Ciao,

MacKenzie

 

Dear REVO,

Paul and I had an opportunity a couple of weeks ago during the services of each campus to address the church one last time. I opted not to say anything for a couple of reasons. I really didn’t know what I would say. More importantly, I felt like anything I would say would take away the focus from God and put it on us. Wesley and Paul did a great job at keeping our focus on whom it should have been. 

But there are things that I want the people who make up REVO to know. Please excuse the format that I am using but it seemed the most efficient way to reach you all. 

It is rare that a person can say being a part of a group of people have made you better. REVO, you have made me better. I have grown and matured in my walk with Jesus, in how I view the world, and how I approach life since being a part of REVO. Thank you.

When we first moved here three years ago I didn’t really know anybody. I was still dealing with the awfulness that is morning sickness so I wasn’t able to meet people for a few weeks after we arrived. To be honest, it took a little while to fit in and find my place because of it. But you, church, welcomed me and lovingly helped me find my place. Thank you. 

You have loved our children with incredible abundance. Thank you. 

There are a few groups of people I’d like to address. 

To Elizabeth, Shana, Linda, Lauren, Cary, and Leigha. You were all so gracious as I attempted to lead that group. You challenged me, pushed me, encouraged me, loved me, and stretched me. You helped push me closer to Jesus and I don’t know that I ever would have read the entire bible in a year without you. You are all so dear to me. I love you. 

To the Wednesday night couple’s group on North Campus. I never would have thought a group of people could connect so quickly. I am still amazed at how it happened with all of us. Some of my favorite times in the last few months has been sitting in a circle hashing through hard things with you all. One thing that I am sorry about in leaving is that I do not feel that I have had enough time with you. I love you. 

To Erin and Heather. Thanks for making it safe to be vulnerable and for helping me see my sin and how to change things that need changing. Some of the most significant and gospel-centered conversations I have had occurred sitting on a couch sipping tea or coffee with one or both of you. I love you. 

To the Sunday Lunch Bunch, both past and present. Words fail me…almost. Thank you for coming over to eat lunch with us each week and invading our lives. It was a most welcomed invasion. Trying to figure out how we would all fit at the table and then trying to carry on conversations while the kids were constantly interrupting has been something I look forward to each week. Thank you for being a consistent part of our lives for the last three years. I love you. 

That’s about it, I guess. I have loved, absolutely loved, being a part of REVO. It has been something special to see it from the being until now. I will miss so many things, but most of all I will miss you. 

Much love,

MacKenzie

There are lots of hard parts of leaving. The sadness that accompanies packing up a home that holds so many memories. Saying goodbye to people. Finding new homes for beloved pets. Lots of things are hard about it. For me, though, the hardest thing is not the actual leaving. It’s what happens after I leave a place, a people. 

Life will continue to happen, for me and the people I know, whether we are in each others’ daily lives or not. Knowing that I will not be present at different things that will happen in the lives of my friends and family is so hard for me it is almost unbearable. I’m not sure if this is something that is difficult for all who move overseas or for all who just move away from people they love. But I can tell you from experience, it is so incredibly hard being on the other side of the world and missing things. 

I will miss birthday parties; children I held as babies when they came home from the hospital losing their first tooth, starting school, going to prom, and graduating; deaths; births; Sunday lunches; seeing friends fall in love and get married; hanging out watching football; playing games with a group of close friends; Christmas mornings with family; gumbo and bread pudding and stews in winter. 

I could go on and on with all the things I will miss out on. And it’s hard. I find myself already becoming jealous at the thought of friends hanging out with other friends because we aren’t around anymore. Of friends who come over on Sunday for lunch going somewhere else for lunch. I’m jealous of the new volunteers who are working in “my” room on Sunday instead of me, loving babies that I Iove so much. 

But change is part of life. Always has been, always will be. No amount of me not liking it will stop it from occurring. 

So I press in to the One who is never changing, who is constant and steadfast. I try to learn from Him what steadfastness looks like and how to be that myself. I will cling to the only One I can cling to who will never leave me, never move on. And when I cling, I find hope. I find rest. I find peace. And I find that in the moments when I am sad or jealous that I am missing so much I get a glimpse of the bigger picture and understand that every missed moment is worth it because He is worth everything.

Even the missed moments. 

Last night I received a wee gift from a dear friend. It is a beautiful three leaf clover necklace. My friend gave it to me with the stipulation that whenever anyone asks who gave it to me I had to tell them, “My Irish friend.” This I will gladly do. 

When she pulled it out of the box and gave it to me I was overcome with love and how much I will miss her stories and her hugs and her smile and her quiet humor. 

This is only the first. The first in a series of goodbyes to come this week. We leave Winston-Salem next Saturday to head back South to spend time with family. And while I am so excited and chomping at the bit to get this journey started, I am heartbroken. 

One would think after all the change and moving I have done since moving to Texas over ten years ago that I would be used to saying goodbye. But it never seems to get easier. Only harder as I age and increase in the knowledge of the value of friendships. 

I read the following verse on a friend’s blog several days ago:

“And anyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” Matthew 19:29

The promise in this verse is so great. But it’s the first part that had me thinking as we drove home last night after I received my precious wee gift. Jesus KNOWS what and who we are leaving. He names them, which to me indicates he knows their importance, their significance in our lives. I find that comforting. He knows how hard it is because he did it. He left his heavenly Father to come to the earth that was his footstool. He left his mother and brothers and sisters to accomplish the mission for which he left heaven. 

So, as I enter this last week in Winston-Salem, one which will be filled with goodbyes and leaving, I take comfort in knowing my Lord did it too.  

I’ve been absent for a while. A long while. I’ll catch up on all the things that have been going on soon but for now…have you noticed anything different? 

Yep…I gots myself a new do. 

I decided a while back the blog needed an upgrade. So, after about a year of trying to figure out what do to…I finally got it. You’ll notice that this blog is through wordpress, not blogger, and that it has a new domain name (www.mackenziemdavidson.wordpress.com). I’m really excited about the different features this blog has. There’s a section where you can learn why we are going to Italy. There’s a section where you can contact us. And the granddaddy of them all…there’s a section where you can donate to our work. The content of the posts will generally remain the same. I’ll write about what we are doing in Salerno, how ministry is going, how the kids are surviving better than we are, what God is teaching me, and so on and so forth. 

I have always tried to be honest in my writing. I don’t want to paint a picture that is not accurate. Life is not always pretty. It is messy and hard and there are bad days. There will be plenty when we land on foreign soil. So if you want to know the messy details of life, both good and bad, in a foreign country, then I hope you will keep coming back to read about our upcoming adventure. 

There are a few people who helped me along the way of getting the new blog up and running and I want to give them the shout out they deserve. 

Stephen Wright, thank you for helping me with technical things. I was lost and frustrated until you walked in and made it look so simple. Thanks for being patient, for the visit, and for being one of those friends both Paul and I will still have in 20 years. That goes for Ally as well. 

Erin Etheridge, famously known as The Fierce Beagle, thanks for pushing me, encouraging me, spending time working on a blog that we ended up scrapping, telling me it was ok to have dreams and to go for them, for dreaming with me, and for telling me I can do it. I love you tremendously. 

And lastly, to Paul for not telling me I was silly or naive to have such big ideas and dreams for myself. Thanks for always being my rock. I love you.