Chris & Lynn and the PandemicYou may be wondering how does one do missions work while there is pandemic going on? Now more than ever the work of full-time missions is critical for those struggling with the world wide pandemic. Everyone needs easy access to the Bible to brings comfort, answers and light.
Chris is able to work from home, enabling his work with original biblical languages to be an immediate benefit to reach the lost and dramatically aid in translation work.
For Lynn, counseling has moved from face to face, in person counseling to talking over FaceTime and Zoom with those who need a listening ear and prayer.
The beauty of technology provides much needed times of, encouragement and prayer for staff but also to the greater community we live in where people are fearful, stressed and need Gods love to see them through the days ahead as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc with our day to day lives.
~ The bible transforms individual lives, but it can also change nations.~
New Life
They say that things change within your heart when your kid, has a kid. That has certainly been the case with the arrival of William Cylas Toney. Cylas was born on Valentines Day to our oldest son Will ( goes by his first name now) and his lovely wife Adrienne. Lynn was able to fly right before things got tricky with the virus to help out with baby and help Will and Adrienne move We are so blessed with our first grandson and couldn’t be more proud of Will. Can’t wait til the next time we can connect with these three.
What a Decade!
10 years. So much has happened. 10 years – each and every one of you walking with us, praying for us and being side by side with us in missions. 10 years – you, our supporters, have journeyed with us through the tears and the joys. 10 years of ups and downs. Let us look back over the last decade to some major highlights of Chris and Lynn in missions; serving those around the world and in their local community.
Accidents Happen
Having two accidents in the early months of 2010 was an experience we both would rather not repeat. Lynn’s boating accident, a collision between a water taxi on which she was riding and another boat, left bumps, bruises and a severe shoulder dislocation for Lynn, and a fatality on the other boat. Months of doctor and PT visits while doing rehab exercises were left interrupted by the second accident of 2010. Chris was throw from an horse during a family day out celebrating our two oldest son’s 18th and 16th birthdays. Chris sustained major injuries to his brain resulting in a long stay in the hospital, medically induced coma and several medical tests to determine that a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) has long lasting and irreversible damage.
What we learned in those early months of the decade: That you can and will have strong support and will tangibly see the results of countless people praying and have the knowledge that you are never alone in God’s embrace and love.
What we are still learning: That life can be lived to the fullest no matter the obstacles; and that a change in course, no matter the size or the event, can bring new things, great things if we only hear, obey and trust in the Lord.
God is our refuge and strength, our ever present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
Boat’s Goodbye
Living on boats and calling them home for almost 5 years while doing full time missions, while homeschooling your 3 kids, while running DTS schools, while living in VERY small quarters, while overseeing the day to day operations of two large Catamarans was an exhilarating experience to say the least. From hurricane seasons and sailing to safe harbors, to seeing God in nature, to watching students come to a deeper relationship with their Lord, to the perfect sunset, to breakdowns and missing parts, to down pours of rain, to dolphins frocking in the bow, to dark nights of long sails, to worshiping God on the water, saying goodbye to the boats in order to be full-time on land brought a mixture of emotions.
What we learned: An experience of a lifetime. That God will meet you in the most unexpected ways. To hold fast to a dream created by Him. To never give up, even when everyone around you says otherwise.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in touch with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25
The Nest is Empty
2013 marked the beginning for Chris and Lynn of what is affectionally called “Empty Nesting” in the U.S. It’s the season of when all of your kids are out of the house and on their own. Will (Cameron), Josh and Jessie were moving into adult living while Chris and Lynn where able to expand ministry focus to include travel and teaching abroad while still serving as base leaders in Belize.
What we learned: That hard work, trusting the Lord with your kids, being consistent and showing Gods love to them, can pay off to be blessed with amazing adult kids. **If you’re in the season of child rearing, have hope your love and care will pay off.
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
The Passing of the Baton
We don’t know about you, but often times the Lord moves through big events and/or changes, prayer, ideas, nudges, scripture or what the world would call a “coincidence”. Looking back now, there were signs; there were things already in motion (remember the comment about learning?) that started off slowly and built momentum as we handed off of our roles as base leaders of Destination Paradise, a Youth With a Mission training base originally founded on sailing boats, and eventually became a strong training campus with over a hundred students each year completing schools, outreaches and internships.
What we learned: What you think you are going to do forever can change… be open to the possibility of bigger and better as the Lord guides and directs your path. Do you have the faith to step out into the unknown? Sure you do; just trust Him and He will show you the way.
For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7
New Beginnings (again)
Starting off in missions in 1997 left us with the exhilaration and excitement of what have we done?! sense of nervousness for what was next. Who would have known that the Lord would take us, teach us, train us, be with us, and guide us in so many different ways (Mercy Ships, Captain, homeschooler, teacher, trainer, counselor, bible scholar etc..), taking us all over the world and reaching countless people. Leaving Belize allowed for a widening the net, going deeper with new things. He landed us in Kona, but He paved the way for us to travel, to teach and to go.
What we learned: Anything is possible with the Lord. Hold on tight! You might think you know what the ride will be like, but it turns out to be the ride of a lifetime complete with immeasurable faith and heart pounding experiences. Given the choice, we wouldn’t change it for anything!
With man, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. Matt 19:26
Let Us Learn (more)
In hindsight, it is easy to see where the Lord was directing both Chris and Lynn from 2011 and onward to the later part of the decade. Who would have known that both of us would continue education beyond university in fields that we love and that we would engage that learning so extensively and internationally in the coming years, and now in, of all places, at the U of N campus in Kona Hawaii. Chris started in 2011 with the first of 2 masters degrees through Fuller Seminary. Our neurologist has said many times that Chris’s academic studies helped him in the early years of recovery by stimulating healing by learning. Lynn followed a few years later with the desire to glean more information in the field of counseling and coaching. Association of Christian Biblical Counselors certification was quite stretching with a steep earning curve. Both of our certifications and degrees are used every day for the greater progress of the kingdom.
What we learned in the process of more education: That you’re never too old to learn. That there is so much out there to do, see and be a part of when education has been fostered, nurtured and grown.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me- put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9
No More
How do you explain the term gut wrenching? That pit in your stomach? That headache that comes from stress? That sinking feeling of dreams lost, vision blurred and plans that will cease to happen? Living and doing ministry in Belize was always tricky. Did we see things coming as they unfolded? No. Were there always challenges with the Belizean government from the first day we sailed into this beautiful nation? Yes. Could the base and its new leadership have done anything to stop the ways of a corrupt government? No. The base closure still has long term effects for us both, former YWAM DP staff and those Belizeans we loved and were blessed to be a part of their lives. We always trust that the Lord has hopes and dreams far beyond what we can imagine or understand.
What we learned: That in the storm, you may not know, can’t see, or feel the reasons for what is happening- but can trust that this too shall pass. When you’re in the midst of the pain, God can and will bring clarity, love and care to his kids.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19
As you know we have four primary elements to the transition we are currently in. To remind you quickly, they are: the sale of our home on Whidbey and purchase of home in Kona, doing our best to secure the long term presence of YWAM DP in our presently leased property in Belize, the formation and development of our leadership team and the completion of Chris’s academic endeavors. The first of these elements has taken a very major step forward as we have sold our house on Whidbey Island!