You know us missionaries…we like to talk. It’s more rare than common place since we are so spread out around the world. But when you do get the chance to rub shoulders with those in long term missions the topics of conversation are vast, but one topic is never left out, never pushed to the side. The topic is support. That is every missionary’s lifeline. The word “support” often simply connotates financial support. But those of us who serve, that word means WAY more than that.
When we walked through Pastor Steve’s office door back in 1996, we shared that we felt called into long term missions. We thought surely, Pastor Steve would know what our next steps would look like. We were met with encouragement but also a fun little smile as he shared that since the church hadn’t yet sent out any missionaries, he didn’t really know what next steps were! Canyon Hills Community Church was founded only a year prior with a number of us standing with Steve and Tammi to start a new daughter church in Bothell Washington.
Let’s get back to the topic of support and talking with fellow missionaries. After being on the mission field for only a few years, we realized that we had something really special with Pastor Steve and CHCC. Time after time we heard horror stories of missionaries feeling lonely and isolated, feeling like outcasts, not feeling safe as they stepped out into the world of missions. Fellow missionaries would tell stories of begging for prayer coverage, resources, funds and sadly, to be remembered, from their own churches. Now don’t me wrong, selling your house and worldly possessions, leaving your church, your family and friends is insanely scary. Not to mention, we had three super young kiddos that came with Chris and I. Words cannot due justice; the amount of terror and exhilaration for Chris and I in those months leading up to our departure in April of 1997. But where so many missionaries struggled, we were/are so very blessed. Even though we were thousands of miles across the world, (without internet/phones in our early years) we never once felt those things listed above from other missionaries… never once. That’s because support is more than money. Having the support of Canyon Hills and Pastor Steve, we always felt seen, safe, valued, heard and encouraged in addition to finances. We had no idea how bad others had it until the stories would come, the tears would flow of those that struggled, that served right alongside us but had come from different sending churches.
Canyon Hills Charter Members (can you find Chris and the kids? Lynn took this photo while pregnant with Jessie)Pastor Steve’s first baby dedication, Jessie at 8 days old!Our Missions send off at Canyon HillsVisit to Belize by Pastors Steve and CoreyOctober 13, 2024 – Pastor Steve’s Celebration Service
We have had over the course of our 27 years in missions some really great mountain top experiences and some deep valleys of sadness with the loss of my parents, Chris’s near fatal accident while serving in Belize in 2010, our base closure in 2019 and its many issues and more recently, our son Josh and his disappearance while hiking in 2021. Through those mountains and valleys Steve, our missions pastor Corey along with the elders of Canyon Hills created our safe place and safe haven. Of course God is ultimately our safe place but God has used our sending church for that tangible safety. In the mission world, it’s unheard of to the degree that we have been loved on and cared for all these years.
This last Sunday, October 13th, Chris and I hopped on a plane to say goodbye to Pastor Steve for his very last sermon as head pastor of Canyon Hills Community Church. We felt it only fitting to be there with his last sermon as we were there for his very first sermon 29 years ago. There were many tears of joy and sadness for those throughout the arena. I cannot begin to count the texts, the FaceTime calls, cell phone calls and meals we have had over the years with Steve. One fun memory I was reminded of is the time Pastor Corey and Pastor Steve flew to Belize to experience first hand, missions with the Toneys (can anyone say killer mosquitoes?!)
Steve… thank you. Thank you for never forgetting us, for laughing and crying with us, for your support from afar and near. Thank you for being one of the most amazing persons we have been able to call friend. Thank you for being so real and grounded and never letting the role of “Head Pastor” get to your head. Thank you for letting me pick on you, pester and bother you via text. Chris and I know that Pastor Coby, the elders and Pastor Corey and members of CHCC will continue to love us and all their “supported” missionaries well in this transition. But it just won’t be the same.
Pastor Steve, your legacy will always be a part of our family’s testimony in serving in missions.
When I consider the multitude of amazing stories that come from the past quarter-century in missions, the two-weeks I spent in Mauritania with my friend and shipmate Bruce is one of the most memorable. The Anastasis was in The Gambia, a small country in West Africa in early 2000. I had the opportunity to go ashore and participate in a ministry activity different than my duties aboard the ship. I was thinking that Bruce and I would ride our motorbikes off into the bush to fix wells or something like that – but that changed one morning when I met a man from Mauritania on the ferry across the river Gambia. Knowing that French is the official language of Mauritania I said “Bon Jour”. My French is not very good but we had a nice conversation anyway. As the ferry reached its destination, I thought I would be clever and asked this man to deliver a message to the people of his country; “Tell them that Jesus loves them” I said. Mauritania is a closed Muslim country under Sharia law. I felt pretty good about myself as I started my motorbike and rode off the ferry – that is, till I heard an unmistakably clear voice, almost as if it was audible. “You go tell them” the voice said.
Since Mauritania is closed to the Gospel, we needed to be wise as we were obtaining our visas at the consulate. We were strictly tourists as far as the government was concerned. I had never been in a place that was serious about not permitting missionaries into their country. It was quite disconcerting but also very exciting especially because I had an Arabic bible that I was planning to smuggle into the country. We arrived at the airport in Nouakchott, Mauritania and I prayed hard during the hour or so it took us to get through customs and immigration. I was enormously relieved when the contraband I brought with me was not found.
Bruce and I spent several days in Nouakchott visiting some undercover ministries located there. There are Christians working in every nation on earth, sometimes under the cover of a business or as aid workers. One of the folks we met with was doing an exciting translation work and had a travel business. Through him, we rented a pickup truck and driver along with a few hundred liters of fuel in two drums in the bed of the truck. Our destination was about 700 kilometers inland to a place called Chinguetti. The driver had a very long Arabic name that we could not pronounce, so we called him Bob. He got used to it and seemed to like his new name. He didn’t speak English and we didn’t speak Hassaniya Arabic, but he and I both spoke bad French so we got by.
About 80% of Mauritania is Sahara Desert. After many hot, dusty hours with Bruce and Bob in our Toyota HiLux pickup on dirt/sand roads, we arrived in Chinguetti, the Seventh Holy City of Islam. The walled city was built 777 AD and by the 13th Century was an an important stop along the Salt Route between Mecca and Timbuktu. The ancient city is on one side of the wadi (dry riverbed) and the new village of a few hundred people on the other. We stayed in the Auberge de Chanteclair, an inn catering to the few tourists who make this trip into the middle of literally nowhere.
After a great night sleep, we met Jeddon a young man in his 20s who gave us a tour of the old city after breakfast. It was fascinating to say the least. No velvet ropes! Many of the buildings had crumbled but others had been preserved by the desert. The bibliothèque (library) was still intact with various scrolls on mathematics, astronomy, and other subjects on the shelves. I asked Jeddon if there were any scrolls about Issa (Jesus, considered a prophet in Islam). Jeddon said he thought there had been some but they had been moved to the museum in Nouakchott. He showed us some other scrolls. We held scrolls that were at least 600 years old in our hands!
After the truly mind blowing experience at the bibliothèque we walked across the wadi to the new side of the city/village where we met who we thought was the mayor of the town. As it turns out, he was not the mayor but he was a camel driver. He offered to take us to an oasis far to the northwest of Chinguetti in the morning. Of course, we accepted with enthusiasm. The next morning we woke up early and made our way to where “The Mayor” told us to meet him. Three camels awaited us and Bruce named his camel Otis. Bruce is a pretty big guy and Otis was quite verbally unhappy that Bruce was chosen to ride him. Finally, with much snorting, grunting, wincing and what was unmistakably camel cuss words, Otis was able to stand up with Bruce smiling on his back. It was hard not to laugh hysterically but I somehow managed.
Now, imagine the scene as Bruce, the Mayor and I were cruising across the Sahara Desert on camels, wearing our keffiyehs (Bedouin head coverings) toward an oasis. By 10am, it was 118 degrees. Around noon we arrived and the Mayor dismounted next to some date palms and motioned for us to do the same. He took the blanket off his camel and spread it out on the sand under the shade of the trees. He reached into a small cloth bag and pulled out a handful of nuts and tossed them on the blanket. We didn’t have any language in common but it was clear that he wanted us to take a rest on the blanket. What he did next was something that I will never forget. He pulled out a wooden bowl and from his bag he emptied something like flour. He had a whole goat tied to his camel that had been emptied of its insides. It made a great water carrying bag! He untied the cord around the end of one of the goat’s legs and poured water into the bowl. He mixed the concoction and formed it into what looked like a large pancake. He buried it in the sand. Then he pulled some of the bark from a date palm and arranged it in a small pile on top of the buried pancake. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed that in order to start the fire, he pulled out a Bic lighter. After a few minutes he moved the fire off to the side, uncovered the buried pancake, turned it over, reburied it and moved the fire back in place. Not long later he extinguished the fire and retried the now burnt bread. He scraped off the burned portion with a pocket knife, broke the bread and handed it to Bruce and I. It was the best bread I have ever had; not because of how it tasted.
The Mayor then, pointing at the blanket, said in English “sleep” as he mounted his camel and rode off into the desert. Bruce was out in seconds but I just had to explore. I climbed to the top of the nearest sand dune. From this vantage point, I could see dune after dune after dune in every direction. After climbing down and back up again on about four more dunes, I was confident that I was on the highest one in the area. I got to thinking about the sheer number of grains of sand before my eyes. Many scriptures speaking of grains of sand came to mind. I considered how few Christians would be within 1000 miles of where I was standing with Western Sahara and Morocco to the northwest, Algeria to the north, and Mali to the east and southeast. Even though I was in many ways very alone, I felt the presence of the Lord in profound ways. I began to shout out all the names of God that I could think of as loudly as I could. I dropped to my knees in the sand and wept. Profound is a word that does not come close to describing the hour I spent on top of that sand dune.
As I stood and turned to retrace my steps, it became clear that the breeze had covered my tracks. Nonetheless I found my way back to the oasis where Bruce was just waking up. As I shared my experience with him, the Mayor returned, retrieved his blanket and we made our way back to the village. Otis complained but not as much as when he first met Bruce.
The next morning I was in the small room we had rented. I was gathering my things as we were headed back toward Nouakchott that day. My pack was laying on the floor as Jeddon came into the room. A small tool bag had fallen out of the top of my pack and Jeddon asked about it as he had never seen tools like the little ratcheting screwdriver I had. As we were talking I had the unmistakable feeling that my prayers about who to give the Arabic Bible I had smuggled into the country were about to be answered. Bruce and I had an agreement that we would make the decision together since we would both be punished if it was discovered by the authorities. As Jeddon and I were talking, Bruce walked in. He and I locked eyes and he knew exactly what I was suggesting without a word being said. He smiled and nodded with approval. I reached into my pack and unzipped the ‘secret’ compartment where I had stashed the bible. I handed the book to Jeddon. He said in French, “Is this a gift to me from you”? I thought about it and replied “no, this is a gift to you from God”. Jeddon opened the book to a random portion and began to read out loud. He happened to open to the book of Matthew. As he read, he began to read faster and more loudly. He was clearly excited to be reading this book, perhaps because he recognized some of the characters such as Abraham or perhaps the Holy Spirit was knocking on his door. A tear rolled down my cheek and a gentle smile formed across my lips as I saw Jeddon holding the living Word of God in his hands and reading His words aloud. Wow.
What did I learn? J.R.R. Tolkien knew what he was talking about when he had Bilbo say to Frodo “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
What did I take away from this story? When we are faithful, willing, and available, amazing things can happen.
How can this story be applied to your own life? What is our job as Christians? Missionaries? Go save people, right? No, people don’t save other people, that is God’s work. Recalling this story reminds me to listen to The Lord and do what He says. Sometimes, we are blessed to see the fruit of the work and have the opportunity to pray with someone to receive Jesus. Sometimes we plant seeds and most of the time we water those that have already been planted. I was blessed to plant some seeds in Chinguetti, Mauritania. I have no idea how far the gift of that bible has gone and might reach. I may never know. And that’s okay.
What do a Barbie, a barrel and a dream have in common?
I know, funny title for our first look back over 25 years in missions. Let me give you some context. Being raised in the church from a young age, missionaries came and went. Seeing missionaries during the 60’s and 70’s was, let’s just say… perplexing. As a young girl, I was always drawn to and intrigued by their slides, projected on the screen of faraway lands and enchanting faces starring back at me. What confused me was the way in which the church embraced missionaries while on their furloughs. The notion of the “clothing barrel” for missionaries, unbeknownst to me was etched forever in my impressible young heart. Frankly, don’t judge me, missionaries were scary looking (think 70’s decade). Unkempt and wearing used clothes didn’t compare to the polished, gleaming white starched button down that our pastor wore every Sunday. What I didn’t know, the “used tea bag” mentality was firmly established in me, colliding with the hint of a dream that someday, I too could go to distant lands.
Fast forward 30 years, Chris and I and our very young kiddos were embarking upon a journey of a lifetime. Selling our house and its contents, cramming all our earthly belongings into 10 duffel bags, thankfully a 70-pound limit, back in the day helped with our packing. Saying goodbye to family and friends and seeing those slideshow faces of yesteryear slowly coming back into focus was our new reality. It’s hard to adequately share the full throttle of feelings one has when the unknown beckons, but the familiar is still present. In the midst of the excitement and sheer terror (on a bad day) of leaving, I’m met with my first collision of my little girl thoughts and the fireside room of my childhood church with those missionaries and my adult self where coming head-to-head, without me even knowing it.
I’m compelled, no… I’m drawn to a purposeful and calculated mama bear moment. Remember, we are in the deep end of the pool of letting go of our quaint suburban life, (picket fence included) to live overseas and be full time missionaries. Out of the many tasks we had to do to get ready, one stands out like it was yesterday. I buy a barbie doll for my then, 1 year daughter. There, I said it. Yep, a barbie doll. For a 1-year-old. What was I thinking? Well, a lot, actually. Little did I know, I was acting on the premise that I didn’t want our kids to go without; subconsciously feeling that a used missionary barrel somehow would be shoved into our children’s chubby little hands filled with broken, used rusted out toys on our first return from serving overseas. In buying this toy, my thoughts are… “I will save the barbie for when our daughter is older, so she will have something to play with.” This thought, was implanted in my naïve little heart way back when, somehow believing that God doesn’t fully care for or limits those called to serve as missionaries!!! He doesn’t look after us like He does my pastor at the pulpit. He looks after those here in the good old U S of A…. but limits Himself to those serving Him. I wanted to protect my kids, save them from what I had so ill perceived, that God was withholding, being cheap and not looking after ALL His flock. It took me years to connect the dots of the “barbie”. I always felt God’s presence, had read scripture, seen God at work in our lives countless times, knowing that He is Faithful. When I really got the fuller revelation of the barbie doll (could have been any toy for any of our kids) it literally transformed the way I viewed God and viewed myself as a missionary. In any walk of life or season, all of us can have a tendency to think in terms of God being limited verses unlimited. Of God being our everything, verses our flesh stating the opposite.
For years it bothered me to have those confusing memories of my church and what I saw when a missionary came through the door. What once was painful, became a forever life defining moment in how God used that experience to lead me to continually expand this profound yet challenging truth…
DON’T PUT GOD IN A BOX
By putting Him in any number of boxes, (in my case barrels, lol) we are the ones who are limited, not truly seeing His power and majesty. So,breakopen the box, destroy the box, burn the box and watch and see how the Lord can work in and though you.
What did I learn?
Recognizing that I had a belief from a young age, that distorted my view of God, that contradicted what I knew deep down, and was taught and I understood of God…yes even at a young age.
What did I take away from this story?
I believe that experience as a kid and the buying of the barbie as a 30-year-old, brought about in me, a foundation and springboard to one of the greatest platforms I still have and use today as a counselor, that as every day folk, we have a choice, a choice to see and understand who God is, to believe God is who He says He is. All the time, and in all things.
How can this story be applied to your own life?
Understand what you believe (theology) by intentionally pursuing a relationship with God. If you sense there were or are life changing moments in your life, big or small- talk to the Lord, connect with a counselor, unpack it and get your heart right. Don’t hold onto fear, anger and be stubborn with issues of forgiving another or your self.Stand true, in that choice of no matter how you are feeling, God can use you, woo you and sees you. Take a leap of faith, dream a little deeper, be a little bolder, take a chance on something new. Chris and I are just ordinary people. If we can do it, so can you.
A big shout out to our barrel and barbie busting church of over 25 years. To our friend Pastor Steve, you never put us in a box, never limited Chris and I in all our crazy adventures these 25 years. To Pastor Corey and the elders, thank you for truly letting missionaries do as God intends. To listen and obey to the call on our lives to serve Him.
Even before you begin something, you can imagine what it might be like as you look into the future – just as we did back in 1997 when we were brand new missionaries. And when you have been doing that thing for a long time, you can take the opportunity to remember as we are now doing 25 years later. Early on, we adopted three words that we still believe mark our mindset, disposition, hopes and dreams: Faith. Life. Adventure. As we remember the truly amazing adventure we have lived by faith, we are acutely aware that it is a combination of our own choices and obedience and the love and prayers of so many who have walked alongside us, that have opened so many doors and continue to bless and encourage us. Remember with us as we share some of our memories of the past 25 years throughout this coming year.
Joy is not dependent on context like happiness is. The joy that is ingrained in us is deep and rich. Considering the past quarter century, sometimes the stormy seas were immensely rough and life was hard, other times smooth sailing and sunny skies allowed us to breath deeply without straining or striving. Rejoice with us as we recount some of the ups and downs of the past 25 years over this next year.
Think about the feeling you get when you finally see something clearly, below the surface, like the moral of an Aesop’s Fable, the punchline of a joke or the resolution of the convoluted plot-line of a movie. The revelation is as refreshing as it is exciting isn’t it? As we think about the many experiences we have had all over the world, the depth and meaning of the time we have spent with people from many backgrounds, languages and worldviews, is something that we rarely realize until some time has passed and the deeper meaning sets in. Perhaps, over this next year, the messages we will be sending you with highlights of our missions experience will be a catalyst for you to realize some of the deeper meaning in your relationships and experiences with others as well.
Chris and Lynn
Here is a snap shot of some of the events that shaped our last 25 years. Be on the lookout for stories coming your way soon.
Prior to April 1997 We lived in Kirkland, WA, had three little kiddos (ages 4,2,1), Chris had a good job as the captain on a large yacht, Lynn was a stay at home mom with her own photography business and we were very active in church; life was great.
April -August 1997 Discipleship Training School with Mercy Ships in Texas and outreach in Trinidad.
October-November 1997 Chris aboard the Caribbean Mercy as a deck officer for a trip through the Panama Canal.
January – December 1998 Family aboard the Island Mercy in the Pacific from New Zealand to the Philippines and many island nations in between. Chris as a deck officer and Lynn as photographer and mom.
1999-2003 Family aboard the Anastasis- South Africa, West Africa, Europe. Chris as deck officer and Lynn in the International school, DTS staff, photographer and mom. 2003-2006 Transition from Mercy Ships to the founding of YWAM Destination Paradise. Chris served as the Technical Training Director for Mercy Ships in Texas for 15 months while Chris and Lynn worked on Destination Paradise off the ground. Then the family moved to Washington State to continue building the foundation for Destination Paradise.
2006-2016 YWAM DP throughout the Caribbean aboard sailing catamarans. Added a training campus on land in Belize.
2010 Chris’ head injury in Belize on a family excursion.
2016 Transition away from YWAM DP to University of the Nations, Kona, Hawaii.
As February 1st fast approaches, layers of emotions, adrenaline and thoughts propel both Chris and I, to dig a little deeper, seek after the Lord further and to continue to keep our heads above the water. February 1st represents the day that our son Josh departed and never came back.
We are asking those that have been on this journey with us to join in a more concerted prayer covering around the time of February 1st. Let me share a few thoughts and then go to prayer points at the end. I do want to convey that our journey is our journey. There are some of you who are going through way bigger and stronger trials, and we don’t want to minimize your grief and sorrow but felt to share thoughts about ours in the hope of bearing witness to God in who He is and who we should cling to in times of uncertainty.
It is difficult to articulate precise words and thoughts that come from the last 365 days that Josh has been missing. It is difficult to share a parent’s concern, worry and confusion. It is difficult to describe the emotional spectral ride we have been on this year. At the same time when words are hard to come by, faith flows like water from a stream when it comes to God’s presence, His comfort and His love to us as a family. God is and has been very real and very tangible.
Let me give you more context to February 1st. Josh has lived away from us since the age of 16; forging his own path and his own life. After leaving Belize, first was Canada, then as a Marine for 5 years and lastly living in Mexico for 2 years. Josh came to Hawaii at the age of 26 for a stopover for a few months. It was to be a time to seek out new opportunities (jobs or otherwise) and to be near the water which he craved; reminiscent of younger years aboard ships and sailing vessels as a child. Less than 5 months of reunion and being under the same roof does not give adequate time to really know someone, even if that someone is your adult son; especially since Josh was gone a lot, staying out alone for long periods of time. Josh has always been a world changer, doing things many would say are out of the box actions and thinking. We love him for his spiritedness despite his actions being somewhat unique to North America standards
Feb 1st can bring a multitude of quandary. Is it just an anniversary of Josh’s departure and not returning? Is Feb 1st representing another 365 days of wait and no closure? Does Feb 1st have him waltzing through the front door and stating his accomplishment of living off the land for a year? All these question marks are our reality. Of course, the latter outcome would be most wonderful, but his return creates another layer of depth in seeking clarity and understanding in the midst of the celebration.
There are two main areas where for me, the processing has been the most profound and real. Two areas that we have wrestled with these past 365 days.
Grief~ Grief in all our lives is never linear. Whether its loss of life, loss of a dream, of relationships, a pet or loss of a job; the pain is real, tangible and raw. God created us as humans to grieve with purpose; cycles of healing so that our bodies can handle pain and move along a continuum of health, reckoning and ultimately back to life all while living with a tasteless palatable loss. Cycles of grief include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and eventually acceptance all vacillating within our being to make sense of griefs reality. When counseling others over the years with those experiencing tremendous grief, I have often shared a quote to help those make sense of their extreme feelings. “Grief takes time for the heart and the mind to catch up to each other.” For us, these 365 days hasn’t produced the normal and natural “cycles” of grief. Nor has “time” healed. I have talked with other colleagues this year, prayed a lot this year but the progression of grief has been challenging to say the least with not having the proper closure one gets with those types of grief I listed above. We don’t have confirmation that Josh is dead or alive… we have no ending… only speculation… unknowns… and uncertainty…! Caught in an unending cycle of yuck. I’ve had death in my life from both my parents passing and loved ones over the years. All those lives lost; acceptance has occurred in due time as my body, soul and spirit has healed. Our journey at this moment in time, is a chasm of heart pain that goes down deep, unending and continuous, leaving the soul exposed; 365 days of unsurmountable sadness.
Tension~ Tension can be defined as the state or condition resulting from forces acting in opposition to each other, the state of being stretched tight. Living life with the constant “tension” of death for your son is rough, while opposing thoughts that he may be alive and that he is truly ok is hard to grapple with. Like a rubber band pulled with extreme pressure, we live in two worlds: living life, loving life and doing God stuff on one hand while having this shadow hanging over us on the other. Our faith and God’s sovereignty work together to enable us to live in pain while still trusting and fully living. God walks beside us in the midst of our pain. The world falsely tells us that life cannot be lived with these two opposing forces at play. With faith, Chris and I fight again that propaganda every day. Tension is even found in the little things. A helicopter sound that I never paid attention too before, makes my mama’s heart accelerate due to search and rescue memories. “Sightings” of Josh as you drive around town: a barefoot guy, a curly haired guy, a sun kissed shirtless guy keeps the tension pulled ever so tightly. We choose to fight for joy even when our hearts beckon to beat otherwise. The enemy and the world want to bring unfathomable pressure, squeezing you till you can’t breathe, removing the air from your lungs. The Lord brings life, strength and resolve.
Sharing prayer points is… let’s just say complicated. There are a lot of layers of pain yet knowing that God is good. He knows Josh’s where abouts and most importantly knowing that God is with our family’s struggle helps enormously.
Prayer points:That regardless of what Feb 1st brings and its future, The full awareness that God is always near That regardless of knowing or not knowing whether Josh is dead or not…we will be okThat regardless of our circumstances, we will trust… we will trust in the LordThank you for your continued prayers ~Lynn and Chris Thank you so much for being part of missions with us!
Your prayers and financial support are deeply appreciated.
We’d love to hear how you are doing and know how we can prayer with and for you. Please visit our contact and support info page
Isn’t it interesting how the seasons of life we are in can be really great and really tough all at the same time? We understand this duality very well right now. Our newsletter is our attempt to convey just that. We choose to focus on the great stuff while still acknowledging the not so good stuff. We choose to focus on life even though the uncertainty surrounding our son Josh (is he alive or is he not) is still present. There is much to be thankful for and much needed prayer. May you, in whatever season of life you are going through, choose life. Seek out the Lord, no matter what. We choose JOY. We choose LIFE.
But God, when You choose to leave mountains unmovable oh give me the strength to be able to sing It is well with my soul
Lyrics to Even If by Mercy Me
Chaplain
You know how the Lord sometimes orchestrates something through your work or ministry that you were never expecting? Well, for me, I had one of those “divine appointments” happen. As we have shared before, our theme of “the net” going deeper and wider in ministry continues to expand as new opportunities to serve comes our way. In addition to counseling to those on staff with YWAM and work within our community (Hospice, Postpartum Doula ministry for moms/newborns) a new ministry role has emerged. Once a week, I have the honor of coming along those who are hurt, sick or in trauma via the volunteer chaplaincy at our local hospital. Out of the various roles I’ve been blessed to do over the years, this one has kept me on my knees and stretched me the most with a deepening reliance and respect in the Lord. Each week as I move from the ER, to the ICU, to the cancer treatment rooms, to the main floors of recovery I’m struck so profoundly on how Jesus’s disciples must have felt, walking among those people in need. Please pray that I represent the Lord through prayer and scripture while coming alongside those who need a prayer, need someone to talk to and those that need to be seen. *Please be praying as the hospital just went on lock down to all visitors due to an increase of COVID cases in our area.
I have thought about the Bible a lot over the years. Whether traveling and teaching, studying, dissecting various passages, working with Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic, or having quiet times of personal reflection, a consideration of the origins, content, meaning, and impact of the Bible are often on my mind. This short article brings up some of those thoughts related to a very basic question:
What is the Bible?
That sounds like a simple enough question doesn’t it? Maybe not.
These four little words finished with a question mark contain within it, a million other questions that have been asked and answered a million different ways over millennia. On one hand, this question and its derivatives have been the catalyst for unsurmountable strife, wars, confusion, bitterness, anger, struggle and anguish – and on the other hand the source of much peace, unity, understanding, clarity and hope. On both hands there has been and remains much passion, conviction, and emotion. Many have made uncovering the answer their life’s work. Many others believe they have the answer and are fervently committed to the outcome they believe flows from their understanding; whatever that answer is. Still others, perhaps many throughout the world with wealth enough to travel, simply believe that the Bible is a book written by some guy named Gideon that they notice (or used to see) in a drawer of a hotel room. Others couldn’t care less.
Confronted with such a range of possible answers to this seemingly simple question, what are we to do? Some say, the Bible is a book of love; that sounds good. Others are quite adamant that it’s a book all about judgement and hate; shouldn’t we honor the opinions of others in 2021- a time in history when acceptance of others is (or seems to be) rather prevalent. Still other people say that the Bible is: just a collection of stories; a long list of rules; a great hoax; a book left by aliens; good text to steal, change a little bit and start a new religion; the truth; a lie; confusing; the source of hope; and the list goes on and on. Shall we pick the answer we like best? Shall we pick the one that the people we like believe is true? Shall we pick an answer that makes us feel good or that we think is right or that we don’t think is wrong? Is the answer relevant? Does it matter?
I should be able to answer that question, right? I’ve been a missionary for 25 years and have a couple of masters degrees in theology and biblical languages. I can give good answers from a number of perspectives including historical, theological, exegetical, logical, philosophical and practical but in the end, the real answer to the question “what is the Bible?” very much depends on all the other stuff that is behind and intertwined in the question by the asker. My own experience and education mean nothing if I don’t choose to open my eyes, ears and heart to the person asking the question. But then, are they, in fact, actually asking? – or do they already have an answer. Most of the time, people already have an answer.
Do you have an answer to the question, “what is the Bible?” Why do you believe the way you do about it? What is behind and intertwined in the question for you? Have you given it much thought? Have other people asked you this question? What did you tell them? What would you tell someone who asks you this afternoon? Would your answer be the same today is it might have been 5 years ago? Is there only one answer to this question?
William (Cameron) Adrianne and Family
Exciting news with the birth of grandbaby number 2. Vienna Marcelle Toney. Born in a rather exciting fashion May 21.Will delivered baby at their house, with labor being just under one hour, the midwife came 30 minutes after thier speedy delivery. Adrianne and Vienna are doing great. Will a brave Daddy is awesome and Cylas, (17 months) is an amazing big brother. All adjusting well to being a family of four. William (29), just started a new job (remotely) as a systems analyst for a company called Engine Impact. He is doing property management with a technical emphasis on application development and troubleshooting. What a blessing for this new role as it allows Adrienne to stay home with their amazing kiddos.
Jessie and Garrett
A time of celebration with the recent engagement of Jessie, our youngest and only daughter. Plans are already in the works with a summer wedding in July of 2022. We are so thrilled to be welcoming Garrett into our growing family. Here are some pictures from their engagement (in Leavenworth WA) and their engagement photo in HI. Jessie (25) continues to work at Fairfax hospital which is on the east side of Seattle. A number of months ago Jessie switched jobs within the hospital with more responsibility. She is currently the coordinator for release of information through the health information department.
Josh
With births and engagements in our family, there is much to celebrate. And yet, there continues to be sadness since Josh (27) has been missing for 6 months, since Feb 1st. What you see below are the pictures from Josh’s official missing persons report that we filed the week Josh went missing. As you can imagine, that is not something any parents wants to do. Details and the timeline of events can be read in previous updates. There has been, and continues to be an outpouring of support and prayer within this difficult season of tremendous unknowns. Your prayers have carried us in our hardest days. You asking about him via calls, emails and texts have been such a blessing as he is not forgotten while we wait and see…Please keep praying and please keep asking. Along with the rest of our family, we are hopeful that soon we will have answers to his whereabouts either way .
Where is YWAM in the World?
Evangelize. Disciple. Send.
We love the diversity of our missions. People from all walks of life ministering all over the world within the many spheres of society. YWAM Taipei is meeting people with a need for connection and relationship. The Rock Cafe, established in 1996 has been serving coffee for free for over 35 years. Providing ministry in their local community. From English classes to bible studies.. a church has been planted. Now, more than ever with the pandemic still creating seclusion and disconnect this vital ministry counties to bear fruit as the Taipeinesse people are shown practically, relationally and spiritually… Christ.
It is a small world after all… ! Sugi Mulyono and his lovely wife serve with YWAM Taipei. The small world factor is that Sugi served with us during our Mercy Ships days in the late 1990’s.
Palm Crosses A while back we did a project of making handmade crosses from the amazing Koa wood, grown here in HI. We spent many hours sanding and waxing; a labor of love. This palm cross can be displayed, have on a table or my favorite- to interact with. This “palm” cross fits perfectly in your hand for prayer and meditation. They are smooth and natural so they feel great curled in your hand. We have a few left over. If you are interested in one, please email Lynn (lynn@toneys.com). We would love to send you one, while supplies last!!!
For the past two months, the myriad of agonizing possibilities we have pondered regarding Josh’s disappearance essentially boiled down to two primary questions: Is he alive or is he dead? We came to the place where we realized that we may never know the answer and attempted to make peace with that. You may wrestle with whether it is coincidence, fate or an answer to prayer but we now have clear evidence that Josh is alive.
We wish we had more answers than we still have questions but that is not so. What we do know is this. Two months ago, Josh left his scooter at the trailhead leading into the northernmost of seven remote valleys comprising of hundreds of square miles in the northern part of the Big Island of Hawaii. With the exception of the most southern valley, access is only possible on foot or by helicopter. There are a very few structures scattered throughout the valleys left from the days when sugarcane was prominent in Hawaii. Crops were irrigated by water from the valleys. These cabins are now sometimes used by helicopter tour companies and by a few others such as department of land and natural resources workers.
Within the past week, Josh entered one of these cabins deep in one of the valleys and left behind several pages containing some thoughts and ideas in his handwriting. There is no doubt whatsoever that the author is Josh. The papers were found three days ago by a helicopter pilot who photographed them. A week before another helicopter pilot was at the same cabin and the papers were not there. The photographs were seen by a friend who works at the helicopter company familiar with Josh’s disappearance and recognized Josh’s birthday written on one of the pages along with several other clues as to the identity of the writer. He shared the photos of the papers with us and there is no question at all, they were written by Josh.
We are overjoyed that we are able to definitively answer one of the two primary questions we have been asking for the past two months. Josh is alive! While half of the myriad of agonizing possibilities we have been pondering are now resolved, the other half still remains. Half of a myriad is still a myriad.
So many have been praying, wondering, being frustrated, confused and hoping along with us. Thank you so much for your continued thoughts and prayers!
Dear Friends and Family, So far, 2018 sure has brought much challenge but also much joy. We hope you find our Summer 2018 Update interesting and informative – It will be great to hear back from you! All the very best, Chris and Lynn
Double Portion of Blessing
When is the last time you felt truly cared for? When was the last time you felt truly blessed? A few weeks ago, Chris and I felt and received both a sense of care and were blessed beyond measure. During our 22 years in full time missions our sending church in Bothell Washington, Canyon Hills Community Church have been right there, side by side with us, interceding for us, cheering us on and providing the much needed funds so that we can bring the gospel to the far corners of the globe. The first of two blessings is a video produced by the CHCC communications team, highlighting our journey as a young family, the call on our lives and the many stories of Gods faithfulness. Pictures of us from so long ago reminded Chris and I that we are not getting any younger (lol) but more so of Gods amazing love, provision and grace that has been extended and bestowed to our family. Thank you Canyon Hills, for wanting to show that an ordinary family can do extra ordinary things for the Lord. May our call to serve in missions, bring forth many to be released into the amazing journey of full time faith based missions.
The second blessing came in the way of retreat. A retreat is a place to get away, to leave the world of missions for a brief moment and to commune with the Lord. Canyon Hills blessed each of their supported missionaries with a 5 day retreat. We were pampered, loved, cherished, loved on well in those 5 days. A time to renew, refresh and remind each of us, our mandate. The theme was “ The Grove”. The idea of how does one cultivate that place in our hearts, in our minds to do the work we are called to do. How to nurture and protect what is precious to the Lord and to oneself so that we can go out again into this world and be at our best to bring Gods love, Gods peace and Gods light to those who do not know Him. A big thank you to our head pastor off CHCC, pastor Steve Walker and to our missions pastor Corey Mortimer who prayed and brought this retreat into being. You two and the team that supported us during the retreat have no idea the impact you have made for us all that are blessed to be a part of CHCC.
Seasons
Ecc 3:8 states: “To everything there is a season.” We have all been a part of seasons that provide revelation, clarity, unknown, character, hardship, joys and most of all growth. Seasons come and they go, much like the wind, sometimes swift and sometimes more in a calming way. YWAM DP the ministry and training base that Chris and I founded back in the early 2000’s and where we handed over the reigns 2 ½ years ago has had its fair share of seasons. The season of training and ushering in countless students and staff on a physical YWAM base has officially come to an end. Due to governmental issues, and other unique circumstances the doors of the base in Belize has closed. We are sad to say goodbye (again) but also are trusting the Lord for the possibly of new season, new vision, to potentially blow in once more. Thank you to DP’s amazing staff and to all students who have been and are yet to be a part of the many seasons of DP. A new season is beginning with the introduction of University of the Nations Online – a ministry of YWAM Destination Paradise. Stay tuned…
What Is Chris Up To?
If you ask me to summarize what I do in one sentence, I would say that I am working hard with many people from many ministries to end bible poverty. There are still over 1500 living languages that have no biblical witness at all and we are working hard to bring this number to zero.
I am currently hard at work in 4 primary areas: VerbView, Greek SourceView, Teaching Hebrew and Greek to students in the UofN Masters of Applied Linguistics in Bible Translation and putting the finishing touches on Biblical Hebrew Online course. I typically travel, teaching and speaking a great deal, but since the demise of YWAM DP’s campus in Belize and the many unpaid ministry debts that were left on the table (meaning… we get to cover them ourselves), finances have severely limited travel so far this year. In 2017, I was blessed to travel to, speak or teach in Nepal, India, Russia, Israel, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakstan, Turkey, Jordan, Cyprus, South Africa, The UK, Belize, and locations in the US.
VerbView is a soon to be added element to the SourceView Bible App which was produced by the Bible Innovation Team of which I am a part. VerbView looks at every verb in the Bible (yes, every verb) and identifies whether the action is something God did, does or will do – or is it the action of someone other than God. The idea is that if we want to know God, we look at what He has done and does. This very exciting project has already revealed some amazing insights about God and is defined to be the source of great discoveries about the Lord!
Greek SourceView If you are not yet familiar with the SourceView format of scripture (the first format change in Scripture in 500 years) it is quite innovative. I have completed formatting the Greek Scriptures into SourceView and am currently working on Hebrew. A number of other gifted folks are working hard on this and additional languages and tools will be included the SourceView Bible App soon.
MALiBT is short for Masters of Applied Linguistics in Bible Translation, one of a number of Masters level programs offered by the University of the Nations. I was asked to facilitate the teaching of both Hebrew and Greek to the students in this current program. What a privilege and joy!
UofN Online is a new ministry of YWAM Destination Paradise. I am nearly finished with our first University of the Nations Extension (online) Studies course, Biblical Hebrew Online and will have Biblical Greek Online available next. We plan to have many online course offerings in the future!
I have recently returned from a really great teaching and ministry trip – I LOVE what I am so blessed to do! (see photos below) The first stop represented the first time I was at YWAM DP in Belize for sixteen months. I had a chance to teach in their DTS on Leadership and Discipling the Nations. What a great group – and it was SO GOOD to see staff and friends I have spent so much time with over the years.
