The After-Easter Special

Hey everyone!

Full disclosure: I don't know about your family, but Sundays are FULL in the Bass family. After we get home from the morning service with our Antioch Dallas folk, we demolish a quick meal and get crackin on preparing for the week ahead. Since we have Discipleship school in the evenings, we often find ourselves finishing homework and memorizing bible verses along with the adult-necessities like paying bills and selling our car. At the moment Molly is working on finishing a book report for tonight, so I get a small window of time to be in our new-ish apartment in complete silence whilst eating Easter candy (an introvert's dream).  Now I would love to say that I thought to myself, "James, what better way to spend the afternoon than blogging about y'all's life?", but sadly I cannot. My first thoughts have been to work on an Antioch Discipleship book reflection and that I still need to research more about fuel efficient small SUV's (more on that later). However, my beautiful wife reminded me about the blog, and that I haven't written in a long time, and that I do, in fact, enjoy writing. So here we are friends and fam!

Seeking First

To start off, I would like to set before you an excerpt out of Matthew 6 that has been a centering point for me in the past few weeks.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious about itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:33-34

At first glance, this can look like a pretty good equation for happiness. "Ok, so I just focus on volunteering at my local church and I won't have to worry about the bills or retirement, right? I don't have to make plans, I can just worry about today and only today. It's biblical, right?" WRONG (this is where all of the Type A planner people heave a huge sigh of relief).

Let's add some context, this whole chapter is jammed packed with Jesus talking about how we are to relate to God as our Father. We pray to God in secret, instead of only praying so others can hear us, because our Father values and rewards intimacy. We don't make a show of fasting, because it is something personal between us and our loving Father. Then Jesus goes on a long soliloquy about us worrying about our finances, pining after money, and wondering how we are going to make ends meet. If I'm honest, that's me. I can easily relate to that because I've been doing it everyday for a while. Maybe you can relate too.

But here is where it gets interesting: Jesus then spitfires a lot of questions about how we often let our fears distort our trust for our loving Father God. Does Father God give the birds food? (Yes, I think I saw something on Animal Planet about that) Are you more important to God than a bird? (I mean, yeah) Are you making your life any better by worrying? (No, I guess not) Doesn't your Father God even clothe non-communicative things like flowers with intricate beauty? (Yeah, and they smell good too) So why wouldn't your Father God clothe you even better? (Hmmmmm). 

Jesus explains that we can't serve both God and money, you can only be devoted to one of them, not both. And then he delivers the final punch that our Father God actually sees and knows all of our needs before ending with "But seek first..."

Here's what I think Jesus is getting at: The primary thing is being in relationship with Father God and trusting Him to take care of you. Whether you had a great dad or an awful dad, we all need a Heavenly Father to remind us that we are His and we are deeply loved by Him. Being the beloved child of my Father God changes how I talk with Him, how I spend time with Him, how I interact with people, how I earn money, and how I think about the future. And when my anxiety flies through the roof, I'm learning to first bring my fears straight to my loving Father. Instead of letting my fears define Him, I'm letting Him remind me that I can trust Him completely.

SO TAKE THAT, ANXIETY.

A Dream Accomplished

I am a dreamer in training. What I mean to say is I'm getting better at dreaming up things that I want to do that make life into an adventure. Like say, learning how to box, for example. Anyway, earlier this year, Molly and I met for our Annual Dream Date and I wrote down that I wanted to go camping with my dad and brother. Some real manly outdoorsy stuff. This had been something we really enjoyed many years ago, but haven't gotten to do because I had been away from the states for so long. Honestly, when I was in Ireland and was missing my family, I often resolved that I would go camping again with them as soon as I could. So for me, writing this down was a big deal; it meant it was no longer an idea, but something I was going to try as hard as I could to make happen in 2017, no matter what. 

So we talked about the idea for months, we chatted on Google hangout, created a group text, coordinated schedules, took off work, researched destinations, planned river routes, called Tom Ingram (the camping/fishing/canoeing guru), and prepped all of our gear. Even the night before we left I found myself wondering, " Is this for real? Are we actually going to do this?"

And guess what? WE ACTUALLY DID GO CAMPING AND KAYAKING. And oh, it was so grand. 

New Building and Brussels Update

At Antioch Community Church in Dallas there are always new things happening to reach the local community, and the most recent undertaking is that we are moving into a new building! This has been such an incredible rallying point for the church members as we completely surpassed our funding goals for the new building, we took a Sunday to finish the final stages of the move together as a church, we have prayed over the new location together, and we even held Easter Sunday services on the lawn outside! Every thing is ready for us to start services at the new location, except Dallas has not given us our Certificate of Occupancy yet. So please be praying with us for God's favor to expedite this process!

All of that to say, it has been super encouraging to see our church grow even stronger together, without the need for a building. The Church is really a global gathering of people who are devoted to Jesus, not a building anyway, right? Even today, for the first time ever, we did "home churches", where we gathered in someone's home as lifegroups to worship, read the Bible, and pray together. How good it is to be reminded that God is not restrained by physical locations or building restrictions. 

Also, Molly and I are now 19% fully funded to go on our short term missions trip to Brussels in June! Please be praying for God to provide completely for us to go on this trip, and if you feel God invite you to contribute to our mission, we would love for you to be apart of this with us!

Check out our link below:

Basses go to Brussels.

Prayer for a New Car

Lastly our dear car Beverly, the golden girl, broke down a few weeks ago. She was a 1999 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight, living well past her prime, with a heart (and exterior) of bright gold. Beverly was a rescue, to be sure, but without her we could not have transitioned into our new apartment, and for that we will forever be thankful. Carry on. 

That'll do Bev. That'll do.

So could y'all be praying with us that we find a buyer for Beverly as well as provision for a new DEPENDABLE car for Molly? 

With that I will end this here blog. Thank for sticking with us friends, what an adventure it has been and will continue to be!

Our Upcoming Summer Mission

Hi Friends and Family,

We are now in 2017 and it's been a hot minute since we have gotten to catch up with you all. We apologize, 2017 has taken off like a rocket and left us running to catch up. We've had awesome, incredible breakthroughs this year including James' beginning two new jobs. Then we started making plans to move out of James' parent's house and will be officially moving out in 5 short days. Those have been much awaited, highly anticipated answers to prayers during this season. We are so thankful for the ways that God has answered those prayers beyond what we could have imagined. If you want to know a little bit more about our transition season James wrote a blog on this through Modern Day (one of the organizations we partnered with), here's the link, Navigating Transition.

We've also had unexpected, rough events that have left us hurting in 2017. This past week my grandmother, my dad's mom, passed away. She had been battling cardiac issues and blood cancer for years but this weekend her health took an unexpected turn for the worse and before we knew it she had left us here on earth for heaven. She was a woman who had been looking forward to heaven for awhile and wasn't afraid to say it. And as much as I know she's enjoying it right now, the unexpectedness of losing this woman who has been a mainstay in my life left our family with the breath knocked out of us. 

All in all, it's February 19 of 2017, and I feel like I've already felt every emotion known to man. But we are choosing to hope in God, who has continued to sustain us, through both the good and the bad. 

What's Next for 2017

Two big things that we are looking forward to in 2017 that we wanted to share with you all are...

1. Graduating from our discipleship school in May // We are now on our second semester of the school and in many ways beginning to see the providence of God in putting us in this place. James worded it really well the other day when he said "when we left the mission field there were some things broken and bruised in us. What this school has been is a cast for us, healing and re-setting some hurt and wrong ideas that had developed in order that we may be healed and whole." That is exactly what it has been for us, and I'm so grateful for it.

2. Summer Mission Trip to Belgium // A part of our discipleship school is to cap it off with a short term mission trip after classes end in May. Our class will be heading to Brussels, Belgium from June 15-24 to kick-off a church plant where we will be laying groundwork for 10 days through prayer, worship, and outreach. Brussels is a hub of Europe, it's where the United Nations meets, and where many refugees have re-located. We believe that it is a gateway to reach the nations. James and I believe that the modern day revival is happening in Europe and we want to continue seeing not just Europeans but those who reside in Europe from all over the world having the opportunity to hear and see the gospel in action. 

Where You Come In

So many of you chose to partner with us our past two years of being missionaries in Ireland and we are excited to continue to partner with you as we embark on this next mission to Belgium.

Here are two ways you can join in with us...

1. We need to raise a total of $5,400 for both James and I to go on this trip to Belgium. We are beginning fundraising now and would love if you would pray about giving to our trip.

If you would like to donate online you can go here, Antioch Missions and click on "Missionaries and Short Term Trips-Donate Now" then scroll down to "Brussels Summer Outreach" and type in our names with the amount you want to donate. 

You can also send in a check, made out to Antioch Dallas. Just include my name and "Brussels ADS trip" on the memo line. All contributions to Antioch are tax-deductible. 

2. We also need your prayer support, not only for us as a short term team, but even more so for the long term team that is being sent out from our church. Prayers specifically for provision, community, team unity and open doors in Brussels among Europeans, immigrants and refugees. 

James and I are so excited and expectant for all that God is going to do through this church plant in Belgium. We are glad you all are the ones we get to do it with a second time around. 

Love,

Molly 

Our Christmas Miracle

Hey friends and family,

I hope you are all enjoying this Christmas season so far. That as you are shopping for presents, attending work Christmas parties, and listening to Michael Buble's magical voice booming from every store front, you find yourself actually getting to enjoy this season. I know for us this holiday season we have a fresh and deep appreciation for being able to spend these holidays at home with family and friends. There's nothing quite like being home for Christmas. 

But I know for some of you, enjoying this Christmas season is the last thing on your mind instead you find yourself swept up in a tizzy of worry, frustration, and sadness. True confessions of Molly Bass, today Christmas sent me into a tizzy of worry. I had come down with a violent sort of stomach bug that put me out for the better part of yesterday and this morning, and the first thing that I decided to do once I woke up and felt a bit better was to pull up our bank account online. That's where the tizzy came into play, because there are still Christmas presents to buy and my bank account didn't look like it wanted to afford those presents much less the second car we are probably needing to purchase soon.

Then, I got in the shower (where all my good talks with God happen, don't know why, probably because I take half an hour showers...) and I felt like God said "Molly, what makes you think I won't provide this Christmas when I've provided every other one." 

Christmas 2013

He brought to memory this particular Christmas 3 years ago. James and I had been married for a little over a year and we were celebrating our 2nd Christmas together in Abilene. James was in grad school and I was finishing up my job and graduating with my bachelor's degree before I moved off to San Antonio to do my child life internship. Our savings was pretty much depleted and both of our little part time jobs were barely covering the bills, and that was with our parents already helping us out each month with our rent while we were both still in school. We had this moment, right about finals week that December, when we both looked at each other and had the discussion of I don't know if we can afford to buy groceries this next week, what are we going to do. As you may very well know, those discussions are always a downer. We really didn't know what to do, and we most definitely did not want to have to go to our parents. Later that week a friend of ours who was in lifegroup with us stopped James in the hall on the way to class and handed him a check for $75 so that we could go on a date night. We hadn't told our lifegroup that we were struggling financially, I mean honestly, finances were always a struggle being two full time college students and it was embarrassing talking about it. But that check was our first hint that God was up to something that Christmas. An out of the blue bit of provision to remind us that he knew us, he saw us, and he was going to see us through. At the end of the week, right as finals were ending for James and I, James was meeting with his usual group of guys for coffee one morning. One of our friends in that group, opened up his checkbook, and asked "how much do you need to make it this month?" James told him an amount and he wrote out a check for that amount and gave it to us with nothing more said than a "Merry Christmas." As you can imagine, we were stunned and for the next day we went between shock, happy tears, and smiling like crazy. I knew right then, that it was a Christmas that God was permanently tattooing on me a lesson of his nearness and his provision in every circumstance.

So this morning, after waking up and looking at my bank account first thing (which is overall just not the smartest thing to do) God brought that Christmas up, the Christmas where he literally had somebody write us a blank check. And after he brought that up it's as if all my fears, concerns, and worries were swept up in the enormity of that memory. 

Because if He could do that then, why can't he do it now? If he could provide us with a savior of the world 2,000 plus years ago, not in the way we were expecting him, but in the way we needed, why can't he provide what we need now? 

So this is an encouragement for all of you who aren't experiencing the most enjoyable of Christmases at the moment. Whether it's finances, family, or jobs...be encouraged that our God has proven time and time again throughout history and in our lives his generous provision. And he's not about to stop or slow down. 

As ya'll are thinking of us this Christmas season continue to be in prayer for James' job. He's had some interviews and opportunities that have come up and we are so thankful, but we just want to make sure we are led by God the entire way. 

In the new year, we will be announcing a mission's trip we will be embarking on this summer. We are so excited to share with you about this trip and how you can be a part of it! So get ready, it's going to be good! 

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

Love,

The Basses

Confession: Transition is Messy

Hello friends,

It's been awhile, a good long two months have gone by since we've gotten to give you an update on our life. Sorry it's been so long. I would love to tell you we haven't written because we have been too busy, lost track of time, or didn't have much to say. None of those would be true though, we've thought about doing this blog for the past few weeks and months and kept putting it off. We were waiting for this elusive finish to our transition season. An opportunity for us to come to you and blog about our life all nicely un-packed into Dallas. The thing is we kept waiting and waiting for that to happen, and surprise, surprise it hasn't happened yet. 

So we've finally come to the conclusion that maybe this transition won't end all wrapped up in bright, shiny paper with a bow on top come Christmas time. That maybe this season of transition is messier than we expected, yet still full of God's faithfulness in the midst of it. We would love to invite you into this crazy, messy, and hopeful season with us and let you know a little more what that looks like for us. If you're game, we're ready to lay it out there...

What We've Jumped Into 

I want to start out with what's been happening since we last talked. In the few months since we moved back to Texas, there are a few things we've jumped into head first. One of those things is our church community here in Dallas. We have a sorta long, awesomely involved story about how we chose to go to our church here in Dallas, that I'd love to share someday. For right now I do want to say that from the first day we visited our church, we felt covered, welcomed, and pastored. They cared about us and our story in a way that showed such genuine love in a time when we really needed a church that would wrap us up in a huge hug. They did that and since the first Sunday, our first night at lifegroup, it was abundantly clear we were home. 

During that time we were invited to join Antioch's year long discipleship school. When we first were offered the option of joining in we felt fairly overwhelmed. We had just come off the mission field a month ago and if we joined we would be committing to a year long school that met weekly, along with attending discipleship group, homework and reading, and a international mission's trip to cap it off in the summer. As we prayed about it separately and talked about it together we felt like this really could be how God heals us and trains us up coming off the mission field. At the beginning of this year when we did our yearly dream date one of the things that we had written down was the desire for mentors in our next church once we returned to the states. This discipleship school has provided that for us in ways beyond what we could have dreamed. Not only do we get an awesome, experienced, married couple as our discipleship leaders through ADS, but the people that are enrolled in school with us are people that we are learning from and challenged by with every conversation we have and every class we attend.

We are almost done with the first semester of our discipleship school and truly finding our groove as we work, go to school, and figure out day to day life here.

Where We're Hanging Out On The Diving Board

We are currently living the dream of every pioneer family back in the late 1800's. We're living on our parent's land, or more specifically we are still living with James' parents. That being said, we are entirely thankful for the space to figure out our life and finances while we're here. We also admittedly eat very well, because both of my in-laws are fantastic cooks. 

James is working a few different part time jobs while he continues to look for a full time job. He has constantly amazed me with how hard he is working and how diligent he is in the job hunt. This job search has had more twists and turns than an episode of Downton Abbey, but we are believing God that for every job that hasn't panned out or we've felt led to leave on the table, there's a greater thing coming. 

I've been at my job for a little over two months, I'm now on a regular schedule and in my assigned units in the arthritis and pediatric developmental disabilities clinic at my hospital. I'm continually growing and learning in my job and have been blessed with an incredible team of ladies who are supportive and encouraging at every turn. 

Prayers, Please

We most definitely could use all of your prayers during this season. Here are a few ways that we would love for you to partner with us in prayer...

• A full time job for James
• Financial provision to move off the land ;)
• Continued humility and healing as we continue in Antioch's Discipleship School
• Healing for James' body (he has poison ivy all over his body from doing some yard work last week)

We love you guys! Thanks for walking with us through this transition season, mess and lack of updates and all. We couldn't do what we do without you!

Exchanging One Mission Field for Another

Long time no read, friends!

If you are wondering how Molly and I have been since returning to Texas, this is the blog for you! I would offer an apology for waiting so long to update you, but honestly, I was waiting for the dust to settle before sitting down to write. Even thus far, a month and a week since returning, the dust of our life is only partially settled, like an old Texan dirt road after your truck drives over it. You know what I mean.

Well, here I am, sitting in a coffee shop. I have come to accept that this is now where I do some of my best writing, because coffee shops were the main places that I blogged in Ireland (I miss you, Impresso Cafe). How high maintenance or pretentious does that makes me? I'm not sure, but if it helps me feel at peace I'll take it. And just to make me feel at home, it is raining outside...

The August Recap (aka the Overwhelming Goodness of God)

When we arrived in DFW Airport, after a much needed journey through Switzerland and Austria, we had no clue what the month would look like. Sure, we had plans and meetings, but no clear expectations for how God was going to use them in our lives. Honestly, I was a little anxious and hesitant to start the transition. But in a nutshell, God was so gracious to lavish His love on us with friends and family we haven't seen in years celebrating our return and God's provision for the past 2 years. It was overwhelming in the best sense of the word. I got to lead worship at the church that raised me as well as speak at their Missions Night with Molly. We went to church with our families, vacationed with Molly's family, and had too many lunches to count with pastors and dear friends. We had a getaway weekend with lifelong friends, we got to debrief with the Beltway staff, and we got to explore the new Beltway North campus. We had SO MUCH Mexican food, and I'm still not sick of it! Also, one of the unexpected joys was for us to get to tell our friends and family, "Want to hang out again in a week or so?", just because we can now! To everyone we got to reconnect with in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Abilene: THANK YOU. You each revived, encouraged, celebrated, and welcomed us back with open arms. We needed that.

In August, my parents were gracious enough to let us stay with them as well as borrow one of their cars as we got our bearings in Dallas. We also began looking for jobs and the church that God wanted us to join. By God's providence, two weeks after returning to Texas, Molly got a job offer as a Child Life Specialist in an incredible hospital. If you know Molly, this is her dream job, and usually the job-searching process in her field takes MONTHS. She is such a boss and God is so faithful!

September so far...

So here in September Molly is finishing up her second week of orientation at her dream job while I look/interview at a few places. Since we share a car (and I want the most time with Molly I can get) I wake up super early to take Molly to work most and fight through Dallas traffic to pick her up each day. We're beginning to establish a new "transition routine" and while it is still weird, it is getting better.

Probably the biggest news of September so far is that we have decided on what church we will be invested in Dallas! As of a week ago we have decided to be in Antioch Community Church Dallas!!! We love this church's missional vision for the city as well as their ability to build relationships and equip believers for their daily lives. We are excited to get rooted here and serve with these amazing people. We will be joining a lifegroup soon and I hope to begin helping out on the worship team as well.

Mission Field Exchange

There are a lot things Molly and I have been processing together as we continue this time of radical transition, but here is one topic we process frequently. How exactly do we reconcile Ireland and what we did there with Dallas? How do we address doing life in Irish culture with transitioning back into Texan culture? How do we live in America in light of the mission work we just did in another country? This is not a new question, I'm sure many of you have asked similar questions after returning from a mission trip. I have also done a week-long mission trip once, and while this situation feels similar, it is vastly more intricate. And I won't try to tell you I have figured this out. I do not. And even as we journey through this awkward transition we are still trying to figure it out.

Here is one thing I do know: Mission work, short-term or long-term, is meant to change you as well as the people you go to serve. It is supposed to change how you think, how you believe, how you relate to others, and how you relate to your culture of origin. Being a missionary in another culture, for however long, is supposed to awaken you to see God's global mission as well as His specific mission for your home country. You might not have known it, but you became a missionary the moment you placed your life at the foot of the cross, and no matter where God places you, He has a mission for you. Welcome to God's special forces unit.

All Molly and I are learning to do is exchange Enniscorthy for Dallas as our current mission field. You and I will never stop being missionaries. What does it look like to be a missionary? Here are a few ideas:

• Place your income, financial needs, possessions, and living space in God's hands to do with as He pleases. Trust Him enough to provide when you tithe and are generous to those around you. Whether you are supported by donations or you earn a monthly paycheck, your resources come from God and should bravely be used for His glory.
• Take spiritual ownership of your city/neighborhood. Notice the spiritual strongholds (depression, materialism, poverty, consumerism, identity, entitlement, addiciton, etc.) that are in your city and pray. A LOT. Take time to pray for those God places around you (friends, family, bosses, etc.). Dare to get to know your neighbors AND really care about them.
• Desperately depend on your relationship with God. Spend time with God each day in worship, reading the Bible, journaling, and prayer. Depend on God as if your only hope to make it through the day is His voice and His presence. Surrender to do whatever He asks you to do that day.
• Dive into the local church. Every missionary knows they cannot hope to remain vibrant outside of Biblical community. Isolation kills, just like a coal removed from a fire will grow cold. Encourage, grow, invest, and do life with different people redeemed by the same Savior with a united mission together.

The End of Partnership Donations!

As I close this blog, I also want to handle a little housekeeping. When we first asked our partners to support us with prayer or finances, we made it clear it was a two year commitment. Well, you have all blessed us so much with your generosity and your commitment is fulfilled. We have returned victoriously and God has done so much! THANK YOU ALL! You have each changed the world. 

That being said, we have ended our acceptance of donations at the beginning of September. Our donation link should be removed from Modern Day and I think Beltway will give us the last donation check soon. So if you are still donating to us, we love you, but please stop. However, if you still feel called to give to missions, might I offer you a few suggestions?

Two missionaries that Molly and I support are Vivian and Audrey Wells, two sisters who are called to Barcelona in this next season of life. Molly and I got to visit them in Barcelona for a weekend last January and we were blown away by the mission work they do there in the city. Audrey has been residing in Spain for the past year and Vivian will be joining her this winter. If you are interested, check out their support pages below and pray about how God wants you to get involved!

Vivian Wells and Audrey Wells

Thanks for checking in on us everyone.

We still keep you updated on our lives right here, so stay tuned!