Gable Travels

While on furlough, we have several items on our missionary to-do list. During the first part of this year we were busy reporting to our partnering churches how the ministry is progressing in Ivory Coast. It is encouraging to us to get reacquainted with friends from various churches and hear their stories as well. Most of all, I love to share about how God is moving in Ivory Coast and how we get to be a part of it. And when people get interested and ask questions, they usually get more than they asked for... I'll take any opportunity I have to speak about our great God's work through our mission team.

We've also been busy raising added support. With the dollar going down and inflation going up, coupled with added responsabilities when returning to the field, our monthly budget has seen a sharp increase. Again, I love it when we have the opportunity to share about the work in Ivory Coast, but it has been a challenge to find new partners during this time. Please continue to pray for good contacts and God-inspired meetings that will help us develop the important relationships with people who will become ministry partners.

We have had some success in raising funds towards our Outgoing Fund to get back to Ivory Coast. I've enjoyed speaking at a Youth Retreat earlier this year and four VBS's during this summer. We want to say a big thank you to the following churches for having us as their missions project for their VBS: New Brunswick Church of Christ, Lebanon Christian Church, Second Church of Christ in Danville, IL and Colfax Christian Church. The offerings from these churches has raised over 25% of our outgoing budget themselves.

Of course we have enjoyed family and friends, trying to send the kids off the their grandparents homes as often as possible. They have experienced most of the VBS's as well and Clay has enjoyed going to camp a couple different times. We are all looking forward to the fall church programs at Lebanon Christian Church. All of us enjoy going to classes and meeting new friends and being fed on God's Word.

Please be praying for our support raising needs. We hope to return to Ivory Coast in January (if all goes well). Thanks for your prayers and support.

Welcome Olivia Karise Gable!!

On June 17 Olivia Karise came to join us in our growing family. She weighed 8 lbs. and was 21 inches long. Both Olivia and Stephanie are doing great. The boys like her, but mostly are busy playing to pay much attention to her. The girls are a little more interested, but Sage is the most smitten of them all.
She was born here in Lebanon at Witham Hospital. As you can tell from the pictures, she actually is a pretty cute baby (not like an ugly dog kind of cute). Thanks to everyone who prayed for us, sent cards & gift cards, brought meals for this past week. It has meant so much and helped greatly.
Thank you Lord for our newest blessing.

Home Sweet Home...

"Where is home for you?" I've been asked this question throughout my life, but find the question being asked even more since becoming a missionary. It's simple enough, but surprisingly tricky to answer. I usually end up asking a few clarifying questions "Do you mean... Where did I grow up? Where do I live most of the time? Where am I living right now? Or where do I enjoy being the most?" As a strange look comes across their faces I tell them, "I'm a missionary." Their response is, "Ohhhh" and I can tell they are usually thinking, "You are weird!"

For Stephanie and I, we usually say Lebanon, IN is home. Both our parents live within 20 minutes, it's the center of most our supporting churches and it's where our children have grown up (at least the stateside). In the past two years, I've heard our kids say "We're home!" in at least eight different places: 1. our house in Abengourou, Ivory Coast, 2. the house at the Lebanon Christian Church, 3. Stephanie's parents' house, 4. my parents' house, 5. the Baptist Guesthouse in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 6. the SIL Guesthouse in Abidjan, 7. a hotel in Tennessee and 8. a hotel in West Virgina. For them "home" is a relative term. Home is whereever Mom and Dad are tonight.

Home is about having roots- a sense of belonging and an identity to a specific place. For a missionary home often partially describes a number of places, but none fully embrace its meaning. On the field there is a sense of "this is where we should be... where God has called us." Yet, we struggle to identify the host culture as our own, wading through differences in beliefs, values and mind-sets. Though we might be accepted and loved, we are still seen as outsiders. "Back-home" we navigate our culture with much greater ease, yet it's not quite the same place we once left. It also lacks the sense of belonging (i.e. this is where we should be). For our kids, it can be especially difficult because they haven't grown up in our host culture either. They have a sort of culture of their own somewhere in the middle.

So, how do you establish roots for your family (especially for your children) while your address constantly changes? The key is where you're placing your roots. The Bible tells us, "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19 NIV *emphasis added) We must be rooted not to a place in this world, but to the love of God. God’s word teaches us that we "live in the world,” but are not to be of this world. (2 Corinthians 10:3) Just as home for our kids is whereever Mom and Dad are, our home is where our Father dwells.

For us, home finds its roots in the love, connection and sense of belonging and togetherness of our family. Whether we are in Ivory Coast, Africa; Lebanon, Indiana; or some hotel for the night we can be home dwelling in the love of our Father in heaven. Someday, we will end our wanderings and ever-changing address and head to our real home where Jesus is preparing a permanent dwelling place for us (John 14:2). Then, we will be able to truly say, "We're home!"