Maggie on the Mend

Thanks for your prayers for our little girl, Maggie. She had a very successful surgery on Tuesday evening to repair a partial tear of the cruciate in her stifle. (Do I sound like a vet?!) In human terms, it was an ACL rupture in her hind leg that eventually would have caused lameness. Our first consultation was rather discouraging because it was going to cost $1300 and leave our little athlete without any unleashed activity for 12 weeks. After talking to another veterinarian (who happens to be a believer active in missions to Brazil and Africa), we decided to have the procedure done at his clinic--and saved over $500! (Now I'm starting to sound like a Geico commercial!) We are thankful that we were able to take care of this now before leaving for Brazil--and are confident that God's timing is perfect. Please continue to pray for a quick and complete recovery--and that Mocha doesn't get too jealous of her sister's extra attention!

Chosen Possessions

When we went to Syria in August of 2001, we knew that it was only for a year. We sold our house but put most of our stuff in storage. I remember unpacking boxes and wondering, "Why in the world did we keep this?" I realized that many of our "precious" things weren't so valuable after all.

Now, in preparation to leave for Brazil for an indefinite amount of time, we are faced again with the decision of what to take, what to store, and what to sell. We have opted with the latter for the most part, and are currently sitting in a fairly empty house. The few things that remain(our bed, washer and dryer)are already sold but the new owners have graciously allowed us to use them until we leave!

This morning as I read James 1:18, God reminded me again that I was His chosen possession. It was a timely scripture since I have been contemplating my own belongings and their value. If God had a huge cosmic "garage sale," His children would be the only thing tucked away as "keepers!" There are many beautiful places and awesome things in the world--but I am His chosen possession! He chose me even before I chose Him! WOW--that's worth smiling about! Thank You, JESUS--because of You, my value will never depreciate!

Simplicity

Ok. You are probably asking yourself, "Why would I shave my head?" Sit back and let me give you my thoughts on the subject. I truly believe that there is no one in the world quite like a missionary. We believe in a God we cannot see and hear his voice but not with our ear. We believe he tells us to leave our families, friends and homes to go to a people we do not know. With an incredible amount of faith, we go to lay down our lives in the service of our Lord in the hopes that an unknown people may come to know his love -- all along hearing a small voice in the back of our minds saying things like, "Am I crazy, what am I doing?" Along this journey a missionary has his/her life sifted right before their eyes. They begin to see the insignificant things in their life stripped away so they are left with those things that truly matter. Things like family and friends, the very things we are leaving. So, back to my original question, "Why would I shave my head?" For me it has become an outward sign, all be it a pretty significant one, of my journey to "simplify" my life. It's more eye catching than a Christian t-shirt and less painful than a tattoo. I would also like to share with you some additional benefits to having a shaved head.
1. I save ten minutes per day getting ready which means I just gained 60 hours of free time per year.
2. I save about $200 per year on hair products and haircuts.
3. My hats fit better.
4. I am more aerodynamic.
5. I either look younger or tougher. You choose.
6. The glare from my head can blind people.
7. People think I can sing like Chris from American Idol.
8. I never have a bad hair-day.
9. It's easier to paint my face for sporting events.
10. THE BEST ONE IS...Mary loves it!

If you think that I am over simplifying the issue...I suppose that's the point.

Reflections from MTI

I just realized that I skipped from arriving in Colorado to the Roadrunner fiasco with no mention of the incredible things that happened at MTI! Allow me to digress--since I don't feel like trying to figure out right now how to juxtapose these last two entries!

The concepts we were taught and experienced during the three weeks of our training were life-changing to say the least. Before we left, I had been studying in Hebrews and had spent much time reflecting on the passage in 12:5 that encourages us to "endure hardship as discipline." Not a very feel-good scripture but one that I thought I had learned much about during the past two years while my mom was sick. I have come to know that God allows turmoil in our life for many reasons but mainly because He loves us and wants us to trust Him more. When "life is good," there obviously isn't as great a need to cling to Christ like we do when our world seems to be falling apart. During our time at MTI, I was reminded of this EVERY day! We heard true stories from missionaries who have walked through the "valley of weeping" and can attest that He redeemed every tear they shed. The three concepts that I've reviewed over and over in my head are 1) God is God, 2) God is good, and 3) God isn't always safe but He is faithful. I think I was okay with the first two but the third one...? This one took some soul-searching and and some digging up of fears I had hidden away for "safe"-keeping. Our instructor reminded us of an excerpt from The Chronicles of Narnia when the children ask if Aslan is safe, and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver tell them, "Of course He's not safe--He's a lion!" God is going to allow ugly things to happen, knowing that when we trust in Him, He will turn them into something beautiful.

Connected at Last

Upon returning from Colorado after being "wireless" for three weeks, we have been suffering from internet withdrawal. We met so many wonderful people with wonderful stories and wonderful blogs--and the library is not the most conducive location for reflective perusals of our new friends' journal entries! We had thought we would soon be leaving for Cincy to stay with the fam before travelling to Brazil but alas, God's timing is always better than our timing. After much contemplation(and several unfulfilling visits to the library), we decided to take the plunge. Yesterday was the BIG day--or should I say the extremely long and frustrating day??? The Roadrunner guy was supposed to come between 8am and 10am--early, yes, we know. We wanted to get it out of the way so we would have the rest of the day to do whatever. WELL, at 11:30 (no one in sight) we call and are told that the technician should be knocking on the door any second. Oh, naive Cochrans--we wait until about 12:30pm and call again. We are connected with an automated service that tells us they will return our call in 55 minutes. We are told that we would have service within a half hour. The Cochrans--slightly skeptical at this point--wait until about 3:30 before calling again, at which time we are assured that someone would arrive in about 45 minutes--we are the next on the list. (Weren't we the FIRST on the list???) At 4:55pm, a young man apologetically arrives, explaining that two people called off work that morning and he had to cover for them. We had an enjoyable chat with Brandon who gave us his phone number when he left because of his interest in the possibility of renting our house while we are in Brazil!

As I sit and enjoy our high-speed connection today, I wonder about expectation. How so many times in my life I have grasped on to what I think would be the "best" scenario for a particular situation. How many times I've looked so eagerly ahead to the final result that I've missed out on the process and what God wanted to show me. We were so frustrated yesterday because things didn't work out exactly as we had anticipated. I'm reminded that I should be grateful when plans change because God's hand has manipulated them for His glory--not for my selfish gain. He alone knows what is best for us!