December Newsletter

Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2013

We hope you all are enjoying this Christmas season. For us, with the end of our first semester back at Moody Bible Institute, our attention has quickly shifted to much less stressful activities… such as making Christmas cookies, wrapping presents, spending time with friends, and of course eating those Christmas cookies!

Looking back on this past year, it is amazing to see not only how God has taken care of our needs, but also the ways he has abundantly blessed us. Throughout the past semester, we have continued to receive financial support from many different sources, which has covered the majority of our school bills.

Christmas cookies!

In addition, one of our priorities and prayer requests has been to find a church in Spokane, and we are very excited to say that God has lead us to a church called Soma. In just a short time, we have developed strong relationships with the people in this church community who have encouraged and challenged us in our faith.

In the home of our refugee
family from Sudan/Libya

We must admit that the holidays this year are bittersweet for us as it is the first time we will not be home to celebrate with the rest of our family. However, we are very much enjoying the opportunity to start Christmas traditions of our own. Thank you for all of your prayer and support this past year. We are looking forward to see what God will do in 2014!

In Christ,

Jordan and Hannah Fischer

Open Invitation

Dear Friends and Family,

Over the past couple months, God has been teaching us something about our home. First of all, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, God has given us a wonderful, beautiful home for which we are incredibly thankful! However, God has also helped us to see that our home is really just a house...That is to say it is not our refuge. It can protect us from rain, but not from heartache. It gives us a place to sleep, but not to rest the burdens of life. Jesus, on the other hand, is our refuge, protector, and place of ultimate rest.

In addition, there are many cultures in the world that do not view a person’s home the way ours does. For example, in many cultures throughout the world, neighbors, friends, and even strangers come over any time they’d like. Many cultures are group-oriented (America tends to be individualistic). They like to do everything as a group, which means someone showing up at your door unannounced is a polite gesture, not rude or inconsiderate. One friend from such a culture told me “You can’t just say, ‘go away, I’m busy now.’ No matter what you’re doing you let them in and do life together.”

This means that since we believe the gospel and also want to prepare ourselves for the chance that we serve overseas in such a group culture, we are opening our doors. Not literally, because Hannah hates the cold. But, we are extending an open invitation to anyone, anytime. We cannot guarantee the house will be clean or anything like that, but please drop in whenever. Remember, you will be helping us to trust in the gospel and prepare to live in another culture! And for those of you who would need a plane ticket to take advantage of this offer… we have an extra bedroom!

Jordan and Hannah Fischer

Happy Halloween!

Dear Friends and Family,

Here we are coming down to the last few hours of October and we haven’t posted all month! October always seems to be both one of our busiest months as well as one of our favorite. Nothing major is beginning or ending, we are in the swing of work and school, and of course, both of our birthdays are in October!

While we really enjoyed celebrating our birthdays together (we might have found our new favorite restaurant in Spokane!), one of the best parts of the past few weeks has been our Practical Christian Ministry, or PCM. Each semester Moody students participate in a PCM by taking part in a real life ministry in our local community such as a food bank or church children’s ministry for example. This semester, we get the privilege of working with a Muslim refugee family from North Africa, teaching them English and helping with the adjustment to life in America. While our interactions started out as slightly awkward, they have developed to the point where we almost feel as part of the family. In fact, the past two weeks when we arrived at their home they had prepared a HUGE meal for us! Later on when we thanked them for the food, Mohammed, the father, gave us a stern look shaking his head and telling us that we should not thank them because we are “a part of their family” and “there is nothing different between us and them”. It’s pretty amazing to see such generosity and care from people who have started over from scratch in a foreign land. We have come to know the family fairly well, as well as several other Afghans and Iraqis who stop in to say hello every time we visit. At times it is easy to imagine that we are already “in the field” serving in some international culture, learning to live life in a whole new way. Needless to say, we have really enjoyed this experience!

We hope you have had a good month as well! Be sure to check back soon for another update on life here in Spokane.

Happy Halloween!

September Newsletter

Friends and Family,

Well the weather is cooling, the leaves are just starting to change (not every tree out here is an evergreen), and classes are now in session. Autumn has begun and summer is over.

Our summer was absolutely wonderful! We packed up a moving truck and drove from Bloomington, IL to Spokane, WA, and truly enjoyed the almost 2,000 mile journey that made for our first cross-country road trip. We got to see much of God’s beautiful creation and spent time talking about where we see God leading us in the future.

We were met in Spokane by some friends who helped us unload our truck in under an hour and we had everything unpacked and settled in fairly quickly. Then we spent some time exploring the beautiful northwestern countryside of Spokane. Hannah started working at a Starbucks less than a mile from home and Jordan got a job working as a custodian at Moody. The highlight of our summer was our one year anniversary!

Honestly, we are very excited for school. Despite the odd feeling of going back after a year off, our first week of classes was wonderful. We really cannot wait to see what God is going to teach us in this upcoming semester. Jordan is quite eager for his Hermeneutics and Theology classes which should help him further develop the skill of teaching Biblical truths and how they apply to everyday life. He is also looking forward to his new job as a janitor at the school. Hannah is particularly excited about her Intercultural Communications class where she will learn how to listen to, and serve individuals from other cultures, and then have the immediate opportunity to apply what she has learned at work.

At times, it is easy to be overwhelmed with all the new things coming at us, but one thing we have learned is that through our faith in the gospel, God gives us the ability to get through each day as they come.

In Christ,

Jordan and Hannah Fischer

One Down, Rest of Our Lives to Go.

Dear Friends and Family,

Last weekend we celebrated our one year wedding anniversary! What a great year it has been for both of us! A mere 365 days has opened our eyes in many new ways and we would like to take just a moment to share a few things we’ve learned over the past year.

1.) Marriage isn’t going to make us happy.

Before we got married, we both thought that we were pretty much the perfect spouse and that our marriage was just going to be fantastic all the time. Now of course we had read dozens of books and had months of pre-marital counseling that told us otherwise, but to some degree we still believed that lie. It didn’t take long, however, to realize that we were definitely fallen humans, and that our sin was a major factor in our marriage. We’re both very sinful, very selfish, and very prideful. God has graciously shown us through our marriage that we ourselves are incredibly sinful, and our spouse is as well. We have learned that our marriage cannot be the source of our happiness.

2.) Marriage is a lot of fun!

So, our marriage will not be the root of our happiness; however we certainly have been happy in our marriage! It seems as if many of our peers have a very negative view of marriage, which is not a shock when you hear many older couples (if they’re still married) complaining about their spouse/marriage. (Husband calling the wife the ball and chain; wife calling the husband incompetent; both complaining about being stuck together). We have come to find out that marriage is indeed a lot of fun. It’s not easy, but this last year has been some of the best times of our lives. We have become even closer friends and realized what a blessing it is to share life with one another.

3.) Marriage teaches us about the gospel.

Over the last year our understanding of the gospel has grown immensely. The Holy Spirit has used our marriage to reveal to us who God is, what he’s done, who we are, and what we’ve done. God created marriage before sin entered the world. He created it to be good because he is good. However, we sinned; we rebelled. So marriage is no longer what it was originally created to be. But with the gospel there is hope. And through the gospel there is hope even for our marriage. The gospel teaches us that we don’t have to make our spouse pay for hurting us, because Christ paid for both of our sins. We don’t have to expect our spouse to fulfill all our wants and desires because Christ fulfills us. As we learn to believe the gospel and understand how it affects our marriage, we find that the Holy Spirit is making us more like Christ every day.

Overall it has been an absolutely wonderful year full of fun, (some pain), laughter, and growth. We know that we have a lot more to learn. In fact at times it feels like we know less than when we began. But we are confident that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in and through us until we meet Jesus face to face.

In Christ,

Jordan and Hannah

Happy and Sad; Theft and Gift.

Dear Friends and Family,

What a crazy few weeks it has been!

First of all we had an absolutely wonderful time road tripping across the midwest! We got to see many wonderful things, had great talks, and simply enjoyed our “vacation”. We arrived in Spokane on Friday morning the 28th and had our truck unloaded in a couple hours with the help of our friends Kevin and Brittany. Almost a week and a half later we had unpacked the last box and had spent a lot of time with Kevin and Brittany exploring Spokane.

Then came the bad news. Jordan’s grandma had taken a sudden turn for the worse. We got the call Monday night that she was sick, and Jordan flew out Tuesday night but did not make it before she passed. Hannah then flew out Thursday night for the visitation and funeral. It was an entirely different atmosphere than just a week prior.

Upon returning to Spokane we discovered that someone had broken into our backyard and stolen both our bikes. This has been difficult for us as we have many memories with those bikes and had planned quite a few adventures on the bike trails in Spokane.

However through all of this we have come to realize more and more who God is and who we are. God is Good. God is Gracious. God is Great. God is Glorious. Our lives are frail and we have no control over them. At any moment we could die. And before God we are thieves and robbers. Yet God himself came and lived, bled and died so that we can know him. And he constantly pours out his grace on us.

God reaffirmed this even today as we found out that nearly all of our tuition has been provided for this semester through different grants and scholarships. We didn’t earn these scholarships. God simply loves to be gracious, a fact that is seen if we simply pay attention.

In Christ,

Jordan and Hannah

Ta Ta for Now...

Dear Friends and Family,

Well it’s that time. Our truck is loaded up and we’re getting ready for our last night here in town. It’s time to head out. Right now we are experiencing a mixture of emotions. It is sad to leave, but we are excited to see what God has in store.

We will desperately miss our families, our church, our friends, our co workers, and simply Bloomington-Normal. This last year, as well as the previous years spent here, has been absolutely wonderful. We have grown a lot, met many people, and found ourselves loving being here.

But now it’s time for change. We will miss you all dearly. Please pray for us as we travel and get adjusted. Thank you to each of you who have invested in our lives. We sincerely appreciate you.

In Christ,

Jordan and Hannah

An Update on Jordan's Health

Dear Friends and Family,

A couple weeks ago Jordan returned to his neurologist here in town. The neurologist restated that there are absolutely no abnormalities in Jordan’s MRI, EEG, or blood work that points towards seizures. The Doctor said that one could argue that Jordan has epilepsy, but it is unclear and thus he did not officially diagnose him. Jordan is to stay on his medicine and reconnect with the neurologist in Spokane. Due to the nature of the medication, Jordan needs to get blood tests every six months. The doctor mentioned that in two years, provided Jordan has no other health issues, he may be able to lower the dosages of his medication.

Through all of this, God has been overly gracious to us. We are amazed at how God provided for us and kept Jordan safe. Because of what we have learned about God through this situation, we are confident that God will provide our every need as we move out to Spokane!

In Christ,

Jordan and Hannah

May '13 Newsletter

Praise God for the remarkable ways he has and will continue to work in our lives! In the midst of challenging circumstances, Hannah and I have been witnesses to this incredible work. Over the past few years, our “life plans” have changed and shifted more than we even feel comfortable thinking about. While our journey has at times seemed unpredictable, we want to take a moment to share how God has guided us this far, and to invite you to join us the rest of the way!

As you may already know, we both transferred to Moody Bible Institute in Spokane, Washington two years ago (2011-12). Prior to this, Hannah was taking online classes at Moody, and was planning to transfer to the Moody campus in Chicago, but was accepted to the campus in Spokane, Washington instead. Meanwhile, Jordan was attending the University of Illinois studying engineering, taking part in Air Force R.O.T.C., and slowly but surely becoming more and more interested in Moody’s Missionary Aviation program in Spokane. By the end of the summer we were both flying 2,000 miles away toward the Evergreen State!

Within a matter of days, Spokane already felt like home, and we knew that our big decisions thus far were in line with God’s will. However, it didn’t take long for the next challenge to come. In the fall of 2011, Jordan experienced a bout of seizures that took him to the emergency room, and eventually several doctors’ offices. Thankfully, medication was able to control the issue and he had no more problems until the fall of 2012 when his neurologist recommended that he begin lowering his dosages, which resulted in another bout of seizures. As of now, no cause has been found and medication controls the issue, however, there are several restrictions for pilots with a seizure disorder. This was a major part of the decision to shift from a Flight degree at Moody to the Maintenance Specialist degree. It turns out that Missionary Maintenance Specialists are in much higher demand throughout the world. In fact, while we were researching this option we found this quote on the JAARS (a missionary aviation organization connected with Wycliffe) website, “We talk a lot about pilots – but behind every flight program, there’s a huge team of other people. Right now, our top need is maintenance technicians. They keep the planes in top condition, which makes for safer flights and less delays.”

God has blessed and affirmed us in many ways during the past year providing us confidence in the road ahead. Being home for this past year has given us the opportunity to enjoy family and the community of Grace Church, as well as be involved in ministry through the process of a mission’s internship. However we are now absolutely confident that God is leading us back out to Spokane. Hannah has two years left in her Intercultural Missions degree and Jordan has four years left of intensive maintenance training. God willing, we will be on our way to the mission field after we graduate. As we continue on this journey we would love to have you join us! You can continue receiving our correspondence, and/or commit to actively lift us up in prayer.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. We look forward to how God work in the future!

In Christ,

Jordan and Hannah