Learning and growing in our calling has been a process. It has been a process of learning to sacrifice, learning to trust God and each other, and learning to stop and listen. It has also been a process of growing as a couple, growing as students, and growing in Christ.
As we reached the point where we knew God had called us into overseas missionary service, that was where the real seeking began. We had to wait for God to present the place. We looked at Great Britain, Colombia, and Ireland, but the doors continued to close. God laid a burden on our heart for Spain, but, as we have learned, we have been burdened for the lost in other places as well, so we could not take this as confirmation, but as another avenue to seek an opening.
Through the next couple of months, we received confirming moments and began to set our hearts on this place. The confirmation that I truly needed came through a desire to read God's Word while I was at work on September 14, 2012. I was flipping through the Bible, not really sure what I was seeking, but just knowing that God had prepared something for me. In my turning, I stopped and began to read.
"But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain." Romans 15:23-24
There it was, simply laid before me. I have read through the Bible cover to cover several times, and generally a passage like this would be one I would read and move on. I know this little bit of Scripture doesn't seem like much, but it was to me. I have been involved in some form of ministry for a few years now (although as Christians, we are all in ministry). For a few years, I was a youth pastor. Since then, I have served as an Admissions Director for a Christian University, giving me more opportunities to reach out to people than I could have asked for.
I have loved the time I have served in ministry here, and I have met so many amazing people who have been of great encouragement in this calling pursuit. Now, God has called my wife and I to a new ministry - a ministry to a population that is starving for, while also resisting, the Gospel. Check out this article to see just how resistant Spain truly is. A population where most consider themselves Catholic, yet only 10% regularly attend a worship service. As I've mentioned before, 47 million people live in Spain, yet less than 1% claim to be evangelical Christians. Spain has some tough soil to plant on.
Anyways, back to the passage. While there is much work left to do here, God is revealing that this is not where He wants us to stay. So here we go, we're moving on to Spain.
Sadly, I know that we have not seen many of you who read this blog in some time. We hope to do that as we continue through the process. We want to visit you, we want to talk with you, we want your prayers and support, and we want to build our relationships here. I am learning, as I speak with veteran missionaries, that our relationships with you will be more and more important while we are on the field.
If you have not already, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter. We'll start sending out regular newsletters soon, and we want to make sure we are sending information to the right address and email. Also, our OMS profile page is now live, so check that out.
As always, thank you for your prayers and support. Mel and I are trying to open ourselves up as much as possible for God to use us freely. We'll both be finishing school a semester early, so that is requiring more work in a shorter amount of time. We'll be starting Spanish language training soon and scheduling appointments to develop partners for ministry. It's going to be a busy year as we hope to be on the field early fall 2013, but God is faithful.
I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of a small baptism service that just happened Tuesday where a lady named Veronika wanted to profess her faith through baptism after a Sunday morning invitation. This happened as a result of one of the house churches that were planted by the team in Spain. As Mel said in her last post, it is great knowing our assignment (Vision Sierra Oeste church planting team), and knowing that efforts already established are working.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Weekly Update #2- Funding Class Cont.
The past week of OMS training/prep in list form:
1) Week two of funding class. Everything is great!
2) We have officially received our assignment to Spain!
3) Our status has been changed from Extreme Walk missionaries to career missionaries.
4) Our profile is up on the OMS website.
5) I have had one meeting with the Spain team for the trip in October and have one this Friday.
Prayer Requests:
1) Time management as we balance work, school and OMS work.
2) That the preparation for October's trip continues to go well.
1) Week two of funding class. Everything is great!
2) We have officially received our assignment to Spain!
3) Our status has been changed from Extreme Walk missionaries to career missionaries.
4) Our profile is up on the OMS website.
5) I have had one meeting with the Spain team for the trip in October and have one this Friday.
Prayer Requests:
1) Time management as we balance work, school and OMS work.
2) That the preparation for October's trip continues to go well.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Weekly Update #1- Funding Class
Each week as we prepare for Spain I plan to post a quick update about where we are in the process and how things are going. Please check back to keep up with us!
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work"
-2 Corinthians 9:8
Jeremy and I started our fundraising class today. This class will prepare us to reach out to potential supporters and be fully funded in (ideally) nine months. We are excited for this class because not only are we going to learn the best way to raise support but we will also be connected with one other missionary couple and three single missionaries. The seven of us will be journeying through our fundraising and preparation together.
"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work"
-2 Corinthians 9:8
Jeremy and I started our fundraising class today. This class will prepare us to reach out to potential supporters and be fully funded in (ideally) nine months. We are excited for this class because not only are we going to learn the best way to raise support but we will also be connected with one other missionary couple and three single missionaries. The seven of us will be journeying through our fundraising and preparation together.
The class is three weeks long, meeting for an hour and half, four days a week. Additionally, there is reading and prep work to be done outside of our meeting times. We know that this class will be extremely beneficial but we also know that it will require many hours over the next few weeks. But this is only a taste of the busy times that are to come as we continue to prepare.
We are already so thankful for the support of One Mission Society. We are so excited to connect with other new missionaries. We are so excited for the support we have already received from friends and family. We are so blessed to have friends and family who are as excited about our calling as we are.
As I look ahead to what God holds for us I am not scared. I'm certain there will be days I am frustrated or even discouraged but I am declaring now that I will not let fear become an obstacle in our preparation.
Prayer Requests-
That God will continue to guide our steps.
Time management as we work through this class as well as work and homework for school.
That God will continue to guide our steps.
Time management as we work through this class as well as work and homework for school.
Labels:
fundraising,
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Weekly Update
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
We Are Not Our Own
It was no coincidence that this
morning’s reading from My Utmost for His Highest began with this quote, “A
missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this
realization: “You are not your own.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you
not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you
have received from God? You are not your own you were bought at a price. Therefore
honor God with your bodies.” While the context of this verse is actually
talking about sexual immorality, it can pretty easily be applied to every area
of our lives.
The control we believe we have in
our own lives is so very deceiving. If our bodies are temples of the Holy
Spirit, they can serve only that singular purpose. If the Holy Spirit is to
inhabit our bodies, then we must relinquish all control over what they do. We
must forfeit all say in our own lives because even the life we live is not really
our own. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by
faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
My lack of control over my own life
has manifested itself in many ways over the past several years. The first
significant time was when I was 15. I had plans to be part of a three week
mission trip to Curitiba, Brazil. Thanks to several setbacks along the way,
the trip fell through. Instead, I ended up in Nicaragua with a youth group from
a different church, an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. Since that
year I have been on several other short term trips and begun a degree in
Intercultural Studies and Global Missions.
Over the last one to two years, I
have wondered if my call to missions had been misread or misunderstood. I have been frustrated and confused. Maybe full-time
missions was never my call. Maybe I had missed a sign along the way. Surely God
wouldn’t have changed His mind on me. No, that wasn’t it. Our time had not yet
come. It wasn’t until March of this year that Jeremy finally told me he was
ready to pursue our calling.
As soon as I was ready to be content with a life of short term trips and American
living, my husband was on board to sell our possessions and dive headfirst into
a new culture.
This August we interviewed with One
Mission Society in Indiana. We received the call confirming our acceptance and
now we will begin the process of preparation. Together we were called and
together we will journey to minister to the hearts of Spain.
Labels:
answered prayer,
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Our Purpose and Our Passion
“I set myself on fire, and people come to see me burn.” – John Wesley
This quote has come to my mind a lot recently. When I think
about it, my immediate mental interpretation is that I would certainly run to
the person on fire, but I would probably bring a hose. It’s not a statement
that you generally hear someone say, but this was Wesley’s response to a
question about why such large crowds of people would travel for miles to hear
him preach.
Wesley had lived much of his life clinging to an outward
Christianity - the Christianity where the works you did were the focus. He said that he hoped to be considered a good
Christian by following three basic principles: “(1) Not being so bad as other
people, (2) Having still a kindness for religion, and (3) Reading the Bible,
going to church, and saying my prayers.” To have an enthusiastic passion for
Christ was a distant concept, because salvation came largely from the works you
did.
Mel and I came together with two separate thoughts of how
our lives would go, but through the process of becoming one flesh, we have
spent time with God trying to find our combined purpose. This quote comes to
mind because at times it has been difficult for me to find the burning passion
of following Christ. I have been in ministry for a few years, and in that time,
I have had highs and lows, but I don’t feel that anyone ever rushed to watch me
burn. Until recently, I still had this feeling that the spark was missing from
my relationship with God.
On a recent trip to Medellin, Colombia, I found my passion.
In an individual prayer time, I had to break away from my wife so that God
could speak to me individually. As many of you know, Mel has had a passion for
missionary work since she was 15 years old, and our marriage had left both of
us confused about the calling on our lives. I was resisting the combining of
our gifts and abilities and Mel had times where she wondered if her calling was
lost or misunderstood.
I realized during this prayer time that I need to quit being
resistant and just be open to His leading, so I asked – “God, what do you want
for us to do?” And then the answer came – “Go.” I’ll be the first to say that
God doesn't speak audibly much, but I think sometimes it takes a life changing
moment for Him to clear His throat. In that moment, I found my passion. In that
moment, I found the burning desire to follow Christ with all that I have. In
that moment, I found hope and a purpose.
After much prayer and conversation, Mel and I took this
message and redirected our path. Questions began to surface – Where? When? What
organization should we go with? How long? What about our friends and family? –
but these questions seemed minor in light of God’s plan. If He has told us to
go, then he’ll reveal the path to get there.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
A couple of weeks ago, Mel and I went to Indiana to interview
with One Mission Society. We had been working through the application process
for several months and had finally reached this pivotal point. We spent a day
getting to know the inner workings of OMS and the expectations placed on us as
missionaries. We met people from different offices and learned more about the
philosophy of ministry that One Mission Society has had for over 100 years. Today,
we received a phone call notifying us that we were approved as Missionaries
with One Mission Society!
Over the last few months, God has laid Spain upon our
hearts. This is the country where we feel that God is calling us to serve. 1%
of the population of Spain consider themselves Evangelical Christians. 1% of 46
million people… and this is where faith comes into play. How exactly does
around 500 thousand people reach out to over 45 million others with the Gospel
of Christ? “I set myself on fire, and people come to see me burn.” The Gospel
of Christ is attractive if there are followers that are serving Him
passionately. I want to be one of those followers, and I believe that passion
comes from purpose. With Christ, we all have a purpose, and I’m excited that
Mel and I have reached the point of understanding that purpose.
More updates will follow, and I believe Mel will be posting
something really soon. If you have any questions about the process or any
questions for us, feel free to post a comment or to email me at reese.jdr@gmail.com.
Labels:
Christianity,
God's Plan,
jesus,
John Wesley,
Missions,
OMS,
One Mission Society,
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Purpose,
Spain,
Wesley
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