I really did mean to post an update each week with just small happenings and events, but I haven't done that very well. We have been good at getting our newsletter out every month!
But here are a few things-
-Moving- Things are starting to clear out. Our apartment is still in the "disaster area"phase but we have sold a few more things. We are having a book sale at the school today to hopefully get rid of the massive number of books Jeremy and I have collected. I will at least start moving while Jeremy is in Florida next month.
- Yesterday we had three services at Crosslink EMC. Everyone was very receptive and encouraging. We received several new faith promises and one-time donations.
- I am finally getting started on my project for my internship. I'm hoping to have it completed by the end of February.
- In January's newsletter we proposed a 10/40 challenge- Ten people willing to commit $40/month. We still need a few people to step up to the plate! Would you consider accepting this challenge and becoming part of the ministry in Spain? If not $40/month, any monthly amount gets us closer to Spain!
-As of now, we are currently at 16% of our monthly pledges. We still have a ways to go, but God has been faithful and we know we will be fully funded in the perfect time.
-We are making calls to individuals and churches to set up appointments. Please, let us know if you have a church group that you would like us to visit. Or, if you personally would like to hear more about your part!
Monday, January 28, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Empty.
May 2011- Jeremy and I were married and moved into our first home in Lexington, NC
February 2012- We decided to move back to High Point to be closer to Jeremy's work and most of our friends.
Now, just a year later and our lease is up next month and we are packing for yet another move! We are doing a thorough cleanse of our things- getting rid of almost anything that will not make the impending move to Spain.
Our walls are starting to look empty as we begin taking down artwork, pictures and shelves. The guest room closet is nearly empty. The bookshelves are being emptied. Boxes that were put away from the last move are being emptied. Even my closet and drawers are looking a little more empty as piles of clothes are collecting for Goodwill and Plato's Closet.
I love getting rid of things. I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when something cluttered is emptied or at least organized. I hate clutter. I actually do hate messes but my home may not always reflect that.
I think God hates clutter too. God hates the messes that we make for ourselves. I think He probably despises all of the junk we fill our lives with. The physical junk or the memories and the emotional "baggage" that we all carry with us. So much of it we just need to get rid of.
"He must become greater; I must become less."
John 3:30
Sure it is easier said than done. Sure many things we can't just forget about. But we can decide not to carry it with us. We can decide to set it down and move on.
This isn't a new message of course. Just one that I've been thinking about today.
As Jeremy and I prepare for our work in Spain I don't want to constantly be thinking of things from the past. I don't want to be holding back from doing something because of something I should have gotten rid of a long time ago. If my hands are holding on to the past so tightly I will never be able to grasp what is ahead of me.
"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:13-14
Just thinking...
Friday, January 18, 2013
January 2013 Newsletter
Hello Friends!
We hope your new year is off to a great start, ours certainly is! We made our first church presentation of the year and have three more scheduled for this month. As we see January is already half over, we know that our goal departure date is really just around the corner. We are working hard and trusting that God has his perfect timing at work.
We have recently begun talking with Hope61, the anti-human trafficking arm of One Mission Society. This is a new ministry that is targeting six countries prone to human trafficking. One of these six countries is Spain. Spain is basically the gateway to the rest of Europe, with trafficking coming from Africa. We have prayed about our part in this ministry. As church planters, we are establishing new churches that will impact their communities - which will in turn establish even more churches. If we place at the foundation of each church the need to combat human trafficking and the resources to do so, then we can impact the future of human trafficking in Spain.
Many of the victims of trafficking come from the "10-40 window." This part of the world is one of the poorest and home to some of the most unreached countries. Because of Spain's close proximity and need for the Gospel, we feel very challenged to combat the evil of trafficking. So, we want to challenge you as well! This is our January challenge: 10 people committed to 40 dollars per month. That is $40 a month pledged to spreading the Gospel and breaking the bonds of slavery. Would you consider being one of those people?
Praise Report:
Annette and Andrea Rosell recently started a youth group. There are ages 12-19 represented. It is great to have a place for young people to come together and fellowship with fellow believers, learning more about their faith.
As always, we thank you for your continued financial and prayer support as we continue in this journey.
Jeremy and Melissa
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Deuteronomy Chapter 6
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Father that created me, Son that saved me, Spirit that moves me, You are one. You are one God, the only God to whom I give all my praise. All my heart longs to love you. All my soul longs for your presence. All my strength longs to do your work.
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.
Place your words on my heart. Let them satisfy my soul. Let them give me strength. May my children know your love by example. Make my every action lead them to You. Let your words be always on my tongue. Let your words be first and last in my day. When I wake let them be fresh on my mind. When lay down to sleep let them be my meditation.
You are tangible to me. I hold out my hands and feel the weight of your words. I carry them with me. I wear them on my sleeves. My my home be a place where your word is always present.
Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.
I will act boldly as you lead me. I will walk with the confidence in the way you have commanded. Your words will guide my life. You are good and will provide for me. I have hope. I have nothing but You. No breath but You. Your mercy alone.
In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?”
I will tell them of my Savior. I will tell them how you reached into my sin. My filth. I will tell them how you saved me! I will tell them about the only hope I have. Your love proved me wrong! Not all is lost. You set me free. You broke the chains that held me down. You broke my heart of stone.
I will follow you all the days of my life. My King lives. My King reigns.
Father that created me, Son that saved me, Spirit that moves me, You are one. You are one God, the only God to whom I give all my praise. All my heart longs to love you. All my soul longs for your presence. All my strength longs to do your work.
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.
Place your words on my heart. Let them satisfy my soul. Let them give me strength. May my children know your love by example. Make my every action lead them to You. Let your words be always on my tongue. Let your words be first and last in my day. When I wake let them be fresh on my mind. When lay down to sleep let them be my meditation.
You are tangible to me. I hold out my hands and feel the weight of your words. I carry them with me. I wear them on my sleeves. My my home be a place where your word is always present.
Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.
I will act boldly as you lead me. I will walk with the confidence in the way you have commanded. Your words will guide my life. You are good and will provide for me. I have hope. I have nothing but You. No breath but You. Your mercy alone.
In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?”
I will tell them of my Savior. I will tell them how you reached into my sin. My filth. I will tell them how you saved me! I will tell them about the only hope I have. Your love proved me wrong! Not all is lost. You set me free. You broke the chains that held me down. You broke my heart of stone.
I will follow you all the days of my life. My King lives. My King reigns.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
What is faith?
We attend a Sunday evening Bible study/discussion group/social hangout called the Underground. This group is comprised of mostly young adults, usually in their twenties, but with a few others in differing age groups. We had not met in while because of Christmas and the New Year, but we got together this past Sunday.
I want to back up for a moment. God has blessed me greatly. He has given me gifts and abilities that I feel I have only begun to use at this point. I have never had to work too hard for a lot. I don’t want to come off as arrogant or “holier than thou,” it’s just the truth. In most situations, I have been successful. I grant that success to God’s plan and purpose - and it’s safe to say that I would not be where I am today without that relationship. I won’t go into details of successes and failures, but if you are close to me, you probably know most of them.
I say all of this to say - what is faith? I believe in God, even though my eyes have never truly met His. (His have met mine though) Growing up, I always heard faith being discussed as believing without seeing. Going through Bible College, you study the many ways you are actually supposed to see God. I know, it’s weird, right? As I think through the last several years, I’m sad to say that I’ve clung to a Sunday school definition of faith. As a youth pastor, I did a lesson where I used a Skit Guys video called the trust fall. Maybe you have done this exercise before - standing a few feet in front of someone and falling backwards. It’s difficult to do your first time or two. My definition of faith, simply put - being blindfolded and knowing (or hoping) that God will catch me if I fall. That can’t be it for faith though. I tend to question myself on occasion and my own thoughts and beliefs. Why can’t I simply take the blindfold off, turn around, run and embrace my Savior and my God? Fair question.
Okay, now back to the Underground. Sunday evening was a little more eye opening than I realized while I was sitting in the room with ten to fifteen other people. A young missionary to the Philippines was speaking with us. His name is Caleb. Caleb has been in the Philippines for a few years now, and at 26 years old, he has seen and done more than most people hope to do in a lifetime. He told us stories, some I had heard before, and some that I hadn’t. From the moment God laid the Philippines on his heart to where he is now - His life has been a journey of faith.
He told us of many people being healed - true healing. How he had prayed and witnessed a blind man regain his sight. Yeah, just like in the Bible (because I know that’s what you’re thinking). After telling us that, Caleb turned to us and said, “healing can also be a great evangelistic tool!” Okay, so I have prayed for my family and my friends to get well when they are sick, and I believe that God does heal, but why would I (or we) be so hesitant to commit to true healing? Why would I not walk up to a blind man and ask God to heal him? I think what impacted me most was that I have heard of healings like the ones Caleb spoke of, but not ones being done by someone like Caleb. A mid twenties normal guy - basically someone like me...
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)
What is my excuse? Now, please do not get me wrong - I don’t believe God gives us gifts and abilities to just throw around - but Christ tells us with faith we’ll do greater works than He did. It’s hard enough for most of us to talk to the person next door, let alone pray that by faith he or she will be healed of what’s hurting them. We pray for healing, but do we ever have the faith to promise it?
When we got home that night, I found myself researching how small a mustard seed truly is. If that’s all it takes, well sure! I’ve got that! And then I questioned why I have yet to use it? I mentioned that I have not had to work terribly hard for some of the blessings I have received, even though I do consider myself a hard worker. At the start of 2012, I found myself growing guilty because I had a great job, a job that was only possible because of God’s timing, and a comfortable life with an amazing wife - but no true sense of purpose. I was doing good things, and doing them for God, but my relationship with Him was suffering. I feel like someone reading this may be in that spot right now.
In Colombia in March 2012, I asked God to give me purpose again. If I raise my voice at our dog when he’s done something wrong, he always walks slowly over to me in a crouched position. I’m never sure if he knows what he has done wrong when he does this. I went to God like that - truly not knowing what I had done wrong. I asked God for direction for Mel and me - and He answered. In that moment, beyond most moments in my life, I had faith. In that moment, God took the blindfold off of me and grabbed me and spoke. In that moment, God bear hugged me! He said “Go,” and by faith, I knew what He meant. In that moment, He took the turn from a God I could not imagine to a God I could actually hear. (Not to say He’s not still indescribable and unthinkable - in the good way)
Just as you can imagine, I had a “faith-spike.” (FYI - That’s when your faith is really high for some period of time after being low.) It was like the moment I asked Christ into my heart. Without knowing what to do with that “faith-spike,” it dies down over time. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited about my Savior. I am excited about our calling. I have been excited ever since that day, and I still have purpose. I’m sure you’ve experienced this spike in faith, but most of us just don’t know what to do with it. If you aren’t going to use it, then why keep so much of it? I mean, it only takes a mustard seed, right?
Sunday, I learned what my mustard seed faith was missing: a willing participant. God is revealing that Spain is just one piece in the puzzle (well, maybe a few pieces because it’s a huge part of the puzzle). Our decision to truly let God use us, by faith, is the rest of it. We have to make a decision to get out of the boat (Matthew 14:29) and to keep our focus on Him - keeping the blindfold off. It’s easy for us to keep repeating the action of falling so He’ll catch us (faith-spikes). I learned Sunday that I want to be active in the work God is doing around the world - not just active in what He’s doing for me. I’ve been blessed, but I want to be a part of the blessing that He has for others.
"'Come,' he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus." (Matthew 14:29)
As I told my wife, I just needed to put my thoughts into words. I know this is a long post in the blogging world, but it’s one I felt I needed to write. Maybe I just needed to do this for myself alone, or maybe for you too. This past Sunday, I learned something I had never known. God’s still teaching me, and I hope He never stops. Beyond getting to Spain and the updates from the team already there, I do not know what all God is preparing us to do. I doubt I’ll be healing many blind men on the side of the road, and that’s not the point. I have read those verses and Jesus’s words so many times, yet it took Sunday evening for me to truly grasp that the faith He talks about is the same faith we can have. God provides the situations to use those “greater works,” we just need to be willing to step up and know that our God is able!
I want to back up for a moment. God has blessed me greatly. He has given me gifts and abilities that I feel I have only begun to use at this point. I have never had to work too hard for a lot. I don’t want to come off as arrogant or “holier than thou,” it’s just the truth. In most situations, I have been successful. I grant that success to God’s plan and purpose - and it’s safe to say that I would not be where I am today without that relationship. I won’t go into details of successes and failures, but if you are close to me, you probably know most of them.
I say all of this to say - what is faith? I believe in God, even though my eyes have never truly met His. (His have met mine though) Growing up, I always heard faith being discussed as believing without seeing. Going through Bible College, you study the many ways you are actually supposed to see God. I know, it’s weird, right? As I think through the last several years, I’m sad to say that I’ve clung to a Sunday school definition of faith. As a youth pastor, I did a lesson where I used a Skit Guys video called the trust fall. Maybe you have done this exercise before - standing a few feet in front of someone and falling backwards. It’s difficult to do your first time or two. My definition of faith, simply put - being blindfolded and knowing (or hoping) that God will catch me if I fall. That can’t be it for faith though. I tend to question myself on occasion and my own thoughts and beliefs. Why can’t I simply take the blindfold off, turn around, run and embrace my Savior and my God? Fair question.
Okay, now back to the Underground. Sunday evening was a little more eye opening than I realized while I was sitting in the room with ten to fifteen other people. A young missionary to the Philippines was speaking with us. His name is Caleb. Caleb has been in the Philippines for a few years now, and at 26 years old, he has seen and done more than most people hope to do in a lifetime. He told us stories, some I had heard before, and some that I hadn’t. From the moment God laid the Philippines on his heart to where he is now - His life has been a journey of faith.
He told us of many people being healed - true healing. How he had prayed and witnessed a blind man regain his sight. Yeah, just like in the Bible (because I know that’s what you’re thinking). After telling us that, Caleb turned to us and said, “healing can also be a great evangelistic tool!” Okay, so I have prayed for my family and my friends to get well when they are sick, and I believe that God does heal, but why would I (or we) be so hesitant to commit to true healing? Why would I not walk up to a blind man and ask God to heal him? I think what impacted me most was that I have heard of healings like the ones Caleb spoke of, but not ones being done by someone like Caleb. A mid twenties normal guy - basically someone like me...
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)
What is my excuse? Now, please do not get me wrong - I don’t believe God gives us gifts and abilities to just throw around - but Christ tells us with faith we’ll do greater works than He did. It’s hard enough for most of us to talk to the person next door, let alone pray that by faith he or she will be healed of what’s hurting them. We pray for healing, but do we ever have the faith to promise it?
When we got home that night, I found myself researching how small a mustard seed truly is. If that’s all it takes, well sure! I’ve got that! And then I questioned why I have yet to use it? I mentioned that I have not had to work terribly hard for some of the blessings I have received, even though I do consider myself a hard worker. At the start of 2012, I found myself growing guilty because I had a great job, a job that was only possible because of God’s timing, and a comfortable life with an amazing wife - but no true sense of purpose. I was doing good things, and doing them for God, but my relationship with Him was suffering. I feel like someone reading this may be in that spot right now.
In Colombia in March 2012, I asked God to give me purpose again. If I raise my voice at our dog when he’s done something wrong, he always walks slowly over to me in a crouched position. I’m never sure if he knows what he has done wrong when he does this. I went to God like that - truly not knowing what I had done wrong. I asked God for direction for Mel and me - and He answered. In that moment, beyond most moments in my life, I had faith. In that moment, God took the blindfold off of me and grabbed me and spoke. In that moment, God bear hugged me! He said “Go,” and by faith, I knew what He meant. In that moment, He took the turn from a God I could not imagine to a God I could actually hear. (Not to say He’s not still indescribable and unthinkable - in the good way)
Just as you can imagine, I had a “faith-spike.” (FYI - That’s when your faith is really high for some period of time after being low.) It was like the moment I asked Christ into my heart. Without knowing what to do with that “faith-spike,” it dies down over time. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited about my Savior. I am excited about our calling. I have been excited ever since that day, and I still have purpose. I’m sure you’ve experienced this spike in faith, but most of us just don’t know what to do with it. If you aren’t going to use it, then why keep so much of it? I mean, it only takes a mustard seed, right?
Sunday, I learned what my mustard seed faith was missing: a willing participant. God is revealing that Spain is just one piece in the puzzle (well, maybe a few pieces because it’s a huge part of the puzzle). Our decision to truly let God use us, by faith, is the rest of it. We have to make a decision to get out of the boat (Matthew 14:29) and to keep our focus on Him - keeping the blindfold off. It’s easy for us to keep repeating the action of falling so He’ll catch us (faith-spikes). I learned Sunday that I want to be active in the work God is doing around the world - not just active in what He’s doing for me. I’ve been blessed, but I want to be a part of the blessing that He has for others.
"'Come,' he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus." (Matthew 14:29)
As I told my wife, I just needed to put my thoughts into words. I know this is a long post in the blogging world, but it’s one I felt I needed to write. Maybe I just needed to do this for myself alone, or maybe for you too. This past Sunday, I learned something I had never known. God’s still teaching me, and I hope He never stops. Beyond getting to Spain and the updates from the team already there, I do not know what all God is preparing us to do. I doubt I’ll be healing many blind men on the side of the road, and that’s not the point. I have read those verses and Jesus’s words so many times, yet it took Sunday evening for me to truly grasp that the faith He talks about is the same faith we can have. God provides the situations to use those “greater works,” we just need to be willing to step up and know that our God is able!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
An Adventurous New Year
This morning I wrote out my goals for 2013. The past few years I picked one word for the year. A few years ago that word was "seek." I vowed to seek my calling, my purpose and my God. The next year my word was "focus." I focused on school, on relationships and weeding out things that were distracting me from what I really needed.
This year, I am taking a different approach.
"He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."
Luke 10:27
As most Christians, I have read this verse over and over. I decided this year instead of making arbitrary resolutions or goals, I would use this verse as the foundation for nine goals, three in each of these areas: heart and soul, strength and body, and mind. I am believing that if these three parts work together as I know they will, "love your neighbor as yourself" will fall right into place.
Aside from the personal goals I have set for myself, life holds great adventure for Jeremy and me in 2013.
We have several church presentations scheduled for Sundays in January and February. But, this leaves time for meeting with individuals and small groups to share our story and calling to Spain.
The lease on our apartment is up at the end of February. Thankfully, we are blessed with awesome friends to live with until Cross Training in July.
I will finish one last project and one last CLEP test to complete my degree. That means graduation for both of us in MAY!
Jeremy has already resigned from his job effective at the end of June.
We are planning to be at headquarters through July and August for training. That sets us up for an approximate departure date of September 2013. Our departure date is completely dependent on our funding. As of now we are at about 14 percent of our budget. We must be fully funded before we can depart.
So, that is an update and a rough timeline for 2013. As always, if you have questions about what we are doing, check out the tabs at the top or contact us directly. We would love to share with you about what God is doing and how you can be involved! Thank you for your continued prayer and support!
This year, I am taking a different approach.
"He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."
Luke 10:27
As most Christians, I have read this verse over and over. I decided this year instead of making arbitrary resolutions or goals, I would use this verse as the foundation for nine goals, three in each of these areas: heart and soul, strength and body, and mind. I am believing that if these three parts work together as I know they will, "love your neighbor as yourself" will fall right into place.
Aside from the personal goals I have set for myself, life holds great adventure for Jeremy and me in 2013.
We have several church presentations scheduled for Sundays in January and February. But, this leaves time for meeting with individuals and small groups to share our story and calling to Spain.
The lease on our apartment is up at the end of February. Thankfully, we are blessed with awesome friends to live with until Cross Training in July.
I will finish one last project and one last CLEP test to complete my degree. That means graduation for both of us in MAY!
Jeremy has already resigned from his job effective at the end of June.
We are planning to be at headquarters through July and August for training. That sets us up for an approximate departure date of September 2013. Our departure date is completely dependent on our funding. As of now we are at about 14 percent of our budget. We must be fully funded before we can depart.
So, that is an update and a rough timeline for 2013. As always, if you have questions about what we are doing, check out the tabs at the top or contact us directly. We would love to share with you about what God is doing and how you can be involved! Thank you for your continued prayer and support!
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