{"id":303,"date":"2020-03-24T18:32:09","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T23:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/?p=303"},"modified":"2020-03-24T18:32:10","modified_gmt":"2020-03-24T23:32:10","slug":"facing-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/facing-uncertainty\/","title":{"rendered":"Facing Uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think it\u2019s safe to say that the last few weeks have raised a lot of questions for everyone. Thankfully, God\u2019s work has not stopped. We urge you to seek God and put His eternal purposes above all else. Who can you reach in this unusual situation? How can you join God in His missional work with the people around you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Look out for the interests of others (Phil. 2:3-4)<\/strong> It\u2019s frustrating to be isolated. But we are considering others more important than ourselves by obeying necessary precautions. Let us also look to serve those around us, sharing what we have if we can serve others in need. <\/li><li><strong>Practice Empathy (Rom. 12:15)<\/strong>  We may have a different reaction to this than others. But don\u2019t scorn those who are afraid or mourning. Show genuine love by sharing in their distress and offering comfort rather than scorn.  <\/li><li><strong>Continue to preach the Gospel (Phil 1:27)<\/strong>  Physically, people are in danger of coronavirus. Spiritually, people are in danger of a Christless eternity. Do not neglect the preaching of God\u2019s Word during this time, as we look to care for both the physical and spiritual needs of those around us.  <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p> Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ\u2026with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel.<\/p><cite>Philippians 1:27<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">God&#8217;s Word Goes Forth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/72444528_2511782505571837_7892452196850073600_n-450x800.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-310\" width=\"163\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/72444528_2511782505571837_7892452196850073600_n-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/72444528_2511782505571837_7892452196850073600_n-62x110.jpg 62w, https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/72444528_2511782505571837_7892452196850073600_n-141x250.jpg 141w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 163px) 100vw, 163px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Wantakia people group in Papua New Guinea, literacy classes recently took place. Here is the latest update: \u201cYesterday we had our second literacy graduation and honored these students who after three months of classes are able to read in their own language! \u2026 <strong>During the graduation ceremony, Tapman read to the community from God\u2019s word in their language! This was the first time the translation had been read in public.<\/strong>\u201d Though we are a world in crisis right now, people are reading and hearing God\u2019s Word for the first time. Praise the Lord!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is why we are going to\ncontinue in ministry partnership development in the ways that we can during\nthis time (phone calls, e-mails, and social media\u2014all quarantine-friendly ways\nto connect!). Missionaries around the world still rely on the infrastructure\nprovided by Ethnos360 support staff, and we look forward to providing that\nsupport in our ministry roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Our long-term plan is still to\nserve in ministry at the Missionary Training Center. <\/strong>We are praying that\nGod will continue to raise up ministry partners so that when this crisis is\nover, we will be fully supported and able to move right away to the MTC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We trust that God\u2019s resources are sufficient for our needs, and that we can still reach our full financial support and head to our ministry. He\u2019s not limited by a crisis like this, and we trust that He is at work to reach new people groups during this time.  We do have one big change to share\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Sudden Change of Plans<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> A few weeks ago, we reached over 50% of our needed financial support, and we fully expected that we would  be moving to our ministry at the Missionary Training Center within a month or two. So, we started packing, and we kept praying that God would provide the rest of our needed support.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, in the course of a week, we realized that many of our plans were about to change as coronavirus spread. Church events and partnership opportunities got cancelled. The MTC campus closed to any new arrivals until the virus is over. And we realized that we could not continue our normal partnership development in these circumstances, with social distancing measures in place.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As we prayed about what to do, and as we began to do ministry partnership development \u201cfrom home,\u201d God opened up a door for ministry. <strong>Ethnos360 runs a retirement center for missionaries called the Homes of Ethnos360.\u00a0 There are 138 retirees living there, and among them, they have served in 22 different countries with a total of 5,238 years of missionary service! And they need help during this current crisis.<\/strong>   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> We realized that we could continue to do \u201cdistance partnership development\u201d from any location, and that we could continue to raise support while Nick volunteers his help at the Homes of Ethnos360. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_20200323_061109813-600x800.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-306\" width=\"180\" height=\"239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_20200323_061109813-600x800.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_20200323_061109813-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_20200323_061109813-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_20200323_061109813-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_20200323_061109813-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_20200323_061109813-83x110.jpg 83w, https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_20200323_061109813-188x250.jpg 188w, https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_20200323_061109813-190x253.jpg 190w, https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/files\/2020\/03\/IMG_20200323_061109813-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> After talking with our sending church, our leadership, and our families, we quickly realized that this is how God is leading us to serve the mission at this time. Thankfully,  we had already started packing, so we quickly finished up packing, hopped in the car on Sunday, March 22, and drove through the night to arrive in Sanford, FL on Monday. We are taking a breath, unpacking, and Nick is heading  over to the Homes of Ethnos360 tomorrow to see how we can best help care for the property and the residents there.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> We are so, so thankful  to our ministry partners who remain faithful to us and to the role God has  called us to in missions. For a short time, our roles in the mission are different than planned, but the goal is the same\u2014to serve in roles that support church planting around the world.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>If you think of us, pray for settled hearts and that we take comfort in God<\/strong>. In order to protect the high-risk residents we are serving, we kept ourselves isolated from people before our move to Florida. That means we said no physical goodbyes\u2014not even to Nick\u2019s parents. It was very emotional to drive away without hugging family. We are really looking forward to flying up to PA the minute this is over and visiting IN PERSON with those who didn\u2019t get a proper goodbye. We miss you all and love you!!    <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Thank you for your prayers. We truly pray for you all\u2014continue to send your requests so that we can remain in fellowship with you through prayer. If you are feeling lonely or isolated, our girls LOVE video calls so just let us know if you\u2019d like a call! Or send us your address and we will send you some mail.<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I think it\u2019s safe to say that the last few weeks have raised a lot of questions for everyone. Thankfully, God\u2019s work has not stopped. We urge you to seek God and put His eternal purposes above all else. Who can you reach in this unusual situation? How can you join God in His missional [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1146,"featured_media":308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/nick-borio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}