So far it has been about two months since we first heard about Cambodia becoming a closed door for our family. The Lord has taught us a great deal over this time and we are excited to have officially applied to a new field. Right now we are working on some paperwork and Beth has been working hard at updating our prayer card, brochure, portfolio and business card. Hopefully you will see them soon when we are given the green light to resume full time support raising!
In the meantime, however, during this transition we have been heavily involved in our sending church. We believe that whenever we are home, one of our main jobs is serving our home church in any way we can.
One thing we have been doing is serving on the Mission Leadership Team. This team overseas the mission endeavor of our church, and it has been a privilege to pray for the missionaries we support, be a part of making decisions, and helping come up with more ways to help our church grow in their interest and involvement in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each year we have a Fall Missions Emphasis, which we were privileged to be a part of planning this year.
One of our guest speakers this year was a representative from Voice of the Martyrs, an organization aiding Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith. This was an awesome opportunity to be reminded that there are believers all over the world being persecuted right now for their faith in Jesus Christ. As we listened to him share the intense struggles these fellows believers are going through, all of our problems seemed to pail in comparison to the stories we heard. We Praise God for this organization and their faithfulness to minister to the persecuted church.
I’ve also had the privilege of being a part of the Adult Education Team, a team whose purpose is to bring structure and vision to our weekly adult education hour on Sunday mornings. I am learning a lot in the area of teamwork, leadership and administration.
Currently I am teaching an Adult Bible Fellowship class during our Sunday Morning education hour on the book of Judges entitled, “God Uses Imperfect People.” As we know, when you teach something it certainly helps to concrete it in your heart and mind so I have benefited from this a lot. The Lord is growing me as a teacher and that is exciting.
Lastly, a couple of weeks back Jude was dedicated at church on Sunday morning. Jude was great through the whole thing, but his parents sure were emotional! 🙂 What a great opportunity for us to reflect on God’s command to “train up a child in the way he should go.” We feel privileged to be given this stewardship of raising Jude to become a man after God’s own heart.
Some people have asked if we have been frustrated not having an official direction yet, and ask if we feel impatient to “get on with things.” Yes, there are days when it is hard to be patient and trust in God’s timing but mostly we are excited to take this opportunity to serve in our home church. We trust that God is using this time as more vital training for the ministry He has prepared for us in the future.
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