Fact of life: Saying “Yes” to one opportunity often means saying no to everything else.
Background: As many of you know, it’s been a long road and several years of trying to get permission to work among one of the many language groups that are on our island. We’ve tried every approach available to us, yet we have repeatedly run into roadblocks and closed doors.
In the process of seeking the Lord’s direction for what to do, we looked into many other options even beyond our specific region of the country and often were reminded of a sobering truth: we are so limited! It’s heavy for all of us… but saying “Yes” to one opportunity will often mean saying “No” to everything and everyone else. There are many needs, many people we care about, and many opportunities we would love to pursue; but you cannot meet every need or fulfill every request. Ultimately, we have to pick the one “Yes” from the Lord and leave all the “No’s” in the capable hands of our good and powerful God.
So, with mixed emotions, our team has made a decision.
We are saying “Yes” to a people group and a move to another island. There is sadness in leaving our current location and in knowing that this decision means closing the door to other potential opportunities. However, we’re excited to be moving forward. The goal there will be to help a struggling church that was planted amongst the “T” people group in the 80’s to be able to grow and reach the rest of their language group (which spans several islands). We will be like Apollos in Corinth who went in to water the seeds that had been planted by Paul.
5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.
1 Corinthians 3:5-7
That is a good reminder for us as we begin this new chapter. The planting and watering matter, but ultimately, God is the One who makes the seed grow. We get to water seeds that others have planted—and, Lord willing, plant some more in new areas.
Details of Future Ministry
Why: The “T” church has been asking our organization for help for many years now. Their leaders are stretched thin trying to take care of their local group of believers and handle outreaches to other villages. Challenges both within the church and from outside have made this a priority need on our field. Until now though, there hasn’t been a team ready to go in. There is also growing urgency to reach the rest of their villages while the door is open. Other religions are actively trying to move into these areas, so time is of the essence as well.
First Steps: We hope to begin by building a strong foundation of clear expectations and a healthy relationship/partnership with the “T” church. During this time, we will also be building a house so our family can function well in this new environment. As far as language learning, we are thankful the national trade language is used (to a limited level). However, the mother-tongue language of the “T” people is known to be very difficult. We expect to need 3-5 years of focused language and culture study before shifting more fully into ministry and outreach mode.
Benefits and Challenges: Obviously, the fact that there are already some believers to work alongside us is a huge benefit. Also, our mission aviation program can still use the old airstrip that was built by the original missionaries in the 80’s and 90’s, hopefully giving us good access in and out. Some of the challenges include pressures from mining companies and the growing influence of other religions in the area. We will also need distinct wisdom to partner with the existing church rather than take over — our desire is to assist and equip them to make disciples among their own people, not create dependence on us.
A few weeks ago we received the difficult news that Allegra’s dad (Wayne Smith) was very unexpectedly diagnosed with AML (Leukemia). In just a matter of days he went from enthusiastically preaching to hospital bound with several serious complications. Currently he has almost completed the first round of chemotherapy. The prognosis isn’t great, but our God certainly is. Dad is doing incredibly well emotionally and using every possible opportunity to share about Jesus and The Truth with many of the hospital staff in spite of his discomfort. Please pray for him and our family to trust the Lord through this. As you can imagine, it weighs very heavily on us and has been hard to be so far away during this time.
PRAYER:
- For Allegra’s dad and each member of the family as we share the burden.
- For wisdom and strength to finish well here as we look towards transition.
- For grace to start well in this next phase of ministry (relationships and house-building, moving, language and culture study, etc.)
PRAISE:
- For the clarity regarding our team’s future direction!
- For the opportunities we have had to be a blessing here in town.
- For growth spiritually and physically in each of us, definitely preparing us for God’s future plans.
With the end of the school year, our 11th anniversary, Haven’s 1st birthday, America’s 250th, Tyler’s 32nd, and many lost teeth — we’ve had much to celebrate!
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