Damp & grey, crisp & bleak, hints of light breaking thru the clouds until color shatters the darkness. Oh how often this is seen in the atmospheric landscape of this nation. Every time I see it, this remarkable reminder of God’s covenant to His people, it causes me to reflect on His great redemption to mankind seen in the face of Jesus Christ. Christ bore the fullness of wrath that we deserved. Instead of once again flooding the earth to wipe out the wicked God chose to pour out His wrath upon His own Son... therefore bringing redemption to us, those whom He called to be His sons & daughters. This is Good News!
As the weeks have passed since our last post several things have transpired. We obtained our residency! We now have access to be here for 3 years, with the flexibility of flying in and out of the country without much hassle. Thank you for those who have been in prayer for us. The process went so smoothly. Because we obtained residency we were able to purchase a scooter. I cannot express how wonderful it is to have accessible transportation. Now we have a wider reach into the city and surrounding villages that we cannot access by public transportation alone. It is a great blessing!
Financially we have been so amazed at the commitment & support level we feel from our local church, our friends abroad, & our families. With your support we are able to buy groceries, pay bills, give to those in need, pay for language learning fees, & essentially do everything that we are doing here. We are completely & totally dependent upon the Lord to provide for us, and He is providing for us so greatly thru you. Thank you for being so faithful to give to Him. Thank you for joining us in spreading the Good News to the unreached and unengaged.
Here is a brief summary of what we have been up to/ things that are up & coming:
Locally: We started a basic schedule consisting of 2 hours of prayer & worship with our community 5 days a week, language learning 20 hours a week, & various gatherings and Bible studies throughout the week . It is intentionally a light schedule for the purpose of having time to be with the locals. Our goal is to build relationships, share the Gospel, & bless this city. God has given us tremendous favor here. We continually pray that it will be for His glory.
Regionally: We are in the process of launching a missions school starting in September. It will be a 9 month immersion into the vision & values of frontier ministry. It is designed to serve those who sense a life-long call to magnify the worth of Jesus among unreached peoples (Romans 15:17-23; Matthew 9:37; 28:18-20). It is part of our concentrated effort to mobilize laborers throughout the Middle East, North Africa, & the Mediterranean Basin. We will hold the school here, train people, & send them throughout the ME. The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few. There are many applicants but we only have space for 12 people: please pray for wisdom as God stirs hearts across the globe.
Globally: We are currently in the process of making a film, holding conferences, making connections throughout various denominations & missions organizations, writing books, blogs, & connecting medical professionals throughout the ME as pathways for the Gospel. Our goal is to flood the internet, churches, & lands with the message that Jesus is worthy of our lives. The call we are shouting is, “Serve Him unhindered wherever He may lead.” Please pray that we stay Christ-centered & are a blessing to the Church across the globe.
"He told them another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened." Matthew 13:33
In many ways we are like the leaven in this parable. We are small, hidden, & unlike the masses around us. We are a Christian remnant in a large Muslim city, yet darkness is but a theater for the light of the Gospel. As we live, learn, & do our best to serve in this city we see God’s hand at work both in us & thru us. We see God challenging & forming. We hold on to the promise that a little leaven changes the whole measure.