I Am Praying for You

Closed June 21, 2019

It's been on my heart for a while now to record all that's happened since the last post.

-We moved all our stuff to a storage unit.

-We accepted an offer on our house.

-We closed on the house.

-We changed schools in Costa Rica.

-We applied for school at Spanish Language Institute.

-We were accepted.

-We've begun the journey to getting our visas for a one year stay in CR.

-We've sold a vehicle.

-We've started the process of selling assets of the business to an individual who is interested in keeping the website and furniture business going.

-We've been matched with a Big Brother family in CR, who is currently attending school there. They've been able to line us up with a house to rent in CR.

So many memories made in this house

And probably a few other things sprinkled in there.

I look up at that list and see all of the "we" and wince a little. We really didn't do it. But God has done it through us. And I know prayers said on our behalf has been vital. So thank you for praying.

This past weekend we were able to attend the Proclaim & Serve Mission Conference in Roanoke. HarvestCall does an excellent job of informing the church about local and out of country missions. They reiterated the need first of all for the mission to begin in your own home. From there, we can develop relationships with our neighbors, coworkers, people at the post office, etc. to let God use us to bring them to Him. The gospel is never secondary. And if God calls you to go to another country, well, He may have that for you. The sending church is vital in caring for the missionary on and off the field. Over and over we heard that when you sign up for missions, you are signing up for suffering. Andy and I heard that in counseling these past 2 years. Satan knows you are there to do good and will try in a variety of ways to discourage and deplete you.

Exhaustion, depression, discouragement, guilt, burnout...etc. So if we know this going into it, why do we go? Very clearly, we were called. Sis. Gloria Gonzalez testified at the conference that if Bro. Marshall and Sis. Jan Heinold had not followed God's leading to Ixtlan, MX, she most definitely would not be here today. Her father's family was Catholic and mother's family were Jehovah's Witnesses. But, Heinolds invited her and her siblings to listen to Bible Stories every day after school. A relationship was born and they desired to hear more. Praise the Lord, her father, mother and two sisters repented and were baptized.

After her testimony, we were asked, is it worth it? Is it worth it to the AC Church to spend millions of dollars, to send 50-70 missionaries to various countries, to receive them back into home congregations with maybe a few more struggles to bear once home? And for Gloria it was! It was worth it!

Jesus thought it was worth going to the cross to save souls, I can give up some earthly conveniences if it means that God may use me to create a relationship with a soul who needs Him.

Keep praying! Pray for the missionaries far from home. I will be praying for you.