We’re halfway there!
We’re halfway there!
We started this adventure with the YWAM mission statement in mind, “To know God and make him known”. After 10 weeks of hands-on learning from different missionary speakers we can now see just how important that statement is. We’ve gone back to the basics of the Gospel. Not just learning about it, but taking time to hear from God on topics like His original plan in the garden, and how He desires all to be restored to that place of unbroken relationship. We practiced hearing from God and realizing that He is always speaking, and wants to be in communication with us constantly!
During Family Bible Stories Time reading from the SourceView bible.
During the week on “Identity in Christ” we had a very out of the box speaker named Mauricio from Mexico. During that week Daniel had a chance to lead worship and was led to bake and serve chocolate souffles at the start of worship. As he was walking from the kitchen to the coffee house carrying a large tray full of souffles he asked God, “Are you in this or am I crazy?” To which he felt God reply a simple “yes”. What followed was a powerful time of worship, prayer, and healing that left a mark on the entire base. It was such a sweet (pun intended!) reminder that God truly cares about us and desires us to enjoy His creation alongside Him!
Souffles!
Prayer
Our prayer before we arrived was for our family to grow closer together. We’ve had opportunities to lead worship together at the YWAM base, and also to go to a local church to lead worship and preach a message about God’s heart for missions. At another time the entire base went to the beach to have fun and conduct water baptisms in the Pacific Ocean for those who were ready to do so. We were so excited when Jubilee decided she wanted to be baptized! It was a cold and windy day but that didn’t stop Daniel from getting in the water and baptizing her.
Preaching at a local church in Mexico
Jubilee right before getting baptized
Our DTS (Discipleship Training School) is split into two phases, Lecture and Outreach. We will be leaving for the outreach phase at the end of June. First traveling to Argentina and then to Colombia. Somewhere along the way we were approached to lead the team containing 2 other families besides ours. It was an easy “YES!” Our days have been filled with more prayer, extensive planning, and bi-lingual meetings to get ready to go! We are excited to support the local YWAM bases we’ll be traveling to. The team we will be leading is pumped and ready to pour out all that we have been learning throughout the lecture phase.
South America team
Some of the ministry we’ll be doing includes kids ministry, elderly homes, crisis pregnancy ministry, rehab centers, church services, park outreach/evangelism, hospital visits, food banks, schools, juvenile detention centers, and more.
One of the things we’re most excited for is the role our kids will play while on outreach. They aren’t just members of the team, but an important part of it! They will be both planning and leading different aspects of outreach.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers! We will be in Argentina (June 23rd-July 22nd) and Columbia (July 22nd-August 15th). Please continue to pray for wisdom as we lead the team, for the health of our family and those with us, that we would find fertile soil in those hearts of those we minister to, and for divine appointments as we go out into the streets!
Argentina and Colombia flags
To donate to our outreach please visit: https://www.sozocharities.org/missionaries-to-mexico/
Our Journey Has Begun!
We have officially started our journey!
We are now on the road!!
We have begun our 4 day drive to the YWAM base in Mexico.
The past couple weeks have been full of heartfelt goodbyes, laughter and tears. We have been aware of time with those we hold so close slipping through our fingers. On more then one occasion Daniel and I have looked at each other sharing a feeling of gratitude in those moments.
We have experienced so many seemingly ordinary events such as dinners with family, birthday parties and encouraging conversations. In the last few weeks we have come to savor each and every one of these and realize how much we will miss the relationships we've spent time building.
Our family friend, who is a full time missionary, asked our daughter's if they were excited for this new adventure. Our girl's responded with a shrug and a downcast face. Although others may interpret that as a negative response, our friend was so positive. She said "It's okay to feel the way that you do, that means that you are well loved and love others well." Afterwards she encouraged them to be open to new friendships and experiences that will come in this season. We are so thankful for our community that see's us, knows us, and encourages us to pursue God's calling for our family.
During our goodbyes a statement that was prayed was "Thank you for laborers to send into the field." We are humbled to be an answer to such a prayer. All of us are part of a beautiful story and we feel honored to carry you with us through this chapter.
Crossing into New Mexico.
Driving through a dust storm in New Mexico.
To know God and make him known
Why should you and your family go into all the world? As Christians we believe that the gospel belongs to the whole world, not just our world. “Go into all the world” was Jesus' final command to his disciples. Our children are growing up fast, Daniel and I have a love for missions and we want our children to share in that love. Living outside our “normal” will give space for fun and new experiences.
Why should you and your family go into all the world? As Christians we believe that the gospel belongs to the whole world, not just our world. “Go into all the world” was Jesus' final command to his disciples. Our children are growing up fast, Daniel and I have a love for missions and we want our children to share in that love. Living outside our “normal” will give space for fun and new experiences.
If we live “on mission” on a daily basis, is that fulfilling the great commission? I want my family to know that living “on mission” is not something that you do in a foreign country, but it is a daily decision to seek the kingdom of God and act according to the King's command. Mission work is not just for young people seeking to fill a gap year, it is for every stage of life. God didn't call us to missions when it's convenient, or when we have money, when our kids aren't in school, when we don't have a job to go to or responsibilities to attend to. His final words weren't “go into all the earth when you feel like it”.
Ever since our children were in diapers their home has been one that puts an emphasis on missions. Whether it was Daniel going on short term trips, or our whole family living in Nicaragua for a year. They knew that we took the command to “go into all the world and preach the good news” seriously. Now that our kids are older and able to make their own decisions, our prayer is that our love for the lost would become their own love. That our burden to go would be their burden to go. This will be an experience that will last beyond their lifetimes into eternity.
Another aspect that we are looking forward to is being able to explore around the YWAM base in Mexico. Visiting a new country is different from experiencing a new culture. We look forward to eating all the tacos, visiting the Pacific Ocean and “La Bufadora”, which is a natural geyser. It will be a great opportunity to utilize our Spanish speaking skills. The ability to speak the local language tears down cultural barriers and forms a point of connection.
So, should our family go into the world and preach the good news? We've concluded that the answer is a strong yes. Missions has been, and will continue to be a part of our legacy. Please pray with us as we embark on this new chapter and consider giving using the following link.
Practical Preperations
We hear the call of God and assume it will be accomplished without any intervention on our part. But there are practical steps to get there. We’ll be driving to the YWAM base in Mexico, so for us some of these steps have looked like purchasing an all wheel drive vehicle and fitting a lift kit and off-road tires so that we can make it through the unpaved roads we’ll be traversing.
Installing a lift kit on our new car.
We hear the call of God and assume it will be accomplished without any intervention on our part... but there are practical steps to get there. We’ll be driving to the YWAM base in Mexico, so for us some of these steps have looked like purchasing an all wheel drive vehicle and fitting a lift kit and off-road tires so that we can make it through the unpaved roads we’ll be traversing.
There are also other considerations, like how to condense everything needed for 5 months of life into one check bag and one carry-on per person.
Add to that the importance of bringing our homeschool on the road and you have a very full car!
Another aspect we’ve had to work through is what phones and cellular plans will work abroad not just for keeping touch with friends and family, but also GPS signals for navigation.
We’ve also purchased Mexican auto insurance to be able to legally drive in the country and travel insurance in case of emergencies.
Passports!
No matter where you go in the world there is always a form to fill out. We’ve had to renew the kids passports, update our will and life insurance beneficiaries, and assign power of attorney to a trusted family member just in case something needs to be done while we are away.
With so many preparations carried out over such a long period of time it can be easy to lose sight of what God originally called us to. It requires daily reminders of who He is, and finding the supernatural in the everyday. In Luke 5 we see a story where Jesus comes to some fishermen in the midst of their daily routine and changes the trajectory of their lives with a single encounter. These fishermen believed the word of the Lord and history remembers their names as the first disciples.
Our prayer today is that we too would hear the call of the Savior and have the courage to allow Him to direct our next steps.
Writing thank you cards to everyone who has given so far.