Letting go implies that we had something in our possession in the first place. But doesn’t it oftentimes seem that when we have to release something, it more or less feels like it’s being taken from us rather than us giving it over?
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One of the most important moments of my life happened on my first mission trip to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. It was one night in a small Baptist church, and we had finished our program, but the Holy Spirit was moving. I don’t remember the exact day, but I remember the details.
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While we were on a recent trip to the US to celebrate our son’s graduation from college, I picked up a magazine whose theme for the issue was living with intentionality. As I’ve perused the articles and read of how others apply intentional living in their choices and surroundings, I began to ask myself how I am living intentionally, or better, am I living intentionally at all?
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Al Toledo is a pastor in Chicago. At the recent Missionary Renewal in Springfield, Al took us through his study from Psalm 1. The third verse says, "....that person is like a tree planted by streams of water....." This refers to ones private health. The rest of verse three says"....which yields its fruit in season and whose lead does not wither----whatever they do prospers." This refers to ones public fruitfulness.
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It’s been one of “those” days.
You know the kind. One of those days that finds you standing in the middle of your kitchen, wielding worship lyrics as weapons & watching the darkness flee.
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You’re investing thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours, and numerous headaches in planning the upcoming mission trip. You hope to save the world (at least the corner you'll be in) and return with photos, stories, and unforgettable memories of souls you've touched.
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The life of Moses is a classic example of “The Long Game” and how God shaped him through a series of instances that were both unbelievable and totally unexplainable at the time they occurred. Moses' mother placed him in the water without any idea of where that simple act might lead.
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A man broke into our house in the middle of the night. We were living in a sweet little neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota full of charming 1930’s bungalows with one and a half stories, hard wood floors, and gardens with tomato patches and rows of petunias.
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In the fall of 2003, the Assemblies of God appointed my husband, Stuart, and I as world missionaries. Multiple years and three foreign contexts later, we have hosted dozens of short-term missions teams with great joy, a lot of grace, and a steep learning curve.
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Before being called to serve in Ecuador, I spent almost fifteen years as an Assistant Physical Therapist by day and On-Call Emergency/Orthopedic Technician by night. During that time, I was privileged to serve people at their best and at their worst; I also discovered there was no shortage of real-time applications of Biblical principles.
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For two months my family and I have lived in Costa Rica. We have lived in apartment block A2 at CINCEL language school trying to learn Spanish, before heading to Guatemala. For two months we have looked out the same window, staring at the tin slated roofs.
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In 2009 I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer, and it felt like the straw that might break
the camel’s back. My family and I had been serving as missionaries in Mexico City
when our youngest “bonus baby” was born with some major health issues.
Last year, in the middle of August, we arrived on the mission field to begin language school. Just nine days after we left for the field, the great state and our home state, Texas, was devastated by Hurricane Harvey.
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Being a missionary kid is an amazing opportunity because of all the places I get to travel to and the people I get to meet. However, as in most occasions, there is the flip side to the coin. Along with the experience of a gain, there is a personal loss.
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New series: Coffee with a Missionary! Check out our first video interview with Ashley and Meredith Penley on raising a family on the mission field.
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Move over, Elastigirl! I've been stretched to the point I'd give our beloved superhero a run for her money. I don’t like it when things don’t go the way I anticipated they would. Honestly, I don’t think anybody likes it when things don’t go their way.
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“Read your Bible and pray every day.” Perhaps you have heard this advice as the answer for how to grow in God. While it rings true, sometimes our surface application diminishes its impact. Yet, the fact remains, if we are to be effective in our obedience to God, we must habitually commune with Jesus. Yes, the difference between success and failure on the mission field includes understanding the culture and gaining linguistic proficiency, but far more crucial is maintaining one’s lifeline to Jesus.
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If I were totally honest with myself, I would admit that I have mixed feelings about Christmas overseas. It’s when homesickness hits me the most, and yet I can appreciate the simplicity of the holidays away from the deluge of American Materialism. I remind myself frequently, “It’s not wrong, it’s just different.” I have to deliberately look for the beauty in a holiday season that is so different from what I am accustomed to.
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Last week, I was ministering at a camp with 360 Kids in El Salvador. The kids prayed for me to raise our money to get back to Argentina soon. Afterwards a group of boys came up to me and said that they had taken up an offering for me with their group.
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Confession of a missionary wife: People ask me what I do, and my first thought, maybe not always my answer, is that I am a mom. Being a mom is hard. Being a mom with children living outside their passport countries is harder. I constantly ask, would "this" be as hard if we were in the states, would "this" be the same…
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