Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,
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Looks like we ARE hanging around South Carolina!
Because of good internet access, Heather and I are able to serve in our ministry roles from Columbia, SC, as well as take further training online.
We are both being trained in life coaching techniques. As a result, Sean is coaching two couples raising their support for the mission field and Heather is coaching two single ladies planning to become missionaries.
Profiting from our current season in life and anticipating future ministry, Heather has enrolled at CIU to do an MA in Care and Counseling, starting in August. She's excited to gain new skills so she can better invest in Christ's servants all over the world!
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People often ask what I do now. That's not an easy question to answer, so this graphic is an attempt to explain the scope and scale of my roles in World Team. This looks rather crazy, but I don't do all of these things every week and some parts overlap. As I grow into my role, some areas will diminish, and others will grow.
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World Team provides the YouVersion Bible app with new reading plans and I was asked to write one on "How to Pray for Missionaries." It became available on February 1. Click on the graphic to access it.
There is also a French version!
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Remember that seminar I gave at CIU on multicultural teams? Well, CIU decided to publish a book in which all of the conference speakers contributed a chapter! The book is entitled, "Mission in Praise, Word, and Deed: Reflections on the Past and Future of Global Mission," edited by Edward L. Smither and Jessica Udall, published by William Carey Publishers and is forthcoming this year.
I've also been asked to guest lecture twice this semester on this topic to missions majors at CIU. Quite a privilege.
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Thank you for praying for my trip to Toronto in January. My WT colleague, Keith, and I accompanied a local missions leader and we visited a Sikh temple, a mosque (see above), a predominately Afghani neighborhood, a Somali neighborhood, and we met with some missionaries doing immigrant ministry.
The key theme of the trip? The harvest is vast, but the labourers are few! Will you pray with us that the Lord of the harvest will send forth labourers into the Greater Toronto Area, where nearly every nation on earth is represented? Pray for the efforts to start new teams to reach the unreached, but no longer the unreachable!
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For those who missed it on Facebook, Erik and Abigail got engaged on New Year's Eve! We are all delighted! Their wedding will be in July and they plan to live and work in Columbia, SC.
Erik plans to graduate from CIU in May. He is being treated for Lyme Disease and right now the treatment is having a powerful effect on his body--a hopeful sign, but he feels awful most of the time.
Pray for the new couple's future plans.
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Ellie turned 17 in November and she got her driver's license this week! She's working hard on her junior year's courses, like Physics and Advanced Math. She has an encouraging friend group of committed believers at CIU and is settling into life in Columbia quite well now.
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Joey is now a junior at CIU and the vice-president of the Mu Kappa chapter--Heather and I accompanied the group for their annual retreat last month. Joey's girlfriend, Moriah, is standing behind him in the "Columbia International" sweatshirt. She's also a missionary kid.
Joey just applied for a camp ministry internship in Europe for part of this summer. You'll hear more about it if he's accepted!
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Ian is taking some time off from studies to work as a painter. During his first week on the job, he noticed that his foreman was having difficulty giving instructions to one of the employees. He asked his foreman if he needed any help. The foreman replied, "Only if you speak French!" The other worker was from Senegal and didn't speak English, so Ian spent the rest of the day translating and working with him. He is reaching out to three Afghani co-workers as well.
He is building an online retail business for health, home and cleaning products. Click here if you're interested in what he's selling.
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As for these young people's parents, we're doing our own adjusting and settling to life "not in Haiti." It's not an easy adjustment, even when we know this is God's good plan.
Heather uses her logistical prowess to help our kids with their many adulting responsibilities. She's in the CIU Ambassador Choir and she accompanies Ellie on the piano when Ellie sings.
Sean enjoys yard work as a stress reliever and he and a friend just installed new windows in our house--you can see that Heather helped too :)
We are looking forward to hosting Samuel Schnuell this summer, who will do a pastoral ministry internship at Riverside Community Church, here in Columbia. Sam grew up with our kids in Haiti.
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Sean is part of the team organizing the workshops and preparing the presenters for this summer's World Team Global Conference. With over 300 participants from every continent (not Antarctica), this conference is going to shape the future of World Team and our part in Christ's global mission for the decades to come.
If you would like to help us make this conference a reality, please click on the Giving Options link below. Every WT member is accepting the challenge to raise $1000, so we're aiming at $2,000.
This is Heather's 20th anniversary of being a World Team member. Would you consider a $20, $200, or even $2000 contribution toward the 3C Conference as a way to recognize her years of missionary service? Thank you in advance!
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