Thursday, January 29, 2015

Team of the Week: Abidjan Urban Kids

Abidjan Urban Kids

Eat, sleep and work among West Africans. As you learn their language and culture, lead Muslims and others to a saving faith. Teach the new believers to be evangelists among their own communities and through children's ministry.  

IMB Job #: 110396  More info!!
Location: Cote d'Ivoire
Team size: 1 team of 4 (2 male/2 female)
Field expense:  $2431 + round-trip airfare, required travel insurance, passport costs, etc.

Dates for Summer 2015:
April 1: Deadline for applications
May 28: Member orientation begins
June 2: Teams travel to the field
July 28: Teams return for debrief
July 31: Students return home

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Team of the Week: Border Ministry

Border Ministry

English anyone? In this border area, English will soon become a very important tool for government officials as they have big plans for this border crossing. Teach English at local schools & teach adult English to government officials weekly. Live in community, building relationships in & outside the office. Be strong in your faith and in your purpose for being here. The goal? See transformed lives & communities in this border area.  

IMB Job #: 110502  More info!!
Location: Thailand
Team size: 1 team of 2 guys
Field expense:  $1126 + round-trip airfare, required travel insurance, passport costs, etc.

Dates for Summer 2015:
April 1: Deadline for applications
May 28: Member orientation begins
June 2: Teams travel to the field
July 28: Teams return for debrief
July 31: Students return home

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Team of the Week: Soccer for the Kingdom

Soccer 4 the Kingdom
The Muslims of southern Thailand are friendly & hospitable, but have very little access to the good news. A handful of believers exist among this people group. Afternoons will be spent making inroads by teaching soccer to elementary & junior high school boys & playing with young men in the evenings. Mornings will be spent in miscellaneous activities such as playing English games & engaging students in conversation, prayer-walking, and sight-seeing for the purpose of evangelism.

IMB Job #: 110663
Location: Thailand
Team size: 1 team of 6 guys
Field expense:  $1087 + round-trip airfare, required travel insurance, passport costs, etc.

Dates for Summer 2015:
April 1: Deadline for applications
May 28: Member orientation begins
June 2: Teams travel to the field
July 28: Teams return for debrief
July 31: Students return home

Monday, January 5, 2015

Looking back on 2014...

Looking back on 2014 it doesn’t seem realistic how much my life has changed. It was a one of those rare years of healing. Of adventure, passion, and of learning and being stretched.
But now, here I am looking towards 2015 asking, God what next?


And there is silence. Not complete silence…Actually the silence is very loud. It’s not a meaningless silence. It is a silence that breaks my heart, terrifies me, and requires me to ask him for more faith than ever before.

This summer I met a refugee in prison-and he changed my life. I have never met a man so full of Christ. Even in the horrible situation that him and his family were in because of believing in God, he still clung passionately to the hope of the gospel. Months afterwards I still go back to the few conversations we had and am challenged by them. At the moment- this is what God is challenging me with.
 

As I (we) dream of making an impact in some way, seeing lost come to know Christ, inspiring others, loving others and being loved, seeing the fruits of following Christ. But what if following Christ leads me to prison where I spend the rest of my life?

What if my life really has no impact?
 
To allow myself to reach a point where God would be enough- that is faith.
 

As I begin looking into my heart, I have to ask myself God do I value you or your work more?
 

Would I still be as faithful to the Lord if it were only He and I? God are you in your rightful place in MY life? Because it is so fulfulling to work sometimes. So easy to love God enough to desire his will and work, but lack the faith to “be”. 

Will I be faithful in the silence, in the waiting? Will I glorify him in the silence?

“The lord is in his holy temple,
let all the earth be silent before him.”
Habakkuk 2:20

-Amber

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Some traditions should never be broken!



Around Christmas time, does your family have traditions? Our family watches the movies Elf & It's a Wonderful Life, bakes cookies, takes a vacation, and reminds ourselves of the true meaning of Christmas by reading Old & New Testament Scriptures about Christ's first advent to this earth.



Tevye and his family in the movie Fiddler on the Roof struggled with "Tradition." The daughters wanting to break the old social and religious traditions without breaking their "Papa." 


Since the Christmas of 1887, Southern Baptists have been giving a special offering to make sure the gospel gets told around the world.  The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO), as it became known later, has now become a tradition in our churches.  Some traditions should never be broken!

As Southern Baptist missionaries, people ask us what the LMCO means to us.  Legacy is the first word that comes to our minds.  The way Lottie Moon lived; as a pioneer and as an evangelist (sometimes going to over 400 villages a year to share the gospel) and the way Lottie Moon died; giving her food away to Chinese until she herself died of starvation.  This legacy pushes us on when sometimes we want to quit.



When we think of the LMCO, we also think of Commitment.  Since that first offering in 1887 where Lottie Moon challenged Southern Baptists to "self denial," more money has been given through this offering than any other mission offering in the history of the church.



We also think of Cooperation; the mega-church and the small country church joining together to send out and support almost 5000 long-term missionaries worldwide.  Some pastors with much zeal (and sometimes much ego) are "giving the Great Commission back to the church," believing that agencies (imb) are unnecessary and unbiblical.  This narrow view is a misapplication of Scripture and a misunderstanding of mission history. 



Some traditions should never be broken!  May we, as Southern Baptists, continue to remember our legacy as a mission people, re-commit ourselves to a life of self-denial for the sake of the nations, and work together to place more long-term missionaries among peoples where the gospel is not. 

Keep the tradition alive!
-Jess & Wendy 

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Team of the Week: Disciple Maker in Cambodia

Disciple Maker in Cambodia
This is a nation still recovering from the national genocide of the late 1970's. As a result of the millions who died in that era, the youth of today are TRULY the future. 75% of the population is under the age of 30. Less than 1% know Christ. You will labor in sharing the gospel, building relationships, communicating Christ, discipling young believers, and forming small groups for the purpose of making Christ known among this youth population. Come... be a disciple-maker this summer! 

IMB Job #: 110655  More info!!
Location: Cambodia
Team size: 1 team of 6
Field expense:  $1815 + round-trip airfare, required travel insurance, passport costs, etc.

Dates for Summer 2015:
April 1: Deadline for applications
May 28: Member orientation begins
June 2: Teams travel to the field
July 28: Teams return for debrief
July 31: Students return home