This is from Olive:
We missionary moms come in all different shapes, sizes, and flavors. Our husbands wear different hats: pilots, doctors, Bible translators, church planters, disciplers, seminary professors, teachers and businessmen! Obviously many of us wear the "Mom and Housekeeper" hat most of the time. Some of us are doing language study.
I have a hard time remembering what everyone is doing, so I thought it would be fun if we share a bit about the ministry that has us serving overseas.
1. What is the role that you and/or your husband carry out on the field?
2. What is the biggest ministry challenge you face?
3. What is the biggest joy of your ministry?
(If you have a “Tuesday Topic” question, please email it to me at fylliska@gmail.com. Provide your blog address if you would like to be linked to, or specify if you would like to remain anonymous. Thanks!)
I like this question! I hope others respond so we can know one another better!
ReplyDeleteWe work with college students in St. Petersburg, Russia. My husband leads our team of 6 who are devoted to reaching the students with the gospel in hopes of seeing those students impact their city, country, and the world.
The biggest challenge that we face is spiritual hardness. We pray and strive to use the best methods that we can come up with and to frequently and boldly share the good news about Jesus, but it is just hard and slow. We praise God for the visible fruit that we do get the blessing of seeing, but Russia can be a discouraging place to be a missionary for sure.
My biggest joy in ministry is seeing people not only become believers but to see total life change as a result of the Spirit's work in them. For example, two of our team members are former students from our ministry, and two more are former students from the ministries in other cities. They joyfully gave up so much to go into full-time Christian work. Getting to labor side-by-side in the gospel with these faithful servants of Christ that we knew before they knew Him is just unbelievably encouraging.
I'm so glad to read this. How wonderful to see former students become team members!
DeleteMy husband and I work with a Bible school equipping nationals with knowledge so they can preach, teach and live out the Word. We love that the one year, 3 day a week program is aimed at the non-traditional students. We are so blessed to meet everyone from bus drivers to moms to church elders to business professionals who come to learn with us.
ReplyDeleteOur biggest challenge here in Ghana is challenging them to live out the Word as living and active in every part of their lives. There is much teaching to be done on practical application of Scripture into everyday life. Sunday morning believers abound here! (And don't they anywhere. ;))
One of my biggest joys is seeing is seeing one of our national teachers, a converted mslm, work closely with my husband to reach out through literature and personal witness to this part of our community. But the biggest joy for me is having a front row seat to the passion and wisdom the Father has built up in my husband. Oh, the things He will do when we allow ourselves to be used.
Thanks for the question!
Sara, it's interesting to read about your work in Ghana.
ReplyDeleteI'll go next! :-) My husband and I work in c. planting in the Middle East. We are team leaders, and we have a 3 year old, slowly growing fellowship, so we divide our time between pastoring/leading our team, encouraging believers, and reaching out to non-believers! I am mainly at home with the kids home schooling, but I help as I can.
Our biggest challenge is dry spiritual environment, slow fruit. It takes a long time for nationals to understand the message, and once they do, they often fall away after several years.
Biggest joy: seeing national believers thrive and serve. I've had the privilege of mentoring a sold-out, committed young woman and seeing her grow over 8 years! Phenomenal how God transforms. She's my one in a million girl. (I mean that LITERALLY in this country of 75,000,000.)
1. What is the role that you and/or your husband carry out on the field?
ReplyDeleteRight now we're transitioning into working with an orphan ministry. My husband will be doing office work and translation and English correspondence. I'll probably help, but we don't know how yet. (Mostly, I'm home with our children, homeschooling and mothering.)
2. What is the biggest ministry challenge you face?
Balancing everything: time with family, "real" ministry, friends, homeschooling, etc.
3. What is the biggest joy of your ministry?
Right now, I'm leading someone through a Bible study over the phone, long distance. She just reached the point of salvation! JOY! This has also been one of my biggest challenges lately, too, because those calls take a lot of time, and it's hard to be this far away from her.
1. Role? My husband is the assistant pastor, serving alongside a national pastor who's being "flying solo" for over 20 years here in Nassau. He has considerably lightened the load for our senior pastor and helped develop the music and worship arts in the last year and a half. I am at his side, serving wherever I can, but predominately running our home, schooling our 3 daughters, and trying to keep everyone fed.
ReplyDelete2. Area of biggest ministry challenge? Transferring concepts such as biblical fellowship, accountability for sin, and growing a church that does not teach the prosperity gospel in a country where the majority do.
3. What is the biggest joy of ministry? Easy. The people. Their warmth. They love, in hugs, smiles, and many times, in actions. One friend has told me "I think you're called to be black!" They worry for the day we have to leave.
1. our role right now is building relationships with our sending church and our ministry partners back in our home country. and taking care of some specific needs our children have that are more complicated and difficult to address while not here.
ReplyDelete2. biggest ministry challenge? waiting and trusting and hoping while letting God show us what the future will hold... that and fatigue and homesickness for where our hearts really are.
3. biggest joy? seeing growth, loving people, seeing God almost everywhere we look and in so many places we never expected... seeing our children growing and walking and learning and most of all, loving big.
1. I'm new. I am dre, 14 months on the field working in capital city of Podgorica, Montenegro (In Eastern Europe). My husband is the team leader and we have a 3 year old, 1 year old, and I am 16 weeks pregnant. Currently we are learning the language and building relationships. Our team's long term goal serve the local believers (only 100 known in the entire city) in discipleship as well as beginning a para-church ministry that empowers locals to serve the community and share their faith.
ReplyDelete2. Biggest challenge is redefining my naive expectations of what being a missionary means, and also being new missionaries on a newer field, sticking to our long term vision when our organization fosters mostly short term interns.
3. My biggest joy is my children, watching God rewrite my heart in ministering to them. Also watching God do his work in the locals completely through our weaknesses! Watching him change hearts and minds is truly miraculous! God's unending provision and refining of our family is another fun one!
Welcome! How did you find our blog?
DeleteWe have friends there in Podgorica, and they almost beg us to visit them, so maybe we'll come your way someday.
By the way, my answer to question #3 is the same as yours. I would have said my children, too, if I had been thinking when I answered. :-)
Just searching for resources, I found the other sight which lead to this one, There is a new one called Velvet Ashes, looks very pretty, but I connected to the writing on this one more. Who are your friends? you can only do first name if you want to be discreet, or even their initials, there are not that many of us here :)
DeleteOur friends are Russian/Ukrainian. :-)
DeleteWe also knew an American family that was kicked out of Russia at the same time as us (2008), and they moved to Montenegro. But, after a few years there, they moved on. I don't remember exactly when they left, but it was probably before you arrived (C. and J. W...).