A huge perk of my job is staying touch with teams in our partnership countries and hearing how God is at work. I especially love hearing about places I've recently been. The team in our partnership city in "4th Journey" is an eclectic group - during my trip last summer there were a half dozen Americans on the team, with a Canadian and 4 Australians. Some are long-term while others are there just for a year or two. The Australians send a team or two each year, while the Americans send a few teams throughout the year as well.
Earlier this month my teammate Kelsey lead a trip back to 4th Journey, where she lived for one year during college. Kelsey was able to meet up with her language helper, Maggie, while she was back in town. Quickly after they got into conversation, Maggie asked about Kelsey's walk with God. Maggie and Kelsey had spiritual conversations many times in the past. Maggie had explained that she had been told her whole life what to believe, but that she needed to decide for herself what is true. She began to read the Bible, and the Koran. Kelsey returned to the US, and the two kept up their discussions through private messaging on Facebook. Now a year and a half later, Kelsey was back and asked Maggie how the reading was going, and if she saw a difference between the two books. Maggie replied, “When I read the Koran it doesn’t make sense. But when I read the Bible, it makes sense.” Maggie's still searching, but God is at work. There are a lot of opinions about short-term missions: how to do them well, when not to do them, and if we should do them at all. The connections between short-term and long-term missions aren't always seen by people back in the US after they return home. But I see them, here and there. I love the strategy behind sending teams consistently to the same city so that we can build momentum there. Now is an exciting time for this partnership country -- we are planning to launch a movement in a new city in 4th Journey, so that we can continue to raise up native laborers who can join us in reaching their own country. Despite the news we hear nearly every day of evil in the Middle East, God is present there, opening hearts and minds to the truth of His Word. I'm so excited to see what he may do in this new city in the coming years!
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Amy WellnerEncouraging others to intentionally live out their God-given identity. Archives
September 2022
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