Archive for the ‘Missions’ Category
The End is Near
Tomorrow morning is the end of deputation. We present our call and need for the gospel in Italy at Coastline Baptist Church in Oceanside, California before heading to a supporting church in Las Vegas in the evening and then on to our home-base in Dayton, Ohio.
The mission conference at Coastline is a great way to finish our pre-field ministry. At various times during the services this week Pastor Steve Chappell has emphasized how the love of Christ and His word should motivate us to reach out to others in an effort to connect them with God through the person of Jesus Christ. His gracious spirit and obvious love of God and people has been refreshing and an encouragement as we prepare to leave for the mission field.
For several years now we have traveled back and forth across this country raising financial support. Coastline is one of many great churches that we have had the opportunity to visit along the way. We have so much to be thankful for over the past couple years… great supporting churches, souls saved, family memories, new friendships, exposure to various ministries, safe travels, seeing the beauty of America, and so much more. However, I’m glad it’s finally over. It will be so nice for my family to have stability and consistency again.
Pearl has spent much of her life in a car seat. It broke our heart as we were driving a few weeks ago to hear her implore, “I want to play in the yard now, please. I want to play in the yard Mommy, please.” Obviously we look forward to being where God has called us to, but in addition it will be so nice for Pearl to spend some time with grass under her feet and no car seat to constrain her little body for days at a time. It will also be nice for Isaiah not to have to carry his toys in a plastic container from place-to-place and sleep in a different bed multiple times in a week. The other day we were driving and he said, “Daddy, I’m home-sick.” I tried to deflect this reasonable statement by saying, “Home-sick? We’re in California. It’s beautiful here.” He replied, “I’m not talking about Ohio necessarily Daddy. I’m home-sick for a home.” Yes, we’ve been blessed but we’re ready for deputation to be over. We’re ready for a home in Italy.
In Desert Places
Tonight concluded the mission conference at Lancaster Baptist Church located in the high desert of southern California. We were honored to be one of over twenty-five missionary families in attendance. The conference was a testimony of God’s grace working in the lives of individuals and His design of reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ through local churches.
Dr. Paul Chappell was called by the few remaining families of Lancaster Baptist Church to be their pastor twenty-five years ago at a time when the church was on the brink of closing its doors. Today the church is a vibrant and growing assembly located on a beautiful eighty-eight acre campus with many life-changing ministries, including a Bible college of over a 1,000 students. The story that has unfolded here over the last two decades is truly an inspiration and speaks of the power of God working through lives fully surrendered to Him.
In the past few days we were challenged by the preaching of men such as Dr. Don Sisk who has had a profound impact on world missions for over fifty years, as well as the testimonies and presentations of many missionaries and the works God has allowed them to establish. I was also moved by the testimony and sweet spirit of Dr. Daniel Kim who is a product of missions and has pastored in Korea for fifty years. It was my special privilege this week to meet with several college students that are praying about the mission field of Italy as well as meet an Italian brother in Christ who thanked me for going to his homeland to reach Italian souls for Christ. I could go on about the music, the fellowship, the hospitality of our host family, etc… we’ve been blessed this week.
We are thrilled to have the financial and prayer support of Lancaster Baptist Church. It is only through the sacrificial giving of the many local churches that have partnered with us that we are enabled to obey the call of God to reach Italian souls for Christ. We are honored to be ambassadors for Christ in Italy and to minister on behalf of local churches that are reaching beyond their communities into all the world through missions.
“Go ye therefore and teach all nations…” – Matthew 28:19
Finding My Voice
For over a year Sandy and I have studied the Italian language using computer software published by Rosetta Stone. It’s been very helpful introducing us to a number of vocabulary words as well as pronunciation. However, for all the good we received from this program the big drawback has been the ability to communicate freely in Italian in real life situations. Rosetta Stone markets their program as interactive language immersion but we have found through our experience that language immersion does not take place in a little yellow box (the color of Rosetta Stone packaging). We decided to hire an Italian tutor in order to better prepare us for the initial shock of full immersion in Italy and to give us a good foundation upon which to build in language school when we arrive at our new home.
I contacted an Italian lodge not far from my neighborhood and they kindly recommended a professor at a local university who is from Bologna, Italy. Sandy and I met her at Panera Bread on Thursday for our first private one-hour lesson in Italian. The first fifteen minutes we got to know one another and she tested us a little bit on our pronunciation and comprehension of some vocabulary; the remainder of our time she asked us some basic questions in Italian and we responded, under her guidance. She explained that future lessons will be all in Italian and will be 70% conversational and 30% grammar; she also showed us some of the resources that we will be using. We really enjoyed our time together but left Panera a little overwhelmed at the daunting task of learning a new language.
Recently I was sobered to the reality of the mission God has given us when I purchased our one-way tickets to Italy for December. This meeting regarding our new language was another reminder of how life-altering God’s call has been for us. It is imperative that we learn to communicate in Italian as Italians. Right now there seems to be a great gulf between our brains and our tongues when processing and speaking in a language so foreign to our own. We know it will require hard work and untold hours of study but we are dedicated to the task and trust with the Lord’s help this great barrier in language will be bridged, and one day soon in Italy we will think and speak in Italian as we share the gospel in an effort to reach Italian souls for Christ.
“There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.” - 1 Corinthians 14:10,11