Prayer Letter – February 2021

It was an incredible month at CIT in North Carolina. We genuinely wish you could all experienced the care, encouragement, challenges, and education we received this past month. We’ll try to sum up a few of the highlights.

The facilitators:

These men and women were true mentors. They were all experienced missionaries who had so much knowledge and wisdom to pass down, but truly a group of some of the most humble and caring people we have had the opportunity to spend time with. Each facilitator took the time to share their testimonies, call to missions, and path to CIT. They have all endured true loss and pain, but they exude the joy and peace of Christ. Over and over they reminded us that one of the most valuable things we can bring to the field is a heart of gratitude. 

The Heart of the Servant study:

A frequent topic of conversation was the importance of our own strong faith and trust in God. Every morning, we began classes by going through the Heart of the Servant curriculum. This dove into deep spiritual issues, how we view God, ourselves, sin, and the Gospel. We returned to the below illustration often. 

Lessons on crossing cultures and building teams:

Nearly all of our regular class time was spent on these two topics. Building a team, effective leadership, strong followership, the stages of team development, cross-cultural teams, and conflict were all topics that we learned about, discussed, and tested through activities. For the actual crossing of cultures, we touched on nearly every topic we could have imagined, and many we hadn’t thought about. We feel confident in the foundation CIT has laid for us to build our life and ministry on, and we are excited to put those principles into practice. 

Our fellow missionaries-to-be:

We had the chance to spend time with and learn with thirty-three men and women who are going through all of the exact same things we are. On our last day, we were looking around the room, wishing we had more time with every single person there. We’re all going into different parts of the world, learning different languages, and working in different ministries, but we share the same goal: to see people of every nation worshipping the One True God. 

It was especially fun to get to know our teammates, Andrew and Miranda, in person. We were even able to celebrate my (Heather’s) birthday with them while we were there. Learning together was such a great way to spend time with them, and we are so grateful we had that. There was one other family with Converge at the training. The Luskys are going to be leading the Converge ministries in Japan, and they were our neighbors for the month. It was so fun to get to know them and spend time with them, and we got to learn a bit about Converge ministries in other parts of the world. 

We have lots of exciting things going on this week. We’re currently in Florida and have had the chance to take part in Trinity Baptist College’s missions emphasis week. In true missions fashion, we showed up thinking we would just be hanging by the booth to answer questions, and we were asked to go speak to a high school class about missions and our ministry. Then we were able to chat with some college students who were interested in Converge. We’ll be back there this evening and tomorrow.  We don’t have any plans nailed down after a visit to Heather’s grandma next weekend, so we’re praying about where we should be to be most effective in our work right now. After CIT, we are feeling very ready to launch, so we are feeling the need to be as high functioning in our partner development as possible.  Last month we and two other members of our leadership team formed a communications task team, and we are looking at ways we can improve our region’s communications this year. Our goal is to have more stories coming from the field and to make our missionaries’ communications easier by providing them with some helping materials and tools. We’re so excited to be part of this progress and see the beginnings of our ministry at work.

Praise God with us

• Our month at CIT was full of growth and learning. We are so grateful for the time we had there. It was challenging, but it was also a time of rest and refreshment while we paused all other work.
• We are enjoying time with the students and our fellow missionaries at Trinity Baptist College.
• For 65% of our equipment fun! We are so blessed by God’s provision through you all!

Pray with us

• For connections with local churches and people here in Florida that would results in partnership. We have already started to make some connections, and we’re praying that this time would be fruitful.
• For the conversations with college students about going to the mission field. It is our desire that each person understands their role in the Great Commission, and how God is equipping them to help share the Gospel with all peoples. Pray with us for these students who are at the brink of stepping out.
• For wisdom as we navigate where we should be based right now
• For four of our classmates (S&A, E, and M) who are heading to the field this week or next. It’s such a fast turnaround for them, so we’re praying for their goodbyes and smooth travel.

Our memory passage at CIT was 2 Corinthians 4:1-12. It is a passage we have and will continue to return to often. It begins, “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart,” and ends, “So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” The task ahead is impossible. It will be full of pain and challenges, but it is through the mercy of God that we are able to participate in His work of drawing people to Himself. He is able to do what is impossible for us.   We encourage you to meditate on this passage with us this month. May you experience His faithfulness, His glory, and His all-surpassing power. Blessings, Heather and Peter