Hello again everyone!
Thank you all so much for your support and prayers as I prepare to leave for Berlin at the end of September!
There is so much to praise God for already this summer, as I am seeing prayers being answered and my trust in God grow. I know a lot of people have been praying about my support, and over the past two or so weeks I have seen my financial support nearly double! I am now at about 40%, and am still very hopeful to leave at the end of September. Just when I was feeling a bit down on support raising, I got a large amount of new supporters. It is another reminder that this is all in the hands of God.
I have currently started required online class-work for the mission field, and will be attending a ministry training in Minneapolis the third week of August. This class work has covered spiritual disciplines, learning and interacting with culture, accountability, and missions in general. I am blessed to have the pastor of missions from my church here in Yakima mentor me through some of this material as well.
I was reading one article called “The African Planter” that I found very intriguing. You can read it here. I am learning how vitally important a humble and learning attitude is in missions work. According to this article and many other accounts I have read, American missionaries tend to try and come in and fix all of the problems of a society, taking charge and ignoring the culture (not surprising). As I am a natural problem-solver type, I will need to watch myself with this and hold back and study a lot before getting carried away with my own ideas and opinions. I have also been continually reminded of how vital spiritual disciplines are, such as studying the Word every day, being in prayer, and having accountability. These are essential for every Christian anywhere. We must never falter on these!
I have met with quite a few people now and am continually blown away by the love and kindness of many of my fellow members in Christ, both young and…wise. Thank you! I would definitely appreciate more of your prayers as the summer winds down.
In Christ,
Jeff