Job Description: Relationships

So our job description is in and we are pumped!

We will be involved in relationship building ministry with a Jos, Nigeria, through a community center called BRICC.  The focus for our short term trip will be to enter into relationships with people who live in the mixed Muslim-Christian neighborhood where BRICC has its office.  As we become familiar with the culture and build relationships, we may get involved in the programs BRICC has initiated in the neighborhood.  Initially, we will go as language and cultural learners. Our “learner status” can open up opportunities for deeper relationships which we pray will result in opportunities to share our faith.  Jeremy may have opportunities to use his music degree both in giving lessons and relating to men interested in guitar and perhaps occasionally writing and maybe performing music for BRiCC's promotional videos.  Katie may have opportunities to help with teaching seminars BRICC may facilitate. 

There may also be opportunities for us to participate in and eventually to help facilitate a newly launched ministry initiative called InReach, which is about taking to small groups of Nigerians, helping teach what BRICC has been learning about relationship building with Muslims: taking Muslim Evangelism from “an event” to a way of life.

I (Katie) am so excited about this job description because it fits so well with our passion to build relationships with Muslims and desire to see them come to Christ. It is also very cool to see how God is 

confirming some things He has already been talking to me about...I feel like He wants to use this trip to change my own heart and focus my desires on the only thing of lasting importance and that is developing sacrificial relationships that impact people for eternity. 

Please continue to pray for us during this exciting time. Some of the of our major prayer needs during the next few weeks are...

1. Courage to present our trip to our church family on Feb 2nd.
2. Time and energy to move our things into storage and ourselves into Jeremy's mom's house
3. Patience as we wait for God to provide the funds we need for our dream to become a reality. 
4. Persistence as we begin to learn Housa in order to relate better to the people we will meet.

THE GOOD NEWS IS HERE!

We got the news today "OH Boy!" we are officially accepted to work in Jos, Nigeria at a ministry called BRiCC or Building Relationships in City Center! We will be both working at this community center which uses after school tutoring, women's life skill training as well as sports and arts to rebuild relationships between Muslims and Christians. We are overjoyed to have the opportunity to be a part of what God is doing in those deeply wounded by past violence and hatred. Please be in prayer that God prepare our hearts and give us the wisdom to know when and how best to share His love.

If you would like to learn more about BRiCC, they have a beautiful website you can checkout
http://www.briccjos.com/#!about_us/cjg9

Should you feel the need to invest in what we are going to be a part of, please pray for us and consider giving towards our trip securely at https://web.simusa.org/give/missionaries.php

Held in Your Hands

We were so encouraged by this song that we heard while down south at SIM's short term missionary orientation! It was such a blessing to meet other young people excited about serving in Africa, pray with long term missionaries and get valuable training. Some of the highlights of our time in Charlotte were eating Ethiopian food (WITH OUR HANDS :), hearing the incredible stories of how God provided the financial support others needed to get out on the field, and learn more about SIM and what missionaries do.

We're leaving on a jet plane!

Please pray for us this week has we head down to Orientation at SIM's headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. We are very excited to learn more about missions and get prepared. We also hope to find out more details about exactly what we will be doing while in Nigeria :) Can't wait to have more info to share with you all and have a specific assignment to be in prayer for! Thank you for all your support and encouragement! We can't wait :)

Phil 1:6

So God has been teaching us a lot over these last 5 months as we strive to serve Him more.

Some of the fun things He is working with us on are...

1. TRUST that His plan and ways are better then our dreams

2. RELIANCE on His will for us, not what others think we should do

3. PERSEVERANCE in the face of so many fears that things won't work out

4. LOVE for the people that we come in contact with everyday who need Him

5. PATIENCE as we wait for His beautiful plan to unfold, in His timing 

How Does He Do It?

Well, I'm ashamed to say that when we got the cost estimate for our trip to Nigeria we were a little afraid. Okay, so it was more like the terrified feeling the Children of Israel must have felt when they looked out across the Red Sea. "God has brought us this far, but how is He going to get us through this one?" Well, while we were shaking in our sandals, He was calling us to radical faith in Him. The enemy was hard at work too, trying to make us believe we couldn't do it. And he was right! We can't do it, but our God can!

Right when we decided to move forward in faith, God met us! We made the call to our landlord (of 3 months) to let her now we will be out of our apartment by February 7th in order to save money for our trip. We don't know her well, but she got excited when Jeremy told her about our plans to serve in Nigeria for 4 months...next thing we know she was asking things like, "What are you going to be doing there?" and "Are you fundraising?" and before we knew it she was saying things like, "I'm a Christian too!" and "Don't pay this month's rent, put the money towards your trip!"

You can't imagine how much that encouraged us! God can turn the hearts of Kings and he is already using His body to send us out, not request necessary...

Praise you God! You deserve all glory in heaven and earth :)

Happy Dance!

After months wading through the application process, it's finally here! Our official acceptance letter to be short term missionaries with SIM...We are so excited to have this opportunity to serve God in Nigeria and explore His will for a long term commitment to missions!

God has brought us a long way since our first missions trip to Africa in 2006 and we have grown so much! It's amazing to look back and see how He has been preparing us over the years through opportunities like our 3 month study abroad trip to Mali, West Africa and becoming host parents to wonderful Sara from Germany. These privileges have sparked a fire in our hearts for working cross culturally and sharing God's love!

We can't wait to see how God is going to change us into the image of His Son through this new chapter!

Oceans

This song describes our hearts for missions perfectly... Please pray that God will take us deeper as we serve Him!