This is a very common sight at Living Word Baptist Church. Matthew and I were a member of a team like this June 21, 2002. This was the trip that led to us being called to the field. In less then a year ...against ALL ODDS we were in the country of Moldova serving the first of two ISC terms. That seems like a long, long time ago when we were standing in our home church with prayers being said over us! At the time we didn't even know that the IMB even exsited!
Here is our President, Jerry Rankin whose vision called "New Direction" has allowed people like us who are called to field but lacked the educational requirements a way on to the field. If it were not for his gift of leadership and vision my family would still be looking for a way to the field! God has used this one man to open the mission field for hundreds upon hundreds of Southern Baptists that were "not qualified" from going before. I pray that thousands upon thousands come into the Kingdom through this New Direction. He spoke at our commissining service January 31, 2007 at Highland Baptist Church in Southern California.
Here is our Pastor David Groves and his beautiful wife Karen, They were instrumental in our joining the International Mission Board. Without our Pastor's heart and concern for his people we would not have made it on the field at all. No one has been more helpful to us then these two over our first four years on the field. We love them and appreciate them more then we could ever tell them. They came out to our commissining service and met our Regional Leadership Team hoping to bring many, many teams from America over to Europe. God has given Pastor incredible skills in working with high level people in Europe. He really is in his element when sharing the Gospel with a mayor of one of these old communist villages. I have learned so much from him and pray everyday that some day I will have half the wisdom he has. Karen is actally the one that makes this possible but thats an entirely different stroy!
We had to memorize our testimony. We were given a whopping 160 words to tell how God called us into missions. (anybody who knows me knows that this was a miracle) I still remember mine word for word! "It was on a short term mission trip to the country of Moldova where God showed me the power of the Gospel in a new and heart wrenching way. Night after night these people who had suffered under the cruel hand of communism responded to God's offer of hope through His Son Jesus Christ, it was then that God called me to a life of missions" The Karla told how he too confirmed the call in her heart through prayer and fasting.
January 31st, 2007 we were appointed as Associate Missionaries with the International Mission Board to the country of Romania where we are the Team Leaders for the Southeast region. We are church planters that are trying to develop a way to reach these huge urban centers found in behind the iron curtian. We pray that God will use us to His glory.
Immanuel Baptist Church was such an incredible blessing to us. They treated us so good and blessed us with so many gifts. This laptop that I am typing on right now was a gift from the Sunday School class that Karla and I spoke to. They spoiled us so bad! This was the first commissioning service held in Southern California I think.
The flags of all the nations! What a sight to see all the nations of the world represented by all these flags. To the heart of a missionary it just doesn't get any better then this. We pray that God is working through all our missionaries that simply wouldn't be possible without the Southern Baptist and their generous giving. We understand that over 150 million dollars were given to Lottie Moon this year. Praise the Lord for the generous giving of the SBC full of God's chosen!
