“I will keep running to the feet of my beloved, and wait.”  (Ana, student in the MTS program)

“I felt the call to your presence and I came to you.  I cannot be in another place; I must come to where you are waiting for me.” (Mauro, student in the MTS program)

Yeast Rising

Four years ago as we began our journey as Regional Missionaries in the area of Spiritual Formation and Discipleship, we were visiting churches and trying to explain what our new role would involve.  We honestly told you that we weren’t quite sure what it would look like.  We used the image of yeast rising.  Our new ministry was just a tablespoon of yeast, covered in the dark, waiting to rise in God’s Mystery.

Endless Questions

Waiting.  A word that often seems tedious and tiresome.  Frustrated with lack of results and little progress, we often fall into despair.  Is anything really happening?  Is anything really changing?  God, are you even there?  Do you care?

The Voice We’ve Forgotten

However, if you allow yourself to sit in the silence long enough, long enough to let the endless questions gently float away, then the whisper of God’s love begins to catch your attention.  It can be hard to hear at first.  We’ve gotten so used to distractions that we’ve forgotten what it sounds like.  But now, in the silence, it seeps in.

Rising in Love

We spent over a year waiting in the dark.  Stumbling a lot.  Holding out our hands as we tried to feel our way through the shadows.  Were we going in the right direction?  Were we truly hearing God’s voice?  But while we waited, we weren’t alone.  God sat with us in the silence.  God loved us in the mystery.  Our souls might be covered, but yes, they were rising!

Teaching Silence & Solitude

Now, with our students in the Masters of Theological Studies (MTS) program, we teach the spiritual disciplines of Silence and Solitude.  Because we learned how to wait, to be in silence, to find God in the mystery, we know the value of mentoring other leaders to do the same.  We had to experience it first so that we could authentically teach it to others.  Every situation of your life is valuable and worthy.  You gain wisdom to share with others.

Paying Attention

Paying attention to your interior life is the beginning of transformation.  Do you cultivate time for silence?  Do carve a space that is separate from your smart phone, your computer, your Apple watch, your television, your IPOD, your Fitbit?  How often is God trying to get your attention, but you’re too distracted to even notice?

Invitation to Mature

Becoming a mature disciple is the invitation to relinquish whatever draws you away from the presence of God.  It is the invitation to begin a sacred romance with God.  To invite God to be your true desire, your greatest love.  When was the last time you simply became still, and let God love you? Love is the foundation of everything.  Our world is desperate for authentic, life-giving love. So much longing for things to be different.  But how often do we stop, and let God address these longings of our hearts?  If we aren’t willing to let God love us as an individual, a beautiful human being made in God’s image, then how do we expect to be an agent of change with those in our sphere of influence?  This is why we teach.  This is why we mentor.  This is why we disciple the next generation of pastors and leaders in Latin America.

What We Do

What do we do?

We walk beside pastors and missionaries in their spiritual journey with God.  Our goal is to help them achieve breakthroughs and sustain depth in their spiritual life so that they can invite others to a deep authentic relationship with God.

Proverbs 13:12

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

John 10:10b

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Will You Partner With Us?

Right now, our work is supported by 25 individuals, and 23 churches.  Individual gifts range from $15 to $100 a month.  The average donation is $30 a month, or $1 a day.  Our hope is to increase our donor base with 80 new individuals who will pledge $25 a month.  This will bring our support back to 100%. You can also give a one-time gift. Whatever you can give will make a difference!

From April 15 – June 15, 2018 there is a matched giving opportunity! Every dollar of new support will be matched!

You can give on-line with a credit card or you can also mail a check.  Click on this link for all the details:   www.internationalministries.org/spring-matching-gift-challenge

Thank you for believing in what we do!  Thank you for supporting the Global Impact of Missions!

David and Joyce