A Heart for the Forgotten

This post is a bit longer than normal, but I hope it's worth the read.  So when you've got a minute, please read this note from Meredith!  If you're having trouble viewing this email, please click here.

Sometimes life requires a little strong coffee!

I have to be honest.  Sometimes I get discouraged.  Sometimes I wonder if God really wants us here.  Sometimes I worry about our ministry funding.  Sometimes I question everything.  Sometimes I am afraid.  Sometimes I doubt God.  Don’t we all feel this way at times, but we are often too afraid to share it with anyone?

It has been a while since I, Meredith, personally wrote our blog post, but I felt led to do so this week to share some of what has been on my heart about our ministry here in Appalachia, East Tennessee. 

The past 2 months have been very challenging for us here, and on several occasions, our family has battled deep discouragement.  In May of 2010 we firmly believed (and still do) that God was closing the door to Russia and leading us to East Tennessee to train pastors.  I remember thinking, “Oh Lord, will we ever be able to raise our support?  I mean, God, who wants to support stateside missionaries, don’t most people only want to send mission funds to missionaries overseas?”  The Lord answered with, “Trust me.”  We did and He provided for us in exceeding and abundant ways (just like He always has) and He confirmed that this was where we needed to be. 

We are missionaries.  We left our home, our families, our friends, and everything that was familiar, and came to a place where people talk funny, drive 10 miles an hour UNDER the speed limit, are not very open to outsiders, distill urine to make Crystal meth, and live in a degree of poverty that I personally have never seen. 

The past two months, things did not seem to be going as quickly as we wanted with the ministry here.  We wanted a pastor training class like, yesterday.  It was slow for Daniel to have the meetings that he needed to have, and some of the benevolence ministry, we simply did not understand the purpose of.  Then, a major supporter questioned the need for us here, and lowered our support substantially, and I began to doubt.  “God, do you still want us here?”  “I mean, do we need to be somewhere else?”

The other night, I lay in bed with Daniel and unloaded my fears and questions.  I asked him, “Why do you feel God has led you here?  I mean, can’t you train pastors in another place.  This just seems too hard.” 

His answer warmed my heart and challenged me and I wanted to share it with you.  If you too have had any doubts about how God could send a missionary to Tennessee, or anywhere in the US for that matter, hopefully this will encourage you as it did me. 

He responded, “I have a heart for church revitalization, to see the church changed from the inside out.  The focus of many ministries today, including the Southern Baptist Convention is on Church planting, going into places that have no church or many unhealthy ones, and planting a new church.  I believe that is definitely needed, but I also believe that God wants to revitalize what is already here.  Meredith, do you know why many older people do not like contemporary music?  It is not the music but it is the fact that they do not know the words.  Have you ever been in a service where they played a new song you did not know the words too?  How did you feel?  It really affects that worship experience.  However, instead of listening to many older people and trying to understand them, too often we have just said, ‘they need to get with the times’ and moved on past them.  I think in ministry at large we have done that too.  Society is becoming more urban, people are moving out of the country into the cities and so the focus of ministry today is largely on cities and urban areas.  I am not saying that is a bad thing, it is needed.  But what about the small country churches?  Are we just supposed to leave them to die?  Are we supposed to just let them remain in errant or even heretical teachings?  Look at Jesus.  He went to all the towns preaching and teaching, but also the villages, the small country areas.  His heart was for ALL people, and truth needs to be shared with all, even the small country churches that no one seems to care about today.” 

His answer knocked me off my feet.  I had never even thought of it that way.  We began to pray for the ministry here, for God to make it clear if this was where we needed to be, and for the support of it in ways that we had not done previously. It has been amazing over the past 2 weeks to see how God has answered and confirmed the need for us to be here.  A couple of our financial partners increased their gifts without us asking.  We’ve added a new monthly partner.  Some of our partners gave one time gifts that we hadn’t asked for.  All reminding us that the Lord is in control, and this is where He wants us to be.

I am not saying everyone needs to be here.  People need to be in China, Russia, Argentina, France, Mexico, India, Iran, and every country in between.  Other missionaries need to be other places in the US.  But God has called US here for now.  And we are excited to serve the Lord in a place that has been forgotten by many, but not by the Lord. 

We pray that all of our supporters would have a heart for Appalachia, in many ways, the place of the forgotten.  Thank you for our prayers and support of our ministry, we truly could not be here without you and we are so thankful. 

We are currently in need of $500 in monthly support to sustain the ministry here.  Please be praying with us that the Lord would raise up those partners that would have a heart for what we are doing and would be excited about coming alongside us. 

Snow Bunny!  My nose matches my outfit!

Our first real snow.

Cheese!  Everybody wears pj's on snow days!

She had a little trouble learning to walk in her new boots.

Dog!  Dog!  I see a dog!

Lily loves our neighbor's dog.  He's a sweet fella, and he loves her too!

She was determined to try and get another drink of mommy's coffee, but mommy wasn't going to let her have too much.