First, we are so thankful for all the love, support, and most importantly PRAYERS during this season of our life. While the fact that God has called us to "go" is exciting, it certainly isn't easy. Also, we wanted to take some time to clarify where God is leading us and what He is going to have us be a part of.
Operation Mobilization; God is doing amazing things through this organization. Operation Mobilization (OM) are in over 118 countries, and their focus in a nutshell is to assist local churches, help plant churches and bring the gospel to areas that have never heard of Jesus. On top of that they bring aid and help during times of disaster. They also have a ship that docks at ports around the world that offers Christian literature to locals, as well as reading materials at affordable prices. While in Port, they invite locals on board for outreach, go in to the community to street evangelize, visit prisons, hospitals, and provide humanitarian aid when possible.
The Arts are also another way that OM reaches people whether it be through music, drama, mime, dance, painting, or sculpture to name a few. We have heard and Gino has seen first hand how the arts have been used to communicate in spite of language barriers, relieve tensions, and opened eyes to the truth of Christ. Music and dance can touch hard hearts, and lift the spirits of the hopeless and this is the area God has called us to participate in. For now we will be moving to Atlanta Georgia where the OM Arts department is located. We are part of OM International, but that department is still based at the OM USA headquarters. What does that mean?
Well, when we move there Gino will be working on various projects and also be touring with different artists. I will be the steady presence at home when Gino is on tour. I will be making sure our ministry partners are updated and that they stay informed about how God is using them. I will also be praying for the teams. Then, when our children are bit older, our desire is to involve our whole family in missions so that we may minister together, and as our children grow, they can experience God first hand as He transforms lives. However, our kids are our first ministry. God says, "For if man cannot manage his own household, how can he take are of God's church?". Gino and I are very aware that God has blessed us with children to show them His love and raise and train them in the Word so that they will remain in it when they are grown. Gino and I both agree that while the kids are young, it is vital that I am home caring for them and when they are older we hope God will open doors for us to outreach as a family. Like the disciples who took their families with them to their home bases, I will be with the kids during the times that Gino travels to bring the gospel to other parts of the world and within the U.S. as well. But our sacrifice of time away from each other is not void. The stories we hear of how God works when Gino is away make the time away from one another worthwhile.
As we have seen God make it clear that this is where we are headed God keeps showing us that this is His ministry and He will see that we get there in His time and in His way. We are expecting our 3rd little one in September which is such a blessing. This gives us more time to build up our ministry team with partners who may not be called to "go" as we have but are feeling called to "send" people out into the world and really believe in what we are a part of. We are also so thankful as God makes it clear we will not be alone when we move. So many have already rallied around us, reached out to us, Skype with us and pray for us. Not only in Atlanta Georgia, but even in Italy where our friend Jill is. To know that we have so many who are ready to love on us and be there when we transition is such a blessing. God reminds me constantly, "don't worry about everyday life, whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds, they don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are more valuable to him than they are." (Matt. 6:25)
As God has changed us over that last 3 years I really see how He's given us a new understanding and desire of what it means to really follow him. From Him just planting the question in our minds "are you willing to give up your plans for my plans?" to us saying "Yes Lord we think we could." To Him asking, "Would you be willing to Go and move? " to us saying "Yes Lord we think we could". To Him asking, "Do you want to go where I'm leading you?" to us saying "Yes Lord, we WANT to go where you lead. It's the only place we WANT to be." It's been a long journey but such an awesome time of growing and stretching. He's taken our desires and conformed them to His desires. He's shown us that "storing up treasures" in heaven is better than anything earthly desires can give. His promises last forever, earthly things fade away. He's totally changed our mind set and given us a love for others and a passion for the "church" to grow.
I've been reading Romans lately and two verses come to my mind that sum up the vision God has given us right now:
Romans 1:5 "Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to His name." - Not only will Gino be bringing the gospel of Christ to the nations, but the teams he will be a part of will be used in ways such as assisting local churches in encouraging and challenging believers, and assisting local pastors and missionaries to build credibility in their communities, which hopefully in turn will help their ministries to grow. All in hopes of saving the lost, encouraging and strengthening those who already believe, and inspiring local believers to continue spreading the gospel message.
Romans 1:14: "For I have a great sense of obligation to people in our culture and to people in other cultures, to the educated and uneducated alike."
God has given us a sense of obligation to people here and all over the world to know God's good news. We are excited that God has invited us to join Him by "Going" and reaching out to people all over the world, including the U.S. as well.
So where are we in the journey? Right now we are in the beginning stages of raising our financial support through building our ministry support team. Those who will be supporting and sending us are just as important as we who are going. Without being "sent" no one could "go" bring the gospel to the nations. Please be praying that God will speak clearly to those He wants to be apart of our team. Pray that as we meet with people, God will encourage and strengthen their faith and maybe even raise up other missionaries in the process. Above all pray with us that God will be glorified!
We are excited to share about this new adventure and are happy to meet with anyone who has questions. If you feel God is calling you to join our team, please let us know. We have also posted a link on our blog should you feel led to give financially to our ministry. Furthermore, if you feel called to be a prayer partner please let us know. This is just as important as giving.
If you have time please check out Operation Mobilization. We've posted their links on our blog. Who knows maybe we'll be seeing some of you on some trips. If you've always wanted to go on a missions trip but didn't know where to start, OM has many short term mission trips and they need people to do all kinds of different tasks. Check them out and see what God might have for you.
We will keep you all posted on this journey.
