Future Ministries
The first year on the field, our team encourages new missionaries to focus on two things: 1) residency and other logistics like driver's licenses, settling in with the Spanish systems for banking and bills, and 2) language.
To that end, we've accomplished a lot in the first six months we've been here, in spite of typical Spanish delays and difficulties. We have residency, a bank and phones. We're paying our own bills and can shop and order things online. We furnished our flat and feel at home there. We don't have everything, but we have what we need.
Our main ministry at this time is to attend church and set a good example for anyone we might have contact with. This year we will not be asked to lead much, but we observe and participate as much as possible and already we can see how God might use us in the future. Over Christmas we will make and serve the coffee that is served between services, and occasionally I help out with the youngest Sunday School class. As we pray about our role at the locale, the Holy Spirit is revealing possible future ministries.
Next summer, after English camp, two of our teammates are going on furlough. During that time, we will have to step in to help with church logistics in a much bigger way. We are excited to see what God will teach us during that season, and we pray that we will be a help and encouragement to our Spanish pastor and his wife.
In the future, our team is dreaming of starting a church in Espartales, a neighborhood just across the freeway from ours. We don't yet know how we will support this endeavor, but we're excited to see our little church multiply itself in this way.
Teaching English is a major way that we can meet needs in our neighborhood. I love children's books and have a huge collection from homeschooling, so I am praying about starting a little club that enables me to use children's books to teach English. Susanna and Austin might be able to help me with that!
Austin is attending a Spanish school this year, and we've already made some friends with families at the school. We want to secure those relationships so they'll last after Austin transfers to ECA next year. We've been attending birthday parties, going out to eat, and meeting families at the park. The Lord has already opened doors to share our faith with a number of people, including two families that speak some English! It is both amazing and encouraging that our major limitation, lack of language, doesn't stop the Lord from giving us opportunities to share about Him.
In the spring, Chris is going to attend a Good Soil training in Ukraine with our team leaders. It would be a blessing to become an expert in teaching The Story of Hope, which is available in Castellano Spanish, so we're going to focus on this excellent resource provided by our sending agency. Once Chris feels more confident in Spanish, there are lots of roles he can take on at the church - leading discussions, Bible studies, prayer night, etc. He wants to attend the local seminary as well, to develop his spiritual vocabulary and prepare for future teaching roles.
These are just the known current and future ministries we look forward to participating in. As we pray specifically for our friends to meet Jesus, we also believe the Holy Spirit will direct the most important ministry of hospitality and walking alongside our friends as they search. We want to be available to support people who are struggling and to show Jesus' love and forgiveness at any cost.