A Heart For The Nations

God’s Love for our Enemies

frank — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:28:05 +0000

Don’t believe that you know on your own how to get along with other people, or how to deal with enemies, or what good and evil are, lest humankind devour itself completely. ‘Never be conceited’–rather look to God’s way with us, with our enemies, that way, which Scripture itself calls foolish, the way of God’s love for our enemies, which God demonstrates to us by sending God’s Son all the way to the cross. The best wisdom is recognizing the cross of Jesus Christ as the insuperable love of God for all people, for us as well as for our enemies. Or are we of the opinion that God loves us more than God loves our enemies: Would we believe that we are God’s favorite children? Were we to think that, we would show ourselves to be of like mind with the Pharisees, we would have stopped being Christians. Is God’s love any less for our enemies, for whom God just as much came, suffered, and died, as God did for us? The cross is nobody’s private property, but belongs to all; it is intended for all mankind. God loves our enemies–the cross tells us that. God suffers on their account, feels anguish and sorrow because of them. God gave the beloved Son for them. That is the whole point every time we encounter enemies we remember at once: God loves them, God gave everything for them.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Christ’s Love and Our Enemies,” A Testament to Freedom, 285

Make Known

bekah — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:53:36 +0000

You make known to me the path of life. Psalm 16:11

I sat in my beat-up chair this morning, listening to the Gungor channel on Pandora. My hands were wrapped around a steaming cup of hot peach tea, and my mind was processing our weekend and what needs to be done this week and in the months to come. We submitted the first draft of our budget to Adventures last week, and are going through the refining process and

7,700

Is the number of monthly support we need before we are fully supported.

1,100

Is the number of monthly support we have right now.

As I sat in my chair this morning, I kept repeating the first number. And the thought, “How are we ever going to get there? This is never going to happen.” popped into my head. It was immediately followed by God saying back, “It’s not you that’s doing this.”

There’s a peace in knowing that, even when I am aware of my nerves and panic. This isn’t us. From the beginning, God has made it clear that this isn’t our dream, it’s his. This isn’t about us, it’s about him. This isn’t about sacrificing our dreams, it’s about giving us new hopes and visions. And that he is leading us, completely and beautifully, on this path.

In the midst of the panic, there is peace. And I’m praying for the panic to recede, for miracles to happen. Pray with me?

God Searching for Man

frank — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:45:37 +0000

“Religion is man searching for God. Christianity is God searching for man.”

2011 Year End Update

frank — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 20:26:40 +0000

2011 – what a year it’s been! It was filled with: settling back into life in the states, community with the people we love, leading a trip of high school students to Ireland and capped off with a call back to Ireland long-term. Here’s a peek into this past year:

ADVENTURES IN MISSIONS

2011 has been quite a year for Adventures in Missions! Our work there has allowed us the opportunity to be involved with mobilizing the next generation to go to the nations with God’s love. It’s been so encouraging to be a part of an amazing organization and to be under solid and trustworthy leadership.

Here’s some of what happened this year at Adventures (Thanks to my fellow teammate Sara Choe for these statistics):

• One day, in April, we sent out our 90,000th missionary; we’ve sent more since then, upping the total to 96,000.

• One day, this summer, in southern Africa, eight of our Racers prayed for about 200 people and over 100 were healed.

• One day, this summer, one of our Passport teams was part of the miracle of food multiplying.

I CALL IT MONSTER

On April 27, 2011 while visiting Bekah’s family in Tampa, we watched the state of Alabama get hit by the worst outbreak of tornadoes in 80 years. Category F4′s hit several small towns and an F5 ravaged the northwest portion of the state. In reference to the tornadoes, some people we quoted saying, “I call it Monster”.

We visited Pratt City and Phil Campbell so we could see the damage firsthand and hopefully capture some of the people’s stories.. We were not prepared for what we would see.
Click here to read more

AMBASSADOR TRIP TO IRELAND

This past summer, we took a group of high school students to Ireland. We helped a local ministry (Elemental) set up and establish a youth drop-in center. Their vision for each center is to create a safe place in a city where youth in the area can come and enjoy a positive environment. There are several drop-in centers around the country, and we were there to help establish one in the beautiful city of Dungarvan.

We needed a place to host the drop center, so we partnered with an amazing local church, Dungarvan Christian Fellowship. Initially, there was tons of work to do (create a logo, decorate, set up furniture, talk to youth in the area and hand out flyers, etc) so we jumped right in!
Click here to read more

PIZZA IN THE PARK

This past year we continued to help with the local Birmingham ministry, Pizza in the Park. It was great to get involved with this ministry again after returning from Nicaragua last year. While we were gone, it grew and now serves around 70 people from the Southside area each week. In addition to the normal weekly pizza, we pulled together and served a big Thanksgiving dinner as well as a Christmas dinner this year. We had so much food that everyone walked away full and we still had food left!

I can’t explain how special this ministry is to us. This year we saw several people that we hadn’t seen since we started it in 2006. They shared with us how much the ministry has meant to them and we were reminded of why we do it. What a blessing it is to see familiar faces and to know that each week God’s love is being shown to his people… one pizza at a time.

If you’d like to be involved with this ministry, email us at aheartforthenations@gmail.com for more information.

IRELAND OR BUST (WE’RE MOVING TO IRELAND!)

About 3 months after our trip to Ireland, we were presented with a long-term opportunity to go back and lead a team of youth workers. After lots of prayer and meetings with leadership from Adventures and Cornerstone (the church in New Jersey that we’re partnering with), we have officially accepted the position and are moving to Ireland!

Our goal to be fully supported by July 2012 and while all of this is very exciting for us, accepting the opportunity is only the first step. Please join us in prayer as we prepare budgets, start raising support, and making all of the thousands of little decisions that go into an international move.
Click here to read more

THANK YOU!

Looking back at 2011, there’s so much to be thankful for. We’ve grown so much in the past year and God continues to show us guidance and provision each step of the way.

Because of the selfless gifts many of you gave, we had the opportunity to serve God’s people for another year. We’re excited to see what God has for 2012! Until then, thank you!

SUPPORT

If you’re interested in joining our ministry, here’s some ways to get involved:

Prayer
Financial support

We’re looking for people who will partner with us as we prepare to move to Ireland. You can give online by clicking here (mail-in support instructions included as well)

Would you or your small group like to learn more about our initiative to Ireland?

We are beginning to book dates with people who are interested in partnering with our ministry in Ireland.
For more information or to set a date, please email us at aheartforthenations@gmail.com

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Luke 18:29-30

bekah — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:47:51 +0000

There is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.

Thank You Peter, You “Rock”

frank — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:15:52 +0000

Peter constantly gives me hope as a Christ-follower living in the 21st century. When reading the gospels, I get a sense that God is telling me “see, you’re not the only short-sighted follower I’ve had. Take Peter for example. Constantly doubting and not being able to see the ‘big picture’. Yet I chose him as the rock of the church.”

I was reminded of this as I read Luke 5 today:

1-3 Once when he was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret, the crowd was pushing in on him to better hear the Word of God. He noticed two boats tied up. The fishermen had just left them and were out scrubbing their nets. He climbed into the boat that was Simon’s and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Sitting there, using the boat for a pulpit, he taught the crowd.

4 When he finished teaching, he said to Simon, “Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch.”

5-7 Simon said, “Master, we’ve been fishing hard all night and haven’t caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I’ll let out the nets.” It was no sooner said than done—a huge haul of fish, straining the nets past capacity. They waved to their partners in the other boat to come help them. They filled both boats, nearly swamping them with the catch.
- Luke 5:1-7 (MSG)

Did you see that? Jesus says “hey drop your nets here” and Peter, gently reminds him that they had spent the entire night fishing without even catching a minnow and then reluctantly says “but if you say so” as he drops the nets. The next part is the best. “It was no sooner said than done.” Boom. Fish out the wazoo.

So to this I say thank you Peter for going before all of us “short-sighted” followers and giving us hope that God will still choose to use us even when we doubt and question his authority. You “rock” (pun intended).

Ireland or Bust

frank — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:45:35 +0000

We have some very exciting news to share with you! As most of you know, after we returned from Nicaragua, Frank accepted a full-time position with Adventures in Missions working with the marketing department to help mobilize a generation to go to the nations. Not only has this time been very fulfilling for Frank as he uses his skills and talents for an organization we believe in, but we have both grown spiritually and have become deeply connected with the community at Adventures.

This past summer we led a 3.5 week trip to Ireland (you can read about it here) made up of 6 high school students and another awesome leader. To say this trip was life-changing would be an understatement. We took an amazing team and partnered with another amazing team, to help start a youth drop-in center in Dungarvan Ireland. The centers create a safe place for the youth in the city to come and hang out in a place that is safe and positive. While there, our team built relationships with the Irish youth while they served coffee and tea, played card games, listened to music and hung out. It truly was an incredible experience!

Our trip to Ireland was the first time Adventures had partnered with the youth drop-in center ministry. Since then, the relationship has grown stronger and the partnership is moving to the next step. One of the directors from Adventures approached us with an opportunity to build a team and go back to Ireland long-term to serve not only helping running the current drop-in centers, but also establishing new drop-in centers in every county of Ireland (the big vision). The opportunity not only fulfills our desire to grow into leadership, but it would put us back on the mission field full-time.

After lots of prayer and meetings with leadership from Adventures and Cornerstone (the church in New Jersey that we’re partnering with), we have officially accepted the position and are moving to Ireland!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Our immediate needs:

Prayer
Financial support

Give online by clicking here (mail-in support instructions included as well)

Hire us

We run a creative agency named D2L Studios. By hiring us to design a logo or help build an online presence for your company, you help us remain on the mission field. Stop by and check out some of our work or get in touch with us to see how we can help you!

Can we speak at your small group about Ireland?

While details are still begin ironed out, we are beginning to book times when we can come and speak to your small group about partnering with our ministry in Ireland.
For more information, feel free to email us at aheartforthenations@gmail.com

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From Proverbs 2 to Luke 2

bekah — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:47:24 +0000

Some of you are aware of my love for Proverbs. I’ve been going through it each month for the majority of the past two years. A few months ago, Frank started reading through it on the same schedule (one of the 31 chapters, each morning) and it’s come alive for me because I have someone to talk about it with. This month, he suggested adding Luke on to Proverbs. Because Luke has 24 chapters, and it speaks of the coming, arrival, life, death, and resurrection of Christ, it’s the perfect book for December reading. Acting as its own Advent calendar, leading from the birth to death then resurrection of Christ.

Not only that, the two books have similarities. I love how the second chapter of Proverbs, part of the nine chapter introduction, explains the process of finding wisdom and why its important. While the second chapter of Luke shows how Jesus increased in wisdom. Here’s a little taste of both chapters.

Proverbs 2 (ESV)

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.

Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.

Luke 2

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Fest of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

The Difficult, The Painful, The Impossible

frank — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:37:47 +0000

In Luke 1 we read about God choosing to bring John (the bug-eating-hippie prophet) into this world through a woman named Elizabeth. Promised prophet enters the world through barren and elderly woman. Miraculous, right?

But…

what about for Elizabeth? While I’m sure it truly was a blessing to finally conceive a child (after all, in those days children were vital to a woman’s self-esteem and value), how painful do you think carrying and birthing a baby at that age (the Message says she was “quite old”) was? Extremely I’m sure. And can you imagine the stares she received around town?

Wouldn’t it have made more sense to bring John into the world through a perfectly healthy young woman? Wouldn’t that have been easier?

It blows my mind how God continually chooses the impossible, the difficult, the painful to bring about his kingdom in this world. Over and over again.

Mistakes

frank — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:04:15 +0000

A passage from Forgotten among the Lilies by Ronald Rolheiser:

“If the Catholicism that I was raised in had a fault, and it did, it was precisely that it did not allow for mistakes. It demanded that you get it right the first time. There was supposed to be no need for a second chance. If you made a mistake, you lived with it and, like the rich young man, were doomed to be sad, at least for the rest of your life. A serious mistake was a permanent stigmatization, a mark that you wore like Cain. I have seen that mark on all kinds of people: divorcees, ex-priests, ex-religious, people who have had abortions, married people who have had affairs, people who have had children outside of marriage, parents who have made serious mistakes with their children, and countless others who have made serious mistakes. There is too little around to help them. We need a theology of brokenness We need a theology which teaches us that even though we cannot unscramble an egg, God’s grace lets us live happily and with renewed innocence far beyond any egg we may have scrambled. We need a theology that teaches us that God does not just give us one chance, but that every time we close a door, he opens another one for us.”