May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
(Psalm 90:17 NIV)
Several years ago, our family began supporting a young missionary couple with four children who are serving in Eurasia. We receive occasional email updates from them, and one such report came last month. It reminded me of the sacrifices and challenges missionaries face as they share the Good News with those around them.
Please consider joining me in praying for this family. If you’re interested in financially supporting them, feel free to email me, and I’ll be happy to provide their names and contact information. For their safety, I won’t share those details publicly here.
The following is the email they sent from their location; please note that any apparent misspellings are intentional for security purposes.
We recently heard it said that people in our line of work are a “grieving people.” And a dear friend also said that people like us are “those who have left – but didn’t think that the leaving would continue. But it did and it does and it will continue.” Over the last couple of months these statements have become vividly clear in our lives.
Almost 11 years ago we left our families and loved ones in the States and embarked on this journey of living among the people we felt called to reach. While there was grief and sadness, there was also joy in walking in obedience to what the L0rd was calling us to. Though I don’t think we were prepared for the vast amount and the frequency with which people would leave this country (whether by choice or by circumstances beyond their control.)
Last month at our annual conference with our org. we said goodbye to 27 adults & 17 kids! Many of whom have been dear friends with us for years. Many of them have been part of our extended family and we have been in the trenches together working towards seeing this nation reached. Some left because of rejected visas, others because of family situations, and others because they felt like G0d was leading them elsewhere. While leaving is hard, it is also hard to be those staying behind and saying yet another good-bye and grieving for what those people meant to you, your family, and this nation.
Then on Boxing Day (two days ago) we got the devastating news that our very close friends, … (he’s the p@stor of our chrch, the only chrch in our city), were given 10 days to leave the country and they are banned for life from ever returning here! Back in February they found out that it was a possibility they might have to leave but they had opened a court case and were waiting for it to slowly move through the process. So this news was out of the blue and a shock for us all! Relationally losing this family is super hard for our family as they are some of ours and our kids’ closest friends! (And I will say, nothing breaks your heart more than seeing your kids heart broken and comforting them while they’re sobbing.)
At our conference last month, much of the discussion & teaching was about this season of transition and the importance of being rooted in G0d! With all of the uncertainty around us, G0d is our rock! We are trying to lean in to the L0rd, learn how to grieve well and crying out for wisdom in how to walk our children & the chrch through this grieving process.
Since around March, “Robin” and I (“Daniel”) have been on a “leadership council” that was formed to help keep our local chrch going if/when [the other family] were kicked out. That group has shifted over the last nine months and none of us were really ready for this to happen. But tomorrow after chrch there will be a members meeting where six of us will be put forth to potentially become deacons/deaconess in the chrch. It is Robin and I, a local couple that moved here a couple of months ago, and two single ladies (a Brit and an American). Essentially when our past0r & his family leave (on the 2nd) our chrch will be without a past0r. Our goal as a leadership team will be to keep the church going until the L0rd raises up from within leaders/p@stors or brings them from elsewhere.
Our chrch has two services, one in English and one in the local language. While it’s one chrch, essentially we have two different congregations that have different languages, cultures, and needs as well as different spiritual maturity levels (a lot of the local believers are very new in their walk with the L0rd.) Part of our role (especially because we have both languages) will be to be the bridge between these two congregations. We will also be responsible (with others) for making sure that all the Bble studies, kids mnstry, and all the mnstries of the chrch are able to still function and have their needs met. We will be doing counseling and discipleship for people relationally with each other and for the grieving process of losing our past0r. Robin will be stepping up to lead worship with a local believer each week. Daniel will be helping with coordinating logistics and member care.
Even with the additional responsibilities we will hold for the chrch, we are in no way the ones to keep the chrch going. This is the L0rd’s church and He will protect it, carry it, and grow us! We are dependent on Him and looking to Him for wisdom, grace, and discernment as we follow Him.
Thank you for your continued pr@yers as we press on with what G0d has called us to do.
Blessings,
Daniel, Robin, and family
P.S. Yes, there is a concern for security for us. Like the [other family] (and many others) we don’t want to be kicked out and have a ban for life. We are making sure that we are not on any legal documents and trying to keep our name out of the public in association with the chrch. Our desire is to be here for as long as we can!
God,
You are the Creator of all things, the sustainer of life, and forever faithful in all you do. Thank you for each person in your Kingdom who works to share the Good News with those around them. Today, we lift up missionaries serving overseas, particularly those who have sacrificed so much to minister to the people in these countries.
We specifically pray for “Daniel” and “Robin” and their children, as well as for the members of their local church who are without a pastor. We ask that you hold this church in the palm of your hand, providing for all their needs according to your glorious riches. We pray that you would send the right leader(s) to guide this part of your Body.
We also pray for the protection of all Christ-followers in this country and others, especially those living among foreigners with different religions who desire to spread the Gospel. Surround them with your care, guide them through their grief, loss, and brokenness, and meet every need they have. We ask for your supernatural provision and favor, especially with visa officials.
May your peace, which surpasses understanding, guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. We ask that your angels watch over them, keeping them safe in all their ways. We pray all of this in Jesus’s name. Amen.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:11-12 NIV)
God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19 NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV)
He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. (Psalm 146:6-9 NIV)