Life is a Journey with the Lord

“The Great Commission” is the last thing that Jesus told the disciples. Interesting enough, Jesus entrusted this commission to only eleven people. Eleven people that had walked with him for no more than three years. A few years later, the apostle Paul was added to the number. And Paul writing to the church in Thessalonica wrote the following, “we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2.4) I remember a few years back, that the word translated to nations means people groups. So with this in mind, you can start looking around and identify various people groups in your sphere of influence. The infants, the youth, young adults, adults, grocery store, bank, school, etc. Most of us don’t think in these terms. I know I don’t unless I’m very much aware of the different people around me. Yet, this is a challenge for each of us to be ready to share the gospel with others. So what each of us needs to do is to be aware of the world in which we move and have our being. Well, it’s been a very busy two months since our last newsletter in May and we have been blessed to be going and making disciples. We had a wonderful VBS and Youth Retreat at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Our theme revolved around being a “Child of God”…..How do you become a Child of God? Who you are as His Child. Who your heavenly Father is and where you are going. Many seeds were planted! Of course this work had some pretty awesome helpers. Our team from the states was small, only 4, but we combined them with 11 high school students from St. Mary’s and the worship leader from St. Mary’s Cathedral to do the VBS and Youth Retreat. An amazing team and we thank the Lord for their gift of time to help make disciples. There are many steps to making disciples and if we all do the part we are called to do, God will bring about the growth. On June 25, we returned to Sumter, SC to rest and to prepare to leave for our Australian mission on July 1. While home, we saw our new grandson, Colton Rhodes Jones. Marie and Paul’s son who was born on the 3rd of May. Then we also celebrated our “baby’s” 21st birthday. Yes!!! Abney is now 21! In our April newsletter we had requested help in getting the worship leader from St. Mary’s Cathedral to be a part of our team going to Australia. God worked a couple of miracles here because the VISA process to get Jose Juarez to Australia was a nightmare!! He had waited weeks upon weeks for an answer and not until we returned to the states on June 25th did he hear from the Australian Embassy, which was in Mexico City for citizens of Honduras, that he had been approved to enter Australia (Miracle #1). Jose contacted us and then we were able to able to book a flight for him from Tegucigalpa to Sydney, leaving the next day so that Jose could attend a Hillsong Conference on Worship from July 1-5 (Miracle #2). The registration for the conference was CLOSED!!! However, our daughter, Stacey, who is on staff at the Youth With A Mission – Island Breeze Sydney Base was able to get Jose a ticket for the conference. She told those in charge of the conference about Jose’s story of how he had always wanted to attend a Hillsong Conference in Sydney and that he had been in the process of getting a VISA for weeks on end and that he had finally received his VISA to come to Australia that day. Now, Miracle #3! After hearing Jose’s story, the people at Hillsong felt that God was working to get him there so they sold a ticket to Stacey for Jose to attend the Conference! Boy, if you could have seen how blessed Jose felt!! He was in a whirlwind of joy!! We do serve a mighty God and when doors close, only He can open them!! While Jose was attending the Hillsong Conference, we arrived on July 3 in Sydney with Dalana Barnett, our 4th team member. Dalana is our WIN-GS intercessor administrator and a prayer warrior. What a blessing to our Team!! Our time in Sydney was short but filled with fellowship with the YWAM staff, students, and guests. Some of the students we had taught before in years past and Joe was able to preach at the Samoan Church where Stacey, Simon and the children attend. After church we had a feast!! It is amazing how God’s people anywhere love to celebrate and eat! But it was a special time for us to be with Stacey, Simon, Taimane & Gideon and to share in their life. Skype is nice, but does not replace the physical presence of someone. We also found out that Stacey is expecting another child in December. This will bless us with 9 grandchildren—5 boys and 4 girls. On the 12th of July, the team left for Brisbane. Simon, Stacey and their children drove up to Brisbane and we flew. Simon has family in the Brisbane area and they needed to take a much needed break from their duties at the YWAM Island Breeze-Sydney Base. This also allowed us to have some more time with them during our stay in North Lakes where our son in law is in charge of a church plant with the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane. On July 13th in Brisbane, The Queensland Music Festival opened. It began by setting two World Records. Our grandson, Isaiah plays the trumpet and was able to participate in setting the World Record for the largest gathering of trumpet players directed and conducted by James Morrison. Mr. Morrison is a world renowned Australian jazz trumpeter. He is also a dynamic Christian. The trumpet players gathered in front of the Brisbane Court House and practiced, “Purcell’s Trumpet Voluntaire” and “When the Saints Go Marching In” before parading through the streets of down town Brisbane and it’s open air mall. Then later in the day at the Sun Corp Stadium, The World’s Biggest orchestra (also directed and conducted by Mr. Morrison) played. Isaiah, along with all the earlier group of trumpeters and even more, came together to make an orchestra of 7,223 people! This broke the previous record of 6,400. They had to perform over 5 minutes without stopping. Please view on You Tube….”World’s Biggest Orchestra.” An amazing event to attend! Thank you Lord! That evening, Jose was contacted by his family to let him know that his grandmother was very ill and the next morning she had died. This was a difficult time for Jose since he could not return home in time for the funeral. But the Lord provided another miracle for Jose and his sister who is in Spain doing her residency in Pediatrics and could not return home either. Both were able to attend their grandmother’s funeral through Skype!! Then a few days later, Dalana’s father in law died. She was able to return home in time for the funeral. The Lord opened a seat for her on the plane that morning. We were amazed that in 3 hours’ time from when she received her message; she was at the Brisbane airport heading home. This time in our trip was difficult, but the Lord sustained all of us and took care of all the needs. Our Brisbane invitation had come from our son in law, Daniel Berris, who is an Anglican priest in North Lakes just north of Brisbane. We had been invited to talk and share about short term missions from our experiences over the last 35 years in missions. Joe & Jose met with several informal men’s groups and Tina met twice with the women’s Bible study group; all from North Lakes Anglican Church. We were also blessed to address several home church groups and Joe was able to preach one Sunday at North Lakes Anglican Church. Towards the end of our time there, we had a one day seminar at St. John the Baptist Anglican Church in Bulimba for the newly ordained clergy in the Diocese of Brisbane. It was a time of teaching not only about the value of short term missions, but the awareness of the mission field around us every day. We were able to encourage and pray for those gathered and share lots of good resource information. This mission was about discipling in our everyday lives, interacting with people in everyday situations. The mission field is right where you are and may we always have eyes, ears, and a heart for others because “we have been entrusted with the good news of the Gospel.” Now this mission was different because our times of teaching were spread out and blended in with many family activities. One day at lunch some friends of Daniel and Kerry’s came to visit and as we talked, we realized there were 11 different nations present! We were also blessed to share in the 1st birthday party of our grandson Gideon Siuta Surielu Fua. Tina made the birthday cake and we gathered with many of Simon and Stacey’s relatives and friends at the YWAM Island Breeze-Brisbane Base. It was a Samoan feast with a pig roasted in the ground! Food in abundance again! We did have our fun tourist moments….Jose and Dalana saw kangaroos in the school yard of our grandson, Ethan. This is in the city and so for us it is unusual to have kangaroos hopping along the streets. Well, this is a brief synopsis of our God filled mission. We especially want to thank Daniel, Kerry and the congregation of North Lakes Anglican for their hospitality; for both YWAM-Island Breeze bases in Sydney and Brisbane for their hospitality; and for the hospitality and generosity of the Samoan congregation in Sydney. We could not do what we do without your support so again our hearts are filled with gratitude for you and thank you again for enabling us to go and make disciples. Little by little, step by step, day by day, and moment by moment…. “making disciples of all nations (people groups), teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 Be Blessed to be a Blessing….You are on a Mission…and “YOU will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1.8 Fr. Joe & Tina Sowing Seeds for the extension of the Kingdom of God List of needs: 1. New roof for St. Mary’s school 2. Lower and upper school needs painting 3. Covering for an eating area 4. Picnic tables for the eating area 5. Scholarship Fund for St. Mary’s staff, teachers, clergy, and families with special needs 6. VBS & Youth Retreat fund 7. More supporters for our ministry Prayer Needs: 1. New school year of 2013-14 for St. Mary’s School family. We need 200 students to keep the school up and running. 2. For the school to adjust to all that is “new:” New families, new teachers, new schedules, & new activities 3. For the needed repairs to the campus of St. Mary’s to be accomplished. 4. For the school to get out of debt! 5. For every member of our St. Mary’s family to grow daily in their walk with the Lord. 6. For God to raise up individuals and teams to come and walk along side us at St. Mary’s Personal prayer: 1. Good health for Joe & Tina 2. Abney…preparation and arrival in New York City on October 16 to attend AMDA..American Musical and Dramatic Academy. 3. Our trip home to help Abney move to New York 4. For our daughters and their families here in SC and Australia 5. For a healthy and safe delivery of Stacey and Simon’s little boy in December…this is #3 for them