From the Field

I had an opportunity to visit one of our mission churches the other day.  It’s located East of El Progreso, about an hour away from our campground.  I went there to see if this sight would be a good fit for one of our teams.  I had a chance to speak with the pastor and his wife, and we were able to see the property they are wanting to purchase for their new church.

The church itself has only been around for about one year.  During that time the church has seen tremendous growth, and they’ve made a huge impact on the surrounding community.  It’s a great story, and I wanted to share their story with you.

Please pray for the purchase of their new lot.  If you are interested in helping with the purchase of their land, please contact me at jason(at)thecourtneyfam.com.

We recently hosted a medical team from our home church.  As usual, we had a great time serving the people of Honduras.

One really cool thing with this team was that they had a 12-year-old boy on the team.  A lot of parents wouldn’t bring their kids on a medical mission trip, but I think it was a great idea.  I was able to document some of his adventures during the trip.

                In pioneer missionary work the space between survival and failure can be so very, very small. In recent months we have found it prudent to put the work of our first efforts, Gdansk, on hold. We reported that to you in our last blog, along with asking for your prayers that we can reopen our work there in God’s timing.

                More recently we have come near the brink of needing to put our work in Krakow on hold. However, this time, God had other plans. He has made necessary financial resources available and, with the prospects improving all the time, we will be able to meet the substantial financial obligations necessary to keeping our work open there. God spoke to some of you about giving substantial gifts to the work, and New Mission Corps volunteers are on the job (we will introduce them to you all soon). So we have stepped back from the brink, thank the Lord.

                Please know our gratitude for your prayers, many of you letting us know that you pray for us daily. Prayer is, without a doubt, what underpins our confidence that God is guiding us as we learn how to bring the message of God’s love and holiness to the wonderful people in Poland.

                As we look ahead, we do so with great joy and confidence. Please continue to pray for us, even when you may not be aware that there is an urgent need of some kind. Your prayers give us confidence as we follow God’s call to do this work.

                As you pray for us, you may feel the prompting of God to do something more as one of our Poland Partners or Partner Churches. The need for special gifts for the expenses of our building in Krakow is ongoing. We would welcome any special efforts on your part to help us raise the necessary funds for this continuing need. The end of the year may be a good time for you to give.

                Our work in Poznan continues with the strong leadership of our Mission Corps Volunteers, the Giles and Tracey families, as well as the growing number of very competent Poland nationals. 

The Sweet Surrender Shop is prospering, and people are being introduced to the love of God.  If you are inspired to do something special for the Poznan ministry, there is an increasing need to replace furnishings and equipment that are wearing out. 

We need to replace tables, chairs, and sofas. We have taken some of the furnishings that can no longer be repaired out of service, leaving us with some holes in our seating and serving needs. 

If an individual or family or church group would like to take on one or more of these needs, we’d love to hear from you. The cost of these items ranges from $50.00 to several thousand dollars for refrigeration units. Those may seem mundane to you, but I assure you that our Sweet Surrender staff will rejoice should you be inspired to help out. Perhaps this Christmas season would be a good time for this to happen.

                As you can see, there is never a dull moment in our work. In addition to the challenges mentioned above, we also greatly rejoice in how God is directing and redirecting our work in Poland. We look forward to sharing with you more of the great stories of what God is doing in the lives of those who are being transformed by the love of God in their hearts.

                As we look to the future, we hope to develop additional ministry centers and congregations. We are on a very exciting journey and are overjoyed that our Poland Partners are sharing the journey with us.

                We thank God for each of you and pray God’s rich joy to be with you in this glorious Advent season. We are also grateful for the strong support and encouragement from our new Regional Director, Rev. Arthur Snijders, and Rev. Verne Ward III, our Global Missions Director. Thank you for praying for them as well as for us as we go forward in our work in Poland.