Missionary Boot Camp

So if there was such a thing as Missionary Boot Camp, I am pretty sure we are in it. And though it is not a physical camp it is more intense and strengthening than any Boot Camp or PX90 - I like to refer to it as Crossfit (getting us fit for the crosses we are to carry). Jesus calls us to forsake ourselves, pick up our cross and follow him DAILY!!! In order to carry our cross, we have to be prepared to carry it - no matter what!! So preparing to carry our cross requires us to be conditioned to do it.  Just as you have to condition your body to run in races or marathons. But in Crossfit God is the one that conditions us to carry our cross for Him daily!
I have noticed the trend of Boot Camps, PX90, Insanity and all kinds of extreme work outs and people are obsessed with them and eating vegan and paleo and on and on, there is something different each week. And I have listened and often wondered, what if they spent that much time devoted to God and His word and doing His work or serving others? I often wonder how much time these people spend in reading God's word and strengthening their relationship with Him. See we can be so easily tricked into thinking because they are good things that it is okay, but in reality they are taking the place of God and have become an idol. 
So this week has been difficult for many reasons but I just felt as if God were telling me that I was in training this week. And I found myself asking Him what do you mean? I know I need to exercise more Lord, do you want me to be in a race? I went back and forth all week in prayer and asking over and over trying to figure out what the Lord was saying to me. And then it finally hit me, I am in training for the field. I am in training for the cross He has given me to carry. This week when my family members were sick in different states and my parents were in another state and we were trying to figure out who needed to get where to take care of who and my mother is in tears on the phone, all I could do was listen and help her as best as I could a state away. When I hung up to pray for everyone and for peace for my parents, I realized that I will have to do that but from another country. I felt in my spirit, this is your training - preparing you for your service and your cross. 
So over the last few days as I have grieved in my spirit for not being able to be physically present with those that I love to help, comfort and pray with them, I finally had a peace that the Lord was preparing me for my cross. I recalled scripture that had always resonated with me and then I knew why. The scripture is: Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God". Luke 9:61-62
Well I don't know about you but I want to be fit for the kingdom of God!!! I will never be ready to carry my cross if I keep looking back at what held me here for so long in the first place. I can never look back at possessions, friendships, family, church, jobs, or even serving if I want to be fit for His kingdom. We are in training and conditioning for our service in Mexico. There are so many things that we are having to adjust to it is not even funny. But at the end of the day, I can say with assurance that the saddest thing that could take place is if we kept looking back and were found not fit for the kingdom. 
I can not imagine a more miserable and sad life than one that is not fit for the kingdom. So yes we are in Crossfit right now, not so we can have strong, beautiful bodies (which all die anyway just FYI) and be fit and ripped and compete in races. We have only one race that matters and we do have our eyes on the prize and we are not fond of the conditioning in this Crossfit, but we know that we are being fit for the kingdom! Our conditioning consist of long waits, loneliness, distance from friends and family, hardships, disappointments, hurts, more waiting and totally NOT in control. I may not be able to run a 5k or have a perfect figure, but one thing is for sure - I am being trained by God himself for His kingdom and that is worth more than anything else in this world!!! 
Are you willing to be conditioned by God for His kingdom? Or do you keep looking back and running to those things that keep you comfortable and happy? There hasn't been a day this past week that I have been happy - but I have had joy which comes from God and not my circumstances. 

Update on our progress:

We are working on finding places to connect with churches, Sunday School classes, Bible study groups, business and individuals. We are only at 18% of our needed 90% of monthly support to be able to leave. We are so thankful for those who have joined us in God's work in Mexico. We some friends that are working hard at getting us speaking engagements and working hard to get us there and we are forever grateful for them! God has called people to give, we just need to connect with them! Thanks again for keeping up with us, praying for us, and joining us to increase the kingdom of God in Mexico.

Some of the boys at the Ranch 

Kids playing jump rope on the playground 

The kids in a parade 

 

                                                             Photos courtesy of Jason - missionary at the Ranch! 

Bucket List?

Have you ever read something or listened to people talk about something and it just didn't sit well with you? You weren't sure if you agreed or disagreed but something just didn't feel right? I had that happen this week while listening to WDJC one morning. I can't remember what the original topic was, but somehow they started talking about Bucket Lists and something in my soul just ached. I couldn't put my finger on it, wasn't sure what it was all about. I have heard many people over the years talk about Bucket Lists, and there was even a movie about it. So why on this particular day did something not sit well with me?

In my mind that morning as I was bothered by it I was thinking, but this is so silly and why would that bother me? I mean what is the big deal, I don't even have one!!! And why would listening to other people talk about theirs, bother me? I just found it odd at the time. I shrugged it off and went into work, but I prayed and asked the Lord to show me or speak to me why I had this feeling. I have learned over the years that it is the Holy Spirit that does that to me and it is ALWAYS for a reason!!  So I went about my day at work and honestly didn't think anything else about it. I had other things on my heart and mind and knew that the Lord would show me in His timing (that is the theme of my life right now).

And so I come to this morning in God's word seeking His face and it slapped me in the head like a ton of bricks as I read scripture. " So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet, drying them with the towel he had around him." John 13:4-5  That was it, He wanted me to see that Jesus knew these were His final hours! Get it? Final hours!!! He had only hours to live and He was NOT concerned about himself and all He wanted to do or see or go!!! In His final hours, He SERVED others. He had no concern for the flesh or it being all about Him. He could have easily said, "hey friends, I am about to die in hours and I would like to enjoy these final hours with the things that I want and you guys need to be seeing what I want and doing what I want" Cause that sure sounds like what I would have said. Hey everyone, it's all about ME tonight!!! Talk about hard to swallow - but then it got even harder!!!

He says in verse 15, "I have given you an example to follow". Okay Lord, thank you for that example and you know that will be extremely hard for me, since I am a sinner and flawed in my thinking and ways. But, Lord, I see what you are telling me. I don't need a bucket list that would make me focus on myself, satisfying my own desires & wants causing me to lose site of my final hours. See since we have no idea when our days will come to an end, aren't we always living in final hours? I mean this could totally be my last day on earth, I may never again get a chance to hug necks (I love some neck hugging) or tell someone I love them, or serve someone, or help someone or share truth with someone. So God wants us to live each moment as if we knew it were our last and serve others. Our society says just the opposite and my fear is that we are raising generation after generation of self absorbed, me - me - me, entitled thinking people. God wants us to see and live by the example that Jesus left us. I mean I had to ask myself some really hard questions. I had to be honest that if I knew I had hours to live, would I honestly be serving others or would I gather all my friends and family together to hide out and soak up every last minute of love, hugs, laughs and memories that I could? I didn't like my answer, I would focus on myself and what I wanted in those last hours!!! I even found myself trying to justify to God right here this morning in front of His word why I should have that time. I hung my head in shame!

And that was not all, here comes the real kicker - you think that was tough (I did) watch this!!!!
"Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and He exclaimed, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray Me!" John 13:21 Wait there is more. "Jesus answered, "Die for Me? I tell you the truth, Peter - before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know Me." John 13:38
I was speechless (no wise cracks)! Seriously Lord, not only do you want me to serve people in my last hours and not worry one bit about myself, you want me to serve those who betray me and ignore me like they don't even know who I am? You have got to be kidding me right? Look Lord, you have no idea how some of these people have hurt me and you want me to serve them? And as the tears began to fall, I felt a spirit of "YES my sweet child" fall over me. But God how can I do that? "You can't, but I can"; I felt Him say. But God why would I want to spend my last few hours on people who have hurt me and not with those who have not? Because that is easy and anyone can do that. But My people, who are called by My name, who have My love, don't love and serve like that. Okay Lord I am a total mess right here and so ashamed of myself for thinking I was doing pretty good about not being as self focused as the environment and culture I live in and You have totally showed me I am still missing the mark!!

So you can say I have been taken to the wood shed and back this morning by the Lord, but I am thankful! I think that we can get to a place of comparing ourselves to the culture and world we live in and by using that measuring stick we feel pretty good about ourselves and where we fall. But when we pull out God's measuring stick and see where we fall on His, it doesn't look so good anymore. God pulled out His measuring stick for me this morning and I didn't fair too well friends. I can only speak for myself, but I sure was shocked. I think God wanted to show me the danger of where I have been measuring myself lately and to remind me that only HIS example matters. Sure in the worlds eyes compared to most others I may doing pretty good, but that doesn't matter!

So maybe there are some hard questions you need to ask yourself today. Maybe you need to see what measuring stick you have been using. Maybe you needed to be reminded that we are living in the last hours now. Maybe you needed to be reminded that we are to be serving others like Jesus, even in our final hours. Maybe you needed to be reminded that you have been a little self centered lately. Maybe you needed to be reminded that there are those in your life that have hurt you and you need to serve them. Or probably a big one for our culture today is that maybe you are too busy serving YOURSELF and your FAMILY to serve God and others!!! Maybe your allowing your family to be ruled by schedules that are not of God. Maybe you needed to be reminded that the only people you serve is your family, or people you like. Maybe you needed to know that it is okay if you don't have a bucket list. I don't know what it is, but I can promise you that the Lord does. And He will speak to you and show you things, no matter how many times you have read those verses or heard them preached on. He has a word for you today, I promise.

This is perfect for what God showed me this morning!

Thank you for keeping up with us and all that you do for us, we are eternally grateful.  We have had some new people join the prayer partnership of our ministry and that is so exciting!!!!

Prayer request:
1. Big meeting at the Ranch this month
2. Luke Everette as he travels for the Ranch and is away from family
3. All the teachers, staff and kids that are there now
4. For 90% of our funding to start coming in quickly
5. For our marriage and families - satan is trying to discourage and destroy
6. For our spiritual growth as we walk in obedience to Him 

Willfully His, 
Sherri 

Catching our breath

Sorry for the delay in updating the blog, we have been extremely busy with school and just finished with it!! Yay for the old couple in school together :-)  I think we have finally caught our breath some what. It has been a whirlwind last few months with finding out where we would be, learning the next steps, school, trying to kick off our partnership development, and just daily life of working, being parents, and serving the Lord while we are still waiting.

Right now we are trying to find churches, small groups, bible study groups, businesses, individuals and families that would be willing to allow us to share God's vision for the deaf and how we will be helping with that in Mexico. We have a goal of 200 prayer partners to connect with that will commit to praying for us daily and will be instrumental in intercessory prayer for urgent needs and things that God is doing while we are at the Ranch. If you want to learn more about this, please let me know and I will give you all the information and add you to our team! Not only do we know that our prayer partners will be a key to our success on the field, but so will the people that join our financial team as well. It is no secret that unless those that are called to give - give, we can not go! We have to have right at $5000 a month to live and do ministry in Mexico. A little over half of that is for us to live on and the rest is for us to do ministry with.

We will have the same expenses there as we do here (rent, food, utilities, insurance) with a few extra ones such as having car insurance in 2 countries. Some expenses such as health insurance will be more expensive than we pay now. So yes while some cost may be less expensive than what we pay here, there are other expenses that will be much higher and some that we will have to be paying in 2 countries. We do not make a salary from the Ranch, we will be living and doing ministry on our monthly support. The Ranch is a free school for the deaf and does not have any income that comes in on a regular basis. Every family and individual that is there, raises their own support and our ministry funds and donations from others is what allows the school to do what it does day to day.

So the great question of "When are you leaving?" is when we have 90% of our monthly support coming in for 3 months in a row, then we can leave. We are at approximately 15% right now. All the support that is coming in right now, is being held in our account to cover moving expenses and language school cost. We will not get a penny of any money until we leave. We are so ready to get to where we know God wants us, so please be praying about how God wants you to partner with Him to get the gospel to the deaf community in Mexico and around the world. We are thankful for each of you that have already started supporting God's work through supporting our ministry. We are a ministry- an extension of the body of Christ from Valley Creek Baptist Church joining God where He is working!

We would love an opportunity to sit down with you over coffee, dessert or ice cream (it is about to start getting hot) and answer any questions you have or explain anything that you don't understand. We want everyone to understand how things work so there is no misunderstandings or doubts. Our pastor, Kevin, just came back from Pioneers from a conference learning how our home church will play such an important part of our success. He was so impressed at how they take care of their missionaries on the field. We have all kinds of help available to us around the clock whenever we need it and that was comforting to him as our pastor to know that with a phone call we or he could get us help. Missionaries are huge targets when they hit the field and satan will use all kinds of stuff to destroy them, so it is vital that we have access to whatever kind of help we might need. We are so thankful for a Pastor and church that love us and know that the church's mission and mandate is MISSIONS!!!

So right now we are selling more items, trying to tie up loose ends on things here and preparing the house to go on the market. I have not been fearful of the house not selling, but where will we live when it does!!!! Rent is way more expensive than what we pay in mortgage payments :-(   We are planning on having an Estate Sale here at our house to move some big items in April or possibly May so if you are in need of some things, watch Facebook or let me know and I will let you know when we are having it.

Thank you again for following us, loving us, praying for us, and supporting us - words are NOT adequate!!!

Prayer request:
1. Rancho Sordo Mudo will be having a big meeting in April - big things happening and they need prayer!
2. Pray for Luke Everett, he does most of the traveling for the Ranch and the stresses of traveling, being away from his family and the future of the school lay heavy on him. 
3. Pray for all the staff and students there 
4. Pray that we will get to our 90% quickly so we can get to the Ranch as soon as possible, we know how they need us to be there helping and that ways heavy on our hearts!!
5. Pray that we reach our 200 prayer partner goal too
6. Pray for the selling of many items, property and house over the next few months. 
7. Pray for a reasonable place to rent until we leave that is not more than what we pay now - actually less would be better. 
8. Pray for us as we are learning to adjust to so many things right now. 
9. Pray for us and our family & friends that as it draws nearer to us leaving that it will be an easy transition for all of us!!! 
10. Unspoken 

Thank you again and thanks for praying for these request. We are grateful for each of you!!!

The kids worshiping Jesus in song!!

Waiting to eat lunch. 

Olivia's class 

Finding our Fit

God spoke and we listened. But to be honest it was so tempting to follow our human desires and try to go where we felt it would be more suitable for our comfort. Did you catch that? Yes we are human and have to fight the flesh daily! But God has such a sense of humor because He called us to serve where there is lots of heat (with no AC) and sand (we dislike sand). We were reminded like Jeremiah that we are to be His mouthpiece. We too had some protest like Jeremiah but as you continue to read in the book of Jeremiah you see where God assured him that HE would be with him and take care of him. See God is an intimate God who is personally involved with ALL of those who serve Him - not just the prophets and preachers. And because God knitted us together in our mothers womb He alone knows and can change our internal thermometer. God is "with us" more than just geographically, He is with us personally, working out His purpose for us. And we can't find any verses on how it is to be easy, comfortable or what WE WANT!!! But because He is all knowing, and His plan is perfect - we are going to..........

Rancho Sordo Mudo in Guadalupe Valley, Mexico

Some of the kids dressed for school.

Fun on the soccer field

Who needs snow? Sand Angels are fun too!

Some Ranch fun! I will not be joining that kind of fun.  I have heard plenty of missionaries say, don't ever say never :-)

God is ready to do a new work there on the Ranch, a new work to accomplish His plans & purposes that were laid out before we were even born and how exciting to think that He wanted us to be a part of them! Wow!!! Reality check!!!

God never says anything He doesn't mean and He intends to see His word accomplished no matter the discomforts we might endure. Followers of Christ have been called to nothing less than a willingness to die for the gospel. Speaking the truth to troubled people will always test our ability to endure suffering. Jeremiah 6:16 hit me like a ton of bricks - "Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, 'No, that's not the road we want!'  
If we don't go exactly where God planned long before time and walk in it, we will not have rest for our souls. And if you have ever done any type of mission work - even short term, you know above all else you need rest for your soul to accomplish His plans and work. I think we would all do well to remember that last sentence. "No that's not the road we want!" Did you notice that is has an explanation point - so it was said with force. Is there something God is calling you to do or to go and you keep answering Him like that? Maybe you need to stop and ask for the old, godly way and walk in it because there you will find rest for your soul. 
It is a rest, peace, a joy that will NEVER be filled by doing what YOU WANT. I will not tell you that walking in it is easy, always fun and not heartbreaking at times, but I will tell promise you that onver any selfish fleshly things that we think are important or how we need to make decisions - there is is an inner sustaining peace, joy and rest that transcends all the suffering, pain, discomfort & tears and comforts your soul. Our own roads lead to dead ends, heartbreak, suffering and tears with no rest for our souls - so ask God to show you the old, godly way and walk in it, you won't regret it - I promise. 

Our last newsletter outlined some of our duties at the Ranch as well as what the Ranch is all about and what all we do. If you are signed up, at the top right of this blog is a place to sign up so you can stay informed as to where we are in the process and what is going on. I will post more details and cover more stuff with each post in the blog. 


Prayer Needs:

Our biggest prayer request now is about our support raising. We have to start having our support come in now and on a consistent bases for at least 3 months before we can leave. We need prayer for us to find those supporters that God has spoken too about joining us, we need opportunities to share our journey with groups, churches etc... We need our house to sell and for things to fall in to place so that we can leave by summer time. We ask you to pray about if the Lord is asking you to join us financially or if you have any connections to groups that we could share with. 

We will be at language school for the first 8-10 months and then off to the Ranch and yes we will have to not only learn Spanish, but SML (Spanish Sign Language). So we have our work cut out for us :-)

Prayers as we finish up our class that we are in now, it has proven to be a really challenging class. We are learning so much, but it is hard. 

Pray for the staff and kids at the Ranch. We are ready to join them and help lessen the load. 

Pray for our friends, family, church and us as the time draws near for us to leave. It will not be an easy thing and we know that. Pray that God will be working in all of our hearts and preparing us all. 

Johnny & Amber are staff members at the Ranch - here is a short review they did

 to see a little more of the Ranch. 

Thanks for praying, supporting and keeping up with us. We love you all!!

Donations can be made Here our account number is 111728 - Mike & Sherri Sexton 

Reminiscing, Recalling & Ready! (Big News)

So here we are looking back on 2012 and all that we have been through, accomplished, seen and done. There have been many changes and adjustments for our family this year but we can see that this will probably be a theme for the years ahead of us as well. Change is not always a bad thing, but in most cases it is difficult and requires effort and lots of prayer (one reason most people do not like change). But as I ponder all this change in life, I have come to realize that no change means complacency. And a life of complacency is NOT a life I want. If I am never challenged and adapting to change, then I am standing still in comfort. And unfortunately that is the Western world we live in. It caters and encourages us to having it all, having the best and being COMFORTABLE!!!! I have yet to find one verse in the bible that tells us to live that life, but yet I find tons about sacrifice, counting the cost and losing my life to gain it. 

To highlight some of the biggest changes thus far for us this year are:

1. Being appointed by Pioneers in to full time missions
2. Public school for Ashtyn
3. Elise getting married in June
4. Our 2 vision trips to Mexico to visit the teams and pray about where God 
    wanted us to be. 
5. Mike and I going back to school


When I look at all these changes and recall all the adjustments they required - the main thing that stood out to me was all the prayer they required. Not only by us, but by all of you - our friends and family (whether blood related or by Christ). I see more and more each day just how important and vital prayer is and I am so very thankful for all of you that pray with us and for us. That is the one thing I can see that sustained us over this last year and will continue to sustain us in the days ahead. 

So we wanted to update everyone as this year is coming to an end that we have BIG NEWS!!!!

We now know and have gotten all approvals on our ministry and home in Mexico. We are so relieved and excited. This has been a very long 3 and 1/2 years and we felt it was worth a big celebration. So we are going to have a revealing party to reveal to everyone where we will be and what we will be doing. So be watching for upcoming details of when it will be in January. It will be held at our home church Valley Creek Baptist Church in Hueytown. 

Prayer, Prayer and more prayer!!!

So we have come to the end of our 2nd vision trip and have met some wonderful friends that are serving God with all their hearts to make His glory known among the peoples of Mexico. Each in their own way, with perseverance, love and boldness. We feel so fortunate to have made such great friends along the way, ones we know will be there to encourage us, help us and walk along side us as we all strive to serve the Lord where He has called us.

So now what you ask? Well we ask that you continue to pray for us as we are seeking the Lord's voice in where we will be called to serve. We really thought this would just be an easy thing for some reason. I guess because it has been such a long journey to get to this point, we thought we would go and just know immediately - wow, this is it!!! Well when you go and see all the needs and that the workers are few and you meet such amazing people serving - you all of sudden feel this urgency and scariness of "oh my heavens, don't let it be what we want"! How could we as humans make such a decision as to where we are needed and where we are suppose to be, if you ask us - we would need to duplicate ourselves and become 4 families and go to each place. They all need help!!! Now it has become a hard thing to think that only 1 of 4 will get the workers they need. That is heartbreaking to know and see. So ya, we for sure don't want to make any decision alone on our personal preferences or our desires!!! 
To serve God can NOT be about us or what we want, what we think or what we prefer. Human nature is naturally that way and the culture we live in teaches and stresses that it is ALL about US and it is NOT!! 

We know that beyond a shadow of a doubt that God can and will make it perfectly clear to each of us and will reaffirm that - we don't know how, but we know that He will. We are not talking about it as a family together - instead we are praying individually and when we all 3 feel that the Lord has spoken clearly to us and come together we know that He will have us all 3 on the same page. See only God can speak to all 3 of us separately and put us all on the same page. We know that will assure us of God's voice alone. Who else could do that? Right NO ONE!!!!

Our last trip to Guadalupe Valley to Rancho Sordo Mudo was great as well. Again more wonderful people serving the Lord wholeheartedly. It is located on a 500 acre ranch where they have a school for the deaf and are now starting training for the deaf and hearing to reach the deaf not only in Mexico but all around the world. The deaf are one of the biggest unreached people groups around. Unlike here in the states, deaf people in Mexico (as well as around the world) are thrown out, discarded and mistreated. These poor kids have NO language. They have no idea that they are Mexican or live in a country called Mexico. They teach them LSM (Spanish Sign Language) and then teach them to read and write. It is amazing to see them with such excitement to be able to communicate for the first time in their lives. The way the ranch is organized and handled reminds us so much of Casa Betania in Mexico where we have been going. They have 31 kids right now, the school is free of charge to them. It was amazing to see all the things they are doing and getting started. Here are a few pictures from the trip. 

Church in the new worship center - it is really nice. This was their 4th service in it.

The south hits the kitchen with some southern soul food - it was a hit :-)

No this makes a momma proud - her baby girl jumping in to serve the Lord and others!!! 

Flag ceremony before school starts

At the ranch, one of my favorite spots

The front gate

Mike and Ashtyn - we were way up, it was a great hike for us.

Me and Mike with the ranch down below us.

Thanks for keeping up with us and the continued prayers on this Journey to a Harvest. We are excited about the next few weeks as we continue to pray and talk with our area leader and see what God tells us. We would be honored to serve in any of these ministries and along side these wonderful missionaries we have met along the way. To God be the glory for the great things He has for the future, and may we never forget that it is through His strength and power alone that we could even begin to make this journey. God is good and has shown us His power, provision and love throughout this whole entire journey and we are thankful.

Packing again

As we are 4 days away from our last vision trip we are excited and nervous! Nervous because we know that after this, we have to determine God's will for our life in Mexico and that is HUGE!!! Never did I imagine the stress of making sure we are hearing from God clearly and how this will FOREVER change our lives. We are looking forward to our time at Rancho Sordo Mudo (it's a school for the deaf) and seeing yet another new place in Mexico that we have never seen.
We never once imagined this journey to be such a lonely one and a feeling of disconnect. But it is, and at times a hard pill to swallow. But we know that there is purpose in that pain and lessons to be learned, I pray for us to learn those lesson quickly!

We covet your prayers as we travel again - this time crossing the border by car (we have never done this). And a clarity for us to discern the will of God for our family. We are still approximately $600-$700 short for this trip, but we are trusting God for the provision before the credit card bill comes due to pay for the tickets. He is a big God and will provide.

I am not sure of the internet access while there, but I will update if at all possible. Sometimes it is easier to update our page on Facebook than to get logged into the blog and update. So watch in both areas. Thank you again for your love, prayers and support. We are eternally grateful! Thanks for keeping up with us on this journey, we love you!!!

Rancho Sordo Mudo Video

 

Mike eating grasshoppers in Mexico on our last trip! 

 Ashtyn playing ball with the kids on the street in Mexico City

 Me loving on Angel & Leslie in the community center in Mexico City. 

If you feel God leading you to support us with a one time gift or for monthly support-  Donate Here - be sure that you enter our account number 111728 and our name. All donations are tax deductible! Thank you!

1 down and 1 to go!

So we just returned from our first vision trip where we visited 3 different teams and saw their ministries first hand, got to hang out and get to know them and experience their cities. We had a fantastic time with each team. We were impressed with them all and found lasting friendships with them too. What great people we have out there serving the Lord with ALL they have. Some have been there as long as 33 years, have raised and are raising their kids there and all have a passion to disciple, love and increase the kingdom in Mexico! We were so encouraged by their stories and testimonies. I have posted some collage pictures from each place to try and give you just a small glimpse of some sites and ministry we experienced. I posted more pics of things we saw in Apizaco because my first blog post from our trip showed and talked about the ministry there.

 Our First stop was in Apizaco 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Then we were off to the mountains making stops in Ixtepec and Cuetzalan

We finished up in Mexico City

We are asking for everyone to join us in continuing to pray for clarity as we get ready to make our last trip to Baja California Mexico to visit the last team. We will be at Rancho Sordomudo - it is a school for deaf children. There is actually a documentary about how the school got started, I have attached the preview below for you to watch. Thank you so much for keeping up with us, praying for us and supporting us. We are so appreciative of it all. We look forward to sharing our experiences and stories with you individually when we get finished with this last trip. Thanks again!!!

 

It is real now!!

This is the church we attended yesterday - Living Water. We really enjoyed it so much. They eat together after church each week, they have some ladies that cook and bring stuff each week. They sell it and all the proceeds go to missions. This small little church supports 4 missionaries in India, Turkey and Israel. They were a blessing. Sorry if I mess up on this post, the computer I am using is all in Spanish so it is a bit of a challenge - but hey, I love a challenge.

Inside the church

cooking and getting ready to serve lunch

Outside courtyard where we ate and fellowshipped.

View walking dow the street to check on Ashtyn at the birthday party

This is the small group we met with and they asked us questions and we shared our testimonies and mission journey with them. Almost every single one of these people know God is calling them to another nation. Some of them are Israel, Africa, India, and Asia. They said after hearing our stroy, they see how God calls some into Mexico and some out of Mexico!!

Then we ate Domino's

And Dulce painted Ashtyn's finger nails - wow she is really good! 

We will be meeting with one of the teams to talk today and then do some exploring around town to see what they have and see some things. We will be with this team until tomorrow morning and then we will go with the other team and head to the mountains. So it may be a few days before I can update, not sure of the internet service or anything there. We are enjoying ourselves so much and getting to know everyone here is a blessng. Thanks for keeping up with us, continue to pray for us each day. And I will update as soon as I can.

The time has come!!!!

So here we are less than 24 hours from leaving on our first vision trip and we are super excited! We have been waiting for this time on our journey to finally know where God wants us to be specifically. We have known to what country He called us, but that was really about it - until NOW!!! We are human so we have thoughts and ideas going in - but we all agree that we have to remain open to what God will show us and confirm with us as we make these trips, knowing that He will reveal to each of us maybe in different ways where we are to be. So we will bathe it in much prayer after making both the trips and reveal it then. I was thinking of how these days people have those revealing parties where they reveal the gender of their baby - well we have been almost 3 years of waiting to know the gender of ours - lol so maybe one of those cool parties will be well deserved :-) 

Please keep us in your prayers over the next 10 days as we explore, travel and ask a million questions while we are there. Most important prayer request would be for clarity for all 3 of us. We appreciate so much the encouraging words, phone calls and sweet gifts we have been given this week and we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We pray that each of you will know how much we truly love and appreciate you. I will try to keep the blog updated as much as possible, but I am not sure just how much time or availability I will have. But I plan to keep the facebook page updated if nothing else - so check there too.

As you know we have our 2nd trip about 2 weeks after we return and as of right now, we are still $1200 short and unable to purchase the plane tickets. I am praying that the cost of the tickets do not go up too much since we will be so late in buying them. The closer you get to the travel date and purchase the tickets the cost usually is dramatically higher. But without the money in hand, we can not buy them before we leave. Join us in praying for provision for that immediate need. We have seen God provide this whole journey and we trust He will continue to do so.

Thanks for following us, praying for us, encouraging us, supporting us and most of all loving us!!!
Willfully His,
Sherri

Evidence

Evidence Mission Team 2012

"believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever 

believes in me will do the works I have been doing" John 14:11-12

We saw great evidence of the work of God in Jerez, Mexico this year. We took a team of 12 and served like Jesus! What a great work He did in us and through us. We averaged 260 each night in EBV (VBS to us) and we averaged 60 adults each night. It is great to see people hungry for God's word. We are blessed to live in a nation that has the freedoms, facilities and finances it does. Say a prayer of thanks for those things we so often take for granted. We were able to accomplish many repairs and projects at Casa Betania for Steve & Amber Benedict. We always enjoy our time with them and the kids each year. 

Group Picture with all the kids our last night. 

 On our trip this year our new Macbook Pro was stolen within hours of us landing in Mexico. And we were in no way going to allow satan to distract us or hinder any work that God would have for us. I started having pain in my shoulder before we left which got progressively worse with each passing day. I had my first experience with free health care in Mexico after thinking that I may have had a blood clot. But praise the Lord it was not. The visit was not bad at all, we didn't have to wait long and the doctor told us what to watch for and to go straight to the trauma center if we saw those things. So that was something new for me to experience. One of the best parts of the trip for us this year was for Ashtyn to share one night in devotion time that she knew that her heart and home was not in Alabama, but there in Mexico!!! She is ready to be there too. See God does call everyone and He alone is the only one that does that type of work in someones heart.

We are leaving again in 25 short days to head back to Mexico. This will begin our vision trips where we will be meeting the teams already in place, seeing what their ministry looks like and getting to know them. We are still $2300 away from meeting our vision trip needs, but are trusting the Lord for provision. We are asking that you begin praying now for us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading to show us where we are suppose to be. We are excited that we are so close to finally being able to know specifically where God wants us and to know a little bit about what our part of the ministry might look like. Just being able to know simple things like where will we be living, what schools are available, what will we need to bring etc... is super exciting! 

 I don't want this to be too long, so I will close with some pictures of us serving in Mexico and leave you with a question - Is there EVIDENCE of Christ love in your life? Scripture tells us that if we truly believe in Jesus, then we will be doing the works He did - meaning there should be evidence in your life.

Ashtyn helping our sweet little "Dora" in VBS. She looked just like her!

It amazes me how much these kids are always wanting to be loved!!!

Mike drawing with some of the kids, they loved him!

 Thanks for keeping up with us. If you are not signed up for our newsletter and want to be a part of our regular updates sign up Here

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Thanks for your continued prayer support, that is one of our greatest needs and we are so thankful for those who pray. Thanks again for following us on our Journey to a Harvest, we love you all!!! 

 

Living in freedom!

Proverbs 29:25 - "Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety"


This scripture is hard to swallow when you have a tendency to be a people pleaser. As far back as I can remember I was always a people pleaser. I can't stand the idea of someone being mad or upset with me. I have always wanted to be loved and accepted by everyone. I guess due to my early childhood and past - rejection became my biggest fear!!! My entire life I have lived in fear of being rejected by those I loved & wanted to love me. This caused me to bend over backwards to do any and everything to be accepted and loved. Not only did this set me up for poor choices, but left me empty from it not working. I was always striving to be the best so that I could be loved & accepted and finding that it was never enough. Hating myself for making poor choices but not seeing another way to be loved and accepted so continuing on that path.

See the world was telling me be like this, look like this, act like this, do this and do that and you will be loved & accepted more. I spent way  too many years trying all of that to only be left empty and hating myself. Always feeling empty and lonely. Oh but I put on a good face, because who could love and accept me if I didn't. All those years led to my adulthood of trying to be good enough, attractive enough, perfect enough and again rejection. But this time I had found the Lord, so why was this still so hard? Wasn't this suppose to be easy now? NO, it wasn't! I still had not let it sink in and learn that I am NOT to live for the approval of people. I am to live for the Lord and His approval. I have to be honest and tell you that I struggled with this for years as a Christian.

Those ways of thinking were so engraved in my thinking that I didn't allow God to get in there and change them. Having a tender heart has made it even more difficult for me to not take things so personal & hurt me so deeply. But over the last few years God has brought me so far from where I used to be. He has allowed me to experience rejection at the deepest levels, levels I never dreamed I would ever experience! But through them all He has been my strength and my guide to heal, teach and redirect my thinking according to His word. He has taught me so much about myself and showed me just how much He loves me. He has shown me that He will NEVER leave or reject me while I am living for Him and striving to become more like Him.

As His word says - "Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety" This is so true. See I no longer base my life on whether I feel loved and accepted by others - because at the end of the day I am not accountable to them - but I am to God. I can not control what others say, think or do - they are accountable  for that. I no longer make choices based on what I think others want me to say or do so they will love me, accept me or chose me. Over 2000 years ago there was a man who chose me first because He loved me so much and He is STILL choosing me first everyday!!!

Mark 8:34-37 he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?


See my selfish way was to seek human approval & acceptance and it kept me chained for years and could have cost me my soul! What good would it do me to have the entire world love & accept me if it would cost me my soul? Oh my when I look at it that way it seems so crazy - but that is what I was doing, loosing my soul for human love and acceptance! Nothing is more important than my soul and yours! What are you gaining in the world that could cost you your soul?


I still have my tender heart and I am thankful for that - see I think it is a heart like Jesus' and it allows me to love people the way I do. I am fully aware that when I love the way I do that I will be hurt more deeply than most - but God has shown me that He gets hurt the same way by us daily too. So it has helped me to make choices I know are pleasing to Him because the last thing I want to do is hurt Him like that. He has given me freedom from losing my soul and shown me how special and precious I am to Him. And I hear Him say everyday, "Sherri, I choose YOU FIRST"  - what music to my ears!

I know that He is for me!!! 

So thankful that He reminds me daily who I am to Him!