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Tag: magi

Wise Men & Your Path Abroad: “We Have Come to Worship Him”

December 24, 2019Leave a comment

. wise men magi

Wise men.

There’s a lot of beautiful mystery in the story of the magi. read more

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Our passionate vision is to guide and equip prospective global workers for long-term success in leading others to follow Jesus.
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You want to go overseas–but GAH. Debt. From coll

You want to go overseas–but GAH. Debt. From college. Medical stuff. Whatever–it’s money, and you’re not headed overseas for the cash.
What should you do?

Missionaries and other voices weigh in. “FOLLOW A LOAN REPAYMENT PLAN OR INCLUDE LOAN PAYMENTS IN YOUR MISSION BUDGET.”
Debt, in my opinion, is one of the biggest hindrances for college grads and families wanting to serve in missions.

The average college student graduates over thirty thousand dollars in debt. Two approaches to handling debt:

PAY OFF THE DEBT BEFORE LEAVING FOR THE FIELD
This was the best plan for me. A loan amortization computer program can calculate a specific schedule for paying off the loans. This plan can include how much to pay and for how long.

Stick to that plan as if your life depends on it. The people I knew from college who had no loan repayment plan never made it overseas.

Without a plan, they lost focus when the debt wasn’t easily paid off.So make a budget that first deducts your tithe, housing, and food, then pay more than your plan calls for each month.

Pray for bonuses and raises, and when they come, apply the extra to paying off debt.

Finally, stay involved in short-term missions so that you don’t forget what God has led you to do.

INCLUDE LOAN PAYMENTS IN YOUR MISSION BUDGET AND GO NOW
If this second plan is best for you, start packing your bags and get moving towards raising support.

Don’t be ashamed to add a certain amount of money into your budget to repay student loans, and don’t hide behind a rock when people ask about it.

For most students coming out of college, I recommend this plan. Here’s why.

Read more at the link below! #debt #finances #IBR #IncomeBasedRepayment #loans #medical #MedSend #missionary #missions #money #mortgage #overseas #payment #repayment #student #USDepartmentofEducation👇🏾 https://www.goservelove.net/debt/

I remember a day five years ago that I sat in my a

I remember a day five years ago that I sat in my apartment. Picking my kids up from school that day was all about the mind game.

Because what I longed for? Anonymity. To blend in. To slip unnoticed through the crowd.

Strange desire, I know, for any extrovert reading this or any of us strong women who don’t mind taking life by the horns.

In my former “normal” life in the States I would have looked for a way to make my place and shine for who I am. Maybe I’d even draw a little attention to myself now and then.

But living here I stand out every day. It’s broadcast by the color of my skin, the color of my hair, the clear features of my face that I am not Egyptian.

And I don’t just stand out. I draw attention because of these features, because it’s different, because I’m foreign.

No matter how conservatively I dress, if my hair and face are showing, people notice. I don’t mind the women most of the time. But it’s usually the men who stare anyway.

And because I’m foreign, by look most probably Western, there is the assumption that I also lead a loose Western lifestyle. It’s the type we might see in movies and Netflix.
They wonder if I’m a desperate housewife looking for a boyfriend. [READ THE REST at our link below!] #blendin #different #Egypt #MiddleEast #missionary #overseas

https://www.goservelove.net/blend/

There's a lot of beautiful mystery in the story of

There's a lot of beautiful mystery in the story of the magi.

I picture camel hooves sponging a desert floor, heavy treasures banging in woven luggage, men wrapped from the sting of the sand.

We're not told who these "wise men" are or the stories that compelled them to follow a celestial sign, an ancient prophecy.

But in their story, I see a bit of yours.

I wonder what their communities said. These men saddled up, following a star to a place unknown, or made costly (to the point of being weird) personal sacrifices for an unseen king.

Did one of them got sick? Did all of them get tired? Perhaps they wondered about their own sanity and dragging other people with them.

I wonder if there was loss along the way.

I speculate about whether they doubted their interpretation of what they’d read in Scripture, coupled with the alignment of other signs. Would they get there and wish they’d never come?

In hindsight, moments stood out where they were wrong; deceived (say, by an egomaniac king). Maybe there were moments, when it was all said and done, when they heard of the devastation following their visit and wondered if they could have acted differently, more…wisely. (Did word of the infanticide ever reach them? Did they realize the ways they’d done things without knowing, and wonder if they’d made the right choice to go?) Though I’m not justifying infanticide or any other outcomes: We see in the wise men a courageous faith, a persevering journey, so Christ would be worshipped as much as they were able.

So they could bring the finest gifts they could, for honor he deserved.

Packing up to head home, none was asking, “Was that really worth it?” They represented the first worship of the Gentiles, with great sacrifice and adoration.

As you say some goodbyes this Christmas and wonder about a path and even possible desert before you, may you take heart. Your act of worship is sacred, https://www.goservelove.net/wise-men-your-story/

When you leave your home country, always pack choc

When you leave your home country, always pack chocolate chips, Secret deodorant, books you can’t live without, and tampons. (Some things you don’t want to mess around with.)
When you're scrambling to imagine life without something? When it's important to you? Pack it.
It’s okay to have certain things that are your “items” that you bring with you. Your list of essentials might be different from mine. The point is everyone has certain things they don’t want to have to live without and that’s okay.

YOU’LL LIVE WITHOUT A LOT OF THINGS YOU ALWAYS THOUGHT YOU NEEDED (/PREFERRED). The Western world (America especially) has many conveniences that we start to think are normal everywhere or even essential. Then you learn to make your own Caesar dressing or whipped cream topping or enchilada sauce.

Yes, it’s more work. But it’s also a good perspective about how a greater portion of the world lives. American culture values immediate and convenient, efficient and quick, many times at the expense of our actually understanding the process of what goes into the product or the meal.

Most of the world doesn’t live with this mentality. Sometimes good things are worth the effort. (Ready to read more? Click the link below.) #beforeyougo #country #culture #Egypt #globalwork #heart #home #MiddleEast #missionary #missions #pack #people #systems #without

https://www.goservelove.net/wish-without-sarah/

Preparing to go overseas? We get real about charac

Preparing to go overseas? We get real about character issues that could hamstring your service and your relationships. Don't leave home *with* them.
***
Rigidity/Hypercontrol.

Hopefully this one's a bit of a gimme if you've already traveled overseas. Friends of mine used to joke about "Africa Wins Again" days--when a rat eats the special food you brought from home, the electricity's been out for three days, and the government accidentally shuts off your phone... Catch more at the link below! #arrogance #character #conflict #ElisabethElliot #globalwork #GoServeLovemissionary #humility #hypercontrol #JanelBreitenstein #learner #missions #overseas #oversensitive #oversensitivity #pride #RelationalWisdom360 #superiority

https://www.goservelove.net/character-potholes/

Wondering about the hard realities of missionary l

Wondering about the hard realities of missionary life? A long-term global worker weighs in with unflinching truths about what to expect.
#assimilating #assimilation #children #culture #daily #discouraged #discouragement #everyday #everydaylife #friendships #fundraising #globalwork #globalworker #goodbye #hardtruth #judged #kids #longterm #missionary #money #newsletter #normal #overseas #prayerletter #prove #realities #reality #relationships #stayingintouch #support
https://www.goservelove.net/missionary-realities/

When you're thinking about short-term, feeling-thi

When you're thinking about short-term, feeling-this-out trips for long-term service, why not pick one to prepare you for future cross-cultural ministry?

Grab Part II of our brief series to help you pick trips that prepare you for long-term service overseas. #crossculturalrelationships #debriefing #experience #globalwork #globalworker #JoAnnVanEngen #journey #length #mentor #missionary #missions #overseas #pilgrimage #process #reflect #reflection #relationships #shortterm #trip #triplength #trips

https://www.goservelove.net/trip-2/

I recently spoke with a friend as she prepared for

I recently spoke with a friend as she prepared for our church's Fall Festival on October 31. They're headed to India next year. They sent me the cutest photo of their family dressed up as Batman, Batwoman, and cherubic ittle Bat-kids.

I asked if that night's festival might be hard. The "lasts", you see, have begun.

It wasn't, for her. But Christmas with extended family is coming.
The holidays are here--and you might be encountering some painful "lasts"--goodbyes and final versions of traditions for awhile. How can you cope? #Christmas #cry #family #final #goodbye #holidays #last #lasts #missionary #missions #mourn #overseas #Thanksgiving #traditions

https://www.goservelove.net/lasts-goodbyes/

So you're thinking about going overseas. When you

So you're thinking about going overseas.

When you're thinking about a short-term, feeling-this-out trip, why not select a trip designed to help prepare you for future cross-cultural ministry?

You can increase the value of nearly any mission trip by intentionally doing a few things on your own that will maximize the trip and make it a better training ground. #crossculturalrelationships #globalwork #globalworker #jobshadowing #length #mentor #missionary #missions #overseas #shortterm #trip #triplength

https://www.goservelove.net/trip/

Perhaps you've read the recent headlines of a youn

Perhaps you've read the recent headlines of a young woman who moved to Uganda at 19--but is now under investigation regarding a number of children who lost their lives in her clinic, considering she was not a medical professional.
A Live Overseas wrestles with a handful of the questions we're all wondering in their excellent post, How Equipped is Equipped Enough?

They've also released these posts that just might hit the spot for you right now.: 5 Tips for Newsletter Writing
When You Need to Make Major Life Decisions
5 Things First Year Missionaries Are Too Quick to Do
FREE STUFF

Once when the police in Africa pulled us over, my three-year-old offered him a stick of gum. The guy took it and waved us on with a broad grin.

I was caught somewhere between being aghast and relieved. Did my preschooler just bribe the police?

It's nearly inevitable you'll face the bribery issue. MissionaryCare.com has just released a FREE 225-ebook to help you (or your organization, who may have a policy) sort through the issues. Maybe you'll grab it now and pull it out when you're stewing over it later. (Source: Brigada.org)

9 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT GLOBAL POVERTY

The Gospel Coalition's Joe Carter weighs in.

8 ANIMATED VIDEOS TO WATCH WITH MUSLIMS

Check out Journey to Truth, with 8 animated videos to address some of Muslims' most pressing questions about Isa al-Masih (Jesus the Messiah). It's available in 12 languages!

Also--wanting to understand the differences between Muslim sects? Brigada.org has rounded up Prayercast's concise video explanations.

Grab all this and some more on our post link below!
#ALifeOverseas #animatedvideos #bribery #bribes #Brigadaorg #ChristianityToday #decisionmaking #decisions #equipped #evangelism #globalwork #globalworker #gospel #Islam #JourneytoTruth #Lumoproject #missionary #missionarycarecom #missions #Muslim #Netflix #newsletterwriting #NP https://www.goservelove.net/bestofthebestfridays-muslims-videos/

It was a cold January night in Kansas City. Breath

It was a cold January night in Kansas City. Breath puffed from my lips as I knocked on the first door, my friend John beside me. “Hi, I’m Steph. My friend John and I are going around the area to pray with people. Do you have anything you’d like us to pray for?” Sometimes doors opened; other times no one would answer. We were often answered with refusal or silence. Still, we plodded up each flight of stairs to the apartments’ next level.

For the past week, eleven other missionaries and I had been listening, studying, and implementing everything we’d been learning at the Avant training center. Tonight we’d disperse into the community to pray with individuals and share the gospel with those who were willing to listen.

By the look on some of my team members’ faces, I could tell they were as nervous as I was. Gratitude fortified me like a pair of mittens around my heart: I knew we didn’t go alone.

Driving to the apartments that night, John had responded helpfully to my peppered questions about him, the community, and the population living there.

My cheeks were pinkening with the chill by the time we arrived at door 360. I admit it: When I learned his name was Muhammad, I assumed he’d close the door with a concise “No” like his neighbors. **Read more of Steph's story at the link below. #AvantMinistries #door #evangelization #globalwork #immigrants #ministry #missionary #missions #Muslim #mystory #overseas #planting #refugees #sharingyourfaith #unreached #urban

https://www.goservelove.net/open-door/

More than 2 billion people still need to hear the

More than 2 billion people still need to hear the gospel.

That is why Avant exists.

Through church planting, church support ministries, media, education, camp and business, we hope to establish churches among the unreached: mature, nationally-led churches that desire to plant more churches, first in their own city, and then all over the world. Meet Avant at the link below! #agency #Avant #church #churchplanting #globalwork #localchurch #missionary #missions #music #overseas #reach #unreached

https://www.goservelove.net/meet-agency-avant/

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