Skip to main content

Collins Family Update June 2022


Dear praying friends,

The last few months have been turbulent for our family to say the least, as we have navigated a major life and ministry change. Thank you to all who have been praying for us! It has been so encouraging to have so many people reach out and remind us that they’re praying. We want to give you an update and ask for your continued prayers.

My parents flew down to Puebla in early April to help us with our move back to the States. They were such a blessing to us as we worked through all the details of leaving Mexico, including packing our suitcases, holding a sale, and getting rid of all of our things there. We came back with just our suitcases full of mostly books and clothes, and we’ve been living out of suitcases for the last two and a half months. We were so encouraged and blessed by a generous offering from one of our supporting churches, Suber Road Baptist Church, which will help us a good bit with getting furniture and other necessities when we get our own place.

Many of you know that one of our reasons for moving back was the well-being of our older son, Mikey. We’re happy to report that since we’ve been back, he has made significant progress in his language and social development. We thank God for this, and it confirms to us that we made the right decision.

On the ministry side of things, I finished teaching my Hebrew class online for Puebla Bible Seminary at the end of May. Thankfully all of my students did well and passed the class! It was also a special joy to watch the Seminary’s graduation ceremony online, as I saw several of my former students receive their degrees. I’m so thankful that I was able to have an impact on their lives, and it’s exciting to see how God is already using them in their respective ministries.


Meanwhile, we have also continued our search for a ministry Stateside. I have sensed God’s leading toward pastoral ministry, and I’m especially burdened for smaller churches. The first church I candidated at did not end up working out. Since we received a “no” from that church, I began pursuing Antioch Bible Church of Mesick, MI, where I have now preached multiple times. It is a little bit smaller church, and they’re currently unable to support me full-time, but we believe this is where God is leading us. They should be voting on me within a couple of weeks, and we expect an affirmative answer here.

The director of our mission agency, Mission Quest, advised me to consider remaining with Mission Quest to receive partial support until the church can fully support our family. This would allow us to dedicate ourselves full-time to this small church ministry and also continue some ministry online to Mexico, which we would like to be able to do. There are many details to work through, but we believe this would be the best thing for us to do, so that we can continue to serve full-time in ministry.

To all of our financial supporters, we want to say a special thank you for the blessing that you have been to us until now. Many of you have been supporting our family and ministry now for several years, and we’re so thankful for you. If you would like to continue supporting us as we begin a new ministry in the States, you are welcome to continue sending your support through Mission Quest. We know that God will continue to faithfully provide for our family as we continue to serve His Church in a different location now.

To so many others who have been faithfully praying for us, thank you! Through all the challenges we have faced in the last few months, it has encouraged our hearts to know we have so many praying for us. Please continue to pray for us as we await the final decision from Antioch Bible Church and as we work through so many other details. We can’t wait to see what God is going to do!

Your fellow servants,

Chris, Sarah, Mikey, and Sammy (& baby #3 due in January 2023!)



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Collins Family Update: March 2022

Changing Ministry Location Many of you already know that we are planning to move back to the States in the near future. We have shared with many of you the reasons for this change, but if anyone has questions or concerns about this decision, please feel free to reach out to us. We are planning to arrive back in the States in mid-April, and we hope to see many of you then. We are currently pursuing an opportunity to serve in pastoral ministry in the northern Michigan area, and we are waiting for an answer from the church. While we patiently wait for God’s leading in our ministry change, we are continuing to serve in our ministries in Mexico, and we will continue serving via online ministry once we are back in the States. We expect to need missions support at least through the end of May, and perhaps longer depending on how God leads us in the next two months. We will do our best to keep in touch with our supporters as we learn how God is leading our family and ministry. We would ask ...

Same Mission, New Agency

A NEW AGENCY After months of prayer and consideration, along with counsel from pastors and other friends and family, we want to inform you of a big and exciting change for us! In an effort to be the best stewards of the resources God has provided through our supporters, we are resigning from our current mission board, Avant, and we are transitioning to a new agency, Mission Quest ( https://missionquest.org ). WHAT IS CHANGING? This change does not affect our ministries here in Mexico. We plan to continue in the same ministry as before: Making disciples of Jesus Christ in Puebla, Mexico through orphan care, theological education, and church ministries . This is also not a change in doctrine . Our beliefs have not changed! You can check out Mission Quest’s doctrinal statement here: https://missionquest.org/about/Missionary-Statement-of-Faith/ WHY CHANGE? For us, this change is about stewardship . For our family to continue with Avant would not be good stewardship of th...

Collins Family Update May 2020

ANSWER TO PRAYER: LIZ BECAME A BELIEVER! If you’ve seen our recent newsletters, you may remember that we have been discipling a younger couple who live at the seminary and go to our church. Alfredo grew up in Niños de México (the organization we work with at the children’s homes). He has a hunger for God’s Word and is really enjoying his studies at the seminary. His wife Liz , however, was not a believer, but she agreed to move with him to Puebla so he could study at the seminary. Soon after they arrived, we invited them to come to church with us, and we began discipling them. We knew from the beginning that Liz was not a believer, and so we have been praying for her and consistently presenting the truths of the gospel to her. The Bible study we are doing with them about marriage is extremely gospel-focused, and Liz has been receptive to the teaching now for a few months. And so we knew she was close to trusting Christ. And then on Tuesday, April 28, Alfredo shared with us...