Collins Family in Mesick, MI

Why break with tradition? Many well-meaning people have asked us this question, though usually with different words, along our support-raising journey. Why are we not spending every Sunday in different churches, visiting dozens or even hundreds of churches seeking support for our mission work? And we understand the concern, because for so long, that was the main or only model for missions support. But we have become convinced through our study of Scripture, support raising books, and the advice of many other missionaries, that the traditional model of only seeking church support is not the best way. We believe that the best model for missions support includes both churches and individuals .  Because of that, in addition to our meetings with churches, we have been spending a lot of time meeting with individuals to share our ministry and support raising needs, praying that God will lead us to the right people who will partner with us for the advance of the gospel in Mexico. ...

A New Season, A New Home Spring is a time of year that brings many changes: time change, more daylight, budding flowers and trees, and warmer temperatures. There are also many changes happening in our lives this Spring. We are both quitting our current jobs to work full-time on raising support. We are also moving from Michigan to South Carolina at the end of May to work on raising support in the South. These are not easy transitions, but we know God will meet our needs as we look to Him. We can’t wait to see how He’s going to provide! Support Raising Boot Camp The last two days of March, we participated in a two-day support raising boot camp training in Charlotte, NC. We were inspired by the speakers, practiced and refined our presentations and phone calls, and made some new friends. It was a wonderful learning and growing experience for both of us, and we came away very encouraged and motivated to work harder on raising support. As a result of the Boot Camp, we have moved...

On July 14, 2005, God called me to be a missionary to Spanish speaking people. It was during my first foreign missions trip, in Peru. I don’t remember all the details of that night, but I remember the overwhelming burden on my heart for the lost souls there. I remember praying and committing myself to serve God among Spanish speaking people. I remember my parents’ excitement and support when I told them that God was calling me to be a missionary. Summer Missions Internship in Lima, Peru I spent the next 10 years of my life preparing and looking for the place and the specific ministries God was calling me to. I returned to Peru three times, traveled to Mexico and Ecuador, and served for a year in Puerto Rico. I studied missions and Spanish in college and ministered in Spanish speaking ministries in my hometown. Throughout this time, both through my experiences and through the counsel of pastors and spiritual leaders in my life, God has burdened me for two specific areas o...

When I was finishing up eighth grade and getting ready to transition to high school, I had some decisions to make. For the first time in my education, I had some choice in what classes to take. I decided to take English class over the summer and get it out of the way so I could take another elective. For the life of me, I can’t remember why, but I had chosen German for my extra elective (no offense to any German lovers reading this!). Before finalizing my decision, I talked with my parents about my classes, and I told them my plans. Dad suggested that instead of taking German, I should consider taking Spanish because I would have more opportunities to use it, especially in ministry. His words were prophetic. I took his advice and signed up for Spanish instead. When I started taking Spanish in 9 th grade, the only words I already knew were taco, señorita, nachos, and probably a few numbers, which I picked up from the Mexican restaurants we ate at. So when the teacher came into...

New Year, New Goals Every new year provides another opportunity to set new goals and to grow in new ways. Last year was a great year for both of us in many ways, but by God’s grace, this year will be even better. As we made resolutions and set goals for this year, we made the usual goals of working on our physical and spiritual health. Beyond that, we set for ourselves a bigger, more audacious goal: to raise 100% of our needed missions support for Camino Global. Our desire is to be leaving for Mexico by next January, and to do that, we have set a goal to be at 100% support by the end of September. To be sure, it is a challenging goal, but we believe that this is what God wants for us, and so we have made it our goal. Ministry Presentations Over the last couple months, we have had opportunities to do large group presentations. We were able to present our ministry at our home church, Bible Baptist, in mid-December. We were also able to share our ministry with our church yo...

It’s that time of year again. Some of my closest friends and family have begun to ask me what I want for Christmas. I have never been one to ask for anything big, but this year is different. This year I am asking for something big. Every year as December rolls around, I am flooded with memories of my favorite Christmas. December 2010 was a Christmas season that changed the way I view Christmas, family, giving, receiving, and many other things. I spent that Christmas season at an orphanage. In the days leading up to Christmas I spent time sorting through a few donated toys and school supplies to try to choose individual gifts for each child. I spent time with children who were crying because they had no family to be with for Christmas. I saw children with a sparkle in their eyes, because to them, their “tios” (house parents) and the other kids were their families. Even with everything they had experienced in their short little lives, they were joyful, even in their sadness. I wat...

Who We Are We are Chris and Sarah Collins. We currently live in Traverse City, MI, where we serve at Bible Baptist Church. God brought us together because of our common love for Spanish and our desire to serve God on a Spanish speaking mission field. New Appointees We are thrilled to announce that we are now officially part of the Camino Global family! The dream that God gave us a couple years ago is starting to come true. It is hard to believe, but we are actually on our way to becoming missionaries to Mexico. We had a fabulous time in our Candidate Assessment and Orientation at the Camino headquarters in Dallas. We loved learning about the organization and how God is using Camino Global to reach Spanish speakers across the world. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the staff and seeing their heart for God and His work among Spanish speaking people. It was a wonderful time, and we are so thankful that God has brought us to this organization. You can  learn more ...