Collins Family in Mesick, MI

Hi Friends! We just wanted to send a quick update on our time here at CIT (Center for Intercultural Training). The first few weeks have been a great time of learning, meeting new friends and deepening our relationship with God.   Leading music at CIT Our first week here was a spiritual retreat, where we were able to spend a lot of time in guided personal reflection and Bible study. These past two weeks we have spent time learning and discussing several things that will be important for us to keep in mind as we are getting closer to leaving for Mexico. One of the things we’ve looked at is our different mind styles and personality types and how we can best work together with the other missionaries and local ministry partners. Conflict with other missionaries is one of the most common reasons that missionaries leave the field, and so it is very important to us that work carefully to avoid this problem. Along with that topic we have looked at different views of cul...

Getting Closer By God’s grace, we now have nearly 70% of our needed monthly committed support! We still have farther to go, but we rejoice in God’s goodness and faithfulness in bringing us this far. Like the Apostle Paul, we rejoice in the partnerships God has given us with churches and individuals:   I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. (Philippians 1:3-5, ESV) We are thankful for the opportunity to work together with you to make disciples of Jesus Christ in Puebla, Mexico through Orphan Care and Theological Education. CIT and Engage Retreat Over the month of October and into the beginning of November, we will be in North Carolina at the Center for Intercultural Training (CIT) for a week-long spiritual formation retreat and a four-week cultural training. We are looking forward to this time of preparatio...

Many of Jesus' statements seem very counter-intuitive. You must lose your life to find it. You must die to have true life. And then in Acts 20:35, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." How is this the case? I want to share with you why I believe it is to your benefit to give toward gospel advance, and more specifically, through our mission work in Mexico.  Why should you partner with us financially in our ministry? How does giving benefit you as the giver?  General Benefits Biblically speaking, there are several incentives for giving toward gospel advance: Rewards in heaven Consider this clear command from Jesus: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” (Matthew 6:19-20, ESV) By giving toward gospel advance, we are laying up “treasures in heaven.” Heavenly rewards should be a much greater incentive than earthly rewards. Paul says something similar to the Philippians in his letter to the...

I believe it’s very important for women to have intentional mentoring relationships with other women. One reason that this is so important to me is because I have seen firsthand how it has impacted my own life and spiritual growth. I can honestly say that without the guidance, support, and listening ear of many women in my life, my life and relationship with God would look drastically different. In moments when I felt most discouraged, these women have spoken life and truth to me. In the moments of greatest celebration, they have been there to cheer me on. And in the moments of greatest life change, both good and bad, they have been right alongside of me. Now, the thought of being a mentor may sound intimidating, but let me jump ahead of that thought. You don’t have to be perfect; just be real . I know that for me, part of what has been so beneficial in my relationships with women who I would call my mentors is that I can see very clearly that they aren’t perfect; they have very r...

Dear Friends, Thank you so much for your prayers and financial partnership with us. You are a blessing to us. Support Raising Update By God’s grace, we have crossed the halfway point in our monthly committed support! We are over 50% of the way to full support, with the majority coming from individuals. Praise God with us for how He is providing! Our goal is to be near or at 100% of our monthly goal by the end of September. To reach our goal, we need an additional 20-40 monthly ministry partners. If you are not already partnering with us, would you prayerfully consider how you could be part of our ministry by partnering with us financially and in prayer? We would love to have you as our ministry partner in advancing the gospel in Mexico. Church Presentations We have been privileged to share our ministry with three churches over the last couple months, and two of them are considering taking us on for monthly support. We are very thankful for these opportunities God h...

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...