Collins Family in Mesick, MI

As this month of Thanksgiving draws to a close, we want to express our thankfulness to God and to you for your partnership in ministry. Thank you for your encouragement! Many of you have encouraged us with kind and helpful words and deeds during the last several months as we’ve been raising support for our mission work in Mexico. Thank you! Thank you for your prayers! Many of you have prayed for us faithfully as we’ve traveled, shared our ministry, and prepared for ministry in Mexico. We know that mission work is spiritual warfare, and we desperately need your prayers on our behalf. Thank you! Thank you for your giving! Many of you have partnered with us financially and we are very thankful for your help. We could not serve without you. Thank you! We deeply appreciate you and the part God has given you in our ministry and in our hearts. Thank you for working together with us for the advance of the gospel in Mexico. Our desire is to depart for Mexico early ...

At the end of May this year, Sarah and I cleared out our apartment in Traverse City. We had sold several items, donated several more, stored a few, and we managed to fit the rest of our earthly belongings in our car. We spent one final Wednesday night with the youth group at Bible Baptist Church. As we were getting ready to leave Traverse City to move to South Carolina, Pastor Dan (the youth pastor) came over and said with a chuckle, “Hey, you guys are homeless now!” It was true. I hadn’t thought about it until that moment (maybe I was just in denial), but we were “homeless” in a way. Until God brings us to Mexico to settle down, we are nomads. But what is “home”? Is “home” really just a place? Or is it something much deeper? I believe “home” has much more to do with a sense of belonging. “Home” is where you feel accepted and loved. In other words, I think “home” has a lot more to do with relationship than with location . Home is more a person than a place . ...

We were blessed to spend the last five weeks at The Center for Intercultural Training (CIT) in Union Mills, North Carolina. We were there along with several other missionaries, learning from each other and from the facilitators who are all seasoned missionaries! Below are some of the highlights of our time. Spiritual Growth Our time at CIT was one of incredible spiritual growth! The first week we were there, we had the Engage Retreat, which focused on spiritual formation—allowing God to work in us and change us so that we can be more effective as His servants. A key concept we looked at was examining our desires, and how God ultimately satisfies our desires more fully than anything on earth can. It was truly a transformational week for us, and God continued working in us throughout the rest of our time there as well. We have both experienced new depths in our personal relationship with God. New Friendships Another blessing from God was the formation of some new friendships...

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...