The Next Step

Life has taken some crazy turns these last few years.  The last couple of months have been no exception.  In fact, the most recent turn of events has left us in deep processing and prayer with the Lord - in ways we never expected. We have been waiting and wading through tough decisions, and desired some precision before moving forward in communication. Upon reading the following, we think you will understand:

As most of you know, we have been on this road “to Rome” a long time.  God has moved in us, shaped us, reoriented our hearts, and made us more like Him. We have learned so much these last few years.

At the end of April, after much discussion and prayer, we decided to no longer pursue moving to Rome. This has been a disheartening and difficult decision. There were many reasons for this, and we desire to share a few key-players with you.

1. The last couple of years have grown and stretched us in remarkable and foundational ways. However, along with growth, we have experienced brokenness and burn out. As a result of the Lord's guidance, we believe we are not currently in a position to lead a team. Instead, Shay and I would like to look at the option of joining an already established team under established leaders. It would be beneficial to have someone pouring into us, mentoring us, and leading us while we serve.
2. Rome has been an incredible part of our journey, but right now it is not the destination. It has taught us to follow the Shepherd with perseverance, to rely on Him as He molds and mends us, and to cherish the Caller before and over the call. We want Jesus. That's all. It would have been amazing if it looked like Rome, but right now, it looks like blindly following Jesus in faith as He leads. It isn't easy, but it is right.
3. The Lord has asked us to be faithful to Him. That means, being faithful to one another. Shay and I believe we need time to pour into and strengthen our marriage, our first ministry. Currently, Rome would not be the best place to do so. As we have sought God's heart concerning everything surrounding this area of life, we believe Rome is not the place we need to be in order to thrive right now. Haley and I long to thrive in our walks with the Shepherd individually and as a couple so He can best use us for His Kingdom.

We want to say a huge, "thank you" to each of you for walking with us these last three years. Your prayers, love, and support have been an absolute essential part of our growth.

Although we are no longer pursuing Rome, we are looking at other overseas options with ITeams. Wise council from IT brought a couple places to our attention that have immediate need. Each place has strong leadership and areas where our gifts and passions would be utilized. Both locations are also 2020 Vision communities (like Rome), where they desire that no one is invisible and everyone has access to food, freedom, and forgiveness - the wholistic Gospel. We want to see these lives and communities transformed by the power of God as we bring people together to help the oppressed. There are some amazing things happening in both communities with some remarkable people.

The first option is Masatepe, Nicaragua. A few weeks ago we chatted with the leaders, Brandon and Hannah, about the 2020 Vision work happening. After hearing about what the Lord has been doing there the last two years, we wanted to check it out for ourselves. We just returned from a weeklong vision trip.  It was an incredible time away with the Lord.  Feel free to watch this beautiful story about Nicaragua on Brandon and Hannah's blog: http://www.ourmissionstory.com/one-life-sara/

The second option is Mzamomhle, South Africa. This team was established within the last year. They minister to a township where discipleship and unity are desperately needed...along with so much more. Shay and I are planning to take a vision trip to SA at the end of July.  Following is a link to a spotlight on Mzamomhle done by ITeams: http://www.iteams.us/2015/05/spotlight-on-josh-merrill/.

We long to see and experience both places as we seek where God is leading: where We can thrive and be best spent for the Kingdom. We are aware that through these trips, He may ask us to stay stateside for the time being. Simply put, we are praying through all options. These last three years have taught us that God's timing and plans are seldom ours. Therefore we hold it all loosely as a sacrifice to the Lord. He alone is in control and we long to relinquish it all to Him.

These next several weeks will be crucial times with God and each other as movement is created. Please pray with and for us: that He protects our hearts and marriage from Satan, that we are discerning to His spirit, and aware of His voice. Pray that Haley and I feel the Lord leading in the same direction.

We desire you to continue being a part of our lives and this journey. There are, no doubt, many questions you may have, so please feel free to ask! Some may not be answerable until we finish these trips, but we would love to start the conversation with you.

We are incredibly thankful to each one of you for your willingness to support us over the last three years we have been on this journey. We cannot express our gratitude enough.

Love,

Shay and Haley

Month Abroad

Hey everyone!

       We apologize for the long gap between posts. In October/November, we had the opportunity to return to Rome to accompany our new teammate, Phoebe, on her vision trip. Haley also had the chance to shadow a couple in London in order to receive job training and development. Here is a video of Haley discussing the trip.

 
Thank you to each one of you for all of your love and support on this journey.

S+H

Half-Way To Rome

   Hey everyone, we are half-way to Rome. Haley and I are so excited to be 50% funded, and we want to say thank you because we could not have done it without you. Now just 50% to go! Thank you for your love and support.

Love,
S+H

May and June Update

Thanks for checking out our update video and staying in touch with what we are doing.  As we continue toward Rome we are so thankful for your love, support, and interest.  The Rome ministries cannot happen without you!  Blessings to each.

S & H

God's Timing

            Something about the phrase “God’s timing” feels oddly oxymoronic, because, in fact, God is timeless.  History, clocks, or resources do not bind him. To the Creator of time, a day is like 1,000 years and 1,000 years, a day.  He is not rushed, panicked, or anxious…even when we feel we are. 

            Recently I have been repeatedly reminded that God’s timing is usually not mine.  In fact, it rarely is – not only does the actual date tend to differ, but so does the method of arriving at the “perfect date.”  Shay and I long to be in Rome, and this desire is valid and pleasing to the One who has called us.  However, our goals and timelines of departure continue to move further into the distant horizon. 

            This time of fundraising can sometimes feel like a desert.  We are weary, thirsty, and ready to arrive at our destination.  There are moments of watery oasis as we are encouraged and uplifted by conversations and generous gifts.  But, suddenly, the oasis vanishes and our end goal becomes a mirage.  Is this truly what we are called to?  Did we really hear the Lord?  Or are we just “seeing” things in our hunger and fatigue?  But, we are soon ushered into another oasis that fills us with moments of confirmation.  The haze vanishes and we again see the road ahead.

            I believe this time of desert wandering is strengthening, character-building, and preparing us for similar moments in our future home and ministry.  Though we long to rush through this tough time to greener pastures, we are becoming more and more aware that God has us here for very specific reasons.  We hope and pray that God’s grace surrounds us, that the Holy Spirit gives us discernment, and that we daily surrender to the Lord’s timing. 

            So, here we are, certain of God’s call and confident in His perfect timing.  As we wait on the Lord we will continue to work toward the ultimate goal of bringing the Kingdom to Rome.  But, we will also continue to surrender to His perfect timing, whatever that looks like.

            Are there any areas of your life where you have needed to surrender to the Lord’s timing?  Are you currently waiting in or walking through a desert?  How do you handle these times?  We would love to hear your stories.

He is peace, comfort, love, and all hope.   May you be surrounded by these beautiful characteristics of the Lord this week.

STORIES OF ROME

Story 3: A Dream

The third and final story in our "Stories of Rome" series, comes from our teammate Danielle:

"Inla is an Albanian woman that has lived here for 10 years.  She has been going to a local Christian church in Rome for a couple of years and just a few months ago she made a decision to follow Jesus.  As she's been discipled by a few Christian friends, she really felt God calling her to get more involved in outreach. She heard about the meal we do on Saturdays and started coming about a month ago.  She wanted to do more and asked about coming to Il Soggiorno (our refugee center).  At first she was very nervous since the center is mainly guys, but she came a couple of weeks ago and jumped right in.  She even played cards with some of the guys and another volunteer.  

'Wow,' she said, 'that was really fun and I was nervous but the guys were really nice and I'm seeing them a little differently.' 

 That night, she had a dream about starting a nonprofit organization to help refugees by placing them with families that need overnight supervision for elderly family members.  Currently, Inla works with a placement company that places American tutors with wealthy Italian families that want English tutors for their children. So, she has lots of influential contacts and already knows a lot about placement companies in Italy.  She realized that many Italians are getting older and it is a problem for families to find someone to watch over their elderly family members.  But if we can link refugees with these families, the refugees would have housing and provisions and the elderly would have help during the night.  It will be interesting to see what this vision looks like a few years down the road.  But right now it is so exciting for me to see God giving more and more people a heart for refugees, especially people in Italy because they can make a lasting impact on the situation here.  It is cool to think that we and Soggiorno play a small part in connecting people and needs to see situations, communities and lives transformed. " 

This is one of many stories that Shay and I are called to be a part of.  Our time to reach our goal is running short.  We need your help in order to join God's Kingdom work in Rome.  Please consider joining us.

To pledge or give to the Rome ministry, please click HERE.  

STORIES OF ROME

Chapter 2

Rome and Refugees

As leaders, Shay and I will help to expand Rome into a place-based community. Initially, Rome was a people-based community. Meaning, there was a group of people with certain characteristics on which ITeams focused.  Specifically, ITeams’ ministry in Rome began around 6 ½ years ago with Tim and Rachel. Their focus was refugees.

     The refugee influx to southern Europe has grown exponentially in the last two decades.  By October 2013, just Italy had seen at least 25,000 refugees come on boat (not to mention those un-recorded) – three times the amount recorded in 2012.  The number is only expected to increase.  These tired, broken people are fleeing their homes for political, religious, oppressive, and war-torn reasons.  They have lost everything: possessions, family, home, dignity, hope.  As they search for safety and freedom, often refugees find even more despair.  With no where to sleep, nothing to eat, no papers to travel, and potentially hostile locals, these refugees face defeat and hopelessness.  In the midst of this tragic time in their lives, Tim and Rachel desired to create a place of hope.  Il Soggiorno (or the reading room) became the tangible dream of Tim and Rachel.  They helped bring together several local churches to open a warm, safe place for refuge a couple days a week.  Currently, most of the refugees in Rome are from the Middle East and Africa, and are mainly men.  Il Soggiorno has become a place where they can come to learn English, learn Italian, play a card game, find a listening ear, discover a friend, or have something to eat.

Story Two: Breaking the Barriers

     "A has been in Italy for 5 years from Pakistan.  He regularly comes to the center and we see him at the meals we do on Saturdays sometimes.  He has a job in Rome washing dishes at a restaurant, but he doesn't make much.  One of the male volunteers from the center invited him a couple of weeks ago to have dinner with his family and they got a chance to watch some of the Jesus film.  Then, we had a former missionary from Pakistan come and visit and she came to tea on Sunday night to help and had a chance to talk to our friend A in his heart language.       While talking to him  he said, "You know the reason we fight so much in our countries?  It's because the government doesn't want anyone to be educated.  If you don't have education you can't think openly about things."  She thought that was interesting and as they talked further, A also said, "You know you can't always think you're better than everyone.  You have to put others in front of yourself.  That's important."     Well, that was even more interesting because it opened up a chance to talk about Jesus, and how Jesus said the very same thing.  The next week at the center, I was talking to A and as he told me a little about the Jesus film I mentioned that I had a miniSD card that had the Jesus Film on.  I suggested he put in his phone, if he wanted, along with an Injil (Gospel in Islam) and he said yes!  He came back the next week and told me all about what he had watched and had more questions.  We've seen him several other times and some of the male volunteers have been able to talk with him further about some of his questions.  A is having dinner at our volunteer's house again this coming week.  It's cool to see the Truth of the Word not only going out, but truth beginning to filter through the barriers and walls that are so thick in some of the people we talk with." 

To pledge or give to the Rome ministry, please click HERE.