NYI

God Can Use Every Career in Missions

By Scott Armstrong

Recently I published an article that I wrote for the NYI Online Magazine that highlighted how God has used volunteer missionaries from all kinds of “secular” careers for his glory in the Genesis Initiative.   There wasn’t enough space to share all of the testimonies I received when I asked for help from the 32 missionaries we’ve sent over the years.  That’s why today and in our next entry I want to share more of these powerful stories:

44733965_573786599724861_8443162038938632192_n.jpg“Being a doctor meant that many people were willing to get to know us when they needed some kind of medical attention.  It also allowed us to open a clinic in the community, and in that way the community got to know the church.   The local people knew us well and knew that there was a doctor in the church. They came for help at all hours. We could hold medical outreaches from the church and in other parts of the community where we worked.  I am grateful to God for the opening that my career has given me. Though sometimes it is exhausting, it brings me great joy to know that in some way it helps me to serve God.” – Eunice Zaragoza (sent from Tampico, Mexico to San Pedro Sula, Honduras)

WhatsApp Image 2018-10-17 at 10.22.20.jpeg“I am a social worker. The goal of my profession is to design and implement projects and strategies that assist individuals, groups, communities and societies inpreventing or solving societal needs and problems. The Church is called to show love and compassion in the midst of a vulnerable society. We created a program for teenagers to meet twice a week to play, spend time together, laugh and meditate on Scripture and what God wants from them. We’ve also developed strategies to work with women and children, such as a women’s conference and a Kids’ Club.  My career has helped me to focus on doing what God has called me to: preach his Word through actions and with compassion.” – Jhoselyn Barrios (sent from Guatemala to Queretaro, Mexico)

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“I have an Associates degree in Psychology.  My education has helped me a lot in family counseling.  When I mention that I have a degree in Psychology in a meeting out in the community, it opens doors for people to find me and open their hearts in search of help.  I also have a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management, which has helped in general organization and in the planning for activities that we hold.” – Maritza Mendoza (sent from Miami, USA to Queretaro, Mexico)

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“I have a degree in Tourism Management that helped a lot in the ministry when I was in Genesis. I used to be very quiet and shy, but my career helped me to lose my fears and be able to talk with people. That is why during my time in Genesis, I always felt confident to talk to people, start a relationship with them, and then be able to share the love of Christ.” – Zabdi Jessica Delgado (sent from Tuxtla-Gutierrez, Mexico to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)

* For more information about Genesis, visit our website and let us know by leaving a comment in the space below.

Truly Encountering God

The following testimony was written by Ana Perdomo (Mexico), she served as a volunteer missionary in Project Timothy and Encuentro. God continues to call and use the lives of young people who are willing to listen and obey:

My first week in Guatemala I served as a translator for a team that had come from the Church of the Nazarene in Valparaiso, Indiana. We had the opportunity to work with the La Florida Church, serving 55 children in a Vacation Bible School and painting the church building with Pastor Juan and the youth leader, Selena. The last day they took us to a school where the original plan was to work with teenagers. But when the time arrived, they introduced us to more than 150 children!  There were only 22 of us in the open air without a microphone, and only one teen from Indiana spoke Spanish. God certainly gave us strength. I learned a lot and was surprised by the love, humility and sensitivity of the youth from the United States.  Most were between 13 and 15 years old, and they always had a smile and were willing to do whatever was needed.

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The second week arrived, and I served alongside a youth group from Kailua, Hawaii. Undoubtedly, God had planned for us to be a diverse team: one Mexican, one Guatemalan, and a missionary from El Salvador were there with the 9 Hawaiians. We worked in the Center of Family Worship (“CEFA”, for its initials in Spanish) with pastor Carolina, a wonderful servant of God who just two months earlier had tragically seen her second child murdered. She shared with us how God had been with her in those difficult moments. She is a warrior and a woman of faith, and highly respected throughout her neighborhood.

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Ana singing with two little girls.

The church was in one of the most dangerous areas in all of Guatemala. The policemen sometimes needed to accompany us in the activities we held in the streets with the neighbors. Each day we had the opportunity to build friendships with children, youth and their families. We held a Bible school and we offered them medical services. We became so connected that it became very difficult to say goodbye at the end of the week.

There are no words to describe how grateful and blessed I felt during these two weeks.  They were tough: I was sick with a fever for much of the time, had a throat infection, and even another infection in one of my molars that simply appeared in those days. What’s more, I received a call from Mexico where they told me that my dog, who had been with me for 14 years, had died on the last day of the trip. I know that Matthew 16:24 (“take up your cross and follow me”) is not just a nice verse written in the Bible. God needs you to believe and give over everything that is in you. He will do the rest in His time, not yours.

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My original plan during Encounter was to go, serve and talk about God, but I received more than I gave.  In fact, my concept of “pastor” changed radically. Having had the opportunity to live with young pastors for two weeks helped me see things differently. I am no longer afraid to accept that call.  Yes, I want to be a missionary, but I also want to be a pastor.

When you have a call on your life, maybe you feel unprepared to face it or live it out.  And it may seem even more complicated when you face difficulties with your family, work, friends, or even with your own thoughts or doubts. But if God is calling you, He has his strategies for working it all out according to His purpose. 

Enormous Results Seen in Project Timothy

In June and July, the first-ever Project Timothy was held, with volunteers from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua serving along with young people from the USA and Canada during Encuentro 2018.

The participants from the USA, Canada, and the Mesoamerica Region donated between 7 and 18 days to serve alongside local churches in activities of evangelism, translation, sports ministries, Vacation Bible Schools, “Disturbing our City”, Work and Witness, hospital visitation, and medical clinics that benefited several communities in Guatemala City.

One of the volunteer missionaries, Billi Mendez (Guatemala), expressed joy at the privilege of serving: “My experience in Project Timothy and Encuentro has been the best thing that has happened to me. The best part of the week that I served as a volunteer occurred on the last day of my missionary service. During the week I had been praying to God, asking that I would be able to win a person for Christ through Nazagol (a soccer outreach). In the middle of the game, God moved me to share my testimony with the participants, and I give glory to God because 29 youth accepted Jesus as their Savior.”

The two weeks of work culminated in a time of evaluation and thanksgiving for what God had done in the life of many children, youth and adults. That same day many young people confirmed their call and desire to continue to serve in God’s mission.

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The leaders of Project Timothy and Encuentro shared the following results:

  • NYI (Nazarene Youth International) and Global Mission worked together in harmony
  • More than 1,472 children heard the message of Christ
  • More than 695 people were treated at the medical clinics
  • More than 104 people accepted Christ as their Savior
  • More than 2,167 people heard about God’s love
  • More than 7 countries came together to serve and impact Guatemala
  • The 42 participants in Project Timothy came from Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico, and all united in the Great Commission
  • More than 16 youth confirmed their call to missions
  • 21 churches on the Guatemala Central District were encouraged by the presence of the youth from Encuentro and Project Timothy

Praise the Lord for continuing to call and use the lives of young people who are willing to serve Him!

“Lord, I am Here to Serve you With What you Have Given me”

Guatemala and Costa Rica hosted Encuentro June 30 – July 14. It impacted the lives of hundreds of people, from the communities where the teams ministered to the volunteers. Linda Alguera, 26, a doctor from Nicaragua, shared her experience in Guatemala.

“ …My friend and I spoke with our pastor and received help from the church. Even though the situation in our country threatened the possibility of us going, we remained positive…We arrived to the seminary excited. Four of us traveled together, and so began the adventure of the unknown. I only knew that I was going to serve, but I did not know how. The next day I found brother Milton and he said, ‘Hey doctor, you did not tell me you were coming. You would help us with a medical clinic, right?’ I excitedly agreed. I had brought my tools with me in order to do just that. That same day all the participants met for a welcome time and an explanation of what we were going to do. They told us that we should do everything possible to win one person for the Lord, and I said, ‘Wow. How do I that?’ In my heart I said, ‘Lord, I am here to serve you with what you have given me.’

The next day we met with the medical team. We had trouble with the medicine and with the dental equipment, but we served with what we had because, even more than human medicine, we wanted to bring spiritual medicine. We began the medical clinic the first week and every day we attended approximately 60-80 people, including adults and children. One day we attended 110 people and I remember the faces of the whole team with expressions of satisfaction and happiness for having seen all those people.

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We not only attended to the patients, but we also prayed for them and shared the plan of salvation with them. God gave me the chance to talk to a person who did not need human medicine, but only wanted someone who would listen. Every word of thanks we heard was as if it came from God himself. Many accepted God in the medical clinics.

I thought that I would only be there a week, but God allowed me to serve for 2 weeks. The Lord had great things prepared for me.

The second week I had the best experience I have ever had. I had problems at home and in a devotional I cried and cried. I had an internal battle all day because I had to go to a church and serve. At night I realized that even more than the problem it was God speaking into my life through this experience. That night I went to my room and prayed. I told the Lord that if He told me what He wanted, I would do it. In the last prayer when we were saying goodbye, I asked God to confirm his call to missions, and in that prayer the person who was leading said, ‘Your call is confirmed.’ That has been my best experience. The greatest blessing was to serve God with the gifts that He has given me.”

This testimony was originally published at: mesoamericaregion.org

Making Progress in the Panama Genesis Site

Forty-eight Panamanians and 21 people from the Kansas District, USA, joined July 27-29 for an urban Maximum Mission in Panama City. The purpose was to impact the sites where Genesis missionaries are serving.

On the first day they served in the Carrasquilla community, which is the area of responsibility for Genesis missionaries Keila Molina and Joselyn Garcia. They worked in the community school painting, cleaning, cutting grass, doing classroom maintenance and sharing an anti-bullying training. The volunteers also delivered bags of food to needy families in the same community. Others held an “Evangelistic Beauty Salon” where, in addition to offering their services, they shared the message of the gospel. Still others held a Vacation Bible School. They closed with a Jesus Film presentation where 17 people accepted Christ as their Lord.

On the second day, they focused on the Los Libertadores community, which is the area of responsibility for Genesis missionaries Marleidy Sanchez and Ingrid Jochola. In this community there are 8 high rises, each with 15 floors. Along with 35 volunteers from the Interamerican University of Panama, they cleaned and evangelized on each floor of all 8 buildings and the nearby areas. They offered their services in the “Evangelistic Beauty Salon” and played soccer with the youth in the community. A national television channel came to hold interviews about what was happening. Later, they held a Bible School with the children and closed with a Jesus Film presentation in which 15 people accepted Jesus as their Savior.

On the third day, the group met in the Rio Abajo Church of the Nazarene to praise the Lord and hear a message from Pastor Jim Bond, who serves as the Kansas District Superintendent. There was a special moment in which Panama Central District Superintendent Carlos de la Cruz presented a recognition to the Slingerland family on behalf of the district for their help during the 7 years in which they lived in Panama. Abby Slingerland received a present from the district NYI.

In the afternoon the volunteers went to the Juan Demosthenes community where they cleaned, evangelized, and held a Bible School. In that community, 28 people accepted Christ as their Savior.

“…We ask for your prayers for these three Genesis sites, which are places that need the Lord, and for our four Genesis missionaries: Keila, Ingrid, Joselyn and Marleidy. Pray that the Lord uses them and gives them great strength every day. We would like to thank all of the volunteers from Panama and Kansas for being instruments of the Lord,” said Joel Bermudez, Panama Central District NYI President.

This article was originally published at: Church of the Nazarene Mesoamerica

Coffee and Wine

“Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.” (1 Cor. 8:13)

When my father was pastoring several years ago, there was a woman who wanted to become a member in the church.  However, she disagreed with the fact that our denomination encouraged abstinence from alcohol.  “Why can’t I have a little sip of wine every now and then? Lots of Christians drink coffee, and that has caffeine in it.  What’s the difference?”

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My father thoughtfully replied.  “Alcohol has caused so much more societal damage than caffeine.  But so you know how important I believe this to be, I will never knowingly drink anything with caffeine again, if you will decide to never drink alcohol again.”

Although the woman has not lived up to her end of the bargain, my dad has only drunk decaffeinated coffee since that conversation.

It’s been 13 years.

Do you care so much about your testimony that you would be willing to give up something you love if it would help someone else in their Christian walk?

*This mini-devotional was written for the app of Mesoamerica Region Nazarene Youth International (NYI). We encourage you to download and use that app, through which short devotional thoughts like this (written by a variety of leaders) will be shared daily.

Stumbling Block

“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” (1 Cor. 8:9)

As a new youth pastor, I invited one of the sophomores in the youth group to grab some ice cream after school.  As he climbed into my car and I turned the key, the radio blasted out the words of a popular rock song.  A song everyone knew.  A song I liked.  But not a song with a…ahem…biblical message.

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Can Christians only listen to hymns all day long? Nah.  Was it a sin to listen to a secular song on the radio? Probably not.

But the way he looked at me I knew it could cause him to justify his own questionable music selections.  His Christian walk was affected even if my eternity wasn’t.

“Sorry,” I said, turning off the radio.  “Neither of us should be listening to that.  It won’t happen again.”

*This mini-devotional was written for the app of Mesoamerica Region Nazarene Youth International (NYI). We encourage you to download and use that app, through which short devotional thoughts like this (written by a variety of leaders) will be shared daily.