The Bible says it won't be easy to follow Jesus, that we'll be subjected to ridicule and scorn. I have sure experienced this throughout my life. When I decided to give my life completely to Christ thirteen years ago, this was strongly challenged by the people closest to me, especially my parents. "Why move to a different church?" "Why give your tithes when we are also in need?" The questioning was constant. The church I joined in the Philippines had very few members and rented a small space where the ceilings and walls needed significant repairs. Despite insulting remarks from… Read More
Mission Work
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I encountered Jesus at the darkest point in my life, and it is only by His light that His purpose was revealed to me. It was when I suffered from major depression in my early 20's. At that moment, I believe God called me to completely surrender my life to Him; and through faith, I was healed. Since it’s my second life, I asked God to use my testimony to help others that were suffering. I continuously sought His guidance. He led me to the Middle East. When I arrived here, a former drug addict invited me to his church. I was amazed at how… Read More
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Sometimes God gives you stepping stones to build up courage to do something scary. For me, that began when God opened my eyes to the suffering in the world. But, I did not even know where to begin. Plus, it was scary to think about leaving everything I knew. However, when a friend asked me if I would regret not going abroad after God gave me this desire, I knew I would. God used this conversation as another stepping stone. Then, I took the next step and attended a job fair that very week. It was at this job fair where I… Read More
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My husband and I live in Ashkelon, Israel. We serve the homeless, the drug addicts and prostitutes in the streets of Tel Aviv. These young men and women don't know God when they first come in. They don't know that God can change lives. My own relationship with Jesus started when I was in a car accident back in Ukraine in 1993. I heard the doctors say I would be crippled for the rest of my life and, in my despair, I prayed for the first time, "God, if you exist, help me recover so I do not have to… Read More
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In the same year that I accepted Christ as Lord over my life and returned to church, I started having dreams. I was dreaming of children that had no shoes and little clothing, children who looked at me with a hunger that was both physical and spiritual. Surprisingly, I had never even heard about mission trips at the time. These dreams continued so I felt I needed to experience a mission trip. I signed up for a short one to Cuba. I led worship there through dance and got to share the gospel with hundreds of Cubans. Cuba revealed a whole… Read More
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Rome, Georgia is like most mid-sized towns in the Bible Belt with a church on nearly every corner. But many people may never enter the doors of a church. Since they are staying away, they are not hearing the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. Broken lives are everywhere. Drug abuse and alcoholism are rampant. If people aren’t coming, why not go to them? So we started the Community Church Ministry where we take the church into neighborhoods. Several years ago, I dreamed I was in a large house, and many people were there. The house… Read More