Itineration

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Make New Friends…

October 12, 2024 in Ministry, Prayer, Progress by Dave | No comments

…but keep the old,
One is silver and the other gold.

Do you remember that old song? It’s a chorus that describes our past month well as we begin the process of integrating the Northern Triad, the new area we lead, a union of Assemblies of God World Missionaries who labor in Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, and continue our advocacy work here in the US.

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We took our first step in the integration process when we met with both the Dominican Republic and Cuba teams for the first time. These virtual sessions were a moment of transition for each team as they said farewell to their former area directors and welcomed us into our new leadership role. It was eye-opening to hear of the ongoing work in each country, from church planting, construction, and Bible distribution under extreme circumstances in Cuba to young adult ministries and ministries of compassion to refugees in the Dominican Republic. We left these meetings encouraged by their efforts and optimistic about what these new friendships can achieve.

At the same time we experienced multiple moments of affirmation on the itineration trail as old friends like veteran missionaries Rich and Jenni DeMartino advocated for us to speak at their home church in Ephrata, PA; our former youth pastor, Jim Grove, hosted us for a Wednesday night service in Erie, PA; and Kevin and Taurina Smith graciously named us as featured speakers during Northland Cathedral’s Missions Experience in Kansas City, MO. We are humbled by the open doors these friends and so many others have given us to share about the work in the Northern Triad and to influence their congregations.

Old friends and new, as we work together, we believe the best is yet to come. Thank you, faithful ones, for standing with us with your prayers and support and for welcoming these new members to the team!

Photo Captions:

  1. Dave shares about our expanded leadership role as Northern Triad Area Directors during the opening service of Northland Cathedral’s Missions Experience.

  2. Kelly shares her story with the ladies of Northland Cathedral.

  3. Our time with the DeMartinos in Ephrata, PA also included a ride in their convertible!

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Report from the Road: MT/MR and Itineration

July 13, 2024 in Ministry, Missions, Support, Thanks by Dave | Permalink

Greetings from I-90 in Pennsylvania. We wanted to safely update you (no typing and driving!) on our last month’s activity in the US. Our main responsibility centered around Missionary Training (MT) in Springfield, MO. 191 global workers, preparing to serve in over 80 countries, gathered to begin their formation process in 6 key areas: Culture and Language, Life and Work, Spiritual Formation, Theology of Mission, Ministry in Context, and the area we facilitate, Bible in Ministry (BiM).

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Our BiM session, titled “The Key to the Story of the Scriptures,” taught together with fellow team member, Daryl Jump, featured interactive elements designed to help the new global worker understand not only what the Scriptures say but also how they work together around the person of Jesus to relate God’s big story of salvation. This understanding is foundational as they seek to cooperate with and carry forward that story in their countries of service.

A highlight of these two weeks of MT was receiving several new workers for Mexico. Danny and Kayla De Los Reyes (Mexico City), Micah and Laura Reed (Aguascalientes), Lizette Salazar (Mexico City), and Giuliana Acevedo (Guadalajara) were commissioned as Missionary Associates, while Aldo and Jennifer Wajajay (Oaxaca) were commissioned as fully-appointed missionaries one week later during Missionary Renewal (MR). We’re excited for them as they advocate for Mexico now and prepare for their ministry there in the near future.

Veteran Mexico Global Workers returning for MR were Noah and Melanie Lane and Ernie and Sandra Peacock. We’re thankful for the opportunity we had to encourage each other during that event.

Speaking of advocacy, our itineration was appropriately kicked off on July 7th in Independence, MO. We’re thankful for the tremendous hospitality of pastors Jerry and Tracy Hildebrand and the opportunities to connect with adults and children alike during Sunday services at Central Assembly.

As you read this message, we should be safely at our destination.  Nevertheless, we deeply appreciate your prayers and support as we continue our journey to raise workers and resources to complete the unfinished task of Mexico’s redemption. 

Photo captions:

  1. Dave displays Caravaggio’s depiction of the Supper at Emaus during our BiM Training, emphasizing the need to look at the Scriptures through the lens of Jesus.
  2. Kelly takes new Global Workers through the letter of James, tracing how the Sermon on the Mount profoundly influenced apostolic thought.
  3. We celebrated our first itineration service in Independence, MO with the Hildebrands.

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Springing Ahead with Our Latest Newsletter

March 5, 2015 in Media, Progress by Dave | Permalink

As I write this in the middle of a winter weather advisory, it seems impossible, but daylight savings time tells us that spring is just around the corner. Sounds like a good time for an update!

Before you lose that hour, why don’t you take a moment to read about:

  • How partnerships are helping us to realize our vision.
  • Our itineration progress and how you can help speed us to back to Mexico.
  • The latest from our family!

Remember, our newsletter in PDF format viewable in Adobe Reader. If you don’t have Adobe Reader installed, you can download it free here:

https://get.adobe.com/reader/otherversions/

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End with the Beginning in Mind

February 25, 2009 in Ministry, Missions, Progress, Support by Dave | 1 comment

2008-09 Evangelism Class

2008-09 Evangelism Class

I don’t like goodbyes. But ever since we got back from the World Missions Summit 2, we’ve been receiving reminders that our present time on the field is winding down.

It started at our home church where, during a planning meeting, I had to step down as coordinator of the Missions and Evangelism Team because I would not be able to finish out the year. Following that, I finished out the semester at the Bible Institute and was thrown a touching going-away party from my evangelism students. When I finally got over that reality, my itineration packet arrived detailing the steps that we need to take to return to the States.

So it’s real; our stay here in Mexico is coming to an end, but one thing is for certain, our call is for a lifetime. Yes, our cycle may be coming up but our career has only begun. So, I’ve been reflecting on our time here, but I’ve also been thinking about the future and our on-going work here in Mexico. We are returning to the States, but our stay will be limited because our call, and our heart remains here in Mexico.

Steven Covey repeats the phrase, “Begin with the end in mind.” It has to do with visualizing the goal, setting forth objectives in order to reach them. I’ve decided to modify the phrase just a bit in order to describe our goal for our remaining months and our upcoming itineration cycle: “End with the beginning in mind.”

Yes we are saying our goodbyes, but our goal in the remaining months is to strengthen the relationships that we have formed in order to begin our new term in 2010 with a running start. Concerning our return to the US, our desire is to immerse ourselves in our itineration, utilizing a broad array of means available to reconnect with current supporters and welcome new friends who would like to partner with us as we continue our work in Mexico.

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the sidebar of our website, you’ve seen that one of those means of generating excitement and raising awareness for our work will be the running of Marathon for Mexico 2. Last itineration cycle, I ran the Springfield Marathon, raising funds to help us get to the field faster. Recently, I’ve been blogging about my recent weight loss and my training for the Bass Pro Marathon which will take place on November 8th of this year. It’s our desire that this marathon will serve as an even bigger part of our support-raising effort, so keep an eye on our Marathon Page for more information and updates.

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