My heart longs for the opportunity to be involved more so with the work set before us.
“My heart longs for the opportunity to be involved more so with the work set before us.” - Mary
Feb 2021
Hello Friend,
There are moments when you know without a doubt that God is pursuing you, trying to get your attention. When we finally stop long enough to listen to what He’s saying, it is usually when you get your answer. Oftentimes you feel God pursuing and stop long enough to listen, but He still wants you to go for it with a step of faith that no one around you comprehends, maybe not even yourself.
This was my experience when I finally did my DTS back in 1985. I felt pursued, but God left the ultimate decision up to me. I had no-one but myself to be responsible for and I knew I needed more understanding of who God is, so I just did it. Like being thrown into the deep end and learning to swim or sink.
Well, I didn’t sink, I swam. And for God’s faithfulness, I am forever grateful. My life changed dramatically in the DTS.
Are there times I wonder what would have been if I hadn’t made that decision at that time? Yes, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Has it been hard, scary? Have I had moments of asking “why?” Yes. But looking back, those moments are when I had the most security in the Lord.
So, here I am again. But this time I have a partner who has joined me in the leap.
Ever since my mom has passed away a few years ago, the lingering question has been: “Are we going to remain here in South Jersey?” Many of you have asked that question. Believe me, it’s our question too. We pray daily for God’s guidance.
We haven’t felt God release us yet. We have a responsibility to Becca as she finishes college. But this season too is ending. Becca graduates in May. So we find ourselves at a moment of decision. Would you pray with us?
We have been earnestly seeking the will of the Father. Do we remain here and continue our ministry in New Jersey? Or do we move to another location? We are asking God: “What’s is your plan and how do we fit in?”
My heart longs for the opportunity to be involved more so with the work set before us. Believe me, I have contemplated the opposite. But the longing takes over. I want to use what abilities God gave me to serve.
I am not a gifted teacher, but I am an encourager, an organizer, gifted administratively. I have taken many of the spiritual gift assessments hoping for a different outcome. But alas, I get the same answers. Sometimes I realize where the questions are taking me and try to fool the test, but I still get the same results.
I haven’t liked my gifts. I haven’t been happy with the person God obviously has created me to be. Now, finally, I am realizing my attitude is a sin against my loving Creator.
Who thinks administration is fun? Cool? How does an administrator share about souls saved, or share the results of an outreach that provided fresh running water to a community? But I can now proclaim that without the administrator those things couldn’t happen. I can share about the many students I have served, providing their documents to help them serve where God called them. I make sure donations for students, and staff missionaries, and even fresh running water projects get to their destination. Do you think that’s exciting?
Still, I can share my heart. God created me to be the helper, the encourager, and promoter. But to do that I really need your help.
To step back into that role on a full time basis with the ministry we have been called to I need to be sent all over again. I need missionary support. And I NEED you to prayerfully consider supporting me. Will you support this administrator as I serve others to fulfill their callings?
Love,
Mary
Hi. John here.
I am so pleased that Mary has processed so much with the Lord during these months of shut-down and my limited travels. It’s given her time for personal reflection. And almost every morning we read together and pray. We have been asking the Lord for His answer regarding our next steps. If you read Mary’s letter, you know that it really isn’t about whether or not we move from South Jersey. What is important is that we fulfill God’s calling on our lives. And Mary is declaring that she wants to serve full time as a Promoter of others, a Helper, an Encourager, and yes, an Administrator. She has newfound joy in following God’s desire for her life. God’s gifts imply a call. When I gave Mary the gift of a ring in 1988, she immediately knew it was an invitation to be my wife, and to be my life partner in ministry too.
Many of you already give sacrificially to our support our ministry. We’re very grateful. Some of our dear supporters have gone home to be with the Lord. So, the message is clear to us right now. God is saying He wants us to have a fresh wave of support, even during this pandemic and these times of uncertainty. God is saying he wants Mary to rejoin this ministry full time, supporting others with her gifts. Will you support her ministry? Will you join our support team?
If you are not already a partner with our ministry, you can use the link below to join our team of regular ministry donors and prayer partners. Our goal is for 25 more ministry partners to join us in the next couple months. We’re praying that God will supply all that we need, recovering some of what we’ve lost and supporting Mary’s next assignment. Are you with us? Would you make the decision to join our team? Partner with us with a one-time gift or a recurring gift: https://bit.ly/Support-the-Henrys
Plans for the Ministry
I have had the joy of meeting weekly and sometimes daily with various members of the Student Mobilization Centre team and our Converge Internship Coordinators. Our team has decided to move most of our training online, not to replace in-person training, but to make our courses available to the multitudes who are learning online today. The Converge Course is the first of many courses our team is placing on our new platform. We will post free mini-courses (1 to 5 days), medium-courses (1 to 5 weeks), and full-courses (6 weeks+). We are bundling single topic medium-courses into full-courses for college credit. And Converge internships transfer academic credit with City Vision University. https://www.cityvision.edu/lp/ywam-uofn/. I’m so excited about what God is doing. Are you?
I am also super excited about what I announced a few months ago. We are developing a new program for high school students to help them prepare for their first mission trip. It’s in partnership with my brother’s vision to help high school student raise funds in creative ways in order to support missionaries they know personally. It’s called Young Tentmakers. Very exciting! Watch for more announcements about this and all our courses in the future.
Thank you again for following our ministry. We are especially grateful for your prayers and your support. Please pray for us. If you haven’t already, please take a moment now to pray about making a decision to become a ministry partner. We love you!
Very gratefully yours,
John Henry
Prayer Requests
Pray for Becca as she completes her final year at Rowan University.
Pray for 25 new friends and family to join our personal ministry partner team. We so appreciate you!