The Kelly's in Ireland

I’d say it’s about time for an update, how about you? ;) 

The last few months have been a blur.  Time seems to be flying by, and sometimes it feels like there just isn’t enough hours in the day to get everything done.  But God is good and these last few months have also been ones of great encouragement and blessing. 

As of right now, we have pretty much what we need to move.  We were looking at a few thousand dollars needed for shipping the few things we are taking, and of course the money needed to put rent down on a house, as well as some costs here at home (wrapping up some minor credit card debt and the fee for breaking our apartment lease early).  God has continued to provide in amazing ways, with me taking a pretty substantial cut in pay this past September, it was pretty much impossible to save any money, as our bills pretty much were what I make.  But God has blown our minds over and over again, and through the generosity of a number of people, we now have pretty much everything we need to make the move.  

The current financial need now is the committed monthly support base.  We’re still about $1000 short of our target monthly support, but we are confident and trusting the Lord that He will provide, both in us moving, and in us staying there. 

One really fun part of our update is the fact that a young friend of ours, Caralee Moreau is praying very seriously about coming with us when we go, and assisting us in getting settled in Ireland, and living with us at least at first.  The boys have grown up with her, and they love her, and she loves them, and she will be a great help to Chelsi as we make this transition, one that may possibly be especially difficult for Pierce, considering his autism.  She has a heart to minister in any way she can, and has expressed a desire to spend some time on the foreign field.  We feel that the Lord is opening up this door for her, and so we are moving forward in this direction.  

As far as the ministry in Waterford, God is blessing it in profound and exponential ways, and it is SUPER exciting to see how He is moving and how He has grown it, even in just the year and a half that I have been emotionally and spiritually invested in the work there.  We are just really excited to finally get over there and put our hands to the plow.

Prayer requests:  

As already mentioned, we still need about $1000 more monthly to be at our target amount of $3000, which will pretty much just cover the bills, including insurance for our family, and the amount that goes to Shepherd’s Staff for admin fees.  

Pray for Chels and I as we continue to pray about the possibility of me going early, sometime in May, and her and the boys join me in June, mainly because of an important final dr. appt. that Phineas has to make sure that his kidneys are in a good place. 

Pray for Caralee as she continues to seek the Lord, and pray for His perfect timing for a target date to move. 

Pray for Family of Calvary Waterford, for Pastor Clay and for Jannelle as they welcome their first child this next month, and for the outreaches and other ministries reaching Waterford and the surrounding communities.  

Pray for the other Calvarys in Ireland, and for their leadership, for strength and vision. 

Pray for Ireland as a whole, for her people, and most importantly, for the Gospel of Jesus to be proclaimed, and for Jesus to lifted high among the Irish people!  

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for praying for Chels and I and our family! 

Financial support link:   http://www.shepsstaff.org/kelly.aspx

It’s high time for an update!  It’s something I’ve intended to do several times since I returned from Ireland around the 1st of December, but I hit the ground running and honestly, it kept getting bumped down the priority list.  But here we are, so…

First, about Ireland:  The time spent in Ireland filling in for Clay at Calvary Waterford was brilliant.  I taught on Sundays through the book of James, and throughout the week I worked with Sebastian Muller (another friend who is ministering in Waterford) towards getting various projects done around the church.  I had the opportunity at various times to speak and minister to a variety of people, from addicts to young married couples, and it was exciting to see the Spirit moving among the body there at Calvary Waterford.  I found myself reminiscing often about the first time I was in Ireland, in Waterford, and how I’ve been able to go back once every 6 months, and watch what the Lord has done in that time among the people of Waterford, and in Calvary Waterford.  It has been amazing to see, and I am more excited than ever to be over there and join the work full time.  I was able to spend time deepening old friendships and discovering new ones, and truly, my heart is with the people of Ireland.  

There is so much unrest in the hearts of the people there, so many question marks. And yet, it is so amazing to see when the light of the Gospel illuminates a heart, to watch joy fill their lives, and the peace that passes understand quiet and guard their hearts and minds.  It is a miraculous and beautiful thing to behold. 

It was hard to be away from Chelsi and the boys for over a month, but the Lord has used even that in remarkable ways.  I have been reminded that when you are following the voice of the Spirit to what He is calling you to, He will sustain and faithfully carry you through even the hard things.  

About the Bible College Project: We are still working very hard to pull things together to establish a Bible College there in Waterford.  Jon Langley and I are working closely with Clay to implement what we believe the Lord is leading us to do, and little by little we are making ground.  At this point, we are focused primarily on trying to raise financial support for the Bible College project.  We need the funds for a building and for the renovation of that building to suit the needs of using it for a Bible College.  We are committed to the belief that this is from the Lord, and so we are confident in this vision, but we do need help to see it come to fruition.  I am excited to see how the Lord provides and whom He will use.  

Now, about the Kellys:  We are still hoping and aiming to move by the end of March, Lord willing.  The boys are getting more and more excited and talk about Ireland more and more frequently.  As a family, we are continuing to work on liquidating our belongings and trying to raise the money we’ll need to move and live.  As of right now, we are only around 1/3 of what we need for committed monthly support, but recently the Lord provided the money that we will need to have in our bank account when we do move.  The Irish Government requires that incoming missionaries have both letters of committed support from sending churches, as well as a certain amount of money when we arrive.  So, we are excited and humbled that the Lord has provided that.  But as I said, we are still afar off from our target amount that we’ll need to live from month to month.  God is good, and He will provide, of that I am sure.  

We are committed to answering this call to Ireland with our whole hearts, and the Lord knows it.  We are trusting Him to provide for all our needs, according to His riches in Christ Jesus!  

If you are interested in supporting us monthly, or even just a one time gift, we would be so blessed!  You can give here: http://www.shepsstaff.org/kelly.aspx.  

And as always, please be praying for us: For provision, for heath, for wisdom and direction.  

Thank you so much!!  

The Kellys! 

Well, its been quite a bit of time since our last update on our missions blog.  A lot has happened since then, including moving from our house into an apartment, my dad navigating through a serious head injury and having to take some extended time away from the ministry, some hiccups in the progression of getting Pierce’s mouth surgeries done, and various other bits and pieces of adventure.  But God is good, and at this point, we are still on course to move here to Ireland in early March. 

I say “here”, as some of you may not know that I am in Waterford as I write this.  I’ve been here a week, and I’ll be here until November 29th, filling the pulpit for Pastor Clay while he and Jannelle spend some time in the States.  I count it a particular honor and privilege to have the opportunity to serve he and the Family here in any way I can, and I’m thankful for the chance to be in Ireland for over a month!  

Chels and the boys stayed home, and while it’s very hard being away from them, I am deeply grateful for her willingness to let me come and do this.  

While I am here I am teaching on Sunday mornings, as well as being available during the week for anything.  As I’ve only been here a week, I’m just now getting into the “swing of things”, but I’d like to think I’m finding my cadence.  ;)  The gang here is brilliant, and I love them all dearly.  They have certainly embraced me and they are very supportive and encouraging.  It is wonderful to see everyone working together for God’s glory at Calvary Waterford, and we seem to be in a sweet season of grace and growth.  I can definitely see the fruit of Clay and Jannelle’s hard work here.  

There is much opportunity to minister to people who are deeply hurt by Christ-less religion, who have given themselves to addictions of every sort.  There’s so much emptiness, and despair.  The Irish are a beautiful people, but they are a hurting people.  I want so greatly to see Irish people set free from their sin and emptiness, and that will only happen through a true relationship with Jesus.  The awesome thing is that it is happening…little by little, person by person.  Jesus IS changing hearts in Ireland.  

I am enjoying the cold weather here, as it gives me a reason to wear all the warm clothes I so enjoy wearing.  I don’t have a decent camera, but I am thinking about purchasing one here.  If/when I do, I’ll make sure to post plenty of pictures.  It’s always beautiful in Ireland.  :) 

Prayer Requests:

For Waterford City to be filled with the light and love of Jesus!

For Calvary Waterford as the Lord leads and directs into the horizon.  

For Clay and Jannelle as they shepherd the flock here.

For those addicted to alcohol and drugs here to be set free.

For the Christian churches in Waterford to be united under the banner of the Gospel. 

For Jon Langley and myself as we continue to work on the details of establishing a Bible college here in Waterford.

For my family as we continue to raise support and work towards moving here in March.

For Chelsi and the boys during this next month while I’m gone: protection and provision.

For the Lord to bring in the monthly support we’ll need to live and stay here. (We’re still quite a ways away from our target goal.) 

Support Opportunities:

As always, we covet the prayer support of our Family in Christ.  

If the Lord leads you to financially support the Kelly family, you can find an online support link here:   http://www.shepsstaff.org/kelly.aspx 

Thank you for joining with us on this journey.  God is good, and He is changing lives in Ireland! 

Please be praying as Pastor Clay goes tomorrow to look at this prospective Bible College location!  Pray for wisdom for him, and providence and provision as we continue to pursue this vision to see a Bible College established in Waterford, Ireland!  We’re super excited about what the Lord is doing! 

As a side note, I’ve been praying for this particular building ever since I saw it last year.  I always thought it might make a brilliant Bible College/Cafe.  :D 

Well, to bring things up to speed, in the last update I wrote about how we were about to have a meeting with Pat Kenney with Shepherds Staff, to see about being accepted.  Well, we were, and so other than some final paperwork to finish up, we’re dialed on that front. 

We originally were working towards Sept-October as a move date, but we’ve move that back to Feb-March, as we were able (and needed) to have a procedure done for Pierce that involved the installation of an appliance in his mouth that will spread his palate over the course of the next few months.  This is in preparation for the last really major surgery that he will need to have in a few years.  Being that he needed to have this done, and that we could get it done right away, we felt that this was the Lord solidifying what had been a bit of a questionable time frame for the move.  We are very much at peace with it, and it has proven to be the right choice.  

I will be spending the entire month of November in Waterford, as Clay has asked me to come and fill in for him as he and Jannelle come back to the states on furlough.  I consider this a HUGE honor and privilege, and I am blessed to be able to do it.  God blessed us with a monetary gift of about half of what it will take to purchase the RT ticket for me, and so I will be purchasing the ticket sometime this week. 

Another awesome development is that the idea of getting a Calvary Bible College extension campus up and running in Waterford is starting to come together into a much more solid thing.  We have begun the process of organizing the paperwork that will need to be done, and raising the amount of money (approx. $15K) we’ll need for initial startup costs.  This is HUGE, and very exciting.  At this point, it looks like I be serving as the director of the college, in addition to working with Clay at the church.  God is doing some amazing things in Waterford, and we all feel that it is just the tip of the iceberg. 

Finally, Chels and I are asking for prayer in some specific areas: 

1) Continued strength as we sell and get rid of our stuff and downsize.  We will probably also need to be moving soon, so pray for that.

2) Pray for Chels and the boys while I’m gone through November.  We know it will be hard for all of us, but she is excited and fully supportive of this.  

3) Pray for our finances. I recently had to take a pay cut, and while we should be able to keep paying our bills here, we won’t be able to leave in February if we don’t have the committed monthly support we’ll need. We know it’s a tough time financially for a lot of people, and we are committed to doing whatever it takes to come up with the money, but we won’t be able to work there, and we’ll need the help.

4) Pray for the people of Waterford, the family of Calvary Waterford, and Ireland in general.  Much like the rest of the West, Ireland is facing difficult financial times and people are struggling to have hope. We desperately want to be there to point them to Jesus.   

God is faithful, and we are confident that He will continue to provide.   

If you’d like to contact us, our email is thekellysinireland@gmail.com

May God be glorified!

Chels and I will be having a Skype meeting with Pat Kenney, who is the regional director of Shepherd’s Staff, which is the missionary facilitation ministry that we are hoping to connect with.  This meeting will involve discussing our applications, and basically where we’re at with getting to Ireland, and Lord willing, be a major step forward in this process. 

Would you please lift us up in prayer, that the Lord will guide our conversation, and guide our decisions?  Pray for Pat as he conducts the interview, that the Lord would speak to his heart as well concerning His will for us.  

Thank you all who have been continuing to pray with us and for us, and thank you to those who have given financially in support of what God is calling us to.  It is deeply appreciated!  

For His Glory, till the whole world hears, 

CJ and Chels.

Today, I want to share what my friend Chris Ward, who is the pastor of Calvary Maricopa in Phoenix, Arizona wrote as a guest post for our blog.  I hope you’re as blessed by what he wrote as I was.

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People talk a lot about missions.  They debate the effectiveness of short-term vs. long-term missions.  They debate whether it’s better to go to another country or only serve in the mission field at home.  A lot of talking, debating, and ‘conversations’ about missions occurs in the church, however,  there seems to be an almost apathy about it amongst the congregations.  I think a lot of that comes from being confused and unsure of what to do as a disciple of Jesus Christ.  A lot of talking..a lot less doing.

I’m confident that much of our views on what “Missions” entails depends on how we were raised.  I was blessed to have been raised in a Christian home, surrounded by stories of the great Missionaries of old; Hudson Taylor, William Carey, Amy Carmichael, Eric Liddell, David Livingston, etc.  I had a great mentor/older brother in the Lord named Larry Uehle who went out at age 20 and became a Missionary to Africa.  He would come home on furlough with Pygmy arrows and tales of ministry that powered my imagination and desire to serve Jesus in that capacity.  I was 13 when Larry introduced me to MAP and other missions groups.  I remember getting African Inland Mission newsletters and pouring over the stories.  If asked by folks what I wanted to be when I grew up, my reply was, “A missionary pilot!”

Fast forward over the years as I watched the Berlin Wall fall and Billy Graham’s Crusade in Romania was broadcast back here to the US.  I saw the hundreds of people giving their lives to Jesus and my heart burned inside me to go to Eastern Europe to share the love of Jesus with them.   As time went on and I got married, had children, and just generally lived life in ministry here in the US, I wondered if God would ever call me to go and be a Missionary somewhere.   Well meaning Christians would give me the smile and say, “You are a missionary, right here in your own city and community.”, but it didn’t satisfy the hunger and desire in my heart.

Finally, in 2003 I was sitting at church listening to someone announce a missions trip to Honduras.  Tapping me on the elbow, my wife turned to me and said, “I think you should go honey!”.  BAM, out of the blue, the call came.  Ever since that time, I have been on short-term missions to Honduras, El Salvador, and Ukraine.  Each time it’s slightly different, but there is one underlying factor that I think everyone should consider.  When the call comes, I go.

Consider Paul and Barnabas.  While the church had been spread out a bit due to persecution after Jesus had ascended, no one besides Phillip and Barnabas had really gone and responded to the directive of Jesus:  GO into all the World.   They were rocking it in Jerusalem for a long while, they had the Megachurch going!!  But God wasn’t interested in just having a huge following in Jerusalem. Judea, Samaria and the Uttermost parts awaited the Gospel.  Persecution drove the believers out into the region. So now, in the Gentile center of the church up in Antioch, the Holy Spirit begins to speak to people’s hearts. “Set aside Saul and Barnabas…”

Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent [them] away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. - Act 13:3-4 NKJV (Emphasis mine)

I think we see a clear indication of what needs to take place for Missions here in Acts 13.  Teaching and discipleship are occurring in the local church.  The Holy Spirit begins to move on people’s hearts as they see the need for people to share the Gospel.  Certain people are called, set apart for the Global mission, they are sent…and they went!!  Plus we see the elements of cultural awareness here as well.  They send Barnabas who was from Cyprus, he understands a bit how they think.   That’s vital to our missions work even today.  Learn what is going on in the culture, become aware of the societal issues you’ll face and don’t try to use ethnocentric methodologies.  The Gospel transcends that!  

GO!  it’s the call and command of our Savior and LORD!  The debate between short and long, local or global, needs to disappear and we need to GO!   Be wise and pray about missions.  Investigate, learn, check with your Pastor and/or Ministry leaders around you.  They will know if you’re called to physically go or not.  If your body can’t go, send your money to support a missionary.  Paul and Barnabas obviously had some support, and even took a young guy named John Mark with them.  You never know which one of those young people are going to turn into full-time missionaries in the field.   GO!  Find the role you play, the gifting you have in the Spirit, and you’ll find out that God is ready to use you.  What an amazing thing to think of.

CJ, Chelsi and the kiddos are getting ready to go to Ireland.  They’ve been SENT…now they’re going to WENT!  I’ve only known CJ a short while, but I see a kindred spirit when it comes to missions.  If you know him, then I’m hoping you are already onboard as a support member.  Prayer, finances, whatever.  I’m already making plans to take a group out to help them for a short-term trip.  Don’t know when, don’t know how…just know that it’s time to GO!

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Thanks for sharing your heart, Chris!  

This past weekend, Chels, Phin, and I travelled to El Centro, CA to share in the wedding reception for our friends Leah and Mikey, and so I could share a little bit about Ireland with the Calvary there in El Centro.  It was a sweet time of fellowship from beginning to end.  

One thing that really struck me was the warmth with which we were received.  I know part of that stems from the relationship that our two churches have, but it really went beyond that.  I love the family of God!  No matter where you go, where there are Christians, there is Family.  I so appreciated how embraced we were by the Family of El Centro, and it reminded me how important it is that we keep that at the forefront of everything we are and do as Christians.  We are part of an organism, not an organization.  It is living, given life by the Spirit of God.  The moment we forget that, we are in serious trouble.  

This brings me to share one of the verses that the Spirit brought my attention to the first time I visited Ireland.  I was there at the invitation of my now good friend Clay, someone who at the time, I hardly knew.  We had spoken on Skype several times, but had never met.  Not only did Clay and Jannelle bring me into their home, feed me, and treat me like family, that scenario was repeated by the Kneppers, and the Neglias, as I travelled around.  

I was at the Calvary Ireland conference, and I was already beginning to feel the Spirit confirm that He was bringing us here.  I immediately began to question, “What about my family?”  For those of you that know Chelsi and I, you know that we are very close to our families.  Speaking for myself, my dad is my best friend, as well as my pastor and co-laborer, and my mama, well… she’s my mama!  And on top of that, they’re my children’s Nonnie and Pop.  Chelsi and I and her mom are also very very close, and the boys absolutely love their Nanny, and she them.  And then there’s Uncle Mike and Auntie Johnna, and the boys’ favorite cousins, Heaven and Riyah.   I was struggling with what this call meant for all of us, when in a voice almost audible, the Spirit spoke “Mark 10:28.” to me.  I turned there and this is what is written:

 ”Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”  Mark 10:28-30

I sat there and thought about what I had read.  Essentially, Jesus tells his disciples, “Yeah, you may be leaving your families, your homes, your valuables for my sake.  But I will multiply all those things back to you, and then some.  I will give you people to be fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, I will take care of your needs.  It won’t be easy, and there will be difficulties, but you can’t out-give Me.”  

I knew right then that the Lord would make sure that we were taken care of.  Of course no one can ever replace our parents and the relationships that we enjoy with our family and friends here in Bullhead.  But the hard truth is, if we refused to follow the Spirit’s leading only because we didn’t want to leave our family and friends, then we can’t really say that we are committed to following Jesus.  We would be guilty of loving others more than we love Him.  

But yet, that’s the beauty of that passage: God promises to take care of those who follow His voice.  And He promises to take care of those who are left behind.  He is faithful and good.  His Love is an Everlasting love.  And it is the Gospel of that Love that we have the singular privilege of declaring to the WORLD.  And on top of that, He has created an incredibly HUGE, worldwide Family that we are made a part of by His Grace, so that no matter where we go, or where we are, we are part of that Family.  It is a truth that brings tears of joy and gratitude, and I simply desire to introduce more people into the beauty that is our Savior and His Church, our Family.  

Please continue to pray for us as we close in on our target move date of late September.  We are remaining open to the Lord, but that’s what we’re shooting for.  Also, please pray for provision.  We still need a lot more committed monthly support, and we are confident that the Lord will provide, but we’re getting closer and closer, so please pray for that as well.  

Finally, I’m excited about tomorrow’s post, as my friend Pastor Chris Ward from Calvary Maricopa in Phoenix, AZ has taken the time to write out a guest post for the blog.  I was deeply ministered to by it, and I pray you will be as well.  So make sure you check back tomorrow to read it.  

Much love…  The Kelly’s 

Several weeks ago, Barbi Robnett and I were discussing the nature of missions, why they are important, and basically bantering different thoughts back and forth.  During the course of that conversation, I suggested that Barbi write a guest post for our blog.  So she did.  This is what she wrote:  

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Go to the land I will show you (Gen 12:1) Go, just pack it up and go, just trust me and go. Leave your family and go. Leave your comfort and go. Leave your dreams and go. Leave your plans and go. Just go. How amazed and confounded we are when we see someone answer the call today. As American Christians we cling to our rights. I have the right to be comfortable, the right to own a home, the right to raise my kids in safety and comfort. So we struggle when we see our brothers or sisters give up their “rights” and answer the call. When a sister gives up the dream of marriage and family, so she can go to the mission field. The brother who leaves his family to join the Army and go where the fighting is. The couple who leave behind beloved friends and family and take their children to a foreign country because they heard God say go.

Why does it bother us so much? Some of us gather around and remind them of all they are giving up and all that could go wrong. Others thank God we are not the one called because we fear deep down that we would not make the sacrifice. And still others have our conscience pierced. We bow our knee before God and pray that we would have the faith that these have. We are challenged by their obedience.

We love the idea of missions. To go to a foreign land, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, love the unlovable and share the Gospel. The short term mission allows us to experience this is some small way. We can go without making a huge sacrifice. We can take 2 weeks out of our summer, many of us getting paid our vacation days to go. We raise money or get donations so we don’t have feel the pinch in our budget. We get to see and experience a foreign country with the comfort of a guide to take us around and set up a place to stay and transportation for us. Don’t get me wrong I do believe there is a place for short term missions. I have been on them, prepared for them as well as trained teens for them. But did you know that American short term missions are fairly new? They began after world war 2, when churches would take tradesmen to war torn countries for a few weeks to help rebuild what the war had destroyed. After awhile the church decided that taking teens on these missions would be a way to make them aware of people and cultures in need. By exposing our teens to the needs of people around the world it would instill a christian world view. Making them more aware of the need to share the love of God and the Gospel, not only abroad but also at home.

I have seen teens changed by this experience, in fact both of my kids were changed because of a short term mission. It seems to me that short term missions have become so easy and so frequent we now see less long-term missionaries. And sadly there are those in the church that discourage people from becoming long term missionaries. But there is a great need for them. Short term missions are like mountain top experiences. Like when we go to a retreat and we have this great time of pulling away from the world. However when it is over we go back down the mountain and back into the pressures and trails of daily life. When we fly home all excited and pumped from our “mission” the national goes home, to the valley. The teacher that helped at camp goes home to the unsaved husband. The friend you made goes back to her loneliness of being single and feeling like there is no one out there for her. The mother goes back to the sick family member. That kid at camp goes back to the pressure from their friends, hiding his Christianity. That teen goes back to the relationship that wars against their soul by being unequally yoked and constantly tempted to immorality. And it will be a year until we see them again, if we even return.

The long term missionary is there, not only on the mountain top, but also in the valley. They are there to walk through the hard times with them. Though I have been on short term missions for 10 years now, I do not consider myself a missionary at all. How can I? I have not lived what they live everyday, even when I lived there for 3 months, I did not work and get paid their wages. I did not experience the persecution of being a christian in their country. I did not experience the valley with them. I was still an outsider. The long term missionary makes the ultimate sacrifice for them, leaves their homeland, their family, their comforts and first lives as an outsider until trust is gained and slowly they become one of them. And what is their goal? Same as the short term missionary. To win souls for Christ, but the long term missionary can do what the short timer can’t. They can go and make disciples.

I am a huge supporter of what C J and Chelsi are doing and let me tell you why. Well first off they both heard God say go. But let me tell you from experience just because one partner feels God sending them doesn’t mean the other one does. So the fact that they are in unity is huge! I have known CJ since he was a young boy and have seen him grow up in the ways of the Lord, he has the training and preparation to make disciples in Ireland. He has been to Bible college. He has been on short term missions and acclimates well to his surroundings. And he will eat just about anything. (This is important in missions.) Chelsi is beloved by so many, because she is so real and relatable to people. She too has been teaching the Bible for a few years now. Most importantly they desire to glorify God in all they do and desire to see people come to the saving knowledge of Jesus as well as grow in the faith.

I have heard this “Of course he thinks he is called to Ireland, he has always wanted to go there cause he is Irish” and to those people I say, “So” I feel called to missions, I am Italian, I love Italy and have been there but I don’t feel called to Italy. And who is to say that God didn’t plant that desire in CJ long ago in preparation for this calling? Isn’t it a good thing that he feels love and a passion for these people and this country? Isn’t it a good thing that he has that connection? Couldn’t that be God working in him? Of course it could be.

How about this one “How could he do this to his kids”? Do what? Teach them to give up everything to follow where God leads? Show them that all that truly matters in this life is obedience to God. “How could he move them so far away from family and friends?” Missionaries today have it so much easier then they did just 80 years ago. Today they can fly home in less then 24 hours, then it took weeks by boat. Today they can call or Skype anytime, then they had to wait weeks or months for letters to go back and forth. Is is going to be difficult at times? Yes, but shame on us Christians today that believe if God asks us to do something difficult we shouldn’t have to to do.

“But how will you support them CJ at least here you have a job.” To all of you who say this, you are the answer to that question. By supporting them financially. Cut back a little and you will find 20.00 a month to send. Cut back a lot and you can find 100.00. As Americans we don’t give enough. We really don’t. When we get a little extra money, we spend it on new furniture because ours is a little worn. We spend it on vacation because we need a break. We spend it on a new floor because we are tired of the color of this one. We buy pictures for the walls, and new clothes etc. I am convinced all of us can afford to give something, but we don’t discipline ourselves to do it.

If you truly feel you can’t give then you can organize a fund raiser. You could hold a yard sale. If the church would put as much effort into raising money for long-term missions as we do for short term missions, Cj and Chelsi would have their bills paid and have some left over to clothe some orphans or feed the homeless. Think about it. A team of 12 short term missionaries will cost about 24000.00 maybe more with the gas prices. This would support Cj and Chelsi for a year. In that year they will accomplish so much more then a team will accomplish in 2 weeks. Am I saying don’t send them team? No, what I am saying is that, the church should be as supportive if not more supportive for Cj and Chelsi’s longterm mission as they are of the short term team.

I believe in what Cj and Chelsi are doing. It’s not easy, and everyone around them should be doing what they can to support them. It is a great gift they are giving to Pierce and Phin, to be living examples of what it means to follow Christ. To teach them that nothing in this world should hold them back from being obedient to God. It is a huge challenge for all of those around them, a time to ask ourselves do I have the faith to do the hard stuff God asks me to do? It is an opportunity to show our gratitude to God for all that he gives us, by praying and asking God how we can contribute financially to support them. To everyone reading this I encourage you to educate your self about missions. Read about Amy Carmicheal, Jim Elliot, Mother Teresa, Gladys Aylwood, William Carey, Eric Liddell, the list goes one. It is not an easy life by no means, so be an encouragement and a supporter of your brothers and sisters who answer the call. Let me say it again, it is NOT an easy life by NO means, and they know it, believe me, it is scary, so don’t pile on fear in fact ask God if He would have you partner with them as they answer the call to GO.  

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I am extremely humbled by Barbi’s words, and for her support of what the Lord is calling us to, and I appreciate her friendship. 

If you have any questions, or you would like to talk to me about the work in Ireland, our prayer needs, or if the Lord leads you to partner with us financially in this work, you can write me at hiskid@calvarychapelbhc.org or call me at 928-758-2636.  Much love and gratitude to you all!