Here goes...
I took a trip with Bob Wiedemann (FCA) to the DR in October in order to meet Herb Rawlings (Rawlings Foundation) and Gus Hernandez (SCORE staffer and leader of the Highlands sports complex). It was amazing to see three ministries come together in order to better serve Him. Herb has 12 sports complexes throughout the world in order to use athletics to bring people to Christ. My conversations with Herb were priceless. He is a wealth of experience in evangelism and his heart is enormous. We are blessed to have Herb support us in the DR by letting us live in one of the homes at the Highlands Complex. Gus was the head baseball coach at Tennessee Temple and made the decision (along with his wife Illeana) to become a missionary for SCORE in the DR about a year ago. Since my time with him in October, I have had the honor to have dinner with them over Christmas break and skype with him and learn more about how to prepare for this journey. We are extremely excited about being the neighbors/friends of the Hernandez'.
Left to Right - Ron Bishop (Score), Herb Rawlings (Rawlings Foundation), Bob Wiedemann (FCA)
In November, sadly one of of new friends from Pierce County, Holt Rowland left to be with the Lord. Holt was 16 years old and a member of our group from FCA that spent a week in the DR this past summer. Kim and Dave Rowland invited our family, Bob and our guys from the trip to their house shortly after Holt's death. It was one of, if not the most influential moments in Jodi's and my life. The faith and trust that Kim and Dave have in Jesus inspired all who spent time with them. Holt was and still is a huge mentor to my players and me. There will be plaques memorializing Holt at the SCORE and Highland's Complexes as well as a scholarship in his name for missions support. He must become greater; I must become less. John 3:30
Holt Rowland - FCA Mission Trip Summer of 2010
Since October, I have worked diligently to learn as much Spanish as possible. It has been very difficult, but a lot of fun. God has blessed me with a passion to learn Spanish in order to speak to people about Jesus. Several hours per week I use Rosetta Stone, on the computer and through audio cds. I also have been tutored by Adrienne Christian. Adrienne is a Spanish teacher at Wesleyan and part-time missionary in the DR (summers). She has taught me so much about the language and culture in La Republica Dominicana.Another blessing has come through the relationship with our new friends, Richard and Mariann Call. The Calls just moved to Duluth last year from Venezuela. We met the Calls at our subdivision pool in September and have dined with them once or twice per month since. They have children Grace and Wyman's age and they have a lot of fun playing the wii together. Richard and Mariann know about as much English as we know Spanish, so it is pretty funny when we get together. God has put Adrienne and the Calls in our lives for a reason and it has been a huge blessing getting to know them. They will be friends forever.
Adrienne Christian with Grace in the DR Summer 2010
The Call Family
There is so much to be thankful for during this period of preparation. As I have written earlier, God has blessed us in so many ways, none more important than Him becoming a bigger part of our lives. Through pray and the reading of His word, Jodi and I have felt a great peace each step of the way. Lately, our petitions have been for our housing situation. As we all know, the housing market is not good. In fact, it is downright awful. The world has told us that it is not the time to become missionaries. But, we know that is not true now and will never be the case. God is far bigger than a recession, no matter how bad it seems. Currently, we are waiting on the decision of our subdivision homeowner's association on whether or not we can rent our house. We actually have a family that would like to rent our house with the possibility to buy sometime in the future. A rule was passed by our subdivision to only allow 5% of our homes to rent. As of today, there are 10% renting. Tonight (February 22nd, I will be able to ask the board to allow us to rent because of the housing circumstances. Although we hope that they allow us to rent, we know that God may have different plans.
Our Current Home Duluth, GA
Our New Home in the DR on the Highlands Complex
The Shaheen family is very excited about our trip to the DR from March 20th-25th (Spring break). It will be an opportunity for us to get acclimated to our future home and surrounding community. We plan to take our kids to their future school and possibly sign them up. We plan to bring a lot of our stuff (sheets, towels, summer clothes, etc...). We also have several meetings set up with people that will be new friends and fellow missionaries. The part of the trip I am most excited about is meeting and spending quality time with our new family on the Highlands Complex. There are 30+ facilities workers and guards that I am excited to speak Spanish with. Gus and
Ileana will be free in the evenings to spend time with. We are also excited to reunite with Eddie Jesus Gill, who led our team this summer and is now working full-time at the Highlands. Eddie is also a Red Sox fan. There are never enough of them.
Far Left - Ileana & Gus Hernandez
Far Right - Eddie Jesus Gill
at the Highlands Grand Opening January 2011
Jodi and I would like to thank each and every one of you that has supported us in so many ways. It has been amazing to see God work in our relationships with y'all and others in the community. Our hope is that this new ministry becomes a blessing for all involved, whether it is through financial support, prayer, or in future short-term missions.
*For those of you that would like to support our ministry in some way, please see the support page on this website. Although we have received a lot of support, we are still in need of monthly commitments for a 3 year period.
Click here to visit our support page
In His grip,
Mike, Jodi, Wyman and Grace
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