September 2023
IN THIS ISSUE |
HIGHLIGHTS | FEATURE MINISTRY | FEATURE STORY |
- Peru Site Visit | PAMAS, FARMSTEW, and | Answering the Call |
- Helicopter Fund | Ray and Dawn Spoon | |
HIGHLIGHTS |
PERU SITE VISIT - Our team is busy making preparations to visit Peru Projects, a ministry dedicated to taking the gospel deep into the Peruvian jungle. Your prayers are appreciated as we look to see how we can best support this amazing and active mission. Look forward to pictures and stories in an upcoming newsletter, and please visit their website to learn more!
HELICOPTER FUNDRAISING PROGRESS
Fundraising Goal: $340,000
To Be Matched 1:1
Amount Raised: $203,123
FEATURE MINISTRY |
LED BY THE SPIRIT - Ray & Dawn Spoon are currently in the exciting phase of preparing to launch their ministry in coordination with Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services (PAMAS)and FARMSTEW. The Spoons have spent many years of their lives involved with Adventist Frontier Mission both in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea. Their new role is to provide basic medical services to underserved communities, and provide education and training to empower people to have abundant life through improved gardening, sanitation, clean water and more. They will be departing next month, and we humbly ask for your prayers that the process and preparations go ahead smoothly. Read our Feature Story to hear first hand how God has led them to the decision to choose mission service at this particular stage in their life!
FEATURE STORY |
Answering the Call
The Spoons have graciously agreed to share their story of how God has prepared them for their upcoming mission to the Philippines. This article is being told from the perspective of Dawn Spoon.
"How many times have you started a conversation with the words, "Remember when...?" While taking a walk down memory lane can be delightful, it can also be a powerful way to remind ourselves of God's faithfulness. We were newly married in 1990 when after weeks of praying for where God would like us to serve, Ray and I received an unexpected call from Adventist Frontier Missions (AFM) which launched thirteen years of service in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea.
Now that our kids are grown, our house is paid off, and we are both nearing full- time retirement, we have again asked how God would have us serve Him during this time of our lives. Being a traveling nurse, I spent a lot of time away from home and had ample time to pray. Unbeknownst to me, Ray was also praying for God to direct us. At first our prayers were centered more about where we thought God would have us serve. As we prayed, the burden on our hearts became greater that we were to serve somewhere. "Where?" was the big question! Nothing seemed like the right place or situation. As we prayed, we found that our prayers began to shift. Our prayers no longer were focusing on where we thought God could use us, but rather on surrendering and just being willing to go and serve, knowing that "Anywhere He leads me, I can safely go".One Sabbath afternoon, Ray sat down on the sofa and turned on the HOPE channel. 3ABN was on, and they were interviewing Dwayne and Wendy Harris who we knew through Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services in the Philippines (PAMAS). As they talked about the work they were doing and some of the needs in their various projects, it became apparent to both of us that our skill-set and interests fit fairly closely to the needs they were describing.
I remember looking at Ray and he at me as we soberly asked ourselves, "Is that for us?" "Surely," we reasoned, "they were looking for someone younger!" After contacting Wendy, the response was an encouraging "Yes! Come." and we began the process of onboarding.
We will be working with PAMAS in a new and unique way utilizing FARMSTEW. FARMSTEW is a supporting organization of the Adventist church. It's ministry focuses on bringing Christ to people-groups in underdeveloped areas that are compromised with food insecurity, sanitation, clean water sources and many other areas that affect their well-being. FARMSTEW has been working in many countries of Africa and South America and now is looking to expand into Asia. While PAMAS has been working to bring education, medical evacuations, simple medical work and mission support to many villages and more remote people-groups, FARMSTEW will be used to empower them to live more abundantly through improved sanitation, clean water, improved nutrition, and improved gardens to feed their families. We will be training community leaders, Bible workers, pastors and their wives, others to train the people they work with in ways to improve their overall health and the health of their families.
While both PAMAS and FARMSTEW have goals to improve health and quality of life for the people we serve, our main goal is to teach them about Jesus, our ultimate Healer, our Protector and our Savior. Why has God chosen us for this work at this time in our lives? The short answer is, "We don't know." But one thing is certain, we know without a doubt that He has called us. I am reminded of Queen Esther. She was an unlikely person but nonetheless called to an unlikely role. When she came up against an impossibility in a very big job that could cost her life, she was reminded by her cousin Mordecai that perhaps she "had come into the kingdom for such a time as this." God used her in a mighty way to save many people's lives. Each one of us has been called by God to serve in some way and, who knows, but that we also have been called into our neighborhood, our community, and our work at this time in history "for such a time as this". Jesus says, "The harvest is truly ready, but the laborers are few." He is looking for me and for you to say "Yes" to serve Him, to go for Him. Say "Yes!" today and, someday down the road, we will have the opportunity to say, "Remember when...?" and will be encouraged to continue as we see how He has led us so faithfully in the past."
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