Greetings Friends!
Candy and I have been studying lament and grief of late, reading in Jeremiah and Lamentations, as well as the excellent book, "Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy" by Mark Vroegop. We believe that missionaries suffer many losses and we want to be better equipped to encourage them in this area.
So then Piedmont Women's Center here in Greenville asked if someone from our church would volunteer to come over and share a devotion at a memorial service. This was for the children of 4 women who have repented of having abortions and have processed their sin and grief through a 6 week course called "Forgiven and Set Free." We felt God's nudge to enter into this new arena of lament and grief, so I read that same material and prepared a devotional for these ladies. Wow, it was quite an experience! It's way too personal to share here, but suffice to say, God used it in our lives and I trust in the lives of these ladies and their friends who came to the service to support them in their recovery and new found freedom in Christ (some after decades of secrecy).
Another opportunity: we are traveling to TN this Friday to meet with a young couple heading to Papua New Guinea for the first time as missionaries! They are about the same age as we were when we first went to Mexico, 40 years ago! We are taking them lunch and look forward to sharing a devotional thought and praying for them as they head out soon with their two small children (about the same age as our Laura and Joel were in 1981!)
Another really cool experience we had recently was texting with a family heading back to their host country in West Africa. They were on the tarmac in the plane as a family on the last leg of their journey, and they were so excited to be getting back to their place of ministry (in a VERY dangerous part of the world!)
And one final opportunity: we will be traveling to Camdenton, Missouri in May to our training facility for Ethnos360 to fellowship with the staff and offer them member care. We'll be joining others of our team to spend time with the leaders and professors who train the next generation of global ambassadors!
So, we are counting on your prayers as we do more traveling and face to face meetings with missionaries. Of course we hold all these plans lightly in these times. Thank you so much for your prayers and financial giving which makes this ministry possible!
Barry and Candy Wingo
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