Mission Moment 4.8.26

Laura Ayala
CBF Coordinator of Global Missions

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  – Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

It was during a worship service in Holy Week that I felt the unmistakable call to ministry. In that moment, I was filled with questions and concerns about what lay ahead. It was as if this powerful verse “suddenly appeared” in my Bible, speaking directly to my heart. Since then, whenever I face challenges, this promise reminds me that there is nothing to fear when I trust in the One who called me.

In both life and ministry, we often encounter uncertain and challenging times. Unexpected situations can easily provoke fear and doubt. However, in those moments, we are called to trust God wholeheartedly. His promise to be with us is unwavering, and His strength is sufficient for all we face.

A Blessing for Our Field Personnel

Heavenly Father, we come before You with grateful hearts, acknowledging Your presence and Your promises. As we lift up our field personnel, we ask for Your divine protection over them. Surround them with Your love and strength as they navigate the challenges they face in their ministries.

Lord, grant them courage in moments of uncertainty and remind them of Your unwavering support. May they feel the embrace of the Holy Spirit each day, filling them with peace and assurance. Help them to trust in Your righteous right hand, knowing that You are always with them.

We pray that You guide their decisions and empower their efforts to serve others. Let them be vessels of Your grace and love, shining brightly in the communities they touch.

Thank You, Lord, for the calling You have placed on their lives. We trust in Your goodness and faithfulness, knowing that You will uphold them, as You uphold us, in every situation.

In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.

Mission Moment 4.1.26

Christine
Field Personnel in Africa/Middle East

Hope is tenacious. Stubborn. Hope shows up and says, this isn’t how the story ends. It says, there’s more to life than this. Hope says, we’re not giving up. 

Hope shows up in my office over and over again when women and men, parents and children say, “I want to heal. I want to face the horrors I’ve experienced.” Though the pain is unbearable, I will not let them hold me captive. Hope says, “There can be joy again, even in the darkest valleys.” 

Hope is defiant. It says, “I will not let fear win. I will study for a future that seems improbable, if not impossible. I will dance and sing and swim in the ocean and sit in the sun, even as homes and lives and villages are destroyed in the next town over.” 

Hope celebrates a long-awaited visa approval, joyously shared with a community of faith, even though any future remains uncertain. Hope doesn’t wait until everything is sunshine and roses to arrive. In fact, I think hope grows strongest in the darkness. It’s the glimmer of light that makes people ask, how are you able to sing in the midst of such despair. 

Hope is unconventional. It makes no logical sense. But hope is born out of an undeniable lived encounter with a living God who says, “Life always comes out of death, even when resurrection seems utterly impossible, when neither our human experience nor our imagination can figure out how anything good could ever come of this.” 

When we give up, give in, say it’s too much to handle, I can’t carry it anymore, hope says, “We’ll carry you. We’re in this together.” 

Hope is here now. It must be. It’s the most core theological conviction of our faith. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Hope is the invitation for us to be resurrection people, to practice it, in the nitty gritty brokenness and injustice of this world.

To bear witness to a risen Christ, to the one who overcomes death and destruction and despair. 

Teresa of Avila wrote, “Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours, yours are the eyes with which Christ looks compassion on this world.” 

May we live like we believe it. 

May we be the Easter people we claim to be. 

May we live like we believe Christ is still risen.

Blessing of Hope
By Jan Richardson in The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief

So may we know
the hope
that is not just 
for someday 
but for this day—
here, now, 
in this moment
that opens to us: 
hope not made
of wishes
but of substance, 
hope made of sinew
and muscle 
and bone, 
hope that has breath 
and a beating heart, 
hope that will not 
keep quiet 
and be polite, 
hope that knows 
how to holler 
when it is called for, 
hope that knows
how to sing
when there seems 
little cause, 
hope that raises us
from the dead—
not someday 
but this day, 
every day, 
again and 
again and 
again.

Pray...Give...Go.

1st Explorers After-School Program Recap

This week at After School, we talked about Palm Sunday and springtime. On Monday we went on a nature walk in Sylva to see if we could spot any butterflies. We also made a butterfly craft using coffee filters, markers, and pipe cleaners. On Tuesday, Kaitlyn had chapel with us and talked about Palm Sunday. She also had us make a craft where we made palm branches out of paper. On Wednesday we had RAs, GAs, and Mission Friends. On Thursday we made a ladybug craft out of paper plates and markers. And on Friday we did an experiment with Lucky Charms cereal to see how many of each marshmallow shapes were in the box. Overall, it was a fun-filled week at First Explorers! 

First Baptist Church of Sylva, 669 West Main Street, Sylva, NC, 28779, United States828-586-2095fbcsylva@gmail.com

First Baptist Church of Sylva

669 West Main Street | Sylva, NC 28779
828-586-2095

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