It’s hard to believe that four years can go by so quickly. I
scarcely remember the single, scared 20 year old I was when I came into Trek-X.
God has stretched me, purified me, disciplined me, and loved me to depths I
couldn’t have imagined. I’m certain that Josh would say he’s not the same man
either. In 2 ½ short months our Trek-X journey will come to a close. We haven’t
really taken much time to let this sink in, much less to stop and meditate on
all the Lord really has done, but it’s becoming more real as I look at the
calendar on our wall and see that I have only about 10 weeks left with some of
the most precious people in my life.
The obvious question is “So what are you going to do after
Trek-X?” We’ve had many give their opinions and advice- ‘”stay here in the
Philippines”, “move back to Corinth/Batesville/Nashville”, the list goes on.
Truth is, we still don’t have a clue what we’re doing after Trek-X. Of course
we have been praying about it and we have a few things in mind that we’d love
to do, but ultimately we just don’t know. We don’t feel like God has given us
clear direction yet. As for now we’re planning to graduate in Israel and go
back to Somewheresville, America and that’s about it.
A few things we do know about the next step in our journey:
1.
We want to be a little closer to family- that
doesn’t take much when you currently live on the other side of the world!
2.
We are responsible for the growth (spiritual and
physical) of Isaiah more than anyone else, so if at all possible I’ll spend the majority of my time at home with him.
3.
The Father has given us His heart for the
nations and we want to be near peoples who have not yet heard of the Name of
Jesus (think refugees, immigrants, etc.)
Many well-meaning people have asked if we’ll ‘get secular
jobs’ or ‘stay in the ministry.’ If nothing else, one thing we’ve learned in
Trek-X is that these two options are one in the same. We are in the world, but
not of it. We plan to immerse ourselves in the lives of lost people. We don’t
want to live in a Christian bubble. We have a purpose on this earth. We were created for the glory of the Most High God and we want others to
know Him. So whether Josh works at a school, an office, or behind a pulpit, we
will be ‘staying in the ministry.’ Wherever we live, we want to live out the
Gospel to our neighbors, co-workers, and friends.
Another common thought is why aren’t we staying in the
Philippines? When we came here two years ago, we knew that our assignment was
not to an area unreached by the Gospel. We knew there was an established church
here and while it often didn’t seem as ‘cutting edge’ as what others were
doing, we were confident in what God had told us to do here. We came to focus
on the discipleship of local believers. Our Mobilizing Students partner, Barry, mentioned that
discipleship was a challenge for various reasons and that we could be of help. Coming out of 2 years of intense
discipleship in Nashville, we felt a burden for this need and came to serve
among believers here. Soon after arriving, we actually didn’t consider ourselves missionaries
(someone who brings the Gospel to an unreached area), but ministers among the
Church in another culture. Some days I embraced this responsibility; some days
I loathed it and wished to be among a host of lost people. But as I look back
on the past 2 years and reflect on all God has done, I’m brought to my knees in
worship before Him. He reminded me again and again that life with Him doesn’t
end at the cross; it begins there. Discipleship is equally as essential as
evangelism and we’re commanded to obey in both arenas. We’re honored to have
had a specific role in the discipleship of Maria Auroran Christians. No, we didn’t disciple
every Christian in Maria. We didn’t even meet half the Christians here. But we
poured ourselves out to the ones God put before us, and we taught them
essentially what we know. We are confident the discipleship pattern of discipling others who will
disciple others who will disciple others will continue. We pray God uses some of these
precious friends to go to the ends of the earth for His sake. We hope to
partner with them in the Gospel for the rest of our lives. They have been
planted in our hearts forever. But the time of our physical presence in Aurora
has come to a close, at least for now.
We need you to join us in prayer for this big transition.
We’ve gone through a lot of transition in the past four years: moving to
Nashville, graduating college, getting married, moving to the Philippines, and
having a baby, but the transition before us seems to me the most daunting of
them all. We’re confident the Lord will give us grace to handle all that is to come,
but we are asking you to partner with us in prayer for His guidance, wisdom,
and strength. My heart pangs at the thought of leaving some of the people I
consider my dearest friends. There are aspects of this culture that I never
want to forget and I can’t imagine how frustrating it will be to transition
back to the hustle and bustle of American life. Pray for us to be sensitive in
every way to how we respond to America and her people. Pray for us to know
where to go and what to do. Pray for us not to lose sight of the One who has
called us to Himself as we take pleasure in hot showers, comfy couches, aircon,
and all the little luxuries we’ve learned really are just luxuries. Pray that
we’ll take the time to process all that has happened in our time in the
Philippines and guard our family from jumping back in to the swing of things
too soon. Just pray for whatever God leads you to pray for. We are so grateful
for your prayers.
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, advice,
etc. about our next step, please feel free to comment here or send us an email
at theborens@mobilizingstudents.com. We'll keep you all updated as we make decisions about the future. Thanks for all you’ve been to us the past
four years!
"through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations" Romans 1:5
"and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." 2 Timothy 2:2
You and your sweet little family are such an inspiration! Love you guys and am praying for you through your transition.
ReplyDeleteKarissa
Thanks Karissa! We're praying for you too!
ReplyDelete