Note: Because this was a highly secure trip, specific details about locations and people have been left out of Jaeden’s story.

This trip was a tremendous blessing for our family. We were able to spend time with Sent Ones, loving on them, eating good food, fellowshipping, and meeting people in their communities, both believers and those who aren’t yet. 

It was such a rich experience, getting to see how the Sent Ones live and being encouraged by their faith and their faithfulness in a very different context from the one that we live in. There’s also a blessing to get to have a little bit of a glimpse into how the pastors love and care for our Sent Ones even as they are far far away.

I felt poured into by the Sent Ones as we broke bread together and spent a lot of time in fellowship. Even in a context where they have to be more careful about how they share their faith, I saw their commitment to the Lord and sharing the gospel. Since being back in the states, I have found small ways to be more open about my faith with people as I have the opportunity, or as the Lord helps me make an opportunity.

The context that we were in was a big bonus. There’s a lot of rich and beautiful church history that we got to experience while there. The Sent Ones were able to show us around and we got to experience some things that I had heard about, but the impact that that they have on me now is tenfold.

I’m really grateful that we got to go as a family. The Lord‘s goodness, love, and mercy was abundantly clear in every step of our journey from travel to time spent with the Sent Ones, to getting to experience firsthand, things that we as Christians hold dear. I’m prayerful too, that this will be a solid foundation for our son in his own journey with the Lord.

I’m grateful to be a part of a sending church that values equipping and continuing to support members as they share the gospel both here and to the nations.

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