Only 16 Spots Remain…

We have only 13 spots still open for the conference in Alicante, Spain, before going to our waiting list. If you are interested, please sign up soon.
 
These past couple of blogs, I have been sharing with you some things that I have observed that are difficult for our missionaries who serve overseas that we sometimes may forget about or not even know. Two weeks ago, I talked about not putting them on a pedestal. Last week I talked about some of the struggles of change they go through making the transition to the field. This week I want to talk about the household.

It did not take long for me, in my career of working with those in ministry (whether stateside or overseas), to figure out that people seem to think that those in ministry have it figured out. To think that they have the best relationship with God, the best marriage, the best children. NOT!!!

Again, they are human beings, like you and me, who have been called to ‘serve’ in another part of this world. They have been equipped for their calling the same as God equips each of us for that which He has called us to. So, to be frankly honest, they struggle in keeping their daily quiet times, staying in the Word, and spending time in prayer. They also struggle in their marriages… maybe more than most because of the other stressors surrounding their move to a foreign land. Many times wives are frustrated at his being gone from home a lot, while she is home with all the children AND still trying to minister to the local women. Each spouse can feel misunderstood by the other. Communication breaks down and then more stressors take place. This, in return, affects the children, if there are any. Sound familiar?

Might I add this, too, on behalf of those ministering here and overseas? Parenting is hard no matter where you are this day and time. Our kids are up against a darkness in this world that most of us have never had to battle. It is flat scary. I don’t care where you live in this world. Please teach your kids to pray for other kids. Teach your kids to pray for missionary kids around the world. And missionary moms and dads, teach your kids to pray for other kids around the world.   

We need each other no matter where we live in the crazy ol’ world. And remember, things aren’t always what they seem. That couple sitting next to you in church, that missionary family sharing before your church, that pastor preaching on Sunday morning, that person sitting at the desk next to you at work… could all be on the edge of giving up. Speak kindness to others. You may never know the difference it makes.

Hebrews 3:13 (ESV)
But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

His,
Vickie

Online Registration Is Open….

Registration for our conference in Alicante, Spain is open. It opened yesterday morning, 7-16-18. We already have 27 women who have registered. Remember first come, first served. We go to a waiting list once we hit 50. Dates for the conference are October 10-13, 2018.

Our team is locked-in as of this morning, and tickets are being purchased today. Weekly prayer times begin this week in Illinois, Mississippi, Arkansas, Nevada, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Springfield, Missouri and/or whatever country that team member is in at the time. (Smile)

It is time to sincerely pray about missionary support for this trip. Please seek God and find out if you are supposed to be helping support a missionary. They come to the conference free of charge except for paying for their travel to and from. Cost per missionary is $700. This takes care of them for 4 days, 3 nights, and all conference materials. If you want to pay by check, send to the address below and put ‘missionary’ in the bottom left corner.

Pure Joy International, Inc.
P.O. Box 36
Plumerville, Arkansas 72127

If you want to pay by credit card, debit card, and/or PayPal please click button on the right of this page that says donate and follow the instructions.

Pure Joy International is a 501(c)3 and all your donations are tax deductible. Thank you in advance for your ministry to these women/families that are serving overseas to make a difference for the kingdom’s sake.
 
Last week I talked some about not putting people (especially missionaries) on a pedestal because of how that affects their lives. This week I want to talk about change... something most of us don’t really do well with, if we are honest. Imagine this, you move to a foreign country that God has led you to. You do not know the language and you do not know anyone at all that lives in that country. Your purpose initially is to learn that language. So, while you are learning it through tutoring by a local, the web, or just by being there and engaging with locals, etc., you and your family still must eat and get around. Along with this you are dealing with having left parents, siblings, extended family, and friends behind. Some have even left children and grandchildren. You also are living in a culture that is unfamiliar to you as well as trying to understand their ways. If you have children they now have no friends, initially to speak of, and you don’t just want to let your children be around people you don’t know yet. So, you and your family are ‘it’ for the first months in this new place. To top it off, you are learning to live together as family, probably for the first time ever, because no one is working yet or running off to school. If you are single, there are no words for the adjustment. That is a lot of stress, and certainly can make a person wonder if they really heard from God. Yet, knowing that they really heard from God is also what can keep them there as they walk it out.

This week would you join me in praying for missionaries around the world who are new to the field. Also, those who are returning from being in the states, raising money to live on for the next several years before they come home again. Pray for those who have never adjusted but have continued to try and ride it out. Pray for them to get direction from the LORD and peace with that direction. Pray for those who are experiencing change within their sending organizations and are trying to understand if God wants them to adjust to the change or go a different route. 

Sometimes when our folks who go overseas leave our sight we forget the big changes they are up against. Let’s tighten up our prayer time on their behalf.

Love you all,

His,
Vickie

Alicante, Spain October 10-13, 2018

Registration for Pure Joy International’s fall conference in Alicante, Spain, will open this coming Monday, July 16, 2018. We had to change our location from Valencia to Alicante because we could not find the accommodations we needed in Valencia. Too many columns in the conference rooms. (smile) If you or someone you know is a missionary woman serving cross-culturally in this part of the world, please get this information out.

As always, we will honor the principle of first come, first serve. We will begin a waiting list at number 51. This conference is provided at no cost to the missionary women that attend except for cost to get to and from the conference location. Once you register more information will be provided. Our theme for this conference is “Set your mind on things above.” Colossians 3:2

Our team will be booking flights next week. And many are already praying for God’s movement on the hearts of those that will attend. Our Web site, that has been under construction, will boot back up Monday for Registration. To register go to purejoyinternational.org

This week I want to give us all a little encouragement about not putting others on a pedestal. As we travel around the world to minister to our missionary women and their families it doesn’t take long to see this is a difficult thing for them. Let me show you just some of the things this does to a person:

• It positions them to feel as though they cannot be honest about their struggles.
• It positions them to feel trapped with expectations of how they should or shouldn’t behave.
• It positions them for a false sense of worth and value.
• It positions them for failure because they are not God.
• It positions them for exhaustion because they can never relax. They always feel the need to be performing, to be on.  
• It positions them for what is called the “missionary smile”. The meaning behind that smile many times is we are really struggling and may be close to falling apart but you will never know it until it has already happened.

This summer and fall some of your missionaries/families will be coming home for stateside time. (Some are already here.) They’ll visit with family and speak at our churches, missions conferences, raise money to go back on the field, etc. During that time remember to watch for the missionary smile. Decide before you see them to let them down from the pedestal. Listen to their stories, hear their hearts and enjoy all that God is doing through their locations overseas but remember, like you and I, they need OXYGEN, too! Encourage them that it is ok to be real.

Love you all so much! Please start praying for the Spain trip. We have 47 missionary women that still need to be sponsored by October. So, please give as He leads.

His,
Vickie