Getting EVEN Closer!

So, there I was...sweaty palms, beating heart, and a hint of nervous shaking in my speech. This was it! This was the culmination of much anticipation, prayer, and a little uncertainty. No, I wasn't meeting the president or being interviewed on tv...I was finally meeting with the board of IBMGlobal! I had the opportunity to formally share my desire and burden to serve in Guatemala with them. After answering several questions and, in a sense, being "grilled," I was asked to leave the room. A few minutes later, I was called to return. I took my seat and our director read to me the formal acceptance statement. I, Jay Brown, was formally installed as an appointee to Peten, Guatemala with IBMGlobal! What a joyous moment! I had be tough, though, and I might have held back some tears. But, there was great emotion as this step of progress was made, by the grace of God.

I am thankful to say that I am formally part of the IBMGlobal Missions family.

 This was just a great finish to a wonderful week of candidate school. It was such a blessing be part of the conference that took place. Our speakers shared theological implications of missions service, practical experience, and personal advice. I don't think I could have asked for a better week of "preparation." But in all honesty, it only revealed to me that you cannot be fully "prepared." There is still much to learn and I will be learning for the rest of my life!

It was also a great blessing to meet many dear friends who are also part of this "family."

 The thing that the Lord impressed upon my heart the most was the weight of what's at stake. In essence, this week helped me to see that I need to rid myself of any "romantic" view of missions that I may have. I'm not leaving the comforts of home and family to go trek through the jungle, see beautiful sights and eat peculiar foods. If I wanted that job, I would join National Geographic! I am a God-called Gospel-bearer who is accountable to the Great Commission. My purpose is to make disciples and advance the Church. And, it is my prayer that I would remain faithful to that calling. I would love to share more with you about candidate school and IBMGlobal.

 Feel free to email me at jay.brown.guatemala@gmail.com

  Interesting event of the trip: My return flight to Florida took me from Manchester, NH to Detroit, MI to Atlanta, GA, to Jax, FL. Needless to say, it was a long day of travel. But, an interesting event made up for the long airport day. In the Detroit airport, I was sitting there eating my dinner. As I was munching on my sub, a familiar face walked by. To me, it looked like Deborah from Everybody Loves Raymond. I wasn't sure, so I took a double look. (By this time, I probably looked like some creepy airport stalker). Well, I saw her go sit down at an adjacent restaurant. As I finished my dinner, I walked by to see where she was sitting. I thought, "I can't bother her. That's just rude." But a second later I thought, "I'll never see her again. I've gotta speak to her." Well, I went up to her and said, "You're Deborah from Everybody Lov(she finished my sentence)." I said, "I'm so sorry, I don't know your real name!" "My name is Patricia Heaton." She was super nice! And she was willing to sign an autograph in my little notebook: "To Jay; Best Wishes; Patricia Heaton." Well, it was a nice meeting and it made up for my long day of travel :)

Getting Closer!

It seems as if March has flown by and April is quickly passing as well! But, the Lord is good and is blessing in many ways. Time truly has sped along with many opportunities for service along the way. My pastor here in Florida just recently had open-heart surgery with 5 bypasses. Needless to say, he has been out of commission for the past several weeks. Because of that, I am encountering many opportunities to minister and serve in the church. Opportunities come in the form of teaching, preaching, facilitating church functions, etc. I have referred to myself as the “church work mule,” :) but I am grateful for the various chances to serve.

I am excited to announce that I will be going through candidate school April 22-27 in New Hampshire. Through my board, IBMGlobal, I will be accepted full-time and will be able to begin the deputation process! I’m real excited about that! The week-long candidate school/missionary training will be alongside the annual Bible conference at Merrimack Valley Baptist Church in Nashua, NH, the board’s home church.


(Speaking here in a Kekchi church)

This is an exciting process for me because I feel that this places me one step closer to my goal, and that is getting to the mission field.


I'm looking forward to getting to work with my good friend, Jimmy and the Kekchi pastors we have opportunity to serve with.

Please pray throughout this process, especially next week while I'll be at candidate school. I look forward to reporting on how the Lord blesses and guides along the way! Until next time, ---Jay


(With pastor Chan in San Benito, Peten)

"...for He is good"

“O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so…” Psalm 107:1-2. Truly, we can give thanks unto the Lord for His goodness and His and ever enduring mercy. I thank God for His continual blessing in my life and mercy that never ceases. This reminder keeps me in a spirit of praise to God as I reflect on His wondrous works in my life.

These wondrous works not only come in physical form, but also in spiritual form. The Lord is using many things in my life right now to grow me and make me more into His image. This month has also been spiritually refreshing. The Lord gave me the opportunity to visit with old classmates from the ABC basketball team (in Jax for a tournament) and with two dear men from the college—Dr. Anderson and Mr. Rinker (in town to present the ministry). Those were blessed times of fellowship.

The youth service went very well! I was pleased with how the teens pulled together and seemed to enjoy serving in the evening service. I believe it was a blessing to the church as well from the many positive comments I heard. Who knows, we may have another youth night very soon!

Prayers would be appreciated for my friends, Jim and Shelley Dinsmore. They are away from their home in Petén as they are in Guatemala City, awaiting the arrival of their baby girl, Eden. Please pray for a safe delivery for Shelley and for a healthy baby girl! Read more of their updates at:

jimanshelley.blogspot.com

Psalm 107 was mentioned in the beginning of this letter. Four times throughout the Psalm the Psalmist writes, “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” (vv. 8, 15, 21, 31). I pray that we would all take time to examine our lives, consider the Lord’s wondrous works in and through us, and praise Him for all he has done…and will do!

Keep on serving til’ He comes
“Oh that I may never loiter on my heavenly journey!”—David Brainerd

What If?

When we think about it, “What if?” is a question that plagues many of us. What if I don't find a job?--How we will pay our bills? What if I fail?--What will people think of me? What if my child doesn't survive?--I couldn't make it another day. What if I don't make it through this year?--What if...?

I would venture to say that all of us have struggled with these “What if” questions in life. Its human nature to worry about our circumstances and hope for a good outcome; no matter what we are facing. Today, I am reflecting on the loss of missionaries John and Wanda Casias this Wednesday (2/1) who served in Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

When John and Wanda surrendered to serve in Mexico over 30 years ago, do you think they faced some of these “What if” questions? I'm sure they did. Just as many do, if not all, who choose to serve the Lord at home and abroad. What if they don't like me? What if they don't receive my message? What if my family is harmed? What if I am killed?


As a missionary, these thoughts have begun to cross my mind. Could this happen to me? What about our friends and family who are serving abroad, specifically in Mexico and Latin America? Are their lives at risk too? The answer is yes. You see, John and Wanda joined the ranks of faithful servants who continued to the end; even to the point of death. Their names join the list of other servants of God such as: Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, and Pete Fleming.

What prepared these servants to face death such as they did? I believe it was because of such a total and committed focus on Heaven and glorifying God, rather than living for self and earthly things. Their minds were “set on things above...not on things of the earth.”

I was reminded today of a very pertinent passage in Hebrews 11. Consider these words:

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.--Hebrews 11:13-16 (emphasis added)

So, as we reflect on those who have gone on before us and face these “What if” questions in life...let me remind us all that we too seek a country; a better country; one that is heavenly. I believe these dear servants who gave their lives realized this. May we all seek to live for that city to come. May God grant to us the grace to live a Philippians 1:21 life, no matter the cost; a life that is God-glorifying, Heavenly focused, serving Him...because, that's all that matters.

New Beginnings

A new year has begun! Well, it did 13 days ago...i'm just a little behind I guess. The first of this year, I began serving full-time as a missionary intern here at Victory Baptist Church here in Jacksonville, FL. The Lord has already been working mightily and I'm greatly looking forward to what He has in store.

My main area of ministry here at the church is to serve as the youth leader. It's a new experience for me since my focus in college was missions. I'm learning as I go, but overall I'm enjoying very much serving with these teens. The picture here is from our "hobo party." Aside from our Wednesday night program, we usually enjoy one big event a month. Our big event this month is Ice Skating! We are going to a local rink this Saturday, the 15th.

Please pray for our youth group; for unity and growth. We all (leader included) have areas we can grow in. There is great potential in these teens and I'm looking forward to seeing how God works. Also, please pray for an upcoming ministry opportunity in February. Our teens will be holding a special Youth Service on the 5th, in the evening service. Many of them are excited about it; but most are a little nervous and apprehensive. I'm excited! And, I know it will be a good experience for all of us.

There are many exciting things in the days ahead. Of course, my main goal is to make my way to the mission field. And all this year, I will be taking steps toward that. I will be sure to share the steps along the way.

In this new year, I've been challenged with a thought regarding our commitment to follow the Lord. In Luke 9:62 Jesus said, "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." I'm praying that I myself, and all of us, will remain faithful to our commitment to follow the Lord and serve Him. Keep your hand to the plow!

Uncharted Waters

I'm writing to announce that this coming Saturday, the 17th, I will be moving to Jacksonville, FL. I am moving there to begin an internship at Victory Baptist Church. I will mainly be working with the youth group, but there will be many opportunities for involvement in the church and christian school.

I am really looking forward the new experiences and various ministry opportunities. But, as the the title says, these are uncharted waters for both myself and the church. Neither of the parties is totally sure of how things will go, but we are both excited about the possibilities!

I will keep the blog up to date with all that is going on throughout the process. I'm excited to see how the Lord leads throughout this new experience and these "uncharted waters."

Serving the Lord...that's "all that matters."

Jay

Fuel on the Fire; Miles on the Odometer

WOW!

That's about all I can say after the two great weeks I just had in Guatemala! As I mentioned in the last post, the purpose of the trip was mainly to do some planning for the future. But, the truth is, the things that I wanted to accomplish didn't really take all that long! In fact, I found that some of the best conversations and advice came in car rides while we were traveling or as we sat down to eat around the table. I guess that in my mind I had imagined Jimmy, Shelley, and myself sitting around a table, pencils in hand, sipping on coffee, while sketching out the future (HA!). With their schedule (raising twin, 2-year-old boys)...

...things can be a little busy. Nonetheless, they were awesome hosts! I really had such a great time visiting with them. They are a great blessing to work with and learn from.

I mention "Fuel on the Fire" because I feel like, after this trip, the fire or burden to be in Guatemala that I have has only increased. Not only that, I have such an excitement for the future that is ahead! Since God has started working in my heart for Guatemala, I had always imagined myself just working with Spanish-speaking people. Last summer, I had an introduction to what is going on within the Kekchi ministry in the Peten. This summer was like a full-blown immersion into the Kekchi ministry! You see, as I mentioned before, to me this trip was mainly going to be a planning trip. Jimmy had mentioned that we would be doing some Kekchi village outreaches, but I did not imagine what lay ahead! The second week was so much like fuel to my fire!

Yes, there was adventure: horseback riding into villages...

...crossing a river in canoe...

...or riding for hours in the back of a truck on dirt roads.


But, the most rewarding and wonderful part was to be able to minister in those villages. What a blessing that was!


I also got to meet so many wonderful Kekchi brothers and sisters in Christ!


So, all of that is to say: I believe that involvement in the Kekchi ministry will be just as much a part of my ministry as Spanish church planting; which makes me very excited! God also provided an opportunity for ministry at a Spanish speaking church! I had the opportunity to preach in the Primera Iglesia Bautista Monte Sion in San Benito. What a great privilege!


Well, I don't have much to say about the second part of my title. I think its pretty self-explanatory! For a cheaper flight, I drove to the Ft. Lauderdale, FL area to fly our of that airport. I also had some time to visit with my aunt and uncle who live in the Pembroke Pines area. Upon my return, Uncle Mark gave me the opportunity to share about Guatemala during his Wednesday night service.

As I drove north to North Carolina, I stopped in Jacksonville to visit with the Carswell's (Shelley's parents). But, I also got to catch up with some cousins I haven't seen in a long time! The picture is of Chris and Melissa and their family. Melissa is the oldest Brown cousin and I am the youngest. I was actually the ring-bearer in her wedding!


I greatly enjoyed spending time visiting with them! Chris has been teaching the teen boys in their church and asked me to teach the class for that Sunday morning. What an opportunity! And, it amazed me that God was still providing ministry opportunities even on my way traveling home! (2,000 miles on the odometer later, I arrived at home).

I am so thankful and very excited for what God is doing in my life right now and how He is leading. The future is exciting. And I am going to keep serving Him as I continue to move forward. After all, that's ALL THAT MATTERS.