It has been two months of being on the road with NET Team 11 and living in Jasper, Indiana has been new for all of us.
Jasper is a small town but it has a warm comforting environment like a warm chocolate chip cookie after it’s fresh out of the oven. The sense of welcoming families and being able to get somewhere in about five minutes gives us the ideal of a cute but proper small town. The ministry in Jasper has been like the start of a new chapter. But we have been blessed to encounter the people and their own stories in life. The beauty in differences and experiences is eye opening and inspires us in doing our daily ministry. God gave us those gifts of differences, they all bring us together while uniquely making us in his image and likeness.
We have truly come to realize what it means to have God working within us. God is working within us and making us new. It goes back to how God opens those doors for us and gives us the opportunities to grow in our ministry. He takes care of the rest when we are willing to trust in him. Reaching out and approaching people, with the love and sincerity that Jesus approached people is all a part of spreading his words.
To Be Fishers of Men
“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 5:19
As missionaries we are “fishing”. We are seeking, looking, and learning all at once. Peter and Andrew learned how to fish from their father from looking and watching. That’s how they become great fishermen. Jesus told them that they would become fishermen of men. They are to seek those who don’t know the great news, and to proclaim it. They left everything behind and said yes. For three years they followed Jesus and saw the way that he worked and the faith that he had in God. They learned from looking and watching him, they learned how to become fishermen of men. And as missionaries it is our job now to be those fishermen of men and to proclaim the good news. It’s what keeps our faith alive within us and is a constant reminder that God is with us.
Living it Out
As a team and individually it has been fruitful either way by showing someone the love that God wants us to spread to others. A simple way of showing that is by seeing someone on the street and just complimenting them or just saying hello to a stranger. It makes them feel seen and shows how God sees them. In Jasper, we have been privileged to help out with youth group nights. Meeting all the youth that come to youth group nights has been an opportunity for us to show that kindness. God made us social creatures and beings. He wants us to talk and he wants us to interact with each other, and at times it seems like we are drifting from that idea. God wants us to be like his disciples, to talk to those who are curious or questioning. If anything God wants us to question so that we can find his truth. He wants us to know his truth.
To Leave What is Comfortable
Our work as a team of fulfilling our roles as well as getting out of our comfort zone is a choice that we all made to become better “fishermen”. In a sense we left comfort and what we knew to follow him. We said yes. It is that “yes” that opens that door. It is the door that we all hope to open with God’s will. To spread his word and to become fishermen.
-God Bless , Team 11
