Hello, dear friends. Yes, I am still alive and well. I had not intended to go this long without posting a new blog, but life has been unbelievably busy and blogging has been on the bottom of my list of priorities. My goal is to start publishing a post bi-weekly to keep you updated concerning our ministry, but I am not making any promises! :)
Well, the Lord has been at work, and we are excited about the opportunities He has recently presented us with. As you all are aware, we have been involved in Radio Planting around the world for the past four years, and have seen the Lord do amazing things. We are always thrilled to receive reports from the missionaries telling us of the churches they have started, the souls saved, and discipled and the visitors in church, all as a direct result of the radio ministry. But, we have had a burning desire to be able to involve our children in the ministry, and the Lord is finally allowing us just that! Up until now, my children and I have stayed behind while Eric goes over seas to help with the installation of the radio stations. Our prayer is that once the boys are older they too will be able to assist with the radio installs, but that is years down the road as they are still quite young. It is not that we have not been content here on the home-front, but we are thrilled to finally be able to join him in his overseas travels from time to time as we are expanding our ministry, and will be working with a team of missionaries to establish churches throughout Europe and Nova Scotia as well as continue with the installation of radio stations all over the world.
Please pray with us as we are planning to take some time starting this fall to raise more support so that we can travel overseas as a family and be able to instill in our children a love and desire to bring lost souls to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
If you know of any pastors that would be interested in our ministry and like to have us come present our burden, please visit our website at www.damronfamily.org and send us an email. We would love to hear from you!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Friday, September 2, 2011
Making a Difference
Yesterday, I underwent a procedure due to a complication from my last surgery! When I went in, I had no clue what to expect and was extremely nervous, to say the least! My doctor told me that this happened to one in a million people and he and his colleagues had never seen this nor had ever had to do a procedure of this kind. This is not exactly what you want to hear when you are going to be snipped at! So, as I lay on the table, slightly groggy from the pain pills, my doctor struck up a conversation so as “to keep me distracted!”
The conversation started out pretty basic. “So, how is your family? Are the kids back in school?” and so on! Then, he started asking about our ministry and when Eric would be traveling next. I told him that the next trip was scheduled for next month to Uganda and then two trips to PNG which are scheduled for November and January!
Thus began a conversation that not only completely humbled me but blessed my heart! Dr. K began to tell me that he considered my husband and I and our three children as heroes. He told me that he knows that Christ is real because he can see it through our lives. He continued to tell me that over these past several months he has been so impressed by my strength and spirit through the constant struggle with my health! I didn’t know what to say.
Here I had been so down thinking that I had no ministry and was not reaching people, and yet the Lord has been using this trial in my life to touch a man’s life. He then asked me how I could be so strong and so happy amidst all the “rotten circumstances”, as he puts my current health status! I told him that everything that happens in life is not necessarily something that God chooses but God allows so that we can grow and learn to rely and trust in Him daily! I continued to tell him that when life is good and things are smooth, we begin to become overconfident in ourselves and no longer need God, and that we pray daily that we would never come to this point. “When I get to feeling down, I remind myself that there are others who are going through far more than I could ever dream of, and I am reminded to be thankful for my present situation,” I concluded.
I was beginning to feel rather foolish at this point because I knew that I sounded like a ten year old, but due to all the meds, I was having a hard time conversing in an educated way. But, then, my dear, sweet Father reminded me that it is in times like this He is most evident because it is through my weakness “He is made strong!” He then told me that he is doing a devotional and that just that morning he had read about how God allows those He trusts the most to go through the most difficult situations. “Tisa,” he said, “I know God considers you one of His faithful ones because He has trusted you with so much!” I was so humbled by this and then in response said, “Dr. K, there are many days that I feel unworthy to be His child and truly know that my “suffering” is nothing compared to what He suffered for me!” He was very quiet for a few minutes and then said once again, “Well, all I know is that God is very real because He is very real in your life.” Thank you, Lord, for using me, someone who is so unworthy to be your child! Although I know that I am far from perfect and am only half the Christian I long to be, I am so thankful that the Lord has used this time in my life to shine for Him. I know I fall short daily, but praise God for His mercy and grace and using me inspite of me!
We truly will never know how many people are watching us so very closely and how many lives may be impacted by our daily lives. Oh, Father, please let me live in such a way that others may always see YOU through me!
The conversation started out pretty basic. “So, how is your family? Are the kids back in school?” and so on! Then, he started asking about our ministry and when Eric would be traveling next. I told him that the next trip was scheduled for next month to Uganda and then two trips to PNG which are scheduled for November and January!
Thus began a conversation that not only completely humbled me but blessed my heart! Dr. K began to tell me that he considered my husband and I and our three children as heroes. He told me that he knows that Christ is real because he can see it through our lives. He continued to tell me that over these past several months he has been so impressed by my strength and spirit through the constant struggle with my health! I didn’t know what to say.
Here I had been so down thinking that I had no ministry and was not reaching people, and yet the Lord has been using this trial in my life to touch a man’s life. He then asked me how I could be so strong and so happy amidst all the “rotten circumstances”, as he puts my current health status! I told him that everything that happens in life is not necessarily something that God chooses but God allows so that we can grow and learn to rely and trust in Him daily! I continued to tell him that when life is good and things are smooth, we begin to become overconfident in ourselves and no longer need God, and that we pray daily that we would never come to this point. “When I get to feeling down, I remind myself that there are others who are going through far more than I could ever dream of, and I am reminded to be thankful for my present situation,” I concluded.
I was beginning to feel rather foolish at this point because I knew that I sounded like a ten year old, but due to all the meds, I was having a hard time conversing in an educated way. But, then, my dear, sweet Father reminded me that it is in times like this He is most evident because it is through my weakness “He is made strong!” He then told me that he is doing a devotional and that just that morning he had read about how God allows those He trusts the most to go through the most difficult situations. “Tisa,” he said, “I know God considers you one of His faithful ones because He has trusted you with so much!” I was so humbled by this and then in response said, “Dr. K, there are many days that I feel unworthy to be His child and truly know that my “suffering” is nothing compared to what He suffered for me!” He was very quiet for a few minutes and then said once again, “Well, all I know is that God is very real because He is very real in your life.” Thank you, Lord, for using me, someone who is so unworthy to be your child! Although I know that I am far from perfect and am only half the Christian I long to be, I am so thankful that the Lord has used this time in my life to shine for Him. I know I fall short daily, but praise God for His mercy and grace and using me inspite of me!
We truly will never know how many people are watching us so very closely and how many lives may be impacted by our daily lives. Oh, Father, please let me live in such a way that others may always see YOU through me!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Little is Much.....
What a week this past week has been! I feel that I have been on an emotional roller-coaster! My sister-in-law, Kim, has just been here with us, speaking at a girl’s camp. I had the opportunity to go spend a couple of days with here, which was wonderful! Although, I am stateside, I don’t get to see her too often. Anyways, she gave her testimony and answered many questions for the young ladies about her life as a missionary to Mexico and a pastor’s wife. As she relayed to them her joys and struggles, I couldn’t help but fight back the tears. Then, this week, a group was started on facebook called Baptist Missionary Wives. It is a wonderful group, which I feel honored to be a part of, but once again, as I read the introductions from missionary wives all around the world, I find myself weeping. I guess I should explain as many of you are thinking, “Why? You are a missionary!”
As most of you know, my father, the late Pastor Hank Thompson, loved missionaries. We constantly had missionaries in our home and all seven us of children started doing odd jobs so we could support missions from the time we were little! At the age of eleven, I told the Lord that I wanted to be a missionary if it was His will for my life. We took several trips a year to Mexico and after graduation from high school, I had the opportunity to visit my brother and his wife, who at the time were missionaries in Argentina.
In 1999, my husband and I were married. He told me that the Lord wanted us in evangelism and I just smiled. You see, in my heart, I knew that we were really going to be missionaries and he still had a year of Bible college, so I had no worries. But, come graduation, he was preparing to go on the road and not for deputation purposes. I was devastated! How could the Lord do this to me? He knew that I had “surrendered my life” to Him, but to be a missionary not an evangelist’s wife. I found myself feeling angry with my husband because he wouldn’t “submit” to God’s will for his life. If only he would have asked me, I could have told him that he was headed in the wrong direction and that God had other plans for our lives, but he didn’t! How could he do this to me? Okay, so now that you are thinking “What an idiot!” and you have every reason to do so, the Lord got ahold of my heart. I remember it ever so clearly. It was on a Thursday morning, the second week of June. I was on my way to work, crying out to God, “Lord, Please, show my husband that we are going to be missionaries before it is too late and he ruins our lives! You know that I want to be a missionary and you promised to “give me the desire of my heart!” Other drivers were staring at me, as I was talking to myself, or so it appeared to them, and sobbing like a baby! But, the Lord was so present, and it was almost as though He stabbed me in the heart and said, “Tisa, I want to give you the desires of your heart, but I can only do that when your desires are my desires. You say you are “surrendered” but you are dictating to me your direction.” I was smitten. I pulled over on HWY 94, and got out of my car, which if any of you are familiar with the Chicago area, you know that this is insane, especially at 7 a.m.. There, on the side of the road that Thursday morning I fully surrendered my life to the Lord and told him that I would do anything he wanted me to do! It was like I dropped fifty pounds. I felt as though I could fly! That night when I came home from work, my husband told me that we were going to Cleveland for the weekend to meet up with some missionary friends of ours who were home on Furlough. Long story short, the Lord began to work on my husbands heart about missions. I was so afraid to even talk to him about it because I didn’t want to have any influence on God’s leading and directing in our lives! The following year we went on the road to begin raising support. Eighteen months later we were in Scotland. We had been in Scotland less than a year and the Lord saw fit to bring us back to the states. This time we were both devastated. Why would the Lord see fit to send us somewhere and then remove us? The next five years we served full time in two churches stateside, and I fully believe that this was all part of God’s plan in preparing us for this ministry.
All during this time, my husband was assisting Gene Sharp with several stateside projects. I truly believe that all during this time, we both new this was the direction the Lord was leading us, but we were really struggling with it. We knew that it was a ministry that most pastors don’t see the need for, and would therefore be difficult to raise our needed support. We also knew that it meant living day to day at the mercy of pastors and missionaries, and we are both all about schedules and organization! Gene had talked to Eric repeatedly about joining him and the need for help, but each time, he would laugh and put him off. God has a sense of humor!
My hubby preparing to climb the tower.
In May of 2008, we joined the IBM team and went into the ministry full time, doing some deputation in between projects, but for the most part, living from day to day, trusting the Lord to provide our needs. And, he did! I remember calling my father, who was on his death bed at the time, and weeping because I was struggling with the thought of going into this ministry. Those few words that my dad was able to work up enough strength to give me have rung through to me over and over again. “Teemie,” he said, “has God ever failed us? Follow your husband and you will have no regrets!” After three and a half years, I can say that He has not failed us even once! When, we went on the road, we sold almost everything we owned and gave up our home! For two and a half years we lived from prophet chamber to prophet chamber. When people would ask us where we lived, my husband would say, “Down by the river!” =) Last year, the Lord saw fit to give us a home, and that is a whole other blog in itself, so I won’t go into that just now. God is good! All the time!
For those of you who don’t understand our ministry, we are radio planters. Meaning, we assist missionaries with the setup of a radio station in their current countries. This includes anything from, helping to raise needed funds, building and set up of studio if needed, ordering and shipping equipment, installation, training, and a years worth of programming. This gives missionaries the opportunity to reach into areas that they could not reach on their own, disciple, make good, godly music available to their converts, as well as preaching, teaching, children’s hours and much more. The results are innumerable! When my husband is not involved in an overseas project he keeps busy with helping churches with their sound and media needs as well as doing DVD presentations for missionaries who are preparing for deputation or furlough missionaries as well as helping with prayer cards and any other media needs.
Uganda project ~ Studio set up!
So, why do I struggle? As much as I love our ministry, I find myself longing to be on the field, teaching SS, discipling new converts, teaching young ladies, etc... But, this is not what the Lord has for me. Instead, He has seen fit to put me in a ministry that keeps me guessing from day to day and week to week as to where we will be and what we will be doing. Our ministry pretty much entails “life-long deputation.” My job description, probably similar to many of you, involves home-schooling my children, packing and unpacking, cleaning prophet’s chambers, keeping records, cleaning up behind my husband and his team as they do installs, and so on. I love doing all of this, but so often find myself longing to be “on the field” with so many of you. Once again, I feel that I the Lord is constantly reminding me of, “...whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” My “sacrifices”, if you can even call them that, are saying goodbye to my husband several times a year for a month or so at a time, staying who knows where for weeks at a time, not always knowing when and where we are going and for how long, packing within a minutes notice, keeping up with school amidst our travels, etc.... But, once again, God has a plan through it all and He is faithful!
My precious children!
This morning, as we sang “Little is Much When God is in it, labor not for wealth or fame...,” I was reminded that although we all have different ministries, we are all striving for the same purpose! Our ultimate purpose here on this earth is to bring honor and glory to our Dear Father’s name! I am once again reminded of Paul’s words of wisdom, “...comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” So, I must constantly remind myself that God is interested in me striving to please Him and Him alone!
As most of you know, my father, the late Pastor Hank Thompson, loved missionaries. We constantly had missionaries in our home and all seven us of children started doing odd jobs so we could support missions from the time we were little! At the age of eleven, I told the Lord that I wanted to be a missionary if it was His will for my life. We took several trips a year to Mexico and after graduation from high school, I had the opportunity to visit my brother and his wife, who at the time were missionaries in Argentina.
In 1999, my husband and I were married. He told me that the Lord wanted us in evangelism and I just smiled. You see, in my heart, I knew that we were really going to be missionaries and he still had a year of Bible college, so I had no worries. But, come graduation, he was preparing to go on the road and not for deputation purposes. I was devastated! How could the Lord do this to me? He knew that I had “surrendered my life” to Him, but to be a missionary not an evangelist’s wife. I found myself feeling angry with my husband because he wouldn’t “submit” to God’s will for his life. If only he would have asked me, I could have told him that he was headed in the wrong direction and that God had other plans for our lives, but he didn’t! How could he do this to me? Okay, so now that you are thinking “What an idiot!” and you have every reason to do so, the Lord got ahold of my heart. I remember it ever so clearly. It was on a Thursday morning, the second week of June. I was on my way to work, crying out to God, “Lord, Please, show my husband that we are going to be missionaries before it is too late and he ruins our lives! You know that I want to be a missionary and you promised to “give me the desire of my heart!” Other drivers were staring at me, as I was talking to myself, or so it appeared to them, and sobbing like a baby! But, the Lord was so present, and it was almost as though He stabbed me in the heart and said, “Tisa, I want to give you the desires of your heart, but I can only do that when your desires are my desires. You say you are “surrendered” but you are dictating to me your direction.” I was smitten. I pulled over on HWY 94, and got out of my car, which if any of you are familiar with the Chicago area, you know that this is insane, especially at 7 a.m.. There, on the side of the road that Thursday morning I fully surrendered my life to the Lord and told him that I would do anything he wanted me to do! It was like I dropped fifty pounds. I felt as though I could fly! That night when I came home from work, my husband told me that we were going to Cleveland for the weekend to meet up with some missionary friends of ours who were home on Furlough. Long story short, the Lord began to work on my husbands heart about missions. I was so afraid to even talk to him about it because I didn’t want to have any influence on God’s leading and directing in our lives! The following year we went on the road to begin raising support. Eighteen months later we were in Scotland. We had been in Scotland less than a year and the Lord saw fit to bring us back to the states. This time we were both devastated. Why would the Lord see fit to send us somewhere and then remove us? The next five years we served full time in two churches stateside, and I fully believe that this was all part of God’s plan in preparing us for this ministry.
All during this time, my husband was assisting Gene Sharp with several stateside projects. I truly believe that all during this time, we both new this was the direction the Lord was leading us, but we were really struggling with it. We knew that it was a ministry that most pastors don’t see the need for, and would therefore be difficult to raise our needed support. We also knew that it meant living day to day at the mercy of pastors and missionaries, and we are both all about schedules and organization! Gene had talked to Eric repeatedly about joining him and the need for help, but each time, he would laugh and put him off. God has a sense of humor!
In May of 2008, we joined the IBM team and went into the ministry full time, doing some deputation in between projects, but for the most part, living from day to day, trusting the Lord to provide our needs. And, he did! I remember calling my father, who was on his death bed at the time, and weeping because I was struggling with the thought of going into this ministry. Those few words that my dad was able to work up enough strength to give me have rung through to me over and over again. “Teemie,” he said, “has God ever failed us? Follow your husband and you will have no regrets!” After three and a half years, I can say that He has not failed us even once! When, we went on the road, we sold almost everything we owned and gave up our home! For two and a half years we lived from prophet chamber to prophet chamber. When people would ask us where we lived, my husband would say, “Down by the river!” =) Last year, the Lord saw fit to give us a home, and that is a whole other blog in itself, so I won’t go into that just now. God is good! All the time!
For those of you who don’t understand our ministry, we are radio planters. Meaning, we assist missionaries with the setup of a radio station in their current countries. This includes anything from, helping to raise needed funds, building and set up of studio if needed, ordering and shipping equipment, installation, training, and a years worth of programming. This gives missionaries the opportunity to reach into areas that they could not reach on their own, disciple, make good, godly music available to their converts, as well as preaching, teaching, children’s hours and much more. The results are innumerable! When my husband is not involved in an overseas project he keeps busy with helping churches with their sound and media needs as well as doing DVD presentations for missionaries who are preparing for deputation or furlough missionaries as well as helping with prayer cards and any other media needs.
So, why do I struggle? As much as I love our ministry, I find myself longing to be on the field, teaching SS, discipling new converts, teaching young ladies, etc... But, this is not what the Lord has for me. Instead, He has seen fit to put me in a ministry that keeps me guessing from day to day and week to week as to where we will be and what we will be doing. Our ministry pretty much entails “life-long deputation.” My job description, probably similar to many of you, involves home-schooling my children, packing and unpacking, cleaning prophet’s chambers, keeping records, cleaning up behind my husband and his team as they do installs, and so on. I love doing all of this, but so often find myself longing to be “on the field” with so many of you. Once again, I feel that I the Lord is constantly reminding me of, “...whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” My “sacrifices”, if you can even call them that, are saying goodbye to my husband several times a year for a month or so at a time, staying who knows where for weeks at a time, not always knowing when and where we are going and for how long, packing within a minutes notice, keeping up with school amidst our travels, etc.... But, once again, God has a plan through it all and He is faithful!
This morning, as we sang “Little is Much When God is in it, labor not for wealth or fame...,” I was reminded that although we all have different ministries, we are all striving for the same purpose! Our ultimate purpose here on this earth is to bring honor and glory to our Dear Father’s name! I am once again reminded of Paul’s words of wisdom, “...comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” So, I must constantly remind myself that God is interested in me striving to please Him and Him alone!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Flexible or Frustrated???!!!!
I have been trying to figure out just what title to give this post: Flexibility... Waiting,Waiting and More Waiting.... We are going where? What’s happening? and then I realized that if I could just combine these all into one title, it would pretty sum it all up. These are pretty much the questions that we are asking on a regular basis in our ministry. What do we need to do? When do you need us? Where do we need to be? The problem is that the answers can literally change from day to day and week to week. We just never know! So, I just thought I would give you a little update on our schedule this year.
We knew at the beginning of the year that there was going to be several overseas projects, and we thought that we even knew when, but, as always, we didn’t and still don’t! The original plan was that the guys were going to be going to Uganda in April and then to PNG in May. Well, the Uganda trip happened as planned, but due to my emergency surgery and health set backs, they decided to hold off until June for PNG. June came and there were no funds, and so they decided on August. The week that we were planning to purchase the tickets, we received a call asking if we could hold off until November. Okay, no problem. There is a missionary who is in Uganda that is ready for us to come now and so we will just swap the dates. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that smoothly. The missionary has had some delays due to the countries stipulations and now we are just waiting for a call to say they are ready. Then, we must order the equipment and wait, as is the way things work for us, to be sure we have everything we need, ship it and then they can be on their way. So, in the meantime, we keep busy with stateside projects, such as Missionary DVD’s, radio broadcasts, putting together proposals for churches, scheduling meetings, assisting churches with various areas of media, and so on, while we WAIT! =)
We have been making plans now for several weeks to head to Texas to assist a church with some recording and videoing for a meeting they are holding. I was really looking forward to seeing my family that I haven’t seen in well over a year now, but as of today, that has changed and we will not be going to Texas just yet. Am I upset? Why should I be? It won’t change things. Disappointed? Of course, but I know that the Lord knows all of this and will work it all out in his own timing!
There have been times that we are on our way to a project and then receive a phone call saying that there has been a delay. So, we turn around, go home and WAIT! I have learned that it is not always wise to unpack because at any moment we may be loading up and back on the road with literally a moments notice! This is when I am so very thankful that we now have a place to call home. For a couple of years, we were from place to place and experience some very awkward moments!
We have learned that everything we plan is tentative. Our families and friends know full well that every plan we make is subject to change. Our children know that there is no point in getting upset or disappointed because it won’t change things. We have no control over our schedule as we are pretty much at the mercy of the missionary and pastor. So, we can either learn to go with the flow and be flexible, or we can get upset, stomp our feet and do nothing. Life is always exciting, and honestly, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love our ministry and I love seeing and hearing of all the souls who have come to Christ from hearing the radio, the churches that have been started because a group of villagers hear the gospel and decided to start a church with a radio pastor because they don’t know what else they are supposed to do! Such great rewards for such a small price!!!
We knew at the beginning of the year that there was going to be several overseas projects, and we thought that we even knew when, but, as always, we didn’t and still don’t! The original plan was that the guys were going to be going to Uganda in April and then to PNG in May. Well, the Uganda trip happened as planned, but due to my emergency surgery and health set backs, they decided to hold off until June for PNG. June came and there were no funds, and so they decided on August. The week that we were planning to purchase the tickets, we received a call asking if we could hold off until November. Okay, no problem. There is a missionary who is in Uganda that is ready for us to come now and so we will just swap the dates. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that smoothly. The missionary has had some delays due to the countries stipulations and now we are just waiting for a call to say they are ready. Then, we must order the equipment and wait, as is the way things work for us, to be sure we have everything we need, ship it and then they can be on their way. So, in the meantime, we keep busy with stateside projects, such as Missionary DVD’s, radio broadcasts, putting together proposals for churches, scheduling meetings, assisting churches with various areas of media, and so on, while we WAIT! =)
We have been making plans now for several weeks to head to Texas to assist a church with some recording and videoing for a meeting they are holding. I was really looking forward to seeing my family that I haven’t seen in well over a year now, but as of today, that has changed and we will not be going to Texas just yet. Am I upset? Why should I be? It won’t change things. Disappointed? Of course, but I know that the Lord knows all of this and will work it all out in his own timing!
There have been times that we are on our way to a project and then receive a phone call saying that there has been a delay. So, we turn around, go home and WAIT! I have learned that it is not always wise to unpack because at any moment we may be loading up and back on the road with literally a moments notice! This is when I am so very thankful that we now have a place to call home. For a couple of years, we were from place to place and experience some very awkward moments!
We have learned that everything we plan is tentative. Our families and friends know full well that every plan we make is subject to change. Our children know that there is no point in getting upset or disappointed because it won’t change things. We have no control over our schedule as we are pretty much at the mercy of the missionary and pastor. So, we can either learn to go with the flow and be flexible, or we can get upset, stomp our feet and do nothing. Life is always exciting, and honestly, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love our ministry and I love seeing and hearing of all the souls who have come to Christ from hearing the radio, the churches that have been started because a group of villagers hear the gospel and decided to start a church with a radio pastor because they don’t know what else they are supposed to do! Such great rewards for such a small price!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)