Uninentional Missionaries

When Paul and I got married we had committed to each other and to the Lord that our marriage would be one that honors Him first.  When we worked our way through our debt, we maintained our urgency because we wanted to be available to the Lord for whatever He may have in mind.   When we downsized from a 2300 sq foot home to a 1 bedroom apartment with less than 900 square feet, people asked us if we were going into missions.   When we moved to Maine, we knew that God was calling us to come, but we didn't know anything other than He wanted us to be here.  Yet, throughout all of these events in our seven years of marriage, we never really intended to be "missionaries".  In fact, if you had told us that we were called to be missionaries, we would have laughed at you and completely dismissed the notion.  

Maybe that's why God didn't use the word "missions" when He called us to come to Maine.   Maybe, just maybe, He knew that if we heard missions, our obedience may have been a little more delayed than it was when we felt He was calling us on an adventure.  Any way you look at it, we somehow backed right into a missions field, and after seven months of being here, we are starting to believe that we may have been tricked into being missionaries!

While Maine is still part of the United States, there is a unique culture up there that is steeped in atheism and humanism with a little witchcraft thrown in.   There is much dysfunction in both the family structure as well as many of the churches in the area.   In a recent poll, Portland, Maine is the second most unchurched city in America (43% of those polled said they hadn't been to a religious service in the last 6 months), and the third most atheistic city in nation.    Broken families are the norm, resulting in high percentages of mental illness and domestic violence.  

And the churches...(pausing for a moment as my heart breaks)...First, I will say that there are a few local bodies who are pursuing the Lord wholeheartedly and are full of life.  Sadly, they are few and far between.    Many of the remaining churches are split between "open" (affirming of homosexuality and same sex marriages) and "closed" (affirming of traditional view of marriage).   In our seven months in Maine, we've attended several "non-denominational" churches and have served in a couple, while seeking where the Lord would have us connect, and what we have experienced has been gut-wrenching.  There is a culture of competition between church leaders, a lot of church hopping amongst attendees with very little community connection, and very little spiritual growth.   As a worship leader (and worshiper), it has been especially difficult to find a home where worship is valued as foundational to our Christian walk, rather than just some music to introduce the sermon.  Many of the churches are "seeker-friendly", making it their purpose to rectify the "unchurched" statistic rather than encouraging spiritual growth and discipleship.   This has left many of the believers and church attendees unknowingly hungry (famished even) for the deeper things of God, and most continue to struggle in performance based Christianity, trying to be good enough for heaven someday, but making very little impact in the community around us. 

There is much need, so much so that it's hard to know where exactly to start.   Until now, we've been holding onto the theory of "love the one in front of you" (thanks, Heidi Baker) and serve where you are.  Practically speaking, this means we've been helping out with worship/sound, building relationships and connecting with a couple of small groups.    We feel like there may be something more, but we haven't heard what that will look like, so we will continue to serve as we have been.  

It doesn't sound very "missionary-esque", but even in these small acts of service, we have encountered some spiritual resistance.   When we moved here, we knew that the spiritual climate would not be like Texas (and on these beautiful summer days in the 70's, we say THANK YOU JESUS!!!), and that we would need to grow in our own relationships with the Lord in a deeper way.  I think we can honestly say that we were not prepared for the level of warfare that we have encountered and we feel inadequately covered.  

So, like most missionaries, we are asking for your support - your prayer support.    We know that we know that God has called us hear for a reason, and we love being here, but we can't do this alone.   Prayer is the foundation of all we do and a covering for us as we go into the frontlines and costs you nothing but a little of your time.   Can you spare a few minutes and pray for us?   Anytime you think of us, or see us on facebook, or hear something about Maine in the news, will say a quick prayer for us?   

Our goal is to update this blog monthly with prayer points and current happenings, with an occasional "urgent" update if something comes up that needs prayer immediately.  You can get these posts delivered directly to your email by signing up in the box to your right.   If you get any scriptures, words of encouragement, or prophetic words and dreams, please email them to us at pray4paulandchristi@gmail.com. 

For now, here are some specific prayer points for each of us:

Paul:
1.   Paul has virtually completed his training as a home inspector, barring a couple of classes and examinations, and is now to a point where he needs to build a book of business.   This has been slow going, as there have been some hang-ups, and as we near the end of "busy season" there is some concern about income levels.   We are believing for favor as he meets with realtors, and that "winter season" will not be dead as projected, but there will be plenty of work for him.
2.  Paul is still working with a local band as their sound engineer, which has been very busy over the summer, with nearly every weekend booked.  Per the calendar, this pace will continue through October, which means very little rest on weekends.  Please pray for continued strength and stamina and open doors as he builds relationships with the rest of the band.


Christi:
1.   I have been stepping out in both participating and leading worship, which has been exciting, but has also produced some resistance.  This has been experienced mainly in my physical body, ranging from UTIs to problems in my feet, to back spasms (usually during worship) to headaches, to most recently a fractured ankle.    It has been constant, and we know that it's spiritual, because it attacks primarily during times of ministry or ministry prep, as I look to step out.    For example, one of the first times I led worship, my back spasmed, and I lost feeling in the upper half of my left leg, but gained it back as soon as worship was done.  This week, I was scheduled to meet with a couple about starting a prophetic worship/intercession group in Augusta (our capitol), then I broke my ankle and can't walk at all.    Each physical thing seems to come in response to a ministry event, so I am asking for complete healing in all these areas, as well as covering from future attacks.

2.  Many of you know I have been working on a book about Worship/Knowing God personally, and over the last few weeks I have seemed to hit brick wall after brick wall.   I've had some breakthrough in the last week, and I'm excited to get writing again, so I'm asking for continued prayer for the words and message to be clear and present.    


Thank you so much for praying for us and believing with us that His Kingdom will come to Maine as it is in Heaven!    Much love to you all!