May I please have 5 mins of your time? It would me the world to us.

Hello and greetings in the Lord,
    

You know I can still remember the excitement, nervousness, and resolve we had on another July like this one 9 years ago. We were a newly married couple who had gotten to the point that we had to say, "Here we are Lord, send us" earlier that year or there would have been no peace in our hearts, and now here we were carrying through with that commitment.

    Everything we owned was spread out on my parents' yard. I must say it was quite a site.  All of our furniture, appliances, our vehicles and our household items were all there set out for sale. It was an odd and yet interesting experience as people came through combing through our things, not seeing the same value in them the way we had.

Whoever paid $100 for our bed that had cost $700 less than a year earlier, got a great deal. You could not tell it by their attitudes because they seemed pretty miffed to have paid that much. Looking back I should have kept it, it would be another 6 years before Heather and I would own a box spring and mattress to sleep on again.  All we did keep were some personal affects, books, and a computer that we were packing and shipping to PR ahead of us.

  

 We had no idea what laid ahead but we knew the Lord was leading us to go and that is all we needed to know. I will say that first night as we arrived in the house we were to live in for the next year with things scattered about, nothing but our luggage, and needing to clear a path to get to a place to sleep, was an eye opener. I could see in my young wife's face that look of "What have we gotten ourselves into?" Still she and I made it through that night and several far harder ones than that one over the years.  Honestly the first year was pretty rough for us for many reasons but we made it through.  It was very much a time of growth, dependence on the Lord, and a coming together far stronger than our first year of marriage had brought us and still that cementing together has lasted and grown only stronger through the years. (Heather and I will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary soon on Aug.30th 2013.)

    Here we are now 9 years later, me and my beautiful wife and our two beautiful

children. We are still on the mission-field and today like so long ago feeling excitement, nervousness, and a resolve to serve the Lord no matter what. We have seen and done too many things to name. The Lord has preserved us through so many hurts, losses, and difficult times and He has blessed us with so many amazing life changing experiences.

    We have walked the line of faith for years, each month we have trusted and waited for the Lord's provision. It is true that we have struggled to pay the bills many times from that first day in Ponce until now but at the same time the Lord has also blessed us with perfectly timed relief as well.  Often we have had just enough to pay all of the bills and coast through until the next month began. There have been those times that all the bills have been paid on time and we were able to set some aside for the next month, and then there have been times where past due bills were mounting and we would begin to wonder if we had been forgotten. Thankfully each time help would come from the most unexpected places.

 We have not been the type of ministry that sees large donations that come in regularly or many small donations that would come in each day and yet the Lord has provided and taken us to so many places, introduced us to so many amazing people, and provided for us in so many amazing ways, we could have never imagined 9 years ago at that yard sale in my parents back yard what all the Lord had planned.

             We have seen hundreds come to Christ, traveled to Africa three separate times, started two churches in PR, traveled back to the states on 3 furloughs and seen our ministry go from a handful of people meeting in a school class room in 2005 to now having close to 50 New Day branches around the world. Our online ministry reaches into nearly 100 countries with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we have a weekly Monday night Bible study that airs live each week for all who want to participate & every month we help to make sure that the orphans in our ministry in Kenya have food to eat.

We will never truly  know what an impact this ministry is having in the world this side of eternity but we know it is the Lord's and He is doing a tremendous work and we are grateful to be a part of it.

      I guess in some ways this July is much like that one we had 9 years ago only now it is not the material things that are being combed through. With so many other concerns, is the work we are doing for the Lord still seen as valuable?  Do people not see the same value in this ministry work in the way we do? Is it something else?  All of these changed lives, all of these amazing things the Lord has done  and is doing, and yet at the same time we were past due on our rent, we had to cancel church this last week because we could not afford the gas, and the number of personal health needs, vehicle repairs, and past due ministry bills continue to grow.

       Those faithful gifts that come in each month are coming still but the special gifts that we also depend on have all but dried up for the moment and we have really been affected by it these past couple months. I guess I kind of feel like my wife did on our first day on the Island, "What have we gotten ourselves into?" Still I know we will make it through this too like we have all the rest in the past.

       I would like to say to all of you who have stayed with us these past 9 years, who have stayed up praying for us during the hard times, gave what you could, even when it was not easy, took the time to write us, made the effort to call us, or to send us an email, I want you to know that each time was a tremendous blessing and encouragement to us that has kept us going.

     We have been told, and indeed we have considered, moving on to something else when our hearts had fallen or the way has gotten very hard, much harder than it usually is. Looking back however at each of those times I can see now how much wonder, joy, and peace the Lord had brought to us ,even in the midst of those times, that we would have missed out on had we not stayed the course.

    Despite what some may say the Christian life is not a series of mountain top experiences. You must also go through the valleys so you are better able to be used by the Lord as you continually learn to trust in Him more. Maybe you too have come to one of these points in life when things just seem too hard, too hurtful to stick with what the Lord is leading you to do, or to do so cheerfully. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Gal. 6:9

     When you find yourself like we have  a few times over the years asking God, "what have I gotten myself into"  just know you are not alone and more importantly that God is going to bring you through it. We know that He will not just because we hope so or think that He should. We know it because He has said He would in His word, and God can not lie.

    If you have read down this far I truly appreciate your resolve to see things through and I  am hoping I can ask just one or two more things of you to do before you go on with your day. For this ministry to continue, and continue to grow, it is going to have to have more support.

1.)        We need to expand the number of people and churches that know about and would be willing to support this work in whatever ways the Lord would lead them. If you have been a friend of this ministry and are already familiar with all the Lord has been doing through New Day please share this letter in places like facebook and twitter, with your email contacts, friends, churches, and small groups so that they can also learn about all that the Lord is doing through this ministry and pray about getting involved.  If you have received this letter from a friend please visit our web page at http://www.newdaycm.org and learn more about this work and see if He is leading you to join Him in it.

        

2.)       It has been 3 years since our last furlough and we are now planning to return this fall to the states. As of yet we do not know everywhere we will go, where we will stay, or even what we will drive. All of these thing we are praying about right now. We need resources now to get us through the next couple months here in Puerto Rico and we need to start planning for where and when we will travel to share. If you have been a friend of this ministry or you are just hearing of us we would like to hear from you and to make plans to come and share with your church or small group in the coming months.

 Please call us at: 1-937-307-0694, email us at: newdaycm@yahoo.com or write to us at:
New Day Christian Ministry PO Box 801438 Coto Laurel, Puerto Rico. We are willing to go anywhere that will extend the invitation for us to come.


3.)    All of the churches we have started over the years are in poor, mostly unreached areas. They do much on their own but they also need help. There is a tremendous amount of ministry taking place every day and an abundant amount of opportunity for mission trips for anyone willing to go.


4.)    We need prayer! We need pray each and every day. If you are willing to pray with us and for us please contact us and let us know. We do have a prayer ministry and we would love for you to be a part of it. You can begin by visiting our prayer ministry page at: http://newdayprayer.blogspot.com

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this long but very important letter to us about this work. May God richly bless you and make you a blessing.

God Bless,
David Ingram
New Day Christian Ministry
Isa. 43:18-21

For the pdf printable version of this letter use the following link: http://www.newdaycm.org/furloughandsupport.pdf

 

For the pdf (text only) printable version of this letter use the following link: http://www.newdaycm.org/furloughtext.pdf

A missionary mom

As a missionary, one is faced with many choices not just in ministry but especially in your personal life. But as a missionary mom a whole new dynamic is added to life’s decisions while on the mission field. Lately among my fellow missionary mom friends I have noticed that we are facing similar choices with varying circumstances. The same dilemma we face is this:  How as mothers do we reconcile raising our children in the healthiest and best environment and at the same time be totally committed to our calling?” We are called by the Lord to “go and make disciples” and sometimes that means exposing our children to environments that poses threats and risks to not only their health but also to their upbringing. For moms this is scary and daunting to make these kinds of life choices with your husband; choices that are made FOR your children not WITH your children.

I have heard of testimonies by other missionary families that have lost children to the mission field through various situations. This is a parent’s worst nightmare, especially for any mother who tends to be emotional and thinks the worst about life’s “what ifs”. Immediately the following floods our minds:

“How can I raise my children in such an environment” (an environment that might mean less comforts or a health risk).

“What if I actually were to lose my child, how could I live with that?”

“What will my family say about moving their grandchildren or nieces/nephews to such a different /risky environment?”

“Is this the best time to be moving my child? Should we wait until they are older or moved out of the house?

“What about school and the friends they have? Will they be able to find a spouse where we are moving to?”

“What if we wait? Not to say that we won’t go at all but maybe we should wait until the kids are_____?”

“I can’t possibly go on a mission trip with a baby who is breastfeeding and not potty trained!” or “We can’t move to the mission field with a newborn, there’s no support system, I will be all alone!”

I could go on and on but, well, you get the picture. Maybe to a seasoned missionary mother who “has been there done that” this may not be an issue for you but for other mothers, including myself, these questions and doubts are real and are confusing.

For myself, I have always said, “I never want to tell God ‘No, I won’t do____’ “. Yet I have before and it didn’t last very long. But there are other ways we tell God “no”; we can delay in our obedience or we can choose to take a different route, one that leads to the same result but just not the way God has indicated for us or maybe we squelch the Holy Spirits persistent drawing with our doubts and questions that we end up giving in to our emotions and in the end we say, “I want to___ BUT it’s just too____”.

Let me get more specific and more personal. David and I are facing a decision ourselves, one that is a year away but to me I think about it every day, contemplating and testing the waters of which avenue to take. As I am sure you all know, we are expecting our 2^nd child, Jacob. We also have planned our 4^th mission trip to Kenya, one in which I play a vital role. I lead 2 VBS programs and this year had planned on leading a woman’s discipleship course. These two events eclipse one another. Our mission trip is scheduled when Jacob will be 10 months old. He will be breastfeeding and not yet potty trained and Hannah will be 6. What do we do?!

Fact: The Lord has called me to “Go and make disciples”.

Fact: It is not an accident that our 2^nd child will be less than a year old at this time that we are supposed to be in a 3^rd world country.

Fact: We would come against opposition from many people who would disagree with taking our infant into this environment.

Fact: The Holy Spirit (always taking from the Father and giving to me) is ever constant and never changes in His leading and imparting wisdom.

Fact: God has never led us into something then left us and He has never failed us.

Ok, say we do take our infant and 6 year old to Kenya. I would be breastfeeding, changing diapers, taking care of Hannah, trying to keep to a minimum sanitary problems that come with staying in Kenya, doing all of our laundry by hand for all 4 of us, all the while leading a woman’s discipleship class and a VBS program. David will be able to help and bear some of the load but he has his own responsibilities while there, he is responsible for 2 pastor’s conferences, private counseling with leaders when necessary and preaching church services on the side.  Will I be able to do this with an infant and young child in toe?! How can I be of any benefit to those I have come to serve if I and David are so stretched thin with just family responsibilities? Is it even healthy to take a young baby to this environment?

So, again, what do David and I do? Whenever I am faced with this kind of question, whether in my own life or from listening to someone else’s dilemmas, this statement always pops into my head: “What does the Bible say about this situation?” Now unfortunately I can’t turn to, let’s say, Deuteronomy 3:6 and find the answer specifically for David’s and mine current choice (but it would be nice). That means our choice is subjective, meaning there is no “one size fits all” answer, meaning that we have to make a choice based on what God would want us to do, not what other people want us to do or what we would prefer to do.

Two things come to my mind, a passage of Scripture and a song. The song is “I surrender all” and the passage is Luke 14:25-33

“25 Once when large crowds of people were going along with Jesus, he turned and said to them, 26 "Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well. 27 Those who do not carry their own cross and come after me cannot be my disciples. 28 If one of you is planning to build a tower, you sit down first and figure out what it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job. 29 If you don't, you will not be able to finish the tower after laying the foundation; and all who see what happened will make fun of you. 30 "You began to build but can't finish the job!' they will say. 31 If a king goes out with ten thousand men to fight another king who comes against him with twenty thousand men, he will sit down first and decide if he is strong enough to face that other king. 32 If he isn't, he will send messengers to meet the other king to ask for terms of peace while he is still a long way off. 33 In the same way, concluded Jesus, "none of you can be my disciple unless you give up everything you have.”

Wow, both hit home for me.  Now applying this verse to our situation and the solution is one that intimidates me and leaves me stuttering, “But..but…but…”. This choice cannot be made hastily or recklessly or can even be made by taking a poll amongst our friends and family members to see what they think. In the end it is us following our Savors plan for us and our children, young as they may be. 

Thankfully, a choice does not need to be made right now at this very moment. But there will come a day when David and I will need to look at this choice square in the face and make a decision. Right now, I am praying. Praying for what, you might ask. Praying that until that time comes, I will not worry, I will be patient and I will not rush the leading of the Lord in our life. The fact that my future and this choice remains unresolved at the moment drives me insane because I like to have everything planned out and know what to expect and what to do ahead of time. Therefore, in this scenario I think the lesson just isn’t in making “the choice” but it is also in the “waiting” to make the choice. Sometimes God does say “wait” and for the time being that is what David and have heard from the Holy Spirit. Obviously God knows what we will do and how everything will unfold but for some reason He has chosen to conceal the answer from us at the moment and I am just gonna have to learn to be okay with that!

I ask everyone reading this to pray for us this coming year. Pray that we will follow Gods leading no matter what it may mean for us, even if it means an unpopular choice.

All I want as a missionary mom is to exhibit to my children through my life what it looks like to be a total, sold out disciple to Christ every single day and in every situation. Yeah it might mean doing things that seem “risky/unwise” to many, yeah it will probably mean discomfort not only for me but for my kids as well and yes it might even mean sacrificing our earthly lives for our heavenly one. In order to be completely sold out, David and I need to count the cost and be ready for whatever might come. Praise the Lord He has found us worthy to be trusted with the family and ministry He has given us to lead while here on earth.

Whatever may come I know that David and I can say, “I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength”


Only by His Grace,
Heather

Hannah Banana

We both had fun making her Birthday cake and cupcakes.

      Our first born just turned 5 a few days ago. I can still remember bringing her home from the hospital and marveling at how amazing it was to finally have her home and begin our life together as a complete family.  For those of you who are unaware of her story let me share with you now:

David and I started out as any newly married couple wanting a family. However after 4 years of trying to conceive we were pretty sure that something was wrong and the possibility of never having a child was very real and hurtful. We did not have the means to get ourselves tested or even try for IVF (In vitro fertilization). 

Corky just after his surgery.

      When we first moved to Puerto Rico in 2004 we hadn’t been here for more than a couple weeks when news came that David’s dad was going in on a Friday to have angioplasty but was immediately rushed into surgery for a quadruple bypass surgery. Since we had just moved 3,000 miles across the ocean we were pretty tapped out for money. We could only wait by the phone and pray. News came Saturday morning that David’s dad had sat up during surgery and lost more than 30% of his blood but the surgery was over and successful. We called our friends back home and our supporting churches to pray. Sunday morning when David’s mother went in to see her husband, he was sitting up in his hospital bed eating breakfast and asked where she had been! We went to church that day still worried but prayerful. A Deaf friend of ours named Tony was there and he could see that David was worried but David did not take the time to explain everything that had happened, he simply said, “My dad is sick”. Tony went home that night and prayed and asked God to show him what was wrong. God did show him in a dream and that next Sunday morning Tony shared with David all that God had showed him. God had showed him about the surgery and his recovery, he said that his dad was having problems eating and recovering but because David had honored God He would smooth all of his dad’s recovery problems away and he would live a long and healthy life. We did not know about his recovery problems because David’s parents hadn’t told us because they didn’t want us worrying. His dad started eating normally that same day. We praised and glorified God over healing his father and the miraculous recovery.

    It was about 2 months later that Tony came to us again and told us that he had had a dream about us. He said God had showed him a picture of David and me with a baby girl that had blond curly hair, brown eyes, her name was Hannah and for the first 3 months we wouldn’t tell anyone we were pregnant. Tony knows Spanish, not English but he spelled “Hannah” in English not Spanish.  We were very excited to hear this news but we didn’t know when this would happen. In February 2007 we went on furlough and returned back to PR in May. We normally gain quite a few pounds from our traveling and staying with other people so when David started losing and I maintained my thick waist he began to wonder if I was pregnant. I was skeptical simply because over the years of trying to have a baby and buying EPT tests I was frustrated and didn’t want to get my hopes up. We bought a test and it was inconclusive. We bought another digital one and the result came instantly but I waited the full 3 minutes to tell David because I didn’t know if it would “change its mind”! It was positive and we didn’t wait to tell anyone we just started calling everyone. So much for waiting 3 months. or so we thought.

Heather, Hannah, Tony, and Papa Paul

       By the time we got in to see an OBGYN and to see the ultrasound the doctor told us we were 5 1/2 months pregnant! David nearly passed out and fell over! We told her all that Tony had told us and she said we were having a girl. On the delivery day all the nurses knew about Hannah's story and how we had been waiting for her.  When Hannah was finally delivered the nurses and our doctor all said, “Wow she does have blond hair the story was true!”  As Tony had said we wouldn’t tell anyone we were pregnant for the first 3 months because we didn’t know we were pregnant. We were overjoyed and amazed at this unexpected blessing that we thought might never possibly have come true. Hannah means “The Lord hears”, the Lord heard our prayers and even gave us a messenger to bring us peace while we waited!

Hannah helping with the laundry.

     Hannah has traveled to the States 5 times and went to Kenya twice. She can remember what the Amsterdam, Holland International airport looks like and where the “Jungle Gym” is located in the airport. She has a passport with about 5 pages filled with stamps and visas. We have taken her into third world countries and she has built snowmen with her grandparents in Ohio. In each circumstance and in each environment she has adapted and “gone with the flow”. To her if mommy and daddy are there when she goes to bed at night, she feels comfortable and at peace. We are so blessed to have an exceptionally graceful child!

       Now we have a second blessing on the way! Hannah can’t wait to be a big sister and is practicing taking care of a baby on her dolls. She talks all the time about how she will care for her baby brother and about all the things he will need.  She asks almost daily if the baby is “big enough to come out”.  Hannah likes to tell everyone that “mommy has a baby in her belly”!

     We know that the Lord has a special plan for Hannah and for Jacob even though he is still being formed by our Master. We pray for the grace and wisdom as we lead these 2 blessings as we raise them up with this verse in mind: 

 So that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Deuteronomy 6:2

 We are excited to see where the Lord will take them and what He has planned for them.What a truly awesome God we serve. We are not sure what tomorrow might bring that we know whatever may come the Lord is already preparing the way.

In Christ,
Heather  =)