It’s August, which means a new season. We know there is still some more summer to enjoy, but we also know its end is approaching quickly, school is starting and fall is coming sooner than we expect; which means December will be here before we know it (you think I’m jumping ahead, but I know how quickly autumn flies by). Summer has gone by so fast, and while it’s been busy, we have been so incredibly blessed. Our busyness has been because of the opportunities to serve, to be with the people we care about, and prepare for a big move to where God is calling us. Everyone asks us if we are getting excited about going to the DR, and yes, we are. Excited more than anything, but there are also the hard things like saying goodbye to many of our current ministries that we have been so blessed to be a part of and serve in, but I am thankful that I can leave them with the confidence that God will provide what they need. With that, one of the ministries we’ve been involved in is our church’s youth group, where last year we were 6th grade small group leaders; this year we have the same group, now 7th graders, and I can’t believe how much some of these kids have grown over the summer, both physically and in maturity, and we’re exited to see how their faith is growing as well, and it is always an honor to walk alongside them and see them develop their own faith and walk with Christ. I remember being that age, becoming a teenager and thinking I was so grown up, thinking I knew so much, it seems crazy now because today it feels as if sometimes I have nothing figured out, and I still sometimes feel like I’m a kid pretending to be an adult, like I’m still learning how I don’t have life figured out. I also remember my small group leaders and youth pastors when I was that age, how patient they were, how looking back now I see how much they really cared about us, and I understand now the joy in teaching and training up young disciples.

One of the other ministries that we have been involved with over the past year is one called Hayat Jadida, an Arabic/English speaking ministry intended to reach the Arabs and Muslims in our community, which some may find surprising, we have a lot of in our area. I have been their Children’s Ministry Director for a year, with a lot of help and involvement from Christian as well. This ministry has been one way God has shown us how much of a heart we can have for children and immigrants. We have made so many amazing connections in that community and have seen God prepare us for things in ways we never would have imagined. This and other ministries have shown us how amazing the world is and how hungry people are for the gospel, both thousands of miles away and right in our own neighborhoods. We wanted to highlight that not because it has anything to do with the DR or Solid Rock, but because hopefully it lets you all get a glimpse into our hearts, and more importantly, God’s heart for the many different communities and cultures on His earth. God has blessed us with the passion for Christ’s love to be made known to every tribe, tongue, and nation.

We are making progress as we prepare for moving; this month we spent a lot of time going through our belongings and selling a lot of our stuff, and putting a few things away in storage. We have also been abundantly blessed by our community, every time we have needed anything, it was provided for us almost immediately, and I know it is God working behind it all, it’s Him behind every generous heart, every prayer warrior, and every encouraging word, and our hearts are so glad to be around people who seek the Lord and listen, who choose to be selfless and take the time to encourage us before we even realize we needed it. There are still things that come up, still support that we need, but we have no doubt that we will have everything we need exactly when we need it according to His timing. 

This summer I read the book “Deeper” by Dane C. Ortlund, which was about going deeper in one’s relationship with Christ and truly changing to become more like Him. The book had some amazing insights and perspectives about actually applying the gospel to your own life and really explained a lot about truly growing and changing in faith, one thing that really stood out to me is how important community is. The author emphasized the importance of being with other believers you can be open with, because the only way to becoming more like Jesus is by walking in the light, as 1 John 1:7 puts it, and He is the light. Something I have learned about this verse this year, is that walking in the light doesn’t mean being perfect all the time and not sinning, 1 John 1:7 says that if we are walking in the light, then we have fellowship with one another. that’s what walking in the light means, walking in Jesus is walking together with fellowship, the second half of the verse says that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin. So if the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin, why is fellowship necessary to walk in the light? Because without fellowship, sin is kept in the dark, away from the light which is Jesus. Christian and I both tend to be a bit introverted, we love being around our people, but it’s harder for us to find fellowship with people we don’t know as well, so it would be easy to fear being in the DR, around people we don’t know as well as our friends here at home, and if we’re being honest, we have had fear over that, but knowing this verse, I know that we can walk in the light with believers from anywhere, I don’t have to feel like I know them super well right away, they love Jesus and so do we, that’s enough. We also know that God provides fellowship when we are willing to seek it out. Already, we have gotten to meet or have heard about people in the DR who want to seek fellowship with us, so it may be hard, getting to know people doesn’t always feel natural, but God will provide the connections we need, and knowing that alone calms our hearts. 

Summer Highlights

I completed a summer internship at Crossroads Wauseon church where I learned more about the gospel, church operation, and got the opportunity to work on Spanish more. I did this alongside some amazing people and gained some new friends because of it. In many ways this internship has been preparing me for being a missionary, just some of those ways being how I’ve gotten to meet so many people who have had experience doing this exact thing and have been able to help and encourage me, as well as seeing how God is at work in communities all over the world, fueling my desire to see this happen in the DR. I love having gospel conversations and talking about Jesus with people, so feeling more equipped to do that through this opportunity, has been amazing and I know God is using these experiences in incredible ways

One thing you may or may not know about me is that I love to read, and this month my “for fun” read was the book “Circe” by Madeline Miller. It’s a retelling of the story of the character Circe, from Greek Mythology. This was on my list for a while because I love retellings of mythology, or anything mythology related in general (yes, Percy Jackson was my favorite series growing up). I used to read all the time, and now I don’t have as much time for it, but when I do, I do really enjoy reading fiction, anything fantasy or thriller related usually peaks my interest. Christian and I both do enjoy listening to audio books, Christian has listened through the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and really enjoyed that, and we actually listened to the entire first book together on our honey moon. 

One highlight of this summer has been being able to be with so many amazing friends, some new, some old. God has blessed us this year with an amazing supportive community who are so intentional with others. I think of one particular night this month where we spent hours just hanging out with a group of friends, laughing and having conversations about anything and everything. It was one of those days that really feels like this is what summer is about. We connected over food, made by Christian, played games and ended the night by relaxing by a fire. Christian’s food was delicious as always, and in humility, he won’t say it himself, but he truly does have a gift for cooking and serving, it’s amazing to see the joy he receives when he gets to cook for others, he has been an awesome blessing in that way. This summer in particular, he put the smoker to some good use, making some of the best barbecue we’ve ever had.

We also got to see the bands Shinedown and Bush in concert this summer (an anniversary gift from Madison to Christian), and it was such an amazing experience. Seeing artists we both love perform live, singing our favorite songs with them. This show was amazing and it was awesome to see how interactive with their fans these artists were.

Another way to stay connected with us in addition to our blogs is our Face Book Page, Powers On Mission, where we will also be updating our progress as we prepare for moving. We will be trying to be more active over there and will be posting news and updates between blogs. 

Thank you to everyone for the encouragement and support we’ve already been receiving. We have been incredibly blessed by everyone’s support and encouragement. 

Prayer Requests:

• Continued prayer for trusting in the lord.
• Prayer for wisdom and boldness with support raising. 
• Pray for understanding of the Spanish language

Christian and Madison Powers