Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Our first Arctic adventure: Mission Fort Yukon

So many doors have opened recently that keeping up with this blog has been a blur!
It was only two weeks ago that we were serving the villages of Tanacross and Tetlin in Eastern Alaska, and now we are in the village of Fort Yukon. We are about 8 miles above the arctic circle, and it is already snowing here on October 8th! The time we had before coming to this village we spent serving in the town of Soldotna on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. We had a wonderful time meeting family in Christ there and ministering to them. After returning home from Soldotna we had only 2 days to pack, drive to Fairbanks again and board our plane to Fort Yukon. Fort Yukon is a fly in only village except in the Summer when you can take a boat down the river to reach the village. Fort Yukon is an Indian village with anywhere from 500 to 700 people depending on the season. We boarded a little Cessna Grand Caravan plane for an hour flight from Fairbanks, and arrived on a gravel runway which welcomed us to the village. Surprisingly, even though it was a gravel runway the landing was smoother than most larger commercial flights we had taken! We piled into a pickup truck and headed to our abode for the next coupleof days. We would be staying at a church parsonage in the area. By that time, Tor was in desperate need of a nap. My protocol usually is to first set up his portable crib and lay him down for a nap. I like to keep a stuffed animal of his as a constant and I bring his same blankets from home so he feels comfy in his crib. He quickly fell asleep and we fellowshipped, prayed and ate with the team. It didn't take us long to figure out that there was a wireless internet signal in the parsonage! Okay, so there is no way to make a phone call or text message BUT we can update our Facebooks lol! What an age we live in when we can be in such a village but still access the internet! After the baby woke up, I fed him and we bundled up and headed out to the village hall for the meeting. The musicians on our team sang beautiful hymns and praised. After he was introduced to the village, Rob boldly preached his testimony and we prayed for the people. One young girl had blindness in one eye and she said it was getting better after prayer. A man entered the church drunk and mourning the loss of his wife, son and daughter. By the end of the night he was singing hymns on the altar with the worship team praising God! There was a potlatch (native potluck) where the ladies from the village brought different types of food for the meeting. For the first time we tried moose stew. It tasted good however my stomach took it a little harder. There was no bathroom in the village hall and I forgot to bring toilet paper with me so I could go outside. Instead, I just had to hold it and wait to get back to the church house we were staying in so I was thankful to get back. As we were settling down for bed, one of the leaders warned us of the mouse traps he had set so that Tor didn't get a finger snapped by accident. We were thankful that he picked them up while we were here, but as we headed to bed we had a very special surprise in store for us. We lifted up the sheets to find piles of walnuts and mouse poop. The people whose bed it was haven't lived there in months and so there were some other unwelcome occupants taking their place - mice. We cleaned it up the best we could, put a blanket down on top of the sheets and slept on top of the blanket. We thanked God for a place to stay and slept soundly. Things on the mission field are not always what we would prefer or ask for but we are out to serve, and it goes way beyond out comfort... its investing into the eternal! We are excited as we headed with our team to the store to buy the chief of the village a gift. We got this beautiful eagle blanket for him and if he shows to the meeting tonight we will present the gift to him publicly and pray for him! We are very excited! So now we are eating lunch. Tor is
Look at those prices! :O
napping again and we are preparing for the meeting tonight! The village here is ripe and we are praying for many souls to come into the kingdom! Oh and I almost forgot. We were going to be headed back to Fairbanks tomorrow and then back home to Wasilla, but another village called Chalkyitsik about 50 miles Northeast of here invited us to come preach the Gospel! So it looks like tomorrow we will be taking a flight to Chalkyitsik instead of Fairbanks for a few days - I will keep you updated!!!

Loving on Fairbanks!

I woke up as late as I could yesterday morning which was about 8:00 AM sharp. I had to be awake early enough once again to get myself ready, get the baby ready, make breakfast and pack lunch and snacks for the day for the family, yet also have everything packed up and out of our little cabin before we departed. We left a little after 9:30 AM and headed to Fairbanks. We could not figure out how long it would take us to get there from Tok because we were getting different answers from our GPS, our phones, the internet (if we could get service) and everyone we asked. Some said 5-6 hours and some said 2-3. It wound up taking us about 3 hours total. Since our meeting at the Community Tribal Hall was at 3 pm, we arrived about an hour early. My brother who is serving in the Army walked an hour to be there with us and was already there. The worship team started at 2 and played old time hymns for about 2 and a half hours and they prayed and even even sang a song in their native language. One of the worship leaders would speak between songs about the hope God has given him and even bought him through such a difficult time as when his son committed suicide. The crowd grew and grew and even some homeless where coming off the streets! Rob was introduced by the pastor and gave our testimonies with great authority. The people started shouting for joy as Rob described how God had delivered him. By the end of the meeting Rob stayed and ministered for hours with accurate words of knowledge to the crowd. Its was so powerful!

After a while they brought out food for the church and the homeless and we already had to head to the next meeting. Titus napped in the car as Rob went to support and serve a friend at another ministry event as she preached and they imparted at the end of the service. It was another amazing day of miracles!

By the end of the day I was running out of supplies like diapers, wipes and food for the next day. I loved being able to drive down the street to a Walmart to grab the things we needed! Our family is very weary and tired and thankful to take showers and rest. We cannot wait to see what God has in store for tomorrow!
- Millie

Monday, September 26, 2011

You are now entering tribal lands... enter at your own risk.


Many Americans don't know that our country still has Native tribes living within it's borders. Most can't even imagine life outside of our own Americanized civilization. We are not only blessed to know, but to also have the opportunity to experience these beautiful people and their great culture first hand! The villages here in Alaska are not like the villages we've visited in other countries. The villagers speak their own Native languages as well as English, have electricity and even resources to live somewhat comfortably. Some of the villages even have access to financially well standing careers that supply them with up to date equipment. However many, if not all villages have something to live with that we don't necessarily have to. Their forefathers and great forefathers lived here long before our type of civilization. They have to deal with a constant struggle between their native culture, beliefs, religions and the Americanized life that we bring. Today we have found many cases of people who needed no convincing about the reality of the Supernatural. They just wanted to know why they see spirits and demons lurking in their house. Some wanted to know how to get their house clean and free from them. Some of the people wanted to know the truth about Jesus aside from cultural religion - and they all wanted to be free.

I woke up bright and early to start getting myself and the family ready. I had a lot to think about when packing today. It was my first time bringing our baby to a village where a "Walmart" wouldn't be found for hours. I needed to not forget anything because if I did there was a good chance I either wouldn't be able to find it anywhere else or if I did, the price of whatever I would need would be inflated ridiculously. After cooking breakfast and packing everything I could possibly remember to pack, we jumped in the van and headed for the dirt roads.

As a Missionary I can say that it is a great advantage to be able to have your own vehicle on the field! We waited in our van to meet our contact where the paved roads meet the dirt road - and when she arrived we followed her into the first village. There we prepared to do a children's outreach. Our contact, Crystal, had been working with this village already for some time, and today we were going to minister to the village and even the visiting children with a program including music, a lesson, games and speaking and ministry time. At the end, Rob was to share about Jesus and pray and impart the Holy Spirit to them. When asked the question "What is sin?" the children shouted back some shocking answers. One would say "Cursing", and another would shout, "Stealing". What took me by surprise was when the children would yell "Hitting girls!", and another would yell "Smoking Dope!" We were shocked to hear such young children (ages 4-10) even aware of such things but we had been previously warned that some of the biggest issues in the villages are things like abuse, suicide, drugs and alcoholism. In fact, suicide is an epidemic in Native Alaskan villages - and that is only the tip of the iceberg. Needless to say, the children joyfully interacted and participated in the program. It was amazing to see such young hearts touched by Jesus. Some of them had already given their lives to Jesus and some who previously hadn't wanted to receive Jesus for the first time! God is so good to us, giving us the honor of seeing such miracles! One young man could not see very far and needed to stand very close to a sign just to read it. After prayer, he testified to us that he began to see clear from farther and farther away! The other children witnessed this miracle and all wanted prayer and began to display an interest in the supernatural. Many of them had a broad understanding if witchcraft and the occult because it was in their family history, and at some point along the line, they had been introduced to it. We prayed and broke the ties of witchcraft, and the joy of the Holy Spirit fell on those young guys!

After leaving the church, Titus fell asleep in the car so I needed to stay with him. (Some villages have pretty alarming crime rates.) Meanwhile Rob, Crystal and the rest of the team went door to door in the village offering to pray for people and getting words of knowledge for them. This was incredibly fruitful as they got to pray for many sick, and one lady even invited them in saying "There is evil spirits in my house and I want it clean!". God did amazing things there and many were touched. Next it was time to go to the next village named "Tetlin".

The next village was over an hour off the highway down a narrow, winding dirt road. Upon approaching the entrance, there was a sign that read "You are now entering Tetlin tribal land - enter at your own risk" I wasn't quite sure what exactly the sign was meant, but we thanked the Lord for protection and trekked on. We arrived at the Village Tribal Center where there was a planned Tribal dinner and meeting where Rob would preach for the village. Unfortunately, without notice they cancelled on us because there was a death in the village and when there is a death most of the village takes the time out to mourn and feast together. Rob, Crystal and the team went out praying and ministering to people anyway. One young man went for a walk with Rob, a walk that would change his life. There he asked to receive Jesus into his life. They also prayed for a crippled man and some others on their way. As they were ministering someone came to ask about the meeting. Apparently, they didn't know it was cancelled and Rob, Crystal and the team decided to hold the meeting anyway for the few people that still wanted to come!

No, it wasn't a revival gathering of a bazillion people and Hillsong wasn't leading worship. It was just us, and a few villagers who were hungry for the presence of God. Rob preached his heart out like he was leading a crusade and prayed for them. We know that when God sends us, He expects us to do as He would do. He would leave the 99 for the 1. He would leave behind a whole schedule of activities to come to a village and minister to just one person! We consider it a great honor to see all that  God has done changing lives today!

We didn't get back to our cabin until about midnight. After cooking dinner and laying the baby in his portable crib, it is 1:30AM and I am ready to hit the pillow. I'm so thankful for this opportunity and I realize that tomorrow is only getting closer as I continue to write. So goodnight all. Pray for our journeys tomorrow!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Traveling to Tok


For a day of travel it was not quite as hectic as it usually is getting everything we need packed and out the door in time to travel comfortably without arriving at our destination at an ungodly hour. Our target estimated time of departure was 10:00 AM. We only fell behind one hour leaving at 11:00 AM which still gave us plenty of travel time. The trip started out slow as Rob wanted to catch a picture at every stop there was on the side of the road to catch a view of the breathtaking landscape. We did get some good pictures out of it. Alaska is just an amazing part of our country. I hope as friends and family visit us in the future that we can share in some of it's beauty with them too! We eventually made our way to a huge glacier. It was enormous and beautiful! There was a sign that said we could drive to it and even walk on it! We were incredibly excited as we took the turn down the rocky mountainside road until we approached a gate. Of course they'll charge to go see it. :( 20 dollars a person. We thought we'll just have to do it next year. So we jumped back in the car and kept heading Northeast to Tok. As we got closer we saw less and less civilization. We approached Tok at about 6:30 PM. (Yes, that is actually good timing for us!) We passed the only gas station we saw which did not look very busy at the time. I snagged a picture for y'all though! We made our way to our cabin in the forest. Its a cute little cabin. I got things settled and unpacked at the cabin as Rob went out to buy some meat for us to cook for dinner. He had quite the experience at the little market. All the rotten fruit was on clearance and a bottle of A1 Steak Sauce was $7.00! Sitting just outside the market were a group of young native men wearing bandanas and staring at everyone who passed by. Rob picked up dinner and made his way back.

Though there may be principalities here we know God keeps us safe and that we have the authority over them! We spent the rest of tonight praying and preparing for tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who is praying - we feel it and keep it up!




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Blind Faith - preparing for village ministry and service.

Us at the Alaska State Fair
We have just had an amazing time here in Alaska. When God calls you somewhere, He certainly knows what He is doing! So far, we've had many opportunities to minister since we've been led to stay. As soon as we arrived in Alaska, one of the main things we heard about was the Alaska State Fair. It happens once a year to close out the summer, and is the only fair with entertainment of it's kind. When we accepted our heavenly assignment for Alaska and did not take our flight back to Charlotte, we decided to head to the fair to see what all the hype was about. When we arrived, one of the first things we came in contact with was a “Spiritual Reading” tent. Some of the Master's Commission team we were with went up to them. In my head I thought, “Oh that's so good! They are witnessing to the psychics!” As I come closer I saw scriptures on the walls and I could hear prayers throughout the tent. This certainly was no psychic tent! This was a prophetic evangelism tent! I was so excited to see this as I have never seen one in action before. I was honored when they offered for me to join them, but I nicely declined as my husband and son were with me. We spent some time there and went on our way to check out the rest of the fair, however as we walked away I could not get the opportunity out of my head. “How can I just walk away?” I thought to myself. This was such a chance for God to use me to impact people. I had to go back. I handed Tor off to my husband Rob and got back to the tent as fast as I could. They were delighted to see me return and I headed right to the back for training, prayer and 
Spiritual Reading Tent
impartation. Soon enough I was teamed up with a partner, and people were filing in to get a “Spiritual Reading”. Although I cannot give out too much information because I feel it is confidential I can say that I really saw such a hunger stirred up from people to know God and that it was so incredibly fruitful with right on prophetic words from God! One person even asked “So, God is okay with this?” People who have had such a view of a distant God were opened up to the reality that there is an intimate real God waiting to have a relationship with them! It was truly amazing! I had an amazing time seeing God change lives right in front of me.

Since then we have been building relationships with the people here in Alaska. Rob has ministered a few times with the youth group at our church, Master's Commission and in the main services of the church itself. We've seen God do amazing things here and we are just so thankful to everyone who has welcomed us and helped us begin to get established here. God provided a place for us to live, a van, clothes, jackets and so much. We are speechless with how quickly God confirmed that we are, without a doubt, supposed to be here.

So in the midst of the opportunities to minister and the friendships and trust we are building here in Alaska, an exciting door has opened before us to minister to some native villages in the interior of the state. First thing this morning we are packing to leave and we are thrilled about it!

We've heard that there are some intense issues in these villages we are going to, however we know that we in and of ourselves cannot do anything alone about these issues but as we've so clearly so many times seen God do the miraculous in villages we've visited in other nations - we know we can rely on God to do the same here for the villages in our own nation! I count it a privilege to be able to serve all the different types of people found in our own nation. It is an honor.

I can say that as we go along to the villages I will try to keep the blog somewhat updated to keep you informed of all that is happening. I know I will have amazing testimonies to share!

Please pray for these things for us as we go: the road conditions are safe (rumors are that there is snow already along the passes we will have to drive through), that we will have a peaceful trip free of stress or distractions, that we will have favor in the villages and they will open their hearts to what God wants to do in their life! Pray for our safety and Holy Spirit opportunities to serve these people.

Thank you for your prayers. We love and appreciate you dearly!

Millie


Saturday, August 27, 2011

The calling of the last frontier

It didn't take long for us to feel at home in Murfreesboro - after all we have learned that anywhere the presence of God is welcome we can call home! When we arrived at Global Fire Ministries we could hear the music from the outside and the presence of God was so strong upon approaching the building. We spent a good 10 days witnessing the miraculous works God was doing in that place and fellowshipping with many amazing brothers and sisters.

As far as provision, it always came! We headed to Tennessee with just enough money for gas, and before we knew it God had provided a week in an extended stay hotel and food money for the week! As the next weekend approached, someone again approached us and told us that the Lord told them to bless us with another hotel stay for as long as we needed once the week in our extended stay hotel came to a close. This was amazing to us because we had not another penny to pay for a temporary place to stay after the week was over! We had 2 days left until our week in the hotel was over and we were surprised that God would speak to him so early, but were very thankful that He did!

I laid down for the night, exhausted as I was and just a couple hours later Rob nudges me to wake up. He whispers, “Hunny! I got the days mixed up and it turns out that checkout is in just a few hours!” And so it was that God knew when our checkout was before we even did! Like in Matthew 14 and 15 Jesus not only fed the crowd following Him and His disciples, but he knew that it was getting late for the crowd to go into town and gather food for their families and He knew that the disciples hadn't eaten for three days! He spoke to me so clearly that He not only hears our prayers and knows our need but He knows how long we've needed it for and just the perfect time for provision!

We enjoyed the last few days spent with our friends from Murfreesboro, Tennessee and we headed back to Fort Mill, South Carolina just after to prepare to fly to Alaska! We were so excited about Alaska as God had been speaking to us for years about this state! With just a couple days to get everything settled, it was no surprise that we got hardly any sleep the night before our plane left - yet we were determined that nothing would get in our way of boarding that flight!

We hurried to the airport first thing in the morning only to be held up because our luggage exceeded the weight requirements! We quickly sifted through our bags and pulled out things that we could afford to leave behind. Next was the hectic security check points which caused another delay while scouring our baby bag for threats. After those fiascos, we finally headed toward our gate and boarded the small plane. The flight was about three and a half hours to Houston, Texas to catch our connecting flight to Anchorage, Alaska. As we arrived to our dismay we learned that our plane was late and our connecting flight had already been boarded! As soon as we were released from the plane we grabbed our carry on items and ran through the enormous airport as fast as we could with a baby and our things. We must have looked ridiculous but it was a good choice because when we arrived, we were the last ones and the pilot was waiting for us!

We talked to many of the passengers en route to Alaska as many were from there. The most famous phrase we heard on that plane ride was “another drink please” and “another please”... As the 8 hour flight soared through the sky, the people seemed to get more and more tipsy until some were flat out drunk. Though very friendly we learned quickly that alcoholism is very rampant among Alaskans. It was a very difficult flight for baby Titus as there was not much to look at or do for him in such a small space so we made due with walking up and down the isles when we could and squeezing around the others passing by. It was a very trying and exhausting flight for us.

All of the frustrations were quickly forgotten as we touched down to some of the most beautiful scenery one could imagine. Snow capped mountains and 60 degree weather, not to mention the sun being out at around nine o'clock at night giving the appearance of a weekend afternoon! We were greeted at Anchorage airport by Pastor Ed Kalnins and his wife Robin. They helped us gather our things and we packed into the van headed for Wasilla. We connected instantly with them in like-mindedness and passion for the Glory of God and souls! As people from Wasilla Assembly of God joined us, we were blessed by the immense culture of hospitality that rests among this family of God! We immediately felt right at home as they led us to our quarters for the next 5 days. It was approaching 11:30 PM and the sun was just starting to set. We arrived at a beautiful cabin set on a lake surrounded my mountains. No words could describe the beauty or come close to giving it the justice it deserves!

The next day we were already preparing to minister that night at Wasilla Assembly of God! We could not allow the time zone change or jetlag to get to us. We needed to really depend on the ever faithful supernatural rest of the Lord that strengthens just in the time of need! We saw God do many amazing things over the three day conference called “Glory Revolution Alaska” from accurate words of knowledge and freedom from alcoholism and pornography to physical healings and dental miracles! God was on the move and our heart grew so fond of the people and the land in Wasilla!

As our time was coming to a close and the flight back to the Carolinas approached, we felt such a stirring that our work here in Alaska was not done! Doors began to open and favor was abundant! The only thing standing in our way was time. We felt a stirring in our hearts that there was yet much to be done in Alaska. “God send us confirmation!” This was our prayer.

The time came when we had to make a decision. The plane was going to leave – would it leave with us or without us? Again we felt the Lord speak to us about Alaska. As we honored the urging of the Holy Spirit we prayed and had a meeting with the leadership of Wasilla Assembly of God. They were very supportive either way we chose, yet we could not shake the urging to stay and build and grow in Alaska. Later that night Rob was awakened just before 3 AM with an Angelic visitation further confirming and giving us a message about our commissioning in Alaska.

The next day when speaking with Pastor Ed, we came to find that He also had an Angelic encounter just after 3 AM! This was such a confirmation to all of us and we rejoiced together! So we felt to dedicate this time to this region under the cover of and in cooperation with Wasilla Assembly of God. God is doing great things here in Alaska and we are so honored that He would entrust us to be part of His work here in this region. We are excited as we are reaching out to the community here and making strong connections with the body of Christ here in Wasilla. The need is great as we are still seeking His will for us as far as provision for a home and a dependable vehicle. We appreciate so much the seeds people have sown such as a car seat for Titus! If you are interested to hear more about what God is doing here or how you can help, here is our official update of the transition: Click here!

As Pastor Ed preached this last Wednesday night “God is after people who have a 'yes' in their heart before the assignment”! So we feel that whatever God has for us here in Alaska is already a yes and amen for us! We are thrilled to continue in what the Lord has already commissioned us to do - thank you for sharing this mission with us!

-Millie

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Transition Time!

Not sleeping for days
About a week ago today we finally managed to finish moving out of our home. Following that, we had the privilege of staying with some friends to rest up from our packing and moving extravaganza! Titus seemed to be crankier than usual during this last week which made the moving process a bit more difficult. He is used to the instability of life on the road - but for the first time in his life we were packing up all of our things from home and I'm sure he could tell the difference. By the last day it had taken us a whole 24 hours of work - packing, moving and cleaning to get out without eating much at all and without sleeping a wink! We were exhausted but we finished the task!

Enjoying a few days of prayer, rest and office work was refreshing, and good fellowship time made it even better. Meanwhile Titus kept himself busy with the simple things in life (see picture to left)! During the week, we prayed for direction and we felt over and over to come and celebrate what was happening in Tennessee. What was happening in Tennessee? They are holding 31 days of revival at Global Fire Ministries in Murfreesboro, just outside of Nashville. We had previously made connections at this church, and have a lot of good friends and family in Christ in the area. There was only one issue - none other than finances. We hardly had enough to make it through the week we were in! However, as I mentioned in my previous post... when are we ever going to let that stand in our way? Never! So we made up our minds and continually sought His kingdom and His righteousness. Nevertheless we received a phone call from a couple who support our ministry and furthermore are just like family to us! They felt the Lord leading them to pay for a hotel for us for the week in Tennessee and support us to eat for the week! His faithfulness never does fail, does it?

We spent the rest of the week enjoying the presence of the Lord and getting the opportunity to minister to whoever came in our path! Yesterday we packed our van with everything we own and headed Northwest to Mufreesboro, TN saying our farewell to living in Fort Mill, SC. Many great memories and lifelong friendships came to be in Fort Mill that are rooted deeper than the geographical location they were birthed in!

The road trip was slightly more difficult then some other ones. It's pretty difficult for a little one to stay happy in a car seat for hours on end! We had prayer and some tears as the hours just seemed to lengthen with every pit stop. Life on the road - raising a baby on the road - it cannot be compared with the average 9 to 5 business family life. There's a whole different set of challenges to take on. Of course, there's going to be challenges any way you look at it. Many people tell me how they handled their children and babies when taking trips on the road whether it be for vacation or to visit family, but for us it is very different. Every other week we are on the road traveling for hours at a time and we are constantly looking for new ways to make the trips more bearable for our little guy! We praise God for the grace He has given us to do this, and to live this lifestyle for it is certainly NOT the norm! It's not always so difficult, but yesterdays 6-7 hour trip turned into a 9 hour trip in the process of figuring everything out. We are still believing, Lord willing, that we will have an RV someday to help ease some pressures! So we trekked on in our van stuffed like a teddy bear full of cotton. We travel with a lot more since moving out because everything that we need we have to keep with us. It's out of the question to drive all the way back to Fort Mill all the time just to get a baby book out of storage.
Mattress on a board

We felt as though we were approaching the promised land as we pulled into our destination at 2 AM! A bed, air conditioner - hey this hotel even has a fridge and kitchenette! What more could we ask for? We planted our stuff and got as settled as we could in the shortest amount of time possible. We snuggled Tor into his pack and play and we ourselves got to hit the pillow at about 3 in the morning! A bed can be a glorious thing! (Even if it is just a mattress on a board!)

Anywho yesterday was Rob's birthday and I would like to wish him a very special Happy Birthday! He spent his special holiday driving 9 hours to the tune of a screaming baby and a stressed out wife. I'm not sure anyone makes as many sacrifices for our family as he has. He impresses me so much with his humility and willingness to give everything up to preach the Gospel. I have never met anyone in my life who matches his level of integrity and he has taught me so much. Today is my birthday as we often celebrate our birthdays together - this will be the first year we really can't do anything too special, but we DID get a free sundae from Red Robin - and they even sang us a song! We were also blessed to have some friends who sent us cards and celebrated with us. We are so thankful for our family in Christ!

Life can't get any better than this. It is so special - all we've been given from the Lord! He has truly blessed us and as we move forward in this new season we are pushing our plow with not even a glance to the right or left! God is redefining everything in our books in this new season and we are willing to throw ourselves in whatever direction He speaks. If you are at the 31 days of revival this week in Murfreesboro - be sure to come and say hi to us! We would love to hear from you and are so excited to see what He is going to bust out as we continually seek Him!

- Millie

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Where are the Radostis going now???

Where are you all moving to? This is the age old question vocalized by almost every person we know. Let me make it easy for you all by answering it here: "It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going." Hebrews 11:8
That my friend, is your answer! That's what faith is all about! We have ideas that the Lord has put into our heart but ultimately we are waiting for His timing and release to carry out those plans.

Life has been pretty busy for us Radosti's this last week. You never really know how much you have, that is until you are getting rid of it! We started packing and cleaning everything a week ago believing that was enough time. I'm now thoroughly convinced that if we had started a month ago we would still not have had enough time. In fact, I believe if we started when we moved in a year ago...just kidding. Praise the Lord for good friends in the area who would come and help us pack, clean and move out of the kindness of their hearts. I know for a fact that if it wasn't for them, we'd either be losing our security deposit or signing another year lease!

So we've been doing not much other than working 24/7 with the exception of taking care of our basic health necessities and yet I still have a living room full of boxes! Tomorrow will be our last day to get everything completely out.

It's more emotional than I thought this time around. We've done this before, however; leaving everything and hitting the road without looking back but it's different this time. This was our first home in the ministry. Our bedroom was where our baby was born. This house was the longest time in a single place Rob and I have lived in as a married couple. I got a little teary eyed as one of my best friends Amanda took down the crib. I know our time here is finished. I have peace about moving on but it can still be a little emotional at times.




On a lighter note we are excited about what the future holds. We know God has big things in store. I asked a question on my facebook post last night. "Wondering why people limit themselves? What limits you?" I received a few different answers: money, lack of self esteem, past issues, etc... The real answer however is pretty much in the question. People limit themselves. There is nothing holding us back from our full potential. Money doesn't hold us back. We hold ourselves back because we don't truly believe He will provide for what He is calling us to do! Our self esteem doesn't hold us back. We hold ourselves back because we don't truly believe who we are in Him! Our past doesn't hold us back. We hold ourselves back because we don't believe that we are new creations and that all things have become new and old things are passed away! We hold ourselves back. We limit ourselves!
Let me rephrase that. We don't all limit ourselves. There is a generation of us who are rising up and stepping out believing everything God has said. We don't look at finances. We don't look at ourselves. We keep our eyes focused on Him and the prize! That is Rob, Titus and I. That could be you too!

- Millie


So thankful to all who came out and even drove hours to come help us! We are so blessed!





































































Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Bundle of Joy

We're pregnant!
For years we had lived by faith and the Lord had granted every desire of our hearts except one. Because I had been on so many medications in the past and I had severe anorexia and bulimia issues I was told that I might not be able to have children and after 3 years of trying, I almost started to believe them. Despite the world's report, in faith we would write letters to and make videos for our future baby.

While in Brazil during our Gospel Trafficking journey our hearts ached for a child. We prayed and petitioned the Lord for our baby and in just a few weeks we found out we had finally conceived! Finishing up our journey through the twenty-one nations, we joyfully prepared for our baby's arrival! By the time we made it back to the United States we were three months pregnant.

Pregnancy Photo Shoot 2010
Once again life was taking a turn for us. Now we were going from being a traveling married couple to a traveling family. The Lord called us to move from Pennsylvania to South Carolina to finish out my pregnancy and connect with some ministry friends! We fell so in love with the state and had so much fun living there and in just a few months time our baby was being born!

September 12, 2010
On the 12th of September 2010 our beautiful baby boy was born. We named him Titus Obadiah Radosti. Titus means "Honorable Protected Defender" and Obadiah means "Servant/Worshiper of Jehovah" So together it means "Honorable Protected Defender/Servant/Worshipper of Jehovah (God)" His initials are "TOR" Which means "Thunder" and "Dove" which "Dove" is a symbol used throughout the Bible to mean "Holy Spirit" so his initials mean "Holy Spirit Thunder" which is pretty powerful. Titus is one of the shortest books in the new testament of the Bible and he was a disciple of Paul and a Pastor who was used by God to bring correction to ungodly and legalistic people in his congregation and establish solid leadership within his church. Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament and was a prophet that prophesied difficult words to the land of Edom for not backing Israel in their time of trouble. A verse for Titus particularly we picked out for him is Psalm 127:4
"Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth." Which is really significant in a lot of ways because arrows go where you point them - like in Proverbs 22:6 and where most people I've talked to see children as a burden, if you raise them right, they can be a powerful honorable weapon used by God to do great things in their life! Oh yeah - and Radosti means "Joy"!
Radosti Family Ministering 2010

So we spent the first 10 months of his life training him up in the ministry and once again God is calling us to a new season. What better time to start a blog? As we speak we are packing up our whole house and preparing to leave in just 4 days! Where are we going? We have no idea! We only know this: God will lead as He wills and we will follow!

                                               - Millie

Gospel Trafficking: Latin America

"Are you sure Lord?" was our response the first time hearing it. We had most definitely thought it was a crazy idea, however; we don't serve a generic God! What was our next step? Where to next? I mean, how much more faith could you need then to do what we were already doing? We had already been to bars, clubs and even places that had live porn shows to preach the Gospel and saw how God was touching the seemingly most hard hearted people we've ever met and now, well we were in for a totally different kind of adventure!

It all started on May 1st, 2009 we boarded the plane from Pennsylvania to California. There we would take a little time to visit some friends, see some tourist spots and scope out Tijuana, Mexico for some prayer time and declare the works of the Lord in Latin America. It would be the last of any vacation time we would get for quite a while! The atmosphere in Tijuana was rough. As soon as we crossed the border the first thing said to us was, "Get over on your side Gringos or I will kill you!" In the short time we were there we ran into some very dangerous situations and the Lord protected us from harm. We returned to California later that day to find in the news that four young people around our age had been beheaded and their heads were found in coolers in Tijuana. Our hearts broke as we realized the serious need in the nation and even more than being faced with fear, we were moved by compassion. That's when we knew we were ready.

Our plane landed in Brownsville, Texas on May 16th, 2009. It was morning yet as we headed toward the border. We knew that once we crossed over there would be two endings to our story. The first would be that we complete our journey through every country in Latin America preaching the Gospel and living on raw faith, or we would not return.

We didn't have enough money to make it through the 21 nation journey, no. We did not even have enough to make it past but a few cities in Mexico but we never let money determine our obedience to what He has called us to do. So we strapped on our backpacks, jumped into a taxi that took us toward Matamoros, Mexico. Many had warned us how dangerous it was what we were doing. Many people told us how we could get kidnapped, hurt and killed (especially in the taxis). Even family members yelled back at us "You're crazy! You're gunna die!" There comes a point when you know what the Lord has said to you and even if everyone comes against you, you have to press forward! That's why it's the narrow way that we are supposed to take. It's also the narrow way that few people find.

Through every country though we had difficult times and times of enjoyment. There were times of rest and times where we were working so hard that the Holy Spirit would urge us to leave a place, and by doing so our lives were spared from disaster. It was the most intense times of our lives but we saw God reach thousands of people! We are ever thankful for the blessing of the Lord on that journey and everyone who supported it!

- Millie

Here I will share some photos of our journey:


       
Mexico


  
Belize

       
Guatemala
















        
El Salvador

  
Honduras














 
Nicaragua
























































































































 
Costa Rica







 
Panama







  
Crossing the Darien Jungle by boat


































        
  

Colombia






Venezuela




 
Guyana


        
Suriname

  
French Guiana


Ecuador



Peru


Bolivia





 
Chile


Paraguay



  
Brazil

























Argentina





Uruguay







Our actual route: