Well, we can hardly believe it. It seems like just yesterday we were finding out who the Lord had chosen to be a part of our support team. But after raising over $53,000 of support, much air travel, and 7 weeks that flew by, we have grown and changed in ways.
We’ve come to look at and understand the world in different ways and we have met people whose faces we will never forget.
With this being our concluding update, I thought I’d wrap up some final thoughts with where this all started.
Christians have the greatest news in the world. The news that we have sinned against God, but Jesus Christ has freely (not because of anything we have done) taken the full wrath of what we deserve that we might have eternal life with Him. It is a message that affects a person’s eternity and there is no news or task more pressing, more urgent, or more important than that of the saving news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the Lord graciously allows us to take part in His rescue plan and in taking this news to His nations. So Christian, participation in His mission is a gift and it is not an option. (Matt. 28:18-20, Ps. 96:2-3, Mark 16:15, John 20:21, Acts 13:47, & Isa. 6:8-10; 42:46)
I was going to write out a bunch of statistics about the unreached, but I think this video gives you a much better picture:
Click Here for Video (please watch)
(For additional sources and another video:)
The Traveling Team
Joshua Project
Operation World
Beautiful Feet Video
“How then will they [Pakistanis, Chinese, Mongols, Indonesians, Saudis, Algerians, Koreans, Iranians, Russians, British, etc.] call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”” (Romans 10:14-15).
Here is a quote from The Traveling Team Website <http://www.thetravelingteam.org/stats>: “If everyone is obeying God’s “calling” to be a missionary wherever they are then God is calling 99.9995% of people to work among the 44.3% of the world population that already has the gospel, and calling virtually no one (.0005%) to relocate among the other 53.7% of the world population that are not Christian… In light of God’s word, this seems unfathomable and it appears to be almost complete disobedience on the part of the Church worldwide to go make disciples of all the nations. ”
So thank you, truly thank you, I don’t think I can say it enough, so thank you for your support and your prayers that you have given to this great purpose in life. There is a significant population of Pakistanis living in Sheffield and a significant population of international students from the 1040 window
<http://joshuaproject.net/resources/articles/10_40_window> (pictured below) living in Sheffield. They have joys, sorrows, quirks, and stories just like you and me, and they need Jesus to make them right with the Father just like you and me. Before we went we knew none of them by name, but now we know names, faces and personalities. They are our friends that we miss and that we love dearly.
And thanks to your support, some of them have heard the gospel, been given a Bible, and/or connected to a local church. Campus Outreach is hoping to see more students come to know Jesus, return to their home countries in the 1040 window, and also experience the blessing of seeing others come to walk
in truth (3 John 1:4). Thanks for being a part of this process and coming along side us in this mission.
Blessings always,
Maura Bickner
