Operation 2012: Go ye therefore...

Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Tonight, we had our annual missions meeting at our Church.  We talked about where we do missions and why, and how blessed we are to be part of a Church that has so many opportunities to go on missions trips.  We currently have 19 trips scheduled, and more are sure to arise as the year unfolds (they almost always do).  We are sending teams to war torn Rwanda, earthquake ravaged Haiti, tsunami affected Japan, among other places.  Orphans, High School students, Widows and the like, will not only be taken the Good News of Jesus Christ, but will learn that people all over the world love them and pray for them.


Last year, I had the opportunity to go to Haiti twice, and both trips were a blessing.  My husband Michael went with me on the trip in July and we got to help in the Church of Hope's Vacation Bible School or "BBS" as the Haitian kids called it.  We had an average of 450 kids per day who got to hear a Bible Story, do a craft, play some fun games and get a hot meal.  In November, I went with a team of women from our Church, and we spent our days cleaning houses in the villages surrounding the Mission of Hope and our evenings having a Women's Conference similar to ones I have been to in the US.

My first love when it comes to missions, is and always will be Haiti.  The people of Haiti have so much joy and a true desire to know Jesus.  Worshiping and serving with the Haitians is so rewarding.  I hope to return there this year, and take my 10 year old daughter with me.  She has such a servant's heart and truly loves being with children.  I can't wait for her to meet Micherline, Pierre, and all the other orphans at Mission of Hope, that I have grown to love.

This year, another country has really stolen a piece of my heart and Michael and I feel called to go to Rwanda.  A couple of years ago, The Watoto Choir came to our church to perform.  Even though Watoto is in Uganda, a video they showed was of a boy who had been a Soldier in Rwanda and is now a refugee in Uganda.  Like Michael, the boy suffered from PTSD and struggled with a past that included him killing innocent people.  Since we saw that video, my husband has gone through treatment for PTSD and sought spiritual counseling for resolution of the guilt that comes from taking another man's life.  This boy's story, much like Michael's, was a story of redemption and renewal and as we sat in the missions meeting tonight it felt like Rwanda was calling for us to come.

The trip leader talked to us about how the former barracks for the Soldiers of Rwanda was given to the Diocese to build a school that would train new pastors, and I got tears in my eyes.  What a beautiful picture of redemption, and it is so similar to Michael's.  He was once a Soldier, and felt like God couldn't love him because of his taking other lives, and now he has surrendered his life to the Ministry and is going to school to learn to be a pastor.  Much like those buildings in Rwanda, Michael has been re-purposed for the Kingdom of God.  I scribbled a note to him on the back of our information sheet, "Rwanda's Story of Redemption = Michael's Story!"  We must've looked like a couple of fools, crying and holding hands in the middle of a meeting but we both knew at that moment, beyond a shadow of a doubt that Rwanda is where God wants us to go this year.

We got home and did the math, and we need to raise $10,000 dollars to go on both mission trips.  That seems like an enormous sum of money but with God, all things are possible.  We ask you to join us in praying that God provides the funds, like he has so many times before, for us to live out his calling on our lives.  We'll be setting up an Etsy page and putting handmade items up for sale and doing some other fundraisers.  We just know that God will make a way.

If you're interested in supporting us financially, please let me know.   Send us an e-mail at mikeandginnyheisler@gmail.com

In His Name,

Ginny