PRAY! and OMS Spotlights Gary and Diane

One Mission Society's Facebook page

Go to OMS's facebook page and check out the prayer request as Gary and Diane prepare to leave for Honduras bright and early tomorrow.  Be watching for specific prayer requests in days to come on their ministry Facebook page.

QUESTION HOT SEAT WITH GARY AND DIANE

Welcome to week one of Gary and Diane on the hot seat where they will answer questions about their ministry, their lives and their relationship with God to give us a window into what God is up to!!  DON'T FORGET TO GET YOUR QUESTIONS IN!  You can submit them anytime to dmasterino@artreads.com and don't be afraid to ask a funny question!  We're certain God has a great sense of humor so why wouldn't his servants???!

QUESTION:  What is the hardest thing about traveling for OMS?

Gary
The hardest thing is actually the travel itself.  The tension of meeting the schedules and then having to spend so much time waiting is very wearying, but as we are getting used to it. We seem to be finding ways of coping.  We always have reports, replies and correspondence to take care of and we have found opportunities to share our faith with fellow travelers.

It is interesting that in addition to sharing our faith, we have met more than a few fellow missionaries heading into Latin America as well.  It may be that we are just traveling to an area where there is a lot of missionary activity from the US, but  I know that meeting these other people and hearing their stories provides a lot of encouragement and affirmation to us. I hope we are doing the same with them when they hear our story and understand our mission focus.

Diane

I think the hardest thing is the packing. We have almost always driven everywhere we have traveled. Which means that I could take everything but the kitchen sink! But not so with our mission travel. There is a weight limit on our suitcases so that limits what I can take. And then, of course, there are my hair products! But I am getting better with each trip and learning what I will need to pack. One really good thing is the weather is pretty much the same all the time so I know what weight of clothing to pack. All summer stuff with maybe a light jacket for mornings. It gets to 60 at night and maybe 80 in the daytime all year round. I guess in the summer it gets hotter. They advised us not to come then!

The second harderst thing is the actual flying. While I am not afraid, it is not really fun. A necessary evil. But on the plus side, we do get to share our story with many different people in the airports and on planes. That makes it fun.

Training in Indiana

Hello, friends and family!  Gary here.  Just a quick update on what I was up to last week.  After only one day home from Honduras, I was back in the car and along with another Church Multiplication Facilitator (CMF) from Middlefield, OH, Roger Cruse, we were on our way to Greenwood, IN to our destination - Henryville, IN. 

Roger is the CMF for a portion of India and all of Indonesia, where he travels 2-3 times each year.  We were invited to attend one of the workshops at the VAN Symposim.  This Symposium brought together the largest and most significant of our ministry partners from around the world to discuss and share how networking together and sharing one another's experience can afford benefits to all members of the ONE MISSION SOCIETY team. 

Above:  Banner honoring the attendees from around the world Those involved were from Colombia, India, Bangladesh, Singapore, Spain, Korea, the Caribbean, Bangladesh and a few other East Asian countries as well.  

The general scope of the discussions was what kind of support services, materials, trainers and training should an organization supply to their direct or 'first wave "train and multiply" partners and how should this support be sustained and maintained with subsequent waves in order to keep the Gospel being spread, expanded and modeled in subsequent waves. 

It was an interesting and active session and led to a lot of good discussion and dialogue between both OMS people and other participating partners as well.  An interesting development is now occurring in that some of these partners are now at the point where they are sending their own missionaries out to develop new areas and new countries using the model from One Mission Society.  Our work in Honduras fits this description quite well, inasmuch as Confraternidad Carcelaria de Colombia is sending trainers to Honduras to begin the development of the Honduran Prison Ministry utilizing Train and Multiply materials and methods.

Photo left:  Prison Fellowship of Columbia Representatives- It is so encouraging to see that the Great Commission is being understood and executed throughout the nations of the earth, in the second, third and subsequent waves into an ever expanding body of Christ.

Above:  Our group photo

"Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost."  Matthew 28:19

Please pardon the timeline jumping with these first posts as we get this blog up to speed!  Following is our update prior to our Honduras trip.  This will give you a pretty good idea of what our outlook on the mission is for the rest of the year.

Greetings to all our prayer partners and supporters!

Our ministry is getting into gear in a serious way right now. 

Diane and I will be facilitating and training 15 Honduran volunteers in Tegucigalpa, Honduras May 28^th-June 6.  These 15 volunteers have already been actively visiting the prisons in their country. We will go with them into these facilities and begin establishment of Train and Multiply Bible studies.  This program results in the identification of leaders and the formation of small groups and then eventually the establishment of churches within the walls of the prisons, directed and led by inmates themselves. 

Diane and I will be looking forward to utilizing our newly learned skills in Spanish assisting in instruction and building relationships with the trainees.  They will use the material and skills we provide to encourage and teach the inmates and develop long term relationships with a foundation in Christ. 

After we return to the US, we will continue to support these trainees by following up with them via Skype and e-mail, offering suggestions, checking on progress, and seeing just how God is working  through their efforts.  We look forward to sharing those stories of hope! 

We will return to Honduras in 8-12 weeks to work with them further and make several visits into each of the facilities in which they are ministering.

It is exciting to see how these trips will be driving our calendar in the next year!  As we make our way, we plan on staying in touch and taking each of you with us as much as possible.  

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or encouragement!  Your participation and prayers mean a great deal!

In Christ,
Gary

Gary and I have been asked to participate in a training event back in Colombia.  They are working throughout the nation of Colombia to take the Gospel to each and every home in the nation!  What an exciting potential for major transformation in a country once so torn by drug trade and violence! This will include to all those incarcerated in the prisons of Colombia, as well.  The plan is to train approximately 100 volunteers from across the country to go back to their “barrios” and start planting the seeds that will multiply into a revival within the nation. 

Since this trip has fallen so soon after our trip to Tegucigalpa, it will be impossible for me to accompany Gary because our support account will just about be emptied out. 

So, can I ask that you pray for increased pledges and gifts to our mission work to Latin America? 

We always appreciate your prayers but would also ask that you prayerfully consider participation as financial partners of our mission work. 

It is VERY SIMPLE to pledge your support.  And EVERY gift makes a difference to us. 

Go to this link:

http://www.onemissionsociety.org/give/TheBarefoots

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers for our effectiveness, protection and responsiveness to God’s call us to serve Him!  It means more than you know!                  

Blessings,

Diane