Why I have been so quiet…

Hello Friends!

I have been completely off the radar for the past week or two… I apologize for not getting to the devotionals but everything went crazy! (in a good way…)

The way God seems to work with us is that He starts doing something and we jump on board and go for it. And usually, things happen quickly.

So, we moved and have settled into our new home nicely. We are still unpacking, however, a vision that I have had in my heart for years all came together in a short space of time. Three months ago, the Lord reminded me of this vision and things started coming together to make it happen.

The vision is basically a new ministry of GraceLife focused on raising up and equipping believers to be fruitful ambassadors of Christ who reach the unreached and impact eternity, through a three-month full-time program blending classroom learning, personal discipleship, and practical service, within community living. We will be helping those in this program to grow in a relationship with God, get established in truth, discover their purpose, and experience the joy of living on the mission for Jesus. Through community living and outreach opportunities, students will have the opportunity to live out what they learn and help to impact eternity through evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. We want to equip people to live on mission for Jesus and with Jesus! For some that may
look like being an ambassador for Christ, reaching the lost, and making disciples in the marketplace through a profession or career. For others, it may mean going on regular short-term missions or going on a backpacking mission through places like Eastern Europe, reaching people for Jesus, and making disciples.

For the past two weeks, with some help, I have been converting our garage into a dormitory and training center. I plan and aim to send a video of this all tomorrow! We are excited that we will have three young men staying in the dorm (two have already arrived) and one young lady staying in an apartment close by. We officially start today (25 August) with Orientation and training, and (I am sure that you won’t be surprised at this) we go on our first mission to rural KwaZulu-Natal next week. We will be doing some outreach into villages but our focus will be training and equipping pastors for discipleship – taking the gospel deeper among the Zulu people.

On top of this all, I am hosting a church Planting Conference this weekend (open to anyone interested… click here for more info). And, I will be starting our 12-week, online mission school this Saturday (you are invited to join us! Info below.).

In between all of this, God has connected us with a couple who live a few minutes away from us, who are missionaries among the Bushmen in Namibia. This amazing couple has generously availed themselves to be a part of equipping our students. We thank God for all of this!

I am sure this all leaves you wondering how we are doing as a family because you probably expect us to be going nuts! hehe… We are doing very well, as a family… and even in this busy season, we are connected, enjoying our new home, and are experiencing the joy and peace of the Lord! 

We appreciate your prayers! 🙂 Please pray for our “Boot Camp” students, for the upcoming mission trip, and for more and more opportunities to reach the lost and disciple believers for the King and His Kingdom. 

Much love,
Shayne