A Dream Of the solution

As Scott* lie down to sleep one evening, he asked God questions about the future. He asked about his family, where they should go and how the Lord might use them. They wanted to go into cross-cultural ministry but weren’t sure how they’d get there. That’s when he saw it.

He imagined a scene as clearly as if he were watching a movie. He saw of a group of people who came together to raise money and use it to pay off the student loan debt of those trying to move to the unreached.

In awe, he went to see his supervisor and he shared the vision of this team that takes the burden of debt for missionaries. Excitedly, his friend responded, “I was just talking with someone from an organization that does exactly that earlier today.”

He was referring to The GO Fund. Scott and his wife Amy are members of a church whose vision is to see the Kingdom spread and Gospel shared among the unreached of southeast Asia. It matches perfectly with The GO Fund’s goal to pave the way for those who are sent.

Scott and Amy are now in their final weeks of preparation before they move to southeast Asia. Years before they decided to go, they knew they were not going to make that final leap until they could rid themselves of their student debt.

It has been their church’s vision to send 500 missionaries to southeast Asia in the next 20 years and it became both Scott and Amy’s burden to be a part of that vision in a long-term way. They even visited with their son on a vision trip for a few weeks and they fell in love with the people there.

Their son bonded quickly with the locals who sat outside of the hotel where they were staying, and he would excitedly run to them every time he saw them. The couple saw how their family could be welcomed and given opportunities to create relationship. They knew they were called to move their family to southeast Asia, but they hated asking their debt for permission to do what God was leading them to do.

Their ultimate desire was to be obedient to the Lord in whatever their circumstances, but the distance between moving and paying off their debt seemed insurmountable.

Once they connected with The GO Fund, applied and were interviewed, they knew they could be affirmed in their decision to leave for the mission field without the bondage of debt.

Scott and Amy’s long-term goal is to see a self-sustaining, local church planted. Because of how God used The GO Fund, a dream and a vision will come to striking reality as he brings many more into his kingdom.

*All names changed for security.

A 'Thank You' From Our Missionary

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The GO Fund recently partnered with a missionary who will live in Nepal to work among an unreached people group where less than five people have heard the Gospel. While already living and developing relationships with the people there, he was told by friends back in the States that he needed to return to manage his student debt. He knew it was the right thing to do, but he was torn between a flourishing ministry the Lord was obviously opening and an immense burden awaiting him in the US.

In November, a selection committee decided The GO Fund would accept him as a missionary partner. The joy he now experiences as a man who is freed from the barrier of student debt flows from his letter and it is something that has never before been shared outside The GO Fund walls.

I can still recall the day that I was in an area next to Kathmandu. I was in my room late at night and anticipating a much-needed Skype session with one of my pastors. I was excited to give him some amazing updates on what the Lord was doing among the people that I loved and was living with. I can remember when he called. By the tone of his voice I could tell he was a little uneasy. After the greeting he said, ‘I will just get to the point.’ My heart dropped. He continued with, ‘The missions committee wants you to come back home to take care of your student loans, finish school, and raise support.’

I was torn to pieces and told him that I would pray about it. After I got off the phone, I was angry, and crying in agony. God had provided a way in with these people, and I was living with two Buddhist Monks [within the people group], studying the Bible everyday... (Would you have wanted to come back?) Furthermore, God was allowing me to disciple an Ethnic Tibetan Church. I was in love with these people, I was pouring out my soul into their lives. They had become my family that I never had. (I didn't mention to you guys my parents, and grandparents died when I was young.)

Eventually, I decided that I need to go back home so that I would not have anything left undone back in the States. I had to tell my closest friends in Nepal that I still had school, and I owed a lot of money and the right thing to do was to go back and pay it off.

A man who is like my spiritual father was always worried and asking how I will pay off my debt. (I always had faith that God would somehow take care of it somehow) When I came back from Nepal and we prayed with each other I can remember clearly that he prayed that God would just eliminate my debt so that I could return to Nepal. We are both speechless right now at what God has done.

I want to give you guys my deepest gratitude from my heart. I thank you guys so so so much for obeying our Father and letting him do amazing marvelous things through you! I am telling you the truth; tears are streaming as I am writing this letter. Please continue to fight the good fight of faith. Thank you for obeying the Matthew 25:14-30 passage and pleasing our Lord by investing in the Kingdom!

With love,

Chris*

P.S. It means so much that I can go back to Nepal without anything tying me down. It is like a release and I am not a slave anymore! You all have helped me to come back and tie everything up so that I will be leaving nothing undone! It is so huge, I wish you could feel what I am trying to express. I am experiencing the excellent grace of God.  Thank you!

*Name changed for security

She Will Never Be The Same

Anaya’s overwhelmed breathing subsided and was replaced with peaceful inhales and exhales. Her entire demeanor changed. Ellie saw a calm come over her friend as Anaya took a moment with her eyes closed, soaking it all in. Anaya described how Jesus was reaching for her. Her life was changed forever.*

Ellie lives in the Middle East. She recently celebrated her one-year anniversary of living in her new home and praises God’s provision of relationships and opportunities to share the Gospel in such a short time. One such connection is with Anaya, a woman who is from another Middle Eastern country but was living in Ellie’s city for work. The pair began spending time together in a bigger group of women who regularly meet up to make new friends in the city and do fun activities.

Many women in the group, including Anaya, have expressed to Ellie their unique experiences of encountering either Christianity or Jesus himself. “Each girl is from somewhere different in an unreached people group,” Ellie shared. “What a gift to walk alongside them in friendship and point in them in the direction of what their heart is unknowingly longing for!”

Ellie shared that one girl had a dream of Jesus when she was 9 years old but didn’t realize who he was until Ellie’s teammate showed her evidence in the Bible. Another woman learned about Jesus in the past while she lived in the States for a time with believers and seems to be open to learning more. Ellie asked a different woman in the group if she felt like she was in right relationship with God, or if she felt stuck in brokenness and she responded with, “I feel like I am always trying to live up to something and to be good, but I still feel lost.”

In the last year, Anaya lost her job and was unable to find another in their city. Shortly after she formed a friendship with Ellie, she was informed that she would have to return to her home country as she was unable to obtain a work visa. Anaya struggled with fear, anxiety and paranoia from the stress of her circumstances as well as relational hurts she carries from her past.

Two days before she was supposed to leave the country, she was overwhelmed from the demands of packing for her return. Ellie and one of Ellie’s Christian friends invited Anaya to store some of her belongings at Ellie’s apartment. Anaya accepted the invitation and arrived at her apartment, filled with worry and anxiety.

Ellie and her friend invited Anaya to stay for coffee and before she needed to leave, the girls asked to pray over her. After they laid hands on their friend, they prayed and repeated the Gospel to her. They asked God to reveal himself to Anya and they rebuked the enemy in Jesus’ name over Anaya’s pain and fear.

Anya wept as the two women prayed. They knew God was moving in Anaya’s life. They told her how it says in scripture, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  

Through tears, Anaya said she believed! Ellie and her friend were overjoyed! They were amazed to see how God was moving right in front of them. Ellie asked Anaya what she was thinking and feeling in that moment.

Her breathing calmed, and she responded, “I see Jesus coming towards me like a light. I see him putting his hand on my head like he is protecting me … I feel like he is hugging me … I feel so light … I feel like all of the weight on my shoulders has been lifted and that I never have to worry again - that everything is going to be okay because of him.”

Ellie shared that it was a moment when God reminded her of his control, “That he gives us the gift of being a part of watering the seed, but that God does all the growth. I could have never convinced her to follow Jesus, it was all God.”

Anaya had to return to her home country two days later. Ellie and her friend will reach out and find a community there who will disciple and care for Anaya. They ask for prayer over this new sister in Christ and her growth as she steps into her new life. Praise and honor be to the one who uses us as instruments for his purposes. How gracious he is for using Ellie at the perfect time, bringing her through one year of life in this place just like he brought Anaya, so that in his time, another sister would hear, believe and know his immense love for her.

*All names changed for security