Shields International Ministries

  It's ha rd to believe this much-anticipated week has already come to an end. Two days ago, we stepped off a plane in Detroit, Michigan, and headed home-officially missionaries on pre-field deputation.  What a crazy reality we now find ourselves in! Balancing full-time jobs, training schedules, and support raising is no joke. It's busy, hectic, and unfamiliar territory, yet somehow we find ourselves completely at peace.  New Missionary Orientation was unlike anything we had ever experienced. Not only were we officially commissioned to serve the Lord on a foreign field, we were also prayed over and poured into like never before. There was alot of reflection, learning, listening, and acting on our part, but there was also alot of laughter and tears upon the realization that, all our lives- every moment, every experience, every joy, and every sorrow, had been preparing us for this very thing. We may not have seen it then, when things appeared to be falling apart, but now we...

  Over the past few weeks, I've spent alot of nights tossing and turning. I am restless, and my thoughts keep going even when I make a conscious effort to restrain them from doing so. While anyone could take a look at my current life and assume the reasons for such, most do not take the time to truly understand. But to those who do, we stand with the apostle Paul in saying that "We thank God every time we remember you." (NIV, 2011, Philippians 1:3).  Over the next few weeks and probably for the rest of our lives, we will make some difficult decisions that will ultimately pave the course of our future. And as far as I can see, there are currently only two roads from which to choose.  The sleepless nights come not from knowing that a choice must be made, but rather from a lack of understanding as to which is the best one to take. So I pour myself into prayer and reflection. I listen, but my own sinful desires keep from being confident of what I hear. If I'm wrong, nothi...

It is officially March, and for those of you who have been following our journey into missions, yo u know what that means!     The wait is almost over. On March 19th, Trenton and I will be on a plane headed to International Headquarters for our long-anticipated week-long orientation. There we will be given direction as to what will be expected of us over the next few months to the next few years.      It is a big step for us on our journey onto the field, as we will have most of our finances and training plans set in place. From there, we will be looking for support churches to share our ministry with, so we can use all the prayers we can get!     The past few months have not been easy, as is somewhat expected when attempting to work towards a big change of any sort. Most of our plans at this point are up in the air, which makes it really hard to share them with anybody. However, we trust in the Lord's sovereign will, knowing that His plans are best. ...