Shields International Ministries

  A Change of Plans September 2022 Missions Update The month of September did not go as planned for us. While we had many appointments, meetings, and prior obligations, many of them were abruptly cancelled due to illness.   Shortly following our fundraiser/moving sale the beginning of the month, Hanna found out that she will need to have all four of her wisdom teeth surgically removed. It was scheduled three times this month, but each time, issues with insurance prevented it from happening. While we still do not have a specific date for this procedure, the Lord is working on our behalf to provide the funds necessary in the near future. All praise to God, we received a full offer on the house and will be closing on it October 6 th . The extra funds we receive from that will more than pay off our outstanding debt and the surgery she needs. We will then be moving out of the home officially the beginning of November, only one week before our departure date for Australia.     Toward the mid

  “ You’re young, you can handle it.”               If I had a dime for every time I’ve had this said to me, I’d of been on the field months ago… So many times within the past few months, I’ve confided my deepest struggles to someone only to be met with this statement- as if the trials and the hardships weren’t that big of a deal because of my age.   When you’re twenty-four, there’s no excuse for burnout. But there I was, six months into pre-field, dealing with just that. Every day I woke up, I did the exact same thing- I went to work from nine to six and maybe fit a few church calls into my thirty minute lunch period. My only days off were Sunday and Wednesday which were often filled with more church obligations and missions meetings.    Week after week it was the same thing- go to work for nine hours every day and make a barely livable paycheck, then somehow find time to squeeze in the ministry. And as time went on, this schedule began to work less and less….   The daily demands left

  It’s no secret that the past few months have been incredibly difficult. Between managing secular jobs and striving forward with the ministry, it seems that our past and future lives are at constant odds with each other. Each day I wake up, I am reminded of the passage of Scripture found in Philippians 3:12-14, which reminds us to consistently “forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead, pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Unfortunately, the journey often feels long, and each day we move closer to the goal while still trying to manage our secular jobs, gets harder. But we know that God is in ultimate control and that this too shall soon pass.  The month of August proved to be another very eventful month, with ministry opportunities taking root even before we arrived home from our training at Headquarters the end of last month.                  Our first two weeks home were spent in vacation Bible School- the first th