Shields International Ministries

  They say that life is never the same after a survey trip.  It’s one thing to know there is a need, but its another to actually see it in front of you- the spiritual emptiness, the longing, the darkness, and all the things that happen as a result of it. It’s enough to fill your heart with incessant aching, and your soul with a desire for change.  They say that life is never the same after a survey trip, and boy have we found that to be true. We knew going into it, that there would be significant change as a result, but never did we imagine just how much. Our perspectives have changed, and with it, many of our circumstances. And somehow we are fully aware that there is no going back.  Someone once told me that we should never live life as if seeing through a rearview mirror. We are to consistently move forward despite the setbacks, disappointments, and heartbreaks. And as we near the end of another year, we plan to do just that. We’ve turned the page into a new chapter of life and mini

  Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Over five million current residents. Two hundred and fifty thousand immigrants each year and counting from all over the world.  It is a city full of endless opportunity where many have come to start a new and better life. The job market is increasingly generous and plentiful, and the contrast of the endless ocean and towering mountains unmatched. Yet somehow, less than a third of these people live their lives from day to day with any knowledge or interest in God.  On November 15, 2022, after two full years of being denied access to return due to the countries strict adherence to covid laws, we boarded our first flight as a married couple to Sydney. Twenty-six hours, and 9,474 miles later, we arrived physically exhausted but mentally and emotionally renewed.  Over the course of two full weeks in the country, we were blessed to be able to partake in the ministries of four different churches, two on the northern central coast, one two hours south, and