Today on "Everyday, ordinary worship" I want you to meet my very good friends, Trey and Larissa Genser. They are a missionary couple with Overland Missions who are raising support for their ministry in Mozambique (a neighboring country to my beloved Malawi), so I've invited Larissa to share on my blog a bit of their story.
"In the past year I was called to walk by faith in a way I had never done before. Shortly after I began dating my husband, who has been a missionary for five years, I realized God was calling me to the mission field as well. In May 2015, I boarded a plane for Zambia to begin a 3-month intensive missionary training program with Overland Missions called Advanced Missions Training. During those three months I learned practical skills such as vehicle mechanics, GPS navigation, Wilderness First Responder training and a Come Back Alive course where I learned how to find food, water, and shelter where there is nothing. While these skills are important, they did not compare to the spiritual aspect of the training, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and the conviction about my calling to be a missionary.
During the training, I went on three "expeditions," which is what Overland Missions calls their short-term mission trips. On expeditions we go into the Bush and sometimes drive up to fourteen hours on rugged terrain to reach a remote village. On these expeditions you walk hut to hut and share the love of Christ with the people. Overland Mission’s ultimate goal is to reach those who have never heard the name of Jesus and share with them the Gospel message. On my last expedition I was in a small village called Sikelele. During our stay, we held several night meetings which include personal testimonies, singing, dancing, and sharing the Gospel around a campfire. At the end of one of the night meetings, a woman named Penlope came forward and requested prayer for her daughter who was ill. We prayed for healing over her daughter and asked the Lord, in the name of Jesus, for her daughter to be well when Penlope got home that evening. The next day, Penlope came to tell us that her daughter was well when she arrived home the night before. We praised God! This is just one example of how God moves and is continually building our faith.
My husband Trey and I are now beginning our journey together as missionaries with Overland Missions in Mozambique. We have committed ourselves to spreading the good news of Jesus and building disciples for Christ. We are SO excited to be doing the work of the Lord. We cannot wait to follow His direction and watch as He opens the hearts of the people of Mozambique. Before we can enter the mission field we must be fully funded so that our focus is only on doing God’s work and not worrying about how we will pay our bills. This can be a scary process, but God is so AWESOME and we have faith that He will meet our needs. This is definitely a season of walking by faith but it is so sweet to see God fulfill His promises by building the perfect team of partners to send us out! After reflecting on the past year, I am completely convinced that it is worth taking every leap of faith to watch God move in miraculous ways! - Larissa
My family is proud to be on Trey and Larissa's team of partners. They are a blessing to all who know them here at home and I know that God is going to use them in powerful ways in and through the Kingdom-work set before them in Mozambique.
If you missed them sharing in church this past Sunday for our Mission Box offering, then I want you to know a couple things. First, I had the distinct joy and privilege of officiating their wedding ceremony in December. It was pretty amazing, as you can see from the special ordered ray of sunlight shining on them as they took their first steps together as husband and wife.
I also want you to know that Larissa (Johnson) is a "home-grown" member of Trinity. She was baptized here, received her 3rd grade Bible here, confirmed here, and went on several home repair mission trips that inspired her to major in construction in college. As she put it on Sunday, God has brought it all "full circle" and is now calling her to the mission field of Mozambique.
As members of the church, we are called to equip and send those whom God calls to the mission field. That being said, Trey and Larissa are looking for additional partners for their team, willing to provide prayer and financial resources for their ministry. If you would like to know more about what the Gensers are doing, visit their Facebook page where you can also send them a message for additional information.
Mulungu akhale nanu (God be with you),
Aaron
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