Long time no blog, huh?
My friends and family, its been almost a year, but the work God did on the World Race has continued to impact my life, and this summer is going to be a big piece this ongoing puzzle of my life’s ministry.
Let me catch you all up to speed: Before I left for the World Race, I had prayed and believed that God was going to make the World Race more than just an 11 month experience in 11 countries. It was going to be a stepping-stone to some kind of long-term, sustainable partnership that develop out of the relationships and work I did in one of the countries. The answer to this prayer, for those who haven’t heard the story, was a long-term partnership I’ve entered into with the ministry and Pastor I worked with in my first month in Moldova: Pastor Vitalie and Sinai 30 Ministry
Last summer, 2 months after I got home from the World Race, I traveled back to Moldova for 3 weeks to further explore this partnership and work with the Pastor. In some ways, it was more spiritually packed and fulfilling than any month on the World Race, confirming a 1000 times over that this is truly what God is leading me to invest myself in.
This year, while studying for a Masters in Divinity at Boston University, God has continued to lead the way in this partnership. This summer, I will be spending 6 weeks in Moldova with a team, working in the many-faceted ministry there, and earning 8 credits towards my degree! I couldn’t possibly express what a profound joy and blessing it is to be given an opportunity to continue the work to which I am called, with people I love, and to combine that with the degree that I’m pursuing for my career in ministry. God is so good, to weave all of these things together for the sake of His Kingdom!
I will be in Moldova with a team of 6 guys, 2 Korean friends from my program at BU, Chanho Kang and Jinwoo Park, 2 guys from my World Race, Blake Rushing and Daniel Durick, and a friend I’ve never met who worked with Pastor Vitalie on a different World Race, Michael Hall. We will be in Moldova from July 1st-August 15th.
Here is a brief look at my partnership with Sinai 30 and the work we will do this summer:
First, you can check out this website to get a good look at what Sinai 30 is: http://sinai30.blogspot.com/
My Partnership: Essentially, my partnership with Sinai 30 focuses on a few things:
1. Empowerment and encouragement of Pastor Vitalie in his leadership of the ministry, through a deep friendship we have developed where we stay in regular email and phone contact throughout the year.
2. Going back to work with the village (Cornesti) and take teams there to expand the ministry’s relationships
3. Helping the ministry develop a plan of community sustainability in agriculture, small business, and village communal relationships
Our work this summer will include:
1. House visits, where we build relationships alongside the church outreach workers with people in the village, praying, reading the Bible together, and offering help in their lives in any way we can.
2. Discipleship of the orphans at Sinai 30.
3. Kids Program every afternoon
4.Teaching, preaching, and leading Bible Study and prayer times, with the church throughout the week.
5.Farm work and maintenance/construction work around the church and orphanage grounds
6.Serving the orphanage by helping cook and clean etc.
So the journey of Kingdom ministry in the small window of my friends’ and my lives continues this summer in Moldova. This small opportunity has BIG potential to further the transformation of Cornesti village in Moldova into a community of God’s interdependent Kingdom.
If you would like to invest in this work and in our team, please click on the Support Me tab on the left sidebar on my blog and make a donation. My World Race account has been turned into a general team account for this trip, and it will go to provide for our in-country expenses during the 6 weeks in Moldova.
Of course, your prayers, phone calls, emails, etc. are all just as important to me and to Sinai 30 as any financial investment you can make. Once again, I cant thank you enough for your support!
Please feel free to contact me personally with any questions or comments! [email protected] or 717-669-1351
May God bless you with all the fruits of His Spirit and love,
Tommy Shireman
