I’m reading “The Sacred Romance” right now by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge. It is good, real good. The best thing is that Alexis and I were prayed for today at a missions conference and Isaiah 45:1-3 was used, and low and behold, you would think we all worshipped the same God or something. Because, in my reading tonight, I think Chapter seven, the exact same passage from IS 45 was used in the book!
Something of heaven touched Earth tonight, right here in good old Gresham, Oregon. Yes, I mean, we had some kind of encounter with the heavenly bodies. No, not one of those “We saw angels flying from the rafters” no, I mean something much more touching. When I first came to Christ I swear that at times I had no choice but to raise my hands in worship, however over the years I’ve slowly come to a place where I raise my hands, not based on a feeling, but in response to my heart’s desire to touch God. Tonight though, something new happened, instead of raising my hands because I wanted something, it’s as if God came and forced my arms up. This may sounds strange, but it was natural, and it was great. God is so good, and He so loves, his greatness can never be measured until the time His kingdom comes. I worship God because of this, not because I feel better, but because he deserves it.
(Minor updating 6/11/07)
See this post, and this post for a quick overview.
The Lord has done much in our lives since Travis returned from Poland in August of 2004. Both of us are now in our final year of the INTERNational Training Program (ITP) and the Oregon College of Ministry (OCM) in Gresham, Oregon. Through the ITP we are being equipped for hands-on, practical ministry to young people and others in our own generation. As part of this intern program we took the opportunity this past July/August to go to U-turn Europe in Poland, an annual youth camp for Foursquare Europe (each year a different country is host), that, by no accident, was in Zakopane, the same town Travis lived and served in for a year and Alexis lived and served in for six weeks. In addition, through OCM we are being equipped with practical biblical training to enable us to serve God and be servant-leaders to a broken world. As the Lord guides us into marriage through this engagement time, we are looking forward to his promises in our life together, please read further.
Over this past year God’s calling on our lives has become confirmed, we are to be pastors, to sheppard His people and serve them. We have a vision to see people become equipped to lead and serve in God’s kingdom. Because of the mentorship, training, and equipping we have received through OCM and the ITP we now have the tools and heart for mentoring, training, and equipping our generation. Specifically the Lord has given us a vision and heart for our generation in the nation of Poland.
So, what will we do in Poland, when will we go? These are the questions. We want to build a training program in Poland, it will look different than the ITP, but God’s heart is the same; to mentor, train, equip, and release the Polish people to do the ministry themselves, plant churches themselves, and bring God’s full glory in freedom. This training program will be a place for Americans, Poles, and eventually anyone to experience ministry, hands on, and receive the same kind of mentorship as Paul did for Timothy. We believe there will be restoration for both the local Polish people and the interns themselves just as we have seen in our lives since being in the ITP. In the future we want to have the same kind of quality practical Bible teaching as OCM is providing, in Poland. And ultimately we want to see the Polish people take on the vision themselves.
In order to see this come to fruit we have a multi-year plan that we know will require patience and prayerful consideration. Of course we will continue building our relationships with our Polish friends in Poland, including at least an annual visit until we move there. We also want to begin building relationships with the Polish community here in the Portland, Oregon area. In the meantime we hope to recruit Polish Christians from the Portland and Seattle areas in the ITP program in Gresham. We also want to recruit Poles living in Poland to come and be interns in the ITP so that we can start building a team of people (including some non-Poles) to go to Poland when God opens the doors and says “go”. We consider this time to be the conception stage; we know God will lead us into each stage as is necessary at the proper times.
So, again, we thank you for your prayers, financial support, and spiritual support through this entire process. If you have any questions you may contact Travis or Alexis with the information below. We pray that you too will know God’s calling in your life, weather it be local or global, we know the Lord has amazing plans for each person and that it takes for each of us to trust Him and Listen to Him.
In Christ,
Travis & Alexis Mielonen
I mean the blog… I’ve had ideas of grandeur for foodforfish for a while now, but just haven’t had the time nor the energy to sit down and work it out. However, I tell you though, The Lord is doing some amazing healing, and restoration in both Alexis and I, all in preparation for our eventual ministry in Poland. We are now working on our Wedding, and our mission trip this summer to Germany/Poland, continue to keep us in your prayers as we go out for support funds, prayers, and tell people the vision. Thanks!
It seems that what I try to do these days, creates a war inside of me. One side screams for just a taste, while the other side tries with all its might to stop the screaming. The first side fires its arrows of pleasure, when one hits the target, then great apathy comes, then, the final blow comes with a shot gun shot of guilt and shame. The other side fights all of these darts, attempting to use the weapons it has been taught, but discovers that practice does make perfect, and recently, practice is, what is not. To and fro, to and fro, like a giant game of tug-o-war, only it seems that one side is a bunch of two year olds, and the other a huge nasty guy who mysteriously seduces the side that could so easily trample him.
