Dear friends,
In just a few days, my wife and I will step onto a plane bound for Latvia. We’re not going for sightseeing (though it is beautiful), and we’re not going for rest (though it will be refreshing in another way). We’re going as part of a mission team with the Spiritual Orphans Network to help lead a weeklong English Bible Camp focused on the life of Joshua.
It’s a camp that feels a lot like our own Vacation Bible School—laughter echoing across the field during sports rotations, glue and glitter stubbornly clinging to the corners of craft tables, English phrases being practiced with wide smiles and heavy accents. There’s music and prayer. There’s the Bible, front and center. There’s also something else.
There’s courage.
Not just the courage of the young people we’ll be teaching—though it does take courage to show up and learn English from strangers. And not just the courage of our mission team—though traveling halfway around the world to teach the Bible in another culture does take a bit of nerve and a lot of prayer.
But also your courage.
Yes—yours. The courage to say yes to the Gospel being shared, not just within the walls of our own sanctuary but across oceans. The courage to trust that your offerings—prayerful, financial, and spiritual—could be used to change a young heart in a small country most Americans couldn’t find on a map. The courage to believe that what we do here in West County ripples into eternity elsewhere.
“Be strong and courageous…”
That’s what God says to Joshua as he takes up the mantle of leadership in Joshua 1. Moses has died. The wilderness wandering is over. The Promised Land is just ahead, but so are fortified cities and enemies who don’t want Israel to succeed. Joshua doesn’t get a tactical plan or a sneak preview of the challenges to come. He gets a word from the Lord:
“Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.” (Joshua 1:6, ESV)
Three times in the first chapter, God repeats the same command. And the final reason he gives is the one we cling to most:
“Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
Wherever you go.
We believe that’s true in Ellisville and in Latvia. It’s true in the pew and in the field. It’s true when you bring your friends to church and when you support a mission team that’s bringing the Word to children in a country still healing from decades of atheistic oppression.
The camp theme this year is built around the Book of Joshua—and as we teach these stories, from the spies to the walls of Jericho, we’ll be encouraging the campers to discover what real courage looks like. Not bravado. Not recklessness. Not “powering through” by sheer will. But the kind of courage that comes from knowing the Lord is with you.
In Joshua 2, two Israelite spies are sent to scout out the city of Jericho. What do they find? A fortified city. Danger around every corner. But also—surprisingly—a friend. Rahab, a woman of questionable reputation and unexpected faith, hides them. She’s heard of the God of Israel and dares to believe that He is greater than her fears.
It’s a moment of courage, not just for the spies, but for Rahab too.
And here’s what’s beautiful: that courage doesn’t just belong to Joshua, or the spies, or Rahab. That same courage belongs to all who step out in faith today.
In the New Testament, we hear Paul echo similar encouragements to the church in Corinth:
“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13–14)
And in Ephesians:
“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” (Ephesians 6:10)
Courage, in Scripture, isn’t ever separated from the presence and promises of God. We aren’t told to be strong because we’re capable. We’re told to be strong because He is faithful.
That’s the heart of this mission trip.
We’ll be teaching English, yes. We’ll be building relationships. We’ll be laughing and sweating and maybe eating some questionable pickled fish. But more than anything, we’ll be telling stories about a God who keeps His promises—a God who goes with us, into new lands and new hearts.
And friends, you are part of that story.
Through your prayers, your encouragement, and your generous giving, you’ve made this mission trip possible. You’ve helped purchase Bibles and notebooks, sports equipment and craft supplies. You’ve helped cover travel expenses and curriculum materials. You’ve made it possible for children in Latvia to hear about Jesus—many of them for the very first time.
We want you to know that we don’t take that lightly.
You’re not just donors. You’re disciples. Co-workers in Christ’s mission. Our partners in proclaiming the Gospel, not only here in our community, but to the ends of the earth.
The Bible says that when the twelve spies were first sent out in Numbers 13, only two—Joshua and Caleb—came back ready to move forward. The others were afraid. The cities were too big. The enemies too strong. But Joshua had seen something the others hadn’t fully grasped yet:
“If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us…” (Numbers 14:8)
Joshua believed that God’s presence would make all the difference.
We believe that too.
So as we prepare to go, we ask one more thing: will you pray for us?
Pray that we would be strong and courageous.
Pray that our team would be unified and joyful.
Pray that the students’ hearts would be open to the message of Jesus.
And pray that the seeds planted there—through song, through laughter, through Scripture—would grow deep roots in the soil of Eastern Europe.
Thank you, church, for sending us. For believing that the mission of God is worth stepping out for. For being a people who don’t just read about Joshua’s courage, but who live it out in real time.
We go on your behalf.
We go with your prayers.
We go with the Lord.
In Christ,
Pastor Mark
0 Comments