Greater Portland Baptist Church

Jesse and Tiffany Shanks: March 2007

The end of deputation is in sight, and we are very excited about moving on to the next stage of journey in language school. However, even though we are anxious to finish our support-raising, we have tried not to forget that our main purpose for visiting these few remaining churches is to "minister grace unto the hearers." We rejoice that we have had many opportunities lately to minister specifically to children and teens. We have shared our calling and burden for the people of Togo in several Christian school chapels, youth groups, and children's churches. It is always exciting to see God working in the hearts of young people as He did in ours. We have had several kids and teenagers tell us lately that God is leading them to the foreign missions field. We praise God for giving us the privilege of impacting a future generation of Christians for His glory!

Some great news is that our current monthly support level is now at 83%! We cannot say "thank you" enough to all of you who have partnered with our ministry and support us on a regular basis. There are several more churches that have committed future support, but even with these we will still need a few more supporters. We are confident however, that through the prayers of God's people, He will meet this need in the same way He has met every other need: in His perfect time.

Being on deputation truly has been a "comfort-zone-stretching" experience for all of us! Usually, just when I think I know how to handle any situation, God will throw me a curve ball. Recently at a missions conference in Los Angeles, the church we were visiting put us in the Marriott Hotel for five nights. In case you are wondering, the Marriott would definitely be considered "out of our league." As we pulled into the check-in area, I quickly noticed the throng of doormen and valet parking attendants ready to swarm around our dirt-covered minivan. Having never been in such a situation before, I quickly asked Tiffany, "What do I do? What do I do?" She said, "I don't know!" Having no other plan of escape, I pulled the van over to the curb, and suddenly we were surrounded. Doors swung open for us, luggage carts appeared out of nowhere, and before we knew what hit us we were strolling past the Starbucks in the lobby and into our luxurious room. That was definitely our first experience with a first class hotel, and for the first class hotel, that was probably their first experience of a three person family using every available inch of two large luggage carts!

There's never a dull moment on deputation! Around every corner is a new adventure, and never-ending opportunities for Christ to minister through us.

In His Grace,
Jesse, Tiffany, and Joshua Shanks