PJ and Amanda Spencer Serving the Lord with you in ministry MOVING TO FLORIDA!
From Amanda:
After much prayer, faith, anticipation, and unfortunately also anxiety, I have set the date for my move to Florida! It has been a long road of Partnership Development, but it has been a much needed time for spiritual growth as well as for developing ministry partners! I am so thankful for those who have said “Yes!” to my plea for co-laborers in this ministry. Those who have chosen to trust the Lord in joining me through prayer and finances to see more people reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I will be packing over the next 2 weeks, and finalizing my plans & necessary arrangements for the move, and then loading up my car, as well as my parents’ car, and hitting the road on April 2nd. Good Friday, you ask? Yes, we will travel to my sister’s in Virginia to spend Easter with her & her hubby, as well as my brother who is flying in! I’m so excited to have a small family “hoorah” on my way to my new ministry & home!! Then it’s on to warmer weather, palm trees, alligators, and most especially, MINISTRY! (I don’t typically point out the fact that I will have palm trees out my window, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about it.)
While all of these things are exciting, fresh, and adventurous, on the forefront of my mind has been the anticipation of seeing God work in hearts to bring more of His children into His marvelous ministry around the world! There are still so many who need to hear of His gift of salvation!! Just this morning, I was listening to a testimony of how God welcomed an entire tribe into His family through the powerful work of His word & His Spirit! Can anything compare with that? Absolutely not!! My goal is to get more people involved… to help them to see that they only have ONE life to give. Forget average, forget monotony, forget boring… forget “safe” (which is really only a matter of opinion). Serving on the battlefront of eternal destiny is a life pleasing to God!! Let’s win as many souls to Jesus as our short time allows us… and along the way, grab your brother or sister next to you & get them involved too!
My great news has flowed into some of my thoughts here, but the bottom line is, I’m finally moving to Florida (praise God!) and I am so excited to get started! Please keep praying for me! I am currently at 41% of my total support, so while I am moving, I still need to increase my support. I will continue to press on with that area as well as beginning my ministry.
Keep looking up… He’s right there… Grab a hold of the Truth & savor it every day!
Tags: Moving to Florida
Jesus Loves Me, This I Know
Jesus loves me, this I know… for the Bible tells me so. Little missionaries to Him belong… we are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.
While this song can be heard typically coming from the children’s Sunday school room down the church hallway, I’ve adapted its words only slightly to make it the song of my heart today. How great is the love my Savior for this 22-year old missionary who faces a daily rollercoaster of emotions, ranging from doubt and anxiety.. to encouragement and hope.. to excitement and peace! I praise God for His unfailing love for me. He provides for every single one of my needs because HE LOVES ME! I am beyond words.
Today, I began my day excited to see how God would possibly use me to minister to others. I was several hours into my day when doubt and fear gripped me so strongly that I crumpled in tears. I turned on the radio while I fixed my makeup and tried to prepare for my next ministry opportunity, and I heard the lady behind the microphone ask just one thing to all of us listeners… Are we listening to God today, or Satan? OK… talk about a spiritual wake-up call!!! I was immediately convicted and began talking to my Lord, asking Him to forgive me and remind me of the truth that He will take care of me. I hopped in the car to head to my meeting, and spent the next hour being ministered to by a dear brother and sister in Christ. After this wonderful time of fellowship, I went to the store to buy some dishes that I need for my new apartment (which I saw on sale for a great price yesterday!), and got to the register to find out they were reduced to half of the sale price! I ended up paying $12 dollars…… can you honestly tell me that God doesn’t provide for us?? THEN, I got home, checked my messages, and returned a call to find out that God was again impressing on some friends’ hearts to support me in ministry. And it’s only lunch time.
“And HE has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
For such a time as this
From Amanda:
I have recently been studying the book of Esther, and I am again amazed to see how God, without actually being mentioned, is in the forefront of Esther’s entire story. As the Jewish people come to be in danger of complete annihilation, Esther must step out in faith and attempt to change the course of history. Praise God she said ‘Yes’, right? Looking at her life, and the crazy twists & turns she faces, I find myself asking God what it is that He’s doing through my life. Sure, I have some semblance of a plan for the immediate future, but what about after that? And how will the things I’m involved in today affect the future? Am I slowing down whatever it is God’s trying to do in my life when I disobey? Or is that all part of the process that I must go through to learn more about myself and more about my God? Just some thoughts for today…
My goal is to become a bit more faithful in the updating of this blog. I hope you like the new format… I think it’s great! I will put in more of an effort to posting the things that God is doing in my life… and also how things are going with the ministry, of course!! God bless!
Tags: Lessons from Esther
Update #1 from Interface
From Amanda:
Thank you to all of you who’ve been praying for my time here in Papua New Guinea! I’m sorry for such a delayed update. I’ve been reminded once again that things in a 3rd world country take a bit longer.
From the moment I met the team in LA, and boarded a 11 hour flight with these strangers, I knew that God was going to do amazing things in our time together around the world! He has not ceased to amaze me! All of our flights went without a problem, and we arrived safe and sound… ON TIME… in Goroka, PNG with a whole group of ITF (Interface) staff waiting for us! Most of the luggage made it, with what didn’t being only a few hours behind us. All in all, quite a relief!
Since that moment, it has been a whirlwind of excitement here at ITF! With activities ranging from language & culture study to Ultimate Frisbee, from classes to campfires & time in staff homes, from hiking to amazing meals from our awesome cook, Beth! We are located near several small villages, where we are able to spend afternoons sitting with the people or playing games with the children. This has been an amazing time for me personally because I feel as though I’m finally able to experience a taste of what I’ve been training for! Praise God!! He’s growing & challenging me in new ways each and every day!
We recently were able to spend a day in town… that was quite the experience! To be part of a semi-large group of white people amidst thousands of PNG nationals… you stand out for sure. And everyone watches every move you make.. it’s a bit intimidating. But, it was a great way to experience another facet to the culture here & also a great time to buy some cool souveneirs!!
Thank you again for your prayers!! I covet them daily! I am convinced God still has much to teach me about Himself, and about my small part in tribal church planting! Also, please keep praying for the students who are here at ITF, who are seeking God’s direction for their lives. Will He raise up some of them to go out to the harvest field?? I hope so! Keep praying with me about this!
Interface… Here I Come!
From Amanda:
As many of you know, I will be leaving for PNG in about 8 days. This time overseas will be an opportunity for me to understand better the short term programs that NTM has to offer. My soon-to-be ministry will involve sending teams to other countries, to experience firsthand the process involved in tribal church planting. As I meet the staff at our Interface campus, interact with the student on the team, meet national and tribal people, and experience the culture of Papua New Guinea, I will have a much better knowledge of how this trip expands the reach of the gospel by exposing the need for more laborers. I am greatly looking forward to my time overseas, and the opportunity to interact with the students on the team and encourage them! Would you please pray with me as I go?
January 09 newsletter
Bonjour touts le monde,
Wow what a first couple of weeks this has been. As most of you know I am in Canada now studying French. The process it took to get here was a story in itself (with all the paperwork and things like that.) God is good and as of last Friday the last piece of paperwork was finalized and I am now set to be here for a year. I came up the 3rd and as soon as I crossed the border I saw all the signs were in kilometers. My car only has a few marks on the speedometer for kilometers and none of them were the ones that were on the road signs. I am sure I must have broken the speed limit a couple of times. Oops. When I got to Sherbrooke (which is the city I am in) I drove around for at least an hour trying to find the French school. The road signs and signals have different meanings so I am sure I broke some more rules. I finally got to Parole de Vie (Word of Life). It is a great school where most of the staff here are missionaries themselves. The first day was testing to see where I was going to be placed. After the test results they said my speaking and comprehension was on an intermediate level but my grammar and spelling was that of a beginner. They placed me in intermediate but I had to do some catching up on grammar. The classes are small so that helps when a certain “person” needs help. The school also has bible school for French speakers in Quebec. Most of them are teenagers. I eat lunch with them in the dining hall and hang out with them in the lounge so that is a help to my French.
After getting settled in my apartment I went to town to do some shopping. It is so weird here because you see a modern US looking city but when people talk to you it sounds funny. I find myself thinking why they don’t just speak English. After finding the grocery store (another long story of one way streets) and going inside I was literally hit with culture shock. People in the store would bump your cart to let you know that you needed to move faster. Trying to read labels in French at the same time makes you kind of flustered. In the end I ended up with a lot of ground pork instead of hamburger. When I went to check out all the “checkout lines” (if you can call them that) were backed up. On top of that you had to bag your own groceries. I have never bagged groceries before and I had a lot of them. I knew it was going to take a long time . God must have seen my predicament and made me the last person to go through that check out. It took me long time to bag my groceries but nobody was pushing me.
I am so excited to be here knowing that this is the last step in getting to Guinea. I know that the time will pass by quickly. Thank you for your partnership with me in prayer and support in reaching the people of Guinea. Someday soon I will be writing from Guinea telling more stories of God’s goodness. I will try to keep you updated as much as possible but the emails probably won’t be this long. Below is my address. You just send mail to the school with my name on it and they will put it in my box. Another thing too is that my cell phone does not work up here so if I get a phone I will let you know the number. God bless.
In Christ
P.J. Spencer
A visit to NTM USA Home Office
From Amanda:
This Sunday, I will be heading down to our NTM USA home office in Florida to visit with the Mobilization team. Please pray with me for a profitable week, and that I would be able to gather (and retain) the information needed to begin raising my support team and prepare for my future ministry with them. I am looking forward to a great week of fellowship & encouragement!
Expanding the Reach of the Gospel
From Amanda:
After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to serve with the Mobilization team. As a part of this team, I will assist in following up with interested churches and individuals who desire to know more about NTM & how they can be a part of the ministry of reaching the unreached. Along with this, I will have the opportunity to go to Papua New Guinea, to NTM’s Interface campus, and will be able to see first hand a tribal church that is growing and maturing! This will help me to understand better how to help in preparing individuals who are going through the Interface program. The Mobilization team also works hard to see that the word about tribal church planting is spread far and wide! More laborers ARE needed!! I greatly look forward to serving with this ministry, and to sharing more with you about what He is doing in my life! I am overjoyed in seeing how the Lord is bringing together all the details of present, as well as future, ministry! All the glory goes to Him!
Back to NY
From Amanda:
As I sit in translation and curriculum development classes, the reality begins to set in that training is coming to a close. But… the real work is only beginning! God continues to teach me that it is His power that is needed to accomplish this task of church planting. I cannot do it! He must! I continue to be amazed and excited to see what is happening around the world, and look forward to being used by Him in ways I cannot imagine!
Upon graduation in December, I will be heading back to my home town to begin developing my team of individual supporters, as well as supporting churches. I know that the Lord goes before me in all things, and will provide for my needs however He sees fit! I’m excited to see how He does this… because I have no idea where it will come from, but it will come! Praise GOD!
Some URGENT prayer requests for these next few months would be: a smooth transition back home, a car to get around in during PD, and that I would be managing my time to finish up my school work and also preparing for the next phase of ministry as I head home.
FEB 08 newsletter
Dear Friends and Family,
It has been awhile since I have written so I will try to catch you all up to date. Right now I am in a class called dobu. It is a class on how to learn another’s culture. It is a fun class with a lot of homework. We meet with a “tribal” helper and asks questions about the things they do and things they believe. The “tribal” helper puts on make up to make himself brown and speaks in broken English. I feel myself actually getting into the act and hardly realize he is one of my teachers. One funny instance is the dobu people believe that you have to drink water when you are learning something, and not just a little but a whole 2 litters. My partner and I tried our best to down the 2 litters but between the both of us we could only drink three quarters of it. The helper laughed and said we needed to practice more. I don’t think it helped me learn any faster and I found it hard to concentrate on the rest of the session. It is a great class and I am finding it will be very helpful in the future.
Since I have learned that I will be graduating in march, my planning for after I graduate has gone high speed. I have been preparing presentations and getting in touch with churches and such. I would really appreciate prayer in this area as it is new to me. Also I have gotten in touch with the field of Guinea and told them of my intent to go there. They wrote back and said to come on over so I am now officially on my way. They gave me a lot of good information on where to study French and it helped me to make the decision to go to a Word of Life program in Quebec. I still have not decided when to go yet but trusting God will let me know soon. After graduation I plan on going to Florida for awhile and then on to Pennsylvania. I really appreciate your prayers as I move on to this new chapter in my life. It is amazing to see how God is working already. Till next time.
P.J. Spencer
(This is my address till March 14)
134 Main Dr. #6065
Roach, MO 65787
(This is my address after that)
130 Bolivia ct
Sanford, FL 32771