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Love Letters from the Abeggs: |
| "…to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May Mercy, Peace, and Love be multiplied to you." (Jude 1:1) |
| | Greetings, beloved friends, family, and long-time partners in ministry. Some of you have been our prayer and financial supporters since my first international and cross-cultural ministry steps in the late 80s, and have read, responded to, and prayed through our newsletters over the decades.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your faithfulness, which has maintained our ministerial work for so long.
This newsletter, however, is completely different from all that have come before.
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| | TRANSITION & GOD'S FAITHFULNESS:
In my last update, I shared about our anticipated transition, which is now upon us. At the end of August, Claudia and I will be stepping away from Mesa Global, formerly United World Mission, formerly Latin America Mission, which we joined in January of 2000. I had spent the previous 4 years helping plant a church in Chile, where Claudia and I met and married. For a few years before that, Scott Mew & I managed a home repair and improvement business in Santa Cruz, CA, after a post-college, 14-month, global missions' visitation, circum-backpacking the globe.
International missions have been both Claudia's and my life, so this transition is significant, but does not mean a departure from cross-cultural or international ministry focus… though admittedly, some of the next steps are unclear. For this reason, we ask you, our intercessors, to continue interceding as we work out our "Matthew 6 direction." I've taken this transitional name from the heart of Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount", a passage that has encouraged, or rather, sustained me recently, in determining the time to leave our organization of 25 years, as well as depart a city and church where I've pastored for 3 years, and we have served for 22.
In Matthew 6, Christ's sermon crescendos in a glorious and commanding recognition of God's sovereignty, and our call in life to trust and honor Him in ALL we do. We're instructed on how to prayerfully approach our Father (Mat. 6:9-13), when Jesus, God Himself, teaches us to pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
"… YOUR kingdom come, YOUR will be done…" In the end, my work, my desires, my very life is not about me at all. Any care for missionaries or ministry leaders in Latin America, any pastoral and lay ministry we've offered, anyone who's shared meals around our table, all of it is ultimately about God's Kingdom and fulfilling God's purposes within and throughout our lives. He calls us to Himself, makes us His children, designs "good works for us to walk in" ( Eph. 2:10), and He enables us to do so. It's all from, to, and about HIM! Then we, as His children, benefit from His glory, His reign, and the all-encompassing aspects of being part of His kingdom. Anything we do, whether word or deed, is ultimately "unto Him" ( Col. 3:23-24).
As Christ continues his mountain sermon, we read: " Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." ( Mat 6:31-33).
Claudia and I have seen God provide more than we could ever imagine throughout these past decades of ministry, even in our recent losses of my mother and Claudia's father, our need to adapt to the challenges of Graves' disease, and now a significant change in focus. Through it all, we know God is over each and every detail.
We have witnessed the faithfulness of Christ's words: " Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life." ( Mark 10:29-30). Though I left my home in California, and Claudia hers in Chile, God has provided brothers and sisters to us, aunts, uncles, and lifelong friends to our boys, and countless others who have been as family wherever the Lord has led. Though we have missed, and often grieved not being close to blood family, we've seen God's hand every step of the way, and we anticipate no difference in the years to come. This is true even in the unknown, such as where my next job or occupationwill be, within my lifelong vocation (calling) of seeking first His Kingdom and walking out the Great Commission. |
| | | NEXT STEPS: WHERE?
I write to you from an empty room in what will be a transitional office and guest bedroom as we await the arrival of our belongings, including furniture and beds, to our new home in Moscow, ID. I say "transitional" because we'll rent for this year as we explore the possibilities of buying. One benefit is having Nico and Jeremy under the same roof for a bit. |
| | From previous letters, you know that Jeremy graduated from New St. Andrews College in May. Nico joined him here in Idaho two years ago, accepting a local videography position, and recently launching his own company in partnership with Amphibian Creative Co. (should you know of anyone in need of their creative services). Both boys have determined that though jobs may temporarily take them elsewhere, they want to make this area of the Pacific Northwest home, and ultimately raise future families here. That was good enough for Claudia and me, not to mention that we've both missed seasons, winter jackets, and the possibility of downhill skiing (none of which we were able to find in South Florida, though we searched). |
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| | | 3,200 miles of God's faithfulness, including losing the tread from a tire (but not the tire pressure) while crossing South Dakota. Despite sections of the drive that included hundreds of miles with no services, we pulled into a Firestone not 15 min. after the incident. Had dinner in an Irish pub that even took dogs, and were on the road in a few hours. What could have been a significant setback was little more than a hiccup. |
| | NEXT STEPS: WHAT?
Over the past year, I've explored potential project management and team development positions similar to what I've enjoyed doing domestically and internationally throughout my career; however, in April, I put the search on hold as we prepared to move cross-country. So, once we're settled, I'll take up that search again and additionally re-engage the writing I have been longing to do for a while. In accordance with Matthew 6, I want to steward all the experiences and talents I've been provided as we "seek first His Kingdom" in this next season. As of now, I'm unsure if this next occupationwill be in a secular or explicitly ministerial setting, but the vocation of building God's Kingdom, and being part of His Church, "pushing back the gates of Hell," is unchanging. So, while the official connection with Mesa Global as our organization will end in the coming weeks, we won't depart from our ministry focus or habit of publishing news about God's Kingdom from parts of the globe where we have too few updates. I will keep you posted as this develops.
So, PLEASE continue praying for us in this process. Pray for wisdom and discernment in how to steward what we've received and pray for the Lord's financial provision for our family as we seek His direction and plan to do so. And above all, I echo Paul's request for prayer in our own process:
"…To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel… that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak." ( Eph. 6:18-20). |
| | TO OUR FINANCIAL SUPPORTERS:
Claudia and I do not have the words to express the depths of our gratitude for the sacrifices you've made, and the amazing channels of provision you have been. You have trusted in the Lord's provision not only for yourself, but to give toward our labors in the Gospel, to and alongside those you do not know but will ultimately spend eternity with. Thank you for your sacrificial love for them and for our family!
Since this month will end our connection to Mesa Global/United World Mission/Latin America Mission, any donations received beyond the 15th of August will not reach our family, but rather go to the general mission fund. I'll include links and numbers below for those who need to end ongoing automatic donations via Mesa Global.
My hope and anticipation is that the Lord will provide me with a paid position wherever I work next, but I am also exploring "Substack" as a possible subscription option for future missional news pieces, on which I'll keep you posted. If you would like our recommendations on healthy, solid ministries to redirect your current giving, please let me know, and I would be more than happy to share some potential options. |
| | | Not "Good-bye", but Rather "Hasta Luego" (Until Later).
For now, this will be our final newsletter as missionaries with Mesa Global, but rest assured, NOT our final newsletter on God's direction in our lives as we continue to follow Him in our vocational calling. I'll include new contact information below, and please know that we love hearing not only from you but also about what God is doing in your own lives, both as encouragement and items for prayer.
So, as we wrap up this season and look towards the next, I close with Paul's words from Romans 11:33-36:
"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen!"
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| Thank you for your ongoing intercession, support, and encouragement! May the Lord provide you with the same guidance that we ourselves are seeking, as we boldly ask: "…Your Kingdom come, Your will be done…"! |
| | Discontinue Automatic Giving:
To discontinue automatic donations to Mesa Global / United World Mission since our account will be closed, please visit our Missionary Support Page and log in with your previously created account. Or phone 800-825-5896 and you can be connected to a donor specialist who can assist in the process. |
| | Our NEW Mailing Address is: 725 E. 6th St. Apt. A Moscow, ID 83843 For past issues of our newsletters and other posts visit our Blog. |
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