Missionary Training Center
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Hello! This email is LONG overdue and we hope you had a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and that you have seen God's faithfulness in your life already in 2020.
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The last time we wrote to you it was a mere 12 days before our son was born! Thank you so much for your patience with us. We've committed to keeping you updated monthly, and in the midst of adjusting to our new roles as parents we have fallen behind in our communication. Just know we greatly appreciate your prayer and financial support. We can't stress enough how important you are to this ministry!
Most of you know, but, if you haven't heard, Elias Matthew Rensberger was born on September 19th, 2019! God blessed us with a quick and smooth delivery. Both Caitlin and Eli did great! We're so thankful for this new blessing in our lives.
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Since August we've been attending Ethnos360's Missionary Training Center in Roach, MO, and we will complete this portion of training in May. This 9 months is all about preparing us for life overseas and future ministry. The training center has many instructors and staff that are experienced missionaries with a wealth of knowledge about the realities that we will face.
Classes run Monday through Friday and we've covered topics like
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worldview, culture & values, New Testament Church principles, balancing family and ministry, and so much more! Some weeks (ok, let's be honest, most weeks) feel like information overload. There is so much to process and evaluate as we count the cost of living as overseas missionaries.
Two classes really stuck out to us last semester. The first being Stewarding Families. This class really challenged us to be intentional about how we as a family function. It is our God-given responsibility to raise our children and teach them - what a gift and heavy responsibility! The second class that was really
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impactful was called Foundational Bible Teaching. This class sets the precedent for how Ethnos360 teaches through the Bible from Genesis to the Ascension. This is one of the reasons Lance and I chose to serve with Ethnos360 Aviation. We know the missionaries we will support (through aviation) will be planting churches who have an incredible grasp on God's entire story because of this method of teaching! It was neat to get an inside look on the lesson prep and learn about their methodology.
Currently we are taking a class called Phonetics which teaches us different sounds that languages all over the world make. This is such a practical class because it will help us as we learn a new language once we move to the field. The other two classes we've attended have to do with educating our children overseas and helping them navigate transition and a class on animism which is a belief system that permeates much of the world.
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Our intent is to be much more frequent with our updates from here on out so hopefully you don't have to read a novel to catch up on our lives! We will continue to give you updates on the rest of our training here in Missouri, what's next for us, and current prayer requests, but if you have questions in the meantime please feel free to contact us!
Praise God with us!
- By selling some of our belongings as well as through special and monthly gifts we have been able to cover tuition for attending the training center. This financial commitment weighed heavy on our hearts this summer, but the Lord was faithful to provide for us.
- In August of 2019 we were able to reach the first monthly financial goal we had set for ourselves.
Please be in prayer
- As we seek to raise another $1,000-1,500 in monthly support to cover the costs of our growing family by the time we move in August 2020.
- That we would glean all that we can from classes and enjoy this community of fellow believers while we are here at the training center.
- For transitions over the next year as we move to Arizona for further aviation training (more details to come).
Thank you again for your patience with us! Please let us know how we can be praying for you and let us know if you have any questions.
In Christ,
Lance, Caitlin, & Eli Rensberger
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How can we pray for you?
Please email us at lcrensberger@gmail.com
so we can lift up your requests and praises.
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We're approximately 70% of where we'd like to be before we move for our first assignment (Arizona) in August.
Want to partner with us? We'd love to meet with you in person or via video chat!
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