Dear Mission ConneXion ,

Our journey of being called started when we attended Mission ConneXion Northwest. That week, my wife Gina told me that she felt like we were supposed to go be missionaries and that she had just seen on Facebook that Mission ConneXion Northwest was happening that weekend in Portland.

We attended the Finishers.org track on preparing for missions, which was helpful. Don Parrott was the facilitator. The keynote speakers resonated with us, especially Bob Goff and Grant Porter.

We filled out a Finishers profile and spent January through May praying and working with journey coaches from agencies that matched our desire to go to unreached people. God clearly told us that we were going to go in August/Sept 2016, but He was silent about where. That was the hardest part for me: Knowing we were going but not knowing where. (For my wife, I think that hardest part is packing up and leaving everything behind.) In June, God told us that we’re going to the Philippines to work with youth living in urban poverty in Manila.

Thank you to Mission ConneXion for being part of our journey to GO! We’ve been welcomers and senders for the past 18 years of marriage. Now, we get to Go! Mission ConneXion is a powerful tool in God’s hands to empower Christ-followers with vision, encouragement, and direction.

Love,

Tim, Gina, James, Grace Swanson

Editor’s Note: The Swanson family is serving in the Philippines through a ministry called Threads of Hope You can learn more about them and see their video updates at SwansonMission.com.