The Guarded Heart...Cultivating A Burden

Just a few more days and we will be leaving for Cameroon, Africa! As the days get closer to our departure, the burden for the lives that we will be coming in contact with is growing more intense.  Many times in ministry, we allow ourselves to become intellectual in our methods as to not let our hearts and emotions get "too involved" in the mission.  We are naturally people of precautions when it comes to our hearts. It hasn't always been like this though, has it?  When we were just innocent children, we were able to just let our hearts go, and become emotionally attached to so many "things" and people. As time goes on and people start to hurt us, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and "things" don't always work out like we plan, our hearts seem to become more guarded in our endeavors even in ministry, medical work, and our everyday jobs.  So I am asking God to peel back and expose our hearts for these people, and help us to let go of our insecurites so that we can cultivate a true burden for the souls of mankind in Cameroon.  This is not just an opportunity to minister to people physically and spiritually, no, this is an opportunity to give glory to God because God deserves their worship. God deserves their hearts. God deserves their service. So, the burden comes, in that, as we minister to the needs before us, the Lamb would receive the reward of His suffering. What is it in your life today that God wants to purge? What deep corner of your heart are you holding back because of past hurt and failure?  Can we allow Him to take what was meant for evil, and give it to Him , and allow Him to turn it around for our good and His glory?  He is the perfect mender! God, help us to hold nothing back, and live our lives full throttle for You! Please pray for us as we prepare for departure! We love you all!

World Medical Mission Video

Here is a video produced by Samaritan's Purse that shows a sample of medical mission work.  Continue to pray for us as the time of our arrival to serve in Cameroon is approaching. We love you!

Jeff & Melissa

Logistics

Our flight itinerary is officially set for Cameroon, and our visas have arrived in the mail this week. This puts us another step closer to our mission work in Africa. As the days are closing in, we are feeling the anticipation, and reality of this trip is settling in our hearts. We appreciate those of you who have financially supported this trip. It is such an encouragement to know that we have friends that are lifting us up in prayer, and share this burden with us! God bless you all!

Cameroon, Africa

We wanted to post a couple of maps of Cameroon to show you the location of the country. Click here to find out more about the region, culture, and history.

Change Of Plans to Cameroon, Africa

The last few weeks have been a roller coaster for us regarding our trip to Tenwek.  A couple of weeks ago we received a message from the university that Kenya is on the U.S. State Department's "do not travel" list, therefore, our trip would have to be cancelled.  The "do not travel" advisory is a list of countries that the state department feels is unsafe for U.S. citizens to travel to and in.  Since we are under the discretion of the school and pediatric department, we knew that Tenwek would now be out of the question for our mission work.  Our second choice, when we started looking into this trip, was Papua New Guinea.  So, we decided that we would go to the Kudjip Nazarene Hospital near Mt. Hagen, PNG.  After more paperwork and coordination, we received word that PNG was not an option due to lack of housing space for us.  At this point, we came to a crossroads of "What are you trying to tell us, God?" We thought, "Maybe it isn't His will for us to go anywhere?" or "Maybe this is a test to see if we are willing to be faithful?".  Sometimes it is hard for the willing Christian worker to hear clearly what the Lord specifically is saying when crossroads appear.  I remember a phone conversation Melissa and I were having one afternoon.  We were talking about the heart break of not being able to go to Kenya, and I told her, "God doesn't require us to know all the details, then after that, show up for assignment, but He does require us to show up and report to duty first and then we get the assignment".  In other words, when we say "YES" to God and His will, we are giving Him the "blank piece of paper" of our lives, and by faith, we are asking Him to fill in the blank.  So, we are giving it another try! The great coordinators at World Medical Mission are giving us another assignment in Cameroon, Africa at the Mbingo Baptist Hospital.  We are very excited about this, and covet your prayers that the process and paperwork will confirm God's will on our hearts.  We will be giving you updates as June approaches. I went to the health department this morning to get the rest of my vaccinations, and I told the nurse, "I don't want to just live this life and merely "exsist", I really want to make a difference in someone else's life". May this be the cry of our hearts during these uncertain days! Don't settle for anything less! We love you all! - Jeff 

Amazon Bookstore

We just posted our Snyder World Missions Bookstore on Amazon! If you know of a current or future medical school student that may need some text books, direct them to the link above.  All of our books are in great condition, and we made sure to have some of the lowest prices on the internet! The proceeds from these transactions go to help fund our trip to Tenwek! God bless you!

Missions Trip Appeal Letter

Dear Friends & Family,

     As many of you know, we are endeavoring to go to the mission field this summer for the month of June. We feel that God is leading us to Tenwek Hospital. Tenwek is located 150 miles from Nairobi, in the Bomet District of Kenya’s Rift Valley Province. Tenwek has a website at http://www.tenwekhospital.org/  We will be departing on June 1^st, and returning to the states on the 28^th.

     Please consider supporting us through prayer. We truly believe that there is power when God's people pray. This is the most important thing that we could ask you to do. Traveling abroad in today's cultural, political, and religious climate is dangerous, but we know that if you are praying, and God is going before us, we have nothing to fear! Join us in asking God to give you a sincere burden for the people of Kenya.

     Melissa will have the opportunity to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of children that will be placed in the care of Tenwek. The hospital's motto for years has been “We Treat, Jesus Heals”, and we can't think of a better mission statement for a medical ministry than this! I (Jeff) will be working alongside the hospital, African Gospel Church, and missionaries to do various types of ministry work wherever I am needed.

This trip is something that we felt God calling us to do a few months ago. With Melissa still in residency, and paying off medical school bills, one of the first concerns was where we would be able to get the funds to go. I simply told Melissa that if God really wants us to go, then he would provide a way for us to do it. Philippians 4:6 tells us to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” So we are believing and trusting God to provide our needs for His cause and glory.

     Below on another blog post, you will find a budget for our trip. Will you prayerfully consider supporting us financially? 100 % of your gift will go toward this budget to help us make our journey there and back. The only true investment that we can make, in this life, is to invest in the souls of men, women, and children. You can directly impact the life of someone else by contributing to this trip. When we return from our trip, we would like to send you a DVD to show you some of the lives that were ministered to because of your contribution. We want you to be a part of this trip as much as possible. Hopefully, we will be able to have periodic updates on our online blog right here at http://www.snydermissions.blogspot.com/

     If you would like to support this trip, you can send your gift to the address below. You can make your check or money order payable to “Snyder World Missions Fund”. In advance, we want to thank you for making this possible! God bless you richly! May souls be added to His kingdom during our trip, and the Lamb of Calvary receive the reward of His suffering!

Sharing His Light,

Jeff & Melissa

Snyder World Missions Fund

P.O. Box 436

Jonesborough, TN 37659

"We Treat - Jesus Heals"

 Tenwek Hospital

Tenwek Hospital aerial view...