Christmas Update!
- Emily Mintz
- Dec 12, 2018
- 5 min read
Bonjour friends!
November and December have been filled with a lot of great things! I hope this update finds you well, and that you're able to find some joy in this holiday season. There's always reason for hope and thankfulness when we have Jesus at the center through the holidays.
Also, so everyone knows, with all the craziness of the riots and things happening in Paris, I want you to know I am SAFE. Just walking with wisdom and continuing to pray for this city. Thank you to all who have prayed for me and this city. God is here.
Thanksgiving & Christmas!
We had a great Thanksgiving celebration as a base, where we dressed up and had a feast together as one big family. Afterwards we put up our Christmas tree, hung our stockings, and made Christmas cookies. Even though this is my first Christmas away from home, it really feels like a family here. The base really knows how to do community well.
My Ministry on Base
Media & Communications:
During the weeks here when I haven't been in the seminars, I've been running the media here on base! I've been working hard to document the missions we as a base are apart of, as well as advertise our schools, promote our ministries, manage our webpages, and even create our very own base Christmas card! It's been a wild job, but I'm really enjoying it.
I'm also in charge of a lot of the communications coming in and out of our base, like emails for specific schools, and events like out large summer outreach here in the city!
Sometimes it feels a bit overwhelming to cover these jobs, but I'm realising more and more that God is using me as a launching pad for missionaries. The more I communicate, promote, and develop these jobs, the more people will gain a heart for missions and the world, causing more people will go on future missions trips, and ultimately more people being helped and loved through Jesus!
So even though I'm not going on anymore missions trips in these next few months, I feel just as effective behind my camera here in Paris, as I did out in the Philippines running healthcare clinics! It's amazing how God works
Seminars & Personal Growth
Writer's Workshop:
The last few months I've been seeing God pull out gifts and passions in me that I've pushed aside for a very long time.
Writing is one of them! I love to write and it's a gift that God has given me, yet I've never known how to channel it. So when I heard there was a Writer's Workshop at a YWAM base in Champagne, France, I knew I needed to be there. It was a week long and 5 of us from staff here in Paris went to it.
We had Janice Cunningham Rogers teach us; a wonderful woman who has written and edited many best selling books for Youth With a Mission. She taught us everything from how to structure a book, to popular book trends, to how to function as a team in writing and publishing.
I was inspired and found that I loved being back in a classroom setting! The class was also translated into French, so that really helped my language practice.
God even provided all the money I needed to go through a miracle reimbursement from my delayed flights back in March!
I plan to start writing my book soon! So stay tuned!
Crisis Counselling & Debriefing Seminar:
After the week of writing, I joined this 3 week seminar our own base was hosting! I learned basic counselling skills, including how to talk with people who've been through very serious types of trauma or crisis. For instance, death & grief, suicide, abuse, natural disasters, and many other forms of trauma. They were some heavy topics, but now I feel so much more equipped to help people in their times of need.
Amazing to learn this practical skill, when so many people just need to be heard and process the things going on in their lives.
We also were trained in how to debrief people as well! Which means, when events happen, people need a space to process the event or timeline. This is a healthy way of handling big life events.
For me, this will help me be equipped to debrief outreach teams after they come back from 3 months in the field. Sometimes teams experience crazy things while on outreach, and this is an important step to transitioning back into every day life.
I loved being apart of this seminar! Being able to help people and truly listen to them is something I'm very passionate about. I'm excited to be used more in this area.
Missions
Frontline DTS Outreach Team Returns!
After 3 months of missions in Nepal, our Frontline students and staff have returned with amazing stories. They were constantly able to run into people who had never before even heard the name of Jesus. It's amazing to see another team sent out from our base and return with so many testimonies of God's miracles and love.
Here are some of the statistics from their time:
Salvations: 7
Prayer for people: 163
Healings: 11
1 on 1 Gospel: 64
Hours of prayer: 17 hrs
Distributed Bibles: 50
Open air audience: 372 (8 events)
Health-care teachings: 28
Mercy ministries: 98
Medical DTS Students Prep for Outreach
The Medical Discipleship Training School students here currently are getting ready to leave on their 3 month outreach after Christmas! They've been equipped with basic medical training and skills to take to the nations. I'm excited to hear about the things they get to witness.
One team will go to Nepal, and the other team to the Middle East!
Financial Support:
This area is an ongoing act of faith for me to be living a support-based life, but God is so faithful in this season and He always provides. Without you, I wouldn't be here, and these missions trips wouldn't be happening, and so you are helping people all over the world hear the name of Jesus!
So Thank You!
Things I'm trusting God for:
More Monthly Supporters - I'm still in need of about $130/month for my basic living costs
$100 to go towards Christmas gifts - this is my 1st Christmas away from family & home, so I really want to be able to bless the friends I have here with a few Christmas gifts to celebrate the holiday together
More Photoshoots - this has been a great way for me to have a little extra income so far, but I still need more clients
It's still a challenge for me to ask for money, but I know that God loves to bless those who bless others. Whether it's prayers and finances, God will bless you for giving. So if you feel like you'd want to help me in any of these 3 areas, please let me know!
Ways to Give:
1. Paypal: paypal.me/EmilyMintzMissions
2. Venmo App: @emintz92
3. Sign up for Auto Withdrawal for monthly support (email me for details)
4. Checks can be mailed/made out to:
Emily Mintz
17 Country Squire Ct,
Saint Louis, MO 63146
Thank you again everyone!
I'm praying for you all, and I hope you have an amazing rest of 2018!
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