GONGWER'S ON A MISSION

i WILL follow Jesus !!!

2009-07-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, back in October of last year Stacy and I heard the Lord's calling and committed our lives to becoming missionaries. We are still in the process and are being extremely patient. I know it will happen in GOD's time and not ours. There is just one thing I want to get off my chest, and after seeing the following video, I feel this is the perfect time. Ever since we have announced that we are going over seas to a third world country, people's first response is "what does your parents think" or "it is unsafe" or "your taking your kids away from the grandparents" or "are you not scared, where will you live, what will you eat, will you have a car, will you have air conditioning, where will you get money, will the kids go to school ..... so on and so on. Look, we are doing GOD's will, we are in HIS hands, HE will protect us, HE will provide all of our needs. A friend told me "You are in danger going to a third world country" and I looked at him and said "THOUSANDS ARE IN DANGER IF I DON'T!!!" These people have never even heard the name of Jesus, and HOW WILL THEY KNOW IF SOMEONE DEOSN'T TELL THEM. I know it will not be easy or relaxing or a vacation BUT I do know it WILL be rewarding and enjoyable and GOD's WILL. I saw the following video and I can not express the sense of RELIEF, COMPASSION, and THANKS I felt after I saw this video. It felt like I was truly the one on stage speaking. Ever word he speaks, I felt was my own. A lot of times I struggle with relating to people how I feel, well this guy describes me 110% Hope you enjoy ........................

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=da4b95295f176f6550b4&sp=0

HURRY UP AND WAIT !!!!

2009-05-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,
We just wanted to give you an update on our status. As you may have heard, the IMB did suspend some of the programs until further notice (probably 2010) because of the lack of funds received through Lottie Moon. We were told by our candidate consultant that is could be until they can see a pattern of giving through the Lottie Moon offering and cooperative program. Which means it could possibly be 2010 or 2011. The IMB is even going to probably cut back 800 career job requests down to 120 jobs. So the career is taking a major hit and it means it will become competitive and more selective.

We are praying about whether we should go with another organization and raise our support or stay where we are " on hold". Please continue to pray for that discernment.

For more exciting news, we leave Sat. for Nicaragua!!
We are very excited to see what God has in store. Please pray for us for safety, for us to share the gospel with boldness, for the people of Nicaragua to have soft and willing hearts, for our health and safety , for peace and for us to glorify God in every moment of this trip. Please also pray for our children to have peace and comfort and to stay healthy and safe and to have fun while we are away.
Thank you so much for your prayers
Love
Ricky and Stacy

EVERYONE HAS A HIDDEN BEAUTY, LET IT OUT AND RECEIVE THE BLESSINGS

2009-05-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

I watched to following video, and cried so hard I was exhausted. You could watch the video and it mean nothing to you, but let me share what it meant to me ...... For many years (starting in High School) I felt that I was a nobody. Didn't play sports, wasn't a jock, wasn't a prep, wasn't into the goth group, wasn't a nerd .... I really fit in nowhere. As years went by, my wife started helping me realize that I was somebody to her and to God. I flew under the radar for so many years with my Christianity, I never stepped out in faith. UNTIL NOW .... the last 2 years have been the best years of my life, and I am on fire for the Lord and will let anyone I talk to know it. I feel like Satan always looked at me and laughed. He would say, "I am not going to waste my time on this guy, he is a nobody." Now, out of nowhere BAM !!!! I have kicked Satan in the teeth so hard that he has swallowed them. God is working though me and has helped me lead my Mom, my Dad, and my Sister to Christ within the last 6 months. You can see the victory on this woman's face, and see it in her little victory dance. That is exactly how I feel when I let Christ speak through me and lead someone to know Him as their Lord and Savior. Let God speak to you, and be obedient.

How many times have we judged someone by their appearance, or age, or gender ? God loves us all equally, let's try to do the same.

PLEASE WATCH
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

God Bless,
Ricky

PRAYER REQUEST

2009-03-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

Well, 11 more weeks until I am finally back in Nicaragua. Not a day passes that I don't think about it. This year will be the most memorable year I have been, and there is only one thing that will be different ... My best friend in the whole world is getting to go with me. I owe this person more than I can ever give back, they have always been by my side and has always had my back no matter if I make the right decision or wrong decision. This person has taught me more about myself than I myself knew about me .... they introduced me to a intimate relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and with God's help, they have made me the Christian I am today. They inspire me, they have helped me put fear behind me and trust in the Lord. This person is MY WIFE. Stacy is finally getting to go with me and will be able to experience all the emotions and share all the memories first hand. Here is where the prayer request comes in .... Please be praying for our safety, our kids, that have never been more than 1 day without one of us, our boldness to reach out and speak up the the people when we get there, and that God will start preparing their hearts to hear the gospel. Last year was such an unforgettable year, God spoke through me and an interpreter and helped us lead a BEAUTIFUL little girl (Isbet) to know him as her Lord and Savior. That was one of the best days of my life. One last thing I would like for everyone to pray for, is our financial needs for this trip. I know we are going through a really rough time as a country, and money is short, all I ask for is PRAYER. Please pray that God will lay on your heart how much (or how little) He would like you to contribute. I would rather get $1 that God led you to give than $1000.00 that he DIDN'T lead you to give. This isn't OUR money, it is HIS money. This reminds me of an entry that I put in my journal last year while in Nicaragua. This is directly, word-for-word what I wrote ..... 10/17/2008 - Something that has really been on my heart the last 2 days (and in my prayers) is the people that made this possible for me. The people that gave DONATIONS. Without them I would not be here right now. I thank each and every one of them from the bottom of my heart. I don't care if it was $10 or $600 dollars, every penny was needed, and every penny it took. People give me to much credit for leaving my family and going to a 3rd world country and roughing it for a week. All I am doing is GOD'S WILL. But, you know who else is doing God's will ...... The people that gave donations. They may not be able to go to another country, they may not be able to leave their families for a week, they may not ever want to rough it, but they make it possible for ME. God will reward them for thier kindness and obedience and I will keep them in my prayers.

If anyone would like to make a donation, here is my address:

Ricky Gongwer
1961 Lasea Rd
Spring Hill, TN 37174

ROMANS 10:14-15
But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the scripture says, "How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!"

Thank you all and God Bless you,

Ricky

OUR FIRST FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEW

2009-02-12T16:55:00.000-08:00

We would like to tell everyone THANK YOU so much for your prayers. We really appreciate it so much!! I could definitely feel God's peace all around. It went well. Our candidate consultant is very personable and very easy to talk with. I am so very thankful of that. He and his wife were missionaries to Costa Rica for 10 years in the 80's and he has been at this job with the IMB for 20 years. We are glad of that because we feel that will be to our advantage in helping us with all the written things that are to come and be evaluated. Like our salvation testimony, our statement of beliefs, our 8-10 page autobiography and a few other things. He is the one that will present us to the board of trustees and the board votes on whether or not to appoint us as missionaries. That will not happen for a while. He told us from start to finish this process usually takes about 12-18 months depending on how fast everything goes through and if there are any gliches. We have not received medical clearance yet and He said he has no control over that. The IMB use a company called travel health america to do that so he just receives word from them that either we are cleared or there is something else they need or we are not cleared. We are hoping they will clear us soon because we have taken care of everything they have asked for. Once that is clear the next step will be the written work. Then, a more intense 3 hour interview.

But overall we really had a good feeling about the meeting. We were reassured that even though we are applying for long term if we do not qualify because of Ricky not having a bachelor's degree we could then be moved to short term. If we went for 3 years short term and qualified they could use our 3yr short term as our apprentice term and then we could become long term if approved. So that is comforting because we both feel called to more than 3yrs.

The quickest "hoping for a miracle date" would be us going to training in Virginia in Oct. and be on the field at the end of Dec. PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL MAKE THAT HAPPEN. The next possibility is training in Jan of next year and on the field in April which seems so long. We are really hoping to be there in Dec. but we know there could be some snags along the way. Especially since he told us the IMB is revamping the whole system and everything is about to change with the job requests. So we will see. Only God knows. We will be patient and trust that God's timing is perfect and He knows what is best for us and them.
In Him,

Stacy and Ricky

Nicaragua 2008

2009-01-18T19:35:00.001-08:00

SUPPORT TEAM

2009-01-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

This week Stacy and I had the privilege of visiting some friends that we went to high school with. They spent 2 years in Macedonia as missionaries, came back to TN, had 2 BEAUTIFUL boys, and are now leaving to go back to Macedonia as full time career missionaries. We spent several hours with them this week (without our kids) and discussed the process that they just went through and we are just starting to go through. C & J are such an inspiration to us. They are so knowledgeable, so eager, and so prepared to leave EVERYTHING behind to follow God's call and serve Him daily. C will be working in a coffee shop. Part of his daily job will be to sit in the coffee shop and have conversations with everyone that comes in. He will build relationships and trust with the people in the community and then start presenting the gospel to them. I am so excited for their whole family, and what an experience it will be for all of them. One thing that they did ask of me and Stacy is PRAYER. I feel that a SUPPORT TEAM while on the mission field is extremely important, PRAYER support, FINANCIAL support, EMOTIONAL support, FAMILY support, and BIBLICAL support. I know that so many of the people I go to church with are very supportive of missions, and I would like to ask you to keep this family in your prayers. I will be happy to give you their names so you can pray specifically for each of them, I just didn't want to publish their names on the blog. I have asked them to give me specific prayer request as they come up, so I will be posting them occasionally. As for now, just pray for safe travels for the family, that the kids will do good on the journey, (24 hour journey, 15 hours on an airplane - that needs A LOT of prayer) that they will get comfortable in their new surroundings quickly, and that God will speak TO them and THROUGH them daily to reach the people of Macedonia. So many people either physically can't go to another country to spread God's word, or simply have no desire or don't feel God's calling to do so. But, you can still do your part and honor God by lifting up this awesome family in your prayers. I cannot stress enough the importance of prayer in everyone's daily life. C & J if your reading this, I just want to say this .... Even though your confidence may waver from time to time, deep down you know that God has called you. Hang on to your ROCK, remain securely anchored in HIM and what HE has spoken to you. You know what He said, walk accordingly.

Phil. 1:6
"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD ???

2009-01-03T09:32:00.000-08:00

It seems that for the last 2 - 3 months there are at least 1 or 2 people a WEEK that I know that have lost there jobs. The economy is terrible and it may still get worst. I feel bad because I complain about the stress level at my job all the time. (I work with 4 women and I am the only male) I am asked to do so much that is NOT in my job title, I went back to training to learn another position to fill in at when we are short staffed, and the most stressful part is that they sent me to training for a week and I have been working in a position that will NOT help me meet my sales quota, this is the first time in 1.5 years that I FAILED to meet my quota. No quota = less $$$$. What is the one month of the year that you don't want to be short financially .... DECEMBER. Well I walked around for a week like the little kid at the fair that accidentally let go of his helium balloon ... That's when I looked at a verse that has been on my desk forever ...

Colossians 3:23-24 (NKJV)

23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

I love it when the Holy Spirit occasionally smacks me across the face and wakes me up. I try to read this verse every time I am upset at work and remember that my ultimate boss is God Himself! We should work not for the sake of men (and women) but to God. Our work should be a sacrifice unto God and we should work not for the praise of man but for the praise of God Almighty! Doesn't that just change your whole perception of work? At that moment I felt terrible. I am complaining about a smaller pay check, when several of my friends have NO PAY CHECK. My boss had noticed that lately I haven't been Mr. Sunshine. She called me into her office and asked me what the problem was. As bad as I wanted to just pull out my list and spend the next hour telling her my issues with my job, I just smiled and told her that I had been praying about it and realized that I haven't been giving my problems to God, and that I am just going to let HIM handle it. She was speechless. The last few days have been a few of the best days at work in over a month. I have been praying that God just takes our financial situation in HIS hands. He knows what we need better that we do anyways. We made it through Christmas fine and everything is looking brighter. All I did was give all my problems to GOD and trust in HIM .... COMPLETELY. Now the icing on the cake .... yesterday I went out to get the mail, and there was the daily credit card app, a letter from church (which is usually the first thing I open) and a letter to Stacy. I handed Stacy her letter and proceeded to read the letter from church. She opened the envelope and handed it to me ... she was afraid to read it, it was from her job. They was just bought out by a larger company and Stacy was fearing the worst .... well I snatched it our of her hands and focused my eyes .... she said WHAT DOES IT SAY .... I said in an extremely calm voice ........ this is a late Christmas bonus check for the EXACT amount that my pay check was short for not meeting quota. Now THAT is how GREAT OUR GOD IS !!!
In closing, I just want let all of my family, friends, and church family know that if you are having issues at work, or if you lost your job .... GIVE IT ALL TO GOD, He will NOT let you down. I will be praying daily for each of you that is in this situation. If you would like for me to pray for you specifically, JUST LET ME KNOW.

God Bless you all,
Ricky

AWESOME THANKSGIVING TESTIMONY

2009-01-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

Religion is something that is always awkward talking about with my family. They are all Catholic and I was for 24 years. Telling them that I was being baptized and becoming a Baptist was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but I knew it was God’s will. I have wondered for years if they truly knew Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The last 2 years I have grown so much in my Christianity and finally developed a personal relationship with God. I realized that it is MY responsibility to ask about their Eternity. Recently my wife Stacy completed an E.E. class, I just got back from my second trip to Nicaragua, and we have decided to follow God’s call and become long term missionaries. WE ARE ON FIRE right now and it feels so great. I told my wife that the next time we travel home to see our parents, we needed to ask them IF THEY DIED TODAY, DO THEY KNOW FOR SURE THAT THEY WOULD SPEND ETERNITY IN HEAVEN, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THEY WERE STILL WORKING ON. She agreed and we knew we were headed home for Thanksgivings. Well, Thanksgiving rolled around and I was thinking to myself if I was really going to be able to have the talk with them. I had been praying that God would prepare their hearts to listen. After arriving I was already nervous, and was looking for the chance. You think telling my parents that I was becoming Baptist was hard, asking about their beliefs and their eternity was terrifying. I purposely brought up us moving to Central America to my mom to start conversation. I then took the leap ……. I told her that since we were going to be moving so far away I wanted to make sure that if anything happened to any of us that we know for sure that we will see each other for Eternity in Heaven. I then asked her that if she died today, do you know for sure that you would go to Heaven ……. She looked up with a concerned look on her face and said NO, I DON’T KNOW FOR SURE …… my heart was POUNDING. I then looked a my wife like a little kid in Wal-Mart that just realized that he doesn’t know where his parents are. Stacy quickly took over and started going through the E.E. presentation that she had study so hard for. We spoke to her for apox. 20 min. and finally came to the question …. IS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO PRAY TODAY AND PUT GOD IN CONTROLL AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR ……… she said YES !!!!! After praying with her I looked up and saw my sister listening. She is 4 years older than me and has had a very rough life. I learned what NOT to do from her my entire life. If there was anything she shouldn’t do, she done it … TWICE. That had a huge impact on my life because I didn’t want to live like she was living. I noticed this look in her eyes that I had never seen and God told me to talk to her. I wasn’t sure how much she had heard of the presentation, but I gave her a HUGE hug and told her that after we eat, I would love to have a few minutes to talk to her. I then asked her if that was alright. She looked up and I will never forget the look on her face at that moment …. She had tears in her eyes and just nodded YES. I could barely eat … I just kept thinking “I have prayed for her for YEARS and today could finally be the day.” After eating the Titans game came on and I thought great, there is no way to get her away now, she lives and breaths TITANS FOTBALL. I just stared into her eyes and asked,” can we go and talk now.” She jumped right up and followed me to another room. I called Stacy in there and after 20 min. or so of talking and crying, she TOO ACCEPTED CHRIST. This was the best Thanksgiving EVER. God is SO GOOD and I give HIM the glory. I thank Him so much for using me and letting me be a part of that. On the way home I thought to myself …… God heard my prayers and he prepared THEIR hearts, what if I wasn’t obedient and never stepped out of my comfort zone ….. I could have been accountable for their ETERNITY. I am enrolled to take E.E. in February and can’t wait. Please listen to God’s command and if you hear Him, just say YES !!! In closing I just want to quote a man that has had a huge impact on both mine and my wife’s life ….. LET’S GIVE’ EM HEAVEN !!!!!