Author: Jon

As we go… On to Portugal

jonandlayneafrica

Well it’s that time again.

Layne and I are stepping into the next portion of our lives. We are moving to Porto, Portugal tomorrow to study Portuguese for three months. We will have a private tutor for a few hours a day, homework and practice, practice, practice, all in the hopes that we will be close to fluent in Portuguese by the time October comes around.

Please pray dear friends and family… please pray.

We will be trying to find a church and ministry soon after we get there to be involved with while we are in Portugal. There are two purposes in looking for a ministry. The first is simply to be involved in actively serving the Lord while we are there, and the second is to make sure we learn Biblical terms and Christian words that we may otherwise not learn from a private secular tutor.

All of this is in preparation for our goal of moving to Namibe, Angola by the end of this year. We are excited to speak to Angolans in their first language and minister to them without the common misunderstandings that come with speaking in a non-native tongue.

We will be keeping our personal blog updated as often as possible while we are there. You can even enter your email address in the “Subscribe” box on the right side to receive email updates whenever we post something to our blog.

We are going under a brand new non-profit that my father started. It is called “Voices of the World Missions” and you can visit www.votwmissions.com to learn more about it. Right now the focus is on Layne and I in Angola and our pursuit of ministry there.

Ok… so here’s the money pitch again…
Dear, dear friends and family… we need your help.
Help us.
Please support us as we pursue the ministry of Jesus Christ and the people He loves. Angola is one of the few places in the world that still has very few missionaries and a very great harvest field. A study cited by the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8094873.stm) recently rated the capitol of Angola as the most expensive city in the world, despite the fact that most Angolans live on less than $2 per day. I must be honest. We need your financial help. If we are to be effective in turning the tide of HIV/AIDS and caring for the orphans of Angola, we need your support.
Your one time gifts are an incredible blessing. Your monthly support is absolutely necessary. Know that there are no “administrative fees” there are no “overhead costs” for this ministry. Any and all support will be directly ministry related and Layne and I are committed to being completely open and honest about any money or resources we use in any way. Please know that you can always ask us how and where we are spending our finances and we will be fully honest and up-front about how your resources are used.

Please commit to support us on a month-to-month basis. I am asking you to commit to $30 per month or any amount you can sustain.

To those of you who have continued to support us while we’ve been preparing for this journey… I know I don’t express my gratitude enough. Our finest hour is just beginning. Your hands and feet go with us. Your prayers go with us. We know we are not alone. Christ Almighty and His mighty army (that’s YOU!) stand firm with us.

We are not afraid.

Jonathan and Layne Heller
Missionaries sent from Trinity Christian Fellowship (Chandler, AZ)
Missionaries sent from Quiet Time Ministries (Corpus Christi, TX)

July 3, 2009

Jon

Angola, Portugal

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The Words of a Crucified Jew

A Jon Post

I wrote this some time ago and recently found it again. I some times need to remember that there’s so much more that Jesus has asked of me. And I love Him so much… I love Him so much. I don’t have to get caught up in the sin in my life or anything else because I love Him. It’s out of that love that I flow into serving Him. Anyway… read on if you’d like. More than read… do. More than do… love Him.

Why is it so easy to forget?

Why is it so easy to be outraged at 5:03 as we watch the story of an evil leader murder millions and then be entertained at 5:15 as we watch millionaires throw balls to each other?

Why is it so easy to write a blog like this and feel like we’ve done something to help the suffering of a devastated nation?

Would you let inspiration move you to go and sell all that you have and give the proceeds to the poor and follow an unattractive, soft-spoken Jew who makes claims of deity?

Why is it so easy to forget that Jew’s words?

“I was hungry… and you gave me nothing to eat… you just watched me on the six o’clock news and said ‘wow that’s terrible’ and then changed the channel”
“I was sick … and you didn’t visit me… you hoped that someone would find a cure for the disease my depraved parents passed on to me”
“I was a stranger… and you turned me away… then you called the police and warned them that I wasn’t supposed to have crossed a fence separating the land people decided on two hundred years ago”
“I was naked… and you didn’t clothe me… you wished someone would take care of the prostitute problem in my country and blamed me for the fact that my parents sold me to a man when I was 6 years old to be used as a toy for the rest of my life”

Was that Jew a Republican? How could a Republican tell a rich man to sell everything he had, all his hard earned money, everything he had worked for in his life, all the comforts he deserved because of his hard work, and give it to the leeches of society, to the lazy bums who won’t motivate themselves to go get a job, and enable them to continue in their laziness?
Was that Jew a Democrat? How could a Democrat demand that the poor give offerings that are just as meaningful to them as a rich man’s offering?

I guess I’m just a little disgusted at my need to have the comforts I never earned.
I guess I’m just a little tired of how much I want to eat and how much I want things done my way and done fast.
I guess I’m just a little tired of how proud I have always been that I care about people.
I guess I’m just a little tired of being so indifferent.

Would you be willing to trade all the inspiration in your heart for a day of unthanked, unnoticed, disregarded work under a blistering sun?

Would you stand alone while you’re misunderstood and forget about defending yourself and protecting your rights?

Would you lay down your rights and your precious little wrongs and follow a revolutionary carpenter from a tiny town known for its laziness?

Why do we feel so good agreeing with these stupid words?

Is there power in them? Is there power to spark a great people to a great work?

Can one decision to follow a formerly crucified Jew redeem us from a life of indifference?

He said it could…

June 30, 2009

Jon

Personal

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Going to an AIDS clinic training

A Jon Post

Saturday (May 16th) we are going to an AIDS clinic here in Arizona for a training day. The clinic is called Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS and this all day workshop will include a whole lot of invaluable information. Much of the material we are already familiar with but there’s also quite a bit of info that we are anxious to know more about. We will learn more about treatment options, natural therapies (especially important to us), up-to-date nutrition guides, and more.

All of this came about because of the incredible dedication that Layne has to being as prepared for HIV/AIDS missions as possible. She contacted this clinic a few weeks ago interested in volunteering for them. Our short time left in the states, unfortunately, won’t allow it to happen, but with the little time we have left in the states we hope to learn as much as we can from the wonderful people working and volunteering there.

May 13, 2009

Jon

Angola

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Don’t Give Up

A Layne Post:

As you remember the vision, I would implore you to not give up on that vision, our vision. When things take longer than expected, when it seems as though everything is at a standstill, do not give up.
If Jon and Layne falter, if we grow weary
…please…
Do not give up.
It is imperative for the people of southern Angola to have people fighting for them. You fight by interceding. You fight by financially supporting the hands-on effort. You fight by spreading awareness of the need.

Fight for the fatherless.
Fight for the sick.
Fight for the poor.

And do not give up.

Ever.

Honestly this whole process has been somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster for me. When I say this, I have to giggle because we have not even gotten to Africa. I know it is only the beginning, but let me share. I want you to understand the process in all of this. For now it may seem like we are just sitting, however, we are anything but that.

I started this with so much determination. Don’t get me wrong, I am still determined (said with my serious eyebrows), but over time I have wavered. There have been moments of utter weakness, ready to throw my hands up.

I have struggled with the fear of not being able to do this, thinking maybe it is all too big; maybe I am going to let everyone down. I have prayed earnestly, thought I have heard the voice of the Lord, acted, and then nothing happened. I was left discouraged. Maybe I made up the voice in my head. Perhaps I longed so much for direction that I made up my own. Who knows? I would not be able to answer that even now.

At one point I began to get quite hopeful and decided I would let my heart go there, to get a little excited. That ended with deep hurt and what felt like betrayal. I was left uncontrollably sobbing into my husband’s arms (even now I get tearful thinking about it).

Right now I have surrendered all my efforts. I am at peace. Truly, I am. I read in Psalms 46:10 (NASB) “Cease striving and know that I am God.” I simply need Him to be God.

May 3, 2009

Jon

Angola

1 comment

Remember The Vision

A Jon Post:

The vision is the Gospel of the Kingdom forcefully advancing.
The vision is the hand of Christ touching “the least of these”.
The vision is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, clothing the naked, taking in the stranger, and visiting the sick and imprisoned.

The vision is a ministry in south-west Angola. Children orphaned by AIDS, war, poverty, who are given a chance to have a father and mother. The vision is long days, late nights, dirty hands, breathing in and breathing out the life, love and pain of giving ourselves to others and to Christ.

Remember… oh friends and family, remember the vision.

It’s important. Vitally important.

I had just finished telling a young man in Africa of the love of Jesus Christ and about the intimate plans and relationship that Christ has for him, when he asked me why his parents and grandparents hadn’t heard this. You see, this vision has been around for a long time. We are just a part of it and we affect it mightily. That young man’s parents were a part of the vision.
But some times people forget the vision. Ezekiel tells us that we have a heavy responsibility as Watchmen to speak and to warn people. Ezekiel metaphorically tells us that their blood will be on our hands. Don’t believe me? Read it. Read Ezekiel chapter 33. Read it. Verse 6… “His blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.”
YOU are a watchman with the rest of us. You are not alone. We stand together. Together.
Be desperate with us. Dear friend be desperate with me. We cannot do this alone. STAND body of Christ… STAND!

Remember… oh friends and family, remember the vision.

It’s important. Vitally important.

May 3, 2009

Jon

Angola

1 comment