Moving Overseas

I’m moving to the Philippines to live among and disciple women and children in impoverished communities!

Dear friends,

It is with great JOY that I share with you that God has called me to serve overseas with One Mission Society! Several years ago, the Lord burdened me for discipling women in deep crisis and need and in the last year, He has grown in me a desire to serve in impoverished or underdeveloped areas. God in His Sovereignty and Faithfulness has been a step ahead of me (well even more than that :) the whole time -- preparing and speaking to me in perfect timing before the doors opened and before circumstances created a more urgent need for this assignment on one of our fields. It’s awesome to see God orchestrate this transition, and it has been a thrilling ride to follow one step at a time as He has continued to lead and clarify my next steps. Please join me in praying as God leads through this season of transition.

“And I heard the voice of the

Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I

send, and who will go for us?’

Then I said, ‘Here I am!

Send me.’” --Is. 6:8 

Philippines and Metro Manila... Did you know there are more than 1,000 slums and squatter communities in Manila that make 1/3 of Manila’s National Capital Region? Many of these slums are vulnerable to human trafficking and the sex trade. Up to 100,000 children and 400,000 women are involved in the sex trade in the Philippines and many of them are trafficked. Of 170,000 street children in Manila, some are already hearing about Jesus and having physical needs met through the OMS ministries Lauren and I will go to partner with.

These children’s ministries are asking for help and for someone to come and disciple the women and mothers in their community. Praise God for this open door! Please pray with us!

What will I do?

While at IU, God burdened me for women in crisis and deep brokenness. Throughout my time with OMS and serving at a local hotel, God has sharpened that burden for discipling women in crisis and deep need. He has opened many doors to counsel, comfort and come alongside women in these situations over the past year. During my time in Haiti in March, he really opened my eyes to the fact that He had created in me a desire to serve Him through living among people in a third-world country and serving through discipleship.

God has clearly led over the past few months and prepared my heart in exact timing with an urgent need that has come up in the Philippines. In January, I will move to the Philippines for two years to live among and disciple women and children in slum and squatter communities surrounding Manila. Many of these communities have been impacted by human trafficking. Another OMS missionary and I will be serving among these communities, sharing the Gospel, serving in discipleship, meeting physical needs that we can, and sharing our lives with them.

My new teammate Lauren Biebel is awesome, and God has already used her friendship so much in my life!  look forward to ministering with her as we reach out to women and children in impoverished communities near Manila.

What can you do?

January will be here before we know it! Here are a few ways you could help:

✴ PRAY- Most of all, I would appreciate your PRAYERS in this season of transition! Please join me in praying that God would glorify Himself through the rest of my time in Mobilization and through opportunities to share about how He has called me to overseas ministry.

✴ SUPPORT- I currently have a need of $1000/month in support left to be raised. Would you pray about partnering with me or inviting someone you know to join this team?

✴ HOST A MEAL! - I am praising God for how He has lead in these last few months and shown Himself as He’s directed me overseas! In that, I want to share and give Him glory for all He’s done! Would you consider hosting a dinner with a small group of friends that I could share with?

Prayer Requests

1. That more would know Him! Pray that Jesus would bring many to Himself in these areas, that the people we meet would receive salvation and healing through Him.

2. Opportunities to share I will be continuing in sharing this ministry burden and raising support. Pray for doors to open to share in homes, Bible studies or churches.

3. God to continually prepare my heart and use me however He wants in these months of

transition.

4. Pray for my teammate Lauren and me, for unity, strength and joy as He uses us to spread His Gospel.

5. Financial Support- Pray for additional funding to come in in time for the move and that God would bring new prayer and support partners to this ministry team.

Thank you for your support in sending out the Gospel through being a part of this team! I praise God for how He has used you in my life and the lives of many others! 

Please feel free to email me at bmech@onemissionsociety.org and let me know how I can pray for you, too!  

With Love, Beka

OneGirl Retreat 2012... GLOW!

"Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." Philippians 2:14-16

GLOW!  This was the theme of OneGirl 2012, and it was a gift to serve during this retreat for 4th through 12th grade girls!  This was my second year leading the breakout on missions, but the first time I was invited to speak in one of the four main sessions.  It was a blast to share with the girls, hear their hearts in the break out, speak to them about their identity and spiritual gifts in the main session and watch them enjoy the time to be poured into!

One of my favorite parts of this retreat is getting to return to the church I attended while I was a student at IU.  Getting to serve alongside friends and supporters during the weekend is a gift!  The OneGirl retreat is based off a book written by the women's minister at Sherwood Oaks Christian Church in Bloomington IN.  Claudia Mitchell and Kim Goad wrote "One Girl Can Change the World" and last weekend was the 3rd annual OneGirl Retreat!

Girls lined up before the doors opened to kickoff the retreat Friday

Beth getting Friday night off to a great start

Our awesome breakout coordinator, Laura, made these great signs for us!

4th-6th grade World Changers: Missions Break Out

From the 4th-6th grade missions breakout :)

My adopted sisters!  These sweet girls and their family adopted me 7 years ago through the church's "Adopt-a-college student" ministry, now the girls are 6th-10th grade... SO fun to have them at the OneGirl retreat and stay with them during the weekend!!!

Main session worship!

7th-12grade World Changers: Missions Breakout

Break out... :)

Me speaking in the main session about spiritual gifts.

We talked about Christ's example of serving with humility in Philippians 2.

Then the girls had a chance to take a spiritual gift assessment and brainstorm with those gifted the same way about how they could be using their gifts right now in this stage!

Each group was lead by an adult gifted in that way!

Got to sit with this 14-year-old named Karen during most of the worship sessions!  Pray for Karen as she lives out her gift of service with those around her!

A girl named Lydia shared with me after the main session that she knows she wants to be a missionary.  She has known since she was 8 years old and is now 16.  Please join me in praying for her as God continues to develop His character in her life for His glory!

Another sweet girl named Ashley shared with me during our breakout that she would really like to learn how to start a not-for-profit... she's not yet 12 years old!  Join me in praying for her sweet heart.  That God would continue to fuel her passion and use her for whatever vision He has in mind.

There were hundreds of girls participating this weekend, and each was uniquely made by our Creator with HIS purpose in mind (Ephesians 2:10).  It is exciting to see them SHINE and take JOY in their Savior.  Please pray with me that He will continue to make Himself known to each of them.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support and your part in these young women's lives!!!

If you're interested in One Girl 2013, click here for more info: http://onegirlconference.com or find OneGirl on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/OneGirlRetreat

May God bless you today as you SHINE for Him :)

Love, Beka

Hello, friends!

He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.  1 Corin. 1:8-9

Faithful.  God our Father is Faithful.  And He has continually proven his faithfulness over these past few months.  Through our time in Haiti.  Through opportunities to dig into His Word in community.  Through calling more missionaries to serve around the world.  Through bringing eight new interns to our OMS campus. And even through saying goodbye to dear friends who serve overseas or on the other side of the country.  But most importantly, in all these ways, He revealed HIMSELF and stood true to His promise to be faithful to HIS CHARACTER.  That brings such security, don’t you think?

June is a big month here at OMS World Headquarters.  Last week, we welcomed the International Regional Directors (the missionaries that lead Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa) to meet with our International Ministries Department.  This week the meetings got larger, as each field director from around the world has arrived for the Missionary Council meeting this week.

In Mobilization, we are always so happy when these meetings come around.  It is a time when we get to meet face-to-face with those we work with all-year-around.  As a regional advocate in Mobilization, I work most closely with the field directors for Latin America and Africa, so to have them on our campus for a few days is a sweet gift.  To get to pray together in person, ask any clarifying questions about roles we are recruiting for, or present them with an applicant I am working with is so much fun to get to do in person.

Friday, our director Paul and I had a great meeting with our Brazil field director, Micah.  Today, we were able to meet with two key missionary contacts from Haiti, and last week, Aimee (who I stayed with while in Mozambique last year) and I were able to visit over a quick lunch.  It is a time when God brings our OMS body together a little more than usual.

June is exciting for more reasons than this… It is also the month our summer internship program begins!  Last year, was our first year putting together an organization-wide internship program and this is my second-year serving as director of summer internships.  We’ve welcomed eight collegiate interns onto our campus this summer and they’ve finished their first week.  It’s exciting to see them settle into their assignments, but what is more exciting to me is getting to watch and walk alongside them as God stretches, challenges and teaches them more about Himself while they’re here.  It is an awesome thing to see!

Yesterday, as I was driving to visit my parents for Father’s day, one of them called me a couple of times in a row.  Worried something was wrong, I answered right away.  She told me they were fine but they had run into a homeless woman on our campus and weren’t sure what to do.  The four young women relied on each other and together spent their afternoon, loving on this lost, scared woman and helping her find her home.  It turned out she did in fact have a home nearby.  As soon as I was back last night, they had me over to their apartment to hear about the day, debrief, check-in with them and most importantly PRAY.  It encouraged my heart so much to see their desire to intercede for the woman that they met.  I thank God that-- even in their first week here-- they are already desiring to be available and obedient to the Lord.


OMS defines a disciple as an obedient follower of Christ.  Each missionary with OMS is a part of making disciples.  Within my assignment in Mobilization, I disciple others through coaching and shepherding those God is calling to the mission field.  My prayer is that through my coming alongside these applicants they might continue forward, following obediently where Jesus leads them.  While working with the field directors in my region, I aim to encourage them and know their needs for new missionaries on their field that more may hear the Gospel and become disciples too.

Would you join me in praying over these things as God brings them to mind?

• The Missionary Council, Leadership and Board meetings happening at OMS Headquarters this month.  Please join us in asking God for wisdom, unity and fruitfulness to come out of these meetings.  Ask God to pour out His Spirit and bind our leaders together.
• The woman the interns comforted yesterday.
• Wisdom, love and strength for me as I continue to lead a Bible study at the hotel on Wednesday nights.
• The summer interns and me, as they continue to faithfully serve in their ministry assignments, and I continue to direct their program through August 4.
• Wednesday, I will speak about Burundi in the Hope61 anti-human trafficking training.  Please be praying over our time together.

I thank God for you!  And for your prayers, support and encouragement!  Thank you for joining in sending missionaries out with the Gospel through our Mobilization team!

With love,

Beka

OneWeekend and Haiti

Facilitation team at the Niceville OneWeekend.

We just got home from our first off-site OneWeekend!  Our facilitation team spent Friday-Monday putting on a OneWeekend retreat at a church in Niceville, Florida. The Lord blessed it and it was great time together as a team, but we certainly missed having our OMS family with us for various parts of the weekend!

The group was great and the majority of the participants were older, which was fun for a change.  Jesus was challenging me this weekend about sacrifice.  The whole weekend is based on calling and barriers to service and how God calls us, so it is always a beautiful opportunity for our team to be listening, too, as we facilitate.  What stuck out to me this weekend was a desire to believe that really nothing is a sacrifice compared to knowing Jesus…

Being away from home gave us some precious time as a team to debrief Sunday night and today!  It was a huge blessing to have some time together to talk through the weekend and what God was saying to us.  God really answered our prayers by speaking to the participants and us, providing the participants He had in mind, giving us great time as a team and having His hand on our travel and connections.

We just got home late last night and now I’ll be here today and Wednesday before leaving for Haiti Thursday!  I’m very excited to be heading back after visiting Haiti in the fall of 2010.  It is such a gift to get to go spend four days with our missionary body in Cap Haitien before heading to Port au Prince to help lead a team of Asbury college students.  Within mobilization, I serve as Haiti’s regional advocate, so it will be great to have time to meet with the field director to go over personnel needs, applicants and acceptances from this past year.  Then, I’ll fly to Port to meet up with a team of Asbury college students and help build a home for an earthquake survivor.  I am so excited about the opportunity to get to get to know these college students and see how God works through the trip.  It will be so neat to be a part of a build after interviewing the first Homes for Haiti homeowner for communications over a year ago (read here). 

Would you please be praying for us?

If you would be willing to pray for us each day during this trip, would you send me a quick email at rmech.ind@gmail.com ?

  

Thanks for your support and prayers, and please keep me posted on your life, too :)

OneWeekend Niceville, FL

OneWeekend participants sharing their hearts.

Cat and I with our sweet hosts for the weekend, Buddy and Lynda.

Catalyst and transparency

The theme of this week would have to be transparent stories of God's faithfulness.  Friday morning, two of my teammates and I had the gift of hearing Beth and Cat's testimonies.  Beth and Cat serve in Mobilization and are currently going through Crosstraining (the four-week training all new OMS missionaries go through).  There are 14 missionaries going through the training and they started by sharing their testimonies with each other during the first week- they see no need to waste time before going deep.  It was such a privilege to hear some of their life story and pieces that God used to draw them to Himself and make them who they are today.


Friday evening was the beginning of the Catalyst retreat on OMS campus.  This was the first Catalyst event we've ever done, and it was a blessing to be a part of the facilitation team for the event!  I always get excited when we have new people on our campus and have the gift of deep processing time together before the Lord, but one of the special things about this event is it was tailored specifically for Every Community for Christ's church-planting ministry and the potential applicants we are working with right now that are interested in serving through this OMS ministry.  ECC is the church-planting catalyst within OMS :)


Friday night at Catalyst, three missionaries shared testimonies of God's leading and faithfulness in their own lives.  As an activity to introduce this time, the participants were asked to share with a partner about a time they were impacted by another person's testimony.  There was an odd number at one of the tables, so I jumped in with a woman attending.  She knew immediately what she was going to share with me.  Thirty-two years ago, she heard a missionary, who served in Africa, speak at a church.  She described the presentation to me, giving careful attention to describe the pictures of children she saw in that presentation.  "It was something about those faces, that caught me, and I knew God was calling me to missions."  And as she shared with me, tears welled up in her eyes.  What a tender moment that must have been to bring her to tears 32 years later...  There is power when we are willing to share what the Lord has done in our lives.  When we are willing to be transparent for His glory, there is so much room for others to see His faithful character!

Our house church has been talking recently about Joseph's life.  Talk about an impacting story of the Lord being glorified through someone's life!  We read it at the hotel last Wednesday night, and our friends were so enthralled that they kept asking and asking if we could stay a little longer to read a few more chapters of Genesis to see what would happen.  Anyway, obviously there is so much in this story of God's provision and sovereignty, but what stood out to me as I was re-reading it Tuesday, was a little verse in Genesis 41:1.  Joseph had interpreted the cup-bearer's dream and asked the cup-bearer to tell Pharaoh about him.  Then, it says, "Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing in the bank of the Nile River."  Two full years... that's all it says.  No explanation, no description of what may have happened in the two full years to make it purposeful.  Just two full years passed and then Pharaoh had his dreams and Joseph is released from prison.  And yet, Joseph continues to honor the Lord with his words when he is brought to Pharaoh.  No record of bitterness or questioning... what's that?  Not sure if I'm communicating this well at all, but it was so convicting and challenging for me to be reminded that sometimes we won't ever know why God chooses the timing of seasons in our lives.  Sometimes,  He is so gracious to show us later what He has intended, but other times we may never know the reason for the way things are, and yet, we are still called to trust His will.  What a lot of growing I have to do.

Tuesday night, I had some sweet time with two of the young women going through training.  Sarah, who served as an intern last summer and traveled with me to Houghton, is going through training to serve with our church-planting ministry full-time, and Colleen, who I helped coach through her funding, is preparing to leave for Ireland with eXtreme Walk (our 11- to 24-month church-planting internship).  Our time together was not long enough, but it was great to hear a little about their training and how their hearts are doing in it all.  They shared with me about one of the object lessons they had earlier that day: each participant was given 30 pieces of paper that were cut into puzzle pieces.   On each piece they had to write a significant experience that has impacted who they are today, and then pray through those things and put the puzzle together... Honestly, my first thought was, I don't know if I could come up with 30 major things quickly under pressure.  But as we continued talking, the Lord sweetly reminded me that He can think of not only 30, but hundreds in my short life.  He is so purposeful in not only how He knits us together in our mother's womb, but also throughout life.  So thankful that He knows what is best.


Would you please pray over these things as God brings them to mind?


* For trust and security in God's love for us and who He says I am in Him.
* For the participants who will come to OneWeekend, Feb. 10-12
* For upcoming campus visits


Thanks to each of you who were willing to share about your lives transparently this week, to bring the Lord praise.  And thanks to each of you reading, who are doing so in your own communities.

Lovely Catalyst participants :)

Facilitating a session on calling and barriers with Paul, our director of Mobilization.

Tell of his wonderful deeds

Wednesday nights at the hotel, we meet and study the Bible.  One of our friends, Mat, just became a believer-- so exciting to see not just him, but also his wife and the couple of others that join, really hungry for God's word!  Anyway, a few weeks ago, one night when I was with them, we studied Psalm 73, how easy it is to be jealous of others, and how we must trust God.  In the end, the writer, Asaph, recognizes that the Lord is much more valuable than anything alluring the world might offer, and he commits to stay near to the Lord and tell everyone about the wonderful things God has done.  Mat and his family and I closed by talking about some of the wonderful things God had done in our lives lately and praising God for them.  Sharing of his wonderful deeds is my motivation for blogging tonight.


These last few weeks have been a beautiful picture of God's provision and how He so deeply knows us and meets us where we are.


In what tends to be a slower month in Mobilization (December), God continued to move new missionaries forward in the process!  So exciting to see God moving people to serve him in missions and to see their urgency to move forward-- whether it was Christmas season or not!  Praise God-- within just 7 days of being back in the office this week, we will have had 5 applicants complete their panel interviews to be new missionaries (two couples and one single).  It's so exciting to see God move in big ways that only he can take credit for!!!


After a busy December (actually, busy year), it was such a huge blessing to take some vacation days!  God provided for me to go visit a dear sister-friend from IU, who moved to Texas.  The time away was a great start to break, and helped me disconnect.  One of the things I'm most thankful for during this visit was the chance to just visit with Em and process some things the Lord has been doing.  What a blessing to have un-rushed time to goof off, dig into the Word, encourage each other and see some of her community.


This was followed by more great time with family, friends and supporters in Indiana.  I spent a few days in Bloomington where we celebrated baby Hazel's first Christmas and my birthday and I caught up with some more great friends.


So thankful for what God must have planned for this year. Let's tell of his wonderful deeds and trust him together.


Would you pray over these things as God brings them to mind?


* For a renewed and softened heart
* Deeper relationship with the Lord
* God to speak during the retreat we are co-facilitating for potential new church-planting missionaries this Friday and Saturday (Jan. 13-14).
* Our upcoming OneWeekend retreat February 10-12.

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,

      but God remains the strength of my heart;

      he is mine forever.

 ²⁷ Those who desert him will perish,

      for you destroy those who abandon you.

 ²⁸ But as for me, how good it is to be near God!

      I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,

      and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

Ps. 73:26-28

Em :)

Felt like God put this on a refrigerator in Texas just for me :)  He will speak through whatever he wants!

Brooke who interned with Mobilization this summer lives near Emiliee-- was great to see her in Texas!

Barbeque!

Mom and Steve with Hazel (our cousin's baby) on her first Christmas