~7 Months and counting! (And details about our Ministry)~

~I started my blog back in 2007 so that our children's grandparents could watch their grandkids grow up SO FAR AWAY from them, and could see the daily activities we are involved in. =) 

So my blog is much about our family, our every day Home life, etc.

~Our ministry blog tab is to the top right-hand of my blog.  On the Dickinson Journey blog the tab at the top of the page called "Our Ministry" tells some of what we have been doing the last few years.

However, we've been missionaries in 2 different countries during the years we've had our blogs, and we've learned not to speak much on our blogs about those around us (who ALSO read our blogs) to respect their privacy.

You may read between the lines when you see pictures of people with us or visitors in our home and realize that a big part of our ministry is trying to touch and influence them for Jesus and Holiness.

My husband is also called to a ministry of PRAYER, and spends LOTS of time with God.  On His blog...He loves to inspire others to spend more time in God's Word and in Prayer!  Like Hudson Taylor said, "Learn to Move men by God THROUGH Prayer."
Our first year or so in Colombia Phillip felt like He was going to break... running and going and doing trying to minister....and since then We've learned to depend on GOD to open the ministry doors HE wants us to walk through, and God has done wonderful things.

~My primary ministry Is my husband, children, and reaching out to others through entertaining.   As well as PRAYING lots for those around us.

~Although I LOVE to cook, bake, and entertain, it's not just for the FUN of it.  We pray for ETERNAL results as well from my labors.

Titus 2:3,4,& 5  The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;  That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. 

~I don't really consider myself an "Aged woman" =) but I'm not a teenager anymore, so my desire is to teach / inspire my own teenage girls and others reading my blog to one day serve Jesus through being the best wife and Mommy possible. 

Missionary wives spend a lot of their time doing what other wives do, laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, homeschooling, etc. =)  

The only difference is we do it in a DIFFERENT CULTURE and sometimes with less conveniences than we have when we are in the USA.  (Like no car, walking everywhere we go to grocery shop, no dryer, etc.)  Also, More and more I have been seeing my blog as an opportunity to encourage other Wives and Mommies to be content in the roles where Jesus has placed them. =)

~Through the years, my husband has felt that God has led us to minister to others by discipleship.  An effective way to do that is by spending time with people (inviting people into our home is the easiest way to be with them) in order to touch their lives for Jesus and for Holiness.  In these years of our ministry we have seen that our visitors feel more free to ask questions about what we believe or why we do what we do when in our home.

Since I'm married to a bishop and 1 Timothy 3:2  talks about a Bishop being "given to hospitality," ....Hospitality is a big part of our ministry.

People don't care how much I know, until they know how much I CARE.
In this culture spending time with the people is MORE IMPORTANT than it is even our own culture!
One former missionary warned us that it would be HARD at first for us as Americans... to carve out time to visit with others, but that this would be one of our most MEANINGFUL ways of ministry in these countries.
He told us (and we've learned through the years)  that in this culture a "visit" isn't just a quick hello or being together a half an hour, they don't feel like you really CARE or have spent quality time with them unless you spend HOURS or all afternoon/evening.  

~We continue to encourage and minister as well to the 3 pastors and their congregations in Colombia with LOTS of prayers, weekly communication, advice, and ministry visits to the different fields which we serve.

We are constantly asking Jesus to help us touch those around us for Him and Holiness.
We are trying to Witness,
Pass out tracts to our neighbors,
and staying very involved in the local church where Jesus has called us to attend here in Argentina.
We also are very much in submission to our mission in the USA (Global Holiness Mission) and to our USA Pastor.

Many times when Phillip has preached or has been involved in ministry I haven't mentioned or posted pictures about it. 

If anyone is interested in more closely following our ministry to know how to pray, my husband sends out newsletters.  

Phillip said that if anyone is interested in receiving these newsletters to please send us their name and mailing address for our Dickinson Update and/or name and email address to receive our Prayer and Praise letter. =)

Thank you for your interest in our work, and for your prayers, they mean a lot.

~Heather~

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 ~THANK YOU for your prayers for baby and I.  We've reached the 7 month mark.  =)
God is still helping me with my gestational diabetes, which is no small miracle.
(You see, from what I understand, each pregnancy you have gestational diabetes it gets harder to control your numbers.  And the further along you go in each pregnancy, the more your body produces the hormone that interferes with your bodies' natural insulin, so it becomes more and more impossible to control your numbers.
With this pregnancy, one diabetic nurse told me before I left the States that she was quite SURE that by the time I reached 20 to 24 weeks of pregnancy, that I would be on insulin.
Thanks be to King Jesus (and LOTS of raw veggies and salads), I'm 28 weeks along and still insulin free.  =)

 ~God is goooooood...all the time!  Lord willing we leave Argentina soon to come home to the USA to have our precious baby.  Lord willing, after she is born, and we have her passport, we plan to come back to minister again in Argentina.
She's not due until August, but like I've explained before, I have to fly before I'm 8 months along, or the airlines WON'T LET ME FLY.
Thank you for your prayers as we get everything ready to go back.
Also, Thank you for your prayers for we have 2 more classes with our Asian kids with which we are teaching / practicing English.
These children are so precious and it's our desire to touch their lives for Jesus, and help inspire them to serve HIM forever. =) ~