May 2025 - Minute with the Martins

Dear Family & Friends,

We're thankful for the Lord's faithfulness in our lives, allowing us to serve Him through ministry with MORE.  We love Him, we enjoy Him, and we really do want to see missionaries thriving and bringing His Good News to the nations.  Thank you for praying with us to that end!  May Jesus be glorified!

Grateful for:

• SYIS: Some of you may remember that we brought the "Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills" Workshop to Ethnos Canada several years ago, but this past April, Brian helped relaunch SYIS under MORE Network, co-facilitating with a team of all Canadians for the first time. Fourteen participants representing nine organizations attended this five-day program. 
  
  Excellent interpersonal skills are important because relationships are important... and because the Lord desires to work through the relationships we have within the Body of Christ!  
  
  Many of us think we already have amazing interpersonal skills. But the truth is that creating and maintaining deep, thriving relationships is challenging for everyone.  It takes a lot of humility, a lot of grace, exercising skills outside of our comfort zones, and also having courageous conversations. 
  
  As brothers and sisters in Christ, we must make the thoughtful choice to work hard at this.
  
  Many missionaries will tell you that the hardest part of ministry is coworker relationships.  But building trust, practicing vulnerability, and genuinely cheering for each other is essential to building the Kingdom of God!
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"All of the topics were hard to swallow, especially the stress and grieving.  However it was something I truly needed to see and think about." 

- SYIS participant

• MissionPrep: Just recently, MORE merged with MissionPrep - an organization that has provided vital training to many outgoing Canadian missionaries.  Brian has been working alongside MissionPrep for years, such as teaching modules on "Mutual Ministry" and "Moral Purity" for their "IMPACT" training.  And we love what MissionPrep does!  However, the current director and his wife are moving towards retirement and the landscape of global missions is ever changing, becoming more and more complex.  Changes will need to be made and creative, practical, and sustainable methods will need to be implemented.  Please pray for wisdom to do this well.
  
  
• Debriefing 101: Debriefing helps people process their mission experiences, learn from their challenges/successes, and move forward thriving.  One of our team's goals is to expand debriefing training across Canada.  To launch this initiative, Brian facilitated the course Debriefing 101 in January, training several missionaries and member care personnel with the hope that they will eventually go on to train others.
  

Praying for:

• As the summer approaches, please pray for RE-VIEW East - the Ontario option for the family debriefing retreat.  Also, ReBoot will be taking place in Toronto again this year - where young adult missionary kids will gather and process their transition to Canada and prepare for life back in Canada.  As always, pray for new missionaries - the need is still great - and pray that as the Body of Christ, we would be faithful to support the workers that the Lord raises up! ​
  
  
  

  "Sometimes the road you would never choose can build the faith you've always wanted." 

- Todd Mullins

• Tanner - We are about sixteen months into biomedical treatment, addressing Tanner's fecal loading problem, and doing a hand-over-hand functional neurology exercise program.  Our days are intense and exhausting, but also life-giving.  All of it is very hard for Tanner.   But he now notices/acknowledges when we are talking to him, he understands simple instructions, and he (often) responds.  His sensory system has mellowed a tiny bit, which has improved his tolerance for school, church, and even interactions with us.  He is also babbling all the time, with words/phrases popping out regularly, and he is indeed trying to communicate with us verbally, praise the Lord!  Nonetheless his apraxia (disconnect between the brain and the mouth) is apparent, and he must persevere in learning how to use his mouth to form words on-demand.  Please keep praying!
  
  The above quote is from Todd Mullin's book Don't Let Doubt Take You Out, where he shares some of his story of his own son's journey with autism.  The truth is that we would never have chosen the hardship of Tanner's struggles - which are raw and quite frankly, excruciating.  Nonetheless, we are not the same people we were five years ago.  The Lord is chiseling and changing us.  And we have experienced Him, not only in the successes, but actually mostly in the middle of the exhaustion, confusion, and worry.  We work hard every day to lean into the Lord and to embrace the supernatural peace that he offers.  We pray that the Lord would use it all to shout of his power and grace...to others, to our kids, and to our own hearts.

Thank you for your faithful prayers, support, and giving to this ministry. Your involvement makes a difference!

May the name of Jesus be magnified!!