Christmas Shopping

Our shopping is done! Missi and I completed this yesterday. When we were on our way home I asked her if there was anything else we needed. When she said we were done this feeling of elation came over me. It never ceases to amaze me how great a wife I have. While I did participate in some of the shopping, Missi was the driving force. She kept the list; made sure we got the things we needed to get; and kept us well within our budget. Wow, what a partner I have.

On a separate note. In this Christmas season I often think of Joseph. I posted some thoughts on our web site devotion page and I encourage you to read them and comment. Go to:

http://www.balchfamilymissions.com/devotions.htm

I hope everyone has a great Christmas. This is a time for all of us to declare that Jesus is born. Our savior came into this world to save us.

Tim

The Christmas Rush

This is probably one of the busiest times of the year. We try to visit family and friends. We attempt to get this year's work goals completed. We plan for the coming year. There are Christmas parties to attend. If you are like our family, everyone is working on homework and assignments from school. And somewhere in that mess we look for gifts to give our family and friends for Christmas. In the midst of all of this it is easy to skip personal time with Jesus. To me the ironic thing about that is Jesus is the reason for this season. He will guide you through these days. You only need to take the time to ask Him for that guidance.
So when you feel frustrated due to the traffic, long lines or the seemingly lack of enough time; take a moment to ask Him to calm your soul and guide you.

Tim

Black Friday Shopping

We were in Ohio this weekend so I did not get around to writing in the blog. My wife and I are big Black Friday shoppers. We have spent the night outside of stores to get the best bargains. Even when we do not spend the night outside of stores we always get up around 3am to get out there and shop. To me it just makes sense to try and get the most for the money God has allowed me to have. I am sure there are other ways to do this but Black Friday has really become a 'tradition' for my wife and I. We really get excited about getting our family members presents while spending as little as possible. My wife will sit down after the Thanksgiving meal and plan a strategy. Stores all open at different times and have different sales so making a strategy allows for the best possible outcome. The strategy does not always work, but more times than not it really helps. One strategy we often use while shopping is Missi will shop while I wait in the long line with another cart. That way she can scoop up the bargains, drop them in my cart, we can check out quicker and get moving to the next store. Teamwork is great! The best part for me is being in the crowds. It really is a chance to show God's love. I always smile at people and wish them well. I help whenever I can and try to carry on positive conversations with everyone.

I know in the big picture of things, shopping like this really does not matter. It is not the gift but the thought behind it. The real reason for the season is Christ. However, getting up a 3am, dealing with the crowds, getting the most for my money, is my way of showing just how important the people I buy gifts for are. Besides that, it is a very special time that my wife and I spend together each year.

Tim

National Missionary Convention

We are currently attending the National Missionary Convention. This years convention is in Tulsa, OK. If you have never been to a convention I encourage you to attend next years convention in Peoria, IL. It is so encouraging to see all of the different organizations that work to spread the work of Jesus Christ. The convention is for Church of Christ/Chistian Church organizations to display their mission anr recruit supporters and other potential missionaries. There are also many different workshop style classes throughout the day on Friday and Saturday. These classes are designed for all the different parts of missionary activity from Churches, to missionaries, to college students, and any other potential missionary organization. Team Expansion always has a very large display. Through this convention, Team Expansion works hard to recruit new missionaries through the many different opportunities available. Missi and I have taken this opportunity to meet the many different missionaries who attend this convention and let them know exactly what our mission is all about.
CrossRoads always has a huge wall building area during the convention. Missi and I have helped cut the wood and supervised groups assmebling the walls. This year anyone who want to participate can assemble a wall that will either go to an Indian reservation in Arizona to house some needy families, or help Pioneer Bible Translaters build a new office to house their international headquaters.
It is only with your prayers that we are able to do what we do. I really am amazed at how God has worked through this family. Thank you for all you do for us.

His always,
Tim

Prayer requests
1. Meeting up with the right missionaries
2. Travel safety back to Louisville then to Ohio for Thanksgiving
3. Keeping our hearts open to God's will and direction

Planting Churches

Sitting here in Southeast Christian church during the Global Missions Health Conference is an experience. It is amazing to see how many Christian based missionary organizations are operating. But it also has shown me how unique and special Team Expansion is. This is a medical missions conference. All of the organizations represented here are nearly exclusively medical related. They only focus on medical missions. Team Expansion is unique in that there are medical missions, however, there are many other different missions that Team Expansion has. In a recent email the president of Team Expansion said that at the end of 2007 there were teams in 47 different countries. Few organizations can equal that number. I am not bragging. I am simply pointing out that Team Expansion is not going to focus on any one particular way of doing missions. Team Expansion is a 'church planting' organization. If the best way to plant a church in a particular area is through a medical clinic, then that is what is done. If the best way to plant a church is through preaching, then that is what is done. Missi and I are so blessed to be associated with an organization that is focused on one thing; planting churches using whatever tools are available.

Tim

We are all missionaries

This is a time of year for many conferences that involve missions. Last weekend Missi and 7 others from Team Expansion and CrossRoads Missions attended the National Youth Workers Conference in Pittsburgh. She made some great contacts for future mission trips and got the word out about the opportunities available through our ministry. Since it was over Holloween weekend there were 'costume' days for the exhibitors. I have attached a few pics of her in some of the costumes. Missi has so much energy that God uses in some wonderful ways.

Next up is the Global Missions Health Conference at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville 13-15 Nov. There we will be able again to make contacts and even connections for possible short term ministry teams.

However, Missi and I are not the only missionaries on this team. Our son, Sean, left this weekend for a youth group overnighter at a nearby campground. There he will fellowship with other teens from Northside Christian Church. You know, paintball and other activities along with some Bible study. The amazing part is Sean took 3 unchurched students from school with him. These boys have all told me that they have seen something in Sean that they really liked. 2 of the boys were on his crosscountry team and the third is the brother of one of those boys. None of these boys has been baptized yet or attended Church regularly. Sean simply asked them to start going to Wednesday night small groups with him. He also picks them up for Sunday morning church. As a father I am so proud of him. He sees the need to reach out to those around him and show them Jesus. In its most simple form, he just asked them to go. Jesus has done the rest.

We are currently working numerous contacts for potential trips in 2009. As soon as any trip is confirmed I will place it on our web site. Anyone can go on a trip that we organize. The group does not have to come from the same church.

We have plans to be home in Springfield for the Thanksgiving weekend. We are going to first attend a dinner at Gallipolis Christian Church on Thursday evening, then drive to Springfield to be with family. If you want to visit with us, or would like us to visit with you just leave us a note and we will get back with you. You can comment on this post; email us at balchfamily@hotmail.com, or call us at (937)360-9230. That is my cell.

Prayer requests this week:
Pray that the boys on the trip will accept Jesus
Pray for our contacts
Pray for our supporters


God Bless,
Tim

New Page on web site

I started a new page on the web site today. Missi and I attend so many classes and conferences that we are bombarded with information. I thought it would be nice if I were to share some of this information occasionally with our supporters. I would like to do this in the form of a devotional. I will try to update the page weekly with new stories and information. To get to the page simply click on the devotional link from our home page. I would also like to hear any feedback you may have. You can give us feedback through our Guest Book page, by adding a comment to our blog, or by simply emailing us. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Missi is in Pittsburg this evening at the Youth Specialties Conference. I hope to have some pictures posted by next week. There are special dress days. Today was "Jock or Geek" day. Missi chose to dress as a jock and sent a text message picture to me of her and many others which is hilarious. She is really having fun and making great contact with people there. It is amazing how many people are dedicated to serving our Lord. Mission work is all about working as a team. The more team members the better. That is why your prayers and support are so valuable to us. Without that we would not be able to even meet these other dedicated people.

Thank you all so much.
Tim

Getting the Mission up and running

We have spent our first full week in the office. It is amazing how much 'stuff' there is to do to get started. One thing we are doing very well is accumulating a large data base of people, churches, schools, etc. that are wanting to do short term mission trips. The hard part now is getting the missionaries in the field to request these trips. Communications with missionaries in the field are good in some areas and poor in others. I have communicated with missionaries in Peru, Taiwan and Bosnia who have some interest but right now they are not sure as to when they will need the trips. On 29 and 30 October we are participating in a 'webinar' from Team Expansion International Services headquarters. This is a web based training that all missionaries with internet service can participate and actually see us in the office. We will announce our new position and 'get the word out' to literally hundreds of missionaries in the field on that day.

We are also participating in 3 conferences in the next month. Missi will be in Pittsburg, PA on Oct 29 - Nov 1 for a Youth Leaders conference; On Nov 13-15 we will both be at the Global Missions Health Conference at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville; and on Nov 20-23 we will be in Tulsa, OK for the National Missionary Convention. We will certainly make lots of contacts at these conventions and probably build up our data base of people wanting to go on trips even more.

Missi is still working hard on her Master's Degree in Intercultural communications and I am in my last semester at CCU for my degree in Ministry and Leadership. I will be done in February (with God's help).

Be sure to visit the web site often. I am beginning to blog more often and I am going to add a devotional page. Missi and I are constantly getting information at these classes and conferences that make great devotional material. So she told me to start putting it on the web site.

That is all for now. Please keep praying for our ministry and thank you for all your support.

Tim

School Days

Missi and I were talking this week and now that we are actually in the offices of Team Expansion and CrossRoads we are going to make a concerned effort to blog more. We really want to stay connected with our supporters and one of the best ways is through a blog. So, a weekly (or more) post will begin today.

This week has been filled with meetings and school. I have really learned appreciation for the Team Expansion organization. It is a very well run organization. There is a checklist of things that must be accomplished prior to beginning work in the office. So this week has been spent making sure all of our 'ducks are in a row' so to speak. That way there will be no major distractions once our work begins in the office.

Missi is in Phoenix this week. Her main purpose is to work on her Master's degree in Intercultural Relations, however, being a true missionary she is also making great contacts while there. It is really uplifting to here her excitement when she calls.

This week I turned in a final for my Philosophy of Religion class. I really enjoy Philosophy and I hope to someday work on a Masters in Apologetics. I also am finishing my class on the Literature of CS Lewis and started a new class called Case Studies in Leadership. I know that sound like a lot but I really enjoy studying Christianity and the Bible. Add the Christian Leadership classes to that and the whole degree will only help further our mission and our ability to work better for God.

There is no way that Missi and I could have possibly done this without God leading us. Even though we are just starting I can look back and see that this journey is such a great testimony for God's leading. We also would not be able to accomplish anything without the prayers and support from all of our supporters. We love all of you.


God Bless,
Tim

Surviving the hurricane

Hopefully everyone made it through the midwest hurricane last week. We were very lucky compared with many people we know. While I know it wasn't a real hurricane, it was definately the strongest sustained winds that I have seen in this area. We only lost power for 26 hours. There were people just 2 blocks away who lost power for a week. 2 trees were cut in half in our back yard. The top half of both trees fell. The amazing thing was that nothing touched our fence or house. Our whole yard was covered by one of the trees but no damage to the house of fence. The only real loss (besides power) was our canvas awning over our deck was shredded. It is interesting how the loss of power can sometimes be a blessing. The day after the winds, there were 10-15 people helping my family remove the downed branches from our yard.

On a separate note I started facilitating a small group through our church this Sunday evening. There are 20 people (I know not very small). Everyone is from the Charlestown area. The church created a companion course with the sermon series that the preacher is doing. I included video, scripture, and sample questions for discussion. The church challenged people to do 6 weeks of small groups then decide if they like it. The group went very well and being new it will be interesting to see how many people stay after 6 weeks.

We are still actively seeking support so your prayers are very welcomed. We are over 50% and Missi has graciously taken a part time RN position to cover the remainder. However, I really pray this is temporary and support will come. God is amazing and we really feel He is with us.

Tim