In this episode, Brody sits down with James and Jenna Roberts, former Snowbird staffers who are currently on furlough. James and Jenna serve in Togo, West Africa, and are back in the States temporarily, to welcome their second child.
They serve with the 6 Degree Initiative, where they disciple new believers, run a summer camp with local children, and much more! Listen to hear how things are going on the mission field and how the Lord is using them.
Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the exposition of Scripture and personal relationships in order to equip the Church to impact this generation.
Learn more about our student and adult conferences at https://www.swoutfitters.com/
Please leave a review on Apple or Spotify to help improve No Sanity Required and help others grow in their faith.
Click here to get our Colossians Bible study.
In this episode, Brody sits down with James and Jenna Roberts, former Snowbird staffers who are currently on furlough. James and Jenna serve in Togo, West Africa, and are back in the States temporarily, to welcome their second child.
They serve with the 6 Degree Initiative, where they disciple new believers, run a summer camp with local children, and much more! Listen to hear how things are going on the mission field and how the Lord is using them.
Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the exposition of Scripture and personal relationships in order to equip the Church to impact this generation.
Learn more about our student and adult conferences at https://www.swoutfitters.com/
Please leave a review on Apple or Spotify to help improve No Sanity Required and help others grow in their faith.
Click here to get our Colossians Bible study.
Welcome everybody to no Sanity Required. I hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving. It is my favorite favorite holiday. That's right. Not Christmas, not Easter. Okay, hear me out. I love more than anything what we celebrate at Christmas and Easter, but as family gatherings and holidays go, thanksgiving's my favorite and I mentioned in last week's episode what some of our Thanksgiving traditions are. I've done that the last couple of years, kind of talked a little bit about that, and so I hope you had a good one. Mine was, my, ours was busy and, yeah, hope the Lord blessed you. I'm excited.
Speaker 1:Right before Thanksgiving break we sat down. I sat down first off the elders of Red Oak Church sat down with James and Jenna Roberts and then I had the chance to sit down with him the next day and we had a conversation this has been a couple of weeks ago now about the work the Lord's doing in and through them with young people, in particular in Togo, which is in West Africa, and excited to bring you into that conversation. James and Jenna have a long history of like. Their history with SWO goes back to their youth. They both grew up being influenced by the ministry, coming as young people, jenna since sixth grade, james came in high school and then they both served here in different capacities and ultimately ended up in the Snobbard Leadership Institute and then took jobs at Snobbard.
Speaker 1:And just awesome, amazing young couple who are impacting the world with the gospel on the mission field and I'm excited to just bring you into their story. So welcome to no Sanity Required and I hope you are inspired and encouraged by James and Jenna Roberts. I know that I have been and I'm excited to introduce you to him.
Speaker 2:Welcome to no Sanity Required from the ministry of Snobbard wilderness outfitters. A podcast about the Bible culture and stories from around the globe.
Speaker 1:Jenna, I'm going to tell the story so for our listeners. We just spent 10 minutes and realized I didn't hit record. We're going to run it back, but at start I was telling the story about Adam Garner, who Adam is. He's one of our worship leaders here. Adam and Jenna grew up coming with two different churches but I think later your church quit coming so you would come with Adam's and then some of the offseason retreats you came with them.
Speaker 3:Yes, so mainly coming on the offseason with his home church and then summers with mine, until aged out.
Speaker 1:That makes sense, and Adam was Jenna has me and Jenna have a running joke where we'll get into her, her snubbered story and history. But when she was working, when you're working at camp, one day I was in the office and she said, oh, if my seventh grade self could see me. Now you said what there's nowhere but down.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, I was. You know, had come as a camper for so many years. So finally being in the position to work in the front office at camp, I was like I've made it. There's nowhere to go but down. I reached the peak of everything and I was like if my seventh grade self could see me now. And I was genuine so proud. You meant it yeah.
Speaker 1:Still am, but I loved it. I thought it was great. But, yeah, adam, adam was leading worship at church Sunday and James and Jenna shared at Red Oak this past Sunday, which I don't know when this will drop, but if you go back to the Sunday November 11th, maybe Red Oak, episode 10.
Speaker 4:I think it was the 12th.
Speaker 1:Was that Sunday?
Speaker 4:the 12th.
Speaker 1:So Red Oak, november 12th, red Oak sermon or Red Oak service, then James and Jenna shared and y'all did a such a good job, oh so good. I think a lot of times when missionaries share, everybody kind of checks out or it's real boxed in cookie cutter. But man, I know for me personally, but then also talking with my family and then feedback from people in the church, it was just, it was informative, it was, it was exciting, like people were really excited to see what y'all are doing, what God's doing, and a lot of us have followed your journey in Togo. But Katura Gardner was.
Speaker 1:Gardner was behind me and her son, adam, was leading worship and I leaned around and I said, hey, how proud are you right now? And she said, oh, just a little bit. Then after church she said you know, we were when Adam was about 15, their church had come up, which was Raleigh Road Baptist, which was right down the road from your church, and y'all did a lot of stuff together. Joe Strange was your youth, was the Raleigh Road youth, pastor Adams, and Daniel Richie was yours.
Speaker 1:And so they would do stuff together. Both had a lot of snowboard roots in history and would bring students together. But anyway, raleigh Road had a group here doing like a spring work project and she said Adam was like 15 and he got up and was leading the 20 of them that were here. He was leading courses on a guitar and she said she said when that happened I was like, ok, that's the bucket list.
Speaker 1:He's led worship on that stage, which is really really endearing and cool for me to hear that people hold it in high steam, not because of the people that have stood on that stage, but because what God's done you know from that stage in the lives that have been impacted and because there's not like one person that has stood on that stage. There's so many people that have preached and taught and led breakouts and led worship and play the band and share testimonies and done skits and dramas and games, and how many people have been on that stage. She said it was just like the pinnacle and now there he's up there on that stage where he consistently leads worship. So, and yeah, so cool. And and I said I know you got to be proud of him, because I'm proud of him and he ain't my kid, you know and that's and that's how I feel about y'all.
Speaker 1:And Jenna you're, you know you have a special place in snowboard Heart and memory. But in my personal heart, you know, and just watching you grow up from sixth grade, jenna through you did servant team we're going to get into that. I want you to walk through your story of snowboard. You know kind of progression but then servional staff and then, you know, then in an internship role and then a full-time role and then you guys met Mary. But yeah, that day when you said my seventh grade self could see me right now she wouldn't believe it. But walk me through. So sixth grade is first time you came.
Speaker 3:Yes, sixth grade is first time we came. And so, yes, daniel Richie was my youth pastor, and I think one cool piece of the story was just the fact that his first Wednesday night was my first Wednesday night, you know, moving up into the youth group. And so him and his wife, they met at camp and when they became youth pastor and youth wife they decided we're going to take this new youth group to snowboard. And so we had signups and everything and decided, me and my friend group, we're going to go to camp, we're going to go to snowboard, and we absolutely loved it that first summer. But I wasn't a believer then and it wasn't until after the summer of my eighth grade year that the Lord really met me here at camp.
Speaker 3:It was the Tuesday night worship service in the coop afterwards that extended worship that I was like, okay, like the Lord is pressing on my heart right now and I know for sure that it's him. I was just. I had come from a place of just anxiety ridden depression. I was finding my worth and my identity in school and in sports. And the Lord really met me and was like no, like you need to find your identity in me and not those other things. And so I had a conversation with Heather, my youth pastor's wife, and going back home, she just took me under her wing and we met weekly Pretty much all of my rest of my high school career and she just really showed me what it looked like to pursue after the Lord, to study my Bible, to walk Expositionally through it, and it was that was just huge and monumental for me, like her and mentorship and her discipleship.
Speaker 3:And In that same time, too, I was like I, I love camp, like I have such a heart for this place and I see how it has worked in my life and I want to give back to that. So my next Dream was when I'm old enough to work on staff. That's what I want to do, and so the that would have been servant team for me, because I could have applied for that for the last half of high school, and so that's what I did. I was able to come and work on servant team and did servant team and then that following summer, did transition team and then, after that, institute. So Is there? How deep? Do you want me?
Speaker 1:to go. That's awesome and for people that are listening, that don't so. Servant team is it's now, as of this year, it's called element leadership, mentorship, next generation training team. So that's a mouthful, but it's training the next generation of leaders at SWO and in ministries and but it's high school. It's like 15 to 18 year old student workers who come in and work While being discipled and it's heavy mentorship. And then transition team is when you're you've been on that team but then you're preparing to go. You were on servant team and then you weren't quite old enough to be on summer staff and it was kind of a transition where you did. It was a hybrid program, you did it all.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:I mean then work summer staff, then Institute? Most of our listeners will know is our year-round program so deep, deep spiritual DNA ties to your formation and development at SWO, which is a big deal to us. You know, like that's the dream that the Lord would mobilize people out of.
Speaker 3:Do you remember this? Um, this just popped in my head so well. I would come with Adam's home church on the off season and then I would come with my home church in the summers, and even at one point my mom brought me and a couple friends as individuals, but I had the camp bracelets. Do you remember this place?
Speaker 3:That we would try and wear until the whole school year till the next retreat season and I remember there was One day you little came and got me from small group at the end and she said I got something for you. And she took me to the office and gave me one of all the colors.
Speaker 1:I remember that. I can remember that. That's so crazy. Yes, it's like we're in a time capsule telling a story like that. It's so cool.
Speaker 3:But yes, my servant team year was also so influential in my life just being here at camp but being poured into and mentored and discipled, and how we just studied through the Bible. We had regular meetings with you and others on leadership. That was just so encouraging, so growing, living in this communal aspect and seeing what that looked like, attending services and then even just humbly Serving the Lord and the day-to-day aspects and realizing there's so much behind the scenes, things in in ministry that can be done and service to the Lord so that, like small groups with campers, can take place.
Speaker 3:But it's like you know, things have to be done in behind the scenes in order to make that happen Was just an awesome experience to be a part of. But I remember Specifically the Lord just speaking to me one day in the middle building when I was on servant team, and you know, feeling that pinnacle point of like yes, I've made it. But then him also because for the longest time my mindset was I could work at camp for the rest of my life. And I remember that summer, the Lord, just being like there I'm, I'm kind of pressing something else on your heart and just be like what is that? Well, like Lord, kind of what are you laying on my heart here?
Speaker 3:And it was that summer that you were walking the summer staff through the last few verses of Matthew 28 About the Great Commission, and it was for me the first time that I really was presented with the heaviness and the weightiness that there Others, on the other side of the world, there are unreached people, groups that have never had an opportunity To hear the gospel, and for me it was eye-opening like, oh man, like here, especially in the south, there's a church on every corner, but that genuinely is not the reality for others. And so that's when I would say my call to missions was? Was that summer just being like, okay, I've got my season here at camp and I know I've got a few more years here there's, I need to do school, I need to serve overseas that's one thing you had mentioned was just like, take three months and go. And so that's when I was like, okay, I think my next step is I want to do the internship program because you guys had said, let's do the internship will give you an opportunity to go with one of our partners overseas for a few months. I was like, okay, that's my next little two-year game plan. And so that's what we ended up doing.
Speaker 3:Is came back the next summer, did transition team, got accepted for Internship and, in the process of that, got the office job. And you guys, let me go overseas for a few weeks. And was like, okay, lord, we're gonna. I want to do full, full-time ministry, but Also just having such a solid chunk of time here to grow and mature during those few years before, obviously, the Lord brought James and I together and gave us a place that he specifically called us to, but so good, what you so when?
Speaker 1:when y'all would have met would have been the summer. You came and worked, james.
Speaker 4:So 16? Yeah, that was our first summer, but that was for you on servant team. That was my first year on summer staff your summer staff, your own servant team? Yeah, but I don't think we really knew each other at that point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, way to cover your basis for Our listeners. You're getting big trouble if your own staff and you flirt with a servant Weren't there, but there have been more than one that later down the road.
Speaker 4:But wait in the next year. Now skin, no, it was 2017 that. I really honestly. I think it was the internship when I really started to notice Jenna at that point. Yeah, because worked 16 and then did the same thing, came back in 17. Because I remember I was like, you know, went to 16, then went back to college for that semester and then came back for the Institute and then that was where we met and the Lord did were you, jenna?
Speaker 1:were you in the Institute then?
Speaker 3:Well, starting fall of 17 and that was when you're both in the yes, and so I think that's when we because you know, summer stuff, it was so big that really our paths didn't cross in 17 and it really it wasn't until that fall that I remember being like who's James Roberts? I need a column to see if his youth pastors here yet. And then I was like, oh, that's James.
Speaker 4:Funny, isn't that funny? That's, yeah, which on my side I was. It was funny with kind of looking back on it because I think there was probably a little bit of a camp crush there at the end of 2017. But it was one of those things in my mind I'm like, okay, like we're at snowbirds summer camp, everybody's gonna go back home. I've never really even talked to this girl, but it was funny not thinking back because I remember Zach Mabry. He had brought all the the summer staff who had got accepted for the Institute and to like the Not what's now the media office, but what was the library back then and I remember going in there, kind of just, you know, waiting for the meeting to start, and then the very last person to show up who was late to the meeting was a Jenna Fullford at the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, at the time, full for yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and then she walked in and I was like, oh boy, I don't know what I'm gonna do Now. It's funny to think back, cuz I mean you, you walked alongside me and that kind of just give me advice and counsel.
Speaker 4:I don't go about that the right way. And then it was later on that year that you know I officially asked you out on a date and then Went from there. I know you took a lot of time to pray through it Because I know that you had had a lot of plans, just like you said earlier, about Want to go overseas and then what life looks like kind of after that, and then for me just to kind of pop my head in there, kind of shake things around.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so, and you had what you were a freshman. The first time, james, that you came to snowbird as a camper or were you older.
Speaker 4:Well, now I'm thinking back.
Speaker 1:I think it was around like my junior or senior year you only came a couple times right, Right as a camper right.
Speaker 4:So my background is funny actually listening to a little bit of yours because it was kind of pretty similar. My family didn't go go to church when I was growing up and we went for like Christmas, easter to like the local Catholic Church, just for like tradition sake. But it wasn't until seventh grade. Funny thinking back on it, because I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in class, english class, and this random kid I never talked to him in my life turns around, was like hey, man, you want to go to youth group with me? And at that point I'm just like what is what is youth group? You know, I've never heard this in my life.
Speaker 4:You know and flash forward to that, that, that dude and that becoming one of my best friends and one of my groomsmen in our wedding.
Speaker 1:Do I know him?
Speaker 4:Caleb Russell, but he came to summer once. Okay, but then that was it. But, yeah, no, it was funny. So he invited me to youth group. I started coming and I remember it was the same situation my very first Wednesday night was Jack Caldwell's first Wednesday night with the youth pastor. Yep, so same exact situation.
Speaker 4:So I'm coming into the youth group being like I don't know what's going on I don't know anybody here except for this random dude who invited me from my middle school English class and Jack and I just kind of really got together so quick because he was like, well, I'm the new youth pastor. I mean at that time he's fresh out of college, Like he's 22 years old, so he's trying to figure out youth ministry and everything and I'm trying to figure out just life at that point. So we grew to get really really close and so at that point I mean we had started going to youth group, went to church on Sunday mornings and I was kind of involved with a couple different crowds. At that point I was really really into music and so for anybody that's into music you know electric guitar, drums or anything like that everybody's got to have their small garage band that they start, you know they believe is going to get big. And so I did that for a couple years and then the Lord kind of drew me away from that with you know, some other circumstances that happened.
Speaker 4:But I remember coming back in my sophomore year and I mean Jack had probably he's been, he'd been meeting with me so many times, so that time we grew to be so close and he knew that I wasn't a believer at that point. But, man, it was summer of I want to say it was summer 2012 that went showed up for a Wednesday night. Lord saved me through. I can't remember the message, but I just remember leaving that night and being like man, I need the gospel. I can't do this on my own anymore, and so that was when I came to faith in Jesus, but it wasn't until, I want to say, it was the summer of 2014. So I just finished my junior year and that was our very first summer, because we actually never heard about snow. We tried our like different camps every now and again, but it was funny enough. Blaine Chapman yeah, remember Blaine. Oh yeah, he had been going to a church before that, and him and his family did, and they actually came to snowboard with another church.
Speaker 4:And so all along, I mean him and his brothers are like you need to go snowboard, we need to go snowboard. And Jack's like never heard this place before. And then, finally, 2014 is like OK, fine, we'll try it. And we went that first summer and, man, we've just been hooked. Ever since, I mean, I think at that point, jack has come every single summer.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, this was his 10th summer.
Speaker 4:So crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and he's man.
Speaker 1:He's so faithful, so thankful for that brother. Both y'all's guys, daniel, richie and Jack Caldwell, have just been faithful to the Lord. It's cool to hear y'all talk about the personal influence, like Heather discipling you, like that Jack discipling you, james, and I think Heather came. You know Heather was a student at Western Carolina when she came and worked here and then that's where she met Daniel and they got married. But I don't remember what brought her here, but like what her connection was. I think it was a girl named Paige who and Paige had worked on summer staff and they were in the campus ministry together. So I don't think Heather had a snowboard background as a student. But this is cool. This is like the circles and generations of ministry that are so impactful.
Speaker 1:Heather, the summer that, the summer that Heather and Daniel really connected was one of the hardest summers I ever had in ministry, and it was hard for a number of reasons, but one was that some major stuff had happened in and around snowboard the year before that had just depleted me personally and I was just so exhausted and mentally, emotionally, spiritually I was a dad of three young kids in a ministry that at that point couldn't really support me full time.
Speaker 1:We were 10 years old but man was struggling, you know, just trying to make it work, and so I still had a lot of financial burden to try to provide for my family and was working outside of camp when I could. And that summer was so stressful because it was like people started sarcastically referring to it as like the summer of defiance or the summer of disobedience or something, because there were so many staff members that like it was like we, it was like Lord of the flies, like these people come here to work, they don't want to get with. The program was like just was just, we had some rough conflict that summer and they came out of that summer, you know, heather and Daniel, and it was like the story of like new life and God's, it's just, it's really significant to me.
Speaker 4:Right.
Speaker 1:And then she becomes the wife to a guy who becomes a youth pastor and then I mean in your story, gets woven into that she's cool.
Speaker 1:And now Jack, instead of going backwards in the story, going forward in the story. Jack and his mom are, like who's also in ministry with United Methodist Church are leading in the move towards the Rebel Methodist Church, because United Methodist Church has lost its way doctrinally, has basically rejected Orthodox historic doctrine Right, and to see Jack as a legitimate leader and a voice has been so encouraging, right. So then, to hear y'all stories of how these people impacted you and then to know that we've been partnered with him in ministry it's like all these overlapping circles is very encouraging, yeah. So what are y'all doing now? Y'all got married and you left us, but we were happy to see you go as as much as we were sad to see you go.
Speaker 1:We're behind you, we're supporting it, we're excited about it. What are y'all doing in togo?
Speaker 4:Yeah. So I mean it's funny. It's so funny you look back on it because I mean at that point, you know, when we first started dating, I think the one thing that drew us both together was that we both just had a passion for missions. I mean, you talked about About 2016 being so influential for you. I remember it was for me Whenever I was I believe I was on staff, I think it was 2016 that spencer did like a breakout on missions at that point and I remember hearing about missions and I mean, coming as a camper we had, I mean, obviously snowbird, you know, talked about missions so much, whether it was breakout sessions or even during sermons.
Speaker 4:Just you know the need for the gospel to be taken to the nations. And I remember Spencer one time kind of running through a bunch of statistics on um you know, 3.2 billion people being unreached with the gospel around the world right now and then Him saying some of the lines of like every second there's two people that die, that go into attorney. Majority of those people are going into eternal damn nation because they've never heard the gospel. For and I remember at the end he kind of posed the question so what are you going to do about that? And I remember just sitting there as a 19 year old being like man what am I going to do with that? And so when we came together and you know, I started pursuing after jenna, praying through it, and then we had both kind of talked about what we felt like the lord was leading us in the future. We were just like, okay, you know, jenna had spent some time over in central africa, obviously with some Snowbird, red oak, red oak partners over there, so she already knew that you know, she wanted to go into full-time ministry work in amongst the unreached. And I was feeling the same way. It was just like, okay, lord, we're willing to go anywhere. Um, just send us to the unreached. We want to go where the gospel hasn't been proclaimed before. And so at that point we ended up getting connected with uh.
Speaker 4:At the time, the our team leaders were jj Melissa alderman. You had met them and known them for about a year or so and they came over to camp Just a visit. I believe they were talking about their internship. Funny enough, they were coming over to kind of just talk about what they're doing. At that point we had heard about them, but I mean, both jenna were kind of like we're not looking for an internship, we're looking for something more long term. And I remember at the time dallas bozeman he was on staff and he just kind of was like, hey, so I just set you up with a meeting with jj alderman at the coop from porch 5 30. So be there. So we were like, okay, I guess we're meeting with this guy. And so we got over there.
Speaker 4:A long story short, that was about a month before we got married, I believe, and we just sat down with jj Melissa and at that point we knew we wanted to go to the unreached, but we didn't know exactly what we wanted to do with it. I mean, did I want to go into pastoral ministry? Did I want to do something with like more vocational ministry? Because at that point I had been working a couple years on construction, because you were working on full-time staff in the office and I was still kind of in the area but just working construction on the side, and so then it was just kind of praying to, okay, what exactly does missions look like for us on a practical level? So we ended up Connecting with those guys and jj had started talked about starting a camp ministry.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah that was the original connection. He called me. I didn't know him from Adam's house, cat and I. I got an email, I think, asking if I could jump on a FaceTime call, and I mean I deleted three emails this morning that looked kind of like that one.
Speaker 4:You know, I just I.
Speaker 1:I get a lot of that kind of thing that a lot of times seems like maybe it's not a good fit or it's junk or whatever, and but the Lord prompted me to to reach back out to him. Oh, I know what it was Michael tally, who's now a snowboard board member.
Speaker 1:Yeah call me and said hey, you should be getting an email from this guy, jj alderman, and I'd you know I'd given it. He, michael, said I've given him your name because he's looking for someone to help Sort of with cast vision and strategize about starting a camp for kids, but this would be a youth camp in togo. Mm-hmm, which I did not know what toga was. I thought it was the thing from wizard of Oz, and then I was wait.
Speaker 1:No, that's the dog's name and no, that's todo and I was like all over the place, you know, trying to find my what is toga. But yeah, I ended up on a FaceTime call with JJ. That was in the fall of 2017.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and I remember that, because I don't know if you remember this conversation, but I remember we had. We were getting together, we were talking about something yeah, could have been getting counsel and Trying to own your girl take, it could have been on that. But I remember part of that conversation, you know we had talked about missions and I remember you had made it like a side comment about oh, I'm getting ready to talk to this dude that's over in toga. Apparently he's wanting to talk about, like, making a camp ministry, and I just kind of, you know, didn't blow it off, I was just like, oh, that sounds cool, but they didn't think anything of it. But then it wasn't until, you know, a couple of years later, after that I thought back and I was like man who would have thought, wow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because I got on that call, that FaceTime with him. I remember I was standing outside, I was sitting on my tailgate of my truck Up in the woods past the old cabin that burned and he said and he just basically said you think there's any chance you could come over here and see this property, because that property I've got that still and you know you're dealing with red tape and right, he was he was?
Speaker 1:he was trying to get that property secured and I was going to India in February and I was like, yeah, yeah, I'll swing by on the way to India Little side trip, yeah, detour so yeah, so flew to togo and spent four days and and took gar with me.
Speaker 1:And what's funny is I took gar you know we're all about mobilization and networking and gar was just like he was here, but it didn't feel like the right long-term fit for him. I loved having him Right, but it just like you know, the Lord's stirring. You're like, okay, I don't think this is where God's going to keep this person long term. There's got to be something. And I didn't know what it was, but I'd spent enough time with gar. So I was like, hey, why don't you go with me on the first part of this trip? He had already. He had. He had just gotten back from India. We were doing a three month training in India and we were going in shifts. So I was going to take my two week shift Doing discipleship training for our church planners and leaders in northern India, in the Himalayas, and so gar had already been over there. I was like you want to fly with me to togo and and that's. And so he went and like day three. He's like, yeah, I'm gonna come serve here. It was crazy yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but anyway. Yes, so that would have been the early part 2018, so that summer Would. Would that have been the summer when you had that conversation with JJ?
Speaker 4:I think it was. Yeah, it was just before we got married, so that would be april 2019, so 2019 because he came back in 2018.
Speaker 1:That summer I set up they were going to be stateside him and his wife, melissa, and I said he said do you have potential Through the institute? Could we maybe do some internship partnerships? Which is what you've basically done, jenna, with a different team and a different organization. But yeah, we take our institute kids a lot of times and send them out for one to three months.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:We got two guys coming back this week from Uganda.
Speaker 4:They've been with kill, being Greg for 90 days.
Speaker 1:That's something we do every year. So it made sense For them to come in and meet some of our people, and they started recruiting summer interns. One thing led to another, but anyway, okay, see, I'm just kind of even connecting the dots. That next year. Then y'all had that real sit down, because by then gar was probably Raising support. He was, he was all in exactly.
Speaker 4:Yeah. So that april we had the conversation with them at that point I think it was. You know we had kind of prayed through it. Well, it was so funny, kind of looking back, kind of just back step a little bit. I mean, we, I remember you went on that trip To central Africa and that points, you know, we had prayed about going over, maybe serving that region, but Lord, you know, closed that door just through.
Speaker 4:You know Us personally kind of talking through it. And then at that point we kind of just we're like, okay, Lord, where are we gonna go? I mean, we've prayed through this. We feel like doors are closing. So you know, we're just gonna be obedient, we're gonna stay here in the Andrews area, be with the route community and we'll see if the door opens. And that was when the door opened With that conversation with JJ. And I remember it was like a, I think we went On a vision trip later that year. So we had had that conversation with them in April. But we were gonna take a trip at that point because you know that would be right in the summer months, which everybody knows a summer over at numbers like the busiest time of the year.
Speaker 4:So we waited till November, when everything kind of calmed down right now where there's no retreats or anything. So we went over there for about two and a half weeks and really just fell in love with the ministry over there. I mean, I know that you spent some time over there so you really got to see the darkness. And so, for people that don't know about toga and its backgrounds, it's the birthplace of the voodoo religion, so it's animistic culture, which basically means that they believe in multiple gods. So they build sewn idols with their hands, they worship them, they're, they believe that spirits live in certain trees, and so you just see all over the place that they're just idols that have blood sacrifices and all that all over them. And so you know, when we first walked in there, I mean the darkness was evident from the start. I mean these people needed the gospel, but Constantly, throughout the whole entire time we were there, was just like, okay, but where do we play a role in this?
Speaker 4:What exactly does this look like for our family to? You know, pick up from the United States and go over to toga, and I remember JJ taking us over that camp property that and the same one that you had been on, and just kind of casting the vision for what that exactly looked like. Because for us at that point we didn't really know if we were gonna do camp ministry and we had a passion for it, but we just didn't know what exactly that would entail in the future Years to come. And so when we sat there on that property and I remember him just at that point, kind of you know Me, jj kind of explained at that point, like imagine a generational impact of just these teens, these mill scores, coming over to this property hearing about Jesus, some of them for the very first time. They take that same gospel back to the schools, to their families, and I mean, you see the gospel take root in an environment and a community and a culture that has been, you know, written with darkness, satan's grip, for the longest time. And, man, I just put a fire inside of me to say, man, I want to do something like this.
Speaker 4:And so at that point I believe it was that it was like two days into that trip, it was after us visiting at camp property I was like, okay, lord, this is where I feel like we're going.
Speaker 4:And so then it was that next year, 2020, that that you know, we're with convergent international. So they had like a assessment process for onboarding new missionaries and we went there the week funny enough, the week that COVID actually hit. And so I remember when we were driving back from the assessment, we were listening to the radio about Disney shutting down and everything. And I mean, at that point all of us were thinking, okay, maybe it'll shut down, like this country will shut down for a couple weeks, but now it be it. But it was that week that we had gotten the green light confirmed with converge and then we started fundraising up to that point To get over there, and so now we've been on the field since July of 22. That was one of where we got fully funded and able to move over there, and now we're working in camp ministry over there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, ran your first three weeks of camp this summer. How many weeks of actual have actual camp?
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we did three weeks this past summer. I believe it was the same thing that the summer that we came on to 22. Three weeks, and then this past summer was three weeks as well into teen camp in December.
Speaker 3:That's right yeah awesome.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so for people that don't know, primarily what we do during the summer is it's more geared towards upper elementary, middle school Students who come thought the year we do have like smaller kids that do come because and not in Togli's culture I mean some of the older siblings kind of act as like the what they would use like responsibles for the day while the parents go out and work or in the market, the older siblings will take care of the younger ones, and so a lot of times Well, it's not as surprised if we get some of the middle school age kids, the older kids, to come, but then they bring their younger siblings and so we kind of have two separate things.
Speaker 4:I'll sit through the teaching, but when it's small group times We'll get the older siblings and kind of have some of our leaders take care of the younger kids. But yeah, so it's more geared towards middle school in the summer. But then this past December that was our first opportunity to be able to do a teen camp for, like high school age and kind of Lower-classmen, college age students be able to come and hear the gospel invite their kids or invite their students that they're going to school with To be able to come as well.
Speaker 1:That was, that was huge and that in that school our first summer we ran one week of camp. Yeah, it's snow birds. So it's kind of like that first week. Once you've done that first week of youth camp, it's like, okay, we're rolling, the wheels are turning. You know, it's a pretty, it's a big milestone, right, and you saw some kids come to faith in Jesus this summer.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah no.
Speaker 1:Really make clear professions of faith after right, responding to the gospel.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, I know I, and that was my, you know, biggest passion, because it can be, you know, when you knew, you know this, I mean going into camp ministry. Sometimes there's the question of, okay, I was like, are these kids just raising their hands, just to raise their hands? But the one thing that I really appreciate about our leaders, who we get to work with day in and day out over there, is that they're really, really intentional, and so a lot of times I mean I remember having a conversation with one of our younger guys named Julia, where he had Was kind of talking through his small group a little bit and he was like you know, this one kid said that he wanted to make a profession of salvation. But I have to talk with them for a little bit. I'd really don't know, like if you actually understand it, like I don't really know if he's ready, and so then it was later on that week that he really got to walk through the gospel with them.
Speaker 4:The kid was able to understand and made a profession a faith in Christ, and so that they gave me comfort to be able to say like, okay, we're not just throwing out these numbers and maybe they're genuine Christ followers after that. I mean, at the end of the day, you know, you just look through the fruits of the spirit, but just to see the intentionality and the maturity of some of these Older high school aged leaders leading these camps Really really just blew me away. And so, yeah, man, we, we saw this past summer about 500 kids come Spread out through the three weeks that came in, and I don't know the exact numbers, but I mean over a hundred Coming to faith in Christ through those three weeks and it was incredible and I think we're talking just a few years ago, that you're both responding to the call and what was driving that was People need to hear the gospel Received Jesus.
Speaker 1:And yeah, you are already at at ages 26 and 24, seeing the fruit of ministry labor.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's just such a beautiful and powerful favor and grace of the Lord. It's just awesome. And so, last thing, like with your team, the camp is only one part of what y'all do. I'm familiar with with the six degree initiative, but maybe, jenna, talk a little bit about what, like what you'll do day to day. Let's do. Let's do that because explain a little bit and either one of you can do this or together explain other than camp, what do y'all do, what is? And then talk a little bit about your specific job with this within the sixth degree initiative, because it's similar to. I mean, feel like this is cool because at snowbird you got some of the not all, but some of the foundation of.
Speaker 1:Even the the technical side of your actual job. Not just we love Jesus and we're telling people about Jesus, but you got to pay bills and you got to bring in money and raise support right and feed kids and there's housing and and you know so much that goes into running a ministry. So what all does six degree initiative do? And then what is your job specifically, day to day? What's that look like?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so for our initiative, the sixth degree initiative, we have five different projects. The first two, togo and benin, church planning since we're really close to the benin border as well, we'd love to Cross the border at some point to so church planning. And then camp ministry. So togo palms, youth camp and Bible Institute. The Bible Institute Portion of it is we do have a Bible college that has three locations in togo and that's a huge role that I play a part in is the administrative side of that. So we have the opportunity for pastors from the states, who a lot of them do have a Background with a seminary, that they'll come and do a two-week intensive course to train our pastors further theological doctor and saw solid training in that sense, and so I help with a lot of the logistics of getting pastors to come over, as well as maintaining the grades for the students, how many more courses they need to graduate, all of like that kind of logistical things on the background. So that is where my office administration, from working at snowbird, has kind of translated over to the Bible College, is keeping all of the administrative side of things Organized on that side of things. So we have yep, the church planning, camp ministry. There's also vocational training, so giving the pastors a skill that when they go to plan a church in an unreached village they need to be bivocational, so having a way for them to support their family while the church is getting up and running. There's also deaf ministry, and so there's a huge deaf population. So we have a few girls on our team who are specifically engaged with partnering with Families that do have deaf students, getting them into the school system and ultimately sharing the gospel with their families and those children Once they're able to communicate. So that is so incredible to see that project as well.
Speaker 3:So those are our five projects that our team works on and for James and I, being mainly in camp ministry, our week to week is well for the good chunk of our Tom on the ground has been language learning, so we've had to learn the Um educated languages, french, and then the tribal languages, eva so we have learned French and Micah will probably learn eva before we ever get around Just playing with the kids.
Speaker 3:But um, we we have been learning French is um what our main job has been like during the week and then the past six months, as our French has gotten to a place where we can engage in discipleship relationships.
Speaker 3:A lot of our week really looks like pouring into our our leaders who are helping run camps and um on Saturday afternoons is when we meet with them. So we meet weekly to lay out how we're going to do camps the next summer um just taking them through the process of choosing the theme and choosing songs and verses and small group questions, and um really letting this this next year, really letting them take the reins on planning it, because for James and I, we love our job but we ultimately want the, the people there, to be able to be self-sustaining and not relying on us. So what's it look like? To pass responsibility where it's ready to be passed, or sometimes where it's not ready to be passed, but an opportunity for them to grow into um those different roles, and so that's kind of what our week to week looks like A lot of discipleship and French studies and planning for camps for the next year.
Speaker 1:I'm trying to imagine James speaking in that French accent. You get you on little hats and in the like the guy at the croissant bakery there and oh man let me, let me.
Speaker 4:I wish I sounded like that, but I have a very American West African accent.
Speaker 1:That was my uh yeah, that was my humor there. I figured it's about like if I try to learn how to speak French. Oh yes. That's so funny and then okay. So what's your typically outside of language learning? How much, how much time per day do y'all spend with with the language stuff? This first year, what was it?
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah. So when we first got on the ground it looked like really it looked like four hours of in class time, but I mean you add, you know homework and stuff on the side. You're really talking about six hours a day, five days a week. That was what it was like for the first, I want to say seven or eight months. And then as we started to grow into being able to speak more, communicate and start some discipleship relationships, that was when we actually were able to lower the in class times. So I think right before we left, we had just probably in total, been in class for about 10 hours or so per week.
Speaker 4:But but I mean, yeah, just like Jenna said, on my specific side, it's cool because Jenna runs a lot of logistics for the Bible college, but then I'll have the opportunity to be able to bring those pastors to the actual sites where they'll be teaching and stuff. So I get to be able to partner with the pastors who come in that way, helping them get settled in and be able to know the translators and everything on that to get ready for teaching. But man, my week to week is it's fun. It was fun, honestly.
Speaker 4:So we're back on furlough now, obviously, but but before we left I was probably about three days a week. I was out in the field just going and visiting some of the pastors and visiting some of the younger guys to walk alongside of them and life coach them through you know whether it was a young guy who is just planted a church kind of coaching through how to lead in leadership and that roles. And then, just like Jenna said, on Saturdays I would also meet with a group of guys before we would have the initial meeting with the camp leaders, just to kind of pour an investment to their lives, a little bit work through scripture. And so that was a lot of that. That first yeah, that probably the latter half of our first term was just being able to go out and do that.
Speaker 1:Man, that was a whirlwind of a year.
Speaker 4:Right.
Speaker 1:And and you mentioned being on furlough there's a very specific reason that this is a longer than normal furlough. What is that?
Speaker 3:There's a baby.
Speaker 1:Yeah, maybe number two.
Speaker 3:Baby number two. So we're I'm like over the moon excited. We have a little boy, he's two, his name is Micah, and then we found out we're having a little girl and so just to bemen. We're going to call her Sadie May.
Speaker 1:Sadie May.
Speaker 3:Sadie May.
Speaker 1:That's so great, so exciting, so excited for y'all. And how can people follow kind of follow what the work y'all are doing? I get your email because I'm not a social media guy, but is it, I'm assuming, facebook, mm, hmm, all the social media platforms, and then people can sign up for your email? Is that some stuff we could link?
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, absolutely Link, that, link probably our website and then maybe even the six degree initiatives website as well, just so they can kind of look at, you know, some of the specific other works that are going on with the team and that. But yeah, probably that way. And then, yeah, we're both Well, I try to be active, jenna's active on Facebook and screaming all that. I try to get on whenever I can, but that's good.
Speaker 1:Well, we'll have all that stuff linked where people can follow along, and if people have got questions, I would just say if you've got questions, don't hesitate to reach out to Jane Pigena, and y'all going to be in the States till when.
Speaker 3:About May. So babies do, end of end of January, beginning of February, great so here for a little while before they go back.
Speaker 1:So if you, even if you might, are y'all available to come to churches and stuff? I know that there's still some some as, as Gosh man, as much as inflation has impacted this country, I can't imagine what it's done to a place like Togo. Yeah, because I mean so much. There's so much that's insulated from the outside world, but then there's so much in terms of imported commodities that I can imagine what's. What's it cost for a gallon of diesel?
Speaker 4:Oh gosh, I want to say we're up to like this six to seven dollar range for a gallon for a gallon. It's all in liters over there, so I think yeah.
Speaker 3:I can tell you, a gallon of milk is $16. A gallon of milk, $16.
Speaker 1:And a gallon of milk is $16 and four liters of diesel would make a gallon Right.
Speaker 4:Yep.
Speaker 1:Is six bucks a liter.
Speaker 1:Yep, just about right now so 20, over $20 for a gallon of diesel. That sounds what Kilby and Greg were saying, and Uganda as well. So, um, I know that there's these guys would never say this, but I'd say there's still probably need to to raise some increased support, even just for the ministry in there. So if, if folks, uh, um, were interested in in following y'all, that's awesome. But also, you've got some time stateside so people could connect with you and probably having a better and easier time having a conversation Right, see how they might get involved. So, um, we would. We would love to see that happen. So Thank you for listening.
Speaker 1:Uh, if you want to support James and Jenna or just follow along with what they're doing, please do that, please, please, please are people that are making an impact for the gospel. They've devoted their lives to it. It's been a crazy journey, but at their age it's so inspiring to talk to 24, 25, 26 year old people that are already just making an impact and the Lord is using them and they're just wonderful, beautiful people in their heart and soul and it just man, I, I I'm so thankful To hear their story and to be reminded of God's faithfulness through the years. It's slow, so many have been mobilized and have gone out into the mission field and I'm not going to lie, man, when I was sitting there talking to them, I got welled up and overwhelmed with emotion a couple of times and just just really thankful, very grateful, really impacted personally. Um. So follow them. We'll have all of their, all of their uh information in the show notes. You get in there and follow them and uh, and support them.
Speaker 1:They that James was telling me. We didn't bring this up in the conversation, but we were talking off the air, off the record, uh, a couple of days before about just where they are and and you know what the financials are. I'm, I'm, we. They mentioned there what it costs for a gallon of milk, what it cost for a gallon of diesel fuel. You know, to run their vehicle cost them about about, I think, 24 bucks a gallon and then you know $16 for a gallon of milk and I've got a second baby on the way and they are funded through their own support raising and um, and I think they said they're they're about $3 to $500 a month Um, as with as the team this is not just them, but the team. They're $3 to $500 a month, really in a deficit now because of rising costs, of everything.
Speaker 1:So maybe the Lord would lead you to support them and I would encourage you to do it and, if nothing else, support them in prayer, reach out to them, let them know, hey, we're praying for you, our church, our family, me personally, whatever, however the Lord might prompt you, let them know you're going to be praying for them and that, um, you believe in them and you're and you're encouraged by them. They're going to be in the States through April into May, so it might even be that that you could connect with them at some point. Uh, james plans to be here at SWO during the um college conference, the college retreat that we do in the winter, and, lord willing, they'll be back at least one of the. The plan is they'll be back at least one other time here in uh in the spring. So thank you for uh for caring enough about them that you would listen to their story and uh just ask that you'd pray for them and support them in any way that you can. Thanks again and uh, love the holiday season. We are now in it.
Speaker 1:Now, the last thing I would do is remind you that the snowboard advent book is still available. It's not too late, even though we're kind of into the season. Um, I think for a lot of people they start on December 1st, um with advent readings and um. So if, if, uh, that's something that interests you, go to the gear store it's also going to be linked and um, pick up a copy of the advent. We. We've uh, put a lot into the exact did, the writing, but the artwork, the um, the, the print, the, the publication of this is a lot of effort and effort and energy that went into this. It's a really nice piece. It might even be something that you give as a gift.
Speaker 1:It's a really nice hardcover advent guide. It's a day by day guide through the advent season. Get a copy of that and use it in your home and your devotions and your quiet time as a family, um in your small group. It would be a great resource for you. So pick one up and, lord willing, we'll see you sometime soon here at SWO Whoa. And let me say Merry Christmas everybody. The holiday season's here, merry Christmas. Let's enjoy the next few weeks as we celebrate the season of the coming of our Lord and savior Jesus into the world. Um, until next time. We'll see you next week.
Speaker 2:Thanks for listening to. No sanity required. Please take a moment to subscribe and leave a rating. It really helps. Visit us at SW outfitterscom to see all of our programming and resources. We'll see you next week on no sanity required.