When you read the book of Matthew you notice how it starts off with mentioning the ancestry of Jesus. Why does the bible put such a value on the past? I believe for once it is to remember that we are a piece in a bigger picture, but second it is even more important to know our past when we walk into the future.

When I look at my wife and her history I can see why she has such a heart for missions. Growing up, her dad had a huge heart for missions. He was a big networker and helped to start mission trips into Jamaica. By doing that he helped local Pastors in Jamaica to start churches. Also while Jen was there a Pastor prophesied over her that she will be a missionary someday, which you can see is very true today J. He also started the concept of small groups in his church. In his time small groups didn’t exist. He also had a huge heart in bringing the gospel to people that left the Amish. He could do that because he understood where they came from since he was at one point Amish.

Now look at my family. Growing up I stayed with my grandparents a lot since both of my parents had to work to pay the bills. So I grew up seeing the love my grandparents had for God daily. But that love was not just hidden in there house, no it was showing daily when they connected with people. My grandpa was very involved in the church and helped to build a new building. When he was younger he was involved in youth ministry. I remember many years ago my car had some issues and my grandpa told me to go to a certain car shop in his town. When I mentioned my grandpa to the owner he was so excited and told me how my grandpa let his youth group many years ago and left a huge impact in his life. My grandpa always had a huge heart for people and always tried to encourage them and point them towards Jesus. He did it in practical ways by fixing stuff for them or just by having them over to his house for coffee or food.

Now forward to today. When you look at the ministry my wife and I are doing you can see in some way how God already started shaping it in the past. He put both of our heritages together and combined them to create something new to bring His love to people.

I want to challenge you with this to look into where you came from to get a better understanding and clarity on where you are going. Look at your families’ heritage. It will help you to understand yourself better. And if it was a bad history, it doesn’t mean you have to go the same direction. Look at different kings in the bible and how some of them were really bad but then there sons who became kings after them changed that and lived totally for god’s glory. Remember Jeremiah 29.11!!

Hey our friend

How was your week? We hope it was a good one. Jen and I were able to spend some time with friends. It was wonderful. We also were able to support friends from the neighborhood by going to their concert and let us tell you it was amazing!! When you do things like that you also show your friends how you appreciate them.

God is so amazing, this year our cost went up with increase in rent, health insurance and other living costs in San Francisco, but since the beginning of the year we have already seen a big increase in monthly support. Right now we are still in need of $1.300 to cover our total monthly cost. Thank you to each one of you who is already part of our team. If you are not, but you would like to join our financial support team, find out more by clicking on this link. Thank you for considering us.

Remember this week to find out more about your family history!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen