Rhodes Crew

Friends!

We have some exciting news! We now are apart of a wonderful missions sending agency: World Missions Advance! This terrific organization has been an answer to our prayers! They will be organizing and administrating all of the donations. This will be a huge help and will be huge blessing to you, our supporters. You can even donate online!

If you would like to learn more about World Missions Advance, please visit their website: www.worldmissionsadvance.org

Our dear friend, Marek (who does an amazing work in Poland) connected us to WMA and they have been so incredibly helpful. We are learning that being a missionary requires serious organization. WMA will help stay organize with our financial support which will be a huge burden lifted! This truly is good news!

Would you mind helping us organize our database? If you would like to receive email updates, please email us at emailrhodes@gmail.com. If you also like to receive a newsletter in the mail, please email your mailing addess at emailrhodes@gmail.com. This will greatly help us keep our database organized and current.

We also just had our very first Belfast Prayer Lunch this past Saturday! We have decided to hold monthly prayer meetings for those want to gather to pray for Belfast and would also like to specifically support us in prayer. We had such an encouraging time on Saturday with our brothers and sisters in that time of prayer! It was so precious to hear the prayers of others for Belfast! We will be holding another Belfast Prayer lunch on Saturday, October 17, 2009 @ Noon. If you are interested in attending, send us an email (emailrhodes@gmail.com). It would be wonderful to have you there!

Here Is a quick update on the Rhodes’ Family:

-Troy is still working construction. He is blessed to have work!

-Noelle has started a new year of youth ministry at Lamb of God Fellowship! She is excited to have some wonderful new leaders partnering with her in this work.

- Silas has started pre-school! His favorite thing is stringing beads

- Olive has taken her first steps! Watch out!

Prayer Requests:

-Pray for G.O. Kidz as they begin a new school year of ministry!

-Pray for Ben and Ruth Estes who are leading the new youth ministry at ROCK Church in Belfast!

-Pray for us in all preparations (raising support, obtaining visas, moving, etc.) that our hearts would be focused on the Lord.

Thanks so much for all your support and encouragement!

-Troy, Noelle, Silas, and Olive Pearl

The Shankill is an area of Belfast we will be ministering in. ***Photo by our friend, Tom Rose.

I often heard it said, “God chooses the littlest, the least, and the last because He is the biggest, the best, and the first.” I have lived on these words for many years. They have always stuck with me, and especially have encouraged me these last few months as I prepare to move our family to Northern Ireland for mission work.

Since our decision to move to Belfast to serve alongside of G.O. Kidz, it has felt as though someone has come along with a highlighter and highlighted all the weaknesses and disadvantages  we posses. Our “lack” of abilities, resources, talent, funds are ever before us. It is easy to throw our hands up to the Lord and say, ” You have made a mistake! You chose the wrong folk for this mission!” (and sometimes we do say this). There is always someone better for the job. It doesn’t take long to look around and pick someone out more talented, intelligent, charismatic, or well liked that we would have chosen for the task He has called us to.

Recently, I was speaking to our Father about how unworthy I felt in all of this. I just felt incredibly inadequate. It wasn’t too far long into my speech about “not being good enough” that  I was reminded of those words Jesus said to His disciples:

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” John 15:16

Jesus chose the least likely lot to be His twelve. Those fishermen were not the most educated men. In those days, a tax-collector would not be what we would call “well-liked”.  A zealot may be charismatic but in all the wrong places. This famous group of twelve were not necessarily the “cream of the crop” but He chose them. He chose an ordinary crew because He would bring about the extraordinary through their willingness to follow Him. I am beginning to see that the Father is not so much concerned with our abilities (since He already knows what He is has gifted us in) but is far more concerned with our willingness to follow Him in His leading.

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

It is Jesus who makes me what I need to be for what He calls me to do. Despite our “lack”, He is faithfully showing the Rhodes family that He is more than enough. The Lord has gifted us with specific and unique abilities to do the work in Belfast. We both have experience in ministering to  children and teenagers. Troy has been an intern for G.O. Kidz. He lived in Belfast and has worked with the organization. Noelle has loads of experience in theatre/drama and has directed both teens and kids in productions. Though we see that the Lord has been preparing us for this work years and years ago we can still be tempted to believe there is someone better for the job if we look around long enough. Yet, our eyes need to be focused on Him and our ears tuned into His speaking. It is our willingness to follow Him that qualifies us for the journey not our talents, experience or personalities.

So, we are encouraged that He chose us to go to Belfast, Northern Ireland! We are blessed and so very thankful! We want to encourage YOU, that the Father has CHOSEN you too! The areas in which He is calling you to follow Him into may seem a bit out of your “league” or “comfort zone” BUT be encouraged! He will make you what you need to be for what He calls you to do. He will provide and supply all that is required! Don’t give up and don’t give in to the belief that are not good enough. Remember that God chooses the littlest, the least, and last because He is the biggest, the best, and the first! (gosh, we just love that saying!)

Thank-you for your continued support and encouragement! Please pray for us as we are still raising financial support for Belfast. We have about 10% of our monthly support raised. We have a long way to go but we believe that He is faithful! If you would like to know more about how you can support or help us in any way, email us at emailrhodes@gmail.com or call us at 973-368-3745. Blessings!

Because Jesus IS love,

Troy, Noelle, Silas, and Olive Pearl

“But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Isaiah 40:31

Dear Friends,

The summer is almost over. We cannot believe how fast it went. We just returned from our family vacation! We had a blast being with Noelle’s family and dear friends of ours in the beautiful Outer Banks! Silas enjoyed the ocean and Olive ate the sand like it was sugar! We also were blessed to spend some time with friends and family in Maryland! We attended the Rhodes’ family reunion which was loads of fun!

We are back in Jersey and back to work. Troy is still working in construction. Noelle is gearing up for coming school year of youth ministry at Lamb of God Fellowship.  We are excited for this coming year as we prepare for our move to Northern Ireland! Please continue to pray for us:

- Please pray for us as we wait on the Lord. Pray that we would have wisdom and faith and that we would not surrender to discouragement.

-Please pray that we would be faithful in our preparations. There is much work to be done! We have visas to work through and support to raise. We want to lean on the Lord and also be faithful to do the tasks He has given us.

-Please pray for Belfast and the ROCK Community Church as well as G.O. Kidz. Pray for revival and Belfast and that many children and adults would come to know the love of Jesus and surrender their lives to Him! Pray for the workers already  in Belfast (Pastor Jonny and Sharon Caldwell and the ROCK team) who continually pour out their lives into the community there for the sake of the gospel! Pray for their daily renewal and strengthening in the Lord.

If you would like to be on our mailing list, please email us at emailrhodes@gmail.com. Every month we send out a newsletter with an update of our progress. We would love to share with you in our journey. We are so grateful to have so many walking with us and encouraging us along the way. Your words have been a blessing!

Thank you so much!

Because Jesus IS Love,

Troy, Noelle, Silas and Olive Pearl Rhodes

God’s encouragement always comes at the right time… never  early but never late. He is faithful… He is ALWAYS faithful. Just when we feel like our legs are going to give out from beneath us, His steadfast love holds us up (Psalm 94:18).

June was a hard month for us. Construction work was slow in coming. We have had to begin to find a way to get health insurance for our family which is never a simple process. We are also quickly learning that raising funds for mission work is certainly a test in faith. Needless to say, we were in need of some encouragement.

An old friend stopped by  one Sunday for some dinner and “catching up”. He shared with the us the things that God was doing in his life and encouraged us with stories of how the Lord was directing him and providing for his needs. We were blessed by the testimony of God’s faithfulness in his life, yet our hearts were heavy.  During that evening with our friend, we began to pray together and while we were praying, our friend read this passage to us:

Deuteronomy 32:10-11

¹⁰ In a desert land he found him,
in a barren and howling waste.
He shielded him and cared for him;
he guarded him as the apple of his eye,

¹¹ like an eagle that stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,
that spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them on its pinions.”

Our friend shared with us that he learned recently that when the mama eagle is wanting to teach her little babies how to fly, she begins to take apart the nest – the only home in which those babies have ever known. Then she throws them over the edge of the cliff where nest  once laid and hovers over her babies as they free fall through the air. She spreads her wings to catch them before they hit they ground and flies them up to higher ground.

As our friend spoke these words to us, our heavy hearts began to melt. We are able to see what the Lord was doing in our life as a family. We know He has called us to Belfast, Northern to do His work there… but there is a work He must do in us here as we wait.

At times it feels like our nest, our lives as we have known it is utterly being disassembled. Although, we feel like we are just free falling through air, we see now that our Lord never leaves us. He hovers so near to us. He will not let us smash to the ground. This is not punishment nor is it abandonment, but a lesson in trusting that  He will take us to higher ground. He alone will lead us through this journey. He alone can teach us how to truly fly. This season is a season of growing and developing into what need to be… more like Him!

So, please continue to pray for us. Pray that our faith will be strengthened and renewed each day! We want to be faithful to the work God has called us to do, as well as allowing Him to do the work that needs to be done in us as we prepare for Belfast.

A big thank you to all of you who have been supporting us through this journey! Your words, prayers, gifts, and love have been such a huge encouragement to us! The second we begin to wonder what we have gotten ourselves into, you have been so quick to remind us that God really did speak to us and our heart for Belfast was given to us from Him. So, thank you from the bottom of our hearts (and don’t stop).

Because He IS faithful,

Troy and Noelle

     Happy June!

     Here is an update:

   – Troy and Tom went to Belfast in May to shoot a short film about the life and needs of the community there . It was a wonderful trip! While they were there they accompanied our friends, Ivan and Kathy, to an international bagpipe and drum competition! It was  great to spend time  with the  folks from the ROCK Community church and be able to learn more about the needs of the youth in West Belfast.

- We have finally moved into my parents’ basement apartment! It was quite a venture moving all of our stuff (as well as purging most of our belongings) from our huge church house into our little basement apartment. Thanks to many willing helpers from Lamb of God Fellowship, the Goodwill Mission in Newark, and the amazing Vinny Dahmen, we were able to do it! We are not quite unpacked in our new space yet but we are working on it little by little. 

- We have sent out our very first newsletter! Hooray! If you haven’t gotten a newsletter from us by the end of the month and would like to be put on the mailing list, please email us at emailrhodes@gmail.com. We would love to share with you our news and prayer requests!

- Troy has officially started up his handyman business and the Lord has been blessing him with work! Praise God! I am still working at  Lamb of God Fellowship as the director of the Youth and Children’s Ministries. I have also been blessed with some extra part-time work as a nanny for a family in our church. The Lord has been providing and meeting every need. As many of you know, North Jersey “ain’t a cheap place to live in” … yet He is faithful!

- We are planning on making the big move to Belfast, Northern Ireland  June 2010! Only one year away! Our prayer is that we will be able to raise the support needed as well as save enough money (earned from the handyman business and my part-time work) to leave next June! There is much to be done in just a year! We are so grateful for the friends the Lord has brought into our life to not only encourage us to but to help us in the practicalities of this life transition! We could not do this without the support of our family and friends. So, thank you!

Here are some prayer requests:

1) Please pray for Troy’s handyman business! We are very excited about it but also a little nervous. We are new to this “self employment” thing and are learning along way. Please pray for continued work and wisdom.

2) Please pray for us as we adjust to living in our new space. It is great being with our family but there are many boxes to be unpacked and stuff to be put away. We want this temporary home to be cozy and comfortable for everyone.

3) Please pray for Troy and Tom as they begin editing the film about the life and needs of the youth in Belfast. Pray for creative insight and wisdom!

4) Please pray for us as we begin raising financial support for this work. Pray for our faith in believing in Lord’s provision. Pray that the Lord would raise up people who will financially partner with us!

5) Please pray for BELFAST! G.O. Kidz is still in the schools and running kids’ clubs, bringing the power of the gospel into the lives those children and youth. Pray for much fruit to born out of the work planted there and that many children and youth would choose to follow Christ and accept the hope He alone can give.

 Much love to all,

 Noelle Rhodes

PS- If you would like one of these fabulous green BELFAST reminder-bands, as displayed in the picture above, please contact us at emailrhodes@gmail.com. They are free!