and david went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.
1 Samuel 23:29
envisioning
A city of refuge in the desert
Engedi was a town in the wilderness of Judah, on the west coast of the Dead Sea. It was a place in the Bible known for beauty and refuge amid the surrounding wilderness. As an oasis in the land of Israel, Engedi served to protect David as he fled from Saul. Ezekiel prophesied that one day the Dead Sea, from the Engedi to Eneglaim, will become a freshwater body, teeming with life (Ezekiel 47:8–10).
This place in the Bible was what God used early in our prayer process to envision our hearts with what He was calling us to do. The area of the world we are moving to is like a spiritual oasis in middle of enemy territory. Just like David found safety and refuge in the Engedi while be pursued by a powerful enemy, we have an incredible opportunity to build a stronghold of safety for our persecuted brothers and sisters who live in the vast spiritual desert of the 10/40 window.
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, "From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38
HOW OUR PERSONAL JOURNEY CONNECTED US TO THIS VISION
We often jest that we (Young-Ho & Kelly) met in rehab. It's true, but we met as colleagues at a Christ-centered residential treatment center. In fact, it was our first job right out of graduate school, and we became fast friends and also great teammates. Our deep friendship and ability to work as a team has been part of the bedrock of our dating and marriage life.
One of our greatest joys has been ministering and counseling together to support Christ-followers in fulfilling their God-given purpose in life.
Interestingly, the international church we have been a part of for the past 18 years has raised and sent out over six families to minister full-time amidst the unreached -- all who we have known very well. God used these close relationships to grow in us a passion for supporting and caring for missionaries working amongst the unreached.
For the past decade we have provided care and support to missionaries serving in the field utilizing our background and training (we later learned this was often referred to as "member care"). Throughout these years, we have come to recognize how isolated our missionaries often are, yet have the same important emotional, relational, psychological, and spiritual needs as the rest of us if not greater due to where they are serving. So the Lord grew a passion in us to care for and advocate for our brothers and sisters serving as missionaries.
The Lord has now expanded our hearts to do the same for our persecuted, indigenous brothers and sisters living in gospel-poor and the hardest-to-reach places of the world.
To learn more about these hard-to-reach places, check out STRATUS.EARTH below.