The LaDage Update

"...let us fun with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith..."   Hebrews 12:1-2

We were in the US for meetings in September when Bobby turned 60. Even though we had a great night of fun with family it was bittersweet because we had to leave the next morning. I keep wondering if ever saying goodbye to loved ones will get any easier. Often people ask us when we are going to return to the US, and they look at us with puzzled faces when we reply, “Since we are God’s ambassadors and we serve Him, he will let us know when our ministry here is over.” Even though there are days when we are sad to be away from our family, we still have great joy in helping see churches planted because this is the desire God planted in our hearts many years ago. We always tell people that God didn’t call us to a location, but to a vocation of church planting.

This past month we began memorizing Hebrews 12:1-3. Unfortunately it gets harder to retain the words the older we get! As Hebrews states we continue to run with perseverance the race God has marked out for us. In fact, the other day we were literally running for exercise when I tripped and fell. Luckily I came away with only a bruised rib, scraped knees and palms. While I was laying on the ground, I felt the evil one whisper in my ear, “Don’t get up. Stay down.” Over the past several weeks has been trying to discourage, disillusion and distract us with his schemes. We are weary struggling against his schemes to try and keep us from fulfilling God’s plans. Some days we encounter people whom we think are fighting against us, then we have to remind ourselves that our fight is not against flesh and blood. Maybe you are feeling the same way? We want to encourage you as Hebrews 12:3 has encouraged us, “Consider him (Jesus) who endured such opposition from sinful men so you won’t grow weary and lose heart.”

If Bobby hadn't been with me when I fell I might not have been able to get up or even make it back to our apartment since I also hit my head! This incident reminded me of how vital it is to have people in our lives encouraging and supporting us, especially when the evil one has knocked us off our feet! Even though we are claiming the victory we already have in Christ, we need your prayers to help us press on.

Your prayers and emails have always been such a blessing to us. Through them we are encouraged to continue the race God has marked out for us. Everyone needs a helping hand when they are down. Everyone needs a word of encouragement when they are discouraged. And everyone needs someone praying on their behalf. Thank you for your words and your prayers!

Prayer is a powerful weapon

A big part of what we do when we visit church planters is encourage and support them because they also get discouraged. Satan wants to keep people in darkness so he isn't happy when we invade his territory. Most of the church planters we know have few believers around them to pray for them. They also can become fearful, insecure, distracted or unproductive. This is one of the reasons why God gave me a passion for praying for church planters when we first moved to Moscow. Since prayer is a powerful weapon we ask you to join us in praying for the church planters in these cities: Moscow- Vlad & his team; Warsaw- Adam & Klaudia, Nate & Ola; Kraków- Sashko; Helsinki- Tommi & Paula, Martti & Soili; Stockholm- Sarah & Caroline. 

Pray we will be fruitful, productive, believing who we are in Christ, reading God’s Word, listening to His voice daily, and preaching the gospel to ourselves and others.

Bobby and Teresa LaDage
United World Mission - Berlin