The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy. - Psalm 126:3
Happy thanksgiving, dear family and friends near and far! :)
In this season of thanksgiving, we want you to know how grateful we are for your trust, friendship, partnership, prayer and support. On behalf of the Suns team, I can honestly say it is a tremendous privilege to journey together with y'all in this great pursuit of God's calling and mission side by side. Whether you joined team Suns for 7 days or 7 years, we praise our Father for each and everyone of you and recognize that we couldn't have done what we do without your prayer and support. Thank you so much from the deep gratitude of our heart!
With our heart bursts with thanksgiving, we are beyond thrilled to share an incredibly redemptive news with all of you. Please read on...
The Return of the Suns to Middle Earth!!!
After about 3 long years of waiting, the Suns is on the trek to return to New Zealand in January 2023! As many of you who have journeyed with us since the beginning, you would remember the calling God has pressed upon us to move to NZ. For those who have recently partnered with us, here is a quick recap of the timeline to NZ since 2019,
May, 2019: We went on a vision/mission trip to NZ to seek God's will for our future ministry after seminary and we were disturbed by the tragic reality of NZ filled with high rate of suicide, abortion, and secularism. God has stirred our heart to cry out for this nation, so we began to pray and seek God's will.
November, 2019: We were invited by Christchurch Community Church to return to NZ to candidate for a pastoral position and everything went extraordinarily well and promising.
February, 2020: As the Spirit led, we signed the contract with the church and prepared to move to NZ in July 2020 to start the new ministry in August.
March, 2020: Covid began and struck the entire globe where NZ became one of the most strictest countries to close the border indefinitely.
March, 2022: After waiting for more than two years, God's divine detour led us to Life International, a global ministry to make known of Father's heart for the sanctity of life.
January, 2023: We are returning to NZ to partner with our dear friend, Jeff Coleman of Firm Foundation New Zealand.
How incredible is our God's guidance and providence as we will be finally returning to NZ. We will be sent by Life International to go with a team to train up the next generation and equip the leaders in the areas of sanctity of life to officially begin the vision that God has started in us to strengthen Christ's church in NZ! Our waiting is never a waste because God has had a much grander mission in mind for us.
Ministry Partnership in New Zealand
Our family will be traveling to NZ from Jan. 20th to Feb. 12th. During our visit, we have been given the privilege to speak and serve in various ministry contexts such as at camp, leadership training and the church as below,
Biblical Worldview Camp (Jan. 23th-27th):Firm Foundation New Zealand will be teaming up with Thinking Matters (New Zealand's primary apologetics ministry). Ric will be one of the speakers to speak 3 messages and serve approximately 40 youth/young adults with age range from 15-20.
Journey of a Life Giver Training (Feb. 2nd-5th): Life International will be hosting a leadership training where Jocelyn and Ric will team up with other trainers to teach and train leaders and pastors from various churches and organizations in the city of Dunedin.
Preaching at Caversham Community Church (Feb. 5th): Ric is honored also to be invited to speak at Caversham Community Church where he will humbly stand on the history of almost 140 years of God's faithfulness manifested through this body of Christ.
As much as we are excited about these God's given opportunities to return to NZ, we understood fully that it is impossible to accomplish these mission works without your faithful prayers and financial support. We need to raise $8,000for this trip to cover our travel, housing, food, and local church support. Please prayerfully consider to journey with us by supporting us financially.
If you felt led by the Spirit to partner with us through financial support, you may find the giving options below. Please let us know if you have any questions. We are looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you so much for journeying with us together in the great pursuit of God's mission.
Until all are heard and healed,
Ric, Jocelyn, Kyra, Liora, Zion
Giving options:
No Tax-deductible through Zelle: 832-433-4567 (Ric's cell) or eshbutx@gmail.com (Ric's email)
No Tax-deductible through bank transfer: 488059487225
(Picture was taken 3 years ago when we visited the Colemans where the vision of serving together to strengthen Christ's church in NZ began)
Please pray for God's guidance and providence to meet the needs of our trip that we believe when God guides, he will provide.
Pray for our body, soul and spirit to be restored from the Turkey trip due to sickness and now to be prepared for the upcoming trip to New Zealand.
Pray for the Christmas gathering that we have invited 15-20 international students to join us and we plan to share the Gospel with them through Christmas carols.
Pray for the anointing Spirit to empower Ric and Jocelyn to share about Life International at Table Podcast of Dallas Theological Seminary.
Pray for our further studies as God has again stirred our hearts to be equipped in the ministry areas where more education and research is needed.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Messiah Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
- Ephesians 3:20-21
You've received this newsletter because you previously expressed interest in receiving updates from The Suns. If you do not wish to continue to receive this newsletter from us, please let us know. Thank you for journeying with us! :)
