Faith Story - Joyce Chellis

Joyce Chellis is special. Her life in Sergeievka, Kazakhstan, as a missionary is an example of abundant life, even when living in poverty. She reminds us of the words of Jesus, "I am come that they may have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Her experience as a missionary in a poverty world gives us some good news today as we are now faced with recession. She recently wrote.

"I returned home to Michigan this fall just as it was becoming clear that our nation’s economic crisis was going to impact my state hard...I have recently been pondering Jesus’ promise of 'abundant life' vs. our understanding of 'abundance' in my village in Kazakhstan…

"Ten winters ago, I lived through a economic crisis far from Michigan. I watched children pass out from hunger, mothers with frozen fingers and frozen tears on their cheeks begging for flour to make bread for their kids, people were dying for lack of medicine and many elderly dying from lack of heat in their homes. I was overwhelmed. I found it easy to share Christ’s promise of eternal life but difficult to teach them Jesus’ promise of an abundant life here on earth. It has been these new Christians, most who continue in poverty that have taught me about abundance…

"The Lord didn’t just deliver Doosya from her sins; He delivered her from...a spirit of fear... It has been a rough road for this young wife and mother...but over the years she has seen answer prayers for her husband and daughters. All are now professing Christians; I am still amazed at how God provided a way for her two oldest daughters to go to college…an answer to a prayer she had shared with no one but God...

"Young Katya and her sister Tanya moved with their family of 13 when things were at there worst in our village…Why move to a village with no jobs and no food? Because it was better than one with no jobs, no food and no water. Katya, at 11 years old became one of the first converts…and she suffered ridicule and bitter abuse for it. Over time we’ve celebrated with them the purchase of a 4 room house that replaced a 2 room shack, the opportunity for both to attend university, and best of all, the conversion of several siblings as well as their atheist father before his death. Tanya said, 'We came here in search of water and God provided Living Water.'

"Just let me say that Katya’s families will probably never have running water, indoor bathrooms, or even a matched set of plates in their homes...But every single one of these 'poverty stricken' people are delighted to tell you about the abundant life that Jesus has given them…as Natalya once said to me when I was weeping over the abuse she was enduring, 'Joyce, you don’t get it, do you?'

"My prayer is that all of us...will 'get it'…the fact that sometimes God needs to realign our definition of abundance with His so we can continue to share that part of the Good News."

If you would like Joyce Chellis on your prayer list, and to receive reports from her about her mission work in Sergeievka, Kazakhstan, please call Dennis E. Brown at The Mission Society, 800.478.8963 ext. 9037.