Matt, Jacinda and Stella
September 2013
September 2013
ABOUT MATT & JACINDA
Matt was born in Minneapolis, MN and raised in central Illinois, son of Pastor William and Lisa Shields. He has two sisters and two brothers. I (Jacinda) was born in Bloomington, IL and grew up in Pontiac, IL. I have one brother. Matt and I both graduated from Trinity International University in 2007, Matt with a Bachelor's Degree in Biblical Studies and me with a BA in Christian Ministries.
We got married on July 7, 2007 and Matt worked full time while I worked part time and attended graduate school at Trinity. I later graduated with a Master's Degree in Cultural Engagement, which involved study of international missions, ethics, world religions, social entrepreneurship, history of missions, etc.
In 2008 we moved to Port Elizabeth, South Africa for 11 months through an ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) program called Young Adults in Global Mission. We enjoyed our time there and learned a lot about ourselves and the country of South Africa.
In the fall of 2009, after returning to the States, we moved to St. Paul, MN and so Matt could begin studying at Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, MN. We enjoyed the Twin Cities thoroughly for the next three years. I worked as a full-time nanny during this time and Matt worked on campus grounds crew and at a nearby wine shop.
After almost completing required coursework for his Master of Divinity degree, Matt took a year-long pastoral internship position at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Lodi, CA. We moved to Lodi in August of 2012. We fell in love with life in the Central Valley and soaked up every moment of our short time in California. I was able to fill in as the church secretary for eight months during this time, which was a huge financial blessing and enabled me to get to know the people of the church quickly.
In November of 2012, we learned we were expecting our first child. We found out later that the baby was a girl and we named her Stella Catherine, then impatiently awaited her arrival. In the meantime, we kept busy with church and when I was done working as the church secretary, I helped out with church events as much as possible and stayed busy at home.
Stella was born ten days late after 32 hours of labor on August 9, 2013. She weighed 8 lbs. 9 oz. and measured 20" long. She is growing like a weed and is a beautiful baby who is healthy, happy and barely ever cries - only when she's hungry! We are so in love with our little girl.
We moved back home to Illinois after Matt completed his internship with Emanuel and are now fundraising full time. Matt is also teaching a Bible study and 8th grade confirmation at a local church as well as pulpit supplying as needed.
Stella was born ten days late after 32 hours of labor on August 9, 2013. She weighed 8 lbs. 9 oz. and measured 20" long. She is growing like a weed and is a beautiful baby who is healthy, happy and barely ever cries - only when she's hungry! We are so in love with our little girl.
We moved back home to Illinois after Matt completed his internship with Emanuel and are now fundraising full time. Matt is also teaching a Bible study and 8th grade confirmation at a local church as well as pulpit supplying as needed.
WHY BLESSMAN MINISTRIES, INC.
We are thrilled to have been accepted as ambassadors for Blessman Ministries, Inc. We met Jim & Beth Blessman (the founders of the ministry) back in 2010 at the LCMC (Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ) church convention. Matt wanted to do part of his internship in South Africa, but we decided it would be best if he got a "traditional" pastoral internship to learn the ins and outs of the typical American pastor. At that point, I had no desire to go back to South Africa, but Matt really wanted to. We kept in touch with Jim & Beth.
Then, at the 2012 LCMC convention, we ran into Jim & Beth again. This time, I spent some time speaking to Beth about my fears about returning to South Africa and she encouraged me and told me her stories. She also gave me a book called Expectations and Burnout: Women Surviving the Great Commmission by Sue Eenigenburg and Robynn Bliss. I read as much of it as I could before returning it to her the next day. It helped me see that doing mission work isn't always sunshine and roses and that it's normal not to love every second of life abroad. It also helped me realize that my former experience in South Africa was normal and that I wasn't alone in my struggles and difficulties. All of a sudden, in a period of 24 hours, I knew God had changed my heart and opened my eyes to this opportunity with Blessman Ministries. I told Matt I wanted to go back to South Africa. He, of course, was shocked, since I'd been saying the last three years that I didn't want to go back.
We spent months trying to discern God's call in our lives. Matt wasn't sure whether he should stay in the States and be a pastor here or if we should delay his becoming a pastor to work with the Blessmans for a few years (he will do some pastoral-type work in SA, but will not be an actual pastor there). I felt sure that God was calling us to go to South Africa and told Matt, but I made it clear that I would go wherever he felt was right, since it is his career. It was a difficult decision, especially now that we were expecting a baby. Leaving our families mere months after she was born to move across the Atlantic would be painful, but we knew it was the right decision. We formally applied and were accepted to Blessman Ministries and began the process of raising $54,000 for our first year in South Africa. By the grace of God, we were able to raise OVER $54,000 in less than three months! We left the United States on January 13 and arrived in South Africa on January 15, 2014. We love living here and still often look around and say, "I can't believe we live here!"
Come back soon and often to keep abreast of what's going on in our lives and please comment and let us know what's going on in yours!
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