Our first month in Portland, Oregon has gone by so fast! After we first moved here, I began to wonder what we were going to do to fill our time but after a few days I discovered that was not something we needed to worry about!
As we have continued to pray and ask God for direction in ministry, a door has swung wide open within the law enforcement community. After retiring and laying down my badge last year, after 15.5 years, the Lord has continued to stir my heart for my fellow Law Enforcement Officers. I am beginning to see that God may be calling me to be a missionary to the Law Enforcement community. They really are their own tribe, speak their own language, have their own culture, and can be a very challenging group to reach with the gospel. I never really saw this ministry coming but I have a growing, unquenchable desire to support these men and women of Law Enforcement as they fulfill God’s calling on their lives.
As I shared last month, we have a solid group of Law Enforcement guys that are meeting in Napa once a month. I flew back to California at the end of April to meet with these guys, encourage them, and support them in their job, and more importantly in their walk with Christ. We will continue to meet once a month to encourage, support, and pray for one another. My good friend John and I are producing weekly YouTube videos for the guys and gals involved in this group to help keep everyone engaged and offer support during the weeks we are not meeting together. The group has been growing in interest and we are hoping to start working toward one on one discipleship.
I don’t believe this door for ministry would have swung so wide if we hadn’t moved up here to Portland. I have been able to make several connections with Christian Law Enforcement officers in the area. It’s through these connections I have learned about other First Responder support ministries. I’ve spent most of the month meeting with different people, whether on the phone or in person, from local and national organizations, that are involved in Law Enforcement ministry. So far, I have been speaking to an organization called Navigators and the Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers, which are both nationally known ministries. It has been exciting to connect with people that are doing great things for God within Chicago PD and with folks in the Tennessee area too. Each encounter has taught me more about how I can serve our Law Enforcement officers. There is also a possibility that Jackie will be working with Law Enforcement spouses, which is also much needed. Many times, these women go unnoticed and the impact these jobs have on the spouses can be very devastating.
We are working on a project called “Cover Unit. In police terms a cover unit is an officer’s backup. The job of a cover unit is to watch and offer a secondary level of protection, to support the primary responding officer on his/her call. With this in mind, I began thinking about how I could be these guys “Cover Unit” in a spiritual sense. It began to occur to me that I could be a cover unit to the officers on the street by committing to pray for these men and women and “covering” them in prayer. The idea began to grow. I want to go beyond just supporting in a general sense and support by prayer. I’ve been able to share this concept with several officers, deputies, and organizations about the idea and there is a lot of excitement and momentum behind praying for officers! So, stay tuned for more to come about the Cover Unit Ministry.
The other component of being in Oregon is serving alongside our friends in the local church. We had a great time helping with the Easter Egg Hunt a couple of weeks ago and it was a neat opportunity to get to know some folks at the church and meet people from the neighborhood. This week we started doing a Drive-Thru prayer stop at the church, where people can drive into the parking lot and be prayed for. It was interesting watching the people that came first drive by and then intentionally turn around to receive prayer, the Holy Spirit drew the people that needed prayer. Praise God that we have been able to meet and make some new friends and even have them over for dinner a couple of times. God knows how much we love all of our friends back home and in Mexico, so He graciously brought some new families into our lives. I’ve had the opportunity to continue meeting weekly with a brother from the church to encourage and support him in his relationship with the Lord. He has been such an encouragement to me as well. “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17).
As you can see, it’s been a busy month. We ask that you come along side us this month in prayer.
Please pray for:
- The church here at Faith on Hill- that God would continue to use it as a beacon of light to the neighborhood.
- For our group of officers in Napa – that they would continue to stand strong in their faith in a dark work place.
- God would continue to open doors for ministry within the Law Enforcement community
- Unity, strength, and provision for our family
Until next month!
The Mosleys – Aaron, Jackie, McKenna, Mia, Isaiah, and Penelope