Der Weg nach Wien
Boyds
September 2013
a quarterly newsletter from the
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit...” John 15:16a
Boyd Family Update
“
the fall and winter. While we know that Vienna is our
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place destination, God continues to ask us to trust and obey
he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed Him as He leads us to the people He has chosen for our
and went, even though he did not know where support team. It is an exciting journey!
he was going (Hebrews
Europe Trip Recap
11:8).” We spend a lot
of time talking about
This
summer
the
the life of Abraham as
opportunity arose for
we continue on this
Shawn to travel to
incredible journey. For
Europe to see more of
the last five years we
the ministries in which
have walked down a
we will be engaged once
road with many highs,
we move to Vienna. In
many lows, and many
Austria and Slovakia,
chasms we weren’t sure
he was able to reconnect
how to cross. Over and
with our future team
over again, we have
members and see more
Family
photo
atop
a
chilly
Mt.
Evans
near
Idaho
Springs,
Colorado.
seen God faithfully
aspects of our European
move us forward to experience His costly grace and ministry. In Poland, he learned about the history of the
immense love. God has opened doors all around this often turbulent and divided country and the difficulties
country for us to share our lives, the ministry of TWR, they have understanding faith by grace alone. With a
and God’s leading in all of it.
team of seven talented students from Master’s College
This summer was the busiest of Shawn’s life. Since in Santa Clarita, CA, an extensive video project was
the first week of June, he has been home in Illinois undertaken to help TWR Polska reach people with
for roughly three weeks in total. Shawn and Laura Christ’s message of grace. The project took the
traveled together to Portland and Seattle in June, and team all around Wrocław (the birthplace of Dietrich
shortly afterward Shawn left for Europe for 22 days to Bonhoeffer) and into the nearby village of Lubiąż for
visit some of our ministries and work with a team on a an art and music festival called SLOT which is set at
film in Poland. The day after he returned from Europe, a stunning 1,000 year-old abandoned Cistercian abbey.
the entire family traveled to Colorado to speak at a
conference and have a few days of relaxation. A week
later we were in Indiana, and this past weekend Shawn
traveled to California for a very brief trip. When not
on the road with Shawn, Laura and the kids have been
enjoying a restful summer mostly enjoying time with
our neighbors. In a flash summer is over! We are
readying ourselves for the start of the new school year
and beginning to set up our speaking appointments for
[Page 1]
TWR USA, P.O. Box 8700, Cary, NC 27512
The Boyds | (630) 244-7778 | blog: twrboyds.wordpress.com
@twrboyds | sboyd@twr.org | lboyd@twr.org | facebook.com/TWRBoyds
Der Weg nach Wien
Boyds
September 2013
a quarterly newsletter from the
“Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.” Philippians 4:17
Shawn also traveled to Bulgaria with Felix Widmer,
director of TWR Europe, and Peter Kolarovsky, TWR’s
Central and Eastern European Ministries director. We
met with our partner, Studio 865, in Sofia and traveled
to Lom in northwest Bulgaria to visit Roma people
who have come to Christ through the radio ministry.
Through Dr. Stoyko Petkov, Studio 865 director, we
were introduced to Nachko, an incredible young pastor
and producer who labors tirelessly to shepherd the
Roma in Lom and numerous villages.
From left: Nachko Zajkov, Stoyko Petkov, Shawn, Peter
Kolarovsky, & Felix Widmer in northwest Bulgaria.
Shawn also visited with our partner in Belgrade, Serbia
known as Ikonos. He learned of the extensive obstacles
this ministry faces throughout the Balkan region. With
so much recent history of war and international turmoil
following the breakup of Yugoslavia, Ikonos works
hard to introduce Jesus to the surrounding populations,
and also to help the small evangelical communities
overcome the ethnic difficulties that have penetrated
their societies for many years. To be in that place was
sobering. It was only in the late 1990s that the Balkan
wars were decimating the lives of its many diverse
citizens. The marks of those wars are still very evident
today. Our Bosnian producer recounted how most of
his generation was killed during that time.
Traveling throughout Eastern Europe this summer was
incredibly invigorating for Shawn. Our future ministry
can at times feel so foreign, both in distance and
culture. Spending time with these ministries learning
of their successes, failures, numerous obstacles, and
incredible diversity is a great reminder why our ministry
is so important. We have to see life through their eyes.
Only then can we know how to most effectively reach
them with the love and grace of Christ.
Setting our Sights on Vienna in 2014
We say all the time that we hold our goals very loosely
in our hands during this time of ministry partnership
development. While we want to arrive on the field as
soon as possible, we know fully that this is a process
which only God controls. We continue to work
incredibly hard to begin our appointment in Vienna with
TWR Europe. As we near 50% of our needed monthly
support level, we are excited that God is connecting us
with so many devoted partners in ministry. Getting to
know you is a joy and we are excited to work with you
for many years to come! Thank you!
We recently signed up for our final round of training
which will take place from the end of June through the
end of July in 2014. Our hope and prayer is that we will
be able to depart for Vienna immediately following that
training. Would you please pray with us that God will
continue to draw people to financially and prayerfully
support our ministry so that we can begin our work by
August of 2014?
Wrocław, Poland
Additional Prayer Points
• Pray for our family as we adjust to the new school
year and for all of Shawn’s ongoing travel.
• We’ve heard from many churches and families that
they are praying about supporting our ministry.
Pray God will lead them clearly as they seek Him.
• Pray for the connections we need to reach our goal
of arriving on the field by August of 2014.
[Page 2]
TWR USA, P.O. Box 8700, Cary, NC 27512
The Boyds | (630) 244-7778 | blog: twrboyds.wordpress.com
@twrboyds | sboyd@twr.org | lboyd@twr.org | facebook.com/TWRBoyds