PJ and Heather Garton

Equipping! That is the season of life that we are currently in. Well over 18 months ago, the Lord laid it on our hearts to enter into a new ministry of intentionally supporting and caring for our colleagues and friends who are training and equipping the next generation of missionaries. It is a ministry that we feel ill- equipped and totally out of our depth in doing. It is a ministry that also requires us to give up some of the good things that we could be doing to follow... the Lord's leading in pursuing this ministry. (more on that later) 30 years ago, we began training to serve the Lord full time in foreign missions. Our organization is focused on the goal of taking the gospel to the Ends of the Earth, but our hearts have always been for "missionaries". Many times, we have felt like a square peg in a round hole. But as we have experienced our own challenges, grown in our walk with the Lord, and followed His still, small voice, we are finding new ways to bless others by simply taking each step the Lord has for us. This coming week, May 3-5 we are adding another tool to our toolbox of resources to support and care for missionaries as we travel to our mission headquarters take coaching training workshop. We will spend 3 days learning to care and support through coaching techniques. We will also have an additional 3 days in Florida to refresh, reconnect with Heather's parents and family friends in the area. I know, suffering for Jesus- but we are right now learning the value and importance of caring for our own need for encouragement and refreshment and not being ashamed to take time to have fun and make memories with those we love. This is something that church supported missionaries can struggle to do. Can you pray for us to be fully engaged in this training? Can you also pray for us as a couple- we have noticed that the more that we venture into this new season of equipping for ministry, the enemy is fighting hard to discourage and defeat. Pray that we will be wise and discerning.

Heather's Health Update Since my January 21st seizure, we have been on a journey to discover the underlying cause of these infrequent (5 year gap) seizure episodes. Yesterday, I was able to visit my neurologist to talk about the results of the MRI and sleep deprived EEG that I did throughout March and April. We are encouraged as these tests all came back normal. While we do not have a cause for these episodes, we have now have a plan. I will have another checkup with the... neurologist in 3 months, continue with daily medication for next 2 years, and I REALLY look forward to driving again on July 21. Since this is my second seizure, we have identified some of the early warning signs I will need to be on the look out for. The best news is that we can continue to live life as normal. Since these episodes seem to come with a 5 hour warning, we now have medications and awareness that we didn't have in place before. Since they are such isolated events, we have noticed that it has had a greater impact on PJ than it was for me as I was not conscious during the episodes. The hospital and doctors have allowed us to set up payment plans for the medical bills, but we continue to lean on the Lord to provide for these unexpected expenses. Thank you so much for your prayers, kind words, and encouragement- it has been such a blessing!

These diplomas represent countless hours of hard work and sacrifice. On Saturday, April 10, 2021 we will celebrate another group of candidates who have been equipped for cross-cultural ministry. As they disperse to the uttermost parts of the earth, unreached people groups will be impacted with the gospel in their indigenous language and a church will be established. Your faithful partnership contributes to this incredible work. ... We count it a privilege to serve with you to see these things happen. See more

Task for today and tomorrow- learn more about Child Development as it relates to caring for Missionary kids. So excited to learn from the experts how to help families care for their missionary kids. 6 hour online training.

Don't you just love those "On this day" reminders from Facebook. This one came up this morning and it seemed like so much longer than 11 years ago. Find out the rest of the story over at our blogpost. https://blogs.ethnos360.org/pj-garton/2021//19/on-this-day/

Heather Health Update There are some things that you hope you don't experience more than once in your lifetime. 5 years ago in January, I (Heather) had my first non-epileptic seizure. After a hospital stay and tests, it was ruled as fever induced and I returned to good health relatively quickly. Unfortunately, we had a repeat experience this past Thursday, January 21st. With very little warning, I began to feel unwell just as i was going to bed that night. By 10pm, PJ no...ticed I was unresponsive and that my breathing was erratic and phoned for an ambulance. I had experienced another non-epileptic fever induced seizure. After spending a few hours in the ER, I was discharged just before 3am. We are so thankful for the excellent care I received and that other than a sore tongue and tiring easily- I seem to be recovering well at home. I have an appointment with the neurologist at the beginning of March, so hopefully we will have more answers then. If you think of us, could you be praying for a few things. 1. that my tongue will soon heal. I bit down on it much harder this time and caused some real damage. Thankfully, I can now eat solid foods again- but it is still very sore 6 days later. 2. for wisdom as I return to my normal routines and patience as we wait for more answers from the doctors. 3. A seizure=No driving for 6 months, which requires me to depend on others in a new way. Pray that I will allow others to be a blessing and not dwell on my loss of independence. See more

Today at our spring semester kick off, students shared stories of how God took care of them and provided for their needs over the Christmas break.(new ministry partners, semester fees covered unexpectedly, comfort during the loss of loved ones, etc.) It was powerful to listen to and a great start to the semester. To God be the glory great things He has done.

One of the highlights on my (Heather) calendar each semester is the MK Awareness Parties that I host on behalf of our Education Resource Center. These get togethers are designed to allow families to visit stations set up to provide opportunities to talk about MK life. This time we were talking about Superheroes. While orginally planned for this weekend as an in-person event on our campus, recent Covid outbreaks in our area required us to cancel our in-person event again th...is semester. For the last 2 weeks, I have been re-tooling the materials to be done by families in their own homes. Some of the unique things that needed to be done were shooting introductory videos, compiling activity pages and creating supply packs. These were boxed up and hand-delivered to the families who requested these packs. While in person events are best- this process allowed me the opportunity to create materials that could be used by families who are serving oversees. I have already had several requests for these materials before they were completed- so it is exciting to see something that would benefit a few families here at our center, now be used by families all over the world. See more

COVID has arrived on campus. Last week we had our first confirmed case. As of this morning, that number has increased to 27. There are a further 27 who were in ...close contact that has been quarantined. Classrooms, childcare, and unused buildings have been closed and students are isolating in their homes while streaming their classes. Please pray that this spread comes to an end soon and that we can resume classes as normal. October 7 - 9 is our annual Field Fair. It will be virtual with 12 different fields represented. Please pray for these sessions to function properly and that the students can glean useful information as they prayerfully consider where the Lord is leading them to serve. Thank you for your faithful partnership with us in equipping missionaries for Cross-cultural ministry. PJ and Heather Garton