We are Citizens of a Distant Kingdom
by Grace Kynast
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Philippians 3:20-21
If our citizenship is in Heaven, are we immigrants here on Earth? Where is our residency? As missionaries, we must obey the regulations concerning visas and residency for Nicaragua. Fortunately, Greg and I attained one year cedula (residency) last year, but as believers, we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom. and we await our residence there.
Our sending organization, Missionary Ventures International, held its Latin American Missionary Conference the first part of Holy Week. While there, we pondered how the Kingdom of God should define our life and ministry, and how to live as citizens of that Kingdom while in a foreign land.
When the world seems to be in bad shape, we pray for the King to return and put an end to the craziness here. Why is He delaying? Jesus promises that He will return, but only gives vague details about when that will be. “When the gospel is preached to every corner of the earth…” Join me in praying that hearts will hear the truth and respond positively when it is preached, because after all, it is our hearts that are rebellious and stubborn.
I am becoming more and more aware of how rebellious, stubborn, and unmanageable my heart is. God has made me a new creation, but as I “mature” and grow closer to Him, I begin to see the length and depth of my rebellion, and then I must ask forgiveness! Even when I’m praying my heart breaks away and thinks some prideful or distracted thought. But God gives victories, in my life and in the lives of the people around me – I want to share a story of this with you.
Greg recently had two high school boys brought to his office for being disrespectful to a teacher. Greg has great insights in handling these moments, he challenges the students to really consider their behavior and break through the excuses. He then prays with them. On this recent occasion, the student had been continuing to challenge the teacher, not letting her have the last word, so Greg related it to soccer. He said, “What would happen if you talked to a ref that way? You would get a red card and possibly be put out of the game.” The student could see the truth in this. When Greg said it was time to pray, the student spoke up and said, “Mr. Kynast, can I say the prayer?” Now these are two “cool” high school boys, so for one to have come to a level of relationship with God that he was not only willing to see his fault, but then also willing to lead the prayer in front of another student, who is not a believer, this is the working of God. How I pray that we will see more and more of this in our students. Please join us in this.
Here are a few more updates on what’s happening at Nicaragua Christian Academy in Matagalpa:
Our new U12 Futbol team won second place in the City Tournament. They played for three hours in the final game, unable to break the tie, and sadly lost by a coin toss! BUT the winning team was disqualified for overage players, so our team will move on to the district tournament.
The first assembly for 2018, led by our spiritual facilitator Freddy Matamoros.
Here are a few of the students in their "family groups," which meet every Friday for spiritual encouragement, information, and fun competitions.
Grace and Greg Kynast serve as global Chets Missions partners in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. If you are interested in visiting them and joining their work at the Nicaragua Christian Academy, we're sending a mission team to Nicaragua this summer, July 28-August 4.
We're having an interest meeting on Sunday, April 15, at 11:45am in room 232 at the Hodges Campus. If you attend another campus or are unable to make it to the meeting, contact Chris Lowery at chrislowery@bellsouth.net for more information. Click here to learn more about this trip and all of our mission teams.
You support the Kynasts and all of our Chets Missions partners when you give to Chets Creek Church and the Chets Missions Offering. You can also support the Kynasts directly through Missionary Ventures. Click here to make a secure online gift. In the section for DONATION AREA, select MISSIONARY and then type "Greg and Grace Kynast" in the PREFERENCED FOR box.