This morning as I was leaving church, Pastor Pantoja greeted me and congratulated me on my new assignment as Human Resources Administrator. He commented that it is a big task. I agreed and admitted that I am overwhelmed by it. He replied by saying "that's good because that is when the Lord shows He is able." Wow. That is just what I needed to hear this very morning. Jeff asked me to expand one of the points in his prayer update to let you know more of what my new assignment is all about and because I especially need prayer for the next 3 weeks.
Last March when we were in the UK, I really felt challenged by the new direction our mission believes God is leading us. That is, to become a global sending agency. ACTION desires to work toward being able to send men and women called by God from around the world to go and serve where He leads them. This is a huge step for us because as a mission, we have many needs for administrative personnel in several of our home countries and fields to manage this direction. I realized that this direction fits the two passions God has given me in ministry: to assist those called of God to make it to the mission field and to assist them to succeed during their first term so they will return for a second term. I thought I would be working on the front end of this passion by developing recruitment materials, but instead, I have moved right into the middle of the process.
For several years now we have been praying for both a Business Administrator and a Human Resources Administrator. Both positions need to be filled in order for our field to grow and to enable us to more effectively reach out in the ministry God has called ACTION Philippines to do. In May, I realized that we have many applications before us right now and Jeff had very little time available to review them and handle follow up details. There was no one else on our field who could take on that responsibility. So, I told that I was volunteering for this position if he thought it would be a good plan. His immediate response was to thank me and accept my offer so I took the reigns.
At this time I am helping to process several applications. Canadian short termers, American church teams and an intern, American career missionaries, Filipinos coming back from the USA to work in the Philippines. Then there are some non-traditional types of applications. Filipinos applying to go to Africa, a couple from a country near New Zealand coming to work in the Philippines and a couple from one Asian country going to work on another field whose applications I helped to process. This task has quickly become very global in scope. But in order to have help in the future, we need to work now to help bring in new missionaries to work with us.
As a part of learning how to process applications, conduct orientation and debriefing, we felt it would be very beneficial for me to travel to the USA office and meet with Nelson Reed, Pearl Kallio (the USA Personnel Coordinator) and Scott Gillespie (the Canadian Personnel Coordinator). There will be others who will join us but we really covet your prayers as we meet July 16-18. I need to learn so much more than just how to receive American missionaries. We need to develop procedures for processing Filipino missionaries and those from countries where we do not have an office. In the meantime I have much to prepare during the next 2 weeks.
I praise God for Jim Craig who is a new missionary with us who has a passion for working with short termers and setting up ministry for them. He believes that when they see the needs and they see how God can use them, they will do what it takes to come back and serve long term. So Jim will assist me, especially in the area of working with short term missionaries.
The position of HR Administrator is still on our list for recruitment for this field. We are still praying for someone to take this ministry--not because I can't do it long term, but because it does add a challenge for Jeff and I to have 2 significant leadership roles on this field. We really need prayer for those challenges. However, at this time, the challenges would be even greater if I did not fill this role.
Under His hand,
Mary Ann
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