Anthony & Shawna Myers Newsletter (Winter 2021)

I have this wall hanging displayed in my office where I can see it every day when I come in.
“There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.” This is how we need to look at 2020! Though there are many things that seemed to go wrong in 2020, there are so many things to be thankful for and we need to look for the positive. One thing we are thankful for is that we were able to see our family more than in any other year (believe it or not!). Let us share with you our year of 2020!

January—Starting a new year, who would have known what the Lord had in store! A lot of “normal” Teen Missions activities such as Leader Seminar, First Step, and retreats were not able to happen in the Spring; however, the Lord continued to use the staff and students in other ways. If the headquarters office is not running, the overseas bases suffer, so Teen Missions is more than just the Florida base. 

February—Anthony and I, as well as some of the staff, were able to help with the Teach Them Diligently homeschool conference in Nashville, TN. We were part of the kids and teen programs.

March—During March we enjoyed a much-needed family vacation in The Keys for Spring Break. Not sure when we were last able to all get together to just hang out and enjoy each other, but we had such a good time together. None of us had been there before except Brooke, who used to live there and work at the Dolphin Research Center. The sunsets were spectacular and the water was crystal and blue. Partly through the week, John surprised Jessie by flying in to propose to her! The day after we left, The Keys were closed down for COVID-19 restrictions. We were so thankful to be able to spend this time together.

April—COVID HIT THE WORLD HARD! Most of the staff were working from home and some were taking turns going into the office to do things. Outside work continued, but the staff worked well together keeping things up during this unusual time of restrictions. 

May—Memorial Day weekend, we were watching TV one night and we heard a knock at the door. Brooke’s sister, Bridget and her husband had come to visit (from PA). She asked if there were a set of grandparents and an uncle here? Then Brandon and Brooke came around the corner! They had come to let us know that we would be grandparents (and Uncle Darin)! So exciting! We had a great few days together kayaking and doing puzzles. We were disappointed not to be able to host the annual Teen Missions Mud Run this year, but hope things settle down enough to do it this May.

June—We were not able to run Boot Camp in Florida this year, but were able to do an “online team” called Mission Here that over 100 kids signed up for. They were given Bible memory as well as daily and weekly activities to do to be able to reach out to others in special ways. Ministry comes in many forms and new ideas!

July—At the end of July, we were able to fly to Texas to see Jessie and John for a few days to see how wedding plans were going. That was the first time Darin was out there, so it was good for him to see YWAM where Jess has been the past few years.

August—August is when the staff does deputation (support raising) and have some vacation time. Some were able to share at their churches physically, but most were not. Zoom meetings and phone calls were a lot of the means of contact this time. We stayed in the office to keep it open while most of the staff were off. Darin started his senior year of high school. He chose to do school in-person as he wanted to be with his friends. 

September—was filled with football games and practices. The coaches did really good with the masking and social distancing to be able to keep the team healthy as much as possible. Darin was grateful that he was able to play football his senior year as many schools did not allow sports. We spent a week in PA (Darin stayed in Florida), where we attended our niece’s wedding, helped out on the farm and were able to spend time with Brandon and Brooke at a cabin with her family. While there, they revealed they are having a girl in January!

October—Jessie and John took a few weeks off and came to Florida to do some fundraising and we were able to do a wedding shower for them. Brandon and Brooke, as well as Grandma and Grandpa Myers came down too. The middle of October, Anthony was not feeling well, so he went to get tested for COVID-19 and was positive. With having Crohn’s, he has to be more careful. Darin and I also tested positive. We quarantined for two weeks, with just minor cold symptoms, and worked from home. Darin was part of virtual school during that time. Some of the staff also got COVID-19, but most had minor cold symptoms, for which we were thankful. 

November—The TMI bases overseas slowly continued to open up, after being closed due to the virus. Some Bible schools and Boot Camps could not run for a few months, but are opening up slowly. However, they were able to purchase food and safety supplies for people in the villages and pray with many people who needed assurance and peace. Thank you for continuing to support the ministry of Teen Missions which reaches overseas, too! 

December—On December 4, 2021, John and Jessie were married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Lindale, Texas. The next day they got tested for COVID, then went to Hawaii for their honeymoon! They are now back in Texas serving with YWAM (Youth With A Mission). We welcome John to the family! He and Jessie compliment each other well and love the Lord.

We were all able to spend Christmas together in PA (seeing lots of snow when we got there!), our immediate family anyway, as some of the extended family were not well. We hope it will be back to “normal” next year. Anthony was able to give a greeting and share some encouragement at his home church during their two services. It is good to see some churches being able to get back together. We need each other! For Christmas, our kids paid for us to be able to see the ARK Encounter and the Creation Museum in Kentucky, which is something we have always wanted to do. So we went with Anthony’s parents and really enjoyed it—learned a lot too! The Christmas lights were spectacular. If you are able to go see the exhibits, it is well worth it.

Teen Missions collected hurricane relief items to send to Honduras. The staff came together and prayed over the 20’ shipping container before it was taken to port. It was incredible to see so many people come together and give to those in need. Thank you. It should arrive in Honduras any day now.

Well, that bring us to 2021!
We would like to announce that Sophia Joy Myers was born on January 23, 2021. She was 10.2 pounds and is doing well. We are looking forward to this new journey as grandparents and will be keeping you up with pictures. That’s what grandparents do, right?! Darin is now playing basketball and 7v7 flag football. At a recent ceremony,  he received the Offensive MVP, Scholastic (4.2 GPA), and Spirit Leadership awards as well as close the ceremony in prayer. We praise the Lord that he has been a witness to his team, and has made a lot of lasting friendships. 

There are over 300 teens and leaders registered for the 2021 summer teams. It may look very different than in the past, and we may not be able to travel overseas, but we need to make plans and let the Lord direct. So pray with us for wisdom in following that direction and know what the Lord has for Teen Missions this summer. We don’t know what the future holds, but we do know Who holds the future.

We are so thankful for your faithfulness to us and the work around the world with Teen Missions. You are a vital part of this ministry. May you be blessed in 2021!