Shonn & Lori Foy Newsletter (Winter 2023)

God is Good All the Time!

We write this with gratitude and thankfulness that God directs and moves our steps. We’ve had an adventurous three months since our move to Florida! Our prayer is that we remain *willing to move our feet* for Jesus! Proverbs 3:5,6 says it so well; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.”

HE IS WORTHY!

When we arrived in Florida, we moved into a cute, brand-new trailer on Heavenly Street. Many of the TMI staff live on Heavenly, or “Mission Acres” as it’s sometime called. It’s nice to have neighbors to call on for “a cup of” whatever you need! We’ve unpacked most of our boxes, so feel settled in and really enjoy our new space. We have already enjoyed hosting family overnight who have visited.

We’ve kept very busy since our move to Florida. We started our time here as Volunteer Staff. Shonn came in and volunteered, working in the office several days of the week re-acclimating himself to the ministry. Lori volunteered at the reception desk, greeting guests and answering phones.  About three weeks after we arrived, we left for a month of travel to raise ministry partners. We had to leave a little earlier than we anticipated because a hurricane was on its way! We had some wonderful times on the road, traveling through OH, MI, IN and IA and thoroughly enjoyed our fellowship with supporters and friends, making new friends, and sharing with churches.

 We were happy to return home on December 9th to a ‘little warmer’ weather and settle in before the holiday celebrations started! (We didn’t have any damage from the hurricane, praise the Lord.) We celebrated and hosted all the family except Shane, Jodie and Quinley on Christmas Day. Jodie and Quinley came New Year’s weekend and we celebrated with them! (Shane has been doing some training in MO since November so they all met in TN. Praise the Lord, he’ll be done and graduating on January 31st!) We have been enjoying being closer to family! What a blessing to spend time with them.

Ministry Happenings 

Shonn is tasked with raising ministry partners in his new role of VP of Advancement to support the world wide ministries of Teen Missions. He is also the director of the Teen Missions’ annual Mud Run which happens on May 6th.  He had the opportunity to develop this event in 2015 and he is excited to once again be coordinating the race! We are rebranding it and calling it the Tough Gator 5K Mud a. Shonn will be assessing the course and coordinating the building of new obstacles, the advertising and finding race sponsors this spring. Check out the web site at Gator5Kmudrun.org. Pray we have a great turnout for this “race with a cause!”

We are also part of the Conference Center team at Teen Missions and look forward to working alongside other staff to give churches, youth groups and visitors a great experience when coming on the property of Teen Missions. We have had several chances to cook meals for retreats, volunteers, staff and students. It’s been fun to be back in the kitchen!

Lori has been acting as receptionist since we arrived at Teen Missions.  She enjoys the opportunity to greet people, answer phones, and be at the front desk where things are always happening. She has also been given some responsibilities in the publications department, and will be the publishing coordinator. Prayers for clarity and organizational ability would be much appreciated!

Things have been hopping for us since we started January 3rd as full-time staff. Pray we have strength, wisdom, and time to accomplish the tasks we have been given. We are working alongside great staff, students, interns and volunteers who love this ministry and have equally daunting tasks to complete! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!! We feel blessed to be here doing ministry.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU who partner with us as we serve at Teen Misisons International. We covet your prayers and will, in turn, be praying for God to work in your lives and the ministry that you do!

Because of Jesus, 

Shonn and Lori Foy