Safe Harbour

"Did God bring us out here to kill us?? "

2007-04-03T23:11:00.000-04:00

This was the question going through our minds as we traveled through Ohio and Pennsylvania this past month. You might laugh but I'm not kidding :-) WOW!! Is not even the half of it. We traveled on roads that weren't really roads... we slid down I-80 for many miles waving at jackknifed vehicles all up and down the highway. One day it was 68 degrees and the next morning it was snowing like crazy. Now, considering that we are from Florida ---- must I say anymore? We have driven 54,000 miles plus in this 1.5 year old van -- and needless to say the tires were not snow ready... nor were our hearts and stomachs :-) God is awesome. He didn't take us to Pennsylvania to kill us. I can tell you though it was a tough trip. It is amazing how you can feel so overwhelmed, tired and sick that you want to be home but at the same time meet so many awesome believers and people who you praise God he brought in to your life. I look back and have to chuckle when I retell the story of how we almost didn't make it to church one night because of the snow and the ice. It is amazing. We were out on the country roads of North East Pennsylvania.. some not even paved and our van, being from FL, wasn't too keen on the snow and ice. I think we may have burned up a few gears getting over hills and mountains and up driveways :-) I tell people that God is our pilot, PTL, but for those 30 plus minutes "driving" to church, I had to pray and ask Him to PLEASE get out and push. We didn't see any way that we would make it up some of those hills but He got us through. We were able to present our ministry and I was able to sing by the grace of God. As I sat thinking on how much I needed to toss my cookies, Jeff reminded me to pray for someone else :-) So I got up and changed my song and sang about the Grace of God and how it totally and completely amazes me. My mom tells me I should write a book some day about all the experiences we've had along the way but I seriously think I have amnesia for some parts of it. :-) Survival mode ??? Hmmmm... If I were good and took the time to journal, then I'd have some doozy stories but I almost always find other things that have to be done and I never get to it. Its funny how others can find the humor in your situations when at the time all I can think to do is throw up or cry. :-) Anyway, God is good. He kept us safe. We have 2 new ALL WEATHER tires on the front of the van :-) PTL... Thank you Springville Baptist Church. I think they felt sorry for us silly Floridians :-) Soon I will have a video of our March trip on our website, which is www.malinsinoz.com so come out and see us. The christmas one is still playing but I will have it done soon. So, until then I'll be storing the stories :-) Ya'll take care now and remember... just when you think that God is taking you out to kill ya... know that He is just about to bless your socks off. Keep running the race with us!!!

Long Time No Hear!!!

2007-01-08T21:42:00.000-05:00

Wow!! It's been a long time since I updated this blog. I'm sorry.

We are currently at 63% of our monthly support need in order to get to Australia. Some days I think that we will never get there and other days when I think.. waaaaaaait slow down, I'm not ready. Day by day we learn about God's faithfulness and His grace. He has been teaching us so much and I know that those days aren't going to end. There are still those days when we sit back and wonder what God is doing and what in the world are WE supposed to do. Our lives have been on hold for going on 4 years now and after a while you wonder when you will be allowed to move on. BUT we know that God is in control and preparing us for what is to come. Some days that is a scary thought :-)

Oh, enough about us... how are you all doing? Is anyone listening? We are in North Carolina heading towards Michigan and Ohio. We have a few meetings in Michigan and then we will get to attend our launch seminar at BMM in Ohio.

Please continue to pray for us. We would like to see our schedule filled so that we can be on the field by the end of this year. Ya'll take care and we'll talk real soon. Still clinging to 1 Thess 5:24.. "Faithful is He who calls, who will also provide"

God Bless!!!!!

God, we need your light --

2006-05-19T23:06:00.000-04:00

Lead Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom;
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see,
The distant scene -- One step enough for me!

So long thy power hath blessed me, sure it still
will lead me on!
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
the night is gone!
and with the morn those angels faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!

John Henry Newman

Have you ever wondered what God is doing?? Does it ever seem that He is just so far away?? No matter how much you pray and spend time in His word...there are times, like these, when you long for the light of the lighthouse to show you the way. God is our guiding light so why is it that we struggle so with knowing which way to go? It seems that so many decisions nowadays are big ones -- sometimes I long for the day when the most pressing issue of the day will be what color rug will go best with the bathroom decor. :-) I know that sounds silly. God is so good!! He knows our deepest needs... concerns... and chooses to meet each and every one of them. It was once said that when we feel that God is the farthest away, its actually when He is the closest to us -- carrying us through. Praise God that He promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us - we can trust that as long as we are following Him closely, then He is right there leading the way through the darkness. Well, that is my thought for the day --

Where is Your Focus??

2006-04-24T12:24:00.000-04:00

As I studied today, I came across a simple verse, yet so profound. John 14:6 says, "I am the way, the truth and the life". Hmmm... "I am the way" -- how many times have you read that verse and just skimmed through it as "normal". So many days we live life for tomorrow. In our lives we have been focusing on God's call for us to spread the gospel in Australia. True, God has called us to the land of Australia BUT what has God truly called us to, today?

He has called us to "follow him". God's will is not found in a place, but it is a process. It is a process of following him day by day. If we spend our lives planning for tomorrow, we miss out on the opportunties for ministry today.. right where he has us. In my own life, I have the problem of asking God about all the ... when's, where's, why's, how's... do you? Jesus said, "I am the way.. ", "Take up your cross and follow me". It is so easy to lose our focus.

Our lives have purpose and that purpose is to glorify God. We get so busy in the "Martha" lifestyle that we forget that God wants us to "Be still and know that I am God". Most days I feel like my life is on a roller coaster that I just can't get off of, but lately God has been showing me that I need to take time and be still.

God wants a relationship with me. He wants one with you, too. May I encourage you today. Take time to "BE STILL" -- You will be amazed at how God will fill your heart and help you to do as Isaiah 40:31 says...

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint".

Where is your focus?

The Power of Prayer!!

2006-04-24T00:40:00.000-04:00

As I read through some of our required reading for the mission my attention was brought to a missionary story. I wanted to share this -- I pray that the length of this story will not hinder us from reading, but be used to convict us and encourage us to be on our knees for our fellow soldiers in the harvest fields around the world.

This story was shared by a missionary doctor who was reporting back to his home church while on furlough. On the field this doctor would have to travel to a nearby city by bicycle for supplies. The journey each way required camping overnight at the halfway point. On one of these trips he encountered a young man in the city who had just been injured, and so he treated the man's injuries and witnessed to him about Christ. He then journeyed back to his hospital, camping overnight at the halfway point, and arriving the next day without incident.
The missionary doctor continued his story. "Two weeks later I repeated my journey to the city. When I arrived I came across the young man I had treated two weeks earlier. He said to me, "I know you come to the city regularly to collect money and drugs for your hospital. So, on your last trip, some friends and I planned to folow you back to the camping spot where you spend the night and rob you and kill you. So we followed you and waited until you were asleep. Then as we were about to attack you, we saw twenty-six armed guards standing around you."
The missionary said to the congregation: "When I heard that I laughed. I told the young man that I was absolutely alone at the campsite. But the young man persisted. He said to me, "No, you were not alone. My five friends also saw the guards. We all counted them, and came up with the same number: twenty-six. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone."
At that moment a man in the congregation jumped to his feet and asked the missionary, "Excuse me, but could you tell me the exact day and time that these men were planning to attack you?" The missionary took a moment to recollect the date and hour, taking into account the change in time zones and then told the man standing in the congregation.
The man then said to the missionary, "An hour or so before that attack would have taken place, I was on my way to play golf. But the Lord suddenly put a burden on my heart to pray for you. I didn't know why. The burden was so strong that I returned home, and called some of the other men in the church to meet together to intercede on your behalf."
Then the man paused, and looking around at the congregation, said, "Will all those men who joined me in prayer that day please stand?" When they all had risen, there were twenty-six men standing.

How often do you pray for your missionaries?? There are many on the front lines who are in desperate need for our prayers. Some for their families.. some for their ministries... others to have the boldness to preach the gospel... some just for strength to make it one more day... and others for their own lives!! They need us all... we need to be "holding the ropes" back home. How are you doing? To all my friends on the firing line -- I am praying for you!!

Welcome to Safe Harbour -

2006-04-15T21:08:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Safe Harbour! My name is Robin Malin. My husband, Jeff, and I are missionaries with Baptist Mid-Missions to the country of Australia. I pray that this site will be a "Safe Harbour" for us all as we share with each other and grow in the Lord together on our journey.