Dear Family and Friends,

As the second half of my senior year begins, I start to think what will become of me at the conclusion of my high school career. This past summer I enlisted into our country’s United States Navy. I signed a 5 year contract with a $4,000 with a guaranteed signing bonus. My job is one of the navy’s elite because of its security clearance. My future was set. State of the art training, hands on experience, plus college credits. The pluses out weighted the cons.

                This past year I went on two mission trips to the Dominican Republic. Theses two experiences were to key to my recent decision. These trips showed me many valuable lessons that I will never forget and apply to the rest of my life. One of these lessons were that I was soon revealed to the God of the nations. The God I had known for 5 years was not just the God of Worcester or of Massachusetts, he now became the God of the nations. His purposes were beings carried out not just in the USA.

                As I looked at our American society and compared it to the Dominican society I saw many differences. I then began to compare it to eastern society. I saw that our American society is really self-centered. Its all about us, getting as many things as possible and getting as powerful as we can on the way. Everywhere I looked there was someway to push God out of it, instead of embracing Him. Everyone’s dreams are put before God’s, when it should be the other way around. We tend to ask ourselves what are we supposed to do here, when we can’t we didn’t create ourselves.

                Since my return from the Dominican Republic in July I’ve spent much time praying, praying for guidance from God, my creator. My hope and prayer is to make God’s dream my dream. In the following months more and more information kept surfacing on missions. I was introduced to a program called the First Year Missionary internship from the Adventures in Missions Company. The more and more I learned about it, the more and more I felt this was were God was calling me. There was so much against it though, I was under age, had a contract with the navy, and the idea was ludicrous to some of my family members and friends. I just prayed for confirmation. I prayed that if god wanted me to do this to send me someone else that shared my heart for missions to go with me. In November God answered my prayer with my very good brother in Christ, William Santiago. We soon went through the process, filling out paper work, getting references, and getting interviewed. We were soon accepted to the program with 6 others.

We will be leaving to Atlanta for a two week training then heading to the Dominican Republic. We will then be flying back to Atlanta to Boston then back to Atlanta to the Dominican Republic. As FYM’s one of the internship opportunities will be planting cell group and churches in which is an area that wish to grow and learn more in. I must raise $5,500 and that would go directly to AIM. I must also raise enough money to cover my air flights, travel expenses and health insurance. Before leaving I must have the money to pay for my flights and at least 60% of my $5,500 in my account and the rest I can receive while I’m over there through pledges. You can either send money monthly or you can do it as a one-time special gift. I will be working fulltime and going to school fulltime hoping to work and save 2,500 myself.

                I can’t wait to see how God will use me and what God will teach me through this great experience. I hope not only to be a blessing to those I serve, but to you as well. I hope that you really pray and consider being part of my ministry. Thank you and Be Blessed.

                                                                                                                In God’s Love,

                 
                                                             
             
 Angelo Padin