2017
A year in Review!!
This year was one of major transitions for me in a lot of ways! From finishing up videos from 2016 to presenting at churches, to serving on our pastor search committee, to my first project in a closed country, to going full time with Mission to the World, God has brought me through many doors and taken me to unexpected places. You have been a huge part of this year especially in these specific transitions. Your prayers, support, and encouragement have made another year possible. I'm thankful for the ways God uses you each year to remind me that we were not meant to do things alone, big or small. Celebrate with me another wonderful year of God's faithfulness in this ministry.
6 months at home
Much of the beginning of the year was spent finishing up films from a very busy 2016! I got to spend almost 6 months in the US in early 2017 and I spent much of that time playing catch up not just on films but on rest as well! God used that time to allow me to finish films before starting new projects, establish new friendships, serve in a sustained way on our pastor search committee for South Baton Rouge Pres. in our first few months of getting the committee going, and go on restful trips with friends! It was time that I didn't know I needed and I learned a lot from it.
byFaith Magazine
In the spring of this year ByFaith Magazine did an article on MTW and the PCA's response to the global refugee crisis. They used photos from my time on the docks of Greece in Athens in March 2016 as refugees from Syria and neighboring countries arrived on the shores of Greece fleeing war and persecution. This was another way that God used the photographs and videos of the refugees we've worked with in the last 2 years to bring more understanding and awareness of the ways God is making His name known amongst the nations.
Refugee Film at General Assembly
The film on the refugee crisis that I made from time in Greece and Germany in order to educate and call the church to support our missionaries involved in planting churches amongst refugees was shown at this year's General Assembly for the Presbyterian Church in America. We received a lot of encouraging feedback from those who saw the film and continue to pray that God uses them to encourage others to pray, give, and go to serve amongst refugees around the world.
Sharing at Churches and other Changes
We expanded this ministry to also entail my sharing at more churches throughout the year about what God is doing in other places. We saw multiple missionaries gain financial support, prayer partners, and encouragement from stories shared at churches in the last two years. Now my job with MTW is also to be a kind of advocate for our missionaries abroad and to seek new ways and places to get these stories in front of the American church. Please pray for more opportunities and places to speak in the coming months and years.
Full Time with MTW!
I went full time with MTW! We increased my responsibilities with MTW and the amount of videos we'll produce each year as well as added some responsibilities with our marketing department and increased the Communications Arts Initiative budget for future years.Thanks to the support of many individuals and churches God provided a way to go full time with MTW which is a dream come true. I am still raising support and have about 10% left to raise to be fully funded for 2018. Please pray that God would provide the final funds needed to do this work full time!
Trip to Middle East and closed country.
In August, I got to work with some of our workers in the Middle East for the first time in a closed country. Since I started documenting stories of Syrian refugees hearing of Christ and getting involved in church plants in Greece & Germany after fleeing their home countries, I have longed to be able to get even closer to the crisis and learn even more about the suffering, culture, traditions, and beliefs of those God is bringing out of the Middle East and into countries where they can hear the gospel for the first time. I got to do that in an unexpected way this year and the trip changed me in many ways. I learned about missionaries all over the world living under threat of deportation or worse all for the sake of the gospel. I also learned more about the war in Syria, why people had to flee, and their beliefs which have helped me understand those we've served and will serve for years to come. Stay tuned for more stories from the Middle East and videos from my time there and please pray for the production of these videos over the next few weeks.
Past projects reunited at GMC
I got to experience an unexpected reunion at the PCA's Global Missions Conference this year! I ran into friends I served with in Greece, Washington State, Canada, the Middle East, and Germany among other places. It was a little taste of heaven to reunite with brothers and sisters serving around the world and to hear from them how God has used the videos we made from our time with them and their ministries over the years. This photo is of me with Tim and Alex who have planted a church in an anarchist neighborhood in Athens, Greece. They are also doing refugee outreach and made a point to tell me at the conference how God has used the videos we made of their ministry in Greece to increase their work and support. It was a special time of remembering all God has done and an encouragement to press on!
PCA Global Missions Conference
In September, I traveled to Ukraine in order to document stories of community transformation amongst Ukrainians after the Soviet Union collapsed. The story of Masha and her mother, Olena, coming to Christ through English classes led by MTW missionaries was shown at the GMC conference in Dallas in November this year. Thousands of people got to hear of God's work through workers in Ukraine and other places and hear the call to support and pray for missionaries around the world through this conference. It was an honor and encouragement to see God use these films in that way.
3 years with MTW!
This season marks 3 years working with MTW as photographer and videographer for the Communications Arts Initiative and marketing department. There are many days where I have to pinch myself from unbelief at what God has done in providing this ministry and calling me to be a part of it. In the fall of 2014, the marketing department created this position in order to provide these stories of what God is doing all over the world and I am continually encouraged by the places He's taken us since then. This photo is from my first project and trip with MTW to Cambodia in January 2015. This ministry is made possible by you and the work, prayers, support, gifts, time, questions, letters, phone calls, texts, coffee dates, and friendship He's provided in this team. I am so grateful.
Here's to a wonderful 2017 and exciting days ahead in 2018.
Thank you!
Please consider this ministry for your year end giving and please join me in praying for opportunities to tell these stories wherever God would have us go in the years to come! If you're interested in partnering with me, you can give online by clicking the blue button below or you can mail a check to the following address:
Mission to the World
PO BOX 744165
Atlanta, GA 30374-4165
#96229 Claire Hutchinson