When you are called by God, He teaches you and helps you to have maturity in what He has asked you to do. God called me around twenty years ago. He spoke to me through a dream. In the dream I was in a big church with a preacher. It was only the preacher and me and he said, “I will never leave you; I will never forsake you; you will carry my name in several nations.”
Since this dream, God has helped me believe in Him and lean on Him through darkness and suffering. I remember several times I had bad things come to my mind to try and turn me away from Him, but He sent me verses and songs, and reminded me about eternity and my mind turned back to Him again. He pushed me to read the book of Isaiah, which taught me a lot. He gives me strength when I am weary and increases the power in my weaknesses. As it says in Isaiah 40:29 “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.” Until I let go of those bad thoughts, I cannot do anything else to give myself away. God cannot use us to harvest if we do not have spiritual maturity. We do not always know when we are mature enough to be used to harvest, but God does and when you are ready, He will use you even if you don’t think you have the capacity. That happens often. We do not feel like are ready to do His work, but He knows. That happened to me. I asked God to make it clear to me when it was time to leave my old job and to give me the job He wants me to do. After time of prayer and fasting, He did. My husband and I left our jobs and began serving with The Bridge ministry.
When I realized what He wanted us to do at The Bridge I did not feel ready to teach women about the Bible. I did not feel prepared and mature enough to lead women to Christ, but God felt differently. I went to Him in prayer, told Him how I felt and asked for His help. That is when He reminded me of what of the apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:13--“I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.”
When you let God work in you, let Him guide you in every step, and stay faithful to His call, your harvest will not die but will produce abundantly. As Jesus says in John 10:10 “I have come that they may have life and have it to the fullest.” God helps us to have abundance on what He calls us to do. Psalms 65:10 says, “You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops.” God did this for us at The Bridge. We started with six women in the Bible study and in two years we now have over 200 women attending. We continue to seek God’s face and He knows how, where, when, and in what ways He wants to use us. Let Him teach us maturity, use us in His harvest, and with Him we will have abundance.
Ritha & Fedner Antione are among the most amazing couples you will ever meet. Having been married for thirteen years God has used them in many different ways in ministry to further His kingdom. Together in April of 2019 they co-founded The Bridge Ministries in Haiti. They believe the key step to change Haiti is through discipleship, prayer, and education. As In-Country Directors they oversee all daily operations of The Bridge Ministries. They do have a stateside team that considers it a great honor to come alongside them and support them in their callings and vision for the nation of Haiti. Hannah Stucker the co-founder has seen firsthand how God is using them and their servant hearts to impact their community. They previously served and worked for Respire Haiti School where they held leadership roles in administration and teaching.
They have two children—Ruthie, who is five and attends a local school, and Stevenson who is 21 and pursuing his education close by their home.
If you would like to find out more about their ministry, check out their website.
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