New kids on the block

July 2, 2015Sean

Greetings Family, and Friends, New and Old,

It has been a fun, stretching, renewing and growing first part of the year. For those of you that don’t know me, I am Theresa, and I get the privilege of being Sean’s wife. Some of you may be wondering who is this girl? Sean and I both come from "orange states" just 2,475 miles away, no big deal. Our paths didn't cross state side but in Herrnhut, Germany in 2010. I love old Volkswagens, fairy tales, and the forest, with all of the magical creatures that live inside. I enjoy getting lost in books, especially ones with adventure. I can’t help but want to learn all sorts of handmade arts. We bonded over photography, country music (yup, I said it), our passion for justice and using our talents for His Kingdom.

After becoming a 'Rogers' joining the Hope Dies Last team has been a big adventure for me. Sean and I have had new experiences together: food, languages, culture and community. In this last six months we have had the privilege of traveling through a bit of the Balkans and meeting some of the field workers. Our trip through the Balkans was a glimpse into how beautiful and wonderful this region is, and what a warm culture it brings to society. In each place we arrived God gave new perspective to us as a team and as individuals. We saw missionaries laying down their lives for Jesus and committing to serve in places where years could pass before they see the fruit of their work.

Having just recently moved into the Region of central Europe, the past few months have been a phase of overcoming the feeling that we are the new kids on the block. Being as relational as this region is, people don't like getting to know you over the internet. Facebook and email, are horrible ways of networking in this part of the world. Meet someone face to face however, and you're friends for life. So, the past couple months included a lot of travel, and a lot of meetings.

The one family who impacted me the most was a young couple. Even though they recently went through a traumatic event, their love and commitment to God never faltered. They seek to see people come to know Jesus in a meaningful and lasting way. Their country has less than 1% Evangelical Christians and yet they seek to bring hope to the existing Christ followers, while taking time to invest in those that still don’t believe, and are waiting patiently for them to come to know Him.

After a trip through the Balkan region (pictured below), we attended a counter-trafficking conference in Romania. We were able to reconnect with teams we've worked with, as well as meet new teams working in the region. We had a great time connecting with the team from Moscow that we've worked with in the past. They are eager for us to visit and work with them again. At the end of it all we have made a lot of new friends and valuable relationships that span the central European region.

Our team's main focus right now is the "Book of Love" project. It's a tool we've been developing to equip fieldworkers engaging the issue of sexual exploitation. The book will contain the Gospel of John; as well as additional content geared specifically towards the issues faced by those involved in the sex industry. We have been working to gather content, art work, obtaining copyright permissions for multiple languages, and gathering submissions from others with experience in this field.

Our team also has the privilege of working with two design interns from John Brown University. With them here we are now full speed ahead with piecing the book together. We are excited to be able to distribute this book to ministry teams across the region! You will soon be hearing much more about this project, and if you want a better look, check it out at: