One of the first questions we received when we spoke to a church was, “Do you have a prayer card?”  At that point in time we had not been able to order our prayer cards from MTW.  Thankfully after I&O we submitted our prayer card, immediately, and last week 1000 of them arrived in the mail. I have posted our official MTW prayer card below for your viewing.

I am still working on creating a .pdf version for downloading so you will be able to print one out. (And actually read the text!)  Click here for the downloadable version of our prayer card!

If you would like one for your prayer stack or refrigerator send us an e-mail or ask us when you see you us.

Michael and I arrived in Roanoke about 9am on Friday, October 10.  It wasn’t a pretty sight because neither of us are categorized as “morning persons.”  Nonetheless we were greeted by Paul who even came into the airport and was waiting at the security check point.

While in Virginia we had the opportunity to meet with many people.  We had a few one on ones, an opportunity to speak to the Blue Ridge Presbytery in Martinsville, a dessert, we spoke at both services at Grace Presbyterian, a lunch after church and had the opportunity to meet with the Sunday night small group over dinner.  (Did I mention Mim (Grandma) and Janice (Aunt) stopped in for a surprise visit?!)

Although we were exhausted by the end of the trip we were grateful to spend time with many friends and our family throughout the three days.  The groups were all very supportive and encouraging.  It was a blessing to start our intineration process with such friendly supportive faces.

The trip highlights included meeting multiple pastors from various PCA churches in S. VA, seeing all our friends, hanging with the family (and watching the Gators win), the surprise visit by Mim & Janice and meeting new folks who had recently moved to Lexington who although we didn’t have a previous relationship were extremely supported and interested in our ministry.

This is the water tower in Martinsville. The leaves were beautiful,
but we forgot our camera.  This was taken from a cell phone.

Welcome to Cartersan.com!  This site is all about the journey of us, Michael and Cathalain Carter, as we begin our journey as Mission to the World missionaries to Nagoya, Japan.  The name, Cartersan, is what people in Japan will call us…thus our website name.

The Journey Thus Far

First there was a personal call in our lives.  (To read more about this check out the About the Carters section.)  Next we researched various mission sending agencies.  After a time of prayer and deliberation we decided we wanted to go to Japan with Mission to the World (MTW), the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) mission agency.

We then began the process with MTW.  We began with the application, Bible & Reformed Theology examination and various psychological/marital testing.  All of this was used to help the assessors at Readiness Evaluation (REV). REV is an intensive week MTW uses to assess a potential candidate’s readiness to serve in cross-cultural missions.  We attended REV in July ’08. Throughout the week we were evaluated from how we work in a team to our personal relational style to how we respond in cross cultural situations.  The week is intense but a great way to confirm a calling to serve in cross cultural ministry.  At the end of the week we were approved to be long-term MTW missionaries in Japan.

At this point we prayed fervantly about which team we felt would be the best fit for the team and for us as a couple.  After many discussions and prayer we were called to join the church-planting team in Nagoya, Japan.

In September we then went to Interview & Orientation (I&O).  I&O was held in Atlanta and was spent learning more about MTW and the administrative side of being a missionary.  In addition to all the workshops we went before the Committee of MTW.  We were examined by the committee and then they officially approved us to be missionaries with MTW to Nagoya, Japan!

The Journey to Come

Our goal is to reach the field by the end of 2009.  We understand this is an ambitious goal, but trust fully in the power of God to do bold and amazing works.  Next summer we will attend a Living in Grace Conference and then hopefully pre-field training in July. Pre-field is held in New York City and is meant to better equip us in cross-cultural ministry by spending a month prior to the field in intense training.

The Journey Right Now

Currently we are officially in the intineration process.  This means we are meeting with churches and individuals trying to build partnerships either financially or through prayer.  If you are interested please check out the Partnership Opportunities page.