The Church of the Nazarene Mesoamerica extends thanks to AJ and Chelsea Fry for their service in the Region. The missionary couple is returning to the United States to serve in an urban district.

The Frys began their service in 2017 in the Dominican Republic where they filled different roles for both the Regional and Field ministries.They were initially invited to collaborate in the creation of a home for the Center of Missionary Formation, a programme for training and equipping new missionaries from the Mesoamerica Region and thus continue the mission of making Christlike disciples in the nations, specifically in urban centers.

There was a need for a bigger facility where new missionaries could be trained and housed over a period of 3 or 4 months, with plans for the construction of a new building on the campus of the Dominican Nazarene Seminary. Over time however, plans changed and the existing buildings were remodeled to meet that need, as well as the needs of the Seminary Campus, now the Nazarene Conference Center.

During the first 3 years, Chelsea and AJ organized Work and Witness teams to carry out the renovations to the Campus, receiving more than 20 teams which included those from the local churches. “We learned a lot about hosting and Work and Witness and the Dominican church as well,” said the Frys.

They were successful in renovating a house on campus which will now be a set of dormitories, as well as a library which will become classrooms for training. However, this missionary couple wanted to do more than just host teams to do construction and as such, they also began to train the teams in the area of urban missions.

“We fell in love with the city and with ministry in the city and saw a great need for the Church in the city,” they said.

In 2019, AJ and Chelsea’s roles changed to Communications Coordinator and Global Missions Coordinator for the Central Field.

However, in 2021, they felt God leading them deeper into urban ministry and they were invited to be church planters in the cities of Upstate New York District in the United States.

The Frys shared a very special testimony with us:

God has been so good to us and has provided for our every need. We have seen God work in and through the Dominicans as well as the people who came on short-term mission trips. We have learned a lot about culture and the diversity in the Kingdom of God. God has shown us His heart for the city and His Church. Many Dominicans have welcomed us into their home as part of their family. We will miss them a lot and hope to stay in contact with many of them.

One thing we have learned since accepting the call to missions is to have absolute faith in God. It may seem scary or impossible and definitely frustrating at times, but we must always trust that God will use us for His Kingdom if we are obedient to Him. It’s nothing special to be a missionary, or to be called to another culture or country, or to learn a new language, or try new food. The important thing is to listen to the Holy Spirit, keep in step with Him and be obedient to whatever or wherever He calls.

We give God thanks for the Frys’ service in Mesoamerica and pray that God would go with them and bless them in all that is to come. Thank you AJ and Chelsea!