Meet the Herndons

In August, Joshua and Shannon Herndon moved to Brașov, Romania, where they serve as Nazarene missionaries.

The Herndons bring to Romania their missions experience from serving in other areas around the world.

Before they met, Joshua and Shannon served separately in different world areas: Shannon in Cuba, Mexico, and for almost a year in Kazakhstan, and Joshua with the Jesus Film Ministry in India and multiple times in Venezuela.

The Herndons served for a year as Mission Corps volunteers in Guatemala in 2006, which solidified their call. In 2010 they were called as missionaries to Spain. Their focus for ministry in Spain was on church planting with a focus on indigenous (Spanish) outreach. While in Spain, they were active in their community and utilized baseball as a way to bring Work and Witness teams to teach sports to the children and youth of the community as a form of outreach. Joshua and Shannon provided support to the local Nazarene Churches in the form of preaching and teaching workshops.

Their focus in Greece was to start the work of the Church of the Nazarene, as there has been no Nazarene presence in Greece. They partnered with the Free Methodist Church in Thessaloniki and were also involved in ministry to the refugees stranded in Greece. After multiple failed attempts to secure a residency visa in Greece, the Herndons were asked to consider coming to Romania.

After the completion of Romanian language study, the Herndons' focus will be on district leadership, where Joshua will serve as district superintendent of the Romania District. As there is no current Nazarene presence in the city of Brașov, it is hoped that the Herndons will help initiate a new ministry in this part of the country. Joshua also teaches Theological Education classes through European Nazarene College.

Joshua and Shannon are members of the Indianapolis District Church of the Nazarene.

Shannon is a graduate of Northwest Nazarene University with a degree in Social Work. She recently completed her Masters Degree in Organizational Leadership through Regent University. She has done volunteer work through multiple organizations and has a passion for the needy.

Joshua graduated from Olivet Nazarene University with a degree in Christian Education and a focus in Youth Ministry. He then attended Nazarene Theological Seminary, graduating with a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies.

While living in Kansas City, Joshua attended a Cross-Cultural Orientation, where he met Shannon. They were married on October 11, 2003. Josh and Shannon have two children. Their daughter, Karis, is 12-years-old and loves spending time with her friends, singing, and dancing traditional Spanish Flamenco. Their son, Kaeden, is an adventurous 10-year-old who loves Legos and superheroes.

Prior to becoming missionaries, Josh served as a youth pastor in Shelbyville, IN, as well as the director of a residential treatment facility for troubled youth. Shannon directed an organization that ministered to homeless families.

Updated and adapted from Nazarene Missionary Profiles.

Meet Casey Bloom

Casey serves as a missionary with the Church of the Nazarene in Sighisoara, Romania. Growing up in the Nazarene church, Casey was exposed to the missions mindset at an early age. She graduated from Olivet Nazarene University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Social Work, and then went on to receive her Master of Social Work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2011. Casey worked for 2.5 years as a School Social Worker in a rural area near her hometown. Then, after serving as a teen camp counselor for two summers in a row, Casey knew God was calling her to missions.

In March 2015, Casey came to Romania for the first time. She spent 4.5 months serving the Romanian and Roma people in Sighisoara. The majority of the time, Casey worked with the Kids’ Club program at Veritas, a local non-governmental organization that serves the community of Sighisoara through social and educational programs. Casey spent six weeks back in the States at the end of the summer, and returned to Sighisoara in September 2015.

Since September, Casey has continued to work in the Kids’ Club, taking on more of a leadership role as two new social workers joined the program in the fall. Casey also co-leads an educational program for teens called It Takes Courage, which focuses on building strong character. Additionally, Casey supervises social work students who come to Sighisoara through the Romanian Studies Program to do a social work practicum. Casey attends the local Nazarene church, and hopes to help establish a children’s ministry in the near future.

In March 2016, Casey, along with Dorothy Tarrant, spent a little over one month serving the refugees in Croatia and Serbia. Along with serving tea and soup in a refugee camp, Casey built relationships with a number of the refugees. She spent a lot of time playing with the children as well. Serving the refugees is something that Casey has a passion for, and hopes to be able to do again in the not-so-distant future.

Please keep Casey and her work in Romania in your prayers.

To stay connected, check out Casey’s blog: www.herlifeinbloom.com

Reposted from Nazarene Missionary Profiles.