The Engines Are Warming Up...

(The following is the email update letter for April 2010. To receive these updates via email, please contact me or post a comment with your email address included ;-)

Prayer/Update Letter for April 2o1o

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'" Romans 10:14-15

Can you hear it? The jet engines are warming up. That's right, it is almost time for me to leave the U.S. and start another portion of the journey God has for me.
The fund-raising efforts of the last few months have been incredibly fruitful, bringing in 90% of my monthly need! Thank you to those that have committed to serving with me in Romania, for that is how I look at it and that is what I believe is evidenced in the scripture quoted in the title. We all play a part in reaching the nations. How can the children of Romania hear of him unless someone tells them? How can someone tell them unless they are sent? So it is neither the "giver" or the "goer" who is more important in this scenario, we are all equal partners in god's passion for people.
As I mentioned previously, I am 90% monthly funded. This means that I only need $300 more a month to be pledged in order to go. This could be three individuals/families giving $100 a month for 18-months, six giving $50 a month for 18-months, etc. Please contact me if you are interested in being a piece of the pie.
Once I am 100% funded (which means, once International messengers sees that I'm receiving 100% of the monthly funds needed,) I will be authorized to get on that jet-plane!
Want to support me in other ways? See below.

Other Ways To Help

Many have asked how they can help with some of my other needs (i.e. personal, apartment, or other items.) These are some of the things I need to buy in the U.S. due to inadequate or a lack of resources in Romania. I will also need to purchase furniture and appliances for my apartment once I'm in Romania.
To donate for any of the items on the list or those needing to be purchased in-country, please contact me.

Bed/Bath
sheets
bath towels
mattress pad/cover
washcloths

Kitchen
kitchen towels
cutting board
utensil set
brownie mixes
cookie trays
baking pans
packaged tuna
nuts (no peanuts)
chocolate chips
marshmallows
almond butter

Personal
slippers
robe
deodorant
**many more personal items not included

I've Been Everywhere, Man...

In the past few months, I've been a number of places and in various states. In most recent weeks, I've been to Dallas, my hometown of Mabank, TX (shout-out), Owensboro, KY, St. Louis, MO, across the ridiculously cold state of Iowa (Woot!), and down through Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma on my way back to Texas. I decided that while driving through Arkansas on my way to Kentucky was no fun at all, Missouri was a pleasant surprise. The "Show Me" state sure did show itself.

Here are some fun pics from the trip to St. Louis and the Arch

I was such a wonderful thing to see the country in which I live. However, it is quite a feat to pack and re-pack every time I go somewhere. When I left San Antonio last August, I gave up my apartment, sold or gave away most of my furniture, and put my clothes and the rest of my things in storage. While it may sound like I've gotten rid of much of my stuff, it has left me with the burden of carrying all these extra items in my car. So basically, I've been living out of my car for the last month....at least.

This fact makes it much sweeter when I have a "temporary," permanent place to live. I know, oxymoron. But really, when someone invites me to stay for a week or so, I kinda feel like I have the opportunity to spread out...to not carry everything I own in the back of my car. It's quite nice. Of course, these past few months have just given me time to get rid of more of my things, to look through the tubs of clothes I have stored away and decide if I'm really ever going to wear that wrap skirt that I've been saving since 1995. Kidding on the skirt. What I'm not kidding about is how much "stuff" I feel like I still have. When I was packing up all my clothes I looked at how much I couldn't fit in my THREE suitcases and thought to myself, "I feel like a greedy American." While the amount I have may not be as much as some, I look at it all and know that I'm about to move overseas to work with people that don't have even a quarter of what I have.

So...decisions to decisions. What to take and what to leave. I guess there will be harder things I'll have to do.

To God Be The Glory...

Imagine it. It's a cold, wintry day (I wasn't in San Antonio at the time,) and I opened my email to find out that I'm 90% monthly funded. Yep, that's right folks. In the last month, God has done an amazing thing. As I've been steadily sharing with people about my soon departure to Romania, he's been putting the whole thing together. Working on the hearts of people, providing not only financial, but also prayer support for me as well. Did I tell you he also located an apartment for me? Of course, you can look at it and say that there were people involved. Yes, there were. It takes people to give, it takes people to locate an apartment half a world away, and it takes me sharing with people what God has laid on my heart to do. However, don't think for a minute that you and I really have a lot to do with the outcome.

Proverbs 16:9 says, "The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD plans his steps."

This perfectly illustrates what has happened over the last month. I made all the plans in the world to share with people, lifegroups, whoever wanted to listen about Romania. I even carried out these plans. Each time I visited a lifegroup, I heard the same thing: "We don't have a lot of people coming tonight" or "I don't know if this is going to be a good night for you to share." Seriously, I can only think of one group that I didn't hear this. At first, I didn't see any fruit from my efforts. Fruit in the form of money that is. However, I knew that God would take care of it.

So, I'm writing this blog entry to say that he has. Just a few weeks ago I needed $1000 more pledged per month to go to Romania. Tonight, I only need $300 more per month. God is good. He was good before this, and he's good at the times that I am in great need. But needless to say, I really like it when he shows up in this way.

It's unbelievable. I'm almost gone. If I listen carefully, I think I can hear the jet engines warming up...