I'm Still Here...

I guess at any other time, these words might offend me. "You're still here?, " is a question I'm being asked each week by people at my home church in San Antonio. I guess it's a good thing that people expect me to be in Romania already. Others ask, "When are you leaving for Romania?" To which my answer is always, "Hopefully, mid-March."

You see the answers to these two questions depend heavily upon ONE thing....funding. Okay, who am I kidding? It REALLY depends on the Lord, but it does take a host of people responding to the Lord to get me to Romania. So far I'm 60% monthly funded, which I'm ecstatic to be over half-way...but I still need 40% more. That equates to 13 people/families willing to give $100 a month for the next 18 months, or 26 people/families willing to give $50 a month over the next 18 months. So my question back to those that ask is, "What are you going to do to help me get there?"

My question to you is: "What are you going to do?"

Contact me at heyamy7@yahoo.com to be a part of the process.

ER is not just a TV show...

Well, it seems that a week-long bout with a stomach virus left me dehydrated, low in potassium, and with some kind of bacterial infection. Not really the welcome back to Texas that I wanted, but what can I say? When I do "sick," I do it RIGHT!

Like any good patient, I waited until the pain from the cramping got so unbearable that I had to call my friends in Round Rock to come pick me up from a gas station along I-35 in Jarrell. Random place to be, I know. Can someone say, "Drama Queen?" As silly as I felt needing help, I was certainly grateful for Drenda and Robert Young to drop everything to come to my aid. Drenda especially, as she sat with me for 3.5 hours while we awaited the blood work to find out what was wrong. The BEST thing was that once admitted, I was given morphine in my IV. Needless to say, everything was as "right as rain" after that.

The following picture was taken after the morphine was freely flowing. I needed something to commemorate my drama-filled new year.

Notice my socks are still on...yeah, that's the way I roll. Here's to a drama-free (from this point on) 2010!

Back In The Saddle Again...

After a 24 hour road trip, five flights, and one bout with the stomach flu, I'm back in the Lone Star State! Even though I'm preparing to move to Romania, I can say there's no place I'd rather be in the U.S. than Texas. There's just no place like it! To be fair, the Texas landscape is incomparable to Montana's and when the snow falls in the mountains of Libby, MT, it confirms the beauty hidden there. However, I'm glad to be back in a state where 30 degrees is considered cold, tea is served cold instead of hot, and Mexican food isn't something as simple as refried beans served from a can.

I hope to post tidbits from the courses I took in Montana over the next several weeks. In the meantime, I've been traveling around the country visiting family and friends, including stops in both Iowa and Kentucky. After a brief tour of the midwest over the Christmas holidays, I flew back to DFW to spend the New Year holiday with my brother, Jeremy, and his family. Now I'm slowly making my way back to San Antonio where I will finish raising the monthly support needed for my 18-month internship in Romania. My goal is to be 100% funded by February 10th. This should leave me enough time (about two weeks) to see family and friends before I leave. So far I'm 43% funded and I'm excited about the opportunities that await me on this grand journey. To God be the Glory!

A Season of Blessing...

I'm posting my latest prayer letter here since yahoo has temporarily halted my ability to send emails.

November 2009 Update

This has been such an amazing year. Not only has the Lord taken me from one city and placed me in another, but he has completely transformed me in the process. As I look back on 2009 during this season of Thanksgiving, I cannot help but be thankful that I serve God who is Everlasting, Sovereign, Omniscient, Omnipresent, the Beginning and End, and the One True God, to which all other kings and rulers are subject. Most importantly, I’m thankful for a God that called me out as a little girl and changed my heart of stone. He is a God that continually changes hearts. He not only changed me, but He is working in the lives of the Romanian youth I will be joining in early February. I’d like to share a few of their stories so that you can see how God is using your prayers and finances to change their lives. These stories are told from Andy & Tresha McKnight, with whom I will be working in Romania.

Florin
Florin is an orphan boy of gypsy decent, dark-skinned with big, brown eyes. His story is that of hundreds of orphans in Romania. Though we are not exactly sure, Florin most likely was one of those little ones the world saw on TV when communism fell. Living in pitiful conditions, tied to a cot, dirty, and malnourished, Florin beat the odds to survive when so many died. He has a gentle spirit now, and with it a very child like personality. Somewhere Florin stopped developing mentally, maybe to protect himself from the pain, maybe as a result of all the suffering, no one can tell for sure. His presence at camp always brings such joy, and God has put His hand on Florin in a very special way. Florin has the ability to radiate joy in such a powerful way that anyone who spends time with him will see Jesus, if they look close enough. Florin's tears at the end of each camp will never be forgotten. He just loves to be loved, to feel a part of a family. It is always hard to leave Florin back in the slums after camp. He now lives in a run down apartment building, with no windows or doors, drug addicts lying on the stairs, in a neighborhood where fights and stabbings are daily occurrences. Through it all, Florin keeps going and his joy is abundant. God is faithful.

Gabi
We hadn't seen Gabi for many years, and almost 8 years had past without a single word about the little girl we met in the hospital. She had come to the hospital for tests and was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, contracted from a blood transfusion as a baby. Gabi was frightened in her new surroundings, but we were able to comfort her some as we played games, sang songs and loved those little ones for Jesus. Gabi’s heart softened and she drew close to us over those days in the hospital. Then one day, she left the hospital and it was eight years before we saw her again while collecting kids for our first camp. Hardly recognizable as the little girl we knew, she had grown up and a hard life could be seen on her face. During our time with her, she began to soften once again and share the things she had been through. She had be abused by those who should have protected her, raped and sold as a prostitute, she had to have an abortion, and so on. But God is faithful. He knew Gabi would be back with us. God still was waiting for Gabi to reach out to Him and she did. He began to heal her heart of all the scars of the past, and though this is a slow process, she is making steps in the right direction. She is reading the Bible and coming to the Day Center for encouragement and help. Gabi is free of prostitution now and her life is getting better.

These are but a few of the hundreds of children the Joshua Project serves and it is for so many more that the Lord calls all of us to play a part. In this final hour, I pray that we as a church are not caught standing idle. To God be the Glory.

Three's a Crowd...

If three's a crowd...what's four? I say, "four's a blast!"

So far, it's been eight weeks since I moved into the glorified basement here at MMT. Okay so it's not really a basement, but it sure is cold like one! In the last eight weeks, I've had a great time getting to know the other students here with me. Last weekend we went roller skating at the local rink. Yeah, I think I'm still sore. We had a great time though. It was fun to take it back a few years. Here are a few pics showing evidence of our circular travels that night.

Having a little fun with the housemates (Brad, Me, and Kristen)

Another way we've been able to fellowship in Libby is with members of the singles group at Faith

Bible Church here in Libby. Sunday night we had a game night and provided fun through food, dominoes, and a game of sardines. Even though I don't attend this church, it has been so welcoming to our group and has reached out to our group since first coming here. Faith Bible has a long standing with relationship with International Messengers as many of the students that have come through the training center have attended the church and are supported by the church while overseas. To the right is a picture of Bambi (another one of the students) and me during game night. I'm not really sure what I was going to do with that water, but the look on my face suggests I had ulterior motives. Ha!

Here are three of the ladies that I've had the pleasure of getting to know while here in Libby. Check out the spread of food we prepared for them. I prepared the Velveta & Rotel dip in the crock pot. Funny thing about that though, when I went to the store to purchase the Rotel...I got some very strange looks from my housemates. They have NEVER heard of Rotel? Seriously? However, they DO have Dr. Pepper in Montana, which is something I'm very excited about. It'll be nice to indulge in that comfort a little while longer.

For Everything There Is A Season...

"...A time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate
A time for war and and a time for peace." -Ecc. 3:1-8

I've gone through many seasons in my life and many more I still must go through. The latest season has not been easy. For the last 7 weeks I've been living in Montana with people I do not know, going to church with even more people I do not know, and missing those that I know oh so well back home. There has been a stripping away of sorts as God is continuing the work he began in me, as well as brokenness in areas of my life that I have never given Him. There has also been a season of grief as I have chosen to leave behind the life I became comfortable with for a life I hope to never be comfortable in again.

The season of grief is not over, however. I left behind not only family and friends, but also a sweet kitty cat named, Moxie. Miss Moxie has been my friend for the last three years and it was with great anxiety that I turned her over to a friend upon my departure from San Antonio in August. The last I knew ( a few weeks ago), Moxie was doing fine and adapting nicely to her new home. However, some time over the last few weeks that changed. I received a call today from my friend stating that Moxie had stopped eating over the last couple of weeks and developed liver disease. I agonized over the news as I knew what I should do. While liver disease is curable with a very large bill and a feeding tube down her throat for the next two months, there is no guarantee that she will not do the same thing again. It seems that cats tend to stop eating when they are stressed or sad, as in, when their owner leaves. So it's with sadness that I face the decision to let her go.

Before owning a pet, I could not have imagined how attached you could be to an animal. Having owned such a sweet one for the last three years, I am now on the other side of the coin. I realize not everyone can understand it, but I know that the Lord gave this kitty to me. She was my friend in a time of great loneliness and the Lord used her to minister to me and heal me in such a sweet way. So I grieve tonight as I face the realization that her time on Earth will soon be over. I grieve that I cannot be with my sweet friend as she passes. Mostly, I grieve because I will miss her terribly.

My three year-old kitty, Moxie, that brought such joy to my heart.
How I will miss you my friend.

Nothing to See Here...

...do not look at the yellow "donate" button on the left-hand side of the screen. Okay, look at it. Upon the repeated suggested of a friend (thanks, Kelly ;-) I have added a PayPal donate button to my web page. Donations made into this account will go directly to the needs of the Joshua Project, therefore directly toward the youth/young adults we serve. Since the money I'm raising for Romania goes toward both my living expenses and the expenses of the Joshua Project ministry, it is a win-win situation. If anyone is interested in making a contribution that is tax-deductible, please send me an email at (heyamy7@yahoo.com) or leave me a comment with your address and I'll send you the appropriate information. If reading this post about money made you uncomfortable, read the blog below...it's much more interesting.