Partnership Development Progress

I haven't posted a progress report in a while, honestly because there hasn't been that much progress to report. Orange is partners that began in or before May. Yellow is partners that began during June and July. Red is a partner that have come on board in September.
 So - hurray! Progress!!!! I am so excited- this makes it officially 20%.

A lot  more has been coming in the way of one time gifts. God's actually provided MORE than I needed to pay for the car, so these one time gifts have been a huge blessing meeting current expenses. Also, now that the car is purchased, I can start saving towards furnishing where ever I'm going to live when I get back to Missouri. You see, up till now, I've been living in student housing and the school provides the furniture for those- beds, couch, table chairs desk etc. When I go back, I'll be staff, and the school does NOT provide furniture for staff. So that means (as far as furniture goes) when I get back I will have only the furniture that personally belongs to me which is- bookshelves. The end. So when I get back I'll need to buy a bed, mattress, table chairs, couch  and (depending on which housing I get) potentially appliances like a washer, dryer,maybe even a  fridge and/or stove. Obviously the number won't be precise until I know where I'm living, but after crunching some numbers this week, and it looks like if I do end up having to buy all those appliances, it will probably be upwards of $3,000. So, for those of you wondering what the next project is, it is Project Equip-Anna's-House/Apartment-for-Ministry.
Again, thank you so much to those of you who are partnering with me to see Jesus' being introduced to people with no other chance to meet Him. And thank you to everyone who is praying! Please keep praying- and please pray specifically for more monthly financial partners so I can go back ASAP.  I really couldn't do this without your prayer and support! Thank you guys!

Answered Prayer!

Many of you have been praying for a long while now that God would provide me with a new car. Well- here it is:

 Now, those of you more familiar with my old car may be a tad confused. "That looks like your old car," you say. Ah. Yes, it does. Same color, same year, same make. It even has the same scratch on the driver's side. (No really- an identical scratch runs down the driver's side.). But it's not the same car (Praise the Lord!) And the two major differences can be seen at the top and the bottom of the picture below.

Difference 1: it's a camry- different model, different engine (again- praise the Lord!) AND it's bigger, which is terribly handy for frequently hauling most of my earthly possessions back and forth across the country. Especially since I lack Dad and Jessi's amazing packing skills.
Difference number 2: This one's my favorite. Can you see the difference?  This corner of my old car was perpetually black from all the oil it was burning. Look look- this one is the the same color as the rest of the car. Woah!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to so many of you prayed faithfully and gave generously to make this possible. Prasie God!

Anywhere with Jesus

1. Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go,
   Anywhere He leads me in this world below;
   Anywhere without Him dearest joys would fade;
   Anywhere with Jesus I am not afraid.
   • Refrain:
     Anywhere, anywhere! Fear I cannot know;
     Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go.
2. Anywhere with Jesus I am not alone;
   Other friends may fail me, He is still my own;
   Though His hand may lead me over dreary ways,
   Anywhere with Jesus is a house of praise.
3. Anywhere with Jesus, over land and sea,
   Telling souls in darkness of salvation free;
   Ready as He summons me to go or stay,
   Anywhere with Jesus when He points the way.
4. Anywhere with Jesus I can go to sleep,
   When the dark’ning shadows round about me creep,
   Knowing I shall waken nevermore to roam;
   Anywhere with Jesus will be home, sweet home.
5. -by Jessie Pounds and Helen Alexander

I heard this song when I was visiting First Baptist Church of Milford (Ohio) and it's been a big encouragement to me over the last few weeks. Maybe you it will encourage you too. 

What's HTR?

 HTR- is a 15 minute class at the Missionary Training Center where  all the students get together and pray for some of the things God's doing around the world.













How do they know what's going on? Well, somebody tells them. Each week, a different person is sent a couple of letters and they make a quick presentation at the beginning of the prayer time so everybody knows how to pray.

And how does that person get the letters? Well, the gals in the Hold the Ropes Office send out the letters to them. We schedule whose turn it is to speak, and read all the letters that come in from missionaries around the world. It's so amazing to read letters everyday about what God is doing around the world. He is up to some awesome awesome things!

Of course we get a LOT of letters, and we can't possibly pray for all of them in class, though we pray for them in office. So we print all the letters and put them in the classroom, and each student takes a letter and prays for that letter. We encourage the students to write to the missionary whose letter they prayed for. And every week we write all the people who got prayed for in class and let them know. Sometimes God's timing with those prayers is incredible!

Hold the Ropes

Hold the Ropes is the name of the New Tribes' prayer ministry. HTR for short. The term comes from a quote by William Carrey ( a missionary to India around the turn of the 18th century). The story goes that once, while he was asking a church to pray for him, he made a comparison between missions and the then-famous pearl trade of the eastern oceans. You see, pre-scuba geer- divers had long tube things that went all the way up to the surface. to keep the tubes from falling in the water, and forcing the air down the tubes to the divers, there had to be people on a ship above holding the ropes/tubes things. William Carrey said the people who prayed for him were like the guys on the beach that made sure the diver has air.Here maybe this picture borrowed from Google will help:

This is a poem, based on the story I just told, that is shared with the missionary students at the start of each semester to remind them how important it is that they will be praying for other missionaries. Maybe it will help encourage you too. 

Hold The Ropes

Down beneath the mighty ocean

Divers plunge for treasures rare.

But men hold the ropes above them

So they breathe the upper air.

Seeking pearls of richest value

Braver hearts have dared to go.

But our hands must every moment

Hold the ropes that reach below.

So amid the heathen darkness

There are heroes, true and brave,

Shrinking not from death or danger,

Bearing all to help and save.

But they cry, “Oh, do not leave us,

“Mid these dreadful depths to drown,

“Let us feel your prayers around us,

“Hold the ropes as we go down!”

Good Things

As much as I want to be back at the Training Center, I will say that there are a couple of perks to being in Pennsylvania longer- one of my very most favorite perks is: FALL!

These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.  Ps. 104: 27-28