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

Thank You, God

Dear God, 

Thank you so much for last week. It was a huge blessing to be back in such a beautiful place: 

And to see so many good friends:

Thank you for the chance to help again with the Hold the Ropes Ministry- helping your servants further Your Kingdom through prayer- Thank you for letting us be a part from wherever we are!

 Thank  you SO much for kind people to help me pack up my little house so that I'll be ready for a new start as staff when I get back:

Thank you especially God for the good memories that happened in the Longhouse. Thank you for the things you taught me. Thank you for the dear, dear friends you gave me there. Thank you that though chapters close- You make us the better for them. 

New Prayer Team

Here are the lovely ladies who are now the Hold the Ropes Prayer Team (HTR). Please pray for them guys! There's a lot to do, and a lot to remember- we blitzed through a LOT of information last week, but there's just no way to cover everything thoroughly. So pray for them while they are getting settled in this awesome ministry!

Leah and  Crystal

And of course, it was wonderful to see Rosemarie, who's been my boss the last two years in HTR, and in the process also became a dear friend. It was so good to see her again and pray together about some of the incredible things going on around the world. God is surely up to some amazing things, and it was such, such SUCH a blessing to be able to be part of this amazing ministry God has put on my heart- even though it was only for a couple of days. 

Rosemarie and I

Not going to lie guys- it was really hard to leave. Super, super hard to leave seeing how desperately short-handed both ministries are. But God knows. And (whether I see it off-hand or  not) His timing is still perfect.

But please keep praying guys- I really, really, really want to be back both HTR and getting my kiddos ready to go as soon as possible! So keep praying for more monthly partners! and for me- that I would focus on Jesus and honor Him while I wait and serve in Philly.

Road Trip

And to make up for you  guys not getting any pictures the last few weeks- now you can have a whole pile!

Oh look- corn. There's a lot of it when you go across the midwest.

And construction....

and more corn: 

and traffic. There was also a lot of that on this trip

Woohoo! Made it to Missouri! (sorry about the bad picture. Silly traffic stopped in an inconvenient place.

And look now: NOT corn. Those hills put me officially back in the Ozarks:

And then.... at last.... 

It is so SO good to be back!

Road Trip

Heading out tomorrow for a week in Missouri to train the new Hold the Ropes (prayer team) staff. Also looking forward to be back in my own little house for a bit, and reconnect with people.
The new car I've been praying about will not be making this trip- so extra prayers for my poor little Bilbo-car to miraculously make not one, but two more 1,000ish mile highway trips. As you may know if you've been reading for a while, my current car is not supposed to be on the highway.... so extra prayers for the trip are greatly appreciated!

Please Pray:
-that I would be a blessing while on this trip and point people to Jesus
-that my car would be able to arrive (and return) safe and whole and functioning
-for training to go well, and be able to accomplish lots
- please keep praying for more monthly financial partners so that I can go back for real ASAP

Why Support a Missionary?

Why does somebody support a missionary, or how do they decide who to support? Well I could answer in prose- but that's no fun. So instead I'll quote my dad. You see, when I was about fourteen, I discovered that my parents were supporting other missionaries. Since we also lived off support, I thought this was weird, and  said so to Dad.  Dad told me something that day, sitting in the hot car in the Walmart parking lot, that I haven't forgotten. He said that support wasn't really about the money. He said that supporting a missionary was about saying that you believe in them, in what's God's doing through them, and want to be part of what God's doing through them.