What are you doing here?

I've been hearing that question a lot lately, as people suddenly realize that it's not summer anymore, and I'm still here. Well, if you've been reading long, you know what I'm still doing here- waiting for God to provide the needed monthly partners for me to go back to Missourri. But while working on that, God's got other stuff for me to do here.

One of them is my part time job at Chelten Child Development Center, which, conveniently, is where I worked before I left for the Missionary Training Center. What a blessing that God had a part time job for me when I got back! This particular group is special to me because I had a lot of them as two year olds when I taught before. So fun to get to have them again and get to plant more seeds about Jesus.

Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable? Prov. 20:6

I have been so blessed in the five years since college- to continue enjoying the faithful friendship of these two ladies.  What a blessing to see them both while I was up in Clarks Summit!

Give me One Pure and Holy Passion....

Isn't it ridiculous how easy it is to become distracted?   And dumb stuff like, cooking or watching TV. Even good things, like spending time with people, or (cough cough) support raising, Everyday things, that God wants me to worship Him through, instead become the only thing I'm thinking about, and shut God out. The way the songs  put it is looking only for His hand, and instead of seeking His face. In regular English, the danger is wanting God to do a bunch of stuff more than wanting God Himself. Loving the gifts (or desired gifts) instead of the Giver.

I have to admit I've been guilty of this lately. I got so focused on getting back to the Missionary Training Center to continue serving, so focused on the process of support raising, that I forgot the most important thing.  Not doing that (or any) specific service for God, but rather loving God Himself.
Like the Israelits got so hung up on doing the Law that they missed  their Messiah. Like the Galatians got so wrapped up in do's and don'ts that Paul had to write them a rather pointed letter to remind them- it's not about what we do- it's about what Jesus has already done. God wants my heart- your heart.
And absolutely I still have to do laundry and dishes and cooking and emails, and phone calls  and go to work.etc. But all those things are not the point. Even serving God is not the point. The point is God Himself.

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!