Things to do...

Yesterday I was able to go down to the San Antonio Metropolitan Health Clinic Foreign Travel Division, and get my two booster shots that I needed—Tdap and Typhoid. My arm is sore this morning—the nurse was right! Yay for Vitamin I (IB Profen)!

As I have told people about going to Ukraine to teach, I have been extremely encouraged by their testimonies, and words of encouragement. One lady told me that she had heard a missionary speak at the church, shortly after getting married, and she and her husband wanted to give something, but they had little money, so they gave their wedding bands! Low and behold, a woman in Ukraine had been praying for wedding bands—God is so good!

All but two of the books on my list have been donated from different people! Thank you for your generosity! I will have lots of fun reading… :) On a serious note, I am looking forward to reading most of the books.

Leaving for Canada, Brazil, and then Ukraine has become a reality. I feel like I’ve been hit in the head with a 2 x 4! The prep work blows me away! My coach at The Mission Society, Steve Wilson, sent me a missionary checklist and it made me go…whoa! It also made me say, oh good, I’m right on track!

Upcoming things to do…

• Attend Red Cross First Aid Training
• Renew teacher certificate through SBEC—expires this year!
• Renew my TXDL—expires this year on my birthday!
• Continue to consult with Dai about housing plans
• Plan commissioning service at home church

Righteous Laughter?

This morning on my way to work, I was tired of listening to NPR and hearing about the Swine Flu, so I started station flipping. I stopped on the Christian BBN (Bible Broadcasting Network) station, because the preacher speaking started saying, "and when you go on a mission trip..." And then he goes on and says a few more things, ending with "When you go to Ukraine, you will feel an immediate connection, and an immediate fellowship with other Christians, even though you do not speak their language." I busted laughing--I guess God wanted me to hear that message, because I am going to Ukraine!

Jesus Idoler?

The ever so popular Susan Boyle, performing on Britain's Got Talent has been idolized in every medium possible, although, here we have a Saviour, Jesus Christ, but do we idolize him? At FPC, during the Maundy Thursday service, we prayed a prayer of confession that said, "Though you have bound yourself to us, we will not bind ourselves to you." Ouch! Are you a Jesus Idoler?

Exciting News!

The past few days have brought forth many exciting updates!

• I received a book in the mail today!--"The Faith that Compels Us" by HT Maclin
• My plane ticket to Kiev, Ukraine has been purchased--I will leave the 17 August 2009, at 6:50AM! =)
• My passport is in the process of receiving one of two visas it needs for me to travel to Brazil for training, and then to Kiev to teach
• I am enjoying a fantastic job and a wonderful employer, teaching Algebra 1 at MacArthur HS is a blessing!

Fundraising anyone?

Fundraising/asking for money never ceases to be awkward. It is easy to call people and tell them about what you'll be doing and your call to missions, but much more difficult is asking for money, help, support, prayers, etc. The call to action. It should not be hard. I tell my students everyday, what to do, and how to do it, but for some reason, I feel somewhat uncomfortable when it comes to asking others for not only their support, but for their money--their hard earned dollar.

As I have been going through this process, God has blessed me with multiple individuals who have received my prayer letter, and then taken it to their Sunday School class or bible study, thus allowing more people to lift me up in prayer, and learn of what great things God is doing in, through, and around me.

As awkward as fundraising can be, it always proves to be a fabulous opportunity to involve more people in Gods work! I am thankful that you have chosen to join me, as I serve God in a new and exciting way, in partnership, with you.

gods blessings!

Recent Blessings

The past few months of brought so many blessings, and quite a busy time period in my life. Just to name a few...

• New job
  
• Help grading papers
• Friendship
• Ukranian/English Dictionary
• Handmade scarf
• Paid for working
  
• Reinstated airline miles
  

God continues to do great things in my life. His generosity never ceases to surprise me.

SA Half Marathon

I ran the SA Half Marathon today. I was happy overall, not with my time, but rather with my energy levels. God gave me strength and endurance, throughout the course. It was cool to see different shirts--one of them said, "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:30-31. Another one had the classic, "I can do all things through Christ the Lord who strengthens me." Phillipains 4:13. On a sign posted, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1.

As encouraging as reading the shirts/signs, my favourite part were the little kids that would stand in line, with their hand out to high five you! There were a group of three kids that caught my attention. A little girl (probably about 3 1/2 years old), a little boy (about 5), and an older girl (maybe 6 1/2) all cheering you on! The children will probably never know how encouraging they were, and they themselves looked like they were having so much fun! :)

God provided me with a fantastic morning of strength, endurance, and encouragement! I must say, it was awkward not going to church! We even go on vacation!

Mac HS

After a long two weeks, God has enabled me to be teaching in the classroom again! I will be teaching HS Algebra 1 at Mac HS for the 2008-2009 academia year! Yay! :) Jumping in mid-year is a challenge, but I am up for it. This position was given to me, denied to me, fought for, and then re-offered! As Churchill says, "When you're going through hell, keep going!" I look forward to sharing how God uses me for his glory throughout this school year!

I love students

I love students, and they love me back! One of our speakers at church this past Sunday made that statement, and it hit me hard--I realized why I love teaching so much! My love for teaching is not because I'm good at it, or because I know the subject matter; my love for teaching is based on the love that I have for the students! When you love the students, they will love you back.

And they were glorifying God!

Galatians 1:24 (New American Standard Bible)

And they were glorifying God because of me.

Wow, that's a powerful statement! I want to be able to say that! Looking back at my post a few weeks ago, Andy can say that about Red! It's because of me, he came to true freedom!

I'm bored!

During the candidate week at The Mission Society we participated in a ropes course. The events were fun, and I enjoyed the team building exercises, although, at one point, I was sitting around waiting for other people to make some decisions. I found myself completely bored, wanting to move on, better things awaited us, and I could hardly stand it!

I was vocal, I stated that I was bored, but when my part came along, I gladly helped out and added my piece, although, I really just wanted to move on. Two big observations about myself; one, I was vocal, and two, I have this need to be doing something, pretty much all the time.

Ethiopian Food

One of the nights of missionary candidate week, we took a trip to a local Ethiopian Restaurant--Queen of Sheba. We did not know where we were going, other than to eat an international meal. We were told upon arrival of one caveat, we could not speak English, nor could English be spoken to us! This was by far one of my favourite experiences I had all week.

To order our food we could act like animals and point--to find out what type of meat it was, we could make faces, but under no circumstances could we speak English. I did cheat so that I could drink some sweet tea, but seeing a bunch of adults trying to figure out what to eat and choosing the most random of items (the menu was give to us in another language), was quite difficult, and absolutely hilarious!

The food was excellent. Ethiopian food is served on one big platter, "sponge" bread at the bottom, each persons meat order on top of the bread. We would take a piece of sponge bread and meat, and then eat off of the platter, each of us trying each others special dish! And yes, we ate with our hands! =)

At the end of the meal we celebrated Jennifer's birthday with a coffee ceremony. We were brought coffee beans to smell, before the coffee was brewed. The coffee was served in tiny--maybe 2 oz. cups, with popcorn. In Ethiopia coffee is typically served at breakfast. Popcorn or nuts are given with the coffee, because people do not want to eat a heavy meal, before manual labor. I did eat a little bit of popcorn and coffee--even though I do not care for either, it was a cultural experience that I enjoyed.

Real worship!

While I was in Atlanta, GA, for The Mission Society candidate week, I had some fantastic opportunities to try and experience new ways/things. Among them, my favourite had to be going to a refugee church--Celebration Fellowship.

Our group arrived at church a few minutes late and took some seats in the back of the school auditorium, where the church meets. Immediatly we were welcomed and became active participants of the service. Sitting next to me was a Thai man and his family. As I would sing in English, he would sing his praises in Thai. In front of me were some Bhutanese, and behind me were some Asian people. I was surrounded, right here in America, by a wealth of different nationalities and each of them were praising God in their heart language, and in their own way.

A Bhutanese man, who was sitting a couple rows in front of me started singing, in his native language, in his chair. He continued to sing, making his way up to the stage area, his three year old son following, where he began to lead the worship in song and praise. After this man and his son had left, another black woman, walked up to the stage to lead songs of praise and worship. A father came up to the stage, playing the guitar, his young daughters singing. No one ever questioned if they were good enough, or if they belonged on the stage, people responded to Christ, without fear of rejection, without wondering if they would be accepted! The praise and worship was amazing, heartfelt, they glorified and exalted God, showing their loyalty and admiration to Jesus Christ!

Our sermon was preached in three different languages--thus we received three sermons over one text. I loved worshiping with people in Thai, Bhutanese, Swahili, English, and other various languages!