August/September Prayer Letter

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! I am so undeserving of the grace He has bestowed upon me. In addition, He is allowing me to serve Him as a missionary. What an incredible opportunity He has given.

The past two months have been my busiest so far. It is so exciting to be able to meet so many new people and share the burden God has given me for reaching the Muslim people of North Africa. God has blessed tremendously!  God provides in such unexpected ways. My car had to have several things fixed recently. God blessed me with a father who is able to do much of the labor. On top of this major blessing, God provided the money for the replacement parts! I really should not be amazed at how God provides exactly when I need it, but He always does.

At one Mission Conference, the Lord challenged me with a thought that is so simple yet so profound. If it’s not a faith thing, it’s not a God thing. If I can do something myself, I don’t need God. If I can do it in my strength and my intelligence, I am not having faith in God to get it done.  If I can look at my budget and make faith promise giving work, it’s not faith. If I can look at my abilities and know I can go to North Africa as a missionary, it’s not faith. I have been thinking about this concept and working on more faith. I need to be trusting God, but also obeying based on this trust. I may not be able to “make it work,” but I have a God Who can.

Praises

• God provided for repairs on my car
• Have been able to speak to several teenagers/young adults about missions
• Protection while traveling

Prayer Requests

• Support to be raised
• Safety traveling
• Scheduling meetings for rest of year and next year
•  Muslims of North Africa—God will soften their hearts & be saved
• Believers in North Africa—safety, boldness, growth

July & August in Review:

• 26% of needed support
• Was able to be in 18 churches total plus a youth rally
• Drove 3715 miles
• Was able to give my testimony and present 15 times
• Traveled in 4 states: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Delaware

One Year Anniversary

One year ago I had my first meeting. It was a missions conference -  my first missions conference, and my first time presenting what I would be doing in North Africa.  I look back from a year later and am so grateful for what God has done and how God has changed me in the past year.  Everything gets easier the more you do it, but getting to that point takes awhile. I remember hoping that my shaking couldn’t be heard in my voice as I faltered through my first presentation. I am so thankful for University Baptist Church in Atlanta and their loving spirit as they encouraged me. The Lord was so gracious to allow me to have my first meeting among friends.

I see so many different ways the Lord has grown me over the year. I am still me, not eloquent in words, but God has polished me in many ways. I am always nervous to get up in front of people to speak, but hardly shake anymore. My presentation doesn’t always flow well and many times I forget that certain way to say something poignant. Overall, I can see that my presentation is far better than that first time.

Instead of looking at a church in fear, now I can look at the potential friends I will make and potential prayer warriors to enlist (not to mention potential support to get me to North Africa – a necessary evil unfortunately). Each church is unique. One thing that never even began to cross my mind about deputation was leaving a church once you built a relationship with those people. In a missions conference, you have 3 days or more to get to know the people, make friends, and share burdens with one another. Then it’s time to move on to the next meeting. I may not get to see this church again for years. I never anticipated the sadness of leaving after having met such wonderful people.   

God has used this past year to teach me so many things. Just comparing that first presentation to the one I gave Wednesday night, what a huge difference!  I am so thankful that the Lord chooses to use people who are not perfect, just willing to be molded. 

Ramadan

Living in today’s society, it’s almost impossible not to have heard the word Ramadan. So what exactly is it? Ramadan is the 9^th month of the Islamic calendar. It is considered to be the holiest of months in Islam. The month of Ramadan is supposedly when Mohammad received the Quran.  From sunup to sundown, Muslim people fast primarily from food and water, but also other forms of indulgence. The purpose of this time is for devotion, inner reflection, and self control. Also, reading the entire Quran during this time is strongly encouraged. For 2010, Ramadan begins today at sundown.

The month of Ramadan is a reflection of the Islamic faith – built on works. Muslim people must strive to be pure and holy so Allah will (hopefully) accept them into paradise. My heart grieves for a people who strive so hard, only to find out one day it was all in vain.

Today I make a request. During the Islamic month of Ramadan (August 11 – September 9^th), please join me in devoting a time of prayer each day specifically for the Muslim people.  

·         Ask God to give you a heart filled with love and compassion towards Muslims.

·         Pray for their hearts to be softened to the Gospel.

·         Pray for a specific Muslim majority country each day.

·         Pray the Lord would send more laborers into these fields.

·         Pray for laborers who are already in these fields

o   Direction: open doors to share the Word

o   Communication/clarification: ability to speak with clarity

o   Adaptation

o   Determination/Prioritization – speaking the Word with boldness

o   Reception

o   Protection

July Update

Believe it or not, July has already come and gone, although the hot weather seems to be never-ending. The Lord has blessed tremendously the past month.

I was privileged to be able to be a part of Vacation Bible School at my home church, Lighthouse Baptist Church.  We praise the Lord for 40 previous souls saved during the week including children, teens, and adults! I am grateful to God He allowed me to be a small part of this great week.

 Prayer Requests

·         Continue to schedule more meetings – filling in gaps for this year and in general for next year

·         Safety traveling – increasing the number of miles traveling this month

·         God to use me to lead more people to Him

Praises

·         Was able to lead 2 girls to the Lord during VBS

·         Lord provided meetings to fill in some gaps

·         God provided financially in many different ways

July Stats:

·         22% of needed support

·         Was able to be in 10 churches total

·         Drove 956 miles

·         Was able to present my burden 6 times

·         Traveled in 2 states: Georgia and South Carolina

June/July Prayer Letter

Praise the Lord for His mercies endure forever! God is so good and has been so good to me. The past 6 months have caused me as never before to trust in Him as Jehovah-jireh, the God Who provides. Not only does He provide financial and material needs, but also encouragement and friends just when I need them.

 Macedonia's Orientation

I had the joy of attending Macedonia’s Orientation just a few weeks ago. As with anything new, I was not sure what it was going to be like. What an amazing week! I was able to meet and talk to many veteran missionaries on furlough and new missionaries just starting deputation. With classes in the morning and afternoon, preaching in the evening, and fellowship time between, it was a busy week. I learned so much and was challenged in many different ways. The entire week had such a sweet spirit to it. God provided much needed encouragement through this orientation.  I am so thankful to serve with Macedonia World Baptist Missions.

 Praise

Earlier in the spring, when looking over my summer schedule, I did not have many meetings scheduled for July and August. The Lord has more than tripled that number! The upcoming months have more scheduled meetings per month than I have had thus far. I am grateful for these opportunities to share my testimony and the work in North Africa.

 Prayer Requests

· Safety traveling

· Scheduling meetings for rest of year and next year

· For a tentative departure beginning to mid 2012

· Muslims of North Africa—God will soften their hearts & be saved

· Believers in North Africa—safety, boldness, growth

Morocco continues its purge of Christians

Morocco (MNN) ― Morocco kicked a teacher out for allegedly attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity. 

According to the Spanish newspaper "El Pais," authorities expelled Sara Domene of Spain for "threatening public order."  It's a common phrase used to allege "proselytizing." Domene, also a member of an evangelical church, denies the charge, saying she was giving Spanish lessons.

However, the charge that ended her stay in Morocco carries stiff penalties. The 1992 constitution guarantees freedom of religion for all while designating Islam as the state religion. Any criticism of Islam is banned under the Penal Code and is punishable with up to five years in prison.

The government is being especially vigilant this year in upholding the code.  March, King Mohammed VI expelled 20 foreign missionaries accused of proselytism. Shortly afterward, about 7,000 Moroccan theologians publicly supported his decision.   

Several mission agencies note that this action set the stage for another wave of deportations and expulsions of believers and Christian workers. The latest round reveals itself as a calculated effort to purge Morocco of all Christian elements.   

Pray that many followers of Christ will continue His work in Morocco.Open Doors places Morocco at 37 on their World Watch List.

Taken from Mission Network News: http://mnnonline.org/article/14419 

Feast and Famine

I know there is an element of feast or famine in everything we do. It’s very easy to get discouraged when things are not going as well as I had hoped, but it is also exciting when things seem to get better for a time. I must admit I am a very results oriented person. When there does not seem to be as many results from work being put in, sometimes it gets hard to push on. I am thankful that the Lord knows this and He is able to send encouragement in different ways.

Growth in a Christian’s life is unending. I know the Lord has worked on me in these same areas before. I have both heard and found that growth is an unending spiral. Just when we think we’ve come around, it keeps going. We come back to the same area and grow more. I am thankful that God is so patient with me.

The past few weeks have been so encouraging. For the first time God has allowed me to schedule 10 meetings in 2 weeks – Praise the Lord! This Fall was looking a little sparse, but thankfully it is really filling in. Also, God has provided financially in amazing ways. I am excited to say the Lord has provided 15% of my needed monthly support! Praise the Lord for all He is doing!