April Showers Bring May Flowers.

 I was actually hoping that March snowstorms and then 75 degree weather meant spring was finally here. As I write this, we have a had a very cold, windy, wintry mix day. I am looking forward to when the warmth comes to stay. 

So many thing have kept my attention the last few weeks. A big win is watching Kaden as he learns about God. Due to some events at home, he is in a temporary living situation. He first had moved to his girlfriend's house. Her mom also lives there. After being there a day or two, he texted and said he wanted to get his own place so he could move in with his girlfriend. I quickly asked if I could call him. We talked, and I told him what God says about living with someone who isn't your wife and where it could lead. After a few minutes of talking about other things, Kaden said, "It kinda makes me mad." I asked what made him mad, and he said, "That God said it so I can't do it." He was referring back to living with his girlfriend. I wish more Christians could think this way. It would remove a lot of sin. Please pray as I still need to explain more about baptism before Kaden will decide to be baptized.

My other clients have been keeping me busy as well. Some are doing well; others are struggling. They are a diverse group of people. Please pray for two girls who lean towards LGBTQ. I am trying to find resources that are very soft touch introductions to  reaching these people with the Gospel. Both have had a lot of trauma and bad experiences with religious groups.

I have recently been hired to substitute teacher at a community college. I will be teaching English language learners. I have my first training day on April 14. Please pray that I can maintain this new opportunity along with all my other outreaches. 

I also started a group call SMILE with young ladies age 20-40 at my church. Please pray that I can really get this off the ground and find new ways to reach out into the community. I am still involved in my craft group, and I am praying for more ladies to join. Please pray for Marjorie. She will be 100 I think this month, and she is not saved.

 Please pray as our Spiritual Warfare Conference is next week. God is trying to do a work, and Satan has been fighting hard with our church members, staff, and students. Pray that God can break through the barriers that many have already set up in their hearts towards what is being preached in preparation for the conference.

 My mom has been working with a new surgeon who is trying to help my moms hip muscle to heal without surgery. Please pray that the sound wave and water therapies will help, and please for pain relief for my mom. 

I am still working to pay off my truck, and I am praying for more supporting churches or an online job which will allow me to work while traveling. God has been good by providing me with ,multiple ways of earning money right now, but I want to travel full time overseas, and that is not feasible with a small steady income to put in the bank for expenses when I am home.

Please pray for the unspoken situation which has continued for four years. recently I saw a picture of someone involved, and I am very worried for them spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. Pray that God can get a hold of the hearts involved and do a work of reviving.

March Marched in with a Snowstorm

 We finally got the wet snow I've been waiting for all winter. The only problem, it kept me from getting to my clients. Please pray for Kaden who trusted Christ a few weeks ago that he will continue to grow. Pray for his mom Lisa who also trusted Christ. Pray for Rambo who trusted Christ. He has a lot of difficulties to overcome. I have two clients who told me that are already Christians, and I have four other clients that need to be saved.

Back at the end of summer or the first part of fall, I had applied to our local community college for a teaching ESL position. A week ago, I received an email asking if I was still interested. I didn't respond because I didn't think I needed to add anything else to my plate. The lady messaged me again, and I thought maybe God wanted me to take the job because most of the time if you don't respond,  people will not t reach out again. I will be teaching mostly Spanish and Thai speaking people English.  Pray that I will have opportunity to share the Gospel.

I will not be making a trip to Maine right now. I am waiting to see when my parents might actually need help with moving.  I will instead focus on my clients, do some training for my new job, and maybe visit my sister for a few days.

Please pray for my college students that they will really focus on class and doing well, being responsible...

Pray for my parents as they continue to make decisions.

Pray for my still on going unspoken request. The longer the situation stays as it is, the harder it will be to resolve it.

February Requires Focus

 Because February is a short month, it requires me  to stay more focused on the tasks at hand. Teaching and grading keep me busy on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Teaching a writing class requires a lot more hands on grading. Pushing the students to complete assignments can be very trying, but when they turn out something that has depth, it makes the stress worth it.

On February 9, my client and his mom came to church. Afterwards, he asked me several questions about the sermon. I always love working with new converts because they are hungry to learn. Please pray as I continue to encourage him  to grow in Christ. Hopefully he and his mom will come to Sunday school the next time. Pray that he can get his license as there is a Bible study which would be perfect for his discipleship and helping him overcome his past, but it is at night, and his mom does not drive at night. Pray for his mom to grow as well. She hopes to bring her husband to church too.

I was pretty sick with the flu for a few days, one of those days being February 9. I attended church in the morning, but after my meeting with my client and prepping lunch for the college, I crashed for two days. I seem to be over the flu part, and now I'm trying to get rid of the congestion and cough. a lot of our church has been sick, so please pray it all passes quickly.

 I am being given a new client which will put me at 11. Please pray as I navigate the logistics of getting in two meetings a month with each one. The time and distance can sometimes be very wearing as there are days when I drive 200 miles round trip.

Continue to pray as I move towards getting back on the mission field. I know God has placed me everywhere He has wanted me to be, but sometimes waiting can be very hard. Paying off my truck is my first priority, and hopefully finding a small property is my second as far as personal finances are concerned. I just need a place to put my belongings before heading out again.

Witnessing and Salvations!

 God has opened the doors for me to witness to my clients. A week ago, I was able to share the truth that Jesus is God with a young man who had been visited by the Mormons. I showed him John 1 and genesis 1. He took down the name of the website i was using and the two chapters of Scripture. I had hoped to witness to him again last week, but he did  not show up for our meeting. Please pray that I can share the Gospel with him on Monday, January 27.

I was able to witness to a new client. Due to his background, I wasn't sure I would take him on. After asking him some deep personal questions, I asked if I could speak freely about Christianity. His mom and he said yes. I shared the Gospel, and they both bowed their heads and trusted Christ! Please pray as i continue to encourage them to get into the Bible and find a good church. The young man needs some counseling, so pray that he will come at least once a month for this. he lives a good distance from the church.

I was able to witness to one of my girls. She has a lot of things to overcome. She told me she needed time to process what I had shared. Please pray that her mom will start bringing the family to church.

 

Please pray for a children's home in Nepal. This home is run by my friend's sister and brother-in-law. The man who controls the home has decided that due to his family's needs, he does not want the responsibility of the home anymore.  Purna and his wife must raise the funds to prchase land and build, or purchase a land with a house on it. This is very expensive in Nepal. Besides those funds, they need about $200 a month to feed and clothe the children. Purna and his wife have lived without much salary for the last several years and have even used their salary  at times to make ends meet for the home. I will be posting more information in the coming days. Please consider giving towards these children who would not hear the Gospel were it not for the sacrifices of Purna and his wife.

Please pray for several unspoken requests. Satan is fighting hard for the lives of families and individuals.

Answers to Prayer

 The last few weeks have produced several answers to prayer. First God stopped someone who was about to make a decision that would send them back into a bad situation. There were no funds, no transportation, and nowhere else to go. I and several other ladies had been praying for this miracle. 

On Wednesday last week, I had asked God to show me he wanted me to continue the craft group I do two Thursdays a month. Due to the distance and the fact that only one lady was coming, I had considered discontinuing it. On Thursday, a new lady showed up.  she had clipped the notice out of the paper awhile back, but circumstances had kept her from coming.

I cannot explain the next miracle due to the delicacy of the matter, but suffice it to say that Sunday I saw a miracle, and I believe God is going to do some more among my friends who are praying for very specific needs. God is in the miracle making business, and so many times we miss the everyday miracles He gives us. It isn't until a big miracle happens that we express our joy. Never take for granted the life you have for there are others in worse situations.

Monday, my nephew Joel had an appointment for his heart. For the last few months, we have been expecting the doctors to set a third surgery date sometime this year. Joel's appointment went well, and the doctors think he can wait another year before he will need this surgery.

Please pray as I continue to try to get the Gospel to the people I have been working with the last few months. Also, pray for the 11 clients I have who are aging out of foster care. Pray that I can give them the Gospel and that they will decide to visit our church during the Spiritual Warfare conference in April. This conference would be so helpful to these young people who have been through a lot and some who have done a lot that has put them in bad situations.

Please pray that I have strength and wisdom do this job plus the teaching and ministering I do. College is starting again, and I will be teaching a Grammar and Writing class and taking more counseling classes.

There is still an ongoing unspoken request that needs the power of God to break the hold Satan has in this situation. Please pray that Gods spirit can break through the strongholds that have been built.

A Whirlwind Winter

 How in the world did I let a month and a half go by without a post? Life has been busy since Thanksgiving. At the college, we finished out the last few weeks of the semester. In my Teaching English class, the students each taught a lesson implementing the various parts of learning spoken English. I enjoyed watching them teach, and I hope in the future I will hear that they have utilized this tool that can be used to reach people with the Gospel. On the last day of each class, we had a Christmas party. We had fun watching a Christmas movie, eating snacks, and playing games.

On Christmas Eve, I went to my sister's house. I made and decorated cookies with my nieces and nephews. We made Christmas hot chocolate: hot chocolate, a scoop of mint chocolate ice cream, a squirt of whipped cream and a sprinkle of candy cane and watched a Christmas movie. On Christmas Day, after helping my sister make the dinner and load the food into my truck, I drove to her in-laws' house. I turned the truck off and laid the keys on my coat. I then proceeded to do what I always do. I locked my truck and shut the door. I went to the passenger door to get the food out, and realized I had just locked my keys in the truck. I ended calling the police, and thankfully, because it is a small town, they came and opened the door. After we finally got to eat dinner, we played games and opened presents. Christmas night, we went to church and had a Christmas party with a few church people.

On the Tuesday before Christmas week, I was able to share the Gospel via g64 gingerbread loaves a baked and gave to many of my coworkers. On that Saturday, I visited all the people I have witnessed to over the last few months and left cookies and tracts with them. Please pray that these Gospel seeds will bring about new birth in each person who received them.

Between all these fun events, I have been working with foster kids who are 18 and aging out of foster care. Some of these live an hour away, so my time has been spent on the road a lot. I make two visits a month to encourage them and help them with various needs.I have not yet had an opportunity to witness, but I am praying that God will give me an open door to do so.

I have had many answers to prayer over the last month, and God is continuing to provide for my needs.

An urgent prayer request is for a children';s home in Nepal. This home has been under the care of a man who has recently decided he no longer wants the responsibility due to the needs of his family. The man owns the property that houses the children.The couple, who have been caring for the home and children, are the sister and brother-in-law to my friend Rupa who was in the children's home I helped back in 2018. They have cared for the children without very much pay for themselves, and now that the man has finally let go of the responsibility, they need to raise support to care for the children, buy a property that will be large enough to hold the children and allow for more children to come, and support for their own needs. In the near future, I will be sending out a video and information which explains the cost to care for the kids as well as the cost to purchase a property. Would you please pray for support for this ministry, and would you please consider supporting them?

Please continue to pray for my parents health and decisions they need to make. Pray also for my nephew Joel who will begin preparing for his third heart surgery in the near future. Please pray that I can raise full-time missions support so that I will not need to come back to the states to work to support myself. Pray also that I can get my truck paid off and begin putting money towards a small piece of property.

Happy New Year

A Month to be Thankful

 It's hard to believe how quickly the days are passing. We have had midterms, and now we are almost to Thanksgiving. There's a lot to be thankful for.

I completed my election survey job the Saturday before the election. Through the job, I was able to lead one man to Christ and witness to quite a few others.  Please pray as I continue to visit with these individuals that God will allow me to witness again.

Tomorrow, I start the craft group for lonely ladies. Some of these ladies I met while doing election surveys. My prayer is that I can lead people to Christ through this group.

I began my new job helping foster kids transition into adulthood. Please pray as the next few weeks will be intense training. Through this job, I again hope to lead people to Christ.

I am so thankful to know that at least for four years, barring any sudden change in policies... That we have a president who will not work to remove freedom. It is a short window of opportunity that we have for having the freedom to share the Gospel, attend church... without persecution.