Time to go home

My time in Maine is almost over. I finally found a decently priced plane ticket, and even with the luggage and bus rides to the airport, I paid less than I would have flying direct. I have enjoyed spending time with my nieces, and getting to know my new nephew Landon. He is 7 mos. He had been scooting on his belly when I first came, but now he is crawling a little bit on his knees, and can almost push himself to a sitting position. The next time I see him, he will be walking and talking.

My niece Ruby graduated from K5. Time moves way too fast these days. I remember when she was little, and I would come from NYC to spend holidays with her. Elaina is two and you can definitely tell. She is so cute, that sometimes it's hard to get on to her.

Since arriving in the US, God has allowed churches and individuals to give towards my missions trips. I purchased my tickets for Nepal, now I need to work on details for China. I found out I have to purchase a ticket in and out before I can go. This means, that I will need to get a ticket that I can change if necessary because I may stay in China and teach English for one year.

Please continue to pray for my dad's health and my nephew Emmett's health.

Mini Vacation

Well, I have been in Maine for a week now, and I am loving spending time with my sister and her family. My newest nephew is so adorable! He is 7 months old, so he is the cute smiley stage as well as the crawling stage.

My niece, Ruby will graduate K5 this coming Sunday. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone since she was born. She loves to sing, and is a good helper for her mom.

Elaina is two, and that doesn't take long to find out. She is the testing stage. ;-) She is a sweet girl, and is always saying thank you when I do something for her.

I was able to give an update at 2nd Baptist Church Palermo, Maine where my brother-in-law is the pastor. I enjoy spending time with this church. Last Saturday, I was able to speak to a few of the ladies. God is beginning to use me in new ways.

I booked my ticket to Nepal. I will be there from at least January to April. Please pray as I wait for the people in China to contact me back regarding dates that I can go to help them.

Please pray also for me to find a cheap ticket home from Maine. I am trying to fly on June 20 from Portland, Maine to one of these cities, Joplin or Springfield, MO, Fayette, AR. I am needing a ticket under $300 including luggage.

Once I have my dates to China finalized, I will begin contacting new missionaries. Please pray that God will lead me to those whom He wants me to help.

What a whirlwind week! After a flight delay caused me to spend last Thursday night at JFK, I arrived at the house where I am staying in NYC on Friday morning. I freshened up, then headed to the 9?11 Memorial where I watched the Coast Guard Silent Drill Team perform. Afterwards, the Navy and Coast Guard held a reenlistment ceremony. It was awesome to watch men and women promise to defend America for another tour of duty.
I met a lady in the Coast Guard, and we chatted about what we were doing and why. She is in the US military, and I'm in God's. She is Catholic, so pray that perhaps God will use our friendship as the key to show her the truth of salvation.
On Saturday, I met up with my college roommate Amy. We had so much fun catching up and walking through the city. I returned home and prepared for my visits to two churches on Sunday.
On Sunday, I was with Pastor Humberto Martinez in Corona, NY. What a blessing that my first service in the US was a Spanish service. One lady was very touched by my ministry and gave a large personal gift to help me. The church will be sending a love offering later. I then attended 6th Ave. Baptist in Brooklyn, NY where Pastor Johnson is doing a great work. They were having a baptismal service, and had 4 people baptized! What a blessing! I played piano for the service. Afterwards, Pastor Johnson handed what I know was a sacrificial gift from his church. Every time God opens a door for me to speak in a church, He blesse me beyond what I can imagine.
Monday, I spent Memorial Day at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial on the Upper Westside of Manhattan. It was a beautiful ceremony despite the rain and cold for which I was unprepared. My friend Rachel went with me, and then my friend Sherry met us for lunch. Sherry and I then headed to the Mets Stadium for a special Armed Forces game. We saw new enlistees  sworn in to the Navy, watched several members of the Armed Forces during the first pitch, heard a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem, and Sherry said she enjoyed her first baseball game. I'm so thankful my dad taught me to honor our military.
After the game, Sherry and I headed to her house where  I spent the night. We talked late into the night. I love spending time with her family who are from Guayana. The next morning, we did a little shopping, then headed back to Brooklyn for dinner with one of the former students from the school where I worked for three years. It was great to catch up with her. Please pray for Rosemary as she will be taking the Air Force exam soon.
After dinner, I went to church at International Baptist where I served for three years. It was great to catch up with old friends. Today, I stopped by the school for part of field day. I saw many students I had known during my time as secretary including some who already graduated. I then went shopping again, then met Sherry. We came home and chatted for awhile until she needed to go to the train.
After dropping Sherry at the train, I went by my friend Rosalind's house. Please pray for Rosalind as the Devil has her confused regarding some Biblical truths. Please pray I can show her the answers she needs.
Please pray for me as tomorrow, I will be making more contacts for churches to visit while I am in Maine. Pray also that I can hear from the missionaries in Nepal soon. Right now tickets from England to Nepal are at very good prices.
Continue to pray for my dad's health.

Praising the Lord for a great web designer, Tiano Scalzo. He has helped me get my website up and running, and on top of that, he has researched to find a way for me to make the site a social site where missionaries and volunteers can connect without needing Facebook. Usually a site like this costs a lot, but he was able to find free software, and the site is now ready for use. Please try it out by  clicking on Join our Network. Let me know if you run into any problems, and please pass the word to missionaries and churches. I'm sure there are many people who would love to be help to missionaries on the field, and I know there are missionaries who need the help.

Sorry for the long period of silence. It has been very busy for me these past two weeks. We finished school last Friday, and this week we had awards ceremony and graduation. I created two slideshows for these days. I only had a short amount of time to create them, and with tutoring... I had to work mostly at night. I had several nights with little to no sleep, but thankfully, I finished both in time for the events.

I am so thankful to my mom and anyone who helped her to come surprise me for my birthday. She has been a huge blessing. She has cooked, taught my school class, cleaned my house, taken me and the pastor's kids siteseeing, listened to me when I was frustrated with technical problems, and so much more. I have no idea how I could have accomplished everything to end the year without her help.

During the awards ceremony, Pastor Martinez awarded me with a plaque. I was able to talk a little afterwards, and I told the parents that if they were considering pulling their kids out of Christian school, not to. A parent talked to Bro. Martinez and told him that because of what I said, he was leaving his son in the school. God is awesome. He definitely brought me here for such a time as this.

Although I am sad to leave, I am excited about the rest of this year. Please pray as I focus on lining up opportunities to share my ministry with churches and Christian colleges. Now that I have a sending church and someone to whom I am accountable, I believe God will open many doors.

Although I have not led many people to Christ, I have seen five of my students trust Christ, and talked to several more. I also gave the plan of salvation to most of the parents of my students at a brunch I held in their honor. Please pray that the seed sown will not return void.

Please pray for my mom and I. Tomorrow we will be doing something very special. We will both be teaching at a ladies tea here in PR. I am excited, but also nervous as this will be my first special speaking engagement. It will also be the first time my mom and I have taught together as adults.

Please pray for one of my students whose father has a special military training and possible deployment in the near future. Pray for my dad as he winds down the school year at the boys home where he is the principal. Pray for my mom as she flies home on Monday. Pray for me as I fly to NYC on Thursday. Pray for my sister Joy who is having some health issues. Pray as I plan to purchase my ticket for Nepal in the next week. I must also schedule a visa appointment, so please pray I can do it online.

Wow! So much is happening during these last few weeks in Puerto Rico, and of course, I overloaded myself. :-) Three parties this week, working on two video slideshows for our awards day and graduation, putting in grades, cleaning out the classroom...

On Sunday, I officially joined Primera Iglesia Bautista de Ceiba, PR. This church, as I announced a few weeks ago, will be my sending church. I am very excited to see what God has in store for me and for the church through me.

Please pray as I contact more churches this week in order to share my ministry. I will be in NYC and Augusta, Maine. Pray also as I now have my new passport and can book my Nepal flights. Please pray I can find flights that are not too expensive.

Some ministry needs if anyone can help:

A small portable but high, powered projector
Camera tripod that fits a Nikon D3300