Reaching and Teaching

 Since returning home about three weeks ago, I have been very busy. The kids ministry was given back to me by those left in charge while I was away. We are again in a rebuilding process for this ministry. I am learning that the people involved must have a heart for the ministry, or we will continually see the same process being repeated. Please pray for the kids and their families.

Our ladies craft group, Crafternoons, has been going well. This week, I was able to take the leader of the group to visit a lady who lives nearby. Please pray that she will join the group next week, and that God can use this to bring her to Him. She has had much heartache, and has basically rejected anything to do with God or church.

Last week, I was able to give a very brief Gospel presentation to three guys working at the Verizon store. I also invited them to church. Please pray that I can have another opportunity to speak with them, and that God will cause them to decide to come to church. I believe one is already a Christian.

Please pray for our young people. Satan is using others to hinder the spiritual growth of this age group.  I believe God could do something great with the 20-30s people in our area if others in our church would get on board with the outreach. As in any church, there is always a handful who do not see a need for the church to grow.

I still have an unspoken need that only God can fix. Please pray as I continue to take steps to bring light to this situation so that those involved can be helped.

Please pray as God is continuing to open new doors of opportunity for the future of my ministry to missionaries around the world.

Farewell PR

 Goodness, how quickly a month goes by! May was packed with busyness for me. We finished up the last two weeks of school with finals and Parent Appreciation Day. I was able to share the Gospel with about 30 adults.The kids did an awesome job with recitations, Bible Verses, and some fun skits. The parents really enjoyed seeing their kids perform. 

We had two high school graduates, and several of my first and second graders from my second trip to PR graduated from 8th grade. Many of the students from that class were still in school. Awards ceremony also took place that week, and most of my students received honor roll trophies. One of my students from my previous trip to PR was named Miss Lighthouse for high school.

Last week, I was able to take a couple days to visit some places I had not seen, and to spend time with my friend. I saw some amazing scenery including the dry forest which is sort of like a desert climate, Cabo Rojo where I took pictures of some cacti, and several lighthouses. I also took pictures of several birds I had not seen before. Yesterday, I was near San Juan, and I was able to get some pictures of a sea turtle.

Today, I flew home to Maine. I will be catching up on my mom's health to see what care she may need in the future. Please pray that she can find a good doctor who will listen to her and run the requested tests... If her health doesn't worsen and continues to get better, I will begin planning my trips to England and Europe. 

Please pray for the church and school in PR. They are in need of teachers, kitchen staff, and a financial secretary. Please pray for Mrs. Lula who was the financial secretary. She is traveling to Chicago to get some help for her health.

Please continue to pray for an ongoing situation. I am praying God will break down the strongholds which have been put in place.

Please pray for the young people who are attending our church here in Maine. Satan is trying to keep them from church and hearing the truths necessary for growth.

Ressurection Day, 38th Anniversary, and More

 What a busy month April has been. I can't believe it is almost over. I celebrated the Resurrection with my kids by having an Easter egg hunt, decorating cross cookies, and creating stained glass cross sun  catchers. It was a fun day. We had a good crowd in church on Resurrection Day. 

Last week, we prepared for the church's 38th Anniversary by passing out flyers in three towns. A group from City Baptist (bus kids) School in Hammond, IN came down for the senior missions trip. Between the three groups, we saw 12 people saved. I was able to lead a 13 year old girl to Christ.

On Sunday, we celebrated the anniversary. I had 10 of my 15 students sing "God and God Alone" in Spanish. Along with them, they brought 24 family members. I didn't realize how many visitors I actually had until the pastor asked me to count them. It was very exciting! I won a beautiful bouquet of flowers, so I gave each child a flower for bringing their parents. We had a few people saved in the service, and we had two people baptized.

I was able to chat with some of the City Baptist students, and some of the girls expressed interest in missions. Fast forward to today. I received a message from a girl I met in Guatemala on one of my first trips. She was asking me about doing missions work as a single lady, raising support... I could not answer her right away because I was teaching. Tonight, I received a video call from my Friend  who was in the children's home I went to in Nepal. She too was talking about missions and how she was doing outreach to the poor around her by providing them with groceries. the pastor's daughter here in PR has also expressed interest in perhaps joining me on a trip. I believe God may be finally opening a door for me to help other ladies be used on the mission field. Please pray as I seek out what God would have me do in the future. If I were to plan a trip with a group, I would ask that you pray for people willing to sponsor some of these ladies who cannot afford plane tickets on their own.

Please pray for my mom. She has had some news about some recent tests, and her doctor has moved her appointment up. Her health is one reason I have not made any permanent travel plans yet. I am the only one who is free to be able to care for her if she needs it. 

My family is still dealing with some important unspoken needs, and prayers are greatly needed. These needs have ben present for three years, and there still seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

Please pray that God continues to provide for my missions ministry. I still have to supporting churches, and I am praying God will allow those who supported me before to begin doing so again, and that more will join them. As I talked with the young lady from Guatemala tonight, I told her the hardest part about traveling as a single missionary lady is having faith that God will provide.

Please pray for my students as we finish the school year. Pray that God will get a hold on their hearts. I shared their former teacher's wedding with them, and I explained the meanings behind the various elements and aspects of it. I carefully explained that the vows made are supposed to be promises that are kept. Many students come from broken homes. My prayer is that they will learn to marry the right person and stay married.

Better Late Than Never

 Goodness how time flies! I can't believe it is already April, and I haven't posted on here since March 7. I thought I had, but I must have sent out an update to my supporters instead. Life has been busy. My friend Marriah had an absolutely beautiful wedding. Ladies, waiting for the one God has for you is much better than taking somebody when  you want them. 

Teaching 3rd-4th grade has been fun and challenging. I have 15 students, but for one week, I brought the 5th graders in too, and I had 25 students. All in all, the classes did well. A teacher doesn't just teach basic subjects. Sometimes we end up teaching life principles, political principles, and of course in a Christian school, Biblical principles.  I am excited to see what God does with these kids.

I was so happy to find many former students are still in school and doing well. On Thursdays, we have quite a few who attend our church service in another town. Although they might be coming because we go to Chik-Fil-A afterwards, they are getting good sound Bible preaching. I enjoy watching them as they sing the hymns, and I especially enjoy watching the young men imitate the song leader. 

This week is Easter Spring Break, so I had the week off. I came to Vieques with the pastor's daughter, and we spent two days learning how not to plan a trip to Vieques. First, don't go on a holiday week. Second, book everything way ahead, especially a rental car. Third, check the future forecast. Fourth, make sure all equipment on the car is in good working order. Flat tires in the middle of a nature preserve are a bit unnerving. Thankfully a good Samaritan came along and helped our driver get the tire changed. Although our first day was covered up in rain, today, god answered our prayer, and we had a beautiful sunshiny day to sit at a beach on a small reef with tropical fish swimming around us. yes, missionaries need min vacations too.

We are down to about four weeks of school, and some of those are short weeks due to holidays or special days. Life is about to get even more hectic, but I love being busy again. Sitting still in one place for too long is very hard for me.

Please keep my mom in prayer. Her pain management doctor is trying to find a surgeon to look at the tears in her hip muscle to see if they can be repaired surgically. While she is waiting for this to happen, she has been given some natural oils to try to see if they will help heal the tears. Please pray the oils work as the surgery may not be an option, or it may cause her to be worse off than she is now.

Please pray that God will open the doors for me to find some online work to help supplement my personal income when  I am traveling. I try not to use missions support when I am home, so any work I do puts money into my personal account which then allows me to care for my needs, and to be able to take mini vacations when I need or have opportunity to do so. I do know how to create Powerpoints, turn them into videos, create programs, bulletins, and other documents for special events..., proofread, and edit. I have also designed yearbooks and similar creations, written plays for our kids programs, puppet skits, and silly skits. if you or someone you know needs anything like this done, I would love to be a help to them, and it would be a help to me.

Please pray for an unspoken request which has been ongoing for two years now. It will take a miracle of God for the situation to be cared for.

Please pray for the ministry here in PR. The inflation has been extremely hard on the parents of students here which in turn makes it hard on the school. 

Please continue to pray for our kids program to grow. Pray also for our craft group to be used to reach people in our community. Pray for our 20-30 year olds as they continue to grow in Christ.

Puerto Rico!

 Sorry for the long delay in blogging. Life got busy the last couple weeks of February as I prepared to come to Puerto Rico. I am thankful God opened the door for me to come and teach for a friend who is getting married. I am teaching 3rd-4th grade. Some of the students I had in after school when they were in k4-k5. Many of my former students are still here.

I came down a week early thinking I would get a chance to rest up before beginning classes, but God had other ideas. Due to a teacher being sick, I ended up teaching 6-12th grades in various subjects. It was fun having some of my 1st and 2nd graders in the classes I was teaching.

The ministry here is very busy. The pastor is caring for two churches, so we have church on Sundays at 9 am in Humcao, 10:30 am -1pm in Ceiba, and then we have Wednesday night church in Ceiba and Thursday night church in Humacao. Saturday, we visit for the church in Ceiba. I was able to visit three boys who were some of my first students. I am very proud of how they have grown up. 

I am happy that although I still cannot speak a lot of English, I can understand enough to listen in church without needing a translator. I will be playing piano for the Wednesday and Sunday afternoon services in Ceiba. We had a good crowd at the Ceiba church on Sunday. Please pray that the Humacao church will begin growing, and that a pastor can be found to take over the work.

Please pray for the online Bible study I am trying to have for the young people from my church in Maine. I am hoping it will be an encouragement and help as they grow in Christ. I truly believe God is moving among the young people. Many of the great old preachers, teachers, and soul winners are dying off, and sadly the middle generation is failing in many churches today. We have seen young people across our nation and around the world who are interested in revival. I truly believe Christs return is very near.

Please continue to pray for healing for my mom. Pray for our church, Anchor Baptist that it will continue to grow through the outreach ministries we are starting.

Please pray that God will open doors for me to travel to England and Europe to complete trips that were cancelled in 2020.

Praise Report

 When I flew to Alabama three weeks ago, I was able to witness to several people on my flights. While witnessing to a young man named Cody, Jamie overheard our conversation, and turned around asking about Christianity and church. She said she had begun questioning if Christianity might be true because people hate it, but they do not hate other religions. Jamie said she had been praying that God would reveal Himself to her. We exchanged phone numbers, and I messaged her when I got back to Maine two weeks later. 

Jamie came to church last week and trusted Christ. She said that it had only been four days from the time she started asking God to reveal Himself to when she heard me giving the Gospel on the train. Today, Jamie brought her fiance, his parents, her sister and father to church to see her get baptized. Besides Jamie's family, we had eight other visitors. Another young man trusted Christ at the end of the service.

Tomorrow, we are kicking off our Crafternoons which will be a community craft time for ladies to gather and have fellowship. We are starting with four ladies from our church, and our prayer is that we can reach out to the community and gather in people who might not come to church but may still have an opportunity to hear the Gospel during these times. 

This coming Friday, I am hosting an activity for our young adults. I am expecting 6-8. I am hoping this will allow them to begin gathering for fellowship, and eventually they will learn to reach other people their age and bring them into the group. Winning souls is the ultimate goal of this endeavor.

In one week, I will fly to Puerto Rico to teach school for the last nine weeks of the school year. Please pray that there will be no weather delays for my flights, and please pray that God will bless my time in Puerto Rico. Please keep my mom in prayer during this time as she will need to have another care giver come in to help.

I have several special unspoken requests that need God's miraculous touch.

Alabama

 I decided to take a much needed break before I get ready to go teach in Puerto Rico. I came to Alabama to spend time with my youngest sister and get to know my nephew Colton better. It has been so much fun! He is turning one next month, and already he is running around, learned to jump this last week, and learned to do somersaults from daddy this week. He is a ham. We can already tell he will be sarcastic like the rest of our family as he does fake falls, fake coughs, fake laughs, and fake cries. He is a good baby overall and smile all the time.

I was able to share my missions ministry with Grace Baptist in Scottsboro, AL. I really miss the spirit of southern churches. I love the people in other churches I have been in, but there is just something about a good, old fashioned, southern church. 

Please continue to pray for my mom's health. She has several appointments coming up to talk about her hip muscle tears and some natural health things. 

Please keep our church in prayer as my dad continues to try to grow it to reach the community. Please pray as we try to restart our kids program. Pray for faithful workers and faithful kids, and pray that we can reach many more kids for Christ. Housing and cost of living is a big issue as well.

Please pray that everything continues the go well as I prep for Puerto Rico.