The seasons are changing rapidly. God has blessed with an autumn of glorious fall foliage, for which I am truly thankful since this is my last autumn in New England for a couple years, ;-) as I hope to be deep into the work in Nicaragua by this time next year!
2ND HALF OF OCTOBER:
The mid-October trip to the 2 churches in New York went so well. Thanks for praying. I was able to share about Nicaragua and what I'll be doing there SEVEN times in 5 days. It was great to share with children, with teens, and with adults in small group settings, one-on-one, and in large settings. Jonathan came with me and we were able to do some special music as well. God gave strength and guided in what to share during each presentation. Grateful for people at both churches who joined all of you by signing up to be prayer partners.
The children at one church drew pictures for the kids in Nicaragua and I just shipped the pictures out this week! :-)
It was super to visit with the pastors, their families, and with the people of both churches and hear about all that God is doing their lives. We also really enjoyed reconnecting with some of the people from our trip to Dominican Republic earlier this year, as 2 of the pastors from the DR were also presenting at both churches.
UPCOMING TRAVEL:
This Wednesday night (Nov 4) and next Sunday (Nov 8), I'll be in South Windsor, CT at Truth Baptist Church sharing with the teens and the young adults group about God guiding me to Nicaragua. Pray for me and the young people that God would accomplish what He desires through these events.
REMINDERS:
This past week I taped these Bible verses on the wall next to my bed as reminders: (Thanks to my "Irish Brother," Kevin Daly, for the reminder that worship brings victory. That worship is getting my brain to focus on a new narrative - God, not me or what makes me anxious.)
1 Timothy 1:14 "...and the grace of our LORD was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus."
Colossians 1:10 "So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the LORD, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."
SUPPORT-RAISING:
You may ask "so what is happening in the realm of fund raising?" Glad you asked.
GRAND TOTAL NEEDED: $76,609
-Money already received: 15%
-Promised monthly giving going forward: 23%
So I'm actually around 38% of the grand total!
I've started praying that God would raise up 120 families/individuals to be financial supporters whether they give monthly or all in one lump sum. Would you join me in praying for this? It has already been exciting to see who has gotten involved. So far I have 10 monthly supporters and 10 other families have given lump sum amounts. Thus 20 down and only 100 more to go! And in the last couple of weeks a few more have mentioned they are thinking/praying about it.
As to churches supporting me, I'd love to get 5 or more churches to be monthly supporters as well. Thanks to my home church I have 1 church signup already ;-) To date I've contacted all the churches in the region where I have a personal connection. So now I need to start calling "cold turkey." If you have a connection to other churches in the Northeast, I'd love to get their contact information!
LEARNING SPANISH:
I'm continuing to look for opportunities to expand my spanish learning and venues in which to practice it.
PRAISES:
1. Great visits with churches in NY.
2. New job going well (receptionist at University of Hartford - Hartt School - Hartt Community Division, where families come for music lessons)
PRAYER REQUESTS:
1. Meetings at Truth Baptist to go well.
2. Financial Supporters.
3. For a heart focused on worship not on myself or other things.