Hey!
Just so everyone is on the same page, here is the new, easier, and far-superior system for online giving. Go to www.wycliffeassociates.org/links/donatenow
and then under "Name" write in my name. It will take you directly to my account for financial gifts. Sweet stuff!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
O Come Emmanuel
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
My departure date is only six weeks away! I will be flying out of Minneapolis on February 18 and arrive in Kathmanud on February 20. I am so excited – please pray for for my dear family as they say goodbye, again, to their daughter and sister. Please pray for me as well; for the heartbreak of saying goodbye to my family and friends, and health and safety as I embark on this journey.
There is much to prepare for: buying headlamps, cockroach houses (ish), extra laptop batteries and external hard-drives, a gazillion bottles of contact solution, long underwear, and much more as you can well imagine. Any further thoughts or suggestions on how to survive life in the Himalayas is very welcome! J
As we start the New Year, and wrap up Christmas 2010, I wanted to leave you all with a thought I had during our Christmas Eve candlelight service. We were singing the song “O Come O Come Emmanuel”, and I thought how fitting this song is for the people of Nepal who are still waiting to read and learn about the Messiah. I have taken the liberty to replace “Israel” with different Nepali tribes…
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Tamangs
Who mourn in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appears
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, people of Tamang.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse,
Free thine own from Satan’s tyranny
From depths of Hell thy people save
And give them victory over the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, o people of Gurung.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to Thee, o people of Thakali.
O come Thou Key of David come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, all peoples of Nepal!
Does it change your understanding of this beautiful Christmas hymn?
It did for me.
Blessings to you all in this New Year.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
And the excitement keeps building....!
Hello everyone!
There is much to update you on: first, I am only $75 short per month before I reach 100% full funding…HALLELUJAH! A heartfelt thanks again to each of you who have agreed to partner with me on this journey, both financially and through prayer.
Second, I have recently been informed that all translation work in the country I am headed to has been classified as “sensitive”, meaning that I have to be careful in what I reveal via internet about where and with whom I will be serving. Thus, from now on I will much more vague about the specifics of where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing.
This past week I was in Orlando Florida for an orientation and training at HQ. It was amazing: meeting all the different people who serve with WA and hearing their stories was so inspiring and rejuvenating…all I can say is that if I wasn’t excited to leave before I went to FL (hah yeah right) and am ECSTATIC about going abroad and joining this amazing work of communicating the Gospel in the heart language of the many different people groups in South Asia. In the area I will be serving, there are 128 different living languages – incredible! 89 of these languages have yet to have any portion of the Word in their heart language, while a mere 11 languages have the Word in its entirety. We have our work cut out for us, yes?
All in all, it was a fantastic week of balmy weather (80 degrees and sun all week!) and learning about all of the great work WA is doing, and that I will be a part of come February. If you would like more details about some of the amazing things I learned/discovered while there, please shoot me an email or give me a call (contact info is at the bottom of this page).
“And they sang a new song, saying “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; they will reign upon the earth.”
-Revelations 5:8-10
My contact information while still in the U.S.:
Phone: 320-295-1413
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Halfway there...
Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, batptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20, italics mine)
Friends and family, God is good: I am 50% funded, and halfway to leaving for Asia and service with Wycliffe Associates! However, I’ll admit – I am confronted by many fears. I worry about the details of creating a life for myself in SA (Southeast Asia). I worry about the abundant opportunities to build relationships with native people that I will lose due to cultural ignorance. And I worry that my youth and inexperience on the mission field will be more of an obstacle to God’s Kingdom work than I expect. It is easy to live here, in the comfort of home, and dream of all the glorious things God will accomplish through my service in overseas. Yet these dreams, as of late, have been overtaken by the many possible (and less idealistic) realities that may await me in SA.
And yet, God has clearly taught me that He is not confined or hindered by my lack of competence, talent, or ability. Rather, He is glorified in my weaknesses! This concept of glory through weakness has become so sweet to me – and I am sure it will become sweeter still once I arrive in SA.
As blows the wind through summer trees,
And all the leave are stirred,
O Spirit move as thou dost please,
My heart yields at thy word.
Faith hears thee calling from beyond
And doth respond.
What thou dost will-that I desire,
Through me let it be done,
Thy will and mine in love’s own fire
Are welded into one.
“Lord, I believe!” Nay, rather say,
“LORD, I obey”.
In order to follow God’s call, WA asks me to raise 100% of the expenses associated with my work in SA. WA expects this to be about $2500/month. If you are interested in partnering with me in this grand adventure financially as well as through following this blog, go to www.wycliffeassociates.org/links/donatenow. Under “Program” select “Other” and then enter my ministry account number: M10088.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Dear friends, family, and supporters,
I have officially settled back into life in Minnesota: the land of deep fried pickles, fudge puppies (yes, I did just visit the MN State Fair), mosquitoes the size of birds, lakes, and the infamous “Midwest accent”. For those of you who don’t know, I spent the last 12 months living in Reading, Pennsylvania serving as an AmeriCorps PACC*VISTA. While there I managed an after-school program for Hispanic children living in the city, and all I can say is that it was an AMAZING year. If you are ever in the Willmar area in these next couple of months, I would love to share more about it with you.
However, this blog is not to discuss my previous adventures in Reading. Instead, it is to share about a new journey God is leading me on….to….SOUTHEAST ASIA! Yes, Nepal. Due to work sensitivity in the country I will be living in, I cannot reveal any information about the details of where I will be, BUT I can tell you that it is a very small country, known for sherpas, Mt. Everest, and the Abominable Snowman (yes there have been a series of sightings...if I come across such a creature in my travels I will make sure to write all about it.)
I will be serving with an organization called Wycliffe Associates (WA), working as their Site Volunteer Coordinator. This position is currently vacant, creating a situation where the leadership team in Nepal wants me on site in October! My role will include the organizing and hosting of volunteers and work teams in order to speed and ease the translation process.
To read more about Wycliffe Associates, check out this website:
So, how do I feel about traipsing off to Asia all by myself? SO EXCITED!!!!!!!! Yes, it is somewhat terrifying to realize that in two months I will be traveling solo to a country I know almost nothing about, to serve a people I have never interacted with, to work with much more experienced Wycliffe personnel who have been in the field much longer than I, and to build a life that will most definitely look DRASTICALLY different from anything I have ever known. However, there is a freedom from all the worry, stress, and fear in knowing that this is what God has called me to do for the next two years of my life
In order to follow God’s call, WA asks me to raise 100% of the expenses associated with my work in Southeast Asia. WA expects this to be about $2500/month. If you are interested in partnering with me in this grand adventure financially as well as through following this blog, go to www.wycliffeassociates.org/links/donatenow. Under “Program” select “Other” and then enter my ministry account number: M10088.
Have a wonderful September J
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)