Scripture to pray over our team

Well, I did end up catching the flu. On Thursday, Jeff, Annye, and I were all three down for the count! Today (Sunday) was my first day to venture out of the house again. My strength is definitely not back, but hopefully the worst is over.

Many of you have shared that you are praying for our trip. Today in worship, I heard the passage of scripture that I would ask for you to pray for our team. Here it is with some minor word changes to fit our team:

"Pray for us that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ...Pray that we may proclaim it clearly, as we should."
Colossians 4:3-4

Although I very much do want us to stay healthy and have safe travels, this verse embodies the reason we are going...to shine the light of God in a dark land.

We had our last training meeting today. We are prayed up and ready. Our church is commissioning us Wednesday night, and then we head to the airport Friday morning. We are grateful and in awe of the opportunity that lies before us.

A Tribute to Suzanne Henry

Suzanne fought the good fight; she has now finished the race; she kept the faith. She has been awarded her crown of righteousness. (2 Tim. 4:7-9)

This morning, Sept. 26, Suzanne was freed from her battle with cancer and welcomed into the arms of Jesus in heaven. I am just one of more than can be counted that have been blessed by Suzanne in more ways than can be named. I praise God that He allowed me the honor of loving and being loved by Suzanne.

She set an example for us all to strive toward. She left a hole here that can't fully be filled, but we are so very thankful she is no longer suffering.

To Greg, her husband, and Katie and BJ, her children...We love you and pray for you as you face this tremendous loss.

Here is the link to her Caring Bridge site if you'd like to learn more about her life: http://www.caringbridge.org/co/suzannehenry/

Thanks, Gretchen, for showing us what true friendship looks like with your friendship with Suzanne. Thanks to Amy, Terry, Melanie and the others who kept us connected with all the details of Suzanne's health after she moved to Colorado.

My Burmese Friends

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

We had another great Thursday with our Burmese friends. Kelli joined our team this week and allowed us to do even more personalized teaching. I took my camera this week and wanted to show you how beautiful my friends are! Some of the families went and put on their traditional clothing for the family pictures. Each week we meet new faces and learn more about their life.



Several of you have said you'd love to help, but that Thursday afternoons don't work with your schedule. One big need is providing transportation to and from doctor's appointments and the grocery store. If you'd like to help in some way, let me know and I'll hook you up with Donna, who is from our church and has worked with the Burmese for 3 years. We'll also need help arranging the "store" for them to be able to pick out winter clothes. Donation boxes will be available at church next week.

Transportation Plans

Actually getting to the mountains will probably be one of the most difficult parts of the journey for me. We'll have 20 hours of flight (15 consecutive on the second flight) followed by an overnight train trip, an hour bus ride to sight see a holy area and then a 3 hour bus ride to the mountains. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep on the train and plane, even though it's usually very difficult for me.

I have reached my fitness goal, so now I'm just mixing it up to keep it interesting. I tried the pool and then the stairs with weight. With the way my legs feel, it's a combination I don't plan on repeating before the trip!

I've been experimenting with different portable protein sources, such as bars, powders, and beef jerkey. So far, I've found more that I dislike than like enough to take. If you have any suggestions...please pass them on!

Our next meeting is at the local Indian restraunt. If you've been reading this blog since the beginning, you know how much I love their food (ha!). While there, we're going to be sharing our testimonies with each other and practice sharing the gospel. We will share in the Lord's Supper together at the following meeting.

I've made pretty good progress on the missions curriculum I'm putting together and have been brainstorming ideas for the mentoring kick-off. Things are flowing fairly smoothly at this point!

Pre-trip prayer requests

We're at the one month out mark for our trip, and I am definitely feeling the pre-trip busyness that comes with trying to get everything ready to go, and doing what needs to be done to keep things running smoothly while I'm gone, and getting things completed so I'll be ready for the activities that hit soon after I'm back.

Here are some specific requests:
1. My family. As of this coming week, all of our regularly scheduled events in our lives will be underway...we'll officially be back in "our routine." Please pray that we will not allow commitments/ministries/homework etc. to rob us of peace, joy, and love in our home.
2. I'm part of a team that will be teaching missions to grades K-5 on Sunday nights at church. Our first week is Oct. 14 (we're scheduled to get back Oct. 12). Please pray for me to have wisdom, creativity, and an understanding of age-appropriateness as I prepare the lessons.
3. Our women's mentoring orientation and kick-off are Oct. 21 & 28. I am overseeing the kick-off on the 28th and would like to have everything in place before I leave.
4. Mentoring relationships. I want to approach each relationship both before the trip and after prayed up and prepared.

Thank you for praying.

Have you checked them out?

If you've never taken time to browse through the links to the missionary blogs I have posted on the side of this blog, I would highly encourage you to check them out. It is really fascinating to get an "up close" look into another culture from the eyes of missionaries who are living and serving there.

I also feel it is so vital that our missionaries have our prayer support, and you can often get very specific and personal requests off these sights. Every missionary that I know considers their prayer warriors as a vital part of their ministry.

I'm sure there are times you feel overwhelmed in your job, even if you are a stay at home mom like me. Imagine being in a situation where you may the only missionary for a million people. Not only that, but you are learning a new language and a new culture, not to mention being physically separated from family and friends and most things familiar. Imagine not having other believers to worship with and study God's word with....these are things that are common among many missionaries. These faithful servants are lights in very dark places. They are prime targets for Satan's attacks...he does not want the darkness pierced by the light of God's love. They need us to know them and love them and pray for them and the people groups they are serving. Their blogs are a great way to "meet" them.

You probably wonder why there are no links to those we will be going to serve with in India. It's because their sights must be password protected for their personal safety as well as the safety of those nationals who believe. Some amazing things are happening there though. If you'd like to be able to read these sights, please e-mail me and I can pass on information to allow you to request permission to be allowed on these sights.

Have fun learning about these missionaries!

Hard....Redefined!

Many of you ask me how the physical aspect of my training for the trip is going. I've been in the gym 5 mornings a week with Tuesdays being my stadium stairs day. My first definition of hard was simply doing the steps! I was determined to keep going back and get better at this!

Thankfully, Kasey Jo, a teammate, became my stair climbing partner. After several times of hitting the stairs, I realized I needed to go to a new level, since our hiking would be much longer than the 25 minutes or less it took us to complete the stairs. So I added 2 miles on the treadmill at full incline before I hit the stairs (new hard). Then I added my pack with 20 lbs. to the 2 miles on the treadmill at full incline (even harder).

I knew the real test was going to come when (IF) I added weight to my pack on the stairs. It seemed too daunting...until Thursday. I challenged Kasey Jo to bring her pack with weight (I figured it was my only hope of keeping up with her!) Needless to say, I didn't do the treadmill or my normal leg day beforehand. We finished the stairs across and back (with less conversation than normal), but it was HARD! Thanks to Tom Clancy and my water bottles, I ended up with my gear weighing 18 lbs...didn't mean to start that heavy, but I guess that's what you get when you weigh after the fact, not before!

Will I reach my goal of hitting both the treadmill and stairs with a weighted pack on the same morning? Only time will tell (and I only have about a month left!) I have realized that the mere act of setting goals has brought me much further than I would have ever gone - even if I don't quite get to where I want to be!! Thanks, Kasey Jo, for faithfully meeting me and helping me meet my goals!

Pictures from Africa

Jeff's trip went well in Africa. Twelve people were saved the morning he preached. The missionaries were encouraged and lots of great relationships were formed. People remained healthy and they were able to enjoy some beautiful scenery. Hope you enjoy the photos!