About Me

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Phenix City, Alabama, United States
I have been called by God to serve Him through ministry to the orphan children of Africa! I have just started this journey! My prayer is that God will grant me wings so that I may swiftly arrive on the field! Please pray for his guiding!

Monday, October 29, 2012

A LONG Summer....

It has really been a LONG summer and we are already into the fall.   So much has passed since I last posted in July.  During the summer I travelled to Jacksonville, FL and was provisionally accepted by BMFP (Baptist Missions to Forgotten Peoples).  This allows me to begin fund raising and part time deputation.  I travelled to Olar, South Carolina to meet with Pastor Hal Nichols and his family.  God had burdened Pastor Hal's heart to work with a group of Pastors from Liberia to build the Bomi Children's Rescue Village in Bomi, Liberia in Africa.  The end of August, after a summer in hospice, we lost my Dad.  What comfort and reassurance God has given us that he is "safe with Jesus now".  We laid him to rest in Nebraska the first of October.  So while I am not as far along as I had thought I might be, I can trust a sovereign God who knew all that was going to transpire and already has a plan for all of us!

A brief testimony of how God works, Pastor Hal had been in Liberia digging wells and conducting training when he became aware of this opportunity and said "YES" to building the orphanage.  On the flight home he was struck by the fact that he could BUILD the orphanage but had no one who could actually oversee and run the orphanage.  On my end, I am still praying about where and with whom God would have me serve.  My Pastor counsels after I have expressed frustration of closed doors to my offers to join other ministries in Africa that it would be good for me (and my "cavalier spirit") to find a "grass roots" ministry, something that I could be a part of from the ground up.  I am talking to Bro. Tim Clark from BMFP who mentions this Pastor from South Carolina that he knows who has been to Africa.  Bro. Hal arrives home and gets a call from Bro. Clark about this woman from Georgia who wants to work with orphans in Africa.  Did he know of any needs?  Bro. Hal said he sat in stunned silence on the other end of the phone for just a moment.  Bro. Hal and I then spoke and we have been working together ever since.  God has put together a tremendous team from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Iowa, each with unique skills and abilities and we will be travelling together in April of 2013 for 17 days to help the locals build the Bomi Children's Rescue Village. 

A few weeks ago, I was also able to do my first presentation as a missionary to my home church, Grace Baptist Church, in Columbus, GA.  What a humbling experience it was to stand before these awesome people and to experience personally their generous giving!  They took up a love offering to help with the expenses of the trip, the most immediate being the purchase of our airline tickets.  In order to get the best fair, we wanted to book as early as possible.  We had to purchase the tickets on Thursday, October 25th.  With the love offering and other giving I still needed $360.00.  Pastor Hal asked if we were ready to purchase the tickets on Monday.  I said "yes" knowing that God would provide the remaining amount, and he did.  EXACTLY that amount.  I found out that I had received about $260 through BMFP and then someone walked up to me Wednesday night at church and handed me $100.  God is so good and works such great things through his willing people!

Another VERY exciting development is that 2 people, who are very dear to my heart, are joining the team.  Ben and Hilary Shuler from Grace Baptist Church are going to travel with us to Liberia in April.  We are conducting a fundraiser pancake breakfast in a couple of weeks at Grace.  Please pray for this and for faith that God will continue to prove himself and confirm this calling by graciously providing for all our needs!

God bless and please KEEP PRAYING!