Wow… So it feels like I have taken a deep breath and suddenly it is almost February. Term 2 is “shorter” in length at 11.5 weeks compared to the 13 and 12 weeks of Term 1 and 3 respectively. That being said, while short, it is jam packed with activities and seems like not many days to rest.
Wanted to share a few prayer requests and praises as well as an update on some changes ahead.
Please pray for my twin, Laura, who is going to be induced tomorrow. This will be her 5th child! She is praying for a private room so she can rest and have Keisuke stay with her as last time she was in a quad. So thankful for this new little nephew to come. :)
Thank you for praying for my time at home. It was very restful and filled with lots of family time. It was wonderful to see many of you as well! I was so thankful to have time with the fam and most of us got to be together for Christmas which was really special. We missed my twin and her family and our niece Christina who live in Japan and Australia. It was as hard as ever to say goodbye but I definitely felt a strong pull to return to Kenya to be back with my girls and finish well. We have a little over 5 months left of their senior year and my last term here. I hope I am not surprising anyone with that news as I haven’t purposely withheld that, but my goal was to talk with as many people as I could in-person about this decision. The Lord has given me peace about finishing up my time here at RVA. I don’t know what the future holds but I do know that the Lord will show me in His timing and I am thankful for His faithfulness and I know that wherever I am, he will be with me and I have no need to worry. While there were many reasons that led me to praying about my time at RVA, I think one of the main ones was the need to be close by to family. After losing my brother last year, it has been a very difficult year for me emotionally and I think that it would be wise to have time to heal and be close. (Of course, my family seems to be spread out over quite a few continents anyway, but at least I would be close to some of them. :) )
I would appreciate your prayers for all my girls and I as we work through transitions. We all are having to think of the important “lasts” and being intentional to end well. I know my girls would appreciate prayers for the daunting tasks of choosing universities and for the Lord’s provision as they apply for as many scholarships as possible.
Wanted to share a few prayer requests and praises as well as an update on some changes ahead.
Please pray for my twin, Laura, who is going to be induced tomorrow. This will be her 5th child! She is praying for a private room so she can rest and have Keisuke stay with her as last time she was in a quad. So thankful for this new little nephew to come. :)
Thank you for praying for my time at home. It was very restful and filled with lots of family time. It was wonderful to see many of you as well! I was so thankful to have time with the fam and most of us got to be together for Christmas which was really special. We missed my twin and her family and our niece Christina who live in Japan and Australia. It was as hard as ever to say goodbye but I definitely felt a strong pull to return to Kenya to be back with my girls and finish well. We have a little over 5 months left of their senior year and my last term here. I hope I am not surprising anyone with that news as I haven’t purposely withheld that, but my goal was to talk with as many people as I could in-person about this decision. The Lord has given me peace about finishing up my time here at RVA. I don’t know what the future holds but I do know that the Lord will show me in His timing and I am thankful for His faithfulness and I know that wherever I am, he will be with me and I have no need to worry. While there were many reasons that led me to praying about my time at RVA, I think one of the main ones was the need to be close by to family. After losing my brother last year, it has been a very difficult year for me emotionally and I think that it would be wise to have time to heal and be close. (Of course, my family seems to be spread out over quite a few continents anyway, but at least I would be close to some of them. :) )
I would appreciate your prayers for all my girls and I as we work through transitions. We all are having to think of the important “lasts” and being intentional to end well. I know my girls would appreciate prayers for the daunting tasks of choosing universities and for the Lord’s provision as they apply for as many scholarships as possible.
The girls and I love our new Dorm Sweatshirts :)
Family night at the beginning of the term.
Family night at the beginning of the term.
My prayer for the future once I am back in the States is that the Lord would provide a job in some type of local ministry or that I would be able to get a job that allows me to also have time to invest in ministry. Thanks for joining me in praying for this.
Since I will have been on the field for a 2.5 year term I will be allowed to take a home assignment until December 2018. If my supporters are willing and able, I am allowed to receive support through December with AIM. When I get back in September to the States, my goal will be to reconnect, rest, and hopefully have a chance to share more about my term. During that time I will also start looking for jobs. I am so thankful the Lord has already provided a home with my sister, Susie and her family who have graciously offered me a place to stay. I know I am so blessed to have a family that would all quickly share their homes with me in an instant and I don’t take that for granted, as that is often one of the biggest stressors for missionaries going on home assignment or leaving the field. A praise connected to that is that the Lord has continued to supply my financial needs through many of you. Last year it didn’t seem humanly possible that I would be able to finish on the field through July even, but Praise the Lord I am fully supported through July now. I am blown away by the generosity of my supporters and so thankful for that provision.
Please continue to pray for peace in Kenya as ongoing conflict continues from the elections. Our superintendent just sent us an email and said, “The opposition candidate is still planning to be inaugurated as ‘the peoples president’ on the 30th of January. He is also calling for a massive demonstration on that day. Should the event go forward, it is likely to generate considerable tension and the potential for violent clashes between police and opposition supporters is high.” We have been told to not travel into town that day as well as the days following.
Please pray for a few of my dorm girls who are really struggling through some personal issues.
Please pray for boldness and courage for me to not shy away from difficult conversations with the girls. The Lord has laid it on my heart to share more with the girls about some patterns I have seen in their speech that is very culturally “correct” but is not in any way biblical. My hope is that I can help them see that just because culture says “truth” is one way does not mean it is right. Ultimately I pray that their hearts would desire God’s truth and learn to be discerning of what is culture and what is true even if it means you might be spoken against. I am studying “Gideon, Your Weakness, God’s Strength” with my Bible study group and was thankful for the reminder that the Lord has placed me here for a reason and He will equip me to do His will. I love this quote, “As mothers to our children, as employees in the workplace, as part of His body in our local church, or as influences in our communities, God has deliberately positioned each of us to be His representative, beckoning our ailing culture to Him-one person at a time. Yes, our calling will look different from Moses’ and Gideon’s. But no matter what God’s plan looks like in our lives, His hand is on us to wage war against the enemy within our spheres of influence.” Like the judges of the Old Testament, we are called to, “1. Unify the people of God. 2. Fight against the oppression of the enemy. 3. Operate by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. “ I loved that reminder of God’s empowering us in our weakness. My fear of confrontation and someone arguing with me in a group has kept me from speaking up. I have confessed that fear and am thankful for this wonderful reminder. Thank you for praying for me to follow through and study God’s word as I prepare to talk to the girls about this issue.
Since I will have been on the field for a 2.5 year term I will be allowed to take a home assignment until December 2018. If my supporters are willing and able, I am allowed to receive support through December with AIM. When I get back in September to the States, my goal will be to reconnect, rest, and hopefully have a chance to share more about my term. During that time I will also start looking for jobs. I am so thankful the Lord has already provided a home with my sister, Susie and her family who have graciously offered me a place to stay. I know I am so blessed to have a family that would all quickly share their homes with me in an instant and I don’t take that for granted, as that is often one of the biggest stressors for missionaries going on home assignment or leaving the field. A praise connected to that is that the Lord has continued to supply my financial needs through many of you. Last year it didn’t seem humanly possible that I would be able to finish on the field through July even, but Praise the Lord I am fully supported through July now. I am blown away by the generosity of my supporters and so thankful for that provision.
Please continue to pray for peace in Kenya as ongoing conflict continues from the elections. Our superintendent just sent us an email and said, “The opposition candidate is still planning to be inaugurated as ‘the peoples president’ on the 30th of January. He is also calling for a massive demonstration on that day. Should the event go forward, it is likely to generate considerable tension and the potential for violent clashes between police and opposition supporters is high.” We have been told to not travel into town that day as well as the days following.
Please pray for a few of my dorm girls who are really struggling through some personal issues.
Please pray for boldness and courage for me to not shy away from difficult conversations with the girls. The Lord has laid it on my heart to share more with the girls about some patterns I have seen in their speech that is very culturally “correct” but is not in any way biblical. My hope is that I can help them see that just because culture says “truth” is one way does not mean it is right. Ultimately I pray that their hearts would desire God’s truth and learn to be discerning of what is culture and what is true even if it means you might be spoken against. I am studying “Gideon, Your Weakness, God’s Strength” with my Bible study group and was thankful for the reminder that the Lord has placed me here for a reason and He will equip me to do His will. I love this quote, “As mothers to our children, as employees in the workplace, as part of His body in our local church, or as influences in our communities, God has deliberately positioned each of us to be His representative, beckoning our ailing culture to Him-one person at a time. Yes, our calling will look different from Moses’ and Gideon’s. But no matter what God’s plan looks like in our lives, His hand is on us to wage war against the enemy within our spheres of influence.” Like the judges of the Old Testament, we are called to, “1. Unify the people of God. 2. Fight against the oppression of the enemy. 3. Operate by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. “ I loved that reminder of God’s empowering us in our weakness. My fear of confrontation and someone arguing with me in a group has kept me from speaking up. I have confessed that fear and am thankful for this wonderful reminder. Thank you for praying for me to follow through and study God’s word as I prepare to talk to the girls about this issue.
Caring Community- Random groups by grades get together 3x a term. I host with my friends, the Kinzers this year and we have a great group of 7th grade girls. :) We joined another group and did country line dancing. We all had a blast!
Looking ahead briefly: Junior/Senior Banquet is Feb 16th! My girls are so excited to sit back and enjoy BQ this year instead of doing all the work like the Junior class is doing now (and they did last year). :)
Interim trips in March- I am co-leading a group to Uganda where we will focus on learning about “When Helping Hurts”. I can give you more details later, but for sure I am looking forward to finally rafting the Nile which has been something I have wanted to do since 1999 when I first came to Kenya and learned you could even do that! :)
Thanks for sticking with me in this mini book. :) I guess I had lots to think about when I finally set my fingers to typing.
Love to you all and please let me know how I can be praying specifically for you. I am thankful for you.
Serving with you,
Amy
Interim trips in March- I am co-leading a group to Uganda where we will focus on learning about “When Helping Hurts”. I can give you more details later, but for sure I am looking forward to finally rafting the Nile which has been something I have wanted to do since 1999 when I first came to Kenya and learned you could even do that! :)
Thanks for sticking with me in this mini book. :) I guess I had lots to think about when I finally set my fingers to typing.
Love to you all and please let me know how I can be praying specifically for you. I am thankful for you.
Serving with you,
Amy
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