Its the Final Countdown! :)

ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! I will fly out to NewYork and then have my checkout with AIM on Monday. My departure to Kenya will be on August 9th around 6:00 pm.

God has been so gracious to supply all my support needs. He is so faithful. I am also so thankful for the special times He has given me with some of my family and friends these last two weeks. I know He will continue to be with me this week as I pack and get ready to say "see you later" to so many people. Today at church I was reminded from Judges 6 how our Strength is found IN the Lord. How He is WITH us. Just like He promised Gideon when he would be going up against a huge army with "just" 300 men. But God knew what He was doing when He told Gideon to send those men home. It was a chance to see God's power and Glory shine! It was such a great reminder to me of where my strength comes from and I am so thankful for God's presence and care in my life.

Will you please be praying with me:

Time management.. I have so much to do with packing and finishing up my last Bible class before I go. I need to be wise with how I spend that time.. But I also want to make the most of the last days with family and friends.

My Grandpa has been having some chest pain and is having trouble with his physical heart.. We are also praying for his Salvation! Please join my family in praying that God would work in his heart to soften towards the Lord.

Also, could you be praying for baggage and smooth connections? There is always the potential for difficulties with airlines on baggage allowance and lost luggage.. I want to remember that these things are not what is most important and that God will get what He knows I need there. Thank you for your love and prayers!

Next time I write it will probably be from RVA! :) I will have new staff orientation for the first 2 weeks or so before my 9th grade girls will join me in our dorm. I am so excited for what God has planned. I am so blessed that God has allowed me to have a part in this work.

Serving with you!

Amy

change of plans. :)

July Update

WOW.. I have often heard and seen how God’s timing is not my own but I guess God wanted to remind me of that again. J AIM called me on Friday to see if I would be willing or able to leave in August instead of waiting to leave in October. They usually only send people out certain times of the year so that incoming missionaries can attend an African Based Orientation for 2 weeks upon arrival in-country. Our stateside director was talking to the director at RVA and they were hoping I could come and be there for the start of the school term. SO. Since I told the Lord I was willing to go whenever He wanted me to go, I prayed about it this weekend and talked to my family about it and God gave me a peace that now was His timing and He even confirmed it by providing ALL of the support I needed. I am FULLY supported in my outgoing and my monthly pledges. I am so thankful. God is my ever-present, Jehovah-Jireh (my provider) and what a blessing it is to trust Him and see His faithfulness to complete and enable for what He has called me to do. I am also so thankful for the partners He has blessed me with in ministry in all of you as I know that I would not be able to go without you being willing to allow God to use you in your prayers and financial support. So asante sana (thank you very much) J

Please be praying with me that God would be preparing me to have a willing and flexible heart for whatever He calls me to do while in Kenya at RVA. I am so excited to meet the 9^th grade girls I will be living with in the dorm called KeDong and to start building relationships with them.

Also, I now only have 3 weeks to finish preparations! I am confident that God will provide the energy and time since He has opened the doors for an early departure. Please pray for wisdom in getting things finished on my outgoing to-do list and for smooth transitions. I will fly to NewYork where AIM’s HQs are and then leave from NY to Nairobi on August 9^th.

Please pray for special times with family and friends before leaving. It is never going to be easy to say Goodbye, but God didn’t say it was going to be easy. I know I can lean on Him fully for His strength and grace that He has promised us in His word. I am SO excited to see the ways God will work in all of these requests.

How you can help: Since I am going to be a “mom” for these girls, it has been suggested that I should stock up on fun treats that teenagers enjoy that are harder to get over there in Kenya.. some examples are kool-aid packets, ranch packets, small gifts for birthdays, hard candy, etc.. (anything that is lighter weight and non-perishable, or at least will travel well J ) If you would be interested in contributing to that sometime the next 2 weeks, please let me know by email or giving me a call to make arrangements. (my cell is 317-506-0231) amyjarr@gmail.com

“Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” Psalm 33:20-22

Serving with you,

Amy

June Update :)

June Update for Kenya

Hello my friends! Well this last month has been quite crazy. J The beginning of May my oldest brother Pat and his family of 14 moved into our house in Zionsville for a 3 week stay while waiting for the move to Colorado Springs where my brother has a job with Challenger homes. It was so special to have that extra time with them before they moved. My oldest niece, Elissa, graduated from High school! And we also enjoyed my nephew Austin’s kindergarten graduation program. J Elissa will be going to Uganda at the end of July to serve with Sufficiency of scripture (SOS) ministries for 6 months! Please be praying for her and the tribe as this time of separation will be a new step for their family. Also pray for her safety and that her heart would be willing to serve in whatever way God calls her. I was able to join the Tribe on their westward journey for a week before coming back to take care of the Zionsville home. My Dad is currently on the Amazon with my brother-in-law Chris Gordon. They are serving on a medical boat with Samaritans Purse. They are due to arrive home June 18^th late at night. We don’t expect to hear much until then, they said something about limited access to the internet on the Amazon. J

God has really been working in my heart as the time for departure gets closer and closer. I was expecting that I would be leaving in July, but because of support not being at 100% I am now shooting for an October departure. I am resting in the fact of knowing that God’s timing is perfect! I am confident that He will provide in just the right timing. Please continue to be praying with me for the rest of the needed funds. I am at a little over 100% for outgoing but still at 82% for monthly. There are so many times when I take my eyes off the Gospel that I start to get discontent or question the timing of what is happening. Then God is faithful to remind me of His timing and that I can rest in His sovereignty. His plan is perfect! I am reminded of this verse.

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” (Lamentations 3:21-25 ESV) I can live each day with confidence in Him, resting day by day in His faithfulness.

I am working on getting Bible classes done slowly but surely. Please be praying for diligence with my schedule. I have many things to do on the outgoing list AIM gives us to help with preparations. Also if you could be praying that I would be able to find some sort of job until I leave. The jobs I was working are mostly school-year responsibilities so they have pretty much ended now. If you have anything that comes to mind, feel free to let me know. J

As always, I would love to hear from you and be praying with you about anything you might want to share. Please feel free to email me with any prayer requests or even something God is teaching you. It is always so encouraging to hear how He is working.

Serving with you,

Amy Jarrett

April Update :)

Dear Friends and family,

I hope you have all been well! I can’t believe how quickly the weeks are going by, it is already the end of April! J The end of March and early April were big travel times for me. I was able to go to Colorado with my oldest brother Pat and niece Elissa to see where they will be moving to at the end of May. Elissa and I were blessed to enjoy some beautiful hiking around the Colorado Springs area. Then a lot of the Indiana family headed south to enjoy spring break at Jon and Sharon’s in South Carolina. The times that God has blessed our family with are so precious. On April 17^th we got to have a family party and Easter celebration with the whole family together since Laura and Keisuke Noguchi (my twin) was in town.

The spring season is so beautiful with the flowers blooming and the trees and grass turning green. It’s a great reminder of the new life we have in Christ. The Old has gone, the New has come! It also reminds me of Christ’s greatest love and sacrifice. He humbled Himself to become like us so that He might take on the punishment we deserved in our sin. But He didn’t stay dead, we serve a living Savior!!! He conquered death and sin on the cross and Rose again victoriously. Hallelujah! “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” Col 2:13-15 (ESV)

Preparations are coming along well for Kenya. When I was in South Carolina I was supposed to share about the ministry I will be involved with at RVA to Sharon’s Bible study group. The night before it was supposed to happen it stormed and the power was knocked out so they had to cancel the meeting! Then I was going to share with Jon and Sharon’s Sunday school class on Sunday and ended up getting the flu bug that was passing around our family! My brother Jon and sister Becki were gracious to share a video presentation about RVA and I trust that if God wanted anyone to be involved from that, He could use those ways of communication. God doesn’t need me to do His work; He just blesses us by letting us be apart of it! Satan might try to thwart the effectiveness of ministry that he knows God has planned, but God is Sovereign and all-powerful. His plan will always go through and in His perfect timing so that His name is Glorified. I am still working on Bible classes and trying to be diligent about making time for those.

I am so thankful for all of you and your prayers. Prayer is so important. “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”

(2 Corinthians 1:11 ESV) Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:16 ESV)

Also, God has been faithful to provide financial support through many of you. I am about 90% on outgoing funds for Kenya however, I have only about 40% pledged for monthly. AIM requires that we be 100% of pledged monthly support one month before our departure date. (June for me) If I don’t have that, I will have to wait till October for the next departure date. I am thankful and resting in the fact that God is faithful and the Great Provider. He will provide the money when He wants me to go. Please be praying with me that God would make that clear and provide in His timing.

I would love to hear from you what is going on in your life or what you have been learning from the Lord. Please feel free to email or facebook me if you have any prayer requests!

Serving with you,

Amy Jarrett

March Update :)

Kenya update, March 2011 Amy Jarrett

Salamu kwa Jina la Bwana! (Greetings in the Name of the Lord!) J

I can’t believe it is already March!! How is the time going so quickly? The last month has been busy with just normal life. I am still working part time with St. Vincent at the International School of Indianapolis. I also have started house cleaning for a family twice a week and continue to help out my family twice a week. The Lord has been so good to give me lots of opportunities to enjoy my family and friends. I am so blessed and want to make the most of my time here with them. I have been able to continue working on my online classes. I am studying the New Testament and its history right now. What always amazes me is how living and active God’s Word is. That even though it was inspired and written thousands of years ago, it is still applicable and transforming lives today.

July is quickly approaching, and I am continuing in my preparations for leaving, Lord willing, July 14^th. I am so thankful to the Lord for his provision through dear friends like you. Please continue to pray for me as I continue in partnership development for the ministry at RVA. I am at about 33% of the needed monthly pledges and about 75% of the outgoing funds. I need to be 100% pledged by June for AIM to allow me to go to Kenya at the proposed date. Also, could you be praying for me as I find ways to connect with other churches in this partnership in ministry? The Lord is so good, and I know His timing is perfect. I trust that He will provide when He wants me to be there. Thank you so much for your continual prayers for me. I am so thankful for all of you. If you are part of a group or even if you would like to go out for coffee and hear more about what I will be doing at RVA specifically, I would love to do that with you! Please just send me and email and let me know and we will make it work. J Also, please email me if you have anything you would like me to be praying specifically for you!

At my home church, Castleview, we have been learning from Philippians. Paul’s prayer for the fellow believers is what I pray for you. That our love would grow for the church, the body of Christ, and that we would have unity that comes from the joy we share in our salvation! I pray that we would grow in our knowledge of Him and that we would have discernment in the relationships that God puts in our lives.

Philippians 1:3-11 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Specific Prayer requests:

-the Lord’s continual provision for support and building relationships with other churches

-time management for Bible classes

- please continue to pray for my Dad.. The Lord has been so good to give him strength for the heavy work load at Kijabe hospital.. He also has several opportunities for serving at Tenwek Hospital later this year and will need wisdom for what to do with our house if it does not sell.

- heart preparation for serving these young women I will be living with at RVA.

Asante Sana marafiki! (Thank you so much friends)

Serving with you,

Amy

update! :)

Dear friends and family, January 18, 2011

Thank you so much for your prayers and support of me. I am so encouraged to see how the Lord is answering prayer and working in my heart as I prepare for serving Him in Kenya at RVA. Our family was able to enjoy such a special time together over the holidays. The anniversary of my Mom’s home going to her Savior is coming up in a few days, and it has been especially hard the last few weeks with missing her. But God is so faithful to encourage me and my family with special memories of our times together, through the love we share, and that the family of God continues to pour out love and prayers for us. So thank you for being part of that! I am sorry it has taken me so long to get an update out; I will try to make sure that does not happen again. J

Update on Kenya plans. I have sent in all the paperwork and needed applications for visas and passport info. The Lord has been faithful to provide financial support too and I am excited to see how He continues to work in that. I still need about $4,000 outgoing funds and about $1,500 in monthly pledges. Please be praying with me that in God’s perfect timing the money will come in and I would be able to leave in July as planned. I found out last week that July 14^th is (Lord willing) the day I will fly out from Newark, NJ . (We fly out from the AIM headquarters) There is a big group of outgoing missionaries flying together to Nairobi where we will participate in a 2 week African Based Orientation. Many of the friends I met in August at the AIM candidate week will be going at that time. We are all so excited about the fact we will get to take this step together. The Lord is so good to provide these relationships within the family of God that help to encourage each other and also ease some of the pain that happens with leaving behind loved ones.

I would like to share with you something the Lord has been teaching me the last couple months in the hope that it will encourage you and you will be blessed through it like I have been. God has been teaching me about the importance of living a Gospel centered life. Where I recognize that living my life with the Gospel at the forefront of my life is always how it should be. One of the ways I have been blessed in learning this is in my relationships with fellow believers. I have been encouraged in my walk with the Lord as I have been reading through the Bible with my church this last year. One of the things I found so encouraging was having conversations with friends about these scriptures. Or about things God had been teaching us. I have found that hearing other’s perspectives and what God is working on in their hearts has encouraged me and challenged me to seek out God’s truth for my own life. I think that when we are having these Gospel centered conversations it is a taste of the riches that Christ promises us we have a share in and we get to participate in the blessings that come with that.

· Hebrews 10:23-25 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

· Also in Ephesians 4:12-16, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no-longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

I hope you are encouraged by what God has been teaching me. I am so thankful for you and pray that God will bless you as you go about your life in this New Year. I am thankful for your friendship and love. Please let me know if there is anything specific I can be praying about for you.

Prayer requests:

-My family as we miss my Mom and remember her home-going.

-heart preparation as I realize the time is coming quickly when I will have to say “goodbye” to my family and friends for a little while. (or a long time depending on how you look at it!! J)

-financial support to come in God’s timing

-diligence for me to get working on the Bible classes I need to take online this spring.

-My dad is in Kenya for 3 months serving at Kijabe. He is already missing the family so please be praying for comfort and also strength as he adjusts to new surroundings and new challenges that come with working at a new hospital in Kenya.

Thank you my friends!

Love,

Amy

Prayer letter!

Hey there! Wanted to put this up on the blog. I will be sending out hard-copies to many of you, but wanted this to be here in case you don't get to see and wanted to. :)

Dear Friends and Family, October 12, 2010

I want to start off by thanking you for your love and support over the years. Each of
you has been a blessing in my life. Your friendship and prayers mean so much to me. God has been working behind the scenes in my life this past year and is leading me into full-time missions. Mission service has been on my heart for a long time, and God has been making it clear that He has a new journey for me. I have been accepted to African Inland Mission (AIM) to serve at Kenya at Rift Valley Academy (RVA).

AIM’s mission statement is really important to me because its goal is to establish Christ-centered churches among all peoples of Africa. Since God has really placed a love for the African people in my heart, I feel this is a very important goal: that God’s Gospel would be shared with all peoples of Africa. People carry out this mission statement in many ways; one way is through support ministry, the area where I will be serving.

RVA is a Christian boarding school where missionaries from all over Africa send their children to receive the upper level education they can’t give them at home, while carrying out full-time ministry. These missionary kids (MKs) are given their needed education and at the same time are provided a place to prepare them for the transition after graduation to their country of citizenship where they may have spent very little time. While these kids are far away from their parents and homes, we want to pour out on them lots of love and support. I will be a dorm mom to high school-aged girls. I will be there to help give the girls a “home away from home” and support them.

Please be praying for me as I prepare to serve these girls. Please pray also for wisdom as I learn how I can best help them in this stage of their life. I think God has really blessed me with already having a shared experience with these girls. When our family went back and forth to Kenya, I had to leave a lot of my family and friends behind. Hmm, do you think maybe God was preparing me for such a time as this?

Right now I will continue working part-time with St. Vincent’s Sports Medicine as well as preparing for Kenya. I have many administrative issues like visas, permits, etc. to work out as well. I am taking some online Bible classes from Gordon-Cromwell, as well as reading books about how to best serve MKs. Lord-willing, I am going to leave in July, 2011.

God has been so faithful to provide for the financial aspect of His calling in the past, and I know He will continue to be faithful now. Will you pray with me that the needed funds will come in for
me to leave and set up a new home at RVA? AIM requires us to have $11,734 going-out funds. Also, since I will be fulfilling a two-year commitment for my initial term, I need to raise a monthly pledge support of $2,127.00 as well. If you feel led to assist in either of these two ways, you may send a check to my home address made out to African Inland Mission. Please do not write my name anywhere on the check, as that would hinder AIM’s ability to give you a tax-deductable receipt. Mail to: Amy Jarrett, 9906 E 200 South, Zionsville, IN 46077. AIM will then establish the mechanism for future support.

I am so excited to see how God provides and to take this step of faith towards where He is leading me. Thank you for being such a huge part of this ministry through your faithful prayers for me. I can’t tell you enough how important the role that “senders” play in God’s work for His Kingdom.

I have set up a blog online that you can follow for updates if you would like at http://ajarrett.blogspot.com/ . I will also start an email update. Please email me at
amyjarr@gmail.com if you are interested in joining my email team.

Serving with you,

Amy Jarrett