August has been quite the interesting month! I have had many great moments, along with some challenges this month. I have loved the trips I've been able to take to see family and friends and look forward to even more in the next few months.
I am so happy to report that I had my wisdom tooth successfully removed on Friday, with no complications. Healing seems to be going very well, which is a praise! Another huge praise is that I have spoken to the doctor again and he confirmed that the MRI looked very good. All muscles and tendons look fine and any that were injured have healed. The injury I still have is a fracture to the "greater tuberosity". I have learned that it is a small bump on the top of the humerus, which the rotator cuff muscle is attached to. It apparently was fractured by hitting the acromion (a bone above it) when my arm was jerked up. (I have definitely learned a lot about shoulders this month!) I believe it to be a total miracle that in that process the rotator cuff was not torn! In a few weeks I should see complete healing in my shoulder....what a praise!!
Through all of the little bumps in the road, God continues to amaze me with who He is. I've had such a hunger for Him and can't get enough of reading His word and listening to various sermons. He is teaching me so much right now. I am so thankful for Him putting such wonderful people in my life, as well as such a life-giving, truth-speaking church where I can grow in Him and fellowship with others.
Botswana is just a little over four months away!! It is time to start doing some serious preparations. I am heading to Seminole for a week to have my huge garage sale and then after that, it's Botswana preparation time in full gear! I have boxes to ship, paper work to complete, a plane ticket to purchase, a vehicle to order, things to research, and many, many prayers to say. January will be here before I know it!!
Support raising continues to go very well and I am incredibly humbled by the generous hearts of so many. At this time, there is only about 1/10 left to go in one-time financial support! This will cover my plane ticket, vehicle purchase, shipping costs, and various start-up costs when I arrive in Botswana. I am still needing a bit more in monthly financial support, but God has astounded me with His provision so far, so I have NO reason to doubt now.
Thank you so, so, so much for your amazing support, encouragement, and faithful prayers thus far. I'm excited because we've only seen the tip of the iceberg in all that God is going to do on this journey! I couldn't walk this journey out without you....please know how very appreciated you are!!
August 8 Update
It's been pretty busy this past week with lots of movement. Now that I am no longer in my apartment, I am staying in a few different places, depending on the day. I have been so, so blessed with people who have opened their home to me and offered a spare bedroom to stay in when needed. I am kind of "basing" out of the Jones family home: a beautiful home in the country, surrounded with hills and lots of greenery. This will be Hershey's home for the next two years, so what a blessing it is to be able to be there with him to help with the transition. The Jones family has been overwhelmingly welcoming and made me feel like another member of the family. On nights when I have to be out after dark, either to babysit or do something for church, I am staying with my friends Stacy and Nere in a spare bedroom they have graciously offered to me. Eventually we will set into a routine and I will be used to my two new homes. For now I do feel a bit tired of the moving around, but incredibly thankful for the ways God has provided for me. My mom also brought up the point that I will really appreciate when I arrive in Botswana and am kind of settled again into one place. I have learned through this process that "home" is a relative term, and truly our home is not on this earth.
For the rest of August I will be traveling to see friends and family and then will be back to work in September as I begin substitute teaching and regularly babysitting. I am also very excited at new things I will be doing at church and time to devote to Botswana preparations. I have been in contact with the LBOM office and we will begin working on the remaining paperwork this month. It's all beginning to feel very real!
I continue to seek your partnership in prayer for the healing of my shoulder. I have felt so much better recently, but the past couple of days I have been feeling more pain. I think I will have it checked out again, but I pray that it will heal naturally without the need for any more medical intervention. I am also getting a wisdom tooth removed next week, which brings with it some additional anxiety. Needless to say, I am continually praying for lots of healing and financial protection at this time.
My other request for prayer centers on a constant hunger for Jesus. May I never become comfortable or take my time with Him for granted. I want to be so hungry for Him that I can't help but spend time with Him and in His word. I sense that this new season of my life is really going to center on spiritual preparation, especially as I prepare for my time in Botswana.
I praise God for so many things. I have been keeping a list of blessings and am amazed at all the ways He has blessed me just in the past week! I encourage you to do the same when you have a minute. You will undoubtedly be surprised at all the ways He has been blessing you without you even really noticing. (At least that's what I am seeing in my own life!)
Thank you again for your interest, encouragement, support, and partnership. We were not meant to live this life alone, but to live in mutual encouragement and support of all the ways God is using us and directing us. How exciting to be living this life alongside each of you!
For the rest of August I will be traveling to see friends and family and then will be back to work in September as I begin substitute teaching and regularly babysitting. I am also very excited at new things I will be doing at church and time to devote to Botswana preparations. I have been in contact with the LBOM office and we will begin working on the remaining paperwork this month. It's all beginning to feel very real!
I continue to seek your partnership in prayer for the healing of my shoulder. I have felt so much better recently, but the past couple of days I have been feeling more pain. I think I will have it checked out again, but I pray that it will heal naturally without the need for any more medical intervention. I am also getting a wisdom tooth removed next week, which brings with it some additional anxiety. Needless to say, I am continually praying for lots of healing and financial protection at this time.
My other request for prayer centers on a constant hunger for Jesus. May I never become comfortable or take my time with Him for granted. I want to be so hungry for Him that I can't help but spend time with Him and in His word. I sense that this new season of my life is really going to center on spiritual preparation, especially as I prepare for my time in Botswana.
I praise God for so many things. I have been keeping a list of blessings and am amazed at all the ways He has blessed me just in the past week! I encourage you to do the same when you have a minute. You will undoubtedly be surprised at all the ways He has been blessing you without you even really noticing. (At least that's what I am seeing in my own life!)
Thank you again for your interest, encouragement, support, and partnership. We were not meant to live this life alone, but to live in mutual encouragement and support of all the ways God is using us and directing us. How exciting to be living this life alongside each of you!
End of one chapter and beginning of another...8/1/07
Today I turned my keys in to my apartment complex office and walked away from my home of the past six years. What a reflective time the last couple of days have been as I have finished packing up and clearing out all of my material possessions. I won't lie and say that this is easy because it certainly is not. But God is amazing! I have had many emotional moments as my comfortable, predictable life's been slipping away and I wonder, "Can I really do this?" The answer is always the same as I sense the sweet presence of the Lord: "Yes, with Me". The thing is, I cannot do it alone. How precious those moments are when I feel alone and scared in one minute and such a calming peace in the next. God is here and He is so real. He comforts me, strengthens me, cheers me on, and shows me parts of the big picture from His perspective. Every day, little by little, I am learning to die to self, to my human nature and to allow Jesus to fill me and reflect Himself through my life, showing His glory along the way. I am incredibly humbled right now. What a special privilege to be called a child of God...how incomparable is a life lived for and through Him. What else really matters? When all else is stripped away, He is constant. His love is so much higher and greater than any love we could experience on a human level. The joy He gives is unexplainable, especially when it coincides with times of trial. How is it possible to have such a complete joy and love in the midst of trials? Because in those times we draw closer to the Lord, seeking and grasping for something firm and unchanging. He shows us that whether all is going right in our world or everything seems to be falling apart, He is always the same, always the essence of peace, always the comforting embrace, always the giver of life, always the dispenser of joy, and always a love beyond all comprehension and compare.
Injury/Prayer request
If you know me at all, you know that I am a very clumsy person and tend to injure myself in the strangest of ways. Well, I have a new one to tell you about. As I was babysitting last night and going to put the baby down in the crib, I stepped on a toy and lost my balance. I reached out to grab the crib to stop us from falling (it didn't) and my shoulder took the brunt of the weight as I fell. I heard a pop and immediately knew something was not right. Thankfully the baby was fine, although a little shook up. By the grace of God, I was able to get ahold of a friend that happened to not be far away and had no evening plans. The dad came home to relieve me and my friend took me to the emergency room. After almost a couple of hours and a few x-rays, we determined that thankfully, nothing was broken. It appears that I have ligament damage and will wear a sling for a week. Here is where I need prayer and why I am writing about this on here....if after a week I still feel the same kind of pain, I will have to have an MRI done to determine if I damaged my rotator cuff. If that is the case, surgery will be needed. I am praying this is not the case and that my shoulder and arm will begin to heal themselves this week. I would so appreciate you joining me in prayer for a total healing and for nothing else to be needed. If any more would be needed to be done on my arm, there could definitely be some financial issues, so I am praying for protection over my finances also.
I know that God knew this would happen and He has good to bring out of it. I am having a hard time having to depend on others' help and am being humbled already in this area. I have to be out of my apartment on Tuesday, so the timing is not the best, but it could be worse. I have much to be thankful for already, namely such supportive people in my life willing to sit in the emergency room for a couple of hours with me on a Friday night, offering an extra room to sleep in, carrying heavy boxes to my car, helping to clean my apartment...and all this just hours after the injury. Thank you in advance for your prayers for a quick healing and for my eyes to be wide open for how God wants to use this for His glory in my life. I find comfort in knowing He'll never give us more than we can handle...if He's brought us to it, He'll bring us through it!
I know that God knew this would happen and He has good to bring out of it. I am having a hard time having to depend on others' help and am being humbled already in this area. I have to be out of my apartment on Tuesday, so the timing is not the best, but it could be worse. I have much to be thankful for already, namely such supportive people in my life willing to sit in the emergency room for a couple of hours with me on a Friday night, offering an extra room to sleep in, carrying heavy boxes to my car, helping to clean my apartment...and all this just hours after the injury. Thank you in advance for your prayers for a quick healing and for my eyes to be wide open for how God wants to use this for His glory in my life. I find comfort in knowing He'll never give us more than we can handle...if He's brought us to it, He'll bring us through it!
July 25 Update
So many great things to report! First, thanks to the help of some amazing people in my community group and my precious friend, Jen, all of my furniture and most boxes were loaded into a UHaul last Thursday. Another wonderful friend, Stacy, then drove the approximately seven hours with me in the truck and helped me unload all of the things. Just about everything I have has been either given to my sister (who just bought her first house!) or will be sold in a huge garage sale. There have been so many emotions that have come with this packing experience, but let me tell you what a joy and freedom I felt when I came up to my apartment after loading everything in the truck. It was wonderful! I feel like so much clutter and baggage from my life is now gone. I now have a week longer to finish packing little things and clean my apartment before moving in with a co-worker and her husband, who have graciously offered to house both me and my cat for the next few months. I have also been offered a couple of other bedrooms to stay in when needed, so I will probably bounce around some, so as not to be too much of a burden on any one person or couple.
The second praise is that my summer jobs are now coming to a close and the financial blessings have been amazing! I have been babysitting and doing summer school just about every week this summer. It's kept me very busy, but I've been blessed in many ways and am so thankful for those opportunities. After next week is completed, I will have some much needed time to visit some friends and family and just enjoy Andrea/Jesus time.
Lastly, I want to thank you for any prayers you have offered for my support raising. I just received an updated on the finances and it looks great!! I am so incredibly humbled and amazed at how God is using His people to provide in such astounding ways. Admittedly, with all the moving and changes going on right now, I have had little time to think much about the financial support raising. I believe that is just how God would want it, as He takes care of that huge task for me and proves His incredible faithfulness yet again.
Prayer requests
The second praise is that my summer jobs are now coming to a close and the financial blessings have been amazing! I have been babysitting and doing summer school just about every week this summer. It's kept me very busy, but I've been blessed in many ways and am so thankful for those opportunities. After next week is completed, I will have some much needed time to visit some friends and family and just enjoy Andrea/Jesus time.
Lastly, I want to thank you for any prayers you have offered for my support raising. I just received an updated on the finances and it looks great!! I am so incredibly humbled and amazed at how God is using His people to provide in such astounding ways. Admittedly, with all the moving and changes going on right now, I have had little time to think much about the financial support raising. I believe that is just how God would want it, as He takes care of that huge task for me and proves His incredible faithfulness yet again.
Prayer requests
- A smooth transition into my new housing arrangement beginning next week
- A peace and excitement with the teaching assignment at Okavango International School in Botswana. (I should find out the grade I will be teaching next month.)
- For my heart to be continually opened to new truths and revelations as I spend time in God's Word and for a greater understanding of my role in God's plan
- For daily reminders to pray for the people of Botswana and Love Botswana Outreach Mission, along with an ever growing love for them both
Change is coming! When all else changes and shifts, God is constant...He never changes or goes anywhere. Isn't there such joy and peace in that truth?
A couple of things...
Looking back over the past few blog posts, I realize that they are all kind of somber. I just want to report that although there is a season in my life ending, bringing with it many changes and definitely some mourning, I am also abundantly filled with joy in all that the Lord is doing in my life. He has surrounded me with His presence in an amazing way this summer. My times in His word have been so refreshing and full. I am more in love with Jesus today than I was yesterday. He continues to bring new people into my life who encourage me, spur me on, and challenge me to a deeper faith. I am amazed that He is so intimately involved in our lives and so longs to have a deep love relationship with each of us.
I want to also recommend a book to you if you haven't already read it. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom is absolutely incredible. I finished it in two days, even carrying it in my car to read at traffic lights. (Probably the first time I've actually been thankful for long red lights!) I highly, highly encourage you to pick up a copy of this book and experience God's amazingness through the precious lives of Corrie and Betsie Ten Boom.
I am a very blessed person and feel the love, prayers, and support from you who I am on this journey with. It's amazing and humbling to be a part of something so much bigger than us.
Bless you guys,
Andrea
Btw...I just added the comments feature to the blog.
I want to also recommend a book to you if you haven't already read it. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom is absolutely incredible. I finished it in two days, even carrying it in my car to read at traffic lights. (Probably the first time I've actually been thankful for long red lights!) I highly, highly encourage you to pick up a copy of this book and experience God's amazingness through the precious lives of Corrie and Betsie Ten Boom.
I am a very blessed person and feel the love, prayers, and support from you who I am on this journey with. It's amazing and humbling to be a part of something so much bigger than us.
Bless you guys,
Andrea
Btw...I just added the comments feature to the blog.
July 15 Update
"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12
Wow...what a very true verse! I would like to share how God has demonstrated His living and active Word in my life today.
I have spent much time the last few days packing and going through things, some that I haven't touched since I moved here six years ago. Needless to say, it's been quite a journey down memory lane. One particularly emotional activity for me was going through all my old cards from friends, mostly from when I lived in San Angelo. Most of those precious friends are no longer a part of my life. I understand about life's changing seasons, and how some friendships also change with those seasons, but I still became a bit emotional about those friends who I've lost touch with and are no longer a part of my life. I was writing about this in my prayer journal with the Lord this morning, feeling some sadness about those lost relationships, when I looked to the bottom of the page and read this verse: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!" Isaiah 43:18-19
On top of this, I have really been battling some fear and faithlessness over the past couple of days, allowing my human mind to question whether things are really going to work out for these next six months when I am essentially homeless and don't have clear direction on what God wants me to do. I have somewhat of an idea, but certainly nothing firm and for sure. That definitely brings anxiety to me and my "predictable, comfortable life" self. I was thinking this morning, "So this is what walking by faith really means. Taking that step out of the boat, blindfolded and trusting God's role as shepherd to lead me each step of the way." Along with, or maybe because of, the recent doubt I've been battling, I feel like various little trials have been put in my path, things that threaten to strip me of daily joy. Well, as I sat down with my Bible study today, I was amazed that the whole study was about God as the gardener, sometimes pruning our lives, cutting away things that do not draw us closer to Him. Sometimes this is painful, but it must be done for us to stay on the path with Him. One of the verses in the study is one that always gets me: "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4
Hmm....I agree that God's word is living and active and that He is using His precious word to remind me of His closeness and guidance, even when I feel alone, even when I can't see the next step I'm about to take, even when my doubt clouds out the truth of His faithfulness. May my mind be transformed and my faith strengthened as I lean on His word and His ever comforting Presence.
Wow...what a very true verse! I would like to share how God has demonstrated His living and active Word in my life today.
I have spent much time the last few days packing and going through things, some that I haven't touched since I moved here six years ago. Needless to say, it's been quite a journey down memory lane. One particularly emotional activity for me was going through all my old cards from friends, mostly from when I lived in San Angelo. Most of those precious friends are no longer a part of my life. I understand about life's changing seasons, and how some friendships also change with those seasons, but I still became a bit emotional about those friends who I've lost touch with and are no longer a part of my life. I was writing about this in my prayer journal with the Lord this morning, feeling some sadness about those lost relationships, when I looked to the bottom of the page and read this verse: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!" Isaiah 43:18-19
On top of this, I have really been battling some fear and faithlessness over the past couple of days, allowing my human mind to question whether things are really going to work out for these next six months when I am essentially homeless and don't have clear direction on what God wants me to do. I have somewhat of an idea, but certainly nothing firm and for sure. That definitely brings anxiety to me and my "predictable, comfortable life" self. I was thinking this morning, "So this is what walking by faith really means. Taking that step out of the boat, blindfolded and trusting God's role as shepherd to lead me each step of the way." Along with, or maybe because of, the recent doubt I've been battling, I feel like various little trials have been put in my path, things that threaten to strip me of daily joy. Well, as I sat down with my Bible study today, I was amazed that the whole study was about God as the gardener, sometimes pruning our lives, cutting away things that do not draw us closer to Him. Sometimes this is painful, but it must be done for us to stay on the path with Him. One of the verses in the study is one that always gets me: "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4
Hmm....I agree that God's word is living and active and that He is using His precious word to remind me of His closeness and guidance, even when I feel alone, even when I can't see the next step I'm about to take, even when my doubt clouds out the truth of His faithfulness. May my mind be transformed and my faith strengthened as I lean on His word and His ever comforting Presence.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)