El Patron

Arepa, rice & beans, tostones, and avocado!!! So good!

FRIENDS!! :~}

Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, MO

My Favorite Boys on Christmas Morning!

Staying Encouraged...

Fall 2010 Update

Thanksgiving...

Since it is the Thanksgiving season, I think I would be remiss to not  let you know that I am thankful for you.  Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.  Thank you for your financial

support.  Thank you to those of you I get to serve the Lord with.  It is an honor to work side by side with you for the sake of Bible Translation and seeing hearts all over the world changed because they have scripture they can read and/or

listen to in their own language.  I am grateful for all of you!! 

What’s Going on in Dallas, TX?

Besides traveling to Spain in August and Kansas City the last few months, I have been busy in Dallas.  During the summer and fall we have dozens of High School and College students that volunteer on the Center to fulfill their Community Service and Service Learning requirements.  

We also spend a lot of time preparing for the next “Volunteer Season.”  Who is coming?  When?  What do they want to do?  What projects are we going to be working on this year?

One of the projects we are working on is the Pioneer Bible Translation  Building across the street.  We hope to have some of our volunteers working on their new headquarters, so they can get out of the triple-wide trailer that has been serving as their offices for the last few years.  They have been growing in leaps and bounds and have out-grown it.  Just a side note:  They had a youth group help build some of their walls.  As you can see in the picture on the bottom right, they left some “notes.”   The entire building is covered with verses and notes of encouragement.  They have “left their mark” on Bible Translation. :-)  See pics below!

 Prayer Requests:

1. Please pray for the volunteers traveling to Dallas, giving their time and resources to support Bible Translation with their gifts and talents.

2. For the team that leads the WA volunteers year-around, but especially during “volunteer season.”  There are many projects and many people to match them with.  Their names are: Randy (the boss), George, Denny, Janice, Dana, and me.

3. Financial supporters. I cannot do this alone. I rely totally upon

financial partners.

Praises:

1. The volunteers are coming in and enjoying their work.  God is placing each one where they belong.

2. The Spain trip went well.  It was a learning experience for all of us.

3. The team got along great the entire trip.

4.  Experiencing Bible Translation up-close and personal; seeing first hand what the Lord is doing through Bible Translation; and being a part of it everyday.

Information on how you can support financially:~

By Mail: Make check or money order out to Wycliffe Associates  and put my fund code “M08730” in the notes field. Mail to Wycliffe    Associates: P.O. Box 620143; Orlando, FL, 32862

Online: www.wycliffeassociates.org/links/donatenow.  Enter my name in the “name” box, click search and follow the prompts.

I Will Never Be The Same Again

This hymn we sang in church really represents how I feel about my trip to Spain. Just thought I would share. :~}

I will never be the same again,
I can never return, I've closed the door.
I will walk the path, I'll run the race
And I will never be the same again.

Fall like fire, soak like rain,
Flow like mighty waters, again and again.

Sweep away the darkness, burn away the chaff,
And let the flame burn to glorify Your name.

There are higher heights, there are deeper seas,
Whatever you need to do, Lord do in me.
The Glory of God fills my life,
And I will never be the same again.

Fall like fire, soak like rain,
Flow like mighty waters, again and again.
Sweep aways the darkness, burn away the chaff
And let a flame burn to glorify Your name.

I will never be the same again,
I can never return, I've closed the door.
I will walk the path, I will run the race
And I will never be the same again.
And I will never be the same again.
And I will never be the same again.

Last Few Days in Spain

The last few days in Spain, I had to myself.  The team flew home on Sunday, and I stayed until Wed morning.  On Sunday, I didn't do much except meander around the area and shop for souvenirs.  I had been sick and I just needed some down time.  

Monday, I took a tour bus around the city and saw the sights.  It was a pretty good deal.  You pay $20 and get on one of those convertible two story buses and they tell you all about the city and sights.  If you see something you want to do, the bus has scheduled stops at every major sight and you can get off.  Once you have seen what you want, you just catch the next bus that comes along and continue the tour until you are done.  Madrid is a beautiful city with a lot of history.  Below are a couple of picture of some of the city sights.

Well, the first one is of the bus....

Fun red tour bus...

Clock Tower in Puerta del Sol

I think this is the Ministry to Agriculture Bldg??

Fountain at Puerta del Sol

Below is a picture of Toledo, Spain. I went there with a friend that is a missionary in Spain the last day I was in Spain. If you ever go to Spain and are in the Madrid area....go to Toledo, especially at sunset. It was amazing! The whole time I was there I tried to get a picture that would capture how beautiful it was, especially when the sun was setting, but I couldn't. So, you are just going to have to go yourself! :~)

The city is on a hill surrounded by the river on 3 sides and a wall on the other. The two buildings that you see up above the city are a palace/castle and a cathedral. The religious history of this city is interesting, and worth hearing about. You actually cannot drive in the city because the streets are too narrow, so you have to park on the outskirts and walk around it. Trust me, you will get your exercise since the city is on a hill! I thought touring Toledo was the perfect way to end my trip!

Toledo, Spain

Spain Days 15-16 - I know, I skipped some. I will get back to those.

Hi!  Days 15 and 16 were filled with more travel, packing and unpacking.  We took a bus back to Cordoba, to hop a train to Madrid.  It was a WONDERFUL surprise every time we ran into people from the conference on Sat.  Many of us were taking the same route from Camp to Cordoba to Madrid, then flying out to wherever "home" is, just different trains and flights.

So we are in Madrid, the final leg of travel in Spain.  We went to the Catedral de la Almudena and Palacio Real.  Palacio Real is the Palace where the King and Queen of Spain used to live.  They don't live there any more, but do still have events there on occasion.  We got to tour 24 rooms.  It took us an hour....at a pretty quick pace.  There are over TWO THOUSAND (yes, that is 2,000) rooms in the Palace.  It was pretty amazing and beautiful.  The one thing that I thought was funny and out of place in every room was fire extinguishers.  They were everywhere!  You have all of this elegant tapestry, marble, gold, carpets, etc that are a couple of hundred years old, and a bright red fire extinguisher in literally every room, every corner, next to every table....

Royal Palace and courtyard in Madrid (Palacio Real)

We also walked around the Plaza mayor.  As soon as I walked through the "keyhole" into the plaza I knew I had seen at least one movie that was shot there.  I still can't remember what it is, but I know there has been at least one.  The plaza has an amazing and tragic history.  There have been bullfights, royal pageantry, fires, and events of the "gruesome Inquisition" (meaning they set up bleachers and the wealthy rented balconies while they performed hangings, and other executions). 

Plaza Mayor

This morning (Day 16) the team went back to the States.  I decided to stay a few days longer to sight see.  Since I haven't kicked this "allergy turned to cold" thing, I got up and had breakfast with the remaining team members, saw them off to the airport, did laundry, and went back to bed for a while.  I meandered around La Puerta del Sol for a few hours shopping for souvenirs, taking pictures, looking for some coffee, and at lunch watched the policia break up a fight at the cafe I was eating in.  I thought I was going to watch 4 people go tumbling down some marble steps, but the policia showed up before it got very violet. (yay)

Tomorrow, I think I am going to catch a bus tour of the city in the morning, so I can figure out what I want to do for the afternoon and on Tuesday.  I want to go to Prodo, and I want to see the arena where they have the bull fights....beyond that, I am not really sure. :~)   

I have skipped a few days of blogging, but they will have to wait.  I am processing a lot of things about the conference, the people, what I can and can't share, etc...   I thought the things that would touch my life from this conference would be all of the amazing stories I heard from the field.....and they were.  What really has touched my heart is just the people.  Not so much their stories, but who they are, how the Lord has worked in each person, the struggles they have that they were willing to share openly, the heart they have for what they do and the people they work with, and the sacrifices they make for themselves and their families.  I know I have not begun to sufficiently put into words what I am trying to say, because it is hard to.  Which is why I have skipped blogging about the last two days of the conference.  I need time to process what I learned, who I met, the incredible bond that came so quickly with some of the kids/parents, and those darn good-byes...  :~)

Spain Days 9-12

Hello!  Day 9 was Sunday and our day off.  We got to sleep in an extra hour, which we all needed.  We went to the pool for a while and relaxed and then took off for Cordoba.  (We are staying at a camp just outside the city).    We basically had time to do 3 things.  First we went to the Mezquita Catedral, which was a huge Mosque that was built several hundred years ago, then the king declared Christianity in the southern part of Spain and it was torn down and a Cathedral was built in it's place.  It is HUGE, and it is beautiful.

This is the back side of the Mezquita Catedral

The second thing we did was go shopping.  There were were many small shops just outside the Cathedral.  We also crossed the Roman Bridge which crosses the Guadalquvir River.  The last thing worthy of honorable mention that we did was try a Magnum Bar.  Most of them had not tried them, and deemed them worthy of the praise I had been giving them since the day they met me. :~)

Later that night we stopped for pizza at a little place in La Carlota.  Some of the toppings were a little different than what we have in the states.  One of the pizzas had pineapple, ham, onion and corn.  It was pretty good, but a little different.

Days 10-12 we were back with the kids, but not without some new challenges.  First, about half of us on the team woke up sick Monday morning.  We can only assume that the strong wind on Sunday blew "something" in that seriously affected our allergies.  There were sore throats, coughing and sneezing for all but 2 of the team members.  We also had a couple of kids under the weather.  We also had a few "extra" kids for a couple of days.  Two new ones on Monday, two more on Tuesday, and today we are back to our normal numbers.  Also the conference hours are longer part of this week.  Despite the changes, the new kids (that are GREAT), and the sickness; we are still in good spirits and doing ok.  We just tag team who gets to sleep in, in the morning and who gets the long siesta in the afternoon.

That is all for today....

We only have 2 more days with the kids and we are already starting to miss them.

Spain Day 8 - Saturday

I heard the most amazing testimony I have ever heard.  She is a wife, mom, translator, prayer warrior, and has learned a "certain type of alternative medicine" on the field and uses it as a open door to minister to women and tell them about Jesus.  She lives in a place where you could be killed for this.  Her testimony was very powerful.  She talked to us about her struggles trying to figure out her place in ministry while raising kids.  Her struggle to be willing to give up her life and her children's lives to serve Christ and translate for the people group they are working with.  There are more details I wish I could tell you about her testimony, but I can't put it here. It was definitely the highlight of my day yesterday.  Hearing a testimony like hers really challenges me to think about my faith and my willingness to serve God, wherever, however and whenever he calls.  I know I can be VERY selfish about my time and being "inconvenienced" by and for others.  I wish I could put into words the affect her testimony had on all of us!

Today's lesson for the kids was "Saved by Jesus."  The kids have been responding very well to the lessons projects, crafts, songs, etc.  One of the favorite activities for the older kids is "stacking."  We have a few videos that show them how, and they are already becoming experts.  I cannot brag enough on these kids.  While they are kids and the mess around and have their moments of being rambunctious and ornery, they are very accepting of the other kids regardless of age, culture, or appearance.  They are quick to obey, apologize for accident (like kicking each other....or me....in the head while diving for rings in deep end of the pool.:~).  I have talked to the parents and they seem equally surprised and one said she has noticed a quicker obedience in her kids as well over the last few days.  We know we didn't do anything, and they claim it isn't them....so we just agree that God is good!

All for now!  Day 9 (Sunday) is our day off and we are headed to church with the conf group and then into Cordoba for some sight seeing.

Spain Day 7

I wish I could post some pictures of these kiddies I am working with.  They are 21 months to 14 years old and some of the best kids I have ever worked with....and cute!  It is the teams habit to have dinner, devotions and discuss our "high point" for the day just before bed.  Tonight everyone had more than one high point and they were all about the kids or the devotion we had this morning (We have devotion time with one of the people that are attending the conference each morning.  They give us their testimony and basically tell us about the area they are working in.)

Our youngest child *Jay (that is what I am calling him on the blog) had a really rough day yesterday, but today seemed all smiles and giggles (except one melt down just before a nap).  Another one was, as we were talking about Jesus walking on the water and the disciples reaction, Dee (one of the teachers) asked, "how do you think you will feel when you finally see Jesus."  Our newest kid (started today) said, with his arms stretched out in front of him, "I would just look at him and say 'FINALLY!"  He is 7 1/2 years old....  It makes it so worth it when they run back to you to hug you goodbye, smile at you when the culture they live in doesn't really promote a lot of smiling, the parent tell you that they can relax because they don't have to worry about their kids being well taken care of, listening to the lessons, helping the little ones without prodding, and know some Bible stories better than you do.  All but one ,*Jay, know at least 2 languages....most of them 3 or 4.  This morning 3/4 of the group were "teaching" us how to count in Arabic.  I have come to the conclusion that some of the 5-6 year olds are smarter than I am.....maybe you and I combined. :~)

Food in Spain: I have talked about the fabulous ice cream we had in Marbella, but many of my meals since coming to Spain have been more of an adventure.  I don't know Spanish very well, so sometimes I have to guess.  Lunch at the camp is just whatever they serve you.  Yesterday for lunch....well....it was a car wreck.  It was the first official day of the conference, the big group was here and "someone" in the kitchen didn't plan very well.  You have two plates, drink, bread, and desert.  It was like they would walk over, get your drink order, come back a while later with your drinks, then come with the first plate and serve part of the table (out of 4 people), then leave, then serve part or all of another table, then collect your first plate (if you ate it), without serving the other people at the table, then one person at the table got the second plate, and was completely done before a couple more of us at the table got our second plate.  One person never got her first plate and finally left.  Then there was desert.....I was afraid at this point.  Plate 1 was Gazpacho (I am not a fan of thick cold soup that is a combination of vegetables blended to puree).  Plate 2 was sardines.....3 big ones.  I heard they were cooked on the sand, salted, peppered and served with shredded lettuce and tomato on the side.  It took us two hours to have lunch....  I did eat the Gazpacho (bread dumbed down the taste a little) and some shredded lettuce, and some desert that I can't pronounce, and was average at best.  It was like flan....but it wasn't flan.  I did take a teenie weenie bite of the sardines (because I think I should at least experience the yucky-ness).  Below is a picture.  If you like Gazpacho and Sardines...this meal would have been right up your ally.

To make up the the yucky lunch I had a MAGNUM bar for a snack later.  Magnum bars make up for all bad food in Europe!

Better get to bed....more kiddies tomorrow!  G'night!

Spain Days 3-6

Sorry for the delay.  The last few days have been filled planes, trains, and automobiles.  Ok, really buses, trains and automobiles…

Day 3 we were in Marbella.  In the evening we went swimming in the Mediterranean and ate some of the best ice cream I have ever had!  If you ever decide to hit the beaches in Spain you should know that on many of the beaches you will find a lot of speedos (on men), and tops are optional (for women).  For obvious reasons, there is no picture posted of our time on the beach.

Day 4 we got up EARLY and went to “La Roca” in Gibraltar.  It is beautiful.  The day was very clear and we could see Morocco, Africa across the Atlantic Ocean/Med Sea.  The picture here really doesn’t do it justice though.  We did a lot of traveling that day as well.  We rode in a car for an hour to Gibraltar, took the bus to the tram to go up on top, took another bus back to the boarder (it circled the entire city first – it was not our intention to have the city tour J), took the car and hour back to Marbella, took a bus an hour to Malaga, hopped a train to Cordoba, and a car to the “camp” we are staying at outside the city.  Got settled in and went to bed.  It was a long day.

(La Roca - in Gibraltar)

Day 5 was set up day.  We got all of the kids rooms set up for the conference, got all of the logistics figured out (as well as we could).  It was a bit of a frustrating day just trying to get everything ready and working with contingency plans b, c, d, e……z.  Since we don’t always know what to expect in another country, sometimes trying to plan can be “interesting.”J

Day 6 (today) flew by!  The conference started and we meet lots-o-kids and parents.  We had a great time working with them.  Our curriculum has a new lesson every day, and today was accepted by Jesus.  It is so appropriate for the first day working with the kids.  We discussed that everyone has different gifts and talents and God made them that way, and he accepts us that way.  We had puppets, skits, songs, crafts, and the pool.  Thank God for the pool!  I didn’t hear the exact temp today, but yesterday and the day before it was 107.  The kids are great and we are looking forward to tomorrow, getting to know the kids better and getting to know the parents and hearing about their work on the field.  

Spain Day Two (first full day - 8/8/10)

This, my friends, is called "Chocolate y Churros," and it is a fabulous dessert that is popular in Spain. Especially when you eat it with "cafe con leche." I recommend it to all!

Today has been a better day for all of us. We got some sleep and feel human again. :~) Today was our first full day in Spain. We took 3 buses to Marbella, where we are staying for a couple of days, and are settled in our hotel. We had lunch (at 4pm) on the beach, went swimming in the Meditarrenean Sea, and went to Los Naranjas Centre where we had dinner and the afore mentioned Chocolate y Churros. Dinner at 10pm and dessert at 11:30pm. That schedule is totally normal in Spain. You can barley find a restaurant open for dinner before 9pm.

Our last team member arrived from Budapest today, so we are a complete team now. Yay! Our team is the best! It is a great combination of personalities and gifts.

Please pray for our team for the next few weeks as we work together to serve and minister to Bible Translators and missionaries from countries I can't even mention. They work and live in areas most of us wouldn't want to, and in conditions I am sure most of us would never consider.

That's all for now....must sleep....it is after 1am here.  G'night!

Spain Day One (Sat - 8/7/10)

I thought I would start with something pretty....like the view from the balcony of our hotel out to the Mediterranean Sea. The picture doesn't do it justice.
Later we went and swam in it for an hour or so. It was a nice break after traveling for the last 24 hours. It has been a little bit of a rough start for all of us. We had all of the little annoying things like turbulent flights, maxed out flights, flights running late so you are running to your next gate hoping to make the flight to find out that flight is delayed 30 mintes that turns into 3 hours and, the worst flight crew any of us have ever had. Then some of the bigger issues were lost luggage (now safely back in our hands), lost/stolen purse, and death of a friend (not on the trip, back in the States). All of that with literally no sleep from 6am Friday to 1am Sunday, made it a trying day for all of us.

SO! We are glad the bad stuff is behind us, so we could move to our new hotel and start preparing for our work for the conference in Cordoba in a couple of days.  We have one more team member, Peg, joining us in Marbella today and then we will be complete.

Time To Take Off - SPAIN

THE TEAM: Paula, Margie, Dee, Becky, Bonnie, Peg (not shown)

I lo-lo-love Palm Trees!!

Orlando Training before we take off for Spain tomorrow.

De Nyew Testament

De Nyew Testament

“Cause God lob all de people een de wol sommuch dat e gii we e onliest Son.  God sen we um so dat ebrybody wa bleebe pon um ain gwine dead.  

Dey gwine lib faebamo.”

Can you read this Bible verse?

Where is the verse found in the Bible?

What does it say?

What does it mean???

It is John 3:16 in Sea Island Creole English,

and it is spoken primarily in the United States.

Now you can go back and read it again, and it makes a lot more sense.  But what if this was all you had?  What if English was your heart language and Sea Island Creole was the trade language?  Both languages are similar, so you should be able to get “enough” out of Sea Island Creole to understand Jesus died for you to give you eternal life, right??  Some of us don’t like it when someone reads   scripture out of a version that isn’t our favorite, Can you imagine     trying to read and know God by reading this translation?

There are still 2,250 language groups that don’t have one word of scripture in their heart language (the language they learned and spoke as a child).  That represents roughly 350 million people.

That is why Wycliffe’s vision is to have a Bible translation started in EVERY LANGUAGE by the year 2025.  Every day people are dying that have never heard God’s Word.  We don’t want one more generation of people to pass away without hearing the life changing Word of God!

There are several ways you can help.  You can pray, go, or give.

Pray for the translators and those on the field supporting their efforts.  Go on a short-term or long-term mission trip, in the US or abroad, and support the laborers in the field. Give financially to assist with the physical needs of translators and those supporting them on the field.  If you have questions, please feel free to contact me. :-)

Summer Update 2010

Summer and Spain

This has been one of the most adventurous and busy summers of my life!  As I discussed in my last newsletter, during the month of April, I had 3 weeks of Wycliffe meetings and training in Orlando, Florida.  The meetings with Wycliffe Associates (WA) headquarters were encouraging and productive.  The two week “Equip” training with Wycliffe USA was fabulous!  I heard numerous     stories and updates on Bible translations from all over the world.  I knew a lot about Wycliffe, missions, and Bible translation before the trip, but I was just  immersed in it there. My eyes and heart were opened to a world-wide vision for Bible translation, the need for laborers, and the need for in NOW!

A few weeks after returning from Florida, I went on a Partnership Development trip.  I stopped in Borger, Texas; Denver, Colorado; and the Kansas City  area.  It was great to see my family, friends, and ministry partners, share what the Lord is teaching me, and what He has been doing in Bible Translation.

Back in Dallas, I am working with many volunteer high school students, and a church group from Arkansas.  I am also busy preparing for the next “volunteer season,” which begins in October and runs through April of next year.

The month of August I get to do a little bit more traveling, but this time outside the Unites States. I have the privilege of taking a missions trip to Spain!  The translators and missionaries, the “M Groups,” are meeting in Cordoba. “M Groups” represent individuals working is areas that cannot be discussed, for security purposes. Our team will be serving the M Groups and their families, but mostly working with the kiddies.  I am so excited to spend time with these missionaries and to hear about their ministries and area of work - the kids are just a bonus.  I leave for Spain on August 6th and return August 25th.  Our itinerary consists of flying into Malaga where we will have 3 days of training; travel to Cordoba for 12 days of meetings; and then to Madrid for a few more days, before heading out.

Follow my Spain trip on my blog!

paulaoestreich.blogspot.com

Prayer Requests:

1.   Effectual work of the Lord’s     laborers while in Spain.

2. Team unity for the group ministering in Spain. Most of us have not met.

3. Team safety while traveling and during our labors in Spain.

4.  Strength and endurance upon my return. “Volunteer Season”     begins one month after my     return to Dallas and I will be attending a Bible Conf in Kansas City the first week of October.

5.  Financial supporters. I cannot do this alone. I rely totally upon financial partners.

Praises:

1.   It has been a great first year working with the volunteers in Dallas.  They surpassed anything I could have hoped for: the volunteers are wonderful people!

2.  The Spain mission trip and opportunity to work with a   people group for which I have  a burden.

3.  Experiencing Bible Translation up-close and personal; seeing first hand what the Lord is doing through Bible Translation; and being a part of that every day.

4. Finding a good church that has    

     good preaching, is mission       

     minded, and people oriented.

Countdown to Spain ~ 12 days!

When you decide to take a trip, it is always seems to be a loooooong time until you leave.  Then you blink.  Then it is 12 days away.  You have tons to do to prepare for being gone for 3 weeks, lots to prepare for your trip, packing, and the list goes on....




On August 4th, I will be heading to Orlando, FL for a couple of days of training, then on the 6th we take off.  We will arrive in Malaga, Spain on the 7th, where we will have more training for a few more days.  We will take a train to Cordoba and spend 11 nights there, then we will take a train to Madrid August 21st.  The rest of the team is leaving on the 22nd, and I am leaving on the 25th.


This is a missions trip through Wycliffe Associates (WA).  Our job is to work "in support of missionary families working in sensitive countries throughout the region.  As the parents meet for strategic planning, spiritual refreshment, and mutual encouragement we have the opportunity to minister spiritual refreshment and encouragement to their kids." (That's the official description)  


This all came about after "the powers that be" and I decided it is a good idea for me to see what WA (and Wycliffe) do outside the states.  It is time for me to get on the field and see some things with my own eyes.  I started a mental list of all of the places I wanted to go and the "people groups" I wanted to work with and minister to.  It took about 2 seconds because I had thought about where I wanted to go about a billion times.  Spain was not on the short list, it actually wasn't on the long list either. :~)  About 20 minutes after the meeting where we all decided I needed to go somewhere, I was having a conversation with a fellow WA.  We were talking about the places I had traveled on missions trips, and while I loved those places and people, my real burden was with a different people group.  One I won't put on the blog (but is starts with a K).  Right about that time, the guy in charge of some of the ministry trips WA takes walked by and said, "if you are interested in (that people group), I have a trip for you."  I had never met this man and barley knew what he did for WA...it was just one of those God things.  In a little over a week the decision was made - I was headed for Spain in August.  Yay!

Thoughts on 1 Kings 17:2-9

1Ki 17:2-9  And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,  (3)  Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.  (4)  And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.  (5)  So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.  (6)  And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.  (7)  And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.  (8)  And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,  (9)  Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

2 - 3 ~ The word of the Lord told Elijah what to do.  God's word can give us direction. 
4 - 6 ~ God assures Elijah that he will be taken care of.  God provides a brook for drink and the ravens to deliver food.
7 ~ The brook dried up, and Elijah watched it dry up...and he was still there.
8 ~ Then word of the Lord came to him again...
9 ~ God told him to move.


It is noteworthy that Elijah stayed where he was until the Lord told him to move.  God had proven his provision through the brook.....and it dried up!  It is easy to watch things in our lives dry up right in front of us and then question God about why He would let that happen, or wonder if we heard Him right the first time.  We start trying to "make" things happen, stress out, come up with contingency plan after contingency plan, lose sleep, and talk about it until we are sick of hearing ourselves talk about it.


It is best to make sure it is the word of the Lord moving us in the first place; so when things dry up we know we are standing where the Lord put us, and also making sure we are continuing to listen for it just in case He wants to move us.  Per His Promises those are the only two options: provide for us or move us to the provision.
  

The Book You Are Writing

"You ought to live holy and godly lives." 2 Peter 3:11

The only way to have a stainless and beautiful year at its close--is to keep the days, as they pass, all pure and sweet, with the loveliness of holy, useful living.

It is thus, in little days--that our years come to us. We have but the one small fragment to fill and beautify at a time.

The year is a book, and for each day--one fair white page is opened before us.

And we are artists, whose duty it is to put something beautiful on the page.

Or we are poets, and are to write some lovely thought, some radiant sentence, on each leaf as it lies open before us.

"That we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." 1 Timothy 2:2


(From Grace Gems)

March 2010 Update and Prayer Requests

Wow! Can we say busy? This “volunteer season” (Oct 09—March 10) has seen a lot of changes; new volunteers, and the highest number of volunteers in several years. We have had well over 200 volunteers, plus several groups. In January we had a church group from Geneva, NE for a week (some stayed 2 weeks). Just this week we had over 20 Duncanville High School Students on the campus completing their community service hours, and next weekend we have a group from the Chinese Church of Arlington coming to volunteer. They asked me to speak at their missions conference a few weeks ago and decided to set up a time to volunteer and get their congregation exposed to Bible translation at the same time.

While things are starting to wind down with volunteers a little bit, I will be staying busy for a few months longer. April 7-9 I will go to Orlando, FL for a few days of meetings with Wycliffe Associates. April 10-24 I will be going through an intensive training course with Wycliffe USA (in Orlando), and then vacation April 25-May 2 (in Orlando & Jax– yea!) I will come back to Dallas for a week or two, and then head out again for 2-3 weeks on a Partnership Development trip (raising support and prayer partners). Part of that time I will be in Kansas City, so if you would like to get together while I am there call or email me and we can set up a time!

This is the “campus” I work on. It is called the International

Linguistic Center (ILC).

There are about 700 people that work here year-around. The sole purpose of every

organization on this campus is to support Bible translation in over 70 countries. The linguists are trained here, the finance

offices are here, HR/personnel offices are here, typesetting,

editing, publishing, counseling, IT, apartments for retired

missionaries, and much more...

Praise and Prayer:

1. Praise—I STILL love what I am doing with WA, and it continues to grow & stretch me.

2. Praise—I really like Dallas and I think I have finally found a church to be a part of.

3. Prayer—Raising financial and prayer support.

4. Prayer—For my training and meetings in Orlando, FL next month.(and a week of vacation! )

5. Prayer—That the Lord would continue to open doors to partner with other cultures (like the Chinese Church, WA’s growing Hispanic and African volunteer population).

Information on how you can support financially ~

By Mail: Make check or money order out to Wycliffe Associates and put my name & fund code M08730 in the notes field. Mail to Wycliffe Associates; P.O. Box 620143, Orlando, Florida, 32862

Online: www.wycliffeassociates.org\links\donatenow. Under “program” select “other,” fill in my name & M08730.