Hello from NYC!
I am happy to report that I have arrived at the airport without any problems! Thank you for your prayers.
However, apparently my Dads connecting plane flew through a flock of geese and the flight is delayed 2hrs while they check out the damage. If the flight is any later than the delayed time we will probably miss our flight. Please pray for this situation if you happen to see this note in time.
There is good news from my dad as well though - he met a Moldovan man at the airport this morning! It was a truly encouraging experience for my Dad and his spirits are high still even with the potential of missing our flight today.
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Training update & Departure
Hello Dear Family and Friends,
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and encouragement in the past few weeks. I have truly felt strengthened through the love and prayer you've offered. The past two weeks have been a great time for preparation.
Last week, each member of our team practiced sharing our testimony through an interpreter. This is something that we will do often while we are in Moldova. The church planting ministry we will be working with has strong connections with individual families in the villages where we will be running VBS camps. After running camps in the morning we will have the opportunity to visit with families in the villages and share our testimonies and listen to their stories. Please pray that the Spirit will speak through us in these conversations and give us hearts of humility as we speak and listen.
Another part of our training last week included serving together in a nursing home. This outreach involved singing worship songs and sharing the meaning behind the lyrics with the members of this nursing home. It was such a beautiful thing to sing, "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus" and have half the room of elderly people join us in worship. I know that the ministry I am traveling with (REAL Ministries) does this outreach regularly, and I hope it is something I can join them in again someday.
This past Sunday we sat down and finished gather materials for the curriculum we will use for the VBS camps. We had a goal to make sure that there was a Gospel presentation in every lesson we gave, and thankfully God provided us with a curriculum that accomplishes that goal. The curriculum we will be using is from a ministry called CEF. Please pray that the Spirit would already be working on the hearts of the students who will be participating in these lessons and that they might walk away with a clearer understanding and love for Jesus. Pray also for the interpreters and that the Lord would bless them with clarity in their interpretation of the message.
So, the time of departure has finally come. I will be taking a bus to NYC and then the subway to the airport to meet my dad tomorrow. Please pray that the Lord protects our travels and brings us to Kiev safely. I hope to find internet cafes to update as we travel as well. However, in case I can't update please keep my team in prayer as they will arrive and meet us in Chisinau, Moldova on the 6th of August.
Thank you again for all of your love and support. I will miss you all greatly, but look forward to sharing the experiences the Lord has for my team with you.
In Christ,
Natalie
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and encouragement in the past few weeks. I have truly felt strengthened through the love and prayer you've offered. The past two weeks have been a great time for preparation.
Last week, each member of our team practiced sharing our testimony through an interpreter. This is something that we will do often while we are in Moldova. The church planting ministry we will be working with has strong connections with individual families in the villages where we will be running VBS camps. After running camps in the morning we will have the opportunity to visit with families in the villages and share our testimonies and listen to their stories. Please pray that the Spirit will speak through us in these conversations and give us hearts of humility as we speak and listen.
Another part of our training last week included serving together in a nursing home. This outreach involved singing worship songs and sharing the meaning behind the lyrics with the members of this nursing home. It was such a beautiful thing to sing, "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus" and have half the room of elderly people join us in worship. I know that the ministry I am traveling with (REAL Ministries) does this outreach regularly, and I hope it is something I can join them in again someday.
This past Sunday we sat down and finished gather materials for the curriculum we will use for the VBS camps. We had a goal to make sure that there was a Gospel presentation in every lesson we gave, and thankfully God provided us with a curriculum that accomplishes that goal. The curriculum we will be using is from a ministry called CEF. Please pray that the Spirit would already be working on the hearts of the students who will be participating in these lessons and that they might walk away with a clearer understanding and love for Jesus. Pray also for the interpreters and that the Lord would bless them with clarity in their interpretation of the message. So, the time of departure has finally come. I will be taking a bus to NYC and then the subway to the airport to meet my dad tomorrow. Please pray that the Lord protects our travels and brings us to Kiev safely. I hope to find internet cafes to update as we travel as well. However, in case I can't update please keep my team in prayer as they will arrive and meet us in Chisinau, Moldova on the 6th of August.
Thank you again for all of your love and support. I will miss you all greatly, but look forward to sharing the experiences the Lord has for my team with you.
In Christ,
Natalie
Monday, July 16, 2012
What is this for?
Hello Dear Friends and Family,
I have created this Blog as a means to keep you updated on the missions trip my father and I will be taking to Moldova this summer. I will try to keep you updated on the coming preparations as well as the events of the trip. I cannot promise what the internet availability will be like in the country, but I do promise to give any live updates I can, and I also promise to record and write about significant events after our return. The purpose will be to keep you informed and to present relevant prayer needs.
Currently, I am home visiting my family in Indiana, which means I missed the latest meeting with my teammates. However, that did not mean that preparations out here have been missed. My dad is spending 30 minutes to an hour everyday studying Russian using Rosetta Stone. I believe he has completed at least level 1 by now. It has been fun to hear him take various opportunities to practice any Russian words he can. Most recently, he showcased his knowledge of the word for "camel" (pronounced, "verblute"), which has now assimilated into my mind as part of my 5 word Russian vocabulary.
I have also been preparing, but not in the way of language. For that I will probably be forced to rely upon my father and the translators. My preparations have consisted of gathering materials for the camps we will be doing with the kids. This task has presented itself as a challenge for many reasons, the greatest being that we need to gather activities that clearly present the gospel, but don't require much language and are still fun and entertaining. Thus far, I have discovered a simple bracelet craft and several mime skits that could be performed by my team. However, there is still much work to be done to prepare adequately for this task.
Please pray that God would:
Much Love,
Natalie
I have created this Blog as a means to keep you updated on the missions trip my father and I will be taking to Moldova this summer. I will try to keep you updated on the coming preparations as well as the events of the trip. I cannot promise what the internet availability will be like in the country, but I do promise to give any live updates I can, and I also promise to record and write about significant events after our return. The purpose will be to keep you informed and to present relevant prayer needs.
Currently, I am home visiting my family in Indiana, which means I missed the latest meeting with my teammates. However, that did not mean that preparations out here have been missed. My dad is spending 30 minutes to an hour everyday studying Russian using Rosetta Stone. I believe he has completed at least level 1 by now. It has been fun to hear him take various opportunities to practice any Russian words he can. Most recently, he showcased his knowledge of the word for "camel" (pronounced, "verblute"), which has now assimilated into my mind as part of my 5 word Russian vocabulary.
I have also been preparing, but not in the way of language. For that I will probably be forced to rely upon my father and the translators. My preparations have consisted of gathering materials for the camps we will be doing with the kids. This task has presented itself as a challenge for many reasons, the greatest being that we need to gather activities that clearly present the gospel, but don't require much language and are still fun and entertaining. Thus far, I have discovered a simple bracelet craft and several mime skits that could be performed by my team. However, there is still much work to be done to prepare adequately for this task.
Please pray that God would:
- be giving our team a spirit of humility as we enter into and serve an unfamiliar culture
- provide inspiration for meaningful and entertaining activities to do with the kids
- bless my dad's language practice
- continue to help raise financial support
- fill us with His Spirit as our team works on preparing our testimonies to share at next week's training meeting
Much Love,
Natalie
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