A foreign land in the suburbs of Atlanta.

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord,     when he delights in His way." 

-Psalm 37:23

A Time To Reset

My return home to Indiana was shorter than originally anticipated. I went back with the intention of ministering to the community and being ministered to while paying off student debt. But it seems the Lord reminds me often that His ways are different and better than my own.  I am learning to hold onto plans very loosely and listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and follow as He leads.

During my time back in Indiana my spirit was not at rest. The Lord impressed it upon me to return to Georgia pretty early on.  I made steps toward obtaining work in Georgia, and in the meantime I focused on the community around me and enjoyed the people I love so dearly. I cannot lie, I struggled with this changing of direction so quickly—what would others think? That’s when the Lord reminded me of the need to be obedient to Him no matter what Man thinks. He pointed me specifically to Paul’s ministry journey. At times Paul is seen jumping around from place to place while following the leading of the Holy Spirit.  In 2 Corinthians 2:12-14 Paul says, “When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went onto Macedonia. But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.” Acts 16:6-40 is another great account of this, but I encourage doing a study on his entire journey.

Opprotunties Abound If We Will Have Them...

After being in Indiana for two months, the Lord provided a job in Clarkston, Georgia, so that I was able to return to live amongst the refugee community, ministering to and learning from my Muslim friends while paying off student debt. As soon as I returned to Clarkston, an older gentleman from Syria (we will call him AG) whom I have met before in passing approached me at a coffee shop and asked if I would help him with his English. I was shocked and stumbled into saying, “Yeah…I mean yes, I would love to, my friend.” The whole time I was thinking to myself,

Me? Who am I to teach him English? I feel like I am still learning it myself.

AG and I are currently meeting on a weekly basis to work on language together. I am helping him with English and he is helping me with Arabic, a win-win.

Instead of being able to go home for Thanksgiving I ended up staying in Clarkston and had a wonderful time with friends from the community (as pictured below), one family in particular is from Afghanistan. The son of the family, who I will call RJ, has a really neat story of how he came to know Jesus that includes South Korean's, prison, dreams of Jesus, a cell phone with no service, and a believer apart of the UN with a bible. He came to States and is now in the process of seeking asylum while his wife and children are stuck back home waiting for the asylum to be approved. His mom and dad are here and have their green cards. RJ is the only believer in his entire family. Please continue to pray for RJ's asylum process to be approved ASAP and for his family to come to know Jesus. 

My young friend Mohamed, from Syria, whom I have told you all so much about was in and out of the hospital over the holiday season. He received a major chemo treatment followed by a bone marrow transplant, and after a month the doctors sent him home because his cancer is gone!! Praise the Lord for this work and answered prayer!! Thank you all for joining me in prayer on the behalf of Mohamed. We celebrated and shared with Mohamed and his family how Jesus answered the prayers many of us lifted up for him continually. Please don’t stop praying for Mohamed and his family but continually pray for them to desire to know more about their wonderful Creator, the Lord and Savior our God.

"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." -LUKE 10:2

While I was still in Indiana, I was presented with the opportunity of helping Pioneers with missions mobilization. Missions mobilizers are focused on engaging members of the body of Christ in the great commission and equipping them to serve in the different capacities to which they are called. In the words of Jesus in Matthew 9:37-38, “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest.” I was able to volunteer some of my time to visit a few colleges on behalf of Pioneers for the purpose of calling laborers to be sent out. While serving in this capacity, I found out that I really enjoy helping people understand the importance of and need for gospel advancement to the ends of the earth, getting them excited about it, and helping them seek out how they fit into God’s global work. 

Going Forward

After taking part in mobilization with Pioneers a few times in the Fall, I thought that was that. However, just recently a prayer of others and mine was answered! I was presented with the amazing opportunity to work part-time with Pioneers as a member of their mobilization team while making my way to the Middle East by next year. I will mostly be a representative in the Atlanta region but will also be in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana speaking at different universities, churches, events, and conferences. With this New Year and new position I am kicking off my support raising process for both the part-time mobilization position and for my move to Dubai, UAE.  In total I need to raise $4,200.00 in monthly support and $18,000.00 for my launch fund to cover my moving expenses to Dubai. For me to begin the part-time mobilization position I need to reach $1,500.00 in monthly support by March 1st, 2018. Would you prayerfully consider financially joining my ministry team and partaking in the work the Lord has planned out for me? I will be sending out letters and making phone calls starting in the next few weeks and would enjoy meeting with you face-to-face. I look forward to sharing more about this work and how we can team up together in advancing the kingdom of God.

Account # 112456

Pray and Praise

• PRAISE God for the healing of my friend Mohamed! Continue to PRAY for Mohamed and his family to desire to know more about Jesus and how to be saved.

• PRAISE God for providing work that allows me to continue in the work He has for me and pay off student debt.

• PRAY for my new relationship with AG, that God would grant me boldness to share the truth of the Gospel and that AG's heart and mind would be opened to receive it.

• PRAY for RJ to continue to cling to Jesus as he awaits the uncertainty of his asylum and the safety of his family back home. Pray for God to open the hearts of his family to receive the gospel of Jesus.   

• PRAY for me as I juggle multiple things this year and that I continue to find rest, delight, and joy in Christ alone.

• PRAY as I begin the support raising process that I would rely upon God to provide the funds for His work.

• PRAY earnestly for laborers to go into the harvest! To our neighbors, communities, and the world. Try this at 10:02 everyday. (Luke 10:2)

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."- Matthew 22:37-40