August Newsletter

Here is my Mission Year monthly newsletter for August, in its entirety. I know that if you are reading my blog you will probably be receiving my newsletter, but I'm pretty proud of it, so here ya go:


"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." Hebrews 11:8-10

To my friends and supporters:
Greetings! I pray this letter finds you well. This is the first of the monthly newsletters you will be receiving from me during my work with Mission Year.

As many of you know, I will be serving this year in the inner city of Oakland, California. I leave Corpus Christi on Sept. 3--a date which is swiftly approaching--and am spending the majority of my time packing and figuring out just how many pairs of shoes I'll actually need.
I don't have a mailing address, phone number or new email address to give you yet, but I'll be sure to get that to you when I do. Until then, I will still be checking my old email address.

I have to be honest with you that all this uncertainty (not knowing where I will live, who I will be living with, what I should pack, what will be waiting for me when I get to Oakland) has been somewhat of a burden on me. However, God is very good and recently sent me an email telling me to "fear not."

Now that I have your attention, let me explain. In bible class on Wednesday night, Peggy Simmons has been teaching lessons on how we know God's will. This past Wednesday, we made a list of the ways God makes his will known to us. Things included on the list were: scripture, preacher's lessons, devotional books, a talk with a wise friend, etc. Email did not make the list, but I am now firmly convinced that it should have, because I was at my desk Thursday morning checking my email when I received one that seemed to have been written just for me.

Actually, it was an email list I subscribe to which sends out daily thoughts from My Utmost for His Highest, but that day's devotional thought dealt with faith, something I was feeling very short on as I worried about the uncertainties of my Mission Year. I needed to read that email, and it served as a great encouragement to me. I believe that God's will is that I am honest about my fears, but still "fear not" as I trust Him to do what is best for me and continue to take care of me.

Now I am not the kind of person who believes that God necessarily orchestrates a good parking place for me or takes time out of His busy schedule to make sure I have just enough milk for my morning cereal, but I am firmly convinced that He meant that email for me. (I sent Peggy an email afterwards telling her about my email from the beyond, and she asked if God had signed his name. Just in case you are wondering the same thing, no, He did not.)

So, already, amazing things are happening in my Mission Year experience and I haven't even left yet! This is going to be one interesting year.

Thank you for your financial and prayer support; I greatly need it. Please continue to pray for my team members and myself and the work we will be doing this year.