Going Home.....

I know it's been a while since my last post mostly still recovering and lots of prayer.....The follow up xray went well and the Dr was very pleased with how my bone is healing although I had to make the decision not to return to Sudan on this trip....I am feeling very disappointed but I am also really looking forward to returning in the near future. My decision was based on prayer and that I would not be able to keep up with the team coming next week and do not want to slow them down or be a burden. I want to be as effective as possible and to do that I must take care of my body so that I can be very strong again. Please continue to pray for healing, physical as well as dealing with the emotional that comes with the challenges of feeling so limited and the disappointment of not being able to the mission field for now.....I will be returning to the states just after New Year. I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends but I am also feeling very sad about leaving Africa and Not seeing Rose and Gloria and David before I leave. I will post more once I have more time to process all that is happening....Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.....to All of you

So it's been a while...

....Not a lot to report. Just resting and healing. The plan is still to go back for a follow up X-ray on the 23rd of this month at Kijabe Hospital. As long as the Dr approves and is happy with how I am healing then I will get a medical release which means I will head back to Kampala,Uganda from Nairobi,Kenya via the bus. I will then get back to Kajo Keji,Sudan from there....Please continue to keep all of this journey in your prayers.
I am still in prayer and study daily. Some days are better than others as far as healing goes.
I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! And as always I look forward to getting your emails and reading your post.....

Another Day in the Life of....

Well I just wanted to let you know that Margaret the lady I meet at the craft show last week came to see me today and we spent most of the day practicing and learning how to make paper beads I hope to be able to post a few photos soon of our end result and learning process....Since I am still recovering from a broken femur it was quite a bit to sit at the table most of the day so now I am resting but feel confident that I have absorbed enough information to be able to teach the skill in Sudan when I go back to help give the women there a way of making something with mostly local and very inexpensive materials....I will practice some more over the few weeks and hope to have some great tings to share:)
I did also attend The Vineyard Church in Nairobi on Sunday which I enjoyed very much! Mostly local missionaries and some other local people it was a great time of fellowship and worship of which I have missed. It happen to also be the birthday of one of the missionaries that I am staying with and so we went out for a nice lunch it was really a very good day. I managed on crutches to this point but became very tired and so for our next stop purchasing supplies for today I needed the wheelchair. I actually think I am doing pretty well since it's only 1 week today from my surgery. I am having some cabin fever and I am really looking forward to having more energy and being able to get around much better! I hope that when I get back to Sudan I will be a good asset to the team coming at the end of December and not an extra weight....So for now I am just trying to make use of my recovery through prayer, study, and learning as much as I can and just resting as I promised the doctor I would:)
Please continue to pray for quick and complete healing and blessings for all the people that have helped me along the way.
That the Lord will continue to work on me in every way to make me what he wants that I will be open and sensitive to His leading on everything!

As Always in His Service-
MJ

Answered Prayer!

Ok I had a bit of an adventure today:) Maureen and Joe borrowed a wheelchair for me and off to the craft fair we went.... in Nairobi which only happens a couple of times a year from what Joe told me. I found a few fun things and the BEADS! Paper beads just what I had been looking for to learn how to make! I bought some and also made arrangements to have one of the ladies come this Sunday evening after the fair is over and stay the night with me and then I will spend the day Monday learning how to make them so when I go back to Sudan at the end of the year I will be able to teach the ladies how to make them! I am so beyond excited! I also found out that the vision for these beads came from a lady from Sudan was in a Uganda refugee camp teaching this art and then came to Kenya so I pray that God will help me take it full circle back to Sudan! How amazing is that! I can not wait to show the ladies in my Sunday school class what we are doing....

Ok I also promised to give the info for my amazing Dr!
www.mendonsamissions.com
www.helpCUREnow.org

My mom has sent me a care package and I am looking forward to receiving that too! My sister has promised a really good letter to me is included:)

The past several days I have had some pretty severe headaches that is much better today not gone but better.....Pauline said is was because of the spinal block during the surgery and it should be getting better very soon.....
I am still getting tired easily but doing well....
I am so grateful for all your prayers please continue the good work all my prayer warriors!

In His Service Always-
MJ

The Next Step

Well I guess everything happens just one step at a time even though sometimes I try to take three....So my surgery went well on Monday and I am now out of the hospital and resting well in Nairobi. I will be here for at least four weeks while I recover and get around on crutches until December 23rd and then I will have to go back to Kjiabe Hospital for a follow up x-ray and then hope to get a medical release to go back to Sudan at that point! So I now have three screws in my femur right at the hip joint the fracture was along the front and back of the collar or neck of the femur bone of course the smallest section of the bone so the screws will give me the stability I will need once I get walking on it again! As one comment said from Charlie and Patti - I can't wait to be running the race again but am trying to not get to far ahead of myself. I know that God's timing is perfect! The Doctor that actually did my surgery was Dr Bob Mendonza from TEXAS! Can you believe it! The day after his beautiful wife and two of the sweetest kids you'd ever want to meet came to visit me:) I can not get up right now to go get their web address but I will add it later they are living and working at Kjiabe Hospital through THE CURE. One thing about this change of plans it has given me the opportunity to meet some truly wonderful people and the doctors and nurses have been very good to me. The worst and scariest part of the whole thing was the day of surgery it was just really hard to be alone that day! But it's amazing how close I felt my Jesus with me as if he were sitting right there holding my hand....i must admit that through tears that day I was certainly calling out to my protector and comforter! Other than that day I've done a pretty good job of holding myself together and I want my family to know that I really am doing very well:) I am really looking forward to going to church this coming Sunday! Just to be able to enjoy that precious gift of being able to come together with others and worship the Lord for how GOOD HE has been to me and how much He has provided for me....I certainly have a whole new appreciation for having the ability to be able to attend church whenever I want to and see how difficult it must be for those that this is not so easy for them to do this....I think about those that walk great distances for the privilege and those who can not because of lack of freedom to do so or war or hunger or sickness and many other reasons . I was also thinking of how in the States we can simply go to a book store and purchase any book we want for a new bible study or to help with our relationships and marriages......do we appreciate this as much as we should???
I am also looking forward to visiting with another lady named Pauline who is living where I am right now and she is working with codependency and alcoholism with lower income women here in Nairobi and how I might be able to use some of her knowledge in Sudan because this is a big problem there as you can imagine there is also a lot of post traumatic stress syndrome too. Another thing is I am hoping to learn how to make these beautiful paper beads that I might be able to teach the women in Sudan how to make these for selling......I had originally thought this was only happening in Uganda but have found that they have these beads in many places so I am still working on figuring out how this might work....so prayers on the Lord's leading and my openness to Him on this project that is on my heart. Ok well I am getting a bit tired and will sign off for now but will post More later! Thank you so much for all your prayers and comments!
Blessings-
MJ

A look back....

I have been reflecting back on some of the encounters and relationships that have brought me growth and encouragement. One of the ladies I have had on my heart is named Alice she lives in Kapoeta and has been attending a church in the market place in the town of Kapoeta. Pastor Francis and I made two visits to her home that week. She is the only christian in her family the rest are Muslim. I had an opportunity to visit her mother in law and share the gospel with her .I came to discover that this woman has been struggling in her heart about her faith and longing to learn more. Her husband and sons are Muslim and she is forbidden from attending any church other than a mosque. She is also currently separated from her husband and is not a practicing Muslim. After a long conversation with her she revealed that she would like to have Jesus in her heart although there are many problems including that her village already knows her as a Muslim. We talked about this some more and she has not yet come to a place that she is ready to invite Jesus into her heart. I truly believe that God is speaking to her through dreams and visions and through her daughter in law Alice. She asked that I continue to pray for her and her family and I will continue to petition God on her behalf and hope that you will join me in this prayer. Her name is Lucia....
Upon my second visit to Alice and Lucia I had the opportunity to spend some very sweet time together to encourage one another and read God's word together. I discovered that Alice could not only speak English very well she could also read English very well. She did not have a Bible so I gave her the one I had in my backpack. I learned that she has a heart to do ministry in her community so she and I prayed about that as well. Materials had already been given to a couple of her church leaders so I introduced her to to them so that they would be able to follow up with her and disciple her so that she could reach more women. Alice is very soft spoken and has a sweet and gentle spirit in spite of all she has been through. It's obvious that she finds comfort in the Lord and wants to share that with others please pray that she will continue to press into God to find ways to minister to her mother in law and that she will grow even more bold for Christ in her own community!

Quick Update...

Received second opinion from an American doctor in Kajibe Hospital surgery will be required and I may be moving to the other hospital ...Insurance providing is the prayer for now and quick recovery....I will stay and heal in Nairobi until I can travel again. Lots of wonderful missionaries helping out and visiting me PRAISE GOD!

Lord where to begin! I am surely on a journey with God...So this past Monday everything was going very well....lessons and schedules in process for for going out to the villages for the women's training have been coming together annoucements to be made this coming Sunday .....Motor bike lessons had gone well and I was really getting the hang of shifting gears and everything:) But Monday afternoon after coming to a complete stop I lost my balance the bike and I hit the ground like a 100lb sack of sand being thrown out of a truck on to the ground. My hip took the major hit and instantly I felt and heard something crack!and then I could not walk but praise God the bike did not fall on me too. I was out at the Baptist church in Kajo Keji and the pastor there took me on my bike back to the compound where I have been living that was a painful ride....both pastors wives have taken very good care of me and I am so humbly thankful! So in cases like this in Sudan nothing happens quickly so I made it to Moyo.Uganda on Tuesday for an Xray and confirmed that I had fractured the collar of my femur bone had to spend the night in Moyo and the air ambulance picked me the next day to go to the hospital in Nairobi both Pastors wives stayed with me in the hotel...what a blessing from God...So finally on my way to Nairobi and some good pain medicine it had been a pretty rough couple of days. The doctors and nurses have been very good to me. Most likely I will have minor surgery to put a couple of pins/screws in my bone which could have me out of the bed within 4-5 days and walking on my own within 4-5 weeks with no surgery I would still heal but would most likely be on complete bed rest for 10-12 weeks That seems unimaginable to me...Dr Gakuu believes I will be completely back to myself walking just fine once I heal
PRAISE GOD!
Although I must admit that I was very disappointed that when I had to leave Sudan. I am clinging to Romans 8:28 that God will work all things for good to accomplish His purpose for those who love Him....
and Jeremiah 29:11
For i know the plans I have for you declares the Lord plans to give you hope and a future and not to harm you!
How amazing and abundant is our God!
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Please continue to pray for me and for the women in Sudan especially Rose Dima and Gloria Kaya that God will raise up strong leaders in this country that have a heart for God there by renewing this place!
I am not sure what date a time I will have surgery but I am praying for a quick recovery so that I can go back to Sudan and continue what God has already planned for me to do....I hope to heal right where I am and the finish my work and return in January 2009.....God is providing lots of time to study and prepare to continue to full fill His purpose....I am working on a lap top that has been loaned to me for a few hours this evening in my hospital room by a missionary here in Kenya..he is actually the pilot that flew me out of Uganda to Kenya....Please keep him and his wife in your prayers as well that the Lord will pour out blessing upon them. They have also offered to help me find a place to stay here while I recover after I leave the hospital.
I look forward to hearing from all of you as well.
In His Service always-
MJ

The Long Road....And More

God answers prayers! I have been feeling much better…the rash is drying out and the round of cipro has taken away my stomach pain. On the 13th the American team left Kapoeta heading back to US soil. Kaya and five of our translators from the Bible school that worked with us in Yei and Kapoeta came to pick me up for what would be 10 hours of the worst roads on earth! It was hot and dusty lots of mud and potholes, but not many traffic jams other that the occasional lorry filled overflowing with goods for transport, cattle, goats, people walking along the road, some monkeys and one lion! About the time I thought I could not take one more pothole the road would smooth out for awhile….Praise the Lord! It’s amazing how God works. I feel like I have had some wonderful mentorship with Patricia over the past year and during my first two weeks in Sudan, watching and learning and doing and now it’s like I’m a caged bird suddenly set free to fly! I felt a sudden stirring in my stomach as I crawled into the land cruiser that morning while everyone else was still sleeping and going off on my own….it was exciting and only for a moment a little fear creped in but as the sun rose and we drove further and further away I had a peace come over me and I knew God was with me.
Finally we made it to Yei! This would be my first overnight in Africa alone, for a moment I was a bit scared but God is faithful. Kaya took us to eat in town. I’m sure I was a sight the only white lady in town walking into a restaurant with six African men. I was so tired I could not remember how or why I should eat….so back to my tukul sleep came quickly and so did the next day! Another 5 hour drive to my destination in Kajo Keji….this day I am very dirty, but my soul is refreshed! The roads are the same but the 5 hours seem to fly by. I was contemplating all that had happened over the past couple of weeks. God’s plan for this journey and the opportunities to come to share the women’s studies I have brought with me. My IPod was a source of great joy today and time to enjoy a little bit of home.
Arriving at the compound where I will be living for the next couple of months exhausted but well. It is beautiful here in the mountains of Southern Sudan. I go about settling in and retrieving my daily bucket of hot water for a bath. It’s wonderful what a little soap and some hot water can do! I feel like a new woman! And then food….

So this evening I have been working on some first lessons for the women in the local churches. Tomorrow I will meet Rose she and I will work together teaching many things from the standard of purity and the consequences of sexually transmitted diseases to financial freedom and much more…
A New Day
It was a slow start today but finally my ride arrived! Issac and Rose came on motor bikes and we rode out to Monduluk a small church plant about 10 kil out of town we had aprox 10 women there that we went through 3 lessons with and they are eager to learn more. I discovered we have 11 total churches like this but they are not close by so tomorrow I will have my crash course in riding a motor bike( no pun intended:) WOW... the kids were really excited to see me riding past town…Can you just imagine when they see me driving! I now know how to say
" White lady" in four languages! I’m having a blast and enjoying serving the women here with bible studies and much more…I will keep you posted…..with more very soon. I was also told the comments page is not working so I will try to fix this….Please email me if you cannot post here
mjknorris@yahoo.com
In His Service Always-
MJ

Austin, TX Team is Here!

The rest of our team made it safely this afternoon and have gone to the security office to announce to the officials that they are here and sign in with passport numbers.....This is just so that should anything happen the officials know who is here and so fourth.....(Not a big deal for my family if you are worried)

I already went yesterday so I am staying at Camp to send a couple of emails and rest for a bit. Patricia and I have been at the African Inland Church most all morning with a training class and I was able to lead part of the training, it was a lot of fun! Then we went to the school and told bible stories to the children and sang songs we taught them a couple and they taught us a few:) We have visited with a couple of local Pastors and are making plans for the rest of this week!

So having internet here is a new thing last year this was not available at all! So progress is slowly coming to Kapoeta! Because of the bore holes we have clean drinking water here on the camp ground too and they are feeding us very well.....

The weather is actually very nice today:) A wonderful breeze but that means the rain will be coming again....The roads are quite difficult to navigate with all the mud but it seems to add some adventure to the day, it also makes you really appreciate even a cold shower....

I am having a great time and doing well!
Michael NorrisEphesians 3:20

Arrived Safely in Kapoeta!

So now I am in Kapoeta, Sudan! I just spent the past week in Yei, Sudan with a medical team....It was an amazing experience! The doctors were so humble, kind, and generous with their time and talents! I spent the first day of clinic as the pharmacist and helping to keep the flow going through the clinic. The second day as a nurse, I also had a lot of great opportunities to pray for many people for healing, provision, and for many who are still suffering from mental trauma because of all the war that has been happening here! many of the people are suffering from nightmares and many other post traumatic stress symptoms. Please continue to pray for these people! The following days were filled with a lot of work in the medical clinics and then yesterday, I was able to work on training and discipleship with other church leaders men and women in Bible story telling training! The weather has been VERY HOT! Although the shade of a mango tree provided an entire afternoon of Bible study, training, prayer, and worshiping God. I was able to have some one on one time with the wife of the Pastor of Church of God in Yei to talk about putting together a women's conference in December! I also spent time with a woman named Susan who recently came to know the Lord from a dream she had and has now been coming to a Christian church....she had been Muslim and was the 7th wife of a Muslim man in Kenya she is now raising her 3yo child on her own in Yei, Sudan she speaks English very well and is now working for ARC American Refugee Committee- She has a motor bike and travels through out Yei and surrounding areas teaching about aids awareness, domestic violence, alcohol abuse and women taking responsibility for caring for themselves. Many many of the men have died in wars between North Sudan and South Sudan and tribal wars as well so this means that many many of the women in Sudan are widows. I will be working on ideas for micro finance opportunities for these women as well as lifting them up the the word of God and sharing more Bible stories and women's studies with them! I am really excited about spending Christmas here I brought books to share about the meaning of Christmas and hope to maybe even put together a Christmas play for the kids. Many of the people here are oral learners and love to make up songs, tell stories, and have drama. My prayer for this week in to find at least one women in Kapoeta that I can pour into all that I have prepared and help to lift her up and encourage her in sharing the gospel.

Patricia and I were dropped off in Kapoeta today and we are resting well and Mango Camp. It has rained a lot this evening so I am also praying that things will dry out quickly because we have a team coming from Austin, Tx tomorrow and the air field needs to dry out for them to land safely. It can also be very difficult to travel even by foot if it is too wet. We may have to go to the market and purchase some rain boots! But we will serve the Lord come rain or shine!

So I was finally able to take a shower today! The situation in Yei was very interesting:) I'll have to share photos with you when I can. Picture this a large round green plastic tub heading across the field to the shack where the water is boiled and dipping it out and mixing with some cold water to temp. now off to the stall to stand in a bucket with hot dirty brown water only up to your ankles and using a scoop to pour it over your head! This has been my bath for the past week! Now having all this said arriving at Mango Camp was a GREAT joy! I had running CLEAN water but no heat actually it was very COLD water! So I was thinking to myself......I'm not really sure what is better......dirty hot water.....or clean cold water?????!!!!
Thank you so much for posting notes I really enjoyed reading them tonight! I look forward to more......

In His Service Always-
MJ

IN Nairobi!

Arrived safe and sound with all luggae on October 30th! That means clean underwear! Praise The Lord! Resting in Nairobi leaving for Yei, Sudan in the morning... with Medical Team that arrived tonight. Please pray for the health and stamina of our entire team and that we will be able to make all our bags with medicine and bibles and clean uderwear on the charter flight as weight will be a factor! Please pray that I will have a good memory for my bible stories and womens teaching that God will bring to mind every word and every scripture needed! Internet is slow so this will be a short post.... All of you are in my prayers and I look forward to reading your posts and comments.
In His Service-
MJ

Just 3 days to go! And God has been so failthful to me.....There have been lots of last minute plans for in country travel but I know it will all come together just as God has planned it....I am getting more and more excited with each passing day about how God is going to use me and waiting with expectancy to see it unfold. My suitcase and back pack are pretty much ready to go with the exception of just a few last minute things to take along....malaria rx, and my Bible. There has been some spiritual warfare with my health so I went to the Dr this past week. I will have some issues to address when I return but with the Dr's approval I'm good to go now.....I am praying for health, saftey, and spiritual strength for myself and all the teams I will work with ....In heavenly armor we enter the land. Satan has already been defeated and the battle and victory belong to the Lord! Glory, Honor, Power, and Strength to the Lord!
I serve a mighty God!!!

It's getting closer and closer to GO time! Only 16 days til I fly away! Saturday evening was fantastic....All the ladies that came together to give of their time and talent to sew skirts for this trip have made me feel so blessed and humbled at the way they have served the Lord! The beautiful skirts I will wear and then give to the Sudanese women.Iam so grateful for all God has done and how he has brought together so many to make this all happen in His timing. Those who have given financially, those who are praying, and those who have given of their time and talents to help me pull it together! Let me just say that each one of you have a very special place in my heart and you are in my prayers daily...Without each one of you it would not be possible for me to go and fulfill God's plan and purpose in Sudan. Each one of you are a witness to me of God's faithfulness. THANK YOU!

So I have still been preparing stories and doing my best to be in God's word everyday so that as the journey begins I hope to be ready for what ever God has planned. Of course we have a plan and have been working very hard to bring it all together especially all the E3 Partners team members and those on staff there. Praise God for all of them! Although it is God's will we are going there to accomplish and I hope that we will all be sensitive to his direction and flexible as things WILL change along the way.

Please continue to pray for my health, my prayer life and continued financial support.

Wow .... I can hardly believe that it's only 27 days to go before I leave for Sudan. I feel like I have been preparing for a year and now suddenly it's here, all in a very good way. I am so excited. It has been a whirlwind past few weeks. Including my mom and nephew staying with me as refugees from hurricane Ike for a week. Praise God only minor damage to my mom's house and of course many lost trees and a broken fence. Power is back too! Please keep my family in your prayers as they deal with life returning to normal where they live and me being gone through the rest of this year and into next year, for my mom especially. Some really great blessings came from hurricane Ike in that I had an opportunity to spend some quality time with my 12 yr old nephew and we had a blast taking my dog Fred swimming several times, and hanging out at the book store where of course I had to buy him a few new books....What are Aunt's for right?:)

This weekend Friday and Saturday will be a time of unity building for the team going to Sudan and time of encouragement and prayer also. We will begin Bible story training for the entire team as well, the Taposa people we will be working with are oral learners so this is an invaluable tool. I have been practicing and ask you to please pray that my memory will not fail and that I will have boldness in Christ. As in Ephesians 6:19 And pray also for me that utterance may be given me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel...

The amazing women in my Sunday school class have generously offered to come together on October 11th to do some sewing for my trip. I will be taking some beautiful handmade skirts and other thing that I will use and then be able to leave for the women in Sudan. I already have six skirts from my friend Emily's mom and she had given us the idea to sew scripture into the hem of these skirts. This is such a beautiful gesture that God will get all the glory for and to anyone who is part of that thank you so much for your humble service to the Lord! To All the ladies in Tapestry you are an inspiration to me. May God Bless each of you with the desires of your heart.

Prayer Request-
God is preparing the people and the land for harvest...
Again for my mom and family as they recover from hurricane Ike and prepare for the holidays without me.
Travel, health, God's provision for the medicine I still need and the rest of the funds for this trip.
God will continue to work on my submission to him.

Praise-
For sweet one on one time in prayer and fellowship with Patricia
time spent with my nephew
opportunity's to spend time with dearly loved friends
God's provision as I have almost reached my financial goal only about $1200 to go...

God is Good

Tonight I have had on my heart some scripture that I felt compelled to get out of bed and share with you beginning with - Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see...I was thinking of how much this applies to everything I do and everything I hope for. I have never really been a teacher but as it goes God always will call us to do something that we may not feel we have the ability to do but I can also see how he has brought to me women's bible studies in a way that is helping me to prepare for my mission in Sudan. An amazing study from DBC" The Titus Two Woman" and "The Remarkable Women of the Bible" my hope and goal is to take these studies to Sudan to help the women there learn Gods will for their lives and the importance of who they are in Christ. If only all women including myself could grasp who we are in Christ that we would not give ourselves away easily or feel insecure, that we would find our security in Christ.... that we would comprehend our inheritance with him.
Psalm 16:1-2 Keep me safe O God for in you I take refuge. I said to the Lord "You are my Lord apart from you I have no good thing"
Psalm 16:5-6Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup you have made my lot secure The boundary lines have fallen for me in sweet places surely I have a beautiful inheritance.

My hope for Sudan: To make disciples that will go on to teach long after I am gone. This past Sunday we talked about the lessons we have learned from "Eve" that although we do not walk with God in the Garden of Eden we still have the same privilege she did of walking with God everyday, that we do have life to give not just to children but to the people we care for and encourage and through the sharing of our spiritual life. The world would not be the same without women God said himself in Gen. 1:27 he created man in the image of God ,male and female he created them. Gen. 1-31 God saw all that he had made and it was "very good" Eve was God's last and most beautiful creation and every woman after her shares in that inheritance and although at times our heart and flesh may fail the Lord is our portion and we are his. So now just 47 or so days out from heading to Sudan the joy in my heart overflows and I am grateful to go. I know there will be challenges physically and spiritually but I go with faith in God's ability not my own. Please continue to pray for me. And thank you for being my outlet to ramble all my thoughts.

So it's only about six weeks before I head off to Sudan. Part of me has been so excited about this opportunity and part of me has been feeling some anxiety which I know is only the devil's way of trying to discourage me but I remind myself that my strength comes from God alone and that he will provide. I think I was feeling doubtful about what I have to offer and how it will all work out like maybe I needed some great plan but after some prayer and encouragement from my brothers and sisters in Christ I began to have more peace in that God has not called me to go and do something that he is not certain I can do. I think the best thing I have to offer is relationship, my heart for God and the great mercy the Lord has shown to me I can share with the Taposa women, I think that we all are striving to be more like Christ and that we will never do it perfectly, but if we can support one another and encourage one another and show compassion to one another and most of all intercede in prayer for one another we are doing exactly as God has called us. For some of us it means showing compassion to a co-worker that has not been kind, for some encouraging a friend in need, for others being a witness to a neighbor, and for me it is loving on the women and children in Sudan. Most all great plans we make are just plans.....and it will go just as God has planned. I would like to add a couple of prayer request at this point.

Prayer Request :
*God's working in my heart so that I may have peace and complete faith in God to provide for all my responsibilities and relationships left behind as well as the new relationships God has already planned.
*Please continue to pray for my health and safety and that of my team members.
*For the women's conference happening this month in Sudan that it may open doors and hearts for future teams and greater relationships with the Sudanese people.
*God's provision for my business now, while I am away and when I return.

Praises:
*Opportunity to share with one of the Senior Adult classes at church about the work in Sudan.
*That Fred(my dog) will have good care while I am gone.
*Opportunity for Bible study with a friend to keep me grounded and accountable.

Ok so last night I had thoughts just flowing out and wrote to you but then........I accidentally deleted all of it UGH....So now I will attempt to remember what I had shared for you. Thank you for being understanding of the process of thoughts to written word. My punctuation and grammar may be off but the thoughts will still remain.
Sunday is one of my favorite days I so enjoy the fellowship and encouragement and of course a nap on any other day cannot contain the same peacefulness to me.
God always coordinates our lives like a symphony the kind that just leaves you breathless and in awe of just how good our God is, because of it's pure beauty and the way that it fills your heart with joy and pain at the same instant. Other times we can not see the forest for the trees, but yesterday I was in awe of my saviour! I spent most of my day in prayer with expectancy of God's presence and He does not fail. He has left me no doubt that he can use me in-spite of my imperfections and lack of knowledge if I am willing he will provide everything I need in the exact moment that I need whatever it may be. It is still my responsibility to continue to grow and learn and to press into him with my prayers this I do know.And although there is still much of me that is simply under God's grace and mercy for which I am so humbly thankful. I am still beyond words that he has called me to Sudan. For those of you who are reading this for the first time or do not know me me this is my second trip to Sudan after the first trip God just simply filled me with the desire to return and a love for his people there. Now he has opened the door and I am so excited!
I will be traveling with one other to meet with a medical team in Yei and then meet with a team from my own church after that in another (town) after they leave I will be the only American in the local pastors compound ( I may have an opportunity to meet and work with two other Americans but this is not certain)so I thought this would be a good opportunity to add a few prayer request.

Prayer Request-
*Safety of my team and myself
*That God's will and provision cover every aspect of preparation, from the physical, spiritual, and financial
*The Taposa people will have open hearts to hear God's word that even now they will begin to have dreams and visions to know how good and mighty he is

So as my journey begins I thought it would be a great idea to start here.....Sharing my thoughts with you so that you may come with me in some way. At this moment I am still preparing my heart, mind, and body to be used by the only one I call LORD. Please continue to pray for me and with me as I go to reach out to the Taposa people of Southern Sudan numbering up to 750,000 The harvest is plentiful and your prayers matter. I will be in Southern Sudan for almost 3mo. My journey to this place and my heart were being prepared long before I ever knew so I hope that you will continue to remember me in your prayers always...