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