Furlough Travels , so far

For missionaries, 

a furlough is a time to come back to report to supporting churches, 

gather more support, 

reconnect with friends and family, 

and gain refreshment to have strength to go back to the "front lines".

Here are a few pictures of some things I have been able to do so far-

Teaching at a Ladies' Fellowship & Paint Day

with the ladies at Susquehanna Valley Baptist Church

Traveled through northern PA and saw a black bear

Helped my dad put in a new floor

Went on an outing with the Ambassadors 

(60+ group from Mt. Zion Baptist, my home church)

Went to Arkansas to report to one of my supporting churches

and got stuck in an airport for a day

Enjoyed some beautiful scenery along the way

Got to see some people baptized at my home church

Attended a one day retreat for pastors and missionaries

Spent time with some young ladies from my church

Of course, I haven't included everything.

Since I have been back in the States I have been in a different church 

almost every weekend to share a ministry report.

In reality, I always forget to take pictures,

because I am enjoying the wonderful fellowship.

I am thankful for the health, travel safety and friends that the Lord brings my way!

Please continue to pray that the Lord would quickly add to my support 

and that the rest of my time here will be profitable.

Travel Journal: March 17 & 18, 2012

SATURDAY: This morning I did my usual morning walk and then left Michigan to drive toward home.  At one point during my journey home the GPS kept saying "Bridge to Canada 1 mile".  I was getting a little concerned when hardly anyone else was driving on the highway with me except those with Canadian license plates.  If you didn't already know this, my GPS has taken me to some odd places in my travels.  Most of the time it is very useful and I am thankful for how helpful it is, but that day I was getting a little concerned that it might take me to the border and I didn't have my passport with me.  Needless to say, it did not take me to Canada, Whew!!!!   

Driving was not too bad on Saturday morning.  After I got halfway to my destination, I stopped at a Rest Area to stretch my legs and to get a little work done.  After a few phone calls, it was very clear that the Lord's will was not for me to go to my original destination for Sunday service.  After talking to my dad a while, he reminded me that his Uncle John and Aunt Floss (my great aunt & uncle) were living in Sharpsville, PA, right on the edge of the OH/PA line.  I called them and asked about coming to attend the church that Uncle John was preaching at (my Great Uncle John has pastored some very productive churches and is now interum pastor at a small Baptist church in the area).  They invited me to stay the night with them.

What a blessed time we had of catching up 

and of sharing all that the Lord has been doing in our lives.

I am just so blessed to have family who love God and are serving them with their whole heart.
In a later post I will share with you some of those blessings, but for now I just want to catch you up on my Sunday meeting.

Pastor & Mrs. Frey

SUNDAY: Today, I was given the Sunday School hour at my Great Uncle's church.  The people were so receptive as I showed my DVD and shared testimony about all that the Lord is doing.  I know there will be people who support prayerfully and financially from this church.

My Great Uncle is an excellent preacher 

and my Great Aunt is just a joy to be around.  

The Lord has given her a true love for people.  

She is like a breath of fresh air!

I will tell you more about them later and about who this Bible belongs to 

(look for it in my next post).

After a delicious lunch and Great Aunt Floss's Raspberry Pie - YUM!!!  I was off to another church for evening service.  My plan was to stop at a church in Bedford, PA on the way toward home.  My parents often go to Bedford to visit Antique shops and Flea Markets and are always telling me to visit some of the churches in that area.  Since it is almost a 4 hour drive I had not yet been able to do that, but this time had a chance since I was heading right through.  

I visited a friendly church, where the ladies just made me feel like I was part of their family.  The pastor asked me to stand and give a testimony and to tell who I am and where I am going.

I left feeling loved and blessed.  The Pastor's message was kind of a conclusion of this whole trip.  He preached about how one of the benefits of being saved is the believers around you.  God has certainly used His people to encourage, support, and bless me!

 Ps 68:19 

"Blessed be the Lord, 

who daily loadeth us with benefits, 

even the God of our salvation. Selah."

Travel Journal: March 15 & 16, 2012 - Sterling Heights, Michigan

On these days I will be atending a Missions Conference 

at Covenant Baptist Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan.  

THURSDAY:  Tonight, I had dinner with the pastor, my hostess, an other missionaries to the conference.
After Dinner, we went to the church for coffee, cookies, & fellowship with the church people.  
After fellowship, service started.  I gave my mission presentation with a great interest from the people.
The church ladies made each of the missionaries a sewing kit and gave us a bag full of goodies.  What a blessing!  They very carefully chose what to put in the bag.  It contained gift cards for gas, food, and supplies.  Other necessities were included like: bottled water, hand sanitizer, tissues, stationary, gum, mints, and- DUCT TAPE!  I know, if you are a true Red Neck, you are cheering!  Duct tape comes in handy for EVERYTHING!  How thoughtful!!!

Janice was a great host!

After service and my whole stay, I had some great times with the widow lady I was staying with.  She truly made me feel at home.  I was again reminded about how God cares for His people.  When I thanked her, she said to me, "I am just obeying God".  She was right.  God tells us in the Bible that it is our responsibility to care for God's people.  I was certainly well cared for.


FRIDAY: This morning, I worked more on some of my VISA paperwork, correspondence & of course walked around the neighborhood.  After lunch, the pastor's wife, Donna, invited me over to stamp.  If you know me, you know how much I love rubber stamping.  If you didn't know that, you can check out some of my stuff on my craft blog- http://willingworkinghands.blogspot.com/

Donna & I in her stamp room

As we stamped, she shared how the Lord has used this hobby to help her through the failing health and finally the death of her father.  She also uses stamping as a way to get to know her church ladies better.  They come over and help make cards for the missionaries (which is what we did while I was there).  I know that I am hoping to use stamping in my ministry among the young ladies in South Africa.  We had a wonderful time!

Service on Friday night was very good!  The messages I have been able to hear were very challenging and encouraging.  Tonight, I said goodbye & thank you to everyone.  
Tomorrow, I move on!

Travel Journal: March 14, 2012 - LaGrange, IN

WEDNESDAY:  Today, I did my morning walk around Fremont, OH (I have been needing to get more exersize, so it has been a blessing to stay in a place where I can walk around the community).  After another delicious breakfast with Ryk & Eve, I headed a few hours West to LaGrange, IN.
Two years ago, when I visited a church in Western PA, I met an older gentleman who really had a burden for missions.  He was so burdened for my ministry that he sent my prayer card to his brother in Indiana.  His brother, Pastor Farnum, called me and asked to have my prayer letter sent to him.  I have been corresponding with him for almost 2 years now.  The other month when he received my prayer letter, he saw that I was going to Indiana & Michigan.  Pastor Farnum called me to invite me to stop by his church if I was in the area.
On Wednesday, I finally had a chance to meet this pastor who I had been sending prayer letters to.
I arrived early to the church.  After setting up, I had some free time.  The church property had a beautiful wooded area around back.  Since I am trying to walk more, I took the opportunity to get some more exercise (pray for your missionaries to get more exersize, we sit in the car, sit fellowshiping with others, sit at the computer answering emails, sit talking to pastors, sit & eat, eat, eat,... everyone feeds us wonderful food.  It is a huge struggle with lack of exersize and extra weight gain).
During my walk, Mrs. Farnum joined me.  We had some great fellowship.  I just love her!!!  She has a heart for the Lord and a love for her husband, family, & ministry!  Truly a Proverbs 31 woman.
The service went well as I was able to show my DVD presentation and share testimony of my burden for South  Africa.  The most precious part of the night was prayer time.  The church all moves to the front and takes turn praying out loud as a group.  What a blessing to hear a small child ask God to help them understand salvation, to hear a woman who was just saved ask the Lord to help her talk to her friend, to hear them specifically pray for my needs, and to hear their burden for the souls of their community.
After sharing a meal and more fellowship with the pastor & his family, I was on the road again.
(Sorry, I forgot to take some pictures for you :((  )

Travel Journal: March 10-13, 2012

SATURDAY~ Today I drove out through Pennsylvania to Brooklyn, Ohio.  Thank you Lord for the beautiful sunny day, saftey, and less traffic than usual.

Driving through Fremont, OH

SUNDAY~ This morning I attended Cleveland Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.  It was such a blessing to finally meet Pastor and Mrs. Folger.  Thier church is the sending church for my dear friend Karen Nolan.  Karen is a single missionary lady to Mexico.  She has stayed with me a number of times while attending my home church's Missions Conference.  Karen has been a blessing to have as a friend and was a huge help to me as I started deputation.  It was great to attend her home church and meet the people who were her prayer warriors.  


During the afrternoon, I drove a few hours to Clyde, OH.  
For evening service, I attended Harvest Baptist Temple.  This is the church that my pastor came from.  It is also the church where the Sharps are from.  The Sharps are missionaries who go all over the world helping churches with thier sound systems, audio/visual, setting up radio stations, and anything high-tech that needs to be done.  God has given them so many useful talents to help churches bring people to Christ.  I actually sat beside Mr. Sharp's mother!  Funny, the people you meet at church :)  The service was challenging and the fellowship was sweet.  After service, I drove about 40 minutes down the road to Fremont, Ohio.

Looking out over my balcony

MONDAY~ This morning I woke up and opened the door to my balcony.  From there I heard the sound of birds singing, church bells ringing, and a train whistle in the background.  Where was I?   Well, I already told you :)  I was in Fremont, Ohio.  The Lord provided a wonderful place for me to stay.  It was a little Bed & Breakfast called "Blessings".  One of the oldest houses in the historic part of town.  

Blessings B&B

It had lots of Victorian charm, but most of all I loved the inn keepers, Ryk & Eve.  As fellow Christians we were able to share with each other what the Lord has been doing in our lives.  If you would like to see more pictures from my stay at "Blessings" click here
Today, I worked on my application for my South African Health Insurance.  I have to have prook of insurance for South Africa in order to get my VISA approved.  So I had the paperwork emails, took it to be printed, filled it out and faxed it back (whew, it sounds alot easier than it was).  Also, forgot to say I found another Goodwill (I have "thrift store radar").


TUESDAY~ The weather has been so nice, so I have been walking through the historic area every morning before breakfast and every evening.  After enjoying a great breakfast, while visiting with Eve & Ryk, I did some paper work.  

Me with Ryk & Eve

Today, I spent some time on the phone again with my insurance man.  the Kilmers and I are also trying to track down some Zulu John/Romans for me to ship to South Africa.  I made a number of calls (with great help from Mr. Engles), but have still not found a place that prints Zulu John/Romans.  Please pray about this.  I was hoping to find a place in Ohio or Indian so that I could pick them up on my trip back home.  Tonight, as I was sitting on the couch updating my calendar and on the phone with a friend, Eve came out to tell me about the tornado warning.  She took me over to this closet and said that if the tornado siren goes off I should hide in there. 

The Tornado closet

 The closet was just right for one person to hide in.  Nonetheless, the tornado did not come through and we all got a good night sleep.  


Wednesday I will be at Lagrange Baptist Church in LaGrange, Indiana.
Thursday & Friday I will be at Covenant Baptist Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
Saturday morning I will drive toward home visiting a new church on Sunday morning and evening.
Thank you for praying!

Single Servants

1Corinthians 7:32 "But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:"

On my trip to Indiana, a friend asked me to go to breakfast with her and some of her single friends (one of which is now married). It was a great time! We had Starbucks coffee and Panera Bread breakfast items. What a treat!!! It is always a blessing to get to know other single ladies who are faithfully serving in thier local church. The Bible says that the unmarried should care for the things of the Lord. If I am busy serving Him, there is no time to feel sorry for myself. Being single comes with many blessings and many eternal rewards.

After breakfast, my friend took me over to the dunes of Lake Michigan.

As we stood there on that shore, with the wind blowing and snowflakes fluttering, I was thankful that I obeyed God and went with our teen group to Indiana. Thank God for the simple things, like: contentment (most of the time), breakfast with old and new friends, the sand (that is now in my shoes), and the beauty of the falling snowflakes.

Mud, Mud, and More Mud

When you travel to so many differant places, like I do, you get into many differant circumstances. This weekend I followed my family to the mountains of Northern PA. They will be hunting during this time and I will be doing painting at the cabin, making phone calls and follow-ups for more meetings, and on Sunday will visit some new churches. I am so thankful for this opportunity for two reasons- first of all, I will get to spend time with my family and secondly, free lodging while traveling to and from church meetings.
Last night, we picked dad up after work around 11pm and made our way up North through the rain showers. We arrived at the family cabin around 3:30am. my truck does not have 4wd so my wise father chained my truck to his so that I could get up the lane by tow. The rain has damaged many bridges and some towns nearby were under water because of flooding. Our lane to the cabin was very bad a few weeks ago. It has large ruts on both sides of the lane. When it rains, the lane looks like a small creek rolling down the mountain. The pictures below show what my truck looks like after coming up the lane.

My dad says it was just a little training for when I go to South Africa. Our village suffers from mud slides during the year.

Waiting for me

When you go off on a trip do you have someone waiting for you? No everyone does, but most people have someone waiting for them. Some have husbands, children, family, friends, or roommates. Others, like me have those little furry creatures waiting.
As most of you know, I have lived by myself for over 14 years now. The only reason I wish that I didn't have to travel so much on deputation is because of having to leave my friendly little kitties. The blessing that I receive from deputation is too great to explain. It is also when I return home in between trips that I get another blessing.
As my truck pulls into the driveway and I get closer to my house, the kitties come out from thier hiding places. They are so excited to see thier "mommy" again. Sometimes they cry and cry until I get out of the truck because they can hardly wait for me to pick them up or pet them. Usually, for the first few days that I am home, they will not let me out of thier sight. If I sit down one or both of them have to be on my lap. I am thankful that even though I live alone, God gave me something to greet me when I come home. Let me tell you a little more of how God uses His creatures in my life.

BANDIT

Bandit is one of the kittens from a cat I had while I lived at home. She comes when I call her and is always to comfort me there when I am crying. Bandit does not like when I sing out loud, though. She must think I am crying when I sing because she cries along with me :). If Bandit is in the house when I am reading my devotions, she insists on trying to lay on my Bible when I read. Her attitude toward my bed is that it belongs to her and she can be a bed-hog if she wants because she spends more time in it than I do. Bandit is a great hunter. Sometimes if I step outside my door without looking down I step on her dead catch (mouse, mole, bird,...) I am so thankful that the Lord gave me Bandit, He knows what we need to brighten our day!

FLUFFY

Fluffy is well-named as you can see. He had such a gentle nature and loved when I would hold him like a baby. Last Fall, after a month and a half trip for deputation, I came home and he was not here. We looked everywhere for him (including along the road where he could be hit by a car). We did not find a sign of him anywhere. It is my belief that someone took him.
One of his favorite things to do was to ride with me on the camp golf cart. Sometimes he would lay on the seat and cry until I took him for a ride. We always said he needed a cap and goggles :) He loved to ride! At christmas, Fluffy loved to lay under the tree beside baby Jesus in the manger. I miss him, but am thankful that God gave me such a cute and gentle mannered cat.

and then there's BUDDY

When Fluffy disappeared I just figured that God was slowly taking my kitties away from me since I am going to South Africa. I had never planned to get another cat because of being away so often. Fluffy's dissappearance made me sad, but I did not cry because I accepted it as the Lord's will. One day I finally did cry. I had been home for a week after Fluffy's diappearance and Bandit would cry non-stop because she missed him. Finally, I could not take it anymore and mourned with her.
A dear friend of mine from church heard about Fluffy and asked if I wanted another cat. She had a bunch of kittens at her house, that's where Buddy came from. Michelle and I drove over to her house and caught Buddy (he was not a tame cat).

Buddy was 6 months old when I got him so potty training him was no small chore (my cats are trained to go outside, no litter box required). He was not a wild cat like I thought. He immediately became my friend, that's why I call him "Buddy" (plus no other name stuck as well as that one). While he was small i would take him over to "grandma & grandpa's" house. It is so hilarious to hear my father look at a cat and say, "Come to grandpa". Just makes me laugh thinking about it. Buddy has a special bond with my dad. They like to take naps together. Now that Buddy is older he gets violently car sick, so I no longer take him to my parent's house. They come visit him periodically.

The thing I love most about Buddy is his excitement for life. When I call him to come in the house, he runs in. If I am doing the dishes or sorting through things at home, he wants to help (which usually results in him stealing something I am working with and taking it across the room to play with). He also can fetch (isn't that weird). God uses Buddy to remind me that everyday and every moment are gifts from Him. We should be excited about all that God has done for us. I know I need to be more like Buddy in this way - ready to embrace the day through the power of God.

God uses animals in the Bible to teach people a lessons about Him or His will.
For example:
Noah - raven & dove> His protection & provision
Jonah - whale> obey God's will
- worm> stop being selfish and just love people as God does
Daniel - lions> His power & protection
Balaam - donkey> His will for His people & boldness to stand for God

God also used animals to show off His Son: Holy Spirit as dove, fish that swallowed a coin, donkey that carried Christ into Jerusalem, called Jesus the Lamb of God,... These lists go on and on. We know that animals do not have souls, so they are not valuable for thier eternal state like man is, but God certainly uses them for His glory. What creature has been used by God in your life?

Traveling with a Friend

Two weekends ago, I had the blessing of taking a friend with me to visit some churches in VA. Melanie served with me at the camp ministry for about a year before going off to Bible College. Now she is home and was able to go with me to VA.

Melanie and I spent time together exploring the coast. We enjoyed watching the seagulls (even though they tried to steal our lunch).

We explored the tidal pools and I laughed as Melanie tried to catch the fiddler crabs.

We visited Assateague & Chincoteague, VA where I used to go every summer on family vacation. The wild ponies grazed along the road where we drove.

The lighthouse was great and took forever to climb, but was worth it when you got out on the landing and saw the view.

We really enjoyed exploring God's creation and are thankful for the time we could spend together. I was also blessed to be able to share a testimony at both of the churches we attended. One of those churches has already scheduled me for a meeting! Praise the Lord!

My Mother, the Missionary

As you have read by now, my mother was one of my "teammates" on our mission trip to Wyoming. I cannot thank the Lord enough for allowing me to go with her on her first mission trip.

This was her first time flying & she did it very well!!! (See how she follows my example).

On the plane we were able to give what I call "tag team testimonies" (when you each share testimonies that point others to Christ)to the lady across the aisle from mom. the lady was so afraid of flying that she asked to hold mom's hand when we took off and when we landed. She asked us many questions because she did not have a peace about death. Hopefully she thought about the words we said and the Scripture we gave her. We are praying that she will find peace through Christ.

Everyday our team saw how the Lord used my mom. Whether she serve behind the scenes, sewing with the ladies, or helping in a class - it blessed my heart to see my mother being used by God in such a special way.

I was not only blessed to serve with my mom, but to also spend time with her. She is a hard worker at home. It was nice for us to get away and see some of WY's beauty.

We will never know all that the Lord has done in my mom's life during our mission trip, nor will we realize all He has used her for in His work in the ladies and children's hearts and lives.

Thank you Lord for a mother who takes joy in serving You!
"Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her." ~Proverbs 31:28