May 25, 2009
Subject: May 2009 update – 6 weeks until departure!
Dear praying friends,
Apologies again for the long gap since my last update – the last few months have been a whirlwind and I have a lot of news and thanksgivings to tell since I last wrote.
Many of you have been praying for God’s provision for me financially. I’m glad to say that I have reached 100% of my funding and got official financial clearance from OMF. I will be departing for Orientation at the beginning of July, as scheduled. Praise God for His provision!
Many of you have also prayed for more workers to be sent to Taiwan. I am delighted to tell you that there is another young couple who will be joining my team in Taiwan in the coming year. I met Tina and Nathan Keller during my trip to Chicago back in October, as they are members of one of my supporting churches there. I was just in Chicago again a few weeks ago and was delighted to find out that they had decided to go to Taiwan and had just received the go-ahead from OMF to begin raising support. They hope to join our team in Taiwan sometime after February, as they are expecting their first child this summer. Please pray for the Kellers as they prepare for parenthood and ministry in Taiwan.
As I touched upon in my last update, I have felt God emphasizing that I ought to pray for spiritual discernment. God has continued to do beautiful things that have encouraged me in my prayers, including bringing two marriages from various stages of divorce proceedings to reconciliation. It’s not that I claim anything extraordinary about my prayers, although I deeply believe that God used those who prayed to heal and restore, and I feel privileged to have a part in what He’s doing. But the greatest wonder has been how God has made Himself present to me in the midst of these stories, and seeing how intentional He has been to let me know Him more fully through specific things that happened. (Sorry if this sounds a bit vague – it would make more sense if I felt at liberty to talk more about each of the stories!)
My travel schedule has been busy but fruitful. March 29th saw me in Lancaster, PA to speak and lead worship at an OMF prayer conference, then shortly after Easter, I made an emergency trip home to attend to a family matter. Four days later, I drove off to Chicago to spend nearly 2 weeks visiting supporters and two partner churches. Then this Saturday, I may be making a trip to New Hampshire to speak with a group of prayer supporters. It has been challenging balancing my travels with my job, continued responsibilities at Elm City Vineyard, and preparations to move overseas, but all trips were rich with signs of God’s grace. The next big event is that I will be ordained by Elm City Vineyard on June 6th!
These last few months of preparation continue to be full of signs of grace: Kind invitations for me to speak, the earnest faith of pastors and their congregations as they prayed to commission me for service in Taiwan, warm hospitality of old college friends and the hugs of their children, events thoughtfully planned on my behalf, listening ears, the heartfelt generosity of friends old and new, meaningful notes given to me, a care package of snacks for my drive home, and a myriad of things I haven’t the room to tell about. I continue to be deeply thankful for all these ways that God has “shown up” through churches and individuals. Perhaps this is a little like how the Apostle John felt when he wrote, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 21:25).
Time feels like it’s going faster and faster as the move draws near, and I earnestly ask for your prayers. Please pray for:
- Grace in Transition – If you can only remember one thing, please pray for this. As you might imagine, all the stresses and decisions, goodbyes and changes makes this a pretty emotional time. I’ve felt quite overwhelmed over the last few weeks. My whole community in New Haven is going through a lot of transition too (new babies, a few other longtime friends moving away, etc.). Please pray for grace, peace and wisdom for us in the midst of the transition.
- Immigration papers – I am applying for a Taiwan passport and permanent residence. I’ll spare you the details of this bureaucratic maze, but please pray for God to facilitate the process and for the papers to come through in His good time.
- Logistics of the move – good plane tickets, shipping, packing, etc. Please pray for God’s hand on all these details.
- My new home in Taiwan – my team will be making my living arrangements for my first year. Please pray for God, in His wisdom, to guide their decisions, as I think it won’t be possible for me to have much or any input in the process.
- Ministry decisions – my team is already talking to me about specifics of what I might do after I finish my year of language school. Please pray for wisdom for both myself and my supervisors as we consider how I should best invest myself at that time.
Thanks again for tracking with me, and for your prayers!
Love in Jesus,
Audrey
