LA BARRA DE LA CRUZ

I am about to set out on another great adventure with my God to La Barra de la Cruz. We leave Monday the 24th of September and return November 19th. We will be building relationships with the people through various avenues such as medical clinics, dental clinics, teaching english, and day to day spending time with them and doing VBS-like activities with the children. There is one believing family, Roberto and Maria and children, who have quieted down in their faith due to some mild persecution. We hope to meet with them on a weekly basis if not more often to study the word together, fellowship, and encourage one another. We plan on partnering with them in sharing the gospel with others in the village. I would greatly appreciate it if you would keep the following things in prayer:

• Team Unity: John 13:35; John 17
• Personal growth/spiritual disciplines (bible reading, prayer, scripture memory, journaling, etc.)
• Opportunities to build relationships with the people of La Barra, display the love of Christ to them, and share the gospel with them.
• Salvation of those in La Barra; that God would plant a local body of believers before we leave.
• Learning the spanish language and the culture.

As I have come to know over and over again, nothing is too big for God to accomplish and He is faithful to fulfill His purposes in and through His people. So many times I have been encouraged by the prayers of His saints for God's will to be done, for His name to be known among the nations and exalted. Many times over I have been blessed by your prayers for me and the people I am ministering too. There is no doubt that countless numbers of your prayers have been answered in the last 9 months of my life with the salvation of those in Chambri, PNG and God's provision for a car and many others that we could spend all day recounting. I hope you are encouraged to press on in prayer for God's name to be exalted among the nations and REJOICED IN among the peoples (Psalm 67). Malachi 1:11 isn't mere suggestion. God's name WILL BE GREAT AMONG THE NATIONS. Take joy in this and let this end result stay fresh in your mind as you pray towards this end. May God be given glory in all we do and say.

Family, Friends, and FELLOWSHIP!!

Well, the last month has been filled with family, friends, and FELLOWSHIP!! It started with a trip to Louisville, Kentucky to visit my brother Ryan and his wife Sarah. Ryan is attending Southern Seminary to train to be a pastor. He is going to be a great one, preaching the truth in love, and Sarah is going to be a wonderful pastor's wife!! I attended several classes while I was there including Systematic Theology (Dr. Moore), Hermeneutics (Dr. Wellum), Spiritual Disciplines (Dr. Whitney), and an Anthropology class with Dr. Sills. Needless to say I was challenged and encouraged. It was also a blessing to know that I had been taught at the CPCP much of the same things taught at Seminary. After much coffee and fellowship I headed back to Austin for a few days with my parents before making my way to San Angelo. There I stayed at the Russo household while spending much of my time drinking coffee at Baker Street and meeting up with friends. It was a blessing to fellowship with them again! Elaine, I will cherish the mornings (or late nights) we were able to spend fellowshiping over coffee or raspberry hot chocolate and the insight I gain every time I meet with you. K Booth, are you sure I can't take you to Mexico with me? I am really going to miss our talks as we walked the KOA. And Alison, stay away from IHOP...crazy boys lurk there. I enjoyed fellowship over pancakes that morning and our photo shoot in the parking lot!! And what a joy it was to see all my other brothers and sisters in Christ! I love this family!! Bob Beaver, thanks for the ice cream and the encouragement I receive from you. Thank you Jim Farmer for being a man of prayer and praying fervently for me. Thank you CCSA for being the body of Christ!! Thank you God for so great a salvation and for adopting us into your family that we can share such sweet fellowship on this earth. And thank you for nephews!! I spent a few days in Eldorado with my precious nephews! I got to be there for Jacob's first day of Pre-K! He was so cute in his new school clothes and big, heavy backpack! When he returned from school we asked him what he learned. He said he didn't learn anything about something. He's a funny one. And then he said, "And you know what? They didn't teach us anything about God." How cool is that? My four year old nephew was disappointed at Pre-K because they didn't teach him anything about God!! Later I got to celebrate Ty's third birthday with him and all his cute little buddies! He had a Buzz Lightyear birthday and a big blow up water slide which he went kamikaze on! And then there's Kyle, AKA Kygil (name created by Ty). I really enjoyed loving on my nephews and hearing them say their prayers at night was nothing short of precious and sweet!! Oh I pray God saves them and uses them mightily to further His Kingdom!!

Earlier this month I spent some time in Austin with my parents when God provided a car for me!! All through college I said I would love to have a yellow Aztek or Xterra and God gave me a yellow Xterra!! I named him Amarillo but will call him Rillo for short!! I have really enjoyed driving it and practically living out of it the past few days! I spoke at a Women on Mission luncheon at Hyde Park Baptist Church on my trip to Papua New Guinea and my upcoming trip to La Barra. It was a blessing to be speaking at the place I spent my first few years attending. It is always a good thing when the first person you meet says, "I remember when you were this big" and places her hand a couple feet above the floor indicating my height! It is also a good thing to get on these ladies' prayer list!! Praise the Lord for faithful prayer warriors! Thanks Mamaw for having me come and share and praise God for grandparents like you and parents like my mom and dad who support me in everything I do!! I also spoke again at FBC Eldorado, where my brother-in-law Sylas is the youth minister, which was a joy and privilege. Thank you Pastor Andy for letting me come and share all that God has done so far in my short missions career! And thank you FBC for all your prayers and support! They prayed so hard for me for a car and God provided! Right next to a car on their prayer list is a husband for me!! I'm waiting patiently for that answer...[picture to be inserted when he arrives :)]