HAITI- From Muck and Mire…


"He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire; 


he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand." -Psalm 40:2

She said she thought Jesus was coming back…when Miss Italienne saw light coming in through cracks in the walls, she thought it was Jesus returning. What a disappointment when instead she realized that what she first took to be the greatest thing possible was actually a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that would devastate her home, family and country.

Italienne quickly realized that the light was coming in her home because an earthquake was happening.  She woke her father, gathered her children, parents, sisters, niece and nephew and headed towards a nearby field. They would camp out there to stay away from buildings during the aftershock.

Italienne’s husband works in a different city, so she has a large burden looking out for all of these family members, but that’s not all. She is also a trained nurse, so when the earthquake hit and many of the hospitals were filled with earthquake victims, Italienne was providing aid to the people in her area. She even delivered four babies in this field.

After getting to the field, it became more and more obvious that they would be stuck there for some time, so Italienne started building a shelter out of a sheet.  After two or three days in this sheet shelter, they needed something new, so Italienne and her sister used tin from her sister’s roof to construct a more stable structure.

“There were eight people sleeping in this small space,” Italienne said.  “I was crammed up in the corner.  We realized we’d have to stay in the field even longer because of the aftershocks, so we found tarps and made the shelter a little bigger.  But when it rained, it would all fall and everything would get wet.”

Hurricane season was approaching, and around this time Samaritan’s Purse came with temporary homes.  Miss Italienne went to get one of these tents several times, but there were never any left by the time she got there, so she thought of a new plan…she would build a temporary home out of wood and palm fronds.   She never got to make this home, because this was when she heard she would be receiving the first home in the OMS Homes for Haiti project.

OMS started the Homes for Haiti project as a way to provide long-term relief for Haitians after the January 2010 earthquake. After sending relief and medical teams and supplies in response to the earthquake, OMS wanted to find a more permanent way to help. OMS plans to build at least 20 more homes through this project.

“After our house fell, I had hoped God could do something, but I didn’t realize he could do something like this,” she said, her face filled with excitement as she motioned to the three-room, cement home behind her.

Italienne said the home has been so much more comfortable and that she is so thankful that she is able to sleep better now and provide a shelter for her family from the sun and the cold.

“A lot of people ask questions (about the home)—they want ones like this, and the people in the church are very anxious for the (Homes for Haiti) project to get started.  I don’t know of any other organizations that are making good houses like this…THIS is a house!”

The thing that struck me most about Miss Italienne was the joy that she had even in the midst of living such a hard life and her readiness to give God thanks and credit for what she did have.

“I knew God would take care of us, but His plan was way more than I can imagine,” she said with tears in her eyes and a huge smile on her face.  “It demonstrated His faithfulness. I don’t want to call this my house—I want to put a sign up and call it the faithfulness of God.”

Please pray for Miss Italienne and her family!  If you’d like to learn more about Homes for Haiti go to http://www.onemissionsociety.org/our-one-mission/homes-for-haiti

This is an OMS-related church in Gressier.  Miss Italienne is an active part of this church body.  This is the view of the church from the front of Miss Italienne's home.

Miss Italienne took me behind her new home to see her old home and where her sister lives.

This is where Miss Italienne's sister lives and one of the places the family shared before receiving a new home.

This is inside the ruins of Miss Italienne's old home.  During the earthquake, this dresser fell onto the bed where Italienne's father had been sleeping.  Had she not woken him and moved the family, he would have likely lost his legs when it fell.

This is part of Italienne's old home, which still sits behind her new house.

Italienne enjoying her new home!

The main room in the new house.

Miss Italienne's bedroom in the new house.

The other bedroom in the new house.  Nine people share this home.

Beka

HAITI- An Overwhelming Joy

Her face has been in front of me all week.  The Homes for Haiti brochure Jessica and I designed is being printed in-house, which means as of this week, I’ve printed, cut and folded 1,000 of these brochures.  Thankfully, we have some good equipment that speeds up the process.  Even so, Miss Italienne, the recipient of the first OMS Homes for Haiti home, has been on my heart and mind a lot.

Though I only spent an afternoon with this beautiful woman, she really made a lasting impact on me, and my heart aches to think that the chaos around her has probably heightened all over again since the Cholera outbreak and rioting going on in Haiti.

Just a month ago, I was sitting on a chair in the gravel outside her house, hearing about her experience during and after the January 2010 earthquake. Matt (an OMS missionary) and Junior (one of the Haitian seminary students) translated for me as I interviewed her.

She told me about how she became a believer after she visited a Penecostal church as a teenager and noticed a power there that was different from the liturgical church she had grown up in.

“Before being a Christian, it was a miserable and sad life,” she said. “Then, I learned God would take care of me.”

If there was ever a place that would challenge this theology, I’d guess Haiti would be one of the toughest. But here, more than 20 years later, Miss Italienne still firmly believes this.  Her sincerity was evident in the joy beaming from her face.

And as I listened to her joyfully share, eager at the chance to tell others about what God had done for her…I couldn’t help but think about a verse posted on my computer at work:

“We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.”

Colossians 1:11-12 (MSG)

When I read these verses, I was struck by the fact that the strength described is overflowing in supply.  So often I go through trials only to come out on the other side with bitterness, frustration or feelings of defeat.  A lot of the time in trials, my expectation is to make it through “gritting my teeth.”  But the truth is, God’s strength is bigger than us just barely making it through—in fact His strength is SO big, that in Colossians, He says I can ask Him to bring me through a trial with joy overflowing!  I don’t know how He has that supply, but He does.

It was so cool (and convicting) to see Miss Italienne living these verses out so clearly.  She lived a hard life, and even after God provided a home for her, she still lives a hard life.  But she exemplifies a solid faith that spills over into joy.  That is unnatural but possible with Jesus, and I want to be more like that.

"I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of all your wonders.

I will be glad and rejoice in you.

I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."

Psalm 9:1-2 (NIV)




Check back for Miss Italienne’s experience during the January earthquake!

Beka

OneWeekend

“And God said, ‘You’re going to go up there aren’t you?’ And I went, and that’s when I committed to missions...”

We sat around a round table at Paradise Café, just a mile from OMS. The OMS Mobilization department was hosting the OneWeekend retreat for anyone considering his or her next step in missions.  These four women had already been through half of OneWeekend.  Just when you may think these participants would be ready for a break from the tough questions and deep conversation, here they were, ready to dig deeper at lunch.

As we sat down at the cafe, one of the girls, a sophomore from Houghton College, finished sharing about how she became a believer in Christ.  It was a beautiful story of God pursuing her and working out seemingly impossible logistics for her to make it to a conference where she met Him and then committed to missions.  We all sat amazed and touched by her story.  I guess what I’m getting at is it showed the Lord’s glory enough to fill you up for a day, but the beautiful thing was, then the other women chimed in, and before we knew it, each of them was sharing a story of God’s grace in their lives.  It was truly amazing.  To think that one story of God intervening in someone’s life can be so powerful and then to realize that our God is so huge that He is big enough to make that kind of impact in each of our lives.  Awesome.

Getting to know these attendees, wrestling through questions with them, praying with them, and seeing them either open to the Lord’s leading or being honest with what’s holding them back…was the highlight of my weekend.

To see each of them seek a respite in the same place where we serve and work everyday gave me a different perspective of headquarters.  It was so great!  The Lord spoke to us during this weekend. What an answer to prayer.  He showed Himself through the attendees, through the facilitators, through answering our prayers in a time of need on Saturday.  He is so huge, and it was such a blessing to spend time with these 30 adults in the exciting stage of seeking where He wants to lead them.

Beka

Where Are You Now?

Hi friends,

I'll be posting a few more stories about Haiti, but before I do, I thought I should write a quick note to make it clear that we did make it back!  Since being home, I've been able to visit World Gospel Church to participate in and share at their annual mission conference, and last weekend, I was able to visit our Haiti team in Columbus, Indiana.  Both were such an encouragement!  Now, I'm getting back into the swing of things at headquarters.

Tropical Storm Tomas is heading towards Haiti right now.  Please pray for protection and encouragement for the people there.  Pray especially for those who are homeless or living in tent communities.  While I was in Port, we experienced a thunderstorm during a tent service, and this was nothing compared to Tomas.  I can't imagine trying to sustain a tropical storm without a home.  Let's not forget about them.

I'm so thankful to have been a part of the Columbus team to Haiti. Thank you so much for praying for us and for your support.  I will definitely be sharing more about the trip!  However, as I do, I'm reminded (and I hope you remember, too) that I really have no understanding or grasp on Haiti's history or culture.  As one of my teammates put it, it's like during this trip, we were just able to dip one toe in a huge ocean. What I can share with you is what I observed as a first-time visitor, what I learned from talking with and interviewing people who are living there and what the Lord taught me while I was there.  And my hope is that through sharing these things you'll be encouraged or at least a little entertained...

Praying for Haiti with you,

Beka

HAITI- One Wild Ride...

My first morning in Haiti, I packed a small backpack of clothes and jumped on the back of the truck below.  This truck bed is where I rode for 9 hours to Port au Prince with 10 Haitian seminary students and two young women, who are missionaries here.  It was an awesome opportunity to see a lot of Haiti from the truck—both different cities/villages and the countryside.  The ride was so bumpy that I couldn’t take a lot of pictures or write, because we had to hold on to stabilize ourselves.  I wasn’t expecting Haiti to be so beautiful—the natural parts are just gorgeous, but the roads were really rough on our drive to Port au Prince.

These little bags of water were all we had for drinking water.  They are just like the sacks of milk at elementary schools in the U.S., but instead of poking them with a straw, you rip one of the corners with your teeth and drink straight from the bag.  They taste dirty—probably partly because our hands are so dirty before touching the outside of the bags—but at least it was safe water.

This trip was roughing it.  I stood for most of the first 5 hours—it’s fun to have the view and it’s easier for your body to absorb the shock this way, but the sun was also really hot, so towards the end, we all started taking turns sitting under a tarp that covered half of the truck bed.  We stopped once and bought lunch from a woman in a hut in a village we passed through.  It was a rice and vegetable mix with a fish laying on top.

Driving through Port was a whole new level of destruction and poverty compared to Cap Haitien.  There were so many more people.  Everywhere was crowded and dirty and the roads were horrible.  We traveled through Port and up a mountain to a tent community in Diquini, where the seminary students would be doing a crusade.

I wish I could’ve communicated with the seminary students more. They were so nice and spent a lot of time singing during our trip.  One of the students, who spoke a little English, tried to translate a couple of the songs meanings for me, while they sang, which was so nice.

As soon as we parked, the people in the tent community welcomed us.  They were so happy to see the seminary students.

We’d made it…nine hours and finally to a place with bathrooms—no running water…The guesthouse pictured below is where we stayed.  It had been abandoned by another mission, and one of the Haitian students got permission for us to stay there.  The house looked like it had been straightened up, but it was still pretty dirty and moldy…it looked…well, abandoned.  But all the seminary students and two missionaries said it was much nicer than the last time they had come.  One of the seminary students that came ahead of us, set up an inverter, so we could have water to shower, which was great!  Even showering in this dirty bathroom, I felt so much cleaner than when we arrived.

The abandoned guesthouse where we stayed.

View looking out from the guesthouse.  The blue tarps are some of the relief tents sent after the earthquake.

View from the back of the truck during our drive.

Passed this on our way to Port- SO beautiful!

Riding in the truck bed to Port.  The seminary students sang and used coolers and plastic bottles for instruments.

Riding in the back of the truck to Port au Prince

HAITI- Day 1

We made it to Haiti and it has already been an adventure!  I'm loving it!


Our plane neared the landing strip and alongside the runway was a grassy field maybe 100 or 200 yards wide.  I was so surprised to see children playing, cows grazing and people hanging laundry-- all so close to the planes.  The Cap Haitien airport is the smallest international airport I've ever been to, but it was more than sufficient.


The OMS field director, Brett, loaded our bags into the back of a truck, where we stood as he drove us to the OMS compound.  This was awesome!!  You could see so much and it was just fun...I was standing at the front of the truck bed, so I could see every truck coming straight at us, before Brett veered to the right.

As soon as we arrived at the compound, Brett told me I'd be leaving the Columbus team in a few minutes to stay at the seminary tonight.  Praise God- the timing worked out for me to go to Port au Prince tomorrow with the seminary students!  We'll be leaving at 5:45am.

Brett and his three-year-old, Christina, drove me to the seminary, where the other missionaries had already come from the compound for a prayer meeting.  The seminary buildings are beautiful. Modest-- but nice finished floors and running water.  I'm sleeping in a bed at least for tonight, which is really nice and unexpected!  But the small bugs running across my computer screen remind me that I'm far from home :)

Looking forward to tomorrow and what's in store.

Beka

On Our Way...

We had a great first day of travel and are now in the Ft. Lauderdale airport waiting for the flight to Haiti.  Everyone has been great, and it already feels like we're a team.  Thankful for that!  I'm the only one on the team not from Community Church of Columbus, but it turns out most of these people didn't know each other before this trip either.  It's been great to travel with them.

Our leader, Storly, is Haitian but now lives in the U.S.  I talked with him a lot waiting for our flight in Indy.  It was awesome to hear from him about Haiti's history and how that impacts the culture there today.  I have so much to learn and am really thankful to be going.

We didn't get much sleep last night, but the accommodations were great for the few hours we were there.
It was my turn to lead devotional time this morning... we talked about Isaiah 51 and Jeremiah 31 and God as our Restorer.

We'll be in Cap Haitien in a few hours, and I still don't know how I'm getting to Port au Prince, but I'm okay with that.  Hopefully, it will work out.  I'm ready to jump on a truck or plane as soon as we get there if needed or I might be going another day.  Hope to have the internet access and time to keep you posted once we get there!

Beka

Hungary, Haiti prep and Headquarters Pics

(From Saturday...)

I just got off the phone—well, skype—with a Canadian woman, who lives in Hungary, serving with One Mission Society.  We’d never met before, but I was asked to write a story about the “Baba Mama” ministry she started as a way to minister to young moms in Budapest, so we set up a video interview today.

It was such an encouragement to talk to her.  She continually gave thanks to God, saying, “He is just so kind” or “He is just so gracious.”  Funny after just yesterday, I was asking God to help me trust His love and kindness more.  It’s really amazing how God can use one person so far away, as Kelley blessed me when we were half a world apart.

I’ve been running lots of errands today to get ready for Haiti… I’ve never gone shopping for a mosquito net before.  But I’m ready with the net, repellent and anti-malaria meds.  I found out this week that I’ll need to wear long skirts or dresses during our whole trip.  My friend Sarah graciously lent me hers, what a relief … where do you find summer dresses in October?

Tonight, my neighbors Kyle and Amanda are giving me a Creole lesson :) But first, here are a few photos from some headquarters fun…

Celebrating National Punctuation Day!

Colon cookie, anyone?

Jessica, my lovely cubicle buddy, celebrating in style

This is our department cheesing for a present for our videographer Mark!
Pray for him and his wife Michelle as they move to Taiwan this week.

Thankful today that God heals our waywardness and loves us freely (Hosea 14:4).  Hope you’re feeling His love, too.

Beka

Heading to Haiti

I’m going to Haiti on October 12!  This will be my first trip with One Mission Society.

OMS has been serving in Haiti for over 50 years!  During this trip, I’ll be visiting different ministries to write about what God is doing there, as well as serving alongside a team from Columbus, Indiana, who will be working with Radio 4VEH, a radio evangelism ministry of OMS.

I’m so thankful that it is working out to visit these different ministries, and I can’t wait to get a first hand look at what God is doing in Haiti!  A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to start serving as a liaison for Starfish Kids, which is One Mission Society’s child sponsorship program in Haiti.   Basically, I’ll be a contact at Headquarters and a go-between for the Starfish Kids coordinator, Jane, who lives in Haiti, and whoever needs information here.  This trip to Haiti will be a great opportunity to see this program in action and visit one of the schools where Starfish Kids is sponsoring children.

OMS has also just launched a project called Homes for Haiti, which is providing permanent homes for some of the families who lost their homes during the January 2010 earthquake.  Click here to read more about this project or see a video with the family who received the first home.  I’m so excited- it looks like it will work out for me to visit this area and see the Homes for Haiti project firsthand.

While in Haiti, I’ll also be learning more about the Bethesda Medical Clinic and Emmaus Biblical Seminary!  I can’t wait to share with you as I learn more :)

If you’d like to give towards this trip go to:

http://www.onemissionsociety.org/donatetoyourmissionarynow/details/220/bmech

I really appreciate your prayers as I’m getting ready to leave Tuesday!  Thank you for your support and encouragement!

Beka

Life in the Communications Department

Exciting, Exhausting, Lively, Busy, Comical, Prayerful, Enthusiastic…and did I mention Busy?  This is life in the communications department!  I’m so thankful to be in my second month now serving at One Mission Society’s World Headquarters!

It is really a blessing to finally be in the position I’ve been looking forward to for the past year and a half.  The staff here is so great.  They are encouraging and love to joke around, and they challenge me with their attitudes of service as we are continually being handed new projects to add to already full workloads.

One of the main things I knew I’d be doing as an associate writer and editor was writing stories for One Mission Society’s Web site.  My co-worker Jessica and I have our first stories are up!  Go to www.onemissionsociety.org, and you’ll see the stories scrolling across the homepage.  Jesus is healing people, revealing himself and building communities of those who want to know him, and so we continue to write what we can to share what we see him doing!

But this is not how I spend most of my time.  From day one, it’s been easy to see that there is no shortage of work to be done!  Working as a writer/editor here has been a juggling act to say the least :) but the variety makes it exciting and creates lots of opportunities to learn.  My co-workers are examples in good work ethic.  There are eight of us serving in the communications department, trying to meet the communications needs of the other departments at headquarters and individual missionaries here and overseas, while managing the Web sites and producing Outreach magazine three times a year.

So, besides writing stories, here are a few of the projects I’ve been working on! Each week I edit prayer tools that go out to churches and prayer supporters.  I’ve helped some missionary friends with a DVD about their ministry.  I had the exciting chance to edit a devotional book our department put together to give to women in the Philippines.  This was right up my alley and a last minute (6 weeks before the trip) project, so it was so fun to help with it!  I’ve also been learning how to manage content on the Web site and have been updating it.  This week, Jessica and I will also start writing radio stories, and I’ll be helping with some legwork for a video project.

It’s exciting to be a part of this team!  Since moving, I’ve been getting a bigger picture of OMS and how our department and my role fit into meeting needs, so that others can hear about Christ! I hope this update tells you a little bit about how we contribute and in turn how you are contributing through your prayers and financial support of my ministry. Thank you for being a part of this team and for the encouragement you are to me!

Beka

Oh, Happiness...

Wow!  What a whirlwind these past few weeks have been!  July was filled with a four-week training called CROSS-training.  This is Cultural, Relational, Organizational, Strategic, and Spiritual training that all missionaries go through when they start serving with One Mission.

Our group was made up of eleven missionaries from all different places and levels of experience.  I’m so thankful for the group God put together!  The other new missionaries were from Canada, Australia, the U.K., and the U.S., and we are all serving in various roles now in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific.  

I’m so glad that one of the families is still here this week and next for a church planting training!  It’s great to have the extra time with them and to not have to say goodbye to everyone at once.  One of the women in our group- Jessica, will be staying here at headquarters, too.  It’s been so fun to get to know her more, and we’re both serving in the communications department, so we had our first day together Monday!  

Things are going so well.  I’m thankful for the ways God provided over the last month in showing me more about his love.  I’ve been learning a lot about transparency and that God accepts me where I am and how I am.  Shouldn’t be a new concept, huh?  But I’m thankful there’s grace for me to learn this even as a missionary.

Getting a deeper understanding of this was my favorite part of training, but to give you an idea of what we did all month, here are some other highlights:

Talking with David Long, president of One Mission, about God’s love and grace; outside of the box, creative worship time; learning how my strengths, weaknesses, and desires are purposeful in ministry; learning about Every Community for Christ and church planting movements; seeing the hearts of the staff; laughing, crying, praying, and laughing some more.

The title of this post is from a David Crowder song one of our leaders shared with us during our last day of training.   “Oh, happiness, there’s grace enough for us and the whole human race…”

David & Lori Long had us over for dinner during our first week.

These sweet women are from the U.S. and all serving in Asia for the next year.

David & Joshua are from Australia; this is their first game of cornhole.

Joshua's first baseball game.

"There is no room in love for fear.  Well-formed love banishes fear.  Since fear is crippling, a fearful life -- fear of death, fear of judgment-- is one not yet fully formed in love."  1 John 4:18 (MSG)

Beka

Personal

Throughout the weekend, I’ve been trying to process the best way to share with you what’s been happening here at CROSS-training.  Sunday’s experience is the perfect representation of my time here so far. 

It’s been an intense two weeks.  We’ve had a busy schedule, but the more tiring part has been that the material requires us to process what we’re learning on a personal level rather than just a professional one.  While this has made it more challenging, I’m thankful because it’s been more fruitful and allowed for genuine growth.

As part of our cross-cultural training, we’re to attend ethnic church services while we’re here.

One of the girls I’m in training with, Emily, and I grabbed coffee at Starbucks before heading to a Brazilian church service last night.  We went to Sbux with the intention of doing some homework for training, but we ended up just talking through where we are personally in just trying to learn who God is and what He wants in and for our lives.  Unfinished homework aside, this was actually God opening our eyes for a reminder of how personal and specific he is.

When we arrived at the Brazilian church, a few people in a Sunday school room welcomed us.  Our apologetic “we don’t speak any Portuguese,” was answered with a hug and a kiss from the pastor’s wife.  There were only about 20 people there.   Their relaxed loving attitude was beautiful.  The Pastor shared from Ezra about God’s gracious hand, and his daughter translated.  I can’t believe how relevant this message was to our circumstances.  Some of the phrases he used were the exact ones I had voiced confusion about at the Starbucks just moments before.  It has been so amazing to see God meet us right where we are in the midst of this training process.

I came to training with the idea that I needed to push aside whatever obstacles I came with and learn what was planned for me.  I planned to process the challenges I was experiencing later, but God has continually put those things right in front of me in training. I have had to digest them and be honest and learn.  Whether through a training session, a teammate’s comment, or a Brazilian pastor (who’s words I can’t understand on my own), God has been gracious enough to continually show me that he’s not interested in leaving my heart behind.

I know this is a beautiful example of his love for us, caring more about our hearts, than anything we try to do for him.  He cares more about our relationship with him, than a checklist in a curriculum.

I’m really thankful for a God like that, and I want to know him more and pray that he will reveal more of his plan and timing through this training.

Looking forward to hearing from you and sharing more with you soon :)

Beka

The Countdown Is On

3 weeks until I move to Greenwood!

25 days until training starts!

$900/month left in needed financial support!

Eighty percent!  I can’t believe it, but why am I surprised?  God is caring and faithful, and yet I can tell by my reaction that I still have seeds of doubt.  Why do I so often choose to trust myself over Him when He proves Himself trustworthy over and over again?  I don’t know…but I’m thankful that He does not run out of patience.  I’m so excited about this ministry team that He has been forming!  Thank you to each of you for the part that you play.

Just four months ago, my sweet friend Robin and I were sitting at her dining room table in Indy.  It snowed so hard that February night that my car was stuck in the driveway, but it was a great place to be stuck if you ask me…  We sat with our coffee, brainstorming ways to share with people about how I’m serving with One Mission and praying for 50 percent of my funding by the end of March.  On March 30, my support jumped from 49 to 52 percent, and on March 31^st, I was able to fill out my paperwork at headquarters confirming that I was more than 50 percent funded.  Isn’t it amazing how exact God’s timing can be?

Now with three weeks before my move, I’m at 80 percent!  It’s been so exciting to see God provide!  I’m not very good at always trusting in His timing, but when I think back to this provision in March or how He provided the opportunity for me to serve with this organization or any other time He has taken care of me…I remember that it is really the only thing to do.

Would you join me in praying for this last 20 percent?  Would you consider becoming a part of this financial team yourself?

Thanks for coming alongside me and joining in this ministry!

Beka

A Place Prepared for Me

So excited to share with you about my visit to One Mission Society headquarters!  Thursday I was able to pick out my apartment in Greenwood- Praise the Lord!!!  I'm so thankful to get to this point, and it's awesome to know where my home will be :)  I picked out an apartment across the hall from one of my co-workers.  It will be such a blessing to live near her.  I'm planning on moving in a month. 

One Mission headquarters has been going through a huge renovation this year, updating the headquarters building and getting things up to code.  While some parts of the building are still covered with drywall dust or stripped to studs and bare cement floors, the new communications department is almost finished!  The communications staff has moved into the new offices and the video room and studio is almost complete.  The director of communications had me pick my cubicle and showed me they already have a mailbox with my name on it...it's the little things :)

It has been such a joy to be a part of this staff/community and I have not even moved yet!  The staff has been so welcoming and kind.  Their thoughtfulness in preparing for me, anticipating my move, and encouraging me along the way, has made me feel so loved.  What a gift to be a part of a team like this!

It was such a blessing to have lunch with Susan Loobie, the director of communications, and Lori McFall, the associate editor of Outreach magazine, and their kids.  We had the chance to talk about different types of trips I might take once I'm working, and it was great just to hear them talk about the ins and outs of the communications department, how the need for financial support plays into our roles, and where God might take this ministry in the future.  There is so much I can learn from them.

I can't wait to get started!  Your prayers and support are making this possible- Thank you so much!

Beka

My apartment building!

Part of the communications department...
Can you tell we're still moving in?

Encouraging as I'm working towards moving.  It's really happening!