Newsletter #1

Frustrations

I'm really sad because I can't figure out how to upload a pdf file to the internet. It may not be possible, but it should be. If you know how to do this please let me know. Anyway, I made this really cute newsletter in Pages and I can't let you all see it unless you give me your email address and I can email it to you. But I still want to share all the information in it with you so here it is!

What's been happening...

Saying Goodbye to the Sides: I'm really excited to announce that my teammates, Ashley and Jamie Sides and their son Luke, will be moving to Ceske Budejovice July 7th. I'm disappointed that I won't be leaving with them, so please keep me in your prayers that I'll be there soon.

Survey Trip: However, I will be able to join the Sides along with the rest of the team in CB for one week. I'll be taking a survey trip July 11-17. There are so many things we can get done that week and I'm grateful for the opportunity to go. I plan on doing more exploring of the city, especially in Ctyri Dvory, the neighborhood we'd like to focus on and live in. I'm also looking forward to brainstorming plans to fulfill our goals, finding out more about apartment opportunities, meeting new people, and coming back and telling you all about it!

Sponsoring Church: After 2 1/2 years of searching for an overseeing congregation I've finally found one! North Pointe Church of Christ will be overseeing my work and I'm so grateful for all their support and excitement for the future work!

The Pictures: I've started this project where I take a picture everyday for a year. At the end I'll be able to look back on that year and learn a lot about what's important to me! So I took 3 pictures from this past week to show what's been happening with me.

This is my beautiful niece, Charlotte, she's just so cute I have to show her off!

This is one of the most important men in my life, my dog Toby. Isn't he cute?

This is from this year's VBS at North Pointe. I was blessed to be able to work with the preschoolers and they were so adorable!

Raising Funds...the Ups and Downs

I'm about half way to having 100% of all my monthly support raised! I only need 11.8 more partners (churches or individuals) at $150/month each, or some other combination. I feel like God has been blessing me so much lately and I can't wait for Him to show me where the rest of it will come from!

Not as easy as you might think: I've heard it said that the hardest part of doing mission work is raising the funds. I never expected to still be living in the U.S. and still trying to raise funds. It's definitely harder than I anticipated. But I'm confident that God will provide and I will make it there in His timing. It's so awesome to look back and think that if my team left when I had planned we wouldn't have the Hurleys as part of our team and I wouldn't have been able to be a part of an amazing church. Even though it was discouraging at the time I'm thankful that God knows a lot more than I do and he kept me here a little longer for a reason.

There's still work to do, but it's SO possible: I still have a ways to go before I can leave for CB, but I know I will get there soon with all of your help!

What Can YOU do Now?

1. Pray: I need as many prayer partners as I can get. I hope that you will pray for my team, the Czechs, and me-to get the rest of my support. Prayer is so powerful so why not use it.

2. Become a Partner: I need more financial partners, both churches and individuals. If you would like to become a partner or feel your church would, please let me know. I would love to talk to you more about the needs of the Czechs and how my team wants to help them.

3. Refer a Partner: If you know an individual or church that you think might be interest in hearing what I've got to say, please let me know. I'd love to talk to as many people about the needs of the Czechs as I can.

If you'd like to become a partner with me you can send your support to:

North Pointe Church of Christ

4405 Williford Rd.

Sachse, TX 75048

Also, please contact me with any questions you have about me, this work, or the Czech Republic in general. I'd LOVE to talk with you!