9 days on the road

This last week I was in South Bend and then on Friday headed down to Indianapolis for my works Christmas Party. The Christmas party was a lot of fun as we had a magician, a funny white elephant gift exchange, and some prizes. I stayed at my bosses house during the weekend which was a lot of fun as he has 7 adorable kids.
I am now back in Lafayette until Friday as I will then head back to South Bend for the Christmas family get together. I have received a couple more gifts this week and I am at 33% (890 of 2700) monthly and 76% (7520 of 9910) one-time. Please continue to pray that God will bring in my monthly support. I am praying that I will be fundraised by January 1st and leave by February 1st. Will you please pray with me? Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement.

God incomprehensible

During this last week I have been reading from "The Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer and have been challenged on the way I view God. This is his opening prayer in the book that I have been praying:

"O Lord God Almighty, not the God of the philosophers and the wise but the God of the prophets and apostles; and better than all, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, may I express Thee unblamed?
They that know Thee not may call upon Thee as other than Thou art, and so worship not Thee but a creature of their own fancy; therefore enlighten our minds that we may know Thee as Thou art, so that we may perfectly love Thee and worthily praise Thee.
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"

God is not exactly like anything or anybody. When I think about this it bothers me because I want to be able to comprehend God. I want to know what He is doing at all times and I try to figure Him out. How ridiculous it is to think that a finite being can understand the infinite God! God is incomprehensible and if I were able to figure out God, then there would be no reason for awe and reverence of the Almighty God. What is God like? I may only know from what He has revealed to be true of Himself through creation, the written word, and in the person of His Son.

Thank you for your continuing prayers during this time of fundraising. Through God's blessing I have received 33% (890 of 2700) monthly and 74% (7320 of 9910) one-time. Please continue to pray that God will bring in my monthly support by January 1st so that I will be able to leave by February 1st. In order for me to purchase a plane ticket I have to be at 90% monthly. Please pray that I will continue to have perseverance and pursue fundraising even harder during this time.

90 lbs!

My Dad is continuing to become better. Since he went into the hospital he has lost 90 lbs of fluid. He says this is probably the best he has looked in several years. His swelling is almost completely gone. He says that his feet and legs look normal, his right arm is almost back to normal, and he may still have some fluid left in his stomach. He has been working with physical therapy and been moving around a bit more. He has been taken off his IV's and is only taking pills now, which is a huge plus.
We are still looking for a nursing home that he can stay at for a while. Emily, my sister, and I will be going to a place in Muskegon, MI today and will hopefully get a lot more information. Please pray that we will be able to find a place for him to live soon.

Please continue to be praying for me that fundraising will come to an end soon. I am praying that God will give 12 more people or churches to give a $100/month towards my trip. I am at 31% monthly ($840 of 2700) and about 68% one-time ($6800 of $9910). Pray for clear communication over the phone and that peoples hearts will be open to help in the ministry of Japan.

My Dad is Better

I talked with my Father today and he is doing a lot better. Part of the problem with his heart not pumping like it should is that his body had been collecting fluid. The doctors guessed that he probably had at least 60 lbs of extra fluid in his body. He has been on medication to help him lose this fluid and he has lost 56 lbs of fluid since he went into the hospital two weeks ago. His kidneys are doing better and he has started to do some walking in the hospital. Thank you for all your prayers for my Dad and please continue to be praying for direction as he will hopefully be leaving the hospital soon and going to a 24 hour care nursing home for more recovery.

October is Done!

October has been a crazy month for me. October 1-13 I spent in Colorado Springs for the cross-cultural conference and then commissioning at the end. So as soon as I am fundraised I am able to go to Japan! Then October 13-15 was the Navigator Fall Conference. I then spent 5 days in Lafayette, where I live and then went to South Bend for the weekend. I returned home and then went straight to Pennsylvania because my Dad is in the hospital in Harrisburg. Please pray for him that he will recover as his heart is only working at about 15%. He is 100% mentally there but his body is becoming weaker. I then returned home on Halloween.

I am currently at 31% monthly and about 65% one-time. Please pray that God will continue to bless me and provide monthly donors so that I will be able to leave in the beginning of January.

God is continuing to teach me that He is my refuge and how much I need to rely on Him. Psalms 34 has been a passage God has laid on my heart over the last few weeks.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

USIMG: To the Nations!

My Global Orientation Conference is almost done. The commissioning service is on Friday morning and then I will be heading to the Navigator regional conference for Illinois-Indiana. I will be continuing my fundraising while I am there and catching up with friends.