Fruitful visit to St. Bart's!

What a blessing it was to visit St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church in Tonawanda, NY - except for the super cold weather! Praise the Lord that He is sending this Florida girl to the equator and not Siberia!

The congregation was so welcoming and interested in missions in Uganda and Kenya. It was a joy to meet and talk with them, and I was very encouraged by their well wishes and offers of prayer. And, check out the updated funding goals on the right side of the blog.

Thank you, St. Bart's, and may the Lord continue to fill you with His Spirit and pour his blessing upon you so that you may always be a blessing to others.

Invitation to speak at St. Bart's

God is good - all the time! Today I received an invitation to speak at St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church in Tonawanda, NY (near Niagra Falls) on December 13th - at all 3 services! Hopefully this girl raised in south Florida, and headed to Uganda, won't freeze to death.
Please pray that God will be glorified in my presentation, that I can articulate the ministry with clarity and passion, and there will be new partners in mission. To God be the glory!

An example of the vision of Partnership Services with the Church of Uganda

"...our greatest power to change the world is released when we come together in collective action to organize and focus the resources of the whole body of Christ." Richard Stearns, President, World Vision, in his book The Hole in Our Gospel.

Two pieces of furniture sold!

Last Saturday I sold an antique rocking chair and today my antique wash stand went to a new home. Thank you, Lord! Now, if I can just sell the large highback sideboard, a couple of other small furniture items, and find a home for the cats. Please be praying, and thanks for following along as I prepare to go to Uganda.

Funding Status Report

We're off to a good start with raising support! My recent report from SAMS shows that I have one-third of the monthly/annual support required as well as one-third of the cash I need to have in my SAMS account before I can be certified to depart for Uganda. A big THANK YOU to all who have joined as partners in this ministry!

Please continue to pray for the remaining support to flow in. The required amounts are $3,000 per month in pledged support plus a total of $22,500 cash in my SAMS account. These amounts are what SAMS has budgeted based on the the various aspects of this ministry in Uganda and a small portion for my living expenses.

Blessings to you all, and thank you.

The Lord provides!

Thanks be to God, I begin a new job this Thursday, 7/16. It's with a good law firm located downtown and I'm familiar with some of the people there. I had actually interviewed with them a couple of years ago and was all but promised a job, but then the partners decided they really didn't need to hire another paralegal yet. They just had a paralegal leave and when they saw my resume, which I sent out yesterday, they called right away since they already knew me. :-)

God's timing is always perfect!

Update

FURNITURE. Well, another piece of furniture exited my front door this evening, and more cash went into my pocket. There are only a few more furniture items to sell, but lots of "stuff" left. I need to have a garage sale, so I'm praying someone will volunteer their garage/drive way for this - soon. Any volunteers?

CONDO. The couple that wanted to rent my condo have changed their mind, so I now need to list it with a property management company. I had prayed about this and believe this is what the Lord's best is in this situation. If the couple had rented it, I wouldn't have anyone looking after it or taking care of things if anything went wrong, or if for some reason they were unable to pay the rent. And now I don't have to move so quickly. Thank you for your hand in this, Lord!

I DO have a place to live now once my condo is rented. A dear friend has invited me to come live were her until I leave for Uganda. Again, thank you Lord!

CATS. My two boys need a good home, though. Please be praying for a loving home for them, and let me know if you are interested or if you know of anyone who might want them.

JOB. Oh yeah, almost forgot. When I asked to cut back on my hours at work, my immediate supervisor approved, but HR cut me back to zero! So, I'm looking for a job, preferably temporary or part time so that I can continue preparing for Uganda. I applied for two positions through Monster today. Please pray for the right job to come along - soon.

Thank you for your prayers and for partnering with me in this exciting journey!

In Christ,
Susan

UPDATE

After some long delays, it's now full speed ahead with my preparations to go to Uganda, and things have been happening quickly.

CONDO RENTED! In my last post I asked for prayer in deciding which property management company will handle my condo and that a long term resident will rent it. Well, God always gives us more thant we ask! A couple I know was looking for a place and they've decided to rent my condo for a minimum of two years. Hallelujah! This arrangement will also save the 10% fee that a management company charges per month. Thank you God!

HOME FOR CATS & MOVING. Of course, this means that I need to find a place to live in just a few weeks. Which alsomeans taking care of my remaining furniture, going through "stuff" to get rid of, selling morestuff (click on the link to my blog), etc., etc., etc. I also need to find a home for my two male, indoor cats - quickly. If this happens it will open up more options for where to live. Please pray that the Lord will provide a good, loving home for them. They are 7 and 8 years old and have been together for 6 1/2 years, so they really need to stay together.

NEED A JOB! So, I guess it's good, for now, that when I asked to cut back my hours at work, as mentioned in my last post, the firm cut me back to 0 hours! I now have time to tackle getting ready to move. However, I do need to find work beginning August 1st. Please pray for the Lord's provision.

LOCATION FOR GARAGE SALE. I still have lots to sell, so I need to have a garage sale this mnth (July). However, since garage sales are not allowed in my condo community, I need to find a place to have it. It would be a huge help if someone would offer their driveway / garage for this.

FUND RAISING. My next step is to contact the clergy I met at the innaugural provincial assembly for the new Anglican Church in North America and arrange to come speak at their churches. Please pray that many visits will be arranged and that they will bear much fruit toward the support that needs to be raised before I can head off to do missions in Uganda.

Road Trip!!!

Praise God! I will be going to the inaugural provincial assembly for the new Anglican Church in North America in Texas June 22 - 25. After being incredibly blessed to be at GAFCON last year and witness God move in power amongst those assembled, bringing everyone together as one, I am doubly blessed to witness this historic event as well.

This will also be a great opportunity to touch base with clergy and lay leaders from around the country and share the vision of continued mission partnerships with our brothers and sisters in Uganda. Please pray for divine appointments during this time and that God would use me to encourage churches and individuals to partner with Uganda in missions.

Status Report

Well, I've come to realize that trying to balance a full time-plus job and all that's necessary to prepare for moving to Uganda just isn't working. I've been spinning my wheels trying to both and not making much progress on either. So, in the next few weeks I will be cutting back on work so that I can focus on Uganda preparations. This means that I need to get my condo rented out within the next couple of months and move into an inexpensive apartment. I have spoken with a couple of property management companies and I'll be listing my condo with one of them soon. Please pray for discernment on which company to go with. Please pray also that the Lord will provide a good, long-term tenant and that my furniture and other items will sell quickly.

I am excited and look forward to seeing how the Lord will bring things together and provide all that's necessary in order to serve Him in Uganda!