I hope you all are doing well and are enjoying the summer. It has been a crazy, busy summer for me between vacation, weddings, picking up more hours at work and church softball season but I have enjoyed every minute of it and I can't get enough of these beautiful warm nights we've been having here! I have managed to find some down time here and there though which has been so refreshing, So far things are still moving slowly as far as financial support goes. I am still set to deploy in Spring 2017 though and am continuing to learn to trust God that He will provide the funds I need in His time. He has taught me so much about what it means to have faith. He has shown me how I so easily do not trust Him unless I can see what He is doing. I have no problem trusting Him when He answers my prayers or shows me visibly in small ways through conversations with others that He is with me and working but when my prayers go unanswered or when I don't see Him visibly at work, I struggle to believe He's really there and really working.
A few Sundays ago, my pastor preached on the story of Abraham and how his faith was tested when God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac as an offering. So Abraham took his son, loaded his donkey and headed to the mountain God told him to go to. Just as he was about to sacrifice his only son, God called out to him and told him not to lay a head on his son, Isaac.God then provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son. God saw that Abraham feared him and showed he had faith in Him.
My pastor told us that this story teaches us 3 things. The first is that it reminds us that God is all-knowing and He knows what is going to happen before and after. The second thing he told us is that it reminds us that our ability to trust God will be tested. The last thing was that it provides a clear picture of the Gospel as it shows His providence.
I have found that as I raise support for Ireland and prepare for Ireland that I do not trust God's providence and control. I worry about funding, my ministry placement and the reality of what living abroad on my own for 2 years will look like. I worry about being far away from family and friends for so long. I worry about what those 2 years will hold. However, I was reminded more recently that God is in control, He knows what's going to happen and He will provide. I don't always know how, but He will.
He has reminded me that He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Which means that the same God that provided for people like Noah, Abraham, Esther, Joseph, David and Moses is with me too. It can be easy for us to separate ourselves from people in the Bible because some of us may have heard the stories so many times, they begin to sound almost fictional to us and loose their impact but they are more than mere stories for our own personal entertainment, they are examples of God's providence and power. They are reminders that we are not alone in our journeys as we seek God and learn to trust Him with the details of our lives and pursue the things that bring glory to Him.
I hope you were encouraged in some way today by this update and I look forward to sharing with you the things that God is teaching me as I continue to pursue Ireland. Please continue to pray for those in Ireland who do not know Jesus as their Savior and that they would hunger for Christ.
Have a great weekend!
Grace and Peace,
Amy
Financial Update:
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