Late Summer and Ministry

While I was in Belarus I got sick. I have asked the Lord why but I do know that God allowed this trial in my life. After several months of illness I am on the mend. I had hoped to return to full-time ministry when I got home from the trip. I was offered a place to serve in Clarkston with refugees. I only had a few days notice to prepare before the new mission at the apartment opened. I was so excited but I was so sick! I couldn't imagine why God wasn't letting me get well so I could do this! I struggled the entire week with my illness and no peace that I would be physically able to take this program on the next Monday. There was another couple who was interested in this apartment complex. That doesn't happen very often! I called Mark and told him that I was not in peace about the next week. I reminded him of (and of course he knew)the struggles I was having physically since being in Belarus. We prayed and Mark made the call to let the other couple take the complex. I think that was one of the hardest things I have ever done! So I am anxiously waiting on God for my new full-time missions opportunity. Waiting is difficult especially when my whole heart's desire is to serve Him! In the meantime I continue to visit with some of the families at The Falls to give them encouragement and to share God's love.

Whats Up

Some of you may wonder what I have been up to recently. My husband and I led a group of 10 from our church to Belarus in July. It was a great and successful mission trip with over 200 salvations! We went to the southern Belarus city of Luninets where we worked with Pastor Nicholi and his new church plant. Then we went to another city Mikashevichy and worked with Pastor Dmitriy and his church. Our main purpose was children's ministry but we also participated in home visitations in the afternoon and evening where we could share our faith with families in the cities. It was amazing. One of my special things was meeting Alena in her home one night and then being invited back the next night. She cooked me an entire meal. I was able to share my faith with her. She was so excited when we visited her the 1st night. She found out that I had ministered in Ukraine and she was Ukrainian. I sang a few Ukrainian hymns to her. The last night she joined in singing with me. Isn't God good!! The Lord brought to my mind all the Ukrainian that I needed just for Alena.

Belarus Trip And Blog

Well I certainly haven't kept up this blog but you can check out all the happenings on my blog for our short-term trip to Belarus. My husband Mark and I are leading a team of 10 from First Baptist Atlanta to Belarus July 5-15th. You can check it out at: belarusmissionfba.blogspot.com. It is our 1st trip to Belarus. We will be participating in children's ministry and evangelism. Please pray for us!

Feliz Cumpleanos

Even though I am seeking a new missions assignment I am keeping quite busy with families that I serve and preparation for our Belarus trip in July. This weekend I attended the birthday party of my sweet friend, a young Mother, who I have known for about 4 years. It was a wonderful evening of fellowship with my Spanish speaking friends.

Hustle and Bustle

Life is never dull. Lately with all the preparation for our upcoming Belarus trip I have found myself so busy with all of the hustle and bustle that it takes to take a group of people to a new country. Check out our blog for Belarus at the link below. God is working. One of our precious Mom's from the Falls gave birth to a precious baby girl. She was born with a congenital heart defect. Praise the Lord, she underwent a successful surgery at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and is now home with her family!! Mark and I have been praying for God's direction in regards to mission work here in Atlanta. We have interviewed with a few mission agencies and I can definitely say that God has led both of us to cross one of them off of our list. There are so many ministry/mission opportunities which we could become involved in but I believe that God has the perfect spot for us where we can serve.

NAMB Prayer and Praise

Yesterday Mark and I had the opportunity to be included in the SEND North America Celebration and Call to Prayer. We had a great time hearing from Pastors and New Church Planters as they shared the need for evangelism in North America and specifically in Atlanta. Atlanta, Georgia, my hometown and the city of my birth, is an UNREACHED city. 70% of the population in suburban Atlanta are unchurched and 92% of the population inside of I-285 are unchurched. Staggering statistics in the "Bible Belt." Atlanta is now one of the cities in our country with the greatest amount of lost people- people who do not profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior! Please pray for Our City of Atlanta, Ga and for church planters, pastors, and missionaries as we work in this city to tell others about Jesus.

Mark Richt

On Saturday, Harmony Trio sang at the Men's Sports Expo at First Baptist Atlanta. They did an awesome job performing. They also enjoyed the opportunity to meet Mark Richt, the Head Football Coach at the University of Georgia, and his family.

Training for Belarus

The last few weeks Mark and I have been very busy as we begin prepping our team for Belarus. I spent endless hours putting together a resource book for all of our team members. It consists of pages on packing to pages of prayer walking and evangelism. Getting excited for this opportunity in July to Be His Heart, His Hands, and His Voice!

God's Provision

A few weeks ago I came to a difficult decision to leave my nursing job. I took the job 1 1/2 yrs ago to supplement our income. I loved my job but the only problem was it was night shift. After a long spell of not sleeping well in the day or at night(on the nights I didn't work) and after using several different prescription sleeping pills I decided that maybe it was time to leave. My Rheumatologist even said in early January that I should not be working any more night shifts. My husband also agreed and I turned in my resignation. The 1st 2 weeks all I did was sleep. I could hardly get out of bed as my body tried to catch up. I commented to several people about how I didn't know how we were going to eat but that I knew that God knew. I also felt a huge calling to return full-time to a missions job which of course is support based. The 1st week after I left my job I was talking with a friend in the hall at church about steps of faith and about God's calling on my life. I left that person and started walking down the hall. Another friend who works in an Optometrist office stopped me in the hall and said Cathy try these on. She pulled out a pair of brand new glasses frames. They fit perfectly. She told me if I went and got an eye exam than she would see about getting my precription lenses put into the frames. Wow, What a blessing. I have needed new glasses for a few years and have to squint to read. Then on Tuesday of this week I went to help a Pastor's family. I was there most of the day. I really didn't do that much helped- watch the baby, helped the children with their homework. Not only did they feed me while I was there but the Pastor's wife gave me beef, chicken, fish, onions, beets, yams, potatoes, garlic, and ricotta cheese. Today as I cook a Russian cheesecake, yams, fish I am so grateful for God's faithfulness to me and His provision!

Atlanta Vision Tour

Today I went on a vision tour of Atlanta with North American Mission Board and the SEND coordinator. There was about 12 of us who were on the tour which started at 9:30 and ended at 5:00pm. We barely touched the surface of all that is happening in Atlanta. God is still at work here!!

Baby Shower

I love going to parties especially with the special ladies who are my friends from The Falls. Saturday we had a surprise baby shower for one of the sweet Mom's. She is expecting her 2nd child and 2nd daughter. All of these Chicas really know how to throw a party and this was no exception. I have a few pictures of some of the games. Yes, I did participate in a game where 3 of us raced to see who could eat a container of jello the fastest. I didn't win. I was grateful I didn't have to drink the milk out of the baby bottles. I also made some wonderful new friends!!

Anticipation

I am so excited about what God is doing! I may not understand it all but I do know that His promises are true. It is true that I have been through some rough waters but God is still at work and He has the next step for me. I have certainly not given up on full-time ministry! I know that the perfect ministry job situation is waiting. I am trying to not get anxious and eagerly anticipate what He is doing in my life. We are hoping that in this next chapter that Mark can also be more involved. We had a very encouraging meeting last week with Jim Haskell the NAMB SEND coordinator for Atlanta. He has invited us to go on a vision trip next week to look at what God is doing in Atlanta and to catch the vision for ongoing church planting here and around North America. I am looking forward to attending.

Winter Woes

It is always a little difficult for me not to get into the Winter Woes during this time of year. It has been especially hard for me this year because of several things. First I gave up my full-time missions job in August due to several reasons and I do miss the people. I also had a very bad case of Bronchitis/Pneumonia which began before Thanksgiving and lasted well into Christmas. I found it increasingly difficult to work midnight shift at my Nursing job because I just wasn't getting any sleep. Let's face it I am a missionary at heart and will always be!! When I get the opportunity to be out and about with some of the families from the apartments it is encouraging! This past week I had the chance to go for an afternoon of coffee with some of the Mom's and of course I really enjoyed my hugs and kisses from the sweet children. I even took along a home made pie and coffee from Honduras! I also was ask to attend a Birthday Party for one of the children. Of course Mark and I were the only Gringos! Mark agreed to go with me since it was in the evening but he didn't really quite understand why they planned a birthday party on Super Bowl Sunday in the evening. As it turned out he got to watch the whole 1st half on a TV much larger than ours. Of course the other men were all outside engaging in talk and other things. I always enjoy being among the people no matter what and I was thankful for God's sweet reminders that He is not finished with me yet!

Preparing for Belarus

Mark and I have been busy with all the beginning preparation for our trip to Belarus this summer. 2 Sunday's ago we had a Missions luncheon where we had a display table and signup sheet for those who might be interested in the trip. We have started a Belarus blog which you can view.

We hope to have regular updates about the preparations for the trip etc on the blog.

Making Music

The last few months we have been busy with lots of singing. Leah recently sang a duet in church. It was very beautiful. Since I am in the Adult Worship choir we had many hours of practicing for First Family Christmas Music special. Leah and Deborah were toy soldiers and Deborah also had a solo. It was great!

Belarus Mission July 2013

Mark and I are very excited to be leading a short-term mission team to Belarus in July. We start this Sunday with a mission luncheon where all the team leaders can introduce the trips and meet prospective team members. We are praying for the team that God wants for us. We will be working in an orphanage, and participating in home visits, church services, and speaking in a public school. We will primarily be in the cities of Bobruisk and Gomel. We are partnering with our dear friends Andrew and Inna Ryzhkov and Byelorussian Mission. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7gW6N9iaPg

National Quartet Convention

We had a wonderful time going to Louisville Kentucky with Harmony Trio. Clay Mote, Joy Mote and Deborah were invited by Gerald Wolfe of the group Greater Vision to sing at NQC. What an honor for them to sing in front of about 16,000 people. They did an awesome job performing, "Doxology" and the crowd responded with cheers and a standing ovation. Gerald Wolfe joked and told the crowd that they would take up a collection so Harmony can buy a bus! Pictures don't really do this justice. You just had to be there!!

Fall Highlight

This Fall we had such a treat when we had a Ukrainian couple come to stay with our family for a week. What fun we had!! We even went to an Atlanta Hawks game - a 1st for me. I was surprised when I actually got into the game. The Hawks won in overtime and I had a blast. We did so many things and God directed our steps and led us to people who could help them and pray for them in their sports ministry. I do believe that God allowed them to come just to encourage me! It was such a blessing getting to really know them and hear their heart for winning the lost to Jesus and ministering to new believers. I now have another "family" in Ukraine!! Oh how I do love and miss my Ukrainian family and friends.

Winter Snow and Sunshine

Yesterday the media told all of us in Atlanta to expect some snow and possible ice. In Atlanta that is a big deal because even a small amount of the white stuff can shut down the city. This morning the sky was so clear and there was no snow at least not where we were. Today the sun has shown brightly as is God is shining down beautiful rays of hope that after winter the spring will come. The last months I have been working as a nurse for a home health care company. I have actually been employed since September of 2011. It has been nice getting to use some of my RN skills again but my heart still is and will always be in missions - loving on people and telling them about Jesus. The last months we have had several opportunities to serve in various ways. I still keep in contact with several of the families at The Falls. It saddens me to drive there and see our mission door locked and no one there. I love those families. I helped to give a baby shower to one of the sweet Mom's a few months ago and in a few weeks we will be doing another baby shower for a different Mom at The Falls.