7/11/2011

We made it to Bahar Dar last night. Our flight was delayed about two hours, but everyone keeps joking about "Ethiopian time" which basically means it's unreliable and prone to being late. But we were able to play cards and just hang out at the airport while we waited so it was perfectly fine. The 45 minute flight from Addis Ababa to Bahar Dar was nothing compared to our previous two flights.

The guest house we're staying in is surprisingly nice. Really, the only thing that's missing is heated water for showers. But we have a toilet and electricity so we can charge things. One interesting thing is that you don't flush toilet paper here, but throw it in the trash can kept by the toilet. And there's not always TP. But that's why we're thankful for pocket packs of tissue.

We'll be here until the 22 and then we fly back to Addis, I believe, to help with a conference or something. But while we're here our days will consist of quiet time, breakfast, worship, group Bible study, lunch, and then going out in the city to meet with and share with people. We did a prayer walk today around the city and it's nuts how people will come up and start talking or walking with us. We had three cute little boys walk with us the whole hour we were walking. Then we'll usually go out for dinner and then back to our guest house to hang out until the next morning.

Seems like meeting people should be easy. I guess we spend the first couple days meeting people and then start making appointments to sit and talk with them because talking on the street attracts a crowd.

In Ethiopia

I am writing this from our hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! Thankfully this hotel has wi-fi so I'm writing this on my phone in my room. How cool!
Currently we are in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. We had an evening and a mornin of training with Crusade staff in Dallas before heading to the airport, heading for Frankfurt. The time was well spent in preparing our hearts for the trips and getting to share how the Lord had called us and shown us His call to be on this team.
The flight to Frankfurt was just over nine hours and I barely slept (as in less than thirty minutes). But I did get to see a beautiful sunrise over the ocean and snap a few photos from my window seat. Had a bit of a layover in Frankfurt, spent playing cards and practicing German. Then we flew a bit over six hours to where we are now.
We'll be here through Sunday at latest before heading to our final, and main, destination.
We got in fairly late tonight si the city was pretty dark and we couldn't scope that much out. But one of the first things I noticed in stepping off the plain is the distinct smell the air has here. It's partially of burning but is mixed with other things depending on what you're passing, but most often it's some good-smelling food. Just had a late dinner in the hotel and are about to hit the hay for some much-needed rest.

Please pray for my team and I, that we would be growing together and deepening our relationships with one another and the Lord. Pray for servant hearts; that we would joyfully do that which the national staff that works here full-time asks us to do to enhance and bolster their mission and ministry instead of having our own agendas. and finally please pray for boldness and wisdom, that we would be bold with our words but use them in an encouraging and loving way, instead of attacking and accusing those with different beliefs and each other if something goes wrong.
I'll update as I can but won't guarantee the frequency. I'm so thankful to be here and looking forward to being here setting in. Can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us and the people we get the blessing of meeting.

18

18 days. That is how long I have until we leave. This fact is surprising (how did summer get here so quickly and where is it going?) and exciting. I haven't spent too much time getting excited because I've been so busy with other things. I left school the week before finals to go raft the Grand Canyon for 16 days with my sister and some of her friends

and currently I'm doing my two weeks of active training with my Army National Guard unit. We haven't been doing anything too intense, typically we play concerts in small Kansas towns. We played in Auguast, KS the other night which was fun because we lived in Augusta when I was 3-7. My parents came down and brought many of their old friends to the concert and I got to chat with them after the concert. I remembered about half of them, but it was still fun to get to reconnect. I love small towns and hope that I might get to live in a small southern town when I finally grow up (which, let's be real, may never actually happen).

I'm still a few hundred dollars behind my final support goal, but I'm not worried because I've already seen the Lord do some AMAZING things in regard to support. First and foremost getting support from friends and family of my friends, aka strangers. These sweet people have provided around $500 of my support, as well as sent back sweet notes of encouragement and prayer.

Well, that's all for my brief update. We head to Dallas July 6 for a quick briefing and then fly out July 7!

Humbly, Lovingly, Willingly, Knowingly

I mean, as of today I need $975. The Lord has just been so faithful and I can't even begin the comprehend how much He's blessed me. Yet His blessing covers more this oh-so tangible way.

At church on Maundy Thursday, our pastor talked about some of the different ways Jesus loves us: knowingly, willingly, humbly, lovingly. I wish I had saved the bulletin from this service so I could pair the scripture with the different adjective for his love. The one that stuck the most, however, was the willingly.

Mark 14: 41-43

And he came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."

And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and scribes and the elders.

While I'm fairly certain this isn't the same passage Bill read, it illustrates well to me the willingness of Jesus to offer himself up. He knew that his pursuers were approaching in the garden; yet instead of fleeing he offered himself up willingly. Even one of his disciples, Simon Peter, lops off the ear of one of those arresting Jesus. Jesus, however, heals the ear and goes willingly with his captors, saying, "Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" (John 18: 11)

Acts 20:34-35

About three weeks ago I had sent out my 100th support letter. It's been amazing to see the way God has been providing. I wrote the first thank-you letters today since probably two weeks ago. I haven't really been making time for it SLASH I only had one thank you card left and needed to get more. Amazing that the Lord had already blessed me with getting to write 23 thank-yous. Today I reached 30; the best part is seeing the people that God uses to provide. I've gotten support from complete strangers, people I'd met only once, new friends, people I had the pleasure of going on project with last summer, those I worked with last summer, my friends' parents, family friends, family, and on and on. I just love that He's pulling all sorts of strings to provide for this trip.

I was looking on the project website today, and realized that I'm currently a month ahead of support goals! What a big relief and a blessing; just wanted to share that quick update.

Currently there are six states I have yet to send a letter to:

• Delaware
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Mississippi
• Nevada
• South Carolina

I'm thinking if by the time I get back from the Grand Canyon I haven't gotten addresses I'm going to send random people letters.

Acts 20: 34-35 has been my sign-off verse for thank yous, especially for those who have partnered with me in the past; just a reminder of faithfulness and providence.

You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

100

I just wrote, addressed, and sealed my 100th support letter.

PTL. Pray that I do not grow weary of addressing these, and, more importantly, that I remain thankful for the opportunity to send letters and to write thank you's as support comes in.

"Raising support is such a privileged place to be."

--Rebecca Burgess

Around the World

Well, I'm currently preparing to go on another summer project. I'm super excited about it, and I thought to make my life easier, I'd copy and past my support letter to kind of explain the whole shindig:

Hope you're doing well; let me give you a quick update on my life: I'm in my fourth year here at KU, studying social welfare and getting a minor in sociology. Next year I'll be doing a practicum doing school social work, which I am excited for as it is my number-one interest in the field of social work. This year I also saw the end of my time as a Marching Jayhawk-at the end of January the torch was past on to next year's drum majors and now I am an alumna. I also have joined KU's club ultimate team-the Betty's-which is challenging, but I love getting to play a competitive sport again. Beyond school, band, and the Betty's, I've also had the wonderful opportunity of being involved in Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru).

Cru is an international, non-denominational organization that meets every week here on campus. In addition to our weekly meeting there are Bible studies and opportunities to learn and grow in a relationship with Jesus as part of a community that is seeking Christ here on campus. One other way that Cru helps foster growth is through Summer Projects.

As you may know, I spent last summer in Juneau, AK on project with Cru. The summer taught me so many things-more than I could put in a letter. I have loved keeping in touch with people I met while there and seeing how things from the summer are so relevant in my ministry here on campus. One of the best fruits of last summer has been getting to apply the things that I learned here at KU. One example has been trusting God and leading in faith: I have had the blessed opportunity to start and lead a Bible study for women in the marching band. I’ll confess I was nervous, but God truly blessed it—we started out as six girls and have since doubled to twelve and are still meeting this semester. It has been so fun getting to know each of these girls and see God work in their lives and use them to work in my life.

After seeing how spending time focused solely on serving others and loving God, without the distraction of school, I am excited to have the opportunity again this summer. This summer I’ll be spending the month of July serving on a mission’s team in Ethiopia! Why Ethiopia? As one of the oldest Christian nations in the world, it is in a prime location to reach its neighboring countries with the good news of Jesus Christ. And being located in Bahir Dar, a university town, we’ll be rubbing shoulders and sharing the Gospel with the future leaders of Ethiopia. The structure of our time spent there will consist of days volunteering and serving in the community and evenings engaging in spiritual conversations.

I’m so excited and thankful for this opportunity; God will truly use us to reach his people in Africa. In order to make this happen, I need a group of ministry partners willing to support me, both prayerfully and financially. While being in Ethiopia will provide opportunities for a lot of growth, another big area of growth is trusting God to provide for me before I even get there. I need to raise $4,550 to cover travel expenses and housing once I get there. To meet this need, I am looking for people to invest $50, $100, or whatever you feel led to give to help impact the lives of people in Ethiopia. It seems overwhelming, but I’m trusting the Lord to provide.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read, think, and pray through this with me. I cannot say thank you enough for being a part of my life and supporting me so much already. I am excited for the opportunity this summer will provide to stretch and grow me, as well as reach God’s people with his good news.

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Through sending my support letters, however, I have been further realizing God's faithfulness so I wanted to take a moment and praise that in way that I can look back when I'm struggling and all that jazz. Somehow I've come up with the goal of sending a letter to every state in the US. The crazy thing is I definitely don't know someone in every state, so I've asked friends to volunteer people they know in the states I don't have. Basically, I've been sending letters to strangers. But I love getting to do it. I put a hand-written note in each letter to explain why I'm sending them a letter and who I got their information from.

(this was enclosed in the envelope-it's a postcard with the "claim to fame" of the town they live in) Today I got my first "stranger" letter back! It was from the parents of a girl in my Bible study, and it is just so cool. I'm so amazed at the fact that people would take the time to read a letter from a crazy girl in Kansas, let alone respond to it with a sweet note and even some support! I guess it's not as far-fetched because her parents kind of know who I am, but it's still amazing and exciting!

Other than that first letter, it's been amazing to see the people God has used to provide states and even what states have and haven't been provided. I just got some addresses in Hawaii! I just think that's really exciting. Funny thing is that for another obscure state-Alaska-I have many addresses from spending last summer there. It's been so fun to send letters to people from Project I care about and to see the way they respond. I just love it.

A couple girls and I were talking to one of our staff women about a month ago about support raising, and I think I agree with her perspective on it: raising support is a privileged place to be. Why? Because none of this money is coming from anything that we are doing. Especially sending letters to strangers. Plus I love getting to be thankful and write letters. Pretty much a combo of everything I love doing.

States left:

Alabama

Delaware

Iowa

Indiana

Kentucky

Massachusetts

Maine

Mississippi

Nevada

Oregon

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Utah

West Virginia