God Answers Prayer-He's so Good to Me!

I have a God who is so much bigger than my wildest imaginations. He is the one who holds the universe in the palm of His hands. He who calms to raging sea with a word, and spoke the earth into motion, is the same one who knows how to calm my fears, and silence my troubled heart, and speak things into existence that were not there previously. Yesterday, God showed me that He truly is for me-no, He reminded me. I was able to purchase my ticket to Moldova yesterday. Kinda late, you say? Na-I'd say, perfect-God-timing. He knew what He was doing with me. I was really stressing out about the ticket this weekend, thinking that I might miss buying it, because of what turned out to be a misunderstanding on my part with the travel agency. Without all the details, I was able to finally get a hold of the agency, and find that I could reserve the ticket, and had 2 days in which I had to buy it -yesterday and today. It is done.

I also found out yesterday, after getting a report on my OM account, that I am very close, if not have already reached, the amount that I need to meet the final deadline for other expenses for my trip. I was concerned about this too, but have really been trying to let it go to God, and trust that He knew where to find the funds I needed. It's about His work getting done anyway, so why would He not be the one providing to get it done?

I have not wanted this trip to be about me at all, and truly God is not allowing it to be one smidgen about me!

It's all God. He is doing what man could not do. I can't say there is any part of this that has come together that has been my doing.

I am so excited about what He has ahead for me! I hope that somehow the excitement that I'm sharing can be imparted to you, at least a little bit, so you remember to pray for me while I'm gone.

I have realized that this trip, in many ways, will be different from the others I have been on, and one reason being, that I am going to miss a whole lot of awesome friends that I have become so close to...if you are out there reading this, you know who you are, and if you think I'm not talking about you, forget it, cause you are an awesome friend of mine, and I am so grateful that you are a part of my life, and a part of what God is doing over in Moldova.

Thank you for supporting me. Thank you for praying. God is getting me there, and it's friends like you that He is using to make it possible!

what's happening in moldova?

Here is an idea of what I will be involved with for 3 months in Moldova, if anyone is interested. Please remember all of these areas in prayer. thanks!

-melanie

Rezina(ra-zee-nah)

Day center for poor children - one day a week we help in the day center with activities;

Elderly home - we visit every week the elderly;

Internat - we give Bible lessons and do activities with the older girls, we are trying to find possibilities to do more sports;

Church - we have a youth meeting with a Bible study and also a meeting for the younger ones (12-15 year olds), we might start helping with the Sunday school;

Youth Club - Weekly there is a meeting with the non-Christian youth, where we play games and give them some more lessons

Cineseuti(chin-a-sa-oots)

Children's club

Visiting and helping the elderly at home

Volleyball

Youth club for non-Christian youth

Pripiceni(pre-pee-chen)

Children's club

Visiting and helping the elderly

English lessons

Sports - not yet, but hopefully we can start something soon

Papauti(papa-oots)

Children's club

English lessons

Sports ???

Saharna(sa-har-nah)

Sunday school

Visiting the elderly

Gordinesti(gor-di-nesht)

Sunday school

Meeting with a small group (at this moment 2 sisters) Christians

(a note from the outreach team leader)

By the time you are coming we will be a team of 8 persons and we might be working in more villages.

And we are always open for new ideas, but only if the local church agrees.

We are not working as a team together anymore, we are too many people on the team. So we all have our responsibilities. Three people might go to one village while two others go to another village, or remain in Rezina.

Every Monday morning and Friday morning we have a short prayer time together. On Monday morning we also discuss and prepare the week program. On Tuesday morning we have Bible study and prayer time (3 hours) and we eat together at lunch time on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. But this might change when we start to work in more places.

We try to be at every church meeting in Rezina, that is on Sunday morning and evening, Wednesday evening and Friday evening (this does not always work out when you are in a village.) On Monday evening there is the youth meeting at church and on Thursday evening there is a choir (optional). We also visit the different churches we work with on a Sunday morning. So one week some of us will go to Cineseuti (and the others will stay in Rezina), next Sunday to Papauti etc.

We work 6 days a week (at this moment Saturday is off). Because we work almost every evening we start most times around 10 in the morning.

Once a month there is a prayer and fasting day in Chisinau(kish-now) where we go to, then we are for at least two days in Chisinau.

God's still working-even now

Hello Everyone! I guess it's time for an update.

I have been keeping busy working in the dining room at the Christian Youth Camp/Conference Center where I am employed. Business picked up tremendously following the holidays. It is an awesome place to work, and I have enjoyed the opportunities the Lord has opened up for me to reach out to the youth that I work with, most being high school age. I really see this place as more than a place of employment. There is a lot of God-work that goes on there. I am excited to be a part of it. I will be sad to leave, in a couple weeks. I will not be working there over the summer, so it will be a sad goodbye to a lot of awesome friends.

Aside from the camp, I am employed my an elderly friend as her companion. I live with her, and help her out with housework, and running errands, and as company when she gets lonely. I find plenty of time to catch up on an old favorite pastime-reading. I also keep busy hauling wood, and keeping the fire blazing...then sit down with a book. :) Over the summer months I am employed here at the family camp where my friend currently lives.

I am currently still collecting funds for my trip to Moldova, and must say, it's almost scary to say that I am leaving in exactly 3 weeks from today, and I haven't packed a thing! I am certain that my last week will be a little hectic getting ready, just cause it always is. :) I am excited to go, and make a difference in even one life, if God should allow that, but am also looking forward to how God is going to do a work in my heart while over there. I know there will be a lot to get use to, and I'm sure there will not be a lack of struggle, since that is life. But, I am sure that God will instill in me some treasures that I will be glad to share when I return.

Please remember me in prayer as I prepare in these last few weeks, and that I will continue to stay strong in trusting the Lord for provision. I have yet to purchase my flight, as well as send in the remaining funds to OM(Operation Mobilization) for land arrangements. I am short, roughly, about $2000. (God owns all the cattle on a thousand hills, I hear)

Sometimes it is easier to trust when I can see His hand moving, but the best time to trust, and when that trust gets strengthened, is when all seems dark and impossible around me. Then my only stability comes from God. He is the only one I can lean on.

Please remember my family in prayer as well, because of the loss of a dear friend 1 day ago to cancer. Elizabeth Naragon was a close friend, in her early 40's, who left behind a loving husband, Tod, and a daughter, Michelle(11), and son, Steven(9), and many, many friends. She will be dearly missed, but we are rejoicing that she is no longer in pain, and enjoying the presence of her Savior. This is especially hard on my mom, as well as my little sister Tori, who is close friends with her daughter, Michelle.

Thank you, again, to everyone who is praying for me, and supporting me financially. The Lord is using you to bless me, and it means so much!

How you can help

If you have read my previous blog, you know where I am headed in the very near future. If you would like to help* me get there, please send your donation to :

Operation Mobilization

PO Box 444

Tyrone, GA

30290-0444

..Or, donate to my account online at :

omusa.org

You need to include my account number as well if you are writing a check. Please contact me for this information at:

empT_meofme@yahoo.com

To give you an idea of what I need to cover my expenses, I have to collect about $2300. $700 of that needs to be in my account by the end of December. Aside from that amount, I will need to purchase tickets. It seems like a lot, but I have a God that works under impossible circumstances, and turns them to reality!

*note: i am accepting prayer by the truckload as well !

Thank you for your support. prayer changes lives.

"I'll Say Yes, Lord, I'll Say Yes"

I have stepped out and made the decision to go to Moldova. Many, many thanks to those who have already offered support. I will need lots of prayer.

At this point, I know there is no way that I can come up with the funds I need in less than 2 months. It's a humanly impossible feat. The good news is, I have a Father, who is a King. I am His daughter. When He opens a door, no man can shut it, and when He closes one, it cannot be opened. He is the owner of all the cattle on a thousand hills. He is my Provider. He will provide. If He chooses to use some of your cattle as part of that providing, then to you I am sincerely grateful. He will provide for you too. Just imagine what an impact you can have from your very own home. You can reach children and people of another language and culture, by supporting someone whom God is sending on your behalf!

I don't have it all together, and frankly, there is a lot that I don't know or understand about this trip. What I do know is that I will be leaving for Moldova at some point in February. I will be there 3 months, at the end of which time, I plan to return home. I will be ministering in some fashion in poor villages to people that I may have met before on my last trip to this area in May 2009. I'm sure there will be many opportunities for children's ministry. I will be partnering with OM(Operation Mobilisation) Moldova and joining a team that is ministering already in Moldova.

More details will follow soon, as I find out more information.

Thank you for holding me up in prayer.

Please remember in prayer the people I will come in contact with while over there.

Pray for scheduling of flights, and safe travel.

Pray that the Lord does in me all that He desires on this trip.

Ask God to keep teaching me trust. This is a huge step for me to make, but I know my God is with me. He says in Psalm 139, that He will be with me, and guide me even in the uttermost parts of the sea. He says He will be with me wherever I go. I am leaning hard on Him for this one. He is so strong.

even there

It is one of my favorite psalms that has partially inspired this note.

Pslam 139:10 says "Even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me." As a note in my margin by this verse, I have written, "where is YOUR 'even there'?"

Let me explain a little.

I am in the middle of a big decision again regarding overseas missions. I felt that I could relax for a bit after this summer since I was a part of two short term trips. I was ready to be home for a while. Can you really relax when God has a call on your life? I think I have come to the conclusion that I can't. It didn't take long before I began to feel that itching to be gone again, and to be a part of what God is doing overseas. So I inquired about a longer trip, because I had found that 2 weeks really was too short.

To make a long story short, I have plans to go back to Moldova in the early part of 2010. These plans are still sketchy, and I am doing a lot of praying about them, because, unlike my other trips, I will not be traveling with a team. I have never ventured out into something like this before, so I am a little apprehensive. I know God is for me, and if He has opened this door, no man can shut it-not even me.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I need a lot of prayer, and real fast prayer. I have to make decisions very soon....almost like yesterday, and I just need assurance from the Lord.

Please join me in prayer about this opportunity, and if God puts it on your heart to help me financially, I would be most grateful as well. I don't know the details of what this trip will cost, but I know I have a Father who owns all the cattle on a thousand hills.

So..my 'even there' at this point, is not necessarily Moldova, but right now. This time of being unsure, and, yes, a little fearful of the unknown. This is the place where I need God to meet me, and reassure me of His presence.

Thank you for your love and support!

He Gives and Takes Away

This morning my grandpa Ed Phillips passed away following a bad stroke, and brain damage, as well as a very irregular pulse that could not be corrected. He was 86 years old.

31 years ago on October 19, Grandpa died in the hospital-his heart stopped for 17 minutes, and was even pushed to another room as dead. He has lived through many close calls over the years. We are grateful to the Lord that he has been with us for this long.

He left behind one sister, one half brother, 10 grown children, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was loved dearly, and will be greatly missed.

My family had the privilege of spending a couple weeks at a time with Grandpa on a couple different occasions in the past 2 years when he traveled up here via the train from Missouri, the last being in June of this year.

Arrangements for the funeral are being prepared, and the family will gather in their hometown of St. Louis, MO to remember Grandpa.