Hello,
I can not begin to explain to you how thankful I am for all your prayers and financial support. God has shown me so much these past couple of months and has definitely stretched my understanding of Him and His character far beyond what I knew.
We had just recently got back from two conferences in Pittsburg and Ohio. The first one was at Refreshing Mountain Camp and our speaker Paul Hawkins spoke on the Character and Nature of God. This retreat definitely reformed my mind and heart on what I thought about my creator. It broke me and took me to a whole different level in my relationship with God. The next conference was The Finish the Task Conference and our two speakers Danny Lehmann and Dan Baumann spoke on the call that we as christians have in the 10/40 window where millions of people are unreached with the gospel.
I asked God constantly, through this time, that He would put a passion on my heart for what is a passion on His heart. I asked for clarity in the direction He wants me to go. He definitely re-sparked the call in my life for over seize missions and I am looking into different directions I could go but ultimately my future is in His hands and I am totally ok with that.
I am sure as you all have heard the East Coast got hit pretty hard with Hurricane Sandy, especially down town New York and the coast lines of the state. We just happened to be at the conferences those weeks, by the grace of God, but our home and neighbors were definitely on our hearts and minds and in our prayers during these times. Our power did go out for around 4 days and so did all cell service and internet. Our specific town didn't get hit as bad as other places, praise the Lord, but the rest of New York did. By the time we got back the power was back on, and within a couple of hours cell service and internet was back up and running. The only damage that our base received was the roof to our carriage house pretty torn up, a whole side of our fence was blown completely apart, a tree fell, and lots of leaves everywhere. We were blessed by what God had done for us. The rest of Long Island however, received much more. Gas is very hard to come by here and all the grocery stores are pretty bare. But we are recovering. Slowly, but surely. =)
We have about 2 weeks left of lecture before Thanksgiving break. I am so proud to say God has answered my prayers. I prayed a lot that God would either provide somewhere for me to stay here in New York or a plane ticket home for the holiday. God chose stay in New York. A friend and her husband live just a few towns away and have been gracious to let me borrow their couch for a couple of days over Thanksgiving. I was so blessed. And a little more than a month away is Christmas break. I brought that to God once again and asked Him again for either a place to stay or a plane ticket, and this time He spoiled me with a plane ticket home. So I will get to see all my wonderful friends and family this Christmas. I am so grateful.
I am absolutely loving it here in YWAM and in New York. This is definitely where I am suppose to be for sure. I love the people, I love the city, and I love the program.
Thank you all again so much for your prayers and support. I couldn’t be doing this with out you.
<>< Shelby ><>
