Newsletter Part 1 Challenging Seasons

Instead of complaining at his lot, a contented man is thankful that his condition and circumstances are no worse than they are. Instead of greedily desiring something more than the supply of his present need, he rejoices that God still cares for him. Such a one is "content" with such as he has (Heb. 13:5). —Arthur W. Pink

Challenging seasons

"Never will I leave you nor forsake you"~God

We all have the challenging seasons, each person's story equally challenging in our trust of God and relying on His faithfulness to get us through. My year has not gone as planned due to medical issues. I was positioned to attend a YWAM school in New Zealand (Principles of Redeeming Cultures) in September but had to cancel due to an unexpected return to the USA. I had been suffering from dysentary since my outreach to Vanuatu, losing weight and energy. During that time of hospital visits etc I also developed a side pain which was revealed to be a tumor/cyst on my ovary. After the followup visit to the doctor in Australia was postponed and rescheduled for over a month away, I made the decision to head home to get quicker care in my home town in Iowa. (I had been sick since April and returned to the States the end of July). There is nothing better than being cared for and encouraged by family. I had surgery that ended up removing the ovary, as well as discovering endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Praise God for no signs of cancer. As one can imagine it did stir up some emotions, and I am thankful that God was faithful in providing reminders of His protection of even my future children. I will continue to experience some pain and discomfort but have been cleared for travel. It's been my goal to make the most of the unexpected leave from ministry and pray God uses this time with family and rest to prepare me for the next season. Thank you for those of you who have been keeping me in your prayers. We know God is the ultimate healer and He has been faithful, in His timing (obviously not mine , ha!)

A nutshell

This time away from ministry has allowed me to continue casting dreams and visions for the future of Island Breeze Brisbane and also my role in spreading the gospel to the nations. I also have a heart for being involved in the pioneering of new ministries and new YWAM bases across the nations. Here is a reminder of my role in Gods Kingdom:

-- Discipleship ~ I have a heart for helping new Christians, or disillusioned Christians, have a passion to follow God with abandon. Keys to this are accountability, serving, the disciplines of reading the Scriptures/fasting /prayer, training and times of healing/counseling.

--Teaching ~ I was privileged to be challenged in this area in April and found this to be a new gift that I want to continue pursuing. I enjoy facilitating the learning about the Bible, about our relationship with God and the nature of God. Specifically I feel there is an ongoing need to continue educating about and practicing sharing the gospel, creating individual testimonies, and revealing how God is speaking.

-- Facilitating ~ One of the most rewarding roles I have at Island Breeze has been to position our staff into the community through coordinating of events and creating opportunities to minister. Sometimes this involves the logistics of visas and grants, other times simply being the communicator between church leaders and our available staff.

-- Redeeming Cultures ~ Island Breeze stands apart from other YWAMs due to our heart to seek God's fingerprints in our culture and encourage the expression of the beauty that God has given us, often through worship. This also involves breaking down barriers and other influences that have affected our cultures in the negative. This continues to be a passion of mine no matter the ethnicity.