Dear Friend,
Many have been asking about my speaking schedule this fall so I thought I would send out the most up-to-date schedule that I have. As I tell you in the DR...everything is subject to change!! Be flexible and expect God to place me exactly where I'm supposed to be in the moment!
Today's Thoughts...
I was recently reading (listening to, actually) a book by Jimmy Carter called, "Our endangered values: America's moral crisis." Now some may think...why would she read that? or Jimmy Carter? Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and gained a lot of insight into many of the political and social ramifications of the decisions we make as a country and world power. The book also discussed some of the trials or struggles Jimmy Carter had while trying to balance his faith with his obligations as senator, governor and finally president. Now, no matter what you think of Jimmy Carter personally, what he says in the next paragraph, is something that I believe we all need to listen to and take to heart. Here is what he said: "I believe that anyone can be successful in life, regardless of natural talent or the environment within which we live. This is not based on measuring success by human competitiveness for wealth, possessions, influence, and fame, but adhering to God's standards of truth, justice, humility, service, compassion, forgiveness, and love." Wow. How would our world be different if we could adhere to these commonly agreed upon values? You know, every day we each have decisions to make about how we approach our job, our family or our school life. We often have an agenda or plan about how things will work out and if/when they don't, we are thrown into a frenzy. We commonly seek everyone's approval around us, except God's. We struggle and fight against our "competitors" believing winning the next fight will gain us honor or power or strength. We lose sight of God's command to love each other and serve others out of humility. We also forget to let God work in our lives and others. Sometimes we feel so obligated to "do" something when what we need to "do" is let go and wait patiently for God to show us his plan. So I challenge you this week to let go of your plans and trust God with His. Walk in love and serve others so that the world may see your compassion and grace. We would all be a lot better in the end!
Kristy's Fall Schedule
I will try to give you the most up-to-date schedule that I have but hope you understand that there may be changes. If you have any questions, please contact Soozi Ford at: sooziford@gmail.com Click on the link below to see my calendar:
Calendar
Thank You For Your Support
I am profoundly grateful to you for your willingness to contribute sacrificially to my ministry for the 2009 fiscal year. Your generosity, combined with others and the matching grants from the Luther Rice Fund, provided all of the financial support necessary for my ministry this year. Thank you! But, starting October 1, 2009 a new fiscal year begins. As you may be aware, International Ministries is responding to recent financial realities by asking each missionary and their Missionary Partnership Team (MPT) to raise as much of their support as possible. At least for the near future, this will continue to be necessary. Because of this, your ongoing financial support is now more important than ever.
For those of you who know me well, you know I love the work that I do and, with God's strength, have been able to make an impact on many lives. For my ministry with International Ministries to continue in 2010 and beyond, I need your continuing support and financial partnership. Will you consider partnering with me in my ministry? I wanted to ask each of you to prayerfully consider supporting my ministry in La Romana through a pledge. To continue to stay in La Romana, I need your commitment for help through a monthly, quarterly, biannual or yearly gift. I need (at minimum) the following number of supporters at these support levels:
Kobe level: 15 people to commit to $100/month ($1200/year)
Sasha level: 25 people to commit to $ 50/month ($600/year)
Chocolate level: 40 people to commit to $ 25/month ($300/year)
Coffee level: 50 people to commit to $ 10/month (120/year)
(I tried to incorporate the things I love the most!)
Would you be willing to meet this challenge?If you don't think you can afford this, consider that a medium specialty coffee costs around $3. One a week would cost you $12/month. Just eliminating one specialty coffee a week would make it possible for you to join me in ministry at the COFFEE level of $10/month! Imagine what your Sunday School class, office group or neighborhood could collect if everyone made this change!If you, your organization, church or Sunday School class are interested in doing this or if you need more information, please contact Soozi Ford at sooziford@gmail.com or International Ministries at either (800)ABC-3USA or on their website at http://pass.internationalministries.org/give. Your pledges make it easier for me to focus on the life-changing ministry I am a part of in La Romana.
Thank you, again, for all that you do to help me change lives in the Dominican Republic!
Sincerely,
Kristy Engel, MSN, CPNP International Ministries