A Daily Struggle for Daily Success

Hello and good afternoon to all!

It is that time again...time for an update on the road to missionaryhood.

As the title suggests, it really is a daily struggle for daily success in the world of potential missionaries. Often times, the milestones that I must reach are so large that I have to take a breath and realize that God will provide if I can just step up to the plate and do my part. Not to say that raising support is something that I necessarily have control over, as I have already clearly seen that God works through many channels, but more that I must continue to show my commitment, dilligence and obedience to God and this calling. 

I will give you an idea of the emotional roller coaster that I am often taking a ride on:

"I have heard from different people lately that they have been intentionally praying for me, and it has all been quite humbling and unexpected. I actually was feeling a little down on myself yesterday for not being as productive last week as I had been the week before, but then my (current) favorite song came on on the way to work, and I immediately just felt this intense feeling of joy, excitement and peacefulness about everything. I realized that I need to keep pushing and pushing hard, and sometimes I won't get everything done or raise as much support as I had hoped, etc., but God still wants me there, that He has provided for me in the past and He will in the future. I also sometimes get so taken aback that I am actually going to be a missionary in Germany...how INCREDIBLE is that?? That God has not only given me this opportunity, but that He is trusting me with it! So, needless to say, I got to work and walked in with cry-face. But, they were tears of joy. :)"

 

This whole process has become so much more than I ever thought it would be... I always thought that things kind of went like this:

 

 

       Point A --------------------------------- Point B

                  (Me now)                             (Some stuff I have to do)                    (Me as a missionary)

 

 

Now, I am quite certain that things look a little more like this:

 

 

Photo Credit: twoagespilgrims.com

Look familiar? It's the path that God led Moses through to get to the promised land. I believe that God is taking me through different rifts and valleys, high points and summits, in order to prepare me the best way He possible. He knows my downfalls and my shortcomings, and He knows what my strengths and skills are. He is using my life now along with all the paperwork, emails, social situations, financial situations and presentations to strengthen my strengths and to make my shortcomings a little less, um, short. He is taking me on a journey, one that is not straight or narrow, but curvy and bumpy and I take one step forward and two steps back...and where God picks me up sometimes and moves me miles and miles...

 

So, for now, I take things one day and one task at a time. Today, for example, I sat down with my coffee at 8:30am and wrote my list of tasks for the day. It sort of looked like this:

 

- Write emails to 8 people

- Write Facebook messages to 6 people

- Look into mint.com to track finances

- Finish and mail Thank You cards

- Meet friend for lunch

- Do laundry

- Write Blog

- Call 10 people

 

And I do these things. I make a list of things to do every day, and then I do them. And that is how I do my part...how I stay committed, how I show myself and God and others that I'm in the game. It's how I breathe...it's how I stay focused while I wait on God to move those mountains into the sea.

 

Here's how you can help me to breathe a little easier, and how you can help God to move the mountains...

 

• PRAY...for me, for the church in Rostock and for my sending church Embrace.
• Post this blog on your Twitter and Facebook accounts using the button up top! :)
• Prayerfully consider supporting me financially...even a pledge of $5 a month will make a difference! Committing to something can seem scary, but think of it like this: You could give up Starbuck's once a month to support me $5, or fast food once a month to support me $10, or eating out once a month to support me $20. Here are ways that you can invest in this ministry:

1. Send your checks made out to ECMI-USA with a separate note with my name, Alison Settle on it to this address:            ECMI-USA
                                                                      PO Box 181
                                                             West Unity, OH 43570

2. Click here, specify me, Alison Settle, and you can donate through your amazon.com account.

3. Or for monthly donations via electronic transfer, send a request by email to rebekah.burkholder@ecmi.org

 

Thanks for reading!

Blessings and Love,

Alison