(according to GoogleEarth this is my new Neighborhood)
I am off to Rome in only 11 days!!! Not permanently YET, I am going to Rome on my Vision Trip. This is a chance for me to meet my team leaders Brian and Sarah, and to get better acquainted with the city as well as the need. I am so thankful to all of you who have joined my financial support team, making this trip not only possible, but possible before the prices sky rocket during high season.
Please be praying for me as I journey to Rome. While I am taking this time away from the church as vacation and I am sure there will be aspects of the time that seem like one, I also have a lot of things to work through with Brian and Sarah. ReachGlobal has provided us with lots and lots of questions to work through. You can pray that God really shows me the need in Rome, and that I get a clearer picture of the work He has called me to. After being in Rome for a week I will head back to the states, but not home.
I will instead be landing in Denver, CO for a chance to see many of you,(Darbi, Heather, Pam, Vanessa and Stephen and the Daleys!) as well as attend Body Builders Support Team Building Workshop at Glen Erie in Colorado Springs. I am excited for this leg of the journey as well.
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" James 1:17
I just want to send a shout out of THANKS to all of you who have joined my Financial Support Team! I really cannot thank you enough, or do an addiquate job of expressing to you what an answer to prayer you are!
So often in the past few weeks I have prayed specifically for new donors, even being so bold as to ask God to provide certain gifts from certian people on certian days...and you know what? God has been faithful to provide exactally what I have prayed for, which makes you an answer to my prayers! He even has gone above and beyond!
So I wanted to say THANKS and encourage you to keep on listening to God as He continues to guide and direct you in so many ways! I am praying for you too!
Want to know what is great about Italy? Food! Other things too, but tonight we are celebrating Italian cooking at my Pampered Chef Party. 15% of all proceeds will go to support me on my Road to Rome!!! Pretty fantastic!
If you love Pampered Chef or Me or Both but cannot make it to the party you can still purchase and help support my new ministry at the same time. Just click here and then you can place your order online. All orders need to be in by Monday, so take a look and see all the fun kitchen stuff you can get!
For my new ministry I was given a book by ReachGlobal on raising support. In that book it strongly encourages the missionary to pray faithfully for those whom they ask for support, and also that we should pray specifically about each potential supporter. I read that portion of the book before I even made it home to CA and I started out praying faithfully for my supporters, even adding pictures of them to my computer screen saver, so that every time my computer in resting faces of people who are receiving my prayer letters are playing reminding me to pray for them. I love it. I picked great pictures too, so they make me smile.
I tried praying for specific donations a little, but not nearly as faithfully as I have prayed about other things. So today when my morning Bible Study was on the passage in Luke about not worrying about the clothes you wear or the other things you may need, but trusting God to provide, I decided it was as good as time as any to begin to get more serious in asking God to meet my needs.
In my prayer I asked God to provide three people at the prayer meeting I was heading to who would be on my support team. And I even asked Him to provide a specific amount from one person. I walked into the prayer meeting and one lady gave me a hug and told me she would be giving exactly the amount I had prayed about. Then I turned around and another told me she had pledged to give. I was in awe. Though I don't know why I haven't figured out that God answers prayer. I sat down thinking well God, two out of three ain't bad.
While we were meeting my phone rang, and someone left a message. I got out to my car and listened and they had said that they would like to support me financially! Okay so God is, well God!
Just had to share, cause I love watching God provide and continue to surprise me and teach me faith.
Who knew that my work as a missionary would begin before I ever set foot on Roman soil?God did.He knew that in me telling people about my new road ahead that I would have the opportunity to engage in dialogues about Him and what He has called me to.Along with that I have the chance to transition well.This means that I can leave one ministry running well, with a new found interest in missions and I can get to Rome excited and prepared to fully enter into my new ministry there!
My first month as a member of the Rome City Team has had some great moments.I thankfully got the opportunity to meet Mike Davis who is my new Europe Director.We met over coffee with a group of people and then got to share lunch together.It was an encouragement to me to hear him share about the great need for Gospel, because I am already facing some opposition as to why go to Rome instead of a place like Africa; now I have the assurance that I am going where the need is greater than it has ever been. Along the same note, I had a great conversation with my team leaders that bolstered my faith in what we are going to be doing there.
{I borrowed this picture from Brian and Sarah's Blog,
they snapped it New Years Eve in Rome. I just Love it!}
My favorite story this month is that of God starting to supply my needs in a surprising way!I went out for what I thought was a simple lunch, before I even ordered the owner and I got to talking and in the midst of our conversation she asked about my missionary journey.I filled her in on the fact that I cannot leave until I have raised 100% of my support.She kindly responded with an offer of money towards my trip, and before I finished my lunch she handed me a gift of money.It was such a God thing! She was an answer to my prayers that I had prayed earlier that morning.
In March I will be attending two training events; the first is a vision trip to Rome, to meet Brian and Sarah and get a lay of the land and then I will fly directly to Colorado to attend a support team building seminar at Glen Erie.I am really looking forward to this combined trip, because I will really get a chance to fully engage with the ministry and the people God is calling me to serve.
Please be praying with me for:
Gods continued provision not just for me but for my whole team.
Brian and Sarah as they have dinner with their Landlord and his wife that they may continue to build that relationship!
The transition for me as I continue to work at Felton Bible Church with the youth full- time and have started work with ReachGlobal.
My students and my volunteers as they go through this change with me.
My upcoming training and travel.
My teammate Craig as he too is preparing to go to Rome.
Included in with this letter you will also find a copy of last month’s letter, in case you did not receive it.You will also find my prayer card to help you remember to pray for me often.As always if you would like more information please get in touch with me, or check out my blog or both!
Thank you for joining me on my Road to Rome!
Trinity
Ps. If you did not receive this via email it means I do not have a working email address for you. If you would like to get my monthly Prayer letter via email, send me your email!!!
I seriously cannot get over just how abundantly great God is. I wrote my last post this morning about needing money coming in. I had not even had time to post it yet, but God does not need to wait for me to get around to posting it. I like to think He was reading over my shoulder, because today my Dad took me to lunch. Nothing out of the ordinary there. We went to Wendy's his favorite local joint, due to the fantastic staff. He has been building a relationship with the owner for some time now, so every time we go in she greets us with a hug, and even surprises us with goodies now and again. Today we talked to her about her husband who is going in for surgery, told her that we would of course be praying for him. (please join us in our prayers for Howard.) Then being the amazing lady she is she recalled that I was going to be going to Rome as a missionary, and asked how that was going. I told her what I just shared with you in my last post, and you know what? She walked out and got a check from her husband who was waiting in the car right then and there. I know that I am praying for her and her hubby, but what she does not realize is that she was an answer to my prayers today!
I just cannot get over how funny and surprising and all knowing our God is! I had to share with you this story because it brought such joy to my heart, and because I would love if you will join me in praying for Patty and Howard this week.
One of the first steps in moving into full time ministry in Rome, is taking a two week Vision Trip to meet my new team, and check out the area where I will be living and serving. ReachGlobal has really encouraged me to get this trip done before I do too much else as it is key to getting my head and heart fully wrapped around what God has called me to.
Normally they have the missionary pay for this trip upfront if possible, by putting it on a credit card. I however do not own a credit card! I have been trying to live as debt free as possible. This means that I need to have support coming in, before ReachGlobal will give me the go ahead to purchase my ticket for the Vision Trip. If I can get the support before March tickets will be almost half as much as if I need to wait till tourist season in May-Aug. As I am sure you can imagine. What you may not realize is that I have found tickets online round trip for less than $700!
Many of you have mentioned supporting me which is so fantastic! Thank you! You may be waiting until it is closer to my departure date, but the thing is I cannot go until money is actually coming in. I appreciate any and all gifts, monthy donations are what I will need the most of, but even one time gifts will help get me underway in the training and start up costs. Really every little bit helps. Thanks to those of you who have already given, your support and involvement means the world to me!
Please don't hesitate to let me know if you need more information on how to go about joining my support team. But here are the two eaisest ways to give:
1. By Check: Please mark the check with the #1671 and my name (Trinity Kay) in the memo line.
Please make all checks payable to EFCA and you can mail them to:
EFCA, 901 East 78th Street Minneapolis, MN 55420
2. By Credit Card: Go to www.efca.org/giving and be sure to include the #1671 in the Designation field.
All gifts are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible!!!
