“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
“As the heaves are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9
For those of you whom I have not spoken to personally, I am writing to provide you all with an update as to my immediate plans regarding my Australia trip.
The verse above has been a great comfort to me over the past couple of months, especially as I have made the decision to move in a different direction and not go to Australia. Isaiah 55 has helped to remind me that I am not here to try and do things my way, but to follow the Lord and go where He wants me to be. I want to be where I can have the biggest impact for Him.
Many of you probably do not know about the changes that began occurring at my job after I had decided to pursue going to Australia. I won’t go into all the details, but in summary, my position has been moved and is now based out of New York City. I had already decided to follow the mission path to Australia when this change was announced and at first, I saw it as a great time for me to transition from my current job into the mission field. As my support-raising continued, the financial end of it was really not coming together as I had hoped and prayed so that when I was asked to give an answer as to whether or not I was going to be able to stay with my job, I had to say that I would stay.
Those of you who so generously gave/pledged support, my deepest thanks!!
MTW will be contacting you each with instructions on how to get your donations returned to you.
A lot of people have asked me if I’m disappointed, and I would answer that in part, yes…but God has been at work and so there is a much larger part that is excited about what is now to come!
I will be moving back to New York (I’m currently looking to buy an apartment in Manhattan) and am anxious to get back and involved with activities in the city. I would be honored if you all would continue to keep me in your prayers as I sort out everything that comes with a big move like this. I have an offer in on an apartment I really want, but New York City real estate can be very cut-throat so please pray that if this is the place the Lord has for me, that He would work out all the details. I officially began working in Manhattan last week so my commute means spending approximately 5-6 hours/day on a bus which, quite frankly, is exhausting adding emphasis to my need for an apartment. Acquiring an apartment in NYC is not an easy task. Aside from mortgage approval, you also need to obtain board approval from the co-op or condo you are purchasing which can be quite tedious. And, as I mentioned before, the real estate market there is extremely competitive…even a verbal agreement means nothing if a better deal comes along.
Please keep all of these things in your prayers…and I will certainly write again to tell you how the Lord provides!
Joyfully,
