Dear friends,
My departure for New Zealand is fast approaching. I fly out on February 24 and am starting to wonder how I will get everything done before then. I have a significant number of people interested in joining the Jesus Kitchen team, so in the next couple weeks I will be doing a few training sessions, and I also will be organizing everything for the rest of the team, who will be sharing responsibility for the Kitchen in my absence. Luckily, I am taking a few days off work before I leave, so I will hopefully have time to pack without forgetting anything too vital! In light of the many disparate things going on, I am going to dispense with my usual newsletter format and share a few separate blurbs.
What am I doing in New Zealand?
I still do not know exactly what my daily tasks will entail when I am in New Zealand, but I look forward to providing help wherever needed. Steiger does not tend to attract a lot of organizationally-minded missionaries, so I am happy to take on a role that would be hard to fill otherwise. Despite this ongoing deficit, however, I am excited to report that Steiger is making significant steps toward new levels of organization, accountability, and cohesion. The increased structure has made me feel like I have a framework within which to seriously pursue ideas I have held somewhat nebulously for a long time. So, aside from providing assistance as needed, one of my main goals during my time in New Zealand is to develop ideas of how to enact the hazy visions I have for ministry. My leader has encouraged me to start something new and see where it goes. So please pray for me as I work on plans for how to improve the Jesus Kitchen and begin developing other dreams for bringing the Gospel to the West Bank. Part of this process will be working to more effectively raise support, and I want to encourage you join me in praying for new progress in this area.
What about the ministry in Minneapolis?
While I am excited to return to New Zealand, I am also struggling with leaving Minneapolis, as God has been doing amazing things in recent days. In last month’s prayer requests, I mentioned a woman from the West Bank who has joined the family of believers. She is a dear friend of mine who I believe has a great calling on her life. This means, unfortunately, that the enemy is working hard—in both overt and subtle ways—to steal the things God has done in her. I have also had a great number of ongoing discussions that I believe God is using to bring people into his Kingdom. So while I believe the time away will be beneficial on many fronts—providing needed help, taking time to organize in order to move forward with more intentionality, and hopefully resting—I find myself having to trust God with the ministries and people who are so close to my heart. Please pray that God would complete the work he has started in all these areas, and that I would find his Kingdom flourishing even more greatly when I return.
A Testimony!
As I have mentioned in recent prayer requests, I found a lump in my breast last fall. For five months, the lump was present every day. On the day of the appointment where the doctor was going to prescribe surgery if it had not gone away, I woke up and was disappointed to find it still there. I took a shower and then sat down for my time with God. I was in Luke 18, where Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow in order to teach us never to give up when praying. Later in the chapter, we read the story of a blind beggar who continues to shout for Jesus to heal him even though the circumstances do not seem to be in his favor. These stories stood out to me, but even more was I touched by the section where Jesus says, “…anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” The word “receive” stood out to me, and I began to think about how children receive gifts—with no suspicion, with no cynical attitude that whatever good they are receiving will not last. I admitted that I can often be cynical, and I asked God to help me repent and simply receive whatever he might have for me. Then, out of the persistence he teaches us to have, I asked again for healing. And the lump was gone. That afternoon, the doctor found absolutely no sign of it. Thank you for your prayers. I continue to be astounded at what happened, and moreover, I believe God has more to teach me from this experience, so I hope to share more in the future.
Thank you for allowing me to share my life with you all. You are a treasure. If you wish to keep up with me more regularly while I am gone (and after I return), I invite you to view my blog; I often use that forum to share what God is teaching me, so I hope you find it encouraging! As always, there are prayer requests on the reverse.
Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong!
Molly S. Waggoner
Prayer requests:
- Please pray for the following issues related to my trip to New Zealand:
- For safe travel.
- For finances: It looks like things are going to work out, but your continued support will allow me to have some stability while there and pay the room/board that my leaders have requested I pay.
- For the people in whom I have been investing in Minneapolis—that they would continue to have encounters with God and are closer to him upon my return.
- For the Jesus Kitchen to thrive while I am away, especially that new members who are joining right as I am about to leave would play helpful and important roles in the team. I often feel like leaving Jesus Kitchen is like leaving my child, and I so greatly want things to go well while I am gone!
- For me to have a productive, and yet restful, time. In the past, I have really met God during my times in New Zealand, and I greatly desire that he will meet me there in a profound way again. Moreover, I hope that he will give me new vision and new direction for ministry.
- For peace. I struggle with feeling uprooted, and even though I know that I love being in New Zealand and that I will be among friends, it is very difficult for me to go. Please pray for a sense of God’s peace.
- Please also pray that the work I do to develop clearly stated goals and plans will help me as I yet again set out in an attempt to raise further support.
- If you have any interest in being part of Steiger ministry, I suggest that you pray about getting involved in some of our short-term missions opportunities.
Thank you!
MSW
My Faithful Jesus Kitchen Crew
This is the night where the wind chills were “only” -30 degrees. On February 9, we survived -45!! You wouldn’t believe how many layers we wear… But I think God’s protection on top of them all is what really matters!
|
