OK, I need Help from your ladies.
OK, ladies, and gentlemen who want to contribute, I have an opportunity to to change the lives of young women in Moldova! My church, Rolling Hill Community Church, is work on a few projects to help teenage girls who are transitioning out of the orphanages of Moldova. If I remember correctly, these girls are turned out of the orphanages around the age of of 17. Unless someone steps in, most of these girls end up on the street with no life skills and little knowledge of their value in God's eyes. As you can imagine, in the poorest country of Europe, these girls are left with few choices.
SO, when I asked what I could do while I'm recovering from surgery, Steve, the missions coordinator at RHCC sent me this:
I’ve got a great project for you that might be right up your alley. Actually, you could choose from a couple of things that need to get done, all with regard to our transitional living home project for girls.
1. I need to develop a curriculum for the project that would cover all the things that girls in Moldova need to learn: how to manage and save money; dating; getting along with roommates; problem-solving; networking for success; health and hygiene; self-esteem; having, raising and teaching children; changes in the female life-cycle; personality differences; dealing with difficult people; negotiating the things you need; using discrimination in relationships; personal safety issues; etc. I’m thinking of a notebook of stuff (I had developed some of this for CERI when I was there, but would like to have a whole, fresh approach).
2. I’d like to develop a 365 day a year devotional guide for the girls that encourages their ability to think more relationally about God and others and where they fit into His Kingdom and plans. I am thinking of ways in which Scripture can meld into their lives, past, present and future in very concrete ways, including teaching them about specifically female understandings of God and applications….maybe a section on women of the Bible; how women can take stands for themselves in a patriarchal society; Jesus’ intentional inclusion of women into his circle and what that means and looks like for them today; etc. It would be huge to have a section that would reframe for them the mystery and purposes behind their personal misfortunes and how God uses tragedy to “fit us for heaven” as well as make us useful to the other wounded among us….things like that. You could really go wild with this, I’m sure!
If you would like to be a part of this project, please let me know!
I know that there are plenty of y'all with things they have already written - or have ideas just waiting for the perfect outlet. Well, here's your chance!
17 December 2007
27 April 2007
Quick Catch Up
Update part:
This semester has been a whole new set of challenges. Partly because of conscious decisions, and then from the consequence of those decisions, I seemed to have found myself in this great In-Between. For the past two years I've felt like I am supposed to be apart of a new church in New Orleans. Last year I got to know the people of Sojourn in the Uptown and I was really excited about that, but I now feel like I need to be working on becoming a member of the Mid-City community. Therefore, I've been pulled further and further from what the folks of Sojourn are doing. I hoped this would give me more time in Mid-City and motivation to dig in and start my own life calling, starting with a Bible study with some girls in my neighborhood.
Unfortunately, I have continued to work in Uptown and I've been going to school full time in Gentilly. With so much time away from the group I feel called to invest in, I've spent a lot of this semester frustrated! I work on Sundays in Uptown so I haven't even been able to worship with believers who are meeting in churches in Mid-City. Plus, I've yet to really connect with the women of my area - even enough have any kind of group of friends much less a Bible study. At the same time, I have been able to get to know people I would never have gotten to know if I were all wrapped up in "church activities," as good as they might have been. And, as the semester is coming to a close, it "just so happens" that my dream job is finally coming open!!!
If all goes according to plan, in a couple of weeks I will start working at Fairgrinds Coffeehouse. The owners, Robert and Elisabeth, are very supportive of my idea for a coffeehouse/venue and they are planning on bringing my onto their staff. They are re-opening in less than a month after being closed for two years from the flood of Katrina - after much rebuilding and community work that slowed them down. They will be the only coffeehouse in New Orleans selling only Fair Trade products (when ever applicable). I'm especially impressed by this because they are not planning on charging their costumers more for more expensive coffee because they believe in making sure that farmers get a fair price so much!
I hope to learn about how to run a coffeehouse with conscience from Robert and Elisabeth, and I look forward to starting a Bible study there by the end of the summer (hopefully sooner rather than later.) There is so much potential in this opportunity. Please pray for my witness - I want to serve people with the heart, mind, and hands of Christ. Please pray that I will be a humble worker and student at Fairgrinds! Also, please pray that I will finish my work at my old job well. I want to make sure that I leave in good relationships with my co-workers.
Also!
I'm going to Russia this summer!!!
Two professors from my school have put together three classes for this summer that are based around a mission trip to Russia! They believe that some churches in Moscow understand how to work in a harsh, changing urban environment and that we can learn from them! A small group of us are going with them to Moscow to learn how they pray for their city with prayer-walking, do evangelism in the community in a non-preachy but helpful manner, and meet in small groups in people's homes to build community and study the scriptures together. I really think that I will learn a lot more from this trip than sitting in a classroom! I'll only be in Russia for a week, but I'll be doing a lot of reading and writing in preparation and response to the trip.
Please pray because I am definitely still short on funds for this trip. Please pray that people will pray and that some will give money in support of this trip. The school is supporting me by subsidizing the costs through donations, but there is still a little over $1,000 to be raised. I really believe that the Lord is going to provide this. He has already allowed for my Russian visa to go through with amazing ease - and I thought that would be the hard part!
There are many other things that the Lord has done and is showing me as a possibility in the future, but I hate to take any more of your time. I'm excited to step out of this time of In-Between and into Living-Out the life I long to live! I can't tell you how much it means to me that I have your well-wishes and prayers. I would love to hear from you. Speaking of which, I would love to get your mailing addresses and/or any blogs, facebook, myspace, or other way that I can better keep up with your life in this ridiculously fast-paced world. :)
Until next time, Love.
Amy
--
check out what's going on with me:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amyjnicholson
http://www.myspace.com/amynicholson
This semester has been a whole new set of challenges. Partly because of conscious decisions, and then from the consequence of those decisions, I seemed to have found myself in this great In-Between. For the past two years I've felt like I am supposed to be apart of a new church in New Orleans. Last year I got to know the people of Sojourn in the Uptown and I was really excited about that, but I now feel like I need to be working on becoming a member of the Mid-City community. Therefore, I've been pulled further and further from what the folks of Sojourn are doing. I hoped this would give me more time in Mid-City and motivation to dig in and start my own life calling, starting with a Bible study with some girls in my neighborhood.
Unfortunately, I have continued to work in Uptown and I've been going to school full time in Gentilly. With so much time away from the group I feel called to invest in, I've spent a lot of this semester frustrated! I work on Sundays in Uptown so I haven't even been able to worship with believers who are meeting in churches in Mid-City. Plus, I've yet to really connect with the women of my area - even enough have any kind of group of friends much less a Bible study. At the same time, I have been able to get to know people I would never have gotten to know if I were all wrapped up in "church activities," as good as they might have been. And, as the semester is coming to a close, it "just so happens" that my dream job is finally coming open!!!
If all goes according to plan, in a couple of weeks I will start working at Fairgrinds Coffeehouse. The owners, Robert and Elisabeth, are very supportive of my idea for a coffeehouse/venue and they are planning on bringing my onto their staff. They are re-opening in less than a month after being closed for two years from the flood of Katrina - after much rebuilding and community work that slowed them down. They will be the only coffeehouse in New Orleans selling only Fair Trade products (when ever applicable). I'm especially impressed by this because they are not planning on charging their costumers more for more expensive coffee because they believe in making sure that farmers get a fair price so much!
I hope to learn about how to run a coffeehouse with conscience from Robert and Elisabeth, and I look forward to starting a Bible study there by the end of the summer (hopefully sooner rather than later.) There is so much potential in this opportunity. Please pray for my witness - I want to serve people with the heart, mind, and hands of Christ. Please pray that I will be a humble worker and student at Fairgrinds! Also, please pray that I will finish my work at my old job well. I want to make sure that I leave in good relationships with my co-workers.
Also!
I'm going to Russia this summer!!!
Two professors from my school have put together three classes for this summer that are based around a mission trip to Russia! They believe that some churches in Moscow understand how to work in a harsh, changing urban environment and that we can learn from them! A small group of us are going with them to Moscow to learn how they pray for their city with prayer-walking, do evangelism in the community in a non-preachy but helpful manner, and meet in small groups in people's homes to build community and study the scriptures together. I really think that I will learn a lot more from this trip than sitting in a classroom! I'll only be in Russia for a week, but I'll be doing a lot of reading and writing in preparation and response to the trip.
Please pray because I am definitely still short on funds for this trip. Please pray that people will pray and that some will give money in support of this trip. The school is supporting me by subsidizing the costs through donations, but there is still a little over $1,000 to be raised. I really believe that the Lord is going to provide this. He has already allowed for my Russian visa to go through with amazing ease - and I thought that would be the hard part!
There are many other things that the Lord has done and is showing me as a possibility in the future, but I hate to take any more of your time. I'm excited to step out of this time of In-Between and into Living-Out the life I long to live! I can't tell you how much it means to me that I have your well-wishes and prayers. I would love to hear from you. Speaking of which, I would love to get your mailing addresses and/or any blogs, facebook, myspace, or other way that I can better keep up with your life in this ridiculously fast-paced world. :)
Until next time, Love.
Amy
--
check out what's going on with me:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amyjnicholson
http://www.myspace.com/amynicholson
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