December 2010 Newsletter

It is good to be home! God is good, and has blessed me so much while I was in Africa. He used each place I was at to teach me something. I wanted to share with you about my last few months in Africa, and let you know what the next step is going to be.
I started out by heading to Abeche, Chad in July to stay with the Broten Family. I spent six weeks with them and helped with the delivery of baby Hadassah. We had some great late night conversations about missions, unreached people groups, and what it’s like raising a family in a Muslim culture. Being in Chad, I had the opportunity to see a new side of missions that I hadn’t seen before. The Broten’s other missionaries there in Abeche are reaching out to a largely unreached people group. All the other places that I have travelled to previously had well established churches and missionaries that had been there for some time. So seeing missionaries spending their time trying to build relationships with people who hadn’t heard the Gospel really made me think about what my priorities are as a missionary. It reminded me of the need to make sharing the Good News the most important thing. I may be going in as a midwife, but that is just the way to get in and build relationships with people so that I can tell them about how much Jesus loves them.
After leaving Chad, I met up with Sarah and Daniel Bell in Kenya. We stayed with Bob and Ann Tayloe and Sarah and I had the opportunity to volunteer in a hospital in Kijabe. We both delivered babies in Kijabe, and Sarah had the opportunity to help a missionary family who had come down from where they work in central Kenya for the birth of their baby.
From Kenya, we went to Malawi and stayed with the Chale family in a village outside of Kenya. They were such a blessing to us, and it was wonderful to see old friends from when I lived in Malawi. I think the best part of being in Malawi was seeing the people that first touched my heart for missions. We spent a lot of time going to surrounding villages and talking to people and getting an idea what their needs are and learning about the best approach to helping people in that kind of situation.
From Malawi, Sarah, Daniel and I bused to Mozambique. We stayed at the orphanage that was formerly Teen Missions and the place that Sarah worked at for a year. It was amazing seeing the place that made Sarah fall in love with Africa and meet the kids that touched her heart so much. While in Mozambique, we got to meet several missionaries in the area and made a lot of new connections.
The three of us then flew back to Kenya for some time of rest and to talk and pray about what our next step is. I think we all needed some time to become refreshed and debrief for a time. While in Kenya, I met Charity Lanman who I had been emailing before leaving the US about possibly visiting her clinic in southern Sudan. She asked me to consider postponing my flight home and come help out in her clinic for a few weeks. It seemed crazy at first, but after praying about it, decided that it was an open door from the Lord that I needed to walk through it. After a while longer in Kenya helping Charity to get the necessary supplies together for going back into Sudan, we flew into the village of Nyinbuli, southern Sudan. It was really incredible there, and I learned so much during my two and a half weeks at the clinic there. The people in the area, mostly from the Dinka tribe, walk for hours to come to the clinic in Nyinbuli as it is the only medical facility around. One lady who came to us had been walking for over four hours while bleeding heavily from an incomplete miscarriage when she arrived at the gate. Others came for everything from malaria and tetanus to simple coughs and diarrhea. It was an amazing time in Sudan, and I loved every minute of it.
The next step for Sarah, Daniel and I is in Mozambique. There is a missionary family working there who is going on furlough back in Australia and they have asked us to stay in their house and help with the administration of an elementary school that they run for the village near their home while they are away resting and reconnecting with friends and family. Sarah and I are also hoping to start a women’s group, do some health and nutrition classes with them, and build relationships with the women in the area. We will be flying to Mozambique the middle of February and will be there for six months. Please consider coming along side of Sarah, Daniel and I with this next step. And more than anything, we covet your prayers. And thank you so much for your prayers over the last few months. Each of you blesses me more than you can know.

Learning to Trust- May newsletter

The theme in my devotions seems to be, once again, learning to trust God more. How privileged, and yet how vulnerable to be placed in a situation where all my needs truly are met by God. It’s not always easy, and I find myself having to remind myself continually that God will provide, that my “heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” (Matthew 6:32b) It’s so easy to get discouraged, and I definitely have days when I forget to believe what the Bible says about God, and how He cares deeply for us and will provide what we have need of.

This stretching and growing process is definitely a result of the circumstances that God has put in my life at this time, and the direction that He has led me in. The money I need in order to buy a plane ticket to Chad in July is slowly trickling in, and I’m still not near the amount that I need yet. And until I get the money and buy my plane ticket, I can’t start the visa process; something that needs to begin very soon. It’s sometimes hard not to question God, and wonder why He would tell me to do something and then not provide a way for me to do it. But, He has been challenging me to trust Him again in a new and deeper way and to rest in the knowledge that He has indeed called me to go to Chad this summer and that He will make a way for me to go. Resting in that knowledge sounds like such a wonderful thing… rest… but oh! it’s so difficult to actually do! Pray for me during this time. Pray that I will be able to trust Him more, and that I will not worry.

Right now, I am in need of people to partner along side of me and help me to raise the funds needed in order to cover the travel and visa expenses to Chad. This is an urgent need, and I pray that you would pray about how you can become a part of this ministry make it possible for me to bless this missionary family as they serve God. I know that all things are possible through Christ, and that God can and will provide for this. He has shown me without a doubt that He is leading me to Chad this summer, and is gently urging me to trust Him as He provides what I need.

If you are interested in working alongside of me as I travel to Chad to serve this missionary family, donations may be sent to:

Central Community Church
300 Tucker Lane
Cocoa FL 32926

Please be sure to put “for the ministry of Holly Findley” in the memo line of any checks.

Prayer Requests:

· That the necessary funds would come in quickly for travel and visa expenses as well as medical supplies

· For peace as I prepare for the trip

· For good health as I travel

·

I am so excited to tell you all about the newest opportunities that have opened up and the exciting things that God has been doing. First of all, God is bringing someone new to the team! Sarah, my best friend, midwifery partner, and fellow missionary is going to be married! His name is Daniel Bell, and I am still fairly in shock that us crazy midwives didn't scare him away, and that he stayed around long enough to fall in love with Sarah (although why would I be surprised about that? She's pretty amazing…).

Please lift Daniel up in your prayers as he prepares for full time missions, and for the three of us as a team that we would learn to work cohesively together. I believe that the three of us will be a good team, and that God has His hand on this newest addition to our ministry. This really is an amazing answer to prayer.

My heart is so excited to get back to Africa, and I am praising God for the doors He is opening up. Please keep me in your prayers as I get to know this family in Chad and that God would give me wisdom in how to best care for this mamma and baby. And also for Sarah, Daniel, and I as we prepare for this trip, pray that God would make it clear who He wants us to team up with and that this would be a good time of preparation for full time work wherever God leads us.

So, from now until July I will be busy working to get things ready to go to Chad, gathering the needed medical supplies, and getting a visa for Chad along with all the hustle and bustle of helping Sarah get ready for her wedding. It's going to be a crazy couple of months! But I think it's going to be really fun. And just the excitement of knowing that I'll be back in Africa soon delivering a baby will make all the busyness worth it.

Perhaps the most important thing I need right now as I prepare is your prayers. Without that prayer support holding me up, I know that this is impossible. You have been such a blessing to me in the past, and so faithful to pray, I have no fear of the necessary things coming together for this next step in the ministry. Please continue to lift me up to the Father and partner with me in this.

If you are interested in helping me financially to travel to Africa and bless this missionary family and prepare for my own full time work there, donations may be sent to:

Central Community Church

300 Tucker Lane

Cocoa, FL 32926

Please make a note in the memo line that the donation is for the ministry of Holly Findley

Prayer Requests…

• That the funds would come in to travel to Chad and around Africa
  
• That I would be able to find the necessary medical supplies
  
• For good health as I prepare and throughout the duration of the trip
  
• That this missionary in Chad would have a smooth pregnancy with no complications
  
• That God would give me wisdom in how to best care for her
  
• That the necessary planning would go smoothly as Sarah, Daniel and I prepare to travel to several places