10%

As of today, God has graciously provided 10% of my support.  I have to admit that the last few days I have been finding myself discouraged and feeling the time crunch that comes with the realization that my departure for Lima occurs in 113 days (you better believe I'm counting down!).  But then God, in His infinite grace, encourages me by providing enough to bring me to the 10% milestone, despite the fact that my secret doubts are no secret to Him.

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"it just so happens"...

I realized this morning that six of the seven classes I am taking this semester have to do with doing life and ministry in a cross-cultural environment.  Ironically three of the classes are ones most people take as sophomores but for various reasons, got pushed way back in my schedule so that I am just now taking them.  Just now when I "happen" to be preparing to live and minister cross-culturally!  I love seeing evidence of God orchestrating life, even in the seemingly ordinary details of a class schedule.

teach us to pray...

The Peruvian flag on display during the 2011 missions conference at Cedarville. 

    It's that time of year again.  At Cedarville, the beginning of spring semester means snow and ice and seniors counting the days until graduation (there are 116, by the way), but it also means missions conference.  This is now the fourth time I've sat through these three days of chapels and seminars all geared toward teaching us about and motivating us toward missions, both as goers and as senders. But this time it's different. As I listen to each speaker, I feel different. I'm no longer on the outside looking in at the missionaries. I am one. I've joined the club, so to speak, and all of the sudden, every little thing they say seems to have a direct impact on my life.
    When I walked into the chapel this morning for our first session, the first thing I saw was the Peruvian flag hanging on the wall across from me, and honestly, I got really emotional.  Not in a sappy, teary sort of way, but in a proud, "That's my country!!" sort of way.  (I also noticed that it was hanging right next to the Jamaican flag, which I found slightly ironic because my cousin, Kathleen, just returned from serving for over a year at Robin's Nest Children's Home in Montego Bay, Jamaica.)  After such a great first day, I'm really looking forward to hearing from the rest of the speakers, especially our good friend, Dave Drullinger, who serves with ABWE in South Africa.
   A few thoughts from tonight's speaker, John Barnett, that helped me to translate The Lord's Prayer into my everyday life - He said when we pray as Jesus taught us to pray, we are really asking Him:
           Focus me on who You are ("Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name...")
           Control me because You have a plan for my life and Lead me so I can follow Your path ("Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven...")
           Supply my need so that I can see Your hand in my life ("Give us this day our daily bread...")
           Cleanse me so that I can feel Your blessing on my life ("Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...")
           Protect me so that I don't lose Your power in my life ("Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil...")
           Empty me so that You get all the credit for my life ("For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.")
    Dr. Brown reminded us at the end that the disciples never asked Jesus, "Lord, teach us how to plant churches" or "Teach us to preach" or "Teach us how to teach in Lima, Peru".  They only said, "Teach us to pray."
 

4%

Just an update...I am currently at 4% of my support needed to leave for Lima.  While I am praying that God will provide 100% of my monthly support by the time I am ready to leave in May, I trust that He will orchestrate those details in His own perfect timing.  I am so grateful to all of you who have already gotten on board with the ministry of MCS through your finances, your prayers, your love and your enthusiasm for what God is doing in Peru!

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back to school...

This morning I had the opportunity to share about the ministry of MCS in the morning service at my home church. I was so encouraged by the enthusiasm and support shown by my church family. Now heading back to Cedarville for one more semester and trying to slow down long enough to enjoy it!

to be involved...

For those of you who do internet better than snail mail, below is a copy of my support letter.  It will give you some more details, contact information, and ways for you to be involved in supporting my ministry at Monterrico Christian School.

Amber Ward

9684 Banwell Rd.

Alanson, MI

amberruthward@gmail.com (231)330-3625

Dear Friends and Family, 

      I have had the opportunity to share with many of you about the time that I spent at Monterrico Christian School (MCS) in Lima, Perú during the summer of 2009. At the end of the summer, I left Lima grateful for the time I had spent there but sure I would never return. Over the next few months, God began working on my heart in a such a profound way that is hard for me to even explain. By the time spring break of 2010 came around, I was on a plane back to Lima for a visit, this time with my mom along for a second opinion. At the end of the 12 days that we spent there, I felt confident that God was calling me back to MCS longterm. After months of prayer, that feeling seemed to be confirmed in October when the school officially offered me a teaching position for the 2011 and 2012 school years. If all goes as planned, I will be graduating from Cedarville on May 7, 2011 and leaving for Lima within the week with the intention of remaining through December of 2012.

      MCS is a preschool-8^th grade, English-immersion school that has a very unique ministry to Peru's professional class. I am so excited to be a part of what God is doing in a country that has steeped in the traditions of Roman Catholicism for 500 years. The same parents who would never set foot inside a Baptist church do not hesitate for a moment to send their children to a school run by that same church because they know that their children are learning English, a resource that is invaluable in this era of increasing globalization. Through our knowledge of English, we are able to share the hope that we have in Christ on a daily basis with not only our students, but with their parents as well.

      I am confident that where God leads, He also provides, and it is with that in mind that I write now to ask for your partnership as I prepare for the mission field to which God has called me. MCS has graciously committed to provide housing for me for the 18 months I will be spending there. My budgeted monthly expenses will be $1185 and, combined with the cost of airfare, will total $24,730. In addition to asking for your financial support, I also ask for your support in prayer because I am confident that I cannot succeed in this ministry without it. There are some specific ways that you can be in prayer: We as a school staff desire to expand our ministry beyond the classroom to include more meaningful discipleship of our students and their parents and would ask that you pray for opportunities to do that. For me specifically, I would ask that you pray for rapid adjustment to the language and for competency in the classroom.

      If you would like to know more about MCS or what I will be doing there, please do not hesitate to contact me or visit http://www.mcslima.org.  I look forward to hearing from you!

                                                     For His Glory,

                                                    Amber Ward

All financial giving can be addressed to:

Liberty Baptist Church

Attn: Amber Ward – Peru

P.O. Box 348

Alanson, MI 49706

a new year...

2011.
The year I'll move to Peru.
Finally.
       With as much excitement as I feel now that the year is here, I can only imagine how ecstatic I'll feel when the day itself finally arrives.  For those of you who don't know how or why I'm on my way to Peru, let me provide some background.  When I went back to Cedarville for the fall semester of 2008, I already had plans for the coming summer, but when those plans suddenly fell through, I found myself scrambling to come up with a Plan B.  I had always been interested in missions (some of you might remember the time I spent in Panama in 2005), and being an International Studies major, I had a cross-cultural experience requirement to fulfill.  So on a whim, I applied for ABWE's short-term intern program and basically said, “Send me anywhere.” A few months later, I was on a plane to Lima, Peru.

      For 3 months, I worked at Monterrico Christian School (MCS). I taught after-school piano lessons, tutored several students who were still struggling with English, subbed for sick teachers, graded papers, collated papers, laminated papers...whatever I could do to lighten the load of the other staff. At the end of my time in Peru, I was glad that I had gone and had enjoyed my time there, but I came home saying living overseas wasn't for me and that I doubted I'd ever go back. 

      But over the next six months or so, Peru and MCS began to weigh on me. I'd catch myself thinking about the school and the city and the kids in a very longing sort of way and think, “Wait a second! Why am I thinking like that? I don't even want to be in Peru. I like America!” It was like God kept poking and prodding at my heart until one night I finally said, “Okay! I guess I'll at least go back for a visit.” So I started saving my pennies for a ticket to go down over my spring break and decided it would be fun to take my mom with me.  Between the time that we bought our tickets and the time that we actually arrived in Lima, God had done so much poking and prodding that I spent the whole trip saying to my mom, “What do you think about this and what do you think about that? And how did I seem in this situation or with those kids?” And by the end of the 12 days we were there, I had come to the point where I felt like coming back long-term was a real possibility for me. I didn't know how or when, but it was definitely on the table.   

      I spent the summer thinking and praying about it, and with graduation on the horizon, it seemed that the doors to every option I pursued closed.  Except one.  In September, I finally applied for a teaching position at MCS and within a month, it was offered to me for the 2011 and 2012 school years.  I am so grateful that my home church, Liberty Baptist in Alanson, MI, has agreed to act as my sending church, and I am trusting that God will provide the financial support that I need in order to be able to move to Peru in May. 

      It amazes me how God orchestrates things so perfectly.  I am amazed at the change in my own attitude toward Peru.  Where there was once fear and resistance, there is now passion and an excitement that runs so deep, I don't even know how to express it.  What I do know is that I cannot take any credit for it; it was entirely an act of God in my life.  I'm excited to say that Peru is no longer my Plan B.  I'm excited by the realization that God doesn't make Plan Bs.  His plan is perfect.  What great joy comes from following Him!