Leaving on a Jet Plane

The date of my departure is now official... I am leaving Ohio and moving to the Dominican Republic on the last day of August! :)

I am moving to this...

and this...

and a little bit of this...

and these smiling faces...

and all of the good things that the Lord has made. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

Join me on my journey as I walk in the ways the Lord has prepared for me. My hope is to update this blog a few times a month to let you know about what God is doing in the Dominican, in the lives of the people in Cielo and Nazaret and what God is teaching me.
Blessings,
Anna

Halfway There

As of this evening, I have pledges for 50% of my support! That is $10,000 in 2 weeks! God is so amazing :)

I had been nervous about raising that much money, but as I began to pray about it and share about Mission Emanuel and what God is doing in the Dominican Republic with people, I felt encouraged. Everything is in the Father's hands.

All the glory to God. If I had set out to raise this money on my own for my own initiatives, I would have failed miserably. Through Christ, I can do all things. God is raising the money to do His work.

As I meet with people to talk about the ministry, my passion for the people in Cielo and Nazaret and the things I will be doing in the DR, its really not about the money. Yes, I need the support to be able to go down to the Dominican, but God knows who the people are who are supposed to contribute. I am merely presenting an opportunity to give to God's work. As I said in my last post, for some people it may just be that God wants me to share about the Dominican and what is going on there.

If you have any questions or want to know more about Mission Emanuel, my move to the Dominican or what God is doing in the DR, don't hesitate to contact me. I would love to share with you! :)
Blessings,
Anna

Abundance

So, a quick update and more to come later...

In the last week and a half I have raised, or more correctly, God has provided 37% of my support for my trip to the Dominican! I am so excited about what God is doing!!

I was very nervous about talking to people about giving money towards my trip. Yet, I am learning that this is really an opportunity for people to learn about what God is doing in the Dominican Republic and how they can get involved. Some of the people I talk to may not be led to give money and perhaps I was only supposed to talk to them about it so they could learn about the DR and Mission Emanuel and all that God is doing. Others have been led to give above and beyond what I had even thought to ask. Because God is so much bigger than everything. And He gives abundantly. More generously than any of us could ever be. And I know that He is going to provide the remaining $12,000 that I need for this next year. And who knows, maybe even more!

Also, Jack called me on Sunday and he found a place for me to live! Its an apartment by one of the mission schools with two rooms and a bathroom (I am assuming a kitchen as well...). And would you believe rent of $100 to $150 a month?? Amazing! That is probably the size of the apartment I lived in for two years and it cost a lot more than that...

I know several people were asking about what exactly I would be doing in the DR. I will be doing a lot of things, including working with Vida Joven (Young Life), assisting the women's cooperative, holding bible studies with the teenage girls, teaching English in the schools and assisting the Executive Director (who lives in Florida) with anything he needs me to do for the mission. I will also help to facilitate the short-term missions trips and will translate once I become more fluent in Spanish.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment here or hit me up on facebook.
See you soon!
Blessings,
Anna

Looking Forward

Hello again, all!

Just a quick update to let you know that I have just started support raising for my year-long (or more!) move to the Dominican Republic. I have raised 7.5% of my support goal already and am trusting God to increase my support to 10 times that or 75% of my support goal by the middle of August.

I need to raise $20,000 before moving to Cielo in September, which is just two months away. Please pray for me as I go through this process and contact me if you would like to learn more about my passion for the Dominican Republic, God's call on my life, what I will be doing in the DR, etc.

You can message me on facebook by visiting my profile at http://www.facebook.com/bianco.13 or leave me a comment here and I will contact you.

You can also give support by going to http://missionemanuel.org/support/ and following the instructions there.

Thanks and God bless!
Anna