August 29th through 30th

August 29, 2004
Dear Mom and Dad, and everyone in my family Hey, I might just send this to my newsletter list because it is a news letter in and of itself. Probably more interesting than the other one!
Hi! I am sitting at Hannah’s waiting for the phone line to be free so I can send my newsletter. Tomorrow a short termer is leaving and I have 8 letters I am sending with her. There are ones for the grandparents but I am sending them to you guys because I don’t have the addresses.

Karen has malaria But today I went over to talk with her about the baby house and about starting the preschool for the next age group down (3 year olds). So to make a long story short… Laura is moving to Katie P’s dorm and taking over (Katie P lives in the city with Yolanda—the little girl she just adopted! And 3 other girls). So Laura will have 50 boys to look after. Anyway, I just found that out today. So I came to talk to Laura and she asked if I could take over preschool. Even though she loves it, it would be allot more stressful to do that AND look after 50 boys. So I start on Tuesday! Eek! I will wait to start the other preschool until next week. So I will be teaching 5 days a week; Mondays and Thursdays I will be teaching the 3 year olds, and Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I will have the 4 year olds. PRAY FOR ME! There’s 10 in the older group and 7 in the younger group (including Felismina).
It’s so weird. I spent the last year and a half really learning to teach (in Sunday school and 2 children’s churches, as well as Girl’s Only cell group). But I never considered myself a teacher and I didn’t know why God was having me teach at church. Now a month and a half after I am here I am put over all the preschool and I am THE TEACHER!! Eeshi! (that is what you say in Portuguese for “Wow”).
Today is the LAST day of the fair. Send me pictures! I can’t believe I survived a week without the fair. Wow… I still want to be there next year. Chow!
Love,
Anna

August 30th, 2004—Okay, so am I ever going to get online to send all these letters?! I have NO idea! But today has been so good. The Monday morning meeting was GREAT. I went with Anton and a new couple here (George and Jill) to drop someone off at the airport, then Anton dropped us off at Shop Rite. I spent allot because I had to buy the snacks and juice for preschool for the next 2 weeks (healthy stuff like bananas, apples, crackers, peanut butter, cheese, yogurt). Anyway, while I was there I ran into a couple and there 2 young girls who are here working with Iris. They are from Australia, but they have been renting a house in the city for 2 months. Next week they are going to Pemba for a couple weeks, then going home. So anyway, they started talking to me and asked me if I would be willing to start an intercession group for Iris Ministries? They have daily intercession, but this would be different. If I could find people here (I just have to start with one other person because where 2 or 3 come together, God is there as well) who will be totally committed to spending say half an hour a week in prayer with me. I will get the prayer requests and then also make up a list of all the ministries Iris has and the long termers, and churches that support Iris, and once a week we will get together and do intercession for it. Because in order for this whole ministry to keep going, it needs ongoing, consistent prayer support and Spiritual protection. I am honored that God would give me the role of getting that going! It’s so neat to see what God has done in the last 2 days—from being put over preschool, to starting this prayer team. Praise God!
One final praise report. At Shop Rite today I finished quickly so I was waiting outside and got the opportunity to share Jesus with 2 guys. I think the one guy was just wanting to know if I was available cause I am an American. He was the guy that works at Steere’s (little place like McDonalds). The other guy was a Supervisor in the Shop Rite parking lot. So he came over to just make sure everything was okay and I had someone coming for me since I had been standing there for awhile (waiting for Anton). Then we started talking. He has a wife and 2 daughters. So he was saying money is bitter (I think he was trying to say it is hard to come by) and he wants to go to America where he could get a job and make more money than he does looking after cars. So I said to him, “Once you have money then you buy food and then you use up your food and have no money. Having allot of money is not so important. Because when you die what will your money have gotten you? But Jesus loves you so much. If you pray and trust in Jesus, he will take care of you and give you a job. And what’s better is then when you die you will get eternal life!” You should have seen him and heard the questions he asked. So then he told me he was getting off work at 5:00, and tonight he is going to go to church. I told him to go home and take his wife and daughters as well. I was like God really loves you and if you let him he will make you so happy! Because money and wealth don’t bring you joy, only Jesus can do that! Lord bless him. His name was Anenis. Pray he would find his hope in Jesus.
After that Anton arrived with 2 new visitors. I got to play the hospitality role and take them through Shop Rite (I think I am as fast as Anton now!), then I showed them around the compound when we got back to the Center.
It’s fun and totally tiring working here. But I love every second of it. Even laminating a huge stack of stuff for preschool, and lightening the load of other missionaries. And then just being able to encourage the long termers and the short termers. And they encourage me and bless me so much. God is so wonderful. It’s so awesome to have family in Christ!
Okay. Maybe you will get these 2 newsletters before I return home?!
Blessings. Chow!
In Christ,
Anna