Real Freedom: 1 Corinthians 9:1-12

I heard a quote this last week in a great sermon: Real freedom is being free enough to give up our freedom for the good of others.

How does a participating mature brother not flaunt his freedom to a susceptible weaker brother?

Its so easy to be enslaved to our freedom in Christ.

We need to mature our conscience, and be free enough not to do it to encourage the weaker brother.

There are four types of Christians in relation to this issue of freedom:
Professional Weaker Brother (You're not a good Christian if you participate in ___)
Susceptible Weaker Brother (I am not a good Christian if I participate in ___)
Non-participating Mature Brother (Godly Christians can participate in ___, but I choose not to).
Participating Mature Brother (Christians are free to participate in ___, and I do).

Few thoughts:

Is God's revealed will firmly in my mind so that my conscience can shape its application?
How has my culture and background shaped my conscience?
Do I have this issue in its proper place? Romans 14:17 "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

vs 12. "Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure (cover, hide) anything rather than put an obstacle (hinder, restrain) in the way of the GOSPEL.

Get your priorities right: Passion for Christ and the Gospel.

Last Day in Japan

It's been way too long since I posted anything. Here is my end of the year report:


As I begin my final semester at Moody Bible Institute, I have been reflecting on the grace and provision of God in my life. As I began the journey towards Japan this summer I had many fears and apprehensions. I was uncertain of how I would raise my support in a faltering economy. I was fearful that I would be a complete failure as an English teacher. I was afraid that I would not connect with my students in a meaningful way. I was worried about being a true blessing and encouragement to the church I was ministering in. I was unsure as to how I would pay for my fall semester after not working for an entire summer. But, I gave all of these fears to the Lord, I prayed that the Creator of the Universe, who knew me better then I knew myself, knew the people I would be ministering to, and owned the cattle on a thousand hills, would provide for me in a wonderful and miraculous way. And He truly did this summer. My support came from the most unexpected sources. The skills that I have learned at Moody in the art of teaching English proved to be quite good! I connected with my students on a level that far exceeded my expectations! The pastor seemed truly encouraged by our presence! And finally, an anonymous donor paid the remainder of my school bill for the fall. God took every fear and uncertainty and swept them away, making room for His name to be glorified through the ministry this summer. Nothing good that happened this summer was a result of me, it was a result of the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. Let’s praise God together for what He has done!

“For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name.”
Psalm 18:49

Arigato, thank you, for being a part of the work God has done this summer.

Sorry for such a long time since the last update!!! Where were we?

Our Saturday Night Theme Night this week was 4th of July and quite thecultural experience! We had hot dogs, a three-legged race, a waterballoon toss that turned into a water balloon fight and me gettingsoaked, and fireworks! The fireworks were the cultural experience. Thepastor told us to take to the kids to the river to shoot them off. Sowe took almost 20 kids, as well as an assortment of highschool,college students and adults through the pitch dark to the PITCH DARKriver front. The kids were running wild and knocking on doors alongthe way to invite even more friends. Once we got to the river theyjust ran crazily through the dark. Then sparklers were passed out andall the kids were running around with them, bumping into each other.Melissa almost had a heart attack. Then to top it off a highschoolstudent started setting off the big stuff. As we left I just prayedthat we had the same number of children as we arrived with and we bothwere relieved when it was over. The pastor was quite pleased and saidit was a success....we were blown away by how chaotic it had been!Apparently that is perfectly normal!

One good part of the evening was that we were able to connect with two girls, Chisaki and Akie. Chisaki is 17 and comes to my t/r nightclass, and Akie is 20 and comes to my Saturday afternoon class. Afterwe prayed for the hotdogs, Akie leaned over and told me that was thefirst time she had ever heard someone pray! We have invited them todinner but haven:t been able to set a date. Please pray that we willbe able to have time to spend with them in the next few weeks and thatwe will be able to have good conversations with them.

Melissa and I also shared a short message in church on Sunday. We shared on Luke 17 and the ten lepers. We got a lot of positivefeedback and will be doing another "devotional" in two weeks. Nextweek we will be giving our testimonies. Neither of our normaltranslators will be in there on Sunday, so a guy from Yamagata City iscoming to translate. His English is not great...I was able to meet himon Monday, so pray that our testimonies are presented clearly and arean encouragement.

Kids classes are great...but many of the kids have been sick! So prayfor that. We are learning about family this week. They all drew greatfamily pics and are learning mom, dad, brother, sister, grandpa,grandma and dog (at their reques). Little Ren who I told you aboutlast week had a difficult time. He drew himself in the middle of thepage by himself. We encouraged him to draw other people that wereimportant to him, like his grandma and aunt who take care of him. Heis a very hurt and confused little boy. Pray that seeds will continueto be planted in his heart as he hears the truth daily through songsand Bible stories.

Language wise, we finally figured out how to use the proper titleswith names! It was quite a breakthrough!

We:ve also started learning how small Kaminoyama is! We run intopeople all the time who come up and try to talk to us, because theirchild, or grandchild, or sibling is in one of our classes.

This week please pray for*

Chisaki - She is the 17 year old I was telling you about. She isextremely smart and would like to study in the US eventually. Praythat we will really connect and that our conversation will

movetowards spiritual things. Pray that I will be able to plant some seedsin her life this summer.

Akie- that we will be able to have that conversation about prayer! Andthat she will gain a basic understanding of who God is.

Toru- I asked for prayer for him last time. He is still coming toclass but has stopped coming to Saturday nights. Pray that he willreturn and the pastor will be able to interact with him more.

Taiga- He is five years old and I teach him 8 hours a week! He comesto every morning class and three afternoon classes a week! He is ADDand can be quite disruptive during the BIble lesson.

Pray that he willbe able to sit quietly during that time so as not to distract others,and also so that he can hear the truth!!

Thank you so much for your prayers!! Melissa and I appreciate them somuch, and they are truly what gets us through the day! Thank you also for all your encouraging emails - keep them coming!

Co-laboring with you,
Anna Martin

That is my cultural lesson for this week!! Japanese toilets areextremely complicated. There are tons of different buttons to push,none of which I understand. On Sunday I thought I was pushing thebutton that flushed the toilet, and instead pushed one that sprayswater up. So I was experiencing a "I Love Lucy" moment at a very nicehotel with water spraying everywhere. I couldn:t figure out whatbutton to push. After about 30 seconds it finally stopped, buteverything was soaked. Lesson of the day: Never push buttons you can:tread!
On a more serious note....classes have been going very well. We havegained a few students in some classes and lost a few in others. A lotof our students are VERY excited about the Christmas Party on Saturdaynight, so expectations are pretty high.
If you have any ideas of simple, no-bake desserts that we could makewith the Preschoolers mothers on Thursday mornings send them our way!Today they did a neat craft with Melissa and had a good conversationabout their life goals.
Melissa had her first experience with the reality of spiritualenslavement. At one of the home:s she teaches in theya re notChristians, and spend an elaborate amount of money on food for thealtar. They are constantly trying to do good things that will bettertheir position in eternity. Very sad. They need to know the only Way,Truth and Life. Pray for that family. Pastor & Mrs. Ito and the twoof us will be having lunch with the wife and son in a few weeks.
Pray this week for creativity as we plan and clarity as we teach.
Pray for Pastor Ito and his wife as they faithfully serve the saintshere and reach out to their community in the name of Christ.
Pray for the presentation of the Gospel at the Christmas Party onSaturday, that seeds would be planted. Pray also that relationshipswould be built between church members and students from our classes.
Thank you so much for your prayers!
Anna

Thank you for your prayers this week!
Here:s a rundown on my classes:Every day 9-10am, my precious six little preschoolers. Yuma, Kokona,Koji, Riku, Rin, Miho. They are wonderful. We have learned ouralphabet, 1-15, colors, some body parts, and started on farm animalstoday. They are so precious. They ahve also learned Jesus Loves Me,Head and SHoulders, Twinkle Twinkle, and ABC in English. They aresinging in church on Sunday for a special father:s day service. I alsowill be talking about Dad, and being a godly father. Pray for that.
Kids English Tuesday/Thursday 4:30-5:30- six little kids. We are doinga lot of TPR, like touch/walk/sit/stand/open/close/pick up. They areelementary kids taht used to attend the chruch:s preschool.
Adult English Tuesday/Thursday 7-8:30 - three highschoolers and twoyounger adults from the church. The know a lot of grammer but need alot of work in pronunciation and conversation.
Wednesday Kids at Aoki Home 4:30-5:30- eight elementary kids that livein the Aoki:s neighborhood. They are such an amazing Christian coupleand are really reaching out to their neighbors. Pray that theseEnglish classes will open doors.
Wednesday Adults at Aoki Home 7-8:30- four highschool students and anolder couple that many in the church have been witnessing to. Theyinvited us to their home. Pray that they will come and hear theChristmas message on Saturday night.
Friday kids 4:30-5:30. 10-20 kids ages 4 to 2nd grade. Quite a blast!
Saturday Teachers - 2-3:30 - Five teachers from the tutoring center.This is my most academic class and each student purchased a text book.They are very serious students. They are also close to me andMelissa:s age, so we are hoping that some friendships will develop.
Melissa has her own set of classes.
Few cultural observations from this week:
We had the opportunity to go to a ten year memorial dinner for a manthat went to the church. In Japan you have a memorial service andspecial dinner on the 3rd, 7th, and 10th year after someone dies. Wealso went up the mountain to a hotel for a traditional Japanesedinner. We sat on the tatami and ate everything with chopsticks. Therewere over 15 different dishes (mostly raw fish).
Japanese do not linger when they are getting ready to leave like we doin America. We were shocked a few times when the evening was windingup and they quickly packed their bag and seemingly fled to the car.There:s no fifteen minutes of goodbyes. The first time we thought wehad done something to offend them!
So, pray for all of my students. I am loving getting to know them.Pray for Pastor and Mrs. Ito. It can be very lonely pastoring inJapan. A hard ministry. But they are faithfully serving. Pray that wewould bring many people into the church that the Ito:s can follow upwith.
PRAY ESPECIALLY FOR SATURDAY NIGHT. We are doing a big outreach night.We are inviting all of our students and we are having a themed night.This week it is Christmas in America. We are planning to tell thestory of Jesus birth and give a clear gospel presentation.
Thank you all so much for your prayers!
Anna Martin

Six days...

Thank you so much for your prayers these last few weeks as I finishedschool. I am in Tulsa now spending time with my family as we preparefor my brother's wedding on June 6th. I have received confirmationthat I will be placed at Kaminoyama Church in Kaminoyama, Yamagatawith Melissa. We will be teaching preschoolers in the afternoon, aspart of the church's ongoing preschool ministry, and will be teachingoutreach classes in the evening for adults.

Continue to pray for:

Physical and spiritual refreshment for Melissa and I over the next two weeks.

For Park as he spends the next two weeks in Korea making preparationsfor his wedding in August.

For travel June 10th & 11th. Due to the Swine Flu scare, entry intoJapan has become difficult. Pray that I do not come into contact withanyone with the flu or exhibit any flu-like symptoms while traveling.

For Pastor Ito and the Kaminoyama Church as they make preparations forour arrival. Pray that they would come in contact with people that aresearching for truth, and that they would be drawn in by the Englishclasses.

That God would continue to prepare us to reach people with His gospel,along the way, and in Japan.That God would soften the hearts of our Japanese students.

Thank you so much for praying!

Your co-laborer,Anna Martin

One Month From Today

One month from today.....I will be arriving in Japan. Here are some things you can pray for:

Japan - that the people of Japan will be receptive to the Gospel, that they will forsake their religions and pursue the Lord. Pray that God would raise up nationals to do the work in Japan.

Japanese Church that I will be serving with. Pray that the World Venture missionaries will be able to prepare for our coming and for the ministry that we will be doing. For wisdom of how best to use our ministry.

For those that will hear the Gospel, that even now the Lord will be preparing their hearts to be ready, open and receptive to the Gospel.

That I will develop a servant’s heart, and that I will be ready to serve the Lord whole- heartedly, that I will have a Christ-like attitude throughout the entire trip.

For our health and safety (before, during, and after) while we are on your trip.

For those that we will be working with, that there will be unity as we work together, that we will be able to build each other up and encourage each other.

For those that will be following through on contacts that we make for the missionary and/or Japanese Church

That we will be able to quickly adapt to the climate, time zone and culture, and that we will be sensitive to the people and culture of Japan.

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant of the King

Matthew 18:21-35
Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.

Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fel down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgiveyour brother from your heart."

In my hermeneutics class we have been learning the ways to approach interpretation of narratives. This passage became so much more alive and applicable today after doing some research. This parable that Jesus shares is about a king and a forgiven servant. God is figured into the story as the king throught the application at the end.

The story is simple. The king is settling his accounts. The king forgives the servant. The servant imprisons another debtor. Other servants report this to the king. The king confronts the first servant.

What exactly was happening here? What was this servant doing owing money to a king? It is probable that he was a tax collector. The "settling of accounts" was a time when the tax collectors came before the king and gave him their share of money from the areas that they had collected from. So this was a tax collector who came to the "settling of accounts" with no money. Something fishy was going on. Exactly how much money was this that the tax collector owed the king? 10,000 talents. Was this a lot? Well, one talent is about 20 years wages, so multiply that by a thousand, and in today's economy, factoring the average annual income at $40,000, that would mean that the tax collector owed the king about $10 billion. That is astronomical. Did tax collector's actually collect that much? Not really. King Herod was only allowed to collect 200 talents a year for the Ceasar. This truly was an astronomical amount of debt. Could the servant be that in debt? Could he ever pay that much back? No. So, why are these numbers so absurd? That is the purpose--to show a debt that is impossible to have accrued and impossible to pay back.

Another question we have is, why did Peter ask his question about forgiveness the way that he did? Where did he get the number 7? Well, forgiveness was something that the rabbis of that day thought they had figured out. The general consensus was to forgive someone for the same thing three times then give up. But Jesus was trying to make a radically different point earlier in his ministry when someone asked him how many times to forgive. Jesus had responded, "If he sins against you seven times a day and turns to you seven times you must forgive him." Peter was taking it literally as forgiving seven times, but Jesus was being illustrative to say that you forgive as many times as they repent--an incalculable amount.

This parable also contains many beautiful examples of thematic repetition. My favorite is the phrase, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you." This alerts the reader that they are supposed to be comparing the two situations. Forgiveness is also a thread that runs through the entire tapestry of this parable.

Irony is also used in the story. It is employed in the contrast between the two characters that made the same plea. It is especially ironic because of the individual's different amounts of money owed, particularly in vs. 34 where the King says that the first servant will stay in jail until he can pay his debt, something impossible. Its as if the king says, "You will be tortured forever."

This parable fits into the book of Matthew, a book written to Jews that speaks against the rising synagogue system and teaching of rabbis in order to present a new way of living following the teaching of Jesus. When the temple was destroyed the question of how to be faithful of God was raised. The synagogue movement claimed rabbis were the way forward. Matthew is presenting a different way, the one true way.

So this parable fights against the cultural value of limited forgiveness. It highlights the absurdity of limiting forgiveness of others when God has forgiven my limitless sin. No hurt that anyone inflicts upon me compares to the sin that God has forgiven me.

We need to adjust our standards. So much hurt comes from expecting others to operate within ours. We claim a "justified reaction." We need to operate in a culture of mercy, not a culture of demands. We need to live a new way, the one true way. A culture of mercy that was demonstrated through Christ's work on the cross.

Time is Flying!

My semester here at Moody is coming to a busy close! This is my finalweek of classes, and many papers and projects will be turned in(hopefully :) ) by the end of the week. Next week I will take finalsin three of my classes and the following week I will be serving themany pastors that come to Moody's annual Pastor's Conference. My dadwill be among them and I am excited to be a blessing to these men thatserve so faithfully, as well as earn a little extra money to puttowards my fall school bill. :) Then it will be home for my brotherswedding and off to Japan! Time is flying so fast!
A few updates:First of all, there has been a lot of deliberation the last few weeks,on the part of the World Venture coordinators in Japan, of where tobest place me for the summer. There were several churches wanting tohost interns, so the questions was, where would we be most effective?and what locations could best ensure that we would meet the academicrequirements of our internships? After finalizing my location, thepastor's wife became ill this last week and the church decided thatthey could not host me. So,we're back to the beginning. Please PRAYfor Janet and Leon, World Venture field coordinators in Japan, as theymake the decision on my location for the summer. This is crucial inselecting curriculum and resources! I hope to know within a few days.
Also, thank you so much to all of you that are praying faithfully forme! What an encouragment it is that this endeavor is not a solitaryone, but each member of the Body plays its part through prayer, givingand going! I was blessed by a send-off from my church in Chicago,Grace Bible Church, this Sunday. Knowing that I am going on behalf ofso many is a blessing and confirmation. To those of you who havegiven, thank you so much! This truly is a partnership.

Pray:
1) That a specific location will be finalized very soon.

2) For the remaining $650 that I need by May 10th.

3) That God would strengthen Park, Melissa and I spiritually andphysically during the next few weeks before we leave.

4) That God would continue to soften the hearts of the students wewill be interacting with.

5) For many opportunities to spread seeds both in Japan and as wetravel to and from.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Co-laboring with you,
Anna Martin

Continue to pray that the details for my Japan trip would be finalized. My exact location has not yet been determined. There are several churches that are interested in having an intern, but their is some concern about me being able to get the 72 hours of teaching that I need. Pray that this would be finalized very soon!

Japan Update!

Thank you to all who continue to faithfully pray for the ministry inJapan this summer. I'm finishing up my last few weeks of classes andhave many, many assignments and tests upcoming!Pray that I would be able to complete them all well.

The next few days are very important! I will be finalizing my summer"contract" with a church in Japan and will then be able to share mylocation for the summer! Pray that all of those details would fallinto place.

PRAISE - That I have 100% of my daily prayer partners and 67% of myfinancial support.

PRAY - for my future students, my hosting church, the pastor andleaders of the church.

Pray for the church's preparations for classes - the churches will beputting out flyers and advertisements in their communities very soon.

Pray for my own preparation, I will not only be teaching English but also will be serving with the churches, so I need to be readyspiritually as well as physically.

Pray for wisdom as I select a ESL curriculum to use for the summer.

Pray that I will be able to handle this differences and will be ableto learn to enjoy the Japanese Culture.

Pray for a love of the people and culture of Japan.

Pray for Leon and Janet, field coordinators, as they are making the needed contacts and preparations for us, as they work with thechurches.

JSB 2009

Fabulous!

Moody's 9th President

In chapel this morning, the Board of Trustees announced after an extensive nine-month presidential search, Dr. Paul Nyquist, current President and CEO of Avant Ministries, has been unanimously appointed as the next president of the Moody Bible Institute. “Dr. Paul Nyquist’s skill set and character uniquely match our search committee’s profile,” said Jerry Jenkins, Moody Board Chairman. “He’s a proven leader, team builder and visionary who also happens to be a theologian. We look forward to many years of inspired leadership.”

Nyquist, 55, brings to Moody 18 years of successful ministry experience as a senior pastor of two vibrant churches in Iowa and Nebraska, and eight years of organizational leadership as the President and CEO of Avant Ministries, an international missions agency based in Kansas City. “Being appointed as Moody’s ninth president is both a high honor and a solemn responsibility,” said Nyquist. “To pick up the presidential mantle from the gifted men who have preceded me is the greatest honor I have ever received.”

He and his wife, Cheryl, have been married for more than 27 years and have four grown children. They have a special appreciation for Moody’s educational ministry as three of their children chose Moody Bible Institute as the place to receive their undergraduate education.

Dr. Nyquist will officially begin his tenure as Moody Bible Institute’s ninth president on June 1, 2009.

Please pray for Paul and Cheryl in the coming months as they make the transition from Kansas City to Chicago.

To learn more about our new president, visit www.moody.edu or www.moodyministries.net

I pray that you all had a restful weekend as you remembered the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It was a special time for me here in Chicago as I was able to attend services at two different churches and enjoy the evening with the family of a friend here at Moody.

Updates on Japan: God graciously provided the $1000 that I needed for my last deadline. Thank you to all that prayed, and for the many generous gifts!
I now have almost 60% of my financial support! Praise the Lord! Continue to pray that God would provide the money by my May 10th deadline.
I am still awaiting word from World Venture concerning my exact location for the summer.

Pray for the pastors that are making the placement decisions for Park, Melissa, and I.

Pray that God would begin to soften the hearts of the students we will be interacting with.

Pray that God would continue to prepare Park, Melissa and I to share the gospel clearly this summer and that He would equip us with the skills we will need to serve Him effectively.

Thank you so much for all your prayers!
Anna Martin

Who Am I?

What is my identity in Christ?

Is my acceptance, security and signficance truly in Christ?

Who am I?

I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation.

"For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. This is the wonderful message He has given us to tell others. We are Christ's ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here with you, 'Be reconciled to God?' For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ" (2 Cor. 5:19-21).

I have been wrestling with sin, guilt, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation over the last few weeks. What a blessing at the end of this Passion week to be reminded of why Christ came, and what our place in the midst of it all is. To be reconcilers. To help bring others into a right relationship with God.

Park, Melissa and I, Excited to Go to Japan!!

It is amazing to see God's hand throughout the entire process of going to Japan this summer. When World Venture let me know I needed $1000 in just one week, I didn't think it was possible. But, in just three days I had the entire amount! Currently I'm at 43% for my financial support and 100% for my daily prayer partners (however, I'm always happy to add more prayers!).

Pray that we would be aple to find good deals on our plane tickets this week.

Pray that Melissa, Park and I would be diligent to complete our studies well this semester.

Pray for continued financial support for all three of us.

Pray that God would be softening the hearts of the students in Japan that we will be interacting with.

Please be in prayer for me this week. World Venture has asked that I have $1000 in my account by the end of the week so that I can purchase my plane tickets for the summer. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and I am trusting him to provide in miraculous ways! Pray that God gives me patience as I wait.

Also pray as we are solidifying dates, locations, schedules, budgets, etc. There are a lot of details that go into a trip like this!

Pray for my teammates Park & Melissa as they go about raising $1000 each this week as well.

Back In the Saddle

I had my first class at World Relief since Spring Break on Thursday morning. The class is much larger then it was before! 23 students! We were crammed in that room, sweating, and learning about adjective order and playing lots of games to learn about each other and practice writing, speaking, and listening. I taught for the entire two hours because Ben was unable to be there.

I also had a very encouraging connection with one students who said that he came to Christ in August. I'm praying that God will continue to bring people into his life to encourage him and bring about spiritual growth.

I received some updates about Japan this week that I will be posting very soon. The biggest prayer request right now is that World Venture has asked that I have $1000 in my account by the end of the week so that I can buy plane tickets.

21st Birthday

I celebrated my 21st birthday with my family over break. Here are some pics:

Timelines...

If you would like to see pictures of the students timelines from a few weeks ago, they are posted on the full-time teacher's blog:

worldreliefenglish.blogspot.com

They're pretty neat, so enjoy!

Its Official!

I finally received my official acceptance from World Venture to be a part of the English team going to Japan this summer. There are three of us: Melissa Bannon, Kyeongseuk (sp) Park, and me. I'm still waiting to hear more details, but I sent out letters today and have been talking to a lot of people about the trip. I'll share more details as they come.

Thank you so much for you prayers!

Continue to pray for:
Diligence as I complete the semester.
Partners in prayer and finance.
The hearts of the students that I will be working with.

"Calling in Sick" at World Relief

This last Thursday we had a great time at World Relief learning about "Calling in Sick" to work. The students drew pictures of a reason they could not come to work and wrote short paragraphs about it. I tried to teach some indirect strategies for confidence but that didn't work very well. So we launched into our activity, which was using my cell phone to call Ben (in the hallway posing as their "manager") and pretend to "call in sick." We got everything from a tree falling on top of the house to sick children. It was so fun to watch them. Abraham (a new student from Iraq) got so excited while he was on the phone that he was almost dancing in front of the class. I hope that it was actually a life skill that they will be able to use.

Update on Japan: I am for sure going to Japan in June & July as part of my internship. I hope to have a letter ready later this week or the beginning of next. Email me if you would like to receive my updates.

Timelines!

In English class at World Relief on Thursday we did a fun activity using timelines to reinforce the past tense. I made a time line of "big events" from my life as an example. I realized just how young I was! Then the students made a list of "big events" from their lives, and drew wonderful timelines (pictures may come). Here is mine:

March 1988- Anna was born in Tulsa, OK.

December 1991- Anna's younger brother entered the world.

August 1998 - Anna had her dad for her teacher.

November 2000 - Anna performed in her first play.


June 2005 - Anna visited India for 6 weeks.

May 2006 - Anna graduated from high school.

August 2006 - Anna moved to Chicago.

September 2006 - Anna worked in the kitchen.

July 2007 - Anna passed her drivers license test.

August 2008 - Anna taugt at World Relief.

Luther

Favorite quotes from listening to nine hours of lecture on Luther:

"Stop worrying about who is elect--God's decrees are inscrutable--so LIVE!"

"The Gospel is: 'You can't do it. Stop trying. God already did.'"

"There is only one question you have to answer, and you have to believe it every day for the rest of your life: Do you believe the Gospel?"

"An illiterate little Jewish peasant girl, about 13, was visited by an angel and gave birth to God in a spit town in the middle of Israel. Kinda like being somewhere in the middle of Nebraska. He grew up and hung out with a bunch of half-wit fishermen who bailed on him. He was arrested and crucified on top of a trash heap. That's what you believe. Of course people think your nuts."

"Don't lie and say your praying because you love God. Your praying because you want something."

"No use being a Protestant the day you get saved and a Catholic everyday thereafter."

"The just live by faith. God accomplishes His work because of who HE is, not who we are. You are who God says you are."

"We're all screw-ups. He didn't pick us because we're great."

And finally:
"Christianity for Luther is getting your brains beat in. Because God loves you and your brains are in your way of you doing what you need to do."

AHR

I was able to go to the AHR convention at McCormick Place the last two days. I really enjoyed being able to meet customers that I talk to on the phone all the time, and look at a few booths, and just talk about a product. The best part was seeing Martin Luther's principle of the Protestant work ethic lived out. It's not what you do, but how you do it. Such an amazing testimony to see a company that is operated with integrity that benefits its employees and serves as a light.

Back at World Relief

Today I went back to World Relief for the first time since Christmas break. It was great to finally round that bend on the brown line to Kimball. For those of you who don't know about World Relief, it is an organization who's mission is to empower the local Church to help the most vulnerable. They partner with local governments, the worldwide church, missions agencies, and businesses to bring peace and justice to the world. World Relief comes alongside refugees, who have fled persecution in their homes, offering support and friendship in the midst of uncertainty. One of ten organizations contracted by the US government to ease refugee transition, World Relief mobilizes local churches to embrace newcomers in their community. To find out more information check out their website: www.wr.org

I teach with another Moody student once a week as part of my major requirements. Most of the students today were new. We talked about the past tense and Obama's election. We played a great game using different words on puzzle pieces. The goal was to make as many sentences as possible as a team. The students loved it so much they wouldn't even take their break!

Please pray for new refugees from Liberia as they adjust to a new life in America.

Please pray that God would continue to use this experience to equip me with the skills to serve Him through TESOL.

Pray for patience as I wait to find out if Japan is where I will be this next summer.

Pray that the Lord will continue to provide for all my needs.

Japan?

Please pray for me over the next few weeks as I begin the process ofapplying to teaching English in Japan this summer with World Venture.It is part of the requirements of my major at Moody.

PRAY - that the Lord would give me the time to complete theapplication process this week.

PRAY - that the Lord would give confirmation that Japan is the placethat He wants me this summer.

PRAY - that the Lord would bring forward people that would partnerwith me in prayer.

I would love to talk to you in more detail about this opportunity-feel free to call, email or text!

Thanks you so much!