July 2013 Update

Six Months with Many Changes

In the last six months many changes have occurred in my life and in the lives of many around me. In late January, Rachel got engaged. Obviously a major change for her, but it also effected me significantly in several ways. The next five months were filled with shower and wedding plans and preparations, along with packing and moving to a new place and unpacking. In the midst of all of that, there were some “normal” life things happening.
On March 1st, I had an “International Dinner” fundraiser. It was a fun night with an international travel theme, complete with a pilot and flight attendants giving “travelling” instructions. We were also able to share about Global Disciples so that my church and local friends understand a bit more about what we do.
The Benedicts welcomed a new family member on March 18. Elliott Judah Benedict was born to Tom & Crystal in Colorado.
Early April is the time for our Annual Global Disciples banquets. This year we did something new and made some sets (an Indian grocery store, an African hair salon & a Nepali tea stall) to use in telling some small business/church planters’ stories. It was fun to help with the decorations & props for these.
April 19-21, I was able to take a quick trip to New Hampshire to visit friends. It was fun to have my co-workers/friends, Josh and Laura along and introduce them to some of my favorite places and people.
Five days after my trip to NH, I moved! I now live in Lancaster (only 7 minutes from work), which is about 30 miles from where I used to live. I have two new housemates, Jessica & Emily, who also both work in missions ministry. We get along well and are enjoying living together in this new season of our lives.
May and June flew by in a blur of unpacking and wedding details & excitement. Rachel’s wedding on June 22 was a beautiful and special day! I am so thankful that I have lived with her for the last almost-3 years.
July 4-9 I went to Colorado to meet Elliott (and visit Tom & Crystal). It was hard to come back at the end of a wonderful trip.
I am looking forward to a visit in CT from July 20-24, along with my brother Joe and his family.

On the work front: News from Global Disciples

We celebrate God’s goodness in allowing us to reach our goal of $700,000 in our fiscal year-end matching fund! God has also provided a great staff team, consisting of 64 people now in 15 countries.

One of my goals in the new fiscal year is to raise about $500 more each month to help the work of Global Disciples around the world. Please pray with me for God’s provision to help reach the unreached. 

Report on my trip

Thank you for all of your prayers! We could not have done what we did without your support.

There is so much I would love to share about my trip with each of you. I will try to do an overview here for everyone. Please feel free to ask me for more specifics, stories or info anytime.

Praise God for these Answers to Prayer:

·         “I have arrived in Hyderabad, India – after many hours of travel. It wasn’t too bad. I was able to sleep some on the flights. I slept for at least 5 hours after I arrived at the hotel around 4 am. I was awake for the board meeting, which went very well. Thank you for praying about this.” (excerpt from email on January 26)

·         Safe traveling for everyone to and from each of the meetings

·         Spirit of unity at each meeting, many good connections among participants

·         Good preparations for each meeting and great administrative help at each location to execute details

·         Great times of worship, prayer, sharing testimonies & fellowship together , especially on the days of prayer & fasting

·         Good meeting of Executive Team on February 4-5, unity in decisions and vision/planning for the future

·         Times of rest and refreshment throughout the trip in various ways and upon returning home

Highlights from the trip for me:

·         “Tonight was the opening ceremony for the Global Partners Summit. The worship team includes people from Kenya, Ethiopia, Indonesia & India. What an awesome experience to worship God in different styles, from different cultures; a little taste of what it will be like in heaven. My favorite part was singing “He Reigns.”The words mean so much more in this setting; “It’s every tribe, every tongue, every nation…”  There were several Indian dancers that worshiped God through their cultural dances and worship music.” (email sent on Jan. 26)

·         It was exciting to meet people from all around the world and get to know them a little bit. I am especially thankful to have met many that I have had email contact with for months, but did not really know.

·         Visiting a local church planter’s small business (grocery store) and church site in Hyderabad. He used the business as a reason to locate in that area, where he is planting a church among the very poor. The business profits also help to support his family and church. (there are pictures of this in the attachment)

·         Special times with the Lord on the days of prayer & fasting, especially the day in Indonesia. Opportunities for immediate application/practice of teachings on "intimacy with Jesus" in our own personal lives. I was especially affected by the reminder to listen, and have been trying to do that more.

·         Bonus of getting to see and experience some of the life & culture in each country, apart from the hotel & conference rooms

Stories & Testimonies from the time:

·         Many of the participants at each meeting expressed gratitude for an encouraging time for them. They also shared that they learned a lot and enjoyed the fellowship.

·         “When I see different church leaders from different denomination coming together like this, it is really a great blessing for me and I am very thankful for what God is doing through GDT.” From a director of Discipleship Training in India

·         “We started training by receiving rice from church members. We got 13 sacks and we only used 8 sacks so we had 5 leftover. We went for outreach in an anti-government territory and the leader opposed us. The director, talked with him and told him that they will give him time to speak before they preach. He accepted the idea and allowed them to preach. “ As told by a Discipleship-Mission Training director from Nepal.

There are many more stories that I could tell; but I will close for now. Please let me know if you have any questions or want to hear more about anything. Thank you again for your prayers!

Looking Back and Looking Ahead to 2012

Looking Back

2011 seemed to fly by for me! Let me share a few highlights from the last few months.

October was especially full, starting out with a Josh Wilson, Andrew Peterson and Steven Curtis Chapman concert with a group of girlfriends. What a great night! Then, I was able to take a trip to Colorado for 6 days to visit my brother, Tom and his wife, Crystal. I enjoyed spending time with them, experiencing their everyday life and ministry and seeing the mountains. One day, Tom and I went to the Red Rocks Amphitheater and then up into the mountains, where there was snow and big horned sheep. The only sad part was that I lost my camera on the plane on my way home, so I don't have any pictures of the visit.

After that, I was home a few days (long enough to unpack, do laundry and repack) before heading out again. I hitched a ride to Connecticut with some long-time family friends that were going to Missions Conference weekend at my home church. It was a nice chance to visit with many friends.

The end of October brought a foot of snow and no power for 4 days. Somehow the going without electricity was not as much fun now as it used to be. I was wishing we had a wood stove like we did when I was younger. After the first night, we all ended up going different places to sleep. Praise the Lord for friends who took us in!

I celebrated Thanksgiving with Rachel's family, my PA family. We relaxed, played games, colored pictures, read stories and, of course, ate too much.

I am so thankful for the many blessings God has given me - an amazing family, friends (that are like family) in PA, a great church (of which I am now officially a member), a job and co-workers that I love - are just the beginning of a long list I could write.

On December 5, I was able to take a day of prayer. It was a beautiful and special day of refreshment and encouragement that only God can provide. I spent some time meditating on Abraham and the sacrifice that God called him to make with Isaac. I was reminded that as Jehovah Jireh, God sees our needs and provides. Once again I was challenged to continually bring all of my needs to Him and trust (confidently wait for ) His provision.

I finally experienced New York City at Christmas time. Rachel, Dawn & I made a day trip there on Saturday, December 17 and met up with another friend of mine, Alexa. What a day! It was CRAZY and cold, but fun. It's not on my list of things to make annual traditions.

I spent Christmas in Florida with my family from December 24-30. We were all together (16 of us) for a few days before some had to go back to work. We went to Disney World on Monday, December 26. Another CRAZY time & place! I guess NYC was practice. :) We were able to see my Aunt & Uncle and some cousins on Tuesday. Wednesday we went to Sea World, which was much less crowded and thus more enjoyable. Thursday and Friday were a little more low key, just enjoying being together and hanging out with family.

Looking Ahead

2012 brings great adventure on the horizon. I will be going to India and Indonesia! I leave on January 24 and return February 13.

I am excited to see other parts of the world, meet new friends/brothers & sisters, and see how God is working. I have enclosed a calendar and prayer sheet with more information and prayer requests.

Let me know if you have any questions. Please be praying for each of us on staff as we go and serve leaders around the world.

If you would like to receive email updates while I am away, please let me know by Monday, January 23. (becky@globaldisciples.net)

I look forward to sharing with you what I see, experience and learn.

July Newsletter

Summertime Fun!

“For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (I Cor. 4:7)

         As I have been pondering this verse recently, I am reminded to be thankful for all the good gifts that God has given me. The past few months have been very full and blessed.

         My sister, Chris, was able to come up from Florida April 28-May 2. We had a great time together, without any kids needing her. That same weekend Dawn, a friend from church, moved in as our new roommate. God answered prayer and provided not only a roommate, but a good friend. Just after that I took a short trip to Berne, IN for a Global Disciples banquet there. It was good to meet the staff from our Indiana office.

In June I took a trip to CT and NH. I was able to celebrate a friend’s wedding and visit with many friends. For those that I missed, I am sorry; the time always fills up quickly. Thank the Lord for safety driving and a good trip. I am enjoying many opportunities to get to know some of the people at my church better. I am also helping to bring more awareness of global needs and the unreached to my church for prayer.

God has also been showing Himself Mighty and Faithful in the area of my financial support. I received a generous gift in June, which allowed me to finish the fiscal year well. However, I am seeking people who will commit to support me regularly (i.e. monthly) to help  balance out my support level. Although occasional donations are good, they make my monthly salary unpredictable. Please pray about how God would have you participate. Let me know if you have any questions.

July Newsletter Part 2

Happy New YEar from Global Disciples!

New fiscal year that is. In preparation for the year end and a new year beginning (on July 1), I have been occupied with gathering, editing, and compiling an “Annual Review and Plan of Action” from 29 different staff people around the world. What a job! I am glad that it is done, for now anyway.

         Our staff theme for this fiscal year is “Intimacy with Jesus.” Please  pray for that to be true in my life personally and for our staff as a whole.

In my new role in the Discipleship area I will help Mathai, our Asia Facilitator, with processing program applications, gathering and distributing prayer requests and assisting him with other  administrative tasks.  

Praises!

 w Global Disciples’ spring banquets went well and  raised over $130,000 for the ministry.

w New roommate, Dawn, is great

w Good visit with Chris, my sister

w Safety driving to CT & NH in June, good visits with friends

w My 1 year anniversary at Global Disciples in early August

Prayer Requests:

 w Deeper “Intimacy with Jesus”

w New Responsibilities working with Asia Discipleship Facilitator.

w August 23-24 Leadership consultation, discernment days

w September 6-9 Executive Team and International Board meetings (I will take minutes)

w Regular monthly supporters

Pictures

Sister Time - what a blessing!

It was great to see so many friends at Greg & Laurie's wedding!

Update

Thanks for your prayers! Especially over the weekend of March 26-27. I wanted to share a few things with you that have changed since I sent out my newsletter.

Praise the Lord - we found a third roommate. Dawn, a friend from church, will move in at the beginning of May. We are so thankful for God's provision and answer to prayer in this.

Job changes - Within Global Disciples there are three tracks (or areas that we focus on): Discipleship Training, Leadership development and Small Business Development. I have been working as the assistant to the International Director, as he oversees all aspects of the organization. One of the women that works in the Discipleship training area will be having her second child soon and cutting back her hours drastically. Many of the things that she handles are fairly urgent and cannot wait until they find a replacement. For the time being I will begin to "help out" in this area with about half of my time each week, and continue to assist Galen with the other part. I am excited about some aspects of the new job, such as more contact with international staff and program facilitators. But there are a lot of things to learn and adjust to as I split my time between two bosses/areas of focus. Please pray with me during this transition and learning time. I will try to keep you posted as things go along in this process. Please pray also that God will bring the right person for this job in His time.

Thank again for your prayers and support as I serve the Lord at Global Disciples. As always, I'd be happy to answer any questions that you have.