Answered Prayer - we can stay in our house

Praise- I just talked with my sister in Indo. They have worked out negations with my house owner. The house owner is raising the rent, but after seeking advice from others, it seems that the raise is reasonable. She is also willing to sign another 2 year contract with us. It is nice to know we aren't moving and everything is settled for another 2 years. Thanks for all your prayers.

Here are a few pics of the house as it looked before I headed back to the States.

our front porch

the dining room and kitchen

my bedroom

our backyard and porch

Prayer Card 2014 - Please let me know if you would like one!

Prayer Card 2014

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'Perspective' - a furlough in America

Perspective – (definition) -“a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view”

By now most of you are already aware that since June of 2013, I have been back in America for a 1 year sabbatical. Many of you know bits and pieces of how things have been going but few of you know the full story. In an effort to catch everyone up on what has been going on, I want share with you the first part of my furlough story.

It has been more than 2 years in the making since I began praying and preparing for my time home in America. According to the BAIS/NICS furlough policy, missionaries can apply once every 6 years for a 1 year sabbatical back in the states. For me that meant the 2013-2014 school year was a time to come back to the states, reconnect with family, remind myself what it is like to live in America, and get some rest and refreshment.

As I began preparing to come back to America for the year, the Lord gave me the word perspective. This was to be my theme for my time at home. I haven’t lived in American for a significant period of time since 2007, and I haven’t taught in America since 1998. In my limited understanding, I planned for my furlough to be spent with family, finishing up grad school at Asbury University, and gaining a better perspective on how American schools in America run as compared to my American school in Indonesia. Little did I realize that God was going to help give me a better perspective on more things than just family and education. Since being home, my ‘attitude toward or way of regarding life’ (aka my perspective) has been refined in multiple areas including…

•  education (either public or private)
•  the church and the body of Christ
• youth groups and Sunday schools
• politics and life (either in a big city, a small ranching community, or a military town)
• relationships (it is definitely not easy being single in America)
•  family
• and what home means 

At times it has been difficult being back in American. For anyone that has gone through reverse culture shock, they know that it stinks. It is almost harder coming ‘home’ than it is to head out in the first place. This fall, I spent time helping my mom get settled into my parent’s new home in Hereford, Arizona. In early January, I headed to Missouri for a 2 months to help my dad pack up their old house and get ready to join my mom in Arizona. Then in March, I returned to Arizona and headed up to Flagstaff, in order to spend a couple months with people from my supporting church. All this bouncing around has been a bit crazy and a little tiring.Yet despite the struggles and tough times, I feel like I have grown a lot during my time at home, and God has surprised me with many wonderful blessings…

Furlough Highlights-

• new friends and a new community of Hereford, Arizona
• an amazing Bible study on James with a dear group of ladies
• frequent flyer trips to visit the Marshall’s In San Diego, the Durham’s in Texas, Tanis in Canada, my dad in Missouri, and Becky in Colorado
•  shadowing experiences in two public schools -a small rural school (Palominas Elementary School) and a larger military school (Wood Elementary)
• lots of time to work and play with many horses
• and hours of hanging out with family and old friends

My time in the states is quickly drawing to a close. I fly back to Indonesia around the second week in July. In the meantime, I plan to stay in Flagstaff until the beginning of June. After that I am not sure what my last 5 weeks in the states will be like. I still have 4 more classes to finish in grad school before I fly home, and I am hoping to take one more trip to visit a dear roommate from Indonesia. What all of that will look like, I don’t know. God tends to keep me on a need to know basis, and right now he is telling me I don’t need to know. In the meantime though, I would appreciate your prayers in a couple of areas....

Prayer Request –

1.  please pray I can find one more school to shadow at in order to finish up the last of my grad school requirements
2. pray that I will be able to study well and pass the Arizona Administrators Exam at the end of May
3. pray for rest and refreshment so that I can truly be ready to head back to Indo in July
4. pray for housing negotiations for my house back in Indonesia. The house owner wants to raise the rent a lot which means my sister may have to pack us up and move us before I get back. I am praying that we get a fair deal from the landlord and that we can stay.
5. pray for wisdom on how to spend my last 3 ½ months in the States

As always I thank you so much for all of your pray and support of my ministry. I really could not do this crazy life without you. Also, if any of you are near Arizona I would love to touch base with as many of you as possible before I leave the country. 

Blessings - Charity