So here's a copy of my 2008 follow up/2009 prayer support letter, in case you didn't get it in the mail. A recap of what I've learned this last semester and what I anticipate doing in 2009!
Happy New Year!! As 2009 begins, I am looking back at 2008 and forward to 2009, seeing God’s faithfulness stretch out in both directions.
Thank you so much for your prayers in 2008 as I traveled the world! I am currently working on putting together an album that reflects my experiences, and it amazes me to look back through journals I wrote and pictures I took and see God’s faithfulness and every answered prayer. Here are some of the prayers God answered during my months of travel:
1. Opportunities to share the gospel. I see that the reason God had me go to Italy was to share His love with several people, especially those in my program I got to know well. I shared with them mostly by my lifestyle but also sometimes in our conversations about Jesus.
2. Safety and ease in travel. I left India two days before the terrorist attacks in Mumbai happened. All my flights arrived on time, and my battered suitcase popped out of the machine at every single destination. Although I was often confused as to where I was going, I was never completely lost for more than three minutes. In moments of confusion, there was always someone who spoke a language I could speak to help me!
3. Health. I got a cold once, but that was it as far as sickness went, for which I am extraordinarily thankful.
4. Mutual encouragement of each others’ faith. I prayed that as I went to Central Asia, India, and Morocco that I would be an encouragement to Christians I stayed with there, and by God’s grace we were all encouraged by these visits. The faith of my friends who work in these extremely challenging places encouraged me, and somehow my visit was also an encouragement to them!
5. Growing in the knowledge of God. I feel that I really broadened my relationship with God in the last four months, realizing more clearly his eternality, his love, his faithfulness, and how he transcends every place, language, and culture.
6. Gaining a new heart for the unreached world. Now that I’ve been to countries that are NOT majority Christian, I have a new burden to pray more fervently that the Gospel would be spread in these places. Seeing people worship real idols in India blew my mind. Waking to the Muslim call to prayer every morning in Central Asia and Morocco called me to pray to Jesus for those trapped in Islam.
So what’s next? What does 2009 hold? One of the things I had to learn on this journey was to take things one step at a time, focusing just on the next challenge, not ALL the challenges in the future. My next step will be going to Honduras, for which I still need your prayers! I will be in Honduras from January 31 through March 15, using my Spanish skills to help several groups that come down to do service projects. Some of those groups will be medical students, and others will be distributing Christmas boxes to children in the same villages where I have done hotdogging trips in previous summers. This is the first year I get to help out with the Christmas box trip, something I have always wanted but never been able to do because of my work schedule.
While I’m in Honduras, I am really looking forward to reconnecting with friendships I’ve been building for over 6 years (over 14 years in some cases). I’m eager to see what God is doing in the villages I’ve worked in so much before. I’m also curious to see how my perspective on Central America will have changed after my experiences in 2008.
So please keep praying for me! I can’t even begin to express how much people’s prayers meant to me while I was traveling. When I felt lonely or vulnerable, I would inevitably get a message from someone telling me they were praying, and those prayers plus the ones I never even knew about really got me through!
Here are some specific things to be praying about:
1. Safety/health. After traveling the world, I now realize more fully what a dangerous place Central America is! People in the rest of the world don’t need guards with AK47’s to protect their property! Pray especially for safety on the roads. Pray that I can still stay malaria/dengue/other weird disease free.
2. Direction. Pray that I can sense during this trip what the next step God wants me to take would be, and that I can prepare for that next step.
3. Witness. Pray that as people see Jesus’ love in action through service that they would be drawn to Him and receive Him as Savior.
4. Fire. Pray that all of us who minister during this time, Americans and Hondurans alike, would have new passion for Jesus as we serve and after we serve.
If you’re interested in seeing pictures from my 2008 travels, email me at profebergstrom@yahoo.com and I can send you a link to my pictures on Snapfish, or we can get together and I can show you the amazing scrapbook I am making!
Thanks again for ALL your prayers and support!!
