A Place to Belong

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Hello friends,
Although I do not know how many people actually read this blog, I thought I would throw my freshly laid plans out there for whomever to see.

I am now going to Kenya. As mentioned in a previous post, I will not be going to Malawi. God has had other plans for me and I am excited to experience what is in store for me.

I will be leaving from the Vancouver Airport on January 12. This is a Saturday, so that people can come to the airport. I know that it will be an evening flight. I think I will have to go through the gate of no return at 6:30. If anyone wants to come and say good-bye before that, I would love to have you. I will be arriving back in Vancouver on April 12 or 14. in the evening, I think.

While in Kenya I will be working with families in the slums outside Nairobi, Kenya. I will be teaching the children how to read in English. I do not know if they know any English at all yet. I will also be running a daycare for the young children of the moms who come to sew things to selling the market. These things will be anew part of Jacaranda called Jacaranda Kids. I will also be running the children's ministry for the churches that Brenda and Garry(Missionaries that I'll be with) have. I will be traveling to a different Church every Sunday to teach children about the Bible. The third project I will be working on will be sewing with the ladies that come to make things to sell in order to support their families. This is the ministry called Jacaranda Creations. In truth they will probably teach me more than I will teach them.

These are my three major projects that I will be working on while I'm in Kenya as well as anything else that needs doing. Because I am doing all of these things, I need supplies. I need things to teach children how to read and write in English. I need learning toys for a nursery. I need sewing supplies. I need Bibles. I need Children's Bible stories and Children's Church curriculum. All of these things I need to put in two giant bags to bring with me for my ministry. If anyone out there or anyone you know could help me in this, I really need it.

Malawi's cost of living is very low because it doesn't have as strong of a currency or economy. Kenya, however, has a high cost of living and has different dangers that require extra precautions. The cost of living for me will be over $1,250/month. My initial budget estimate of about $5,000 has turned in a budget of over $8,000. This is just another way that God is telling me that this trip will be accomplished in His ways, not mine. With the $5,000 budget, I would have been fine, but because the budget is significantly higher, I have no way of covering the extra with my own funds. I am relying completely on God to make this happen. I would be lying if I said that this is not just a little bit stressful, but every day I bring it back to Jesus and trust Him. Please be praying about what you can do. I need more support. Thank you to my faithful donors and prayer supporters.
Until next time. May the LORD bless you and keep you.
Hannah

Am I Enough for You?

There have been many changes in my life and changes in what make up my identity. With everything going on with Lifeway Church, I really felt God asking me "Am I enough for you?" Could I lose my main cultural identity? Was I more caught up in the people than God Himself? These are questions that rolled through mind in the days following the dissolution of Lifeway Church. I found my faith strengthened along with my resolve to keep God first. A couple weeks ago, I received a cryptic email that said the following "I just had a conversation with my director, Matt Janes, and he has recently been told that you will NOT be able to go to Malawi. This is a solvable problem. :)" There was more to the email but this is the gist of it. For four days I went through an emotional roller coaster of asking why and not understanding why the plans had to change. Did it have something to do with me? I went through the emotions of questioning what I had heard from God as my calling. Did I hear Him wrong and read my own desires into His plan? Nancy  was a big comfort and encouragement during this emotional turmoil. When she started out with the dream to go to Africa, God prevented her from going. To hear that Nancy has been to 35 countries and that none of them have been in Africa, helped me to understand that God has told me to go to Malawi, but maybe He wasn't giving me the first step in my missionary journey. Maybe I'm not ready yet. Shawna also helped me in reminding ma about Hayden's calling to be a full time youth pastor. God has not brought this to fruition yet. Shawna asked me if I thought that Hayden had heard God incorrectly? This, too helped me to understand that God gives us dreams, but there are often many unknown steps to realizing these dreams.
I found out on a Thursday evening, that I could not go to Malawi, but I had to wait until the following Monday, to find out why. In hind-site I see that this allowed my emotions to calm down, before I had this Skype meeting. There are a number of reasons why I can not go. They are all very logical reasons, and if I had found out at the beginning, I would have gladly chosen another place to go as I do not want to detract from any missions ministry. I am going to serve and I will serve wherever God sees fit. I went through months of training and planning for my trip.
The case is one of over-site. I do not say this with bitterness in my heart towards the people who are responsible. I honestly believe that God had this plan in mind all along. God did not promise me an easy road, but He promised me I would get there. God used this instance to further stretch my devotion to my Steadfast and never-changing God. I am so thankful that when everything is up in the air, we have a God that is always the same. God used this change in plans to ask me again "Am I enough for you?"
My identity has been changed and reformed, but God is still the forefront of what make up my identity. Losing ones identity comes with the culture shock of the missions field. This loss doesn't usually come into play until one is one the mission field. My loss happening before I leave gives me a leg up for knowing how it feels and how I will react when it happens on the mission field.
I know it is a lot to take in, so I will sum it up. I will not be going to Malawi, but I will be going somewhere. For those who have given, thank you very much. I want you to know that your generous donations will not be lost. I have narrowed down my choices and will either be going to Nairobi, Kenya or to Kolkata, India. I will have to make a decision early this week, so please be praying for God's divine guidance. I am going somewhere in January, and I will soon have an update on where that is and what I will be doing. Thank you for your prayers as we journey together; closer to what God has for each of us.

PS. If you know how to change the name of my blog and Facebook page, I could really use some help :)

 Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

Preparations

Readers,
This will be my first real post. Right now I am putting together my budget for the trip and honestly I'm coming up with more questions than answers. That's okay, though. I have a great team of people behind and in front of me. They're pushing and pulling :) I'm having a lot of fun with this process and it's starting to sink in about how much work it is, too.
I have been given a Grandparents exercise as part of my training. This means I have to find a person from Malawi, who now lives in the Lower Mainland and can teach about the philosophies and traditions of the culture. I tried to find someone today, but to no avail. If anyone has any ideas, they can post them to my face book page or drop me an email (hannah.hughes01@gmail.com). I am getting excited to meet someone from my host culture. By the time I go to Malawi, I might know more about Malawi than I know about Canada. All of this will be head knowledge, though. I'm sure the experiences I'll have will teach me just how little I do know.
My Pastor has been helping me with prayer cards, and I hope to have them finished and ready to go by the weekend. If you're not someone I see regularly, but would like one, please let me know via face book or email. I would love to include you in my list of contacts and have you praying with me in this wonderfully exciting and spiritually and emotionally stretching time. I am seeing God work in me to shape me into the person He wants me to be when I go.
God has been providing for me along the way. Over the last few months I have really seen His work in my life and seen Him answer many prayers.

If I could say on thing that might encourage you, it would be this: don't stop praying because you don't see or hear God's answers to your prayers. Keep trusting and following His guidance. He will supply all your needs and blow your mind in the ways He works. He wants to erase any thought that you could accomplish the hard things by yourself. He wants to bless your life. Give God a free hand and see what happens. These are lessons that I am endeavouring to learn, also. I know that God has not done great things in my life because of me, but in spite of me. Jesus calmed the storm in spite of the fishermen's lack of faith.

I appreciate your support during this time and hope you will rejoice with me in God's faithfulness. :D
Hannah

1st post

This is my first post as I prepare to go to VOH Malawi in January 2013.