Thursday, November 27, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving from Allison Rupert

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I hope you all are enjoying time with your families. Now that I am living in Portel, and the only other missionaries are from Canada, it was easy to forget about Thanksgiving in November! But don't worry, I'm not one of those people who get really sentimental about the holidays. Of course, I miss my family, but not just during the holidays.

As you know, I have been working on all the details to get the English classes started in February of 2015. There have been some great developments in the past month. We are still working on the building to house the school, but unfortunately, the funds to complete it are coming in slowly. I had been a little worried about how we were going to move forward without a building. Then Richie told me about a small university located in the city where he had rented out space for a missions meeting. He explained that there were rooms there available for rent. I went there and talked to the cooridinator of the school. It turned out that not only did the university have the rooms and times available for rent at a reasonable price, but that they were also looking for an English teacher. The English classes that they offer are only held on the weekends, so they wouldn't interfere with any of the CDR classes. Also, the classes they offer are really only introductions to the English language, so it is a great opportunity to recruit students for CDR. Lastly, the money that I receive from the teaching position will be used to pay the rent for our own English classes! All this totally felt like something God had prepared for us! I can see that He is setting us up for success.

This past week has started our application process for the classes, and I have been walking around the city giving out flyers with information. As I have been speaking to those at the local businesses, many have expressed interest in joining the classes, especially interest in enrolling their children. Being that I am a native English speaker, it gives our project a lot of credibility in the city, as well as all the connections Richie has been able to make in his short time here. We are on our way. We are starting small, but I do believe we will start well.

Now that we are not under pressure to finish the building, we can work on it slowly as the funds become available. Of course, if you are interested in helping us finish, please contact me.

As I said before, I feel that God is moving things along in the right direction. Being a missionary, you find out quickly how little control you have over everything. We are so dependent on God and his provision. That can be very scary and very exciting at the same time! But of course, when you experience God coming through for you, you feel humbled and loved. Thank you, God, for your faithfulness!

As always, I want to thank and bless all of you. I know your prayers are a large part of my success here. There is no distance in the spiritual realm. I ask that you would continue to pray for the success of the CDR English school and for the funds to finish our building. I ask that you would pray for me to continue to build meaningful relationships in my new city. I want to bless you as well, that you would experience success in the projects that God has put in front of you to do. That he would show you his provision. I also pray for the health of your relationships, that God would touch those relationships in your life that are lost or broken. I pray that he would bring restoration and healing.

In early December, I will be returning to Altamira to spend the month visiting with my friends there. Being here alone in Portel can be difficult, and it is important that I go back to get some much needed relational time. I will talk to you all soon!

Love you and God bless!

Allison

Kids playing Volleyball at the Mission