Please Pray...

For the Team:
• Work together well
• Put one another’s preferences before our own
• Energy, health, and safety
• Be an encouragement to these families
• Flexibility and sensitivity to how God is working
For me, personally:
• Lord will prepare my heart and make me sensitive to kids’ needs as I plan to share 4+ Bible lessons with 35+ elementary kids.
• God would meet these kids’ where they need it most (they come from all over the globe!)
• God will use this trip for future guidance/direction

Philippines...here I come!

Dear Family and Friends:

I would like to share with you an exciting opportunity the Lord has given me to serve short-term in the Philippines this coming January. I will be traveling with a team of about 8 people to Manila, Philippines on December 30th and arriving back in the states on January 13th. My team from Jerome Prairie Bible Church (Grants Pass, OR) will be leading a program for the children and teens at the Philippines’ New Tribes Mission’s (NTM) Annual Conference.

Over 70 missionary families serve with NTM in the Philippines in 10+ different countries, working together to reach many unreached people groups with the gospel of Jesus Christ. These missionaries look forward to this conference for a time of fellowship and encouragement; updates and mission business matters; and teaching from the Word of God.

Let’s talk about the kids and teen programs! About 80 kids and teens will be attending this conference. They come from a variety of living situations like home schooling in remote tribal villages to attending schools for missionary children in the city. I will helping to lead the children’s program (K-5th Grades/4 hours each day), which will be similar to a Vacation Bible School with Bible lessons, crafts, sports, and fun!

There will also be plenty of time to interact with the missionaries at the conference. I look forward to getting to know these missionary families and hear what God is doing in the Philippines through this important work! Our team’s prayer is that the Lord will work through us to encourage these missionaries and their children during this week.

After the conference week, our team will travel to the Agta village (north of Manilla) to get a glimpse of how missionaries live and work in a remote tribe! This is particularly exciting for me as I have been asked by Jared and Bana Major to consider living with them and teaching their children while they minister to the Agta tribe next year. They have 3 girls ages 7, 4, and 2, and one baby boy on the way! The Major family has spent the past 8 years preparing to live and work among the Agta people, and plan to move into the tribe during the Spring of 2012. Having a teacher for their children will free them up to learn the language and culture, as well as assist with medical needs (Bana’s job primarily). I do not know when I will go or for how long, but this short trip will hopefully give me a better picture of that possibility. Please pray with me about this! You can check out the Major’s website at http://majortribe.com/.

I am inviting you to support me in the call the God has given me to serve by one of the following ways:
• Please PRAY for me and the team! Pray for the missionary families who will be attending the conference and for the people they serve in the Philippines. Pray also for me, for health and protection on the trip, for my effectiveness in ministry and the things God desires to teach me through this experience. Pray that I will find the financial support to make this trip possible. Pray especially that I will return with a real vision to share with the others in the United States.
• Consider giving financially toward this trip. The total cost of the trip is $1800 per person. Jerome Prairie Bible Church is committing to raise half of the expense. It is my responsibility to raise the remaining $900. I am trusting God to move in people’s hearts, leading them to donate toward this missions’ trip. If you feel you would like to participate in this way, please:
a. Make a check payable to Jerome Prairie Bible Church
b. Write “Philippines Mission Trip – Mary Cunningham” on the memo line or include a note with my name on it.
c. Send your check to Jerome Prairie Bible Church at the address below:
2564 Walnut Ave.
Grants Pass, OR 97527
Your gift is tax-deductible and JPBC will send you an acknowledgment.

Thank you for taking the time to consider being a part of this exciting opportunity! Whether you are able to give financially or not, please pray for me from December 30th, 2011 through January 13th, 2012. I will be posting stories and pictures on my blog after I return: http://merry4jesus.blogspot.com/.

Looking forward to what God is going to do,

Mary Cunningham

Pictures of 5th Grade

I've been wanting to show people pictures of my AWESOME 5th graders from last year. I've finally put some up to share with you a little of the fun times we had! Hope you can see what stellar students I had! :)

This picture is particularly unique because my class is coloring the VICE PRINCIPAL's head with markers! :) He is a fun guy and yes, it did come off.

Finding A Resting Place

“Wait on the Lord” ~ In the past, when I’ve seen this verse posted on someone’s Face Book status or shared in a Bible study, it was used to refer to a girl or guy waiting on the LORD for that perfect someone. While I think that kind of “waiting on the LORD” is legit, I believe God has helped me to discover a deeper meaning to this phrase.

What God taught me during these short summer months stemmed from my mother’s life of calmness, peace and steadiness.

At the beginning of this summer, I knew I needed to take some time just to relax and do nothing! After my first year of teaching (which I enjoyed SO much), my mom passing away, and going through a couple different jobs - all in one year – I knew it was time to mentally “chill out.”

I’d like to share with you a couple things God taught me through this process.

First of all, he told me to LISTEN MORE & TALK LESS. This one kind of makes me laugh, because if you know me, you know I’m a very social person and love to talk. At the same time, I’ve had a lot of jobs that require I be the one in front, doing the talking! Reaching out to new people, training teachers how to teach, communicating to churches about God’s work among kids, and helping students to grasp new concepts are all examples of me talking for my job!

However, God wanted me to take some time out from talking and to simply listen! My mom is a HUGE example to me on this one. The picture that God brought to mind was a large, gentle, yet firm hand (God’s hand) being held out towards my mouth: get the picture?

It’s amazing the difference it makes to quietly listen to others instead of talking to fill in the gaps of quiet time.

Another lesson God spoke to me about was BE STILL. Do you ever feel like you are constantly anxious, worried or stressed out? Well, that was me.

This stillness refers to the most inner person of my being – my soul. No, this is not equivalent to the Buddhist idea of “inner peace” as seen in Kung Fu Panda II. Rather, this peace comes from BEING in a QUIET PLACE of rest, away from the business of life, and letting God deal with those deep heart issues. One by one, he will strip away the real heart issues as you let Him. This may be hard to do if you have a million commitments! But can I suggest one thing? If you feel you are needing to do this….you may need to step away from some of your commitments. People CAN go on without you, believe it or not!

One thing I noticed after I let God deal with my soul in this way, was a quietness/calmness that came with me wherever I went, not just in that quiet place.

Anyone who works with kids or has kids knows how things can get really crazy sometimes! However, when I think about my mom raising her 9 children, I do not think of a frazzled woman grasping at time and constantly overwhelmed about life, like you often see in movies. Yes, she had her moments of frustration and feeling inadequate for the tasks at hand, but those were few and far between compared to the calmness and quietness of soul she possessed. This year, during my first year of teaching, I really thought about this character trait in general!

From what I have observed, my mom gained this peace by:

1. Giving her cares to Jesus on a daily and even moment by moment basis

Being in constant communication with Him rather than people.

2. Letting go of her control and letting God do what He wants to do!

3. Being flexible

I know I have just discovered the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the lesson of QUIETING MY SOUL. However, I hope this bit of honest sharing blesses your life in some way today!