The New House

Here is the new house! It is tiny, but right in my budget, in a safe & nice plazuela and will be perfect. This home is an answer to many of the prayers that YOU prayed for ME. So thank you!!!

I plan to move in January after all of my travels for Spanish training & my return home at Christmas.

And there will always be a guest room available for any visitors! So book your tickets now. ;)

Pastor & Leader Retreat

Here are a few photos from the retreat. To see more, with me actually in them, go see the ENLACE slideshow

THE SHORT VERSION:
I arrived in El Salvador last Tuesday morning and by Wednesday morning I had a bag packed and was on my way to ENLACE’s annual Pastor’s & Leaders retreat. It was sooo cool. Thanks to those of you that kept us in your prayers.

LOOKING FOR SPACE:
I had no clue what to expect, but primarily was looking forward to a personal time of prayer and Bible study—after all of the chaos of preparations to leave, I was craving more time with God. And I figured it couldn’t hurt to meet some more of the ENLACE staff, as well as some of the key Pastors and leaders from some of the local partner churches.

& FINDING IT:
We stayed at a rustic retreat center for 3 days and spent time in prayer and Bible study. Ron is a dynamic preacher with a unique gifting for taking complex ideas and breaking them down into understandable chunks. I was greatly challenged and encouraged by the messages that he shared over the 3 days. And prayer with a bunch of Central American church leaders is a passionate and emotional experience. And was so touched when the church leaders prayed for the ENLACE staff on the last day and I was included in the blessing. We also spent wonderful times at meals together and playing games. (Yes, within days of being in-country Ron & Dave were able to get me in a sack race and an egg toss. Miracles will never cease…) So there was a perfect balance of time in meditation and times just kicking it with new friends and co-workers.

& FINDING MORE:
And after so many retreats in my life, you would think I would know that there is always an impact when you join others and set aside time to hear God’s voice. Well, thanks to Dave, Pete & Ron, many of the sessions were translated for me—so I knew a lot more about what was being discussed then I planned.

And what a great start to my time here! I was able to see ENLACE’s primary focus on Biblically based training played out throughout the weekend, but was also able to hear from Pastors about what God is doing in and through THEM. And those were really the golden moments—hearing how empowered local churches were reflecting Christ’s sacrificial love and transforming their communities with that love. And I was also struck by what deep faith and hope these leaders shared by joining together to dream and expect great things together for their congregations. They were not dwelling on their limitations, but were looking forward with trust & confidence in God’s blessing.

WE GET TO BE A PART OF THAT BLESSING:
And in a week, a small team from River West will come here and we will paint the exterior of a water tank and probably do a small-scale work project at the Buen Samaritano (Good Samaritan) church. I am so excited to be able to actually be the hands and feet that help answer one of the prayers of one my new friends from the retreat.

As always, please keep this great work in prayer!

In His Grace,
-Tina
PS: I have posted some photos at my blog in case you want to see some faces from the event & we have also posted a slideshow and video at the ENLACE website. Check ‘em out!

My Shortest Email Ever

Well, I have suffered my first trial in missions—no internet access for 5 days. Pray for me friends… J
Below is an email that I tried to send on Tuesday when I got here.
In His Grace,
-Tina
__________________________________________________________________________________
Hello Friends!
I’m here safe & sound! Dave, Jenny & Jonathan are already making me feel right home.

Note that I have a new email address: tanderson@enlaceonline.org. My River West email will close in another week or so. SO, change it in your address book now, so my emails down get stuck in junkmail!

God is good.

Taking a ride on an aeroplane

Hello Wonderful Friends-

The Answered Prayers Just Don’t Stop!
Down to this very moment, I have felt so incredibly blessed. This journey began merely 6 months ago and I have been consistently and overwhelmingly blessed over and over. Thank you for being such a huge part of that blessing through your prayers, donations, hugs and encouraging words. It has made all the difference! And as I prepare to leave this afternoon, I have the feeling that I am truly ready for this. Mind you, I know this will be the hardest thing I have ever done and yet, I know that with all of your support and with God’s great strength and love, there is really nothing that He can’t do through me. It’s a pretty amazing feeling! I promise to keep you posted on what is happening the whole way!

Prayer Hour
In particular, one of my favorite things to do in recent months has been meeting with friends and praying for El Salvador each month. It has been a joy and an honor to sit together with people with two simple desires—to thank God for His work in our lives and to seek His will for our lives & the people of El Salvador. We have prayed for Nuevo Renacer, ENLACE, and even each other. And I am reminded why we do this—it is so encouraging…and healing…and empowering. Truly there is a real and beautiful power in gathering together to pray. Thanks for all of you that have shared in those times with me. It has been the power behind everything that is happening right now. And I wanted to share some of the effects of your prayers:

Budget Raised! – In God’s great and awesome providence and through your sacrificial giving, I have raised my goal amount for my annual budget through one-time gifts and monthly commitments. AND I am most of the way towards the funds I will need to purchase a safe and reliable truck. This simply blows me away and every little bit has added up to meet my financial needs! Now I can head to El Salvador with a great deal of peace that I can take the level of Spanish classes that I will need, I can buy myself a bed when I get there and enjoy food, electricity and clean water. I can even afford a trip home at Christmas! God is good and you have all been pieces of His providence in my life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
Prayer Team is still going – One of my consistent prayers has been that the monthly prayer times that I have started that focus on El Salvador would continue. Well, at our last gathering Sheri Harkavy offered to help keep the ball rolling. I cannot even begin to express what a great peace and joy it brings to think about my River West family gathering together to pray for El Salvador and encourage one another. It actually brings a few tears to my eyes. You know that saying, “Out of sight, out of mind”?—Well, I think that is every missionaries fear and it blesses me so richly to know that friends will continue to gather to pray for El Salvador, ENLACE and for me personally. Awesome!
Spanish – Well, my Spanish is still terrible. I eavesdrop on every Spanish conversation that I pass and I understand virtually nothing and certainly could not respond if asked. And yet, oddly, I am at peace about it. (That might change when I hit the ground tomorrow morning…hehe) I guess my feeling is that I put in what effort I could and I think that will help. As soon as the River West team leaves in November, I am heading to Guatemala for intense immersion classes and I figure that will help really solidify things. And otherwise, I will just HAVE to speak. I will probably sound like a 3rd grader, but so be it!! God has provided in every single way thus far and I know that this prayer will be answered in a mighty way.
Transition – It’s hard to leave a place you love and yet, ALL of your support has helped me continue following this journey. I leave with complete confidence that this is the right direction and that some pretty cool things will be the result both in my life and in all of your lives. Isn’t it cool how one step of faith can impact us all? Not that my step is so great—everything has been provided for me, at this point it isn’t really faith, as much as just common sense—but as I see you all have faith in what God is doing through me, as I see you step up to give, pray, donate suitcases and other supplies, offer to come visit, etc. it strikes me that a current has been set in motion and God is reaching around the world through this small action and yet, it touches of you and then you continue it forward with your support and next it will impact some stranger in El Salvador. It really seems like a very tangible way of sharing the many blessings in my life and your lives, but it also seems to be moving people to greater knowledge of God’s love for them—and isn’t that really what it is ALL about—sharing God’s love with one another. It is so good to be a part of this and I am so psyched to continue bringing you along side me.
So Much Luggage – Thanks everyone for all of the luggage! I was able to pack quite a few bags for the teams coming in November to check as their second bags and deliver to me. So I won’t have to pay a dime for shipping any of my possessions to El Salvador. Sooo Awesome!
Everyone meet Ginger – She is an answer to prayer! Ginger will be moving into my room shortly! She is a great girl that is nice, loves the Lord and works with orphans in Africa. I could not have hand-picked a better replacement for my sweet home and my sweet roomies! Yes!
Car still for sale – Well, I got 4 calls to buy the car yesterday! Yahoo. But then a friend backed into the car and dented the hood some. So, I took it off Craig’s List and am hoping to speak with insurance folks today. Thankfully both Darcy & my parents have offered to help show the car & sell it once we can get the dented hood fixed. ;) It’s so awesome to have folks willing to help take care of that detail while I am gone. So keep praying for a quick turn-around for the fix and that this won’t impact the sell of the car beyond a brief delay.

And I could go on and on with so many more answered prayers, but I actually need to finish packing. ;)
My next email should be from San Salvador!

I sure love you all!

Down to the Wire

Down to the Wire
Well, I am down to 11 days remaining. Wow! I am super stoked to get down to El Salvador, start settling into life and begin really learning Spanish! Thanks for all of your prayers, support, etc. thus far.

The Nitty Gritty
Many of you have asked about my preparations—some out of interest about what one has to do to “enter the mission field” and some because you wander if there is any tangible way that you can help. Well, there are a few final details that I would love to share with you guys for your prayer and potentially your help.

I need your old luggage – I am not shipping any furniture or possessions down because shipping is cost prohibitive (and I don’t really own anything of real value—it’s just all cute looking.) So, my plan is to get as much of my life into my luggage as necessary. Initially I will fly down with two huge duffle bags! And then I hope to convince a few folks coming down on the November trip to also bring some additional luggage. Rather then buy luggage, which I will likely only use once, I was hoping that a person or two has some old duffles or luggage that I can use. At this point I am looking only for large and extra large pieces (as close to, but no larger then the limit of 62 total inches length+width+height.) If you have something, let me know and I will arrange a way to get in the next few days.
Looking for a good roomie – Leaving on a grand adventure is awesome, but is also means leaving behind dearly loved friends. Most of you know my long-time roomie Darcy Carroll and she is looking for a woman to replace me in our lovely little house. Darcy has been so supportive and encouraging, even though my departure has shaken up her world some. I am praying for a really great woman to fit into the house with Darcy and Jennifer Dale—who just moved in a month or so ago. The bedroom is small, but rent is great at $350 and the downstairs part of the house is fully furnished, including a dishwasher, washer/dryer, etc. There is a great yard that many of you have enjoyed for numerous BBQs. It’s a really lovely home in the Burlingame neighborhood of Portland which is about 10 minutes from the church and 10 to downtown. I5 access is super easy. Anyway, please join me in prayer for someone asap and let Darcy know darcycarroll@hotmail.com If you can think of anyone looking for a great place to live.
Looking for a Car? – I bought my Toyota Corolla LE about 2 years ago and have loved every minute of it! Truly, this I my first car that just runs reliably and well. And to be honest, I have tried multiple schemes to NOT sell my car, so it can be waiting for me. But in the end, that is kind of silly—a car is a car—and I really need a car in El Salvador. Every cent I can get towards a car, means the safer, more reliable whatever I get will be—and that’s most important! And it is pretty likely that I will be using a car to transport teams, even River West teams—in the future, so the nicer the better for everyone. Which means, I need to just sell my car. It is a 4 door 5 speed manual with 123K mileage (but it’s a Toyota, so it will probably run for another 100K). The tires are new and I just had the belts changed and some other tune-up work. It has a good stereo CD player, AC, Auto windows and doors, and cruise control. AND a cool spoiler thing on the back. I’m asking $4600. If you are interested or know anyone interested, let me know.

Thanks again for all of your amazing support. I have a lot more to say about that, but for now just wanted to get this info out in case any of you know anyone that can help me out!

In His Grace,
-Tina

Roby Duke Benefit Follow Up

Hi Everyone-

I just wanted to post a quick follow up and say Thank you to River West and Roby Duke for an amazing evening a couple of weeks ago. The concert was amazing. Truly, you should check out Roby's music if you haven't already. He can play a guitar so well it will make you hurt and he can swing so sweetly that you will want to cry and somehow he combines those things to create the most lovely music.

It was also awesome to share an evening with so many wonderful friends. Even my parents and brothers were able to make it for the evening. I truly felt like the princess at the ball and it was such a wonderful gift. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

And also thanks to everyone that donated to help me purchase a car in El Salvador. In the end, I believe we raised around $3500 and once I sell my car, I think we should have enough to purchase me something reliable and hard core for all of those crazy dirt roads in El Sal. The real question is, who is going to teach me to drive like a Salvadoran?

God is so good and you continue to be answers to my prayers!