ALL MY OUTGOING EXPENSES ARRIVED!!!

As of right now I have two things taken care of:

1. My visa for PNG
2. All I need in order to go, set up, and language training


All I need now is the rest of my monthly supporters.

Please pray


2 more days till the deadline!

Faith PILL

I was thinking today how awesome it would be to take a "faith pill". Need a boost of faith...take a faith pill every day to keep you going.

Faith is so tricky because it requires effort on the part of the one asking and requires that person to open their hands and let God work. A tricky balance.

So often I think to myself "Well done Amanda, you have great faith." and then seconds later I say "Oh ye of little faith". I am sure Peter could relate to me! How often did he stand out for his faith in Christ and yet seconds later be put in his place. God sure did use him in mighty ways. I'm alright with being compared to Peter.

I sit here with three days from my deadline and wonder. What are you doing God? What should I be doing? And yet all is silent. Maybe that is the answer....silence. Just Relax and have faith.

So if anyone wants to invent a "faith pill" just know... I'll be first to invest!

VISA ARRIVED TODAY!!!!!

HI ALL!!!!

I AM SO PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT MY VISA ARRIVED TODAY!
YEAYYAYA!!!!!

THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYERS!

AW

Departure Deadline

Dear Friends,

I recently sent this letter out to everyone I knew. I am praying peace about the decision.


*******************
Dear faithful followers,

The time of departure is drawing near and decisions are being made whether I will be able to leave in January. My Wycliffe supervisor needs to know the stats of where I stand.

At this moment I need to receive $900 more monthly support in order to be released for my faith date of January 20th.

I am also in need of $2,925 for on time gifts (such as plane ticket, set up costs, language training, etc)

Deadline= Friday, December 24th

If you have considered supporting me on a regular basis or feel compelled to join my team right now, this is the time!

Please contact me if you are planning to partner with the specific amount...before signing up so that I am aware before the time it takes for everything to be processed, so I can figure it into the overall percentage.

What happens if you do not meet this deadline?
- I will not be able to attend the January training (POC) in Papua New Guinea
- The school will have to wait longer for me and positions need to be filled.
- I will attend the August 2011 training and start teaching in November, which is more difficult seeing as the school year will have already begun.
- There may be complications with my visa for PNG

What happens if you DO meet this deadline?
- I leave for PNG in the middle of January.
- After the POC training, beginning Jan. 26th, I will be more prepared to deal with language and cultural difference and enter the mission center with friends from the course.
- I will start teaching the end of April allowing me to settle in and adjust before the new school year begins in July 2011.

I am thankful for those of you who have prayed with me, cried, rejoiced, encouraged, and shared your life with me. I am glad you have joined me on this journey!

Will you put your faith in the God of the impossible to bring 100% in by my deadline, December 24th?

Until all have heard,
Amanda Wulff

Give online http://www.wycliffe.org/Partnership.aspx?mid=92893E

To send financial gifts through the mail: make checks payable to Wycliffe Bible Translators, attach a note saying "this is for the ministry of Amanda Wulff, account #213011" Mailing address Wycliffe Bible Translators, P.O. Box 628200, Orlando, FL 32862-8200

*** Again, please let me know the specific amount so I add it to my records****

As I'm waiting...

As I wait for things to come together I continue to press on.
Have you heard that song by John Waller called "While I waiting"
It says

"I'm waiting, I'm waiting on you Lord

and I am hopeful, waiting on you lord

though it is painful

but patiently I will wait

While I'm waiting,

I will move ahead bold and confident

I will be taking every step in obedience

while I'm waiting, I will serve you

while I'm waiting, I will worship

while I'm waiting, I will not fail

I will be running the race, even while I wait.

I'm waiting, I am waiting on you Lord

and I am peaceful, waiting on you Lord

Though it's not easy, no, but faithfully I will wait"

When I think about waiting my mind can not stop. I do not think God wants us to passively wait for things to come about. My view of waiting is that we continue to work at what we can and do what he commands us to do, serve, love, obey, but TRUST that He will do it at his pace and in his timing, despite my efforts.

Matthew 7:7 says "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you are asking for, Keep on seeking and you will find, Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.

Jeremiah 29:13 says " You will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart."

I love that it says, "keep on" asking "keep on" seeking. Waiting on God is not passive but I continue to remind myself that despite my efforts....if it is NOT God's timing, the "keep on" is drawing me closer to him in spite of it all.

A quick update:

- I have had MANY opportunities to share with small groups, children, churches, and individuals in the month of December. THANK YOU for your prayers!!

-My Visa was sent on NOVEMBER 22nd! Pray it returns SOON, ready for me to enter PNG.
- I have spent GOOD times with friends and family over the Holidays and will miss them dearly!

- I continue to hover around 55%. Time is getting short. In order for me to make it to PNG by January 26th, the Pacific Orientation Course (required by all missionaries with Wycliffe heading to PNG) I need to have all my support by the beginning of the year.

This is why it is important:

• After 14 weeks of training in PNG (beginning Jan 26th) I will go to Ukarumpa, the mission center to begin teaching in April.


• April is close to the end of the school year so will help me get acclimated to the school system before completely taking over a classroom. It will also give me the summer months to prepare some for my new classroom.


• IF I DO NOT get there by January this is what happens: 1) I will leave when everything comes in aka. visa & monthly support 2) I will have to wait until the next cultural training which will begin in August 3) I will likely begin teaching right away before the training, meaning I will not have an established support group (that you tend form during training...how could you not in 14 weeks!) and I will be put in the school system at the middle of the school year...which as a teacher, is not easy. 4) The people who are expecting me to teach in April and attend the training in January will have to change their plans...again.
  

I am telling you this because I need your help. I need your prayers! If you intend to give and yet have not yet...This is the time.

I realize the Christmas season is here and life is a VERY CRAZY but I pray you will spread the word for me. All I want for Christmas is an opportunity to give the gift of God's Word to the people of PNG by teaching the children of missionaries
Will you help me? As I wait...will you actively be praying...will you actively be telling others...will you actively consider giving each month?

Thank you for your support, time, efforts, and love.

Until all have heard the Good news of the Savior!

55%

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you know that I have 55% of my monthly support. PRAISE GOD!

thanks for your prayers,

Amanda

MY VIDEO IS HERE!!!!

The Story Behind the Video

During my training this summer I ran into two people who had created videos to promote their ministry with Wycliffe. Both of them were well done. I wanted one and I kept thinking, how are you going to do a video like that? Then it hit me, I have many friends from college who are computer GENIUSES! So I called my friend Adam and left a message with some specifics regarding what I was looking for. He called back a little while later and said he was helping develop a nonprofit organization called Wellwater Productions that does biographies for Christian ministries around the world. He was excited to do this for me, and that it how it all began!

How awesome is God! I was so excited that these two things had come together like they did, I know God will be glorified through this video! Enjoy..

Amanda Wulff-Ministry in Papua New Guinea from Adam C. Erickson on Vimeo.

Video on its way

Dear Friends,

God has blessed me with some amazing friends who are generous enough to use their awesome talents. I am excited to say that my friend Adam has created a video for me promoting my work in missions and Wycliffe Bible translators.

It is on it's way. I can't WAIT!

My adorable family

Hello Everyone,

Just thought I'd brag about my family for a second.

My sister, my friend Elizabeth, and I took my nieces trunk or treating at my sister's church on Halloween. Aren't they cute! The three on the left are my oldest sisters kids: Katie, Sydney, and Alena. The little one in green is my second sister's daughter, Piper. They just came back from Papua New Guinea. Here on furlough. That made it even more special!
My sister in law took her kids to pick a pumpkin and I just can't get enough of these guys! Here is a picture of my brothers little ones: Rhyan and Boone.

There is just something about Fall! I LOVE it! Too bad North Carolina has weird seasons. We went from hot 80 degree weather to 30 degrees in a few days. Oh well! I enjoyed a picnic with my nieces the other day before it was too cold. We ended up feeding most of the sandwiches to the fish...go figure! Good times though. This doesn't have anything to do with my family, but I just have to share it. My friends Caleb and Meagan got married the other day. It was absolutely beautiful and the weather was perfect. They are such a cute couple and I wish the best for them. When it was time to throw the bouquet, which ...might I add, is the dread almost ALL single woman, WHY do we do it anyways, I decided to stand in the back. I even told someone next to me that I was just going to hold my hands out and if, for some reason, it lands in them I will have caught them. WELL...Meagan threw the bouquet so hard it began to fly OVER my head...which meant I had to catch it. You don't let the bouquet hit the ground. So here I am...holding a bouquet thinking "I am still going overseas...this doesn't change anything!" haha...we'll just say I heard about this for a while afterwards. :)

Enjoy!

45%!!!

I am currently at 45% of my monthly support!

Praise the Lord for his faithfulness and provisions!

Thank you for your prayers and for continuing to interceed on my behalf!

Pray as I have a few opportunities this week to share about what God is doing around the world through Wycliffe Bible Translators and what he is doing in and through me.

I am looking for opportunities to share. If you know of people you can share with or would like me to talk to, please let me know. Here some ideas of ways I can go about sharing ...


- Share in a small group settings
- speak at churches or Bible study/sunday school class
- AWANA
- a group of friends
- on one one at coffee shops
- visit at someones house over dinner or lunch
- Chapel at school
- Staff meeting

etc.

These are only a few opportunities. Please pray about ways you can be apart of what God is doing or a way that you can partner with me as I strive to expand my network of friends as I follow God's leading for my life.




Thank you!

Spider Web

The other day when I was pumping gas into my car I noticed a spider forming a web. Each move was so precise and intricate. The spider knew exactly where to go, how thick to make the web, and trusted that it would hold his weight. The process would take some time but the spider would continue because he knew that was what was best for him.

This web made me thing...life takes time. Following God takes time and each step is detailed and requires focus and persistence. It reminded me of this verse:

"consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking in anything." James 1: 2-4

Continue to follow what God has asked you to do. Even if your "web" is not complete in the time that you expect it to be.

I will continue to persevere...so that I might see the all that God has for me and that He might be glorified in that work I have done for Him.

The Ripple Effect

This afternoon I met my roommate at the lake close to our house to have a picnic. It was my day off and I hadn't talked to her in like....forever! Amazing how you can live with someone and not talk or see them! Anyways, we started talking about what God was teaching us and the things we are going through. Both of us have so many decisions to make...people say it's because we are young, but I don't see my parents having less choices to make! :)

We decided to feed the fish which ended up as us throwing rocks into the lake. Don't get me wrong, we weren't mad at the fish! While we were doing this my roommate said, "I love seeing ripples in the water." I agreed and we began to talk about our lives making a ripple effect with those around us.

I realized that everyone makes a ripple effect but it may be for good or for bad. A person might make one bad decision that could affect everyone that is close to them. This is the not so glorious side of it. I am so thankful God is forgiving and merciful. Shesh...to think what would happen if He wasn't! It would be a pretty quiet planet...

But then I imagined what it would be like to have a life that affected people in a positive way. I do not desire to be a person who is known as a "Hero of the Faith" who is often put on this righteous and goldy pedestal. These people are far from perfect. I honestly do not even care that people remember me but that they remember who I served. I want to be a person who leaves a positive mark on everyone I see but not for my glory but that GOD would be glorified and that person can not HELP but share God's word with others.

Imagine if we all lived our lives like that. What a ripple effect that would be.

32% ...praise God!

Dear Faithful followers!

I am pleased to inform you that God has been faithful! I am currently at 32% of my monthly support! Praise GOD! God continues to bring supporters to me and continues to bless me each day! Just this week I received a new financial and prayer partner. Thank you for joining my team!

Thank you for your prayers for further support. Please pray as I continue to look for opportunities to share in churches, small groups, AWANA, anyway HE will provide.

Standing in My Place

I came across this picture I took while I was teaching in Bogota, Colombia. My friends and I took a trip to a place called Zipaquira, a large salt mine in the mountains. Inside we saw this cross that was carved in one of the wall with a light illuminating it. It was beautiful! My friends and I all stood and looked at this large cross. One of them stood in it and I took a picture. Looking at it now makes me think of what Jesus does for us when we get to heaven. He stands in our place in front of His Father. Though we are still filthy with sin we are covered in His blood and are accepted into our heavenly home. What right do I have for Jesus, who is perfect, to stand in my place and take MY punishment?! I am so thankful I don't have to face God with out Jesus.

"Jesus answered, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

Walking in the Wind

Today I decided to take a walk at a near by park. My intention was to spend time with God, to pray to him and clear my mind. As I began, my mind started to wander. Quickly I refocused it and began to pray...more like poor out my burdens! I stopped myself again. This was not why I had come out here. After almost an hour of "refocusing" my thoughts I decided to think about listening.

My shoes crunched the sand and rock below my feet, the birds chirped and the wind blew. Oh the wind...I remembered back on the times I would walk and the wind would blow me around. I use to pretend the wind was God speaking to me. When it blew softly He was whispering and real rough, he was trying hard to get my attention. The wind blew in all kinds of ways today. I noticed that when my thoughts began to wander the wind would blow harder. I stopped and sat by the lake (thankful that a family was feeding the geese off to the side so they wouldn't come bother me :)

Closing my eyes I asked God to speak to me. All I heard at first was

Listen

I am I said to Him.

Listen He said again. I suddenly felt like Peter when I responded,

I am trying God.

Then he said....trust me.

That was hard. Though I feel I do trust God I realized this was a deeper kind of trust. A trust that meant completely, wholely, with everything you deam important and valuable....TRUST ME.

I continued to walk and spotted some flowers on the path. A passage I had recently memorized came to mind. "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?....See how the lilies of the field grow? They do not labor or spin....If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you? Oh you of little faith?"

Matthew 6:27-28,30

These verses reminded me of others. Psalm 139 speaks of God knowing me. He was there when I was created. "for you created my innermost being, you knit me together in my mothers womb...Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book, before one of them came to be...search me, O God, adn know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts, see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting"

"Seek first HIS kingdom and HIS righteousness" Matt 6:33

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give you." John 15:16

How awesome it is to have a God who loves us, who brings scripture to mind when we need it, know knows our every thought before we do. When I asked him to speak to me, He spoke through His Word....His word was my comfort as I walked this trail.

As I sit here I think of the people who do not feel God's comforting word. They do not realize they could take a walk with God.

Thank you God, for your Word, that it is hidden in my heart. Thank you for calling me and prusing me as I live each day.

The heart of a child

The last day of school one of my students came over to say goodbye. Her face was beaming with pride. In her hands she held a note. Taking the note I opened it to find a letter from her parents and a one dollar bill. Chuckling I remembered a conversation I had recently had with her parents regarding their daughter. She was a picky eater and they told me that if I could get her to eat a slice of pizza at the class party they would give her a one dollar bill for her piggy bank. She received money for obedience. As I read through the note I realized this was not a dollar FOR her but a gift FOR me! She was giving it to me so I could fly to Papua New Guinea and teach the little children about Jesus. With heavy eyes I hugged her and thought, "I might be able to buy some peanuts!"

This little girl was given the opporunity to hear about God's love through His Word. She heard about Him every day in a language that touches her heart. Children all over the world should be given the same opportunity. Hundreds of them do not have God's word in a language they can understand or express love in. Of the nearly 7,000 languages in the world 2,200 of them still do not have God's word in their language. Many more may have a translation started but they can not read it. My hearts desire is to give people this opportunity. A chance for them to meet their Father and accept his precious gift to them....his son Jesus as their Savior.

A Journey of Faith

Dear Friends, welcome to my blog!

Not being much of a "techy" but knowing enough of them to help me get started, I have finally begun a blog of my own!

This blog is mainly designed so I can keep you all informed about where God is leading me and what He is doing around the world through Wycliffe Bible Translators. Translators? I thought you said you're a teacher? That's right...I am a teacher who will be teaching children of translators, missionaries and nationals so they can do what they do best.

Let me start at the beginning.






When I was a little tyke my parents took my two sisters and brother to Colombia, South America. There they served as missionaries with Wycliffe. Though neither of them were translators, God used them to support the translators through their jobs: aviation mechanic and accountant. I grew up thinking that all I wanted to do was be a missionary teacher.


As time passed God began to unveil his plan for my life. After college, a few life changing trips and three years of teaching I realized He had been leading me to join Wycliffe and teach at the Primary School in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea.





Following in obedience I began the process of joining Wycliffe. This summer I was given the opportunity to attend two training courses for Wycliffe members. The first one was held in Dallas, Texas. What an amazing experience this was! Along with learning some helpful advice about teaching overseas I began to develop relationships with other teachers who will be serving around the world. Each of us, though from different backgrounds and experiences have one thing in mind: to teach these children WELL so their parents will be able to give God's word to those who have never heard.

The second training called EQUIP was held in Orlando, Florida, Wycliffe's headquarters. Along with 51 new members I was blessed each day by the passion to see the Bible accessible to all people in the language they most understand....their heart language. This task, as I am sure you can imagine, is not small...in fact it is ENORMOUS! With almost 7000 known languages in the world 2200 of them still do not have an a Bible in their own language.

As I was reading in Acts the other day I came upon the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. The eunuch was reading the book of Isaiah when Philip asks if he understands what he is reading. To this he replied "How can I unless someone explains it to me?" 8:31.

Some people may have heard but do not understand. I know enough Spanish that I could pick up a Spanish Bible and read it. The words would make sense to me but it would not touch my heart, because I do not feel, think, or show passion in Spanish.

As I teach I will be giving translators the peace of mind that their children are being well educated so they will not have to focus on translating AND teaching. Each of us are gifted in certain things...so let's use these gifts for a greater purpose...to bring God glory...and share his ultimate gift with the world.

My goal:

1. To GIVE God's word to the people in PNG through teaching in the Primary school

2. To GET to PNG by January in order to attend the 14 week POC (Pacific Orientation Course)

3. To BUILD a team of people who are willing to be life partners with me as I continue to follow God's leading on my life.





If you are interested in getting my newsletter email me at: amanda.wulff@gmail.com

Want to partner with me? Click here: WULFF Invitation to Partner

Tell me more about Wycliffe? Click here: Wycliffe.org