eNews & Updates
Fresh News (scroll down for older letters)
November 2009
Hi there! I would like to start this note with my deep apologies. You have been on
my heart for a month and a half now and I have been too bogged down in the
immediate demands of my ministry that I have not sent out news to you. Please
forgive me. I know it's a lot easier for you to pray for me when you know what
is going on over here and I have been silent.
That is not to say that I didn't need your urgent and regular prayers. In fact,
quite the opposite was true this month. So much has happened here that to write
it all would turn this letter into an intimidating document that no one has
time to read. So, in brief, here are some of the events I encountered.
October began with an international softball tournament; the highlight of the
first quarter here at school and culmination of our first section of P.E. I was
able to take our newest softball players and coach them through several games.
The LORD
richly blessed us with not only a win (we were definitely the underdog team to
start with) but even 3 WINS!!! Our kids were SO excited.
Following the tournament, we had a 10 day break. I took advantage of the time
and headed out to a nearby village with some friends of mine to encourage a
couple of our new friends who were closing up their ministry there. God truly
used that time to reorganize my priorities and renew my passion for ministry,
no matter where I am located and what I am doing.
The next few weeks were a blur. I was sick off and on with flu symptoms. Track
and field day was just around the corner and it was up to me to train 105 kids
in all the events, organize and schedule the competition day, and lead the
school through it. Once again, the LORD was gracious to me and provided many staff and
fellow missionaries to step in and help train the kids and organize the day.
Praise the LORD, track and field day went rather smoothly with
little to no injuries.
Due to the intensity of the preparation and importance of the event in the eyes
of the kids and families I minister to, I encountered some more intense spiritual
warfare as well. I praise the LORD for giving me close friends here to walk
through it with me as well as all across America praying me through those tough
times. Although spiritual warfare is hard to completely grasp and explain and
handle, it is amazing in the way it deepens my walk with God and my
understanding of His power as well as His love for me.
Thank you for your part in this ministry. Please continue to pray that my
knowledge of God and relationship with Him will continue to deepen. Please pray
that I will continue even in times of fatigue to rely on His strength and not
to get weary in doing good, especially to those to whom God has called me to
serve her in Niamey.
Looking ahead, we have less than a month left of school before Christmas break.
I plan to have one more Christmas at home with my family in Timbuktu. This is
my youngest sister's senior year, so it will be the last of our somewhat normal
Christmas vacations. Perhaps my next update will be from my home to yours over
Christmas greetings.
Until then, may God richly bless you as you serve Him each day.
Evangelical Baptist Missions
October 2009
Thank you for supporting this ministry with your time, prayer, and gifts. Praise the LORD for all His goodness each and every day! A lot has happened since my
last update to you. Our temperatures are soaring (it is 106* as I write
this) and we are heading into a brief hot season before the coolness of
the Christmas season arrives.
of settling in for me. I now am teaching all the PE classes here at
Sahel Academy which range from Kindergarten through 12th grade. This
next weekend, we will be involved in the international softball
tournament held here in Niamey every October. We have 3 teams from our
school participating in the activities. I will be pitching for our
youngest team and helping to organize them as much as possible. Praise the LORD, my health as been good so far. There has been a lot of illness passing around lately, so please keep good health a regular prayer request for us. Thank you.
classes I teach, I am helping our school administration with many
different tasks. This week is our last week of classes for this quarter
and we are all working on getting the grades posted before the 10 day
October break arrives. Please pray that our computer system will work smoothly throughout this whole process.
so blessed to work along side them. There is a spirit of unity and love
among us that carries us through the difficult circumstances we find ourselves in as together we serve the LORD and missionary families here in Niamey. We are still missing some key members, both in administration as well as teachers. Please pray with us that the LORD would meet these needs in His perfect time.
Evangelical Baptist Missions
September 2009
My visa did arrive in good time and I arrived safely in Niamey (the
capital city of the Niger Republic in West Africa) on Wednesday, August
26th. My sister and I traveled together and we enjoyed a rather
uneventful trip after which we were pleased to find all of our luggage
was still with us! (It's quite common to arrive at your destination
after such a trip without it.)
has provided in both these areas. This year, I am teaching the Physical
Education classes for grades K-12. In addition to that, I am the
Administrative Assistant. I have been filing and organizing offices,
acting both as librarian and computer lab monitor now and then, and
supervising some study halls.
doing what God has called me to do. Thank you so much for your prayers
and support that are making this possible.
believe I kept the mosquito population alive. I have been taking an
anti-malarial medicine since I arrived, but I was not able to get any
ahead of time, so it was not already in my system when I was first
exposed to it. Please pray that I do not come down with malaria.
are doing something a little different this year. We meet all together
for singing and watching a DVD presentation. Then we split into small
groups by ages and discuss how to apply what where are learning. The
subject is discipleship and understanding Jesus' model of it. Please pray
that God will give the leaders discernment as they lead the discussions
and also that God would open the eyes and ears of each participating to
understand His truth and to make changes in their lives accordingly.
school day morning starts off with P.E. classes in order to make the
most of the coolest time of day. Our days are going to start heating up
soon so this is very important. The rest of the school day is spent in
the different school offices as mentioned above. Lately, we have been
starting softball practice after school due to the international
softball tournament that is coming early in October. It looks like we
might field 3 teams again! The kids are really excited. Other than
that, Monday afternoons are staff meeting time and every other
Wednesday is a half day of school followed by another staff meeting and
accreditation work as we come up on some important deadlines.
Evangelical Baptist Missions
August 2009
August (also known as the first day of school at Sahel Academy) I
received official word that I have been cleared to head back to the
Niger field and resume my work. Everything has been happening so
quickly that details are starting to blur together, so let me get them
all down for you quickly before I forget how it went.
the needed information from the Niger field concerning what my current
expenses will be in order to request a lowered amount of funding to
raise. Once the last of the details were coming together, I called the
EBM office to request permission to return to the field. I was informed
that although my finances looked to be in order, my french results
would not satisfy their standards and I would have to take another
test. Miraculously, the LORD provided that test immediately and I was even able to get a scanned copy of the results the next day! (That is unheard of!) Praise the LORD, I achieved the level required by the Niger field and met their standards! Today I was given the official
permission to order airline tickets. As soon as I have their proof of
purchase, I can send in for my visa to enter the country.
will come in plenty of time for me to make my flight. I will be flying
out the 24th.
will speak ot my final church as a missionary on pre-field assignment
this Sunday morning. (Although I have saved enough money for my first
two year term, I only have 54% of my support coming in each month. In
order not to miss school after next furlough, I will have to gather the
remaining 46% in under two months this time, so I will continue to
contact churches and possible supporters while I am in Africa in order
to make that possible.)
weekend we will go to my sister's college graduation (where we will all
be together as a family for the last time ... for a long time I
imagine) and then I will fly out!
July 2009
Yahoo!
* Praise the Lord I have more support promised. I don't know if missionary ministries are something you include in your budget, but I wanted to let all of you know that I now have 70% of the required funding for my first term already!
Please Pray!
* School opens August 12th. In order to arrive before that, the support team for this ministry must be unified by Monday, July 20th.
* If you or someone you know has been considering joining this ministry, please communicate this quickly. It can be as little as donating 15 minutes of each work day. (At minimum wage, that would be about 2 dollars a work day. Twenty-five of these new team members would close the gap for this term.)
Yours to Impact this World,
Amber Marshall
| P.S. Thanks for your prayers on my behalf the first week of July. I was able to enjoy an amazing reunion with most of the Marshall family. We came in from all over, even many of our French members. Praise the Lord for the godly heritage He has blessed us with! |
June 2009
Dear Friends and Family in Christ,
These past couple months have been filled with service projects. I have been
presenting my ministry to several local churches and participating in special
music ministries within my sending church as well. We also have a lot of
clothes donations coming in for my parent's ministry in Mali. I have been
sorting, repackaging and setting these clothes aside in storage until we pack
their container. This afternoon, I head out to speak at my first VBS meeting of
the summer.
I have some more great news to pass on to you this month. First off,
here are my updates.
Travel Update
Ladies Missionary fellowship at Little White Church. I was informed that they
had increased my monthly support! Thank you so much! That is such an
encouragement!
In June, I spoke at Grace Baptist Church in Binghamton, NY, West Lenox Baptist
Church in PA and East Lawrenceville Baptist Church in PA. I am returning there
this afternoon to speak at their VBS meeting on my way over the Miracle
Mountain Ranch to drop my younger sister Joy off. She will be working there for
a month this summer with our sister Falene. While I am over there, I will
reconnect with friends and family and participate in some ministry
opportunities as well.
It is always so encouraging to meet with people who are enthusiastically
serving God.
Praises
* As some of you were
made aware, a couple of my supporting churches have increased my support. As I
mentioned earlier, Little White Church increased my support as did their ladies
missionary group. My sending church (West Endicott Baptist Church) also voted
to increase my support. In addition to that, they challenged individuals to
consider supporting me personally. For just about $1 a day, one could increase
my support by one percent!
* Praise the LORD, I now have 40% of my needed support
coming in monthly. I added up what I already have in my account and divided
it by 24 (to get a monthly figure for my first two year term since I am
scheduled to return every other summer to report to my Stateside team at this
point.) That brings me up to 66% of my needed monthly support for my first
term on the field.
I'm 2/3rds of the way
there!
* Also, continue to
praise the LORD for His traveling mercies.
I am still traveling a lot. I have not had any major difficulties.
Petitions
* Continued safety in
travels.
* Direction from the LORD as I raise the needed funding to return to
ministry in Africa. I still need $1165/month or $28,000 for my first term
before I can order tickets and apply for entry into Niger.
* Divine involvement
bringing just the right team together to join with my sending church in this
ministry to the families of missionaries in West Africa. I calculated it up,
and if just 17 friends would commit $2 a day to this ministry now, I would be
able to get to Sahel Academy before school starts up!
Thank you for your time and interest and, most of all, for your faithful
prayers for me as well as for this ministry.
Yours Sincerely,
Amber Marshall
April 2009
Dear Friends and Family in Christ,
Wishing you a wonderful Easter holiday filled with the true love, peace and
joy that only God can provide! I know we are all going through different
challenges in life, and it is always encouraging to see God's blessings,
and even more rejuvenating to FEEL it.
I have great news to pass on to you this month and need your prayers
more than ever. First off, here are my updates.
Travel Update
In February, I spoke with several pastors and churches in Pennsylvania. It has
been so encouraging to meet with people who are enthusiastically serving God.
Many of them have young couples of their own who are heading to the mission
field, so, although they have been unable to join our team financially, many
will be praying for this ministry in West Africa along with us. That is most
important since ultimately God has all the resources under His control.
In March, I spoke with several pastors and churches in New York (I live near
the border, so these are all churches near me). Near the end of March, I joined
my parents down in West Virginia for our annual missions conference with First
Baptist Church of Belmont. I admit, joining the church family in Belmont is one
of the highlights of my year. They are so enthusiastic and passionate about
serving God.
Now it's April and Easter is right around the corner. This last week,
I took Mom to a Spring tea the ladies of Dryden Baptist Church invited us to.
We were able to share with them our different ministries and the importance of
serving God no matter where we are or what our occupation is. I am continuing
to contact local pastors and gain opportunities to present the ministry of
Sahel Academy. My team in Niger, West Africa have expressed their desperate need for me to be there this year. I do believe this summer is God's perfect timing for me to return and I am interested to see how He will provide for my additional financial needs.
Praises
am still traveling a lot. I have not had any major difficulties.
Petitions
* Direction from the LORD as I raise the needed funding to return to ministry in Africa.
* Divine involvement bringing just the right team together to join with my sending church in this ministry to the families of missionaries across West Africa.
Thank you for your time and interest and, most of all, for your faithful prayers for me as well as for this ministry.
Yours Sincerely,
December 2008
Dear Friends and Family in Christ,
Wishing you a wonderful Christmas season filled with the true love, peace and joy that only God can provide! I know that we are all going through different challenges in life, and it is always encouraging to see God's blessings, and even more rejuvenating to FEEL it.
This is my last group letter to you for this year. I am excited to make a new start next month yet I am pleased with the training God has given me this past year. As this year wraps up to a close, here are some of the activities that filled the past couple months.
Travel Update
In November, the youth Pastor (from the ministry in Niger) Dave Totman and his family stopped in to visit along with the Goldie family who worked there last year and are in the process of raising support to return to Niger as well. Joy and I then headed out to Miracle Mountain Ranch to spend Thanksgiving with my second youngest sister Falene. We slid off the road twice but made it in time to get plenty of work done. (More details to follow in the PRAISE section.) I did get to meet my cousin's fiancé while at my Aunt and Uncle's for Thanksgiving dinner and we all enjoyed family time together.
Now it's December and Christmas is right around the corner. This last week, I took Mom to the Christmas banquet the Ladies Missionary Fellowship of Little White Church in Conklin, NY invited us to. All my siblings are planning to be "home" ... together here in Endicott with Mom and Dad ... for Christmas. A couple days later some of us will head down to Florida for our McGarvey family reunion (Mom's side).
* Also, praise the LORD for His traveling mercies. As previously mentioned, Joy and I slid off the road twice on our way to meet Falene for Thanksgiving week. Praise the Lord we were moving quite slowly, so there was no damage to the car or to us. Also, we were not too far from the Ranch where she is training, and they were able to find us and pull us out and get us up the mountain safely. While pulling us out, some damage was done to the back wheel system. Praise the LORD, they were able to get it to the shop and fix it before we needed it in order to get to Thanksgiving dinner in Erie.
We also ran into some bad weather on our way home. Apparently, we were following an ice storm. Although I felt the car slip from time to time, we had no major incidents.
Petitions
* Continued safety in travels.
* Direction from the LORD as I raise the needed funding to return to ministry in Africa.
* Divine involvement bringing just the right team together to join with my sending church in this ministry to the families of missionaries in West Africa.
Thank you for your time and interest and, most of all, for your faithful prayers for me as well as for this ministry.
Yours Sincerely,
October 2008
Travel Update
Right after VBS season closed, I headed out to Michigan for the Annual Enrichment Conference with Evangelical Baptist Missions. This year it was held at Miracle Camp and I was able to engage in quite the variety of activities including, but not limited to learning to build my new website, corporate worship times, EBM's (potentially) annual Olympics, and my first games of paintball!
On my return trip, I stopped in Pennsylvania for a couple days of camping with friends and family. As soon as we got back from camping, I jumped into cleaning house (which mostly involved painting the living room and kitchen) in preparation for my parents and siblings to return from Africa and live with me again.
I drove to Syracuse to pick up my mom and sister from the airport in August and then to NYC to get my brother and his family from the airport there in September.
Other than that, I have been sticking around here getting my work site in order. I am the site director at an elementary school for their before and after school care program run through the Boys and Girls Club.
Praises
*My truck is running again. While my brother was in Africa, it started running pretty rough. Fortunately I was able to use his car while he was gone. When he got back, he was able to fix my truck so it is running again.
*The LORD has been so good to us - always providing for our needs. I have a small pickup truck as you will remember and it only fits 3 people max. With dad here now, that has been a little tricky. Praise the LORD, it looks like they have found a car to purchase to meet their transportation needs. They will pick it up Monday and fix a couple things on it and - LORD willing - they should be good to go.
Petitions
* Please continue to pray for my spiritual growth as well as that God would raise up just the right support network here in America, in His time and way, to carry me through years of ministry at Sahel Academy in Niger, West Africa.
*Please pray that He would guide my focus and that I would recognize what really matters to Him and that I would spend more time in those areas of life.
*Also, please pray that He would give me the wisdom to lead my work site in the best way possible and to handle to difficult circumstances in a godly way. I have many opportunities each day to reflect Christ and His principles to many families, so please pray that I will be responsible and profitable with each opportunity that God puts in my path.
Thank you for your time and interest and, most of all, for your faithful prayers for me as well as for this ministry.
Yours Sincerely,
Amber Marshall
I guess by now you are wondering “What has happened to Amber?” I can’t even remember the last news I sent out to you. I have been wearing down and, many times, feel in a more real way than ever before, the refining that the Bible talks about when it compares how the LORD purifies the lives of His children as a goldsmith gets the impurities out of gold – over a fire. My grandparents put it this way, “It sounds like spiritual ‘growing pains.’ Something we each have to go through ourselves. No one can go there for us.” So, God is working daily in my life, molding me into a child of His who is more like Him and who is truly centered around His goals and will. I am going from things I have known for years – and said I believed, to actually living them out daily (as seen in situations that draw out reactions without time to plan how I should respond).
Travel Update
In addition to that I completed MTI 2 (training with EBM in Indiana), spoke at a missions conference in Conklin, NY that weekend, spent last weekend in Buffalo speaking at Calvary Baptist of Depew, NY, finished work for the summer at the elementary school where I helped to provide before and after school care, and started a Bible Study with the ladies of Nanticoke Baptist Church in NY. Next week I will be heading to Boston to visit my cousin and try to get some rest before starting in on VBS ministries and continuing on with PreField Ministry in general. Sometimes I feel like I am balancing 3 or 4 regular jobs and it gets a little crazy.
Praises
* My truck has been running very well despite that it has traveled over 275,000 miles. Last week the fuel gage stopped working, so I was using the tri-o-meter to guess when it might be low (it got a little interesting traveling to Buffalo like that). However, last night I noticed it was working again. Praise the Lord for little conveniences like this in life.
* Also, I am so thankful to be able to connect with people over the internet or phone and share with them the struggles I am going through and to be able to receive their godly counsel right when I need it the most. Some of you may think that is a given, but I have lived through many times with that was not possible, so I am very thankful for God’s provision in my life right now where it is possible to see “the Body of Christ” unite and support me when I struggle. (Thank you to those of you who have been praying for me and sending me notes of encouragement as well for your part in that.)
Petitions
* That I would gain the strength I need to grow in Christ and be used of Him to carry out tasks that are beyond my ability and obviously God-sized and managed.
* Also, that I would not be deceived by Satan’s subtle attacks when I am worn down with the many activities and experiences God is placing before me.
* And, as always, that God would raise up just the right support network here in America, in His time and way, to carry me through years of ministry at Sahel Academy in Niger, West Africa.
Thank you for your time and interest and, most of all, for your faithful prayers for me as well as for this ministry.
Yours Sincerely,
Amber Marshall
...
Café Soiree
EXPRESSO YOURSELF
February 2008
Hello there,
Once again, time seems to have shortened and increased its speed (especially between the time I hit my pillow at night and when I hit the ground running early the next morning)! I did want to slow down for a bit though and fill you in on my plans for the rest of February and the next couple months so you can pray more specifically for me through them.
As some of you are well aware, a group of amazing people in my sending church have committed to teaming with me to advise and help me through Pre-Field ministry. They have been contacting many of you as they help me search for local churches to join our team both in prayer and finances so that I can quickly return to Sahel Academy and continue in the ministry there. We are planning to begin some desert gatherings in the local area here where individuals will get for refreshment and renewing friendships. These will be occasions where I will specifically be able to introduce the ministry God has called me to and provide opportunity for individuals to join my team as well. (At this point, just a little more that 50% of the finances I have raised come from individuals. I am just over 25% of the way to my goal.)
Please pray with us for God’s provision of homes to host these soirees as well as direction on who to invite and when. Please pray that Satan will not be able to keep those invited from coming and that those God has already chosen for this ministry will follow His leading and join with us.
Thank you for your irreplaceable part in this ministry already.
Your Friend and Fellow-Laborer,
Amber Marshall
* Title borrowed from Sahel Academy’s 2007 Student Counsel’s creativity.
