Molly's Mission Encounter- Week 4/5

Molly & Abby Fraser with Andreas photo June 2011
This week marks the half way point for Molly. She loved having her home church team and her sister, on the island for ten days. It was an eventful time and Sunset's youth pastor, Mike Giering, reported this week at staff prayer that he believed it was a very impactful trip, so we're excited the role that Molly with the Helene team played. After three trips on the "short termer" side of things being a clinic staffer was certainly a different experience.
Since the team left, she's settling back in to her routine there. Mornings consist of team devotions and more study. Afternoons she spends time with the kids who are gathering before they attend the Helene Christian English School that MEI has developed on the island. And, she was "finally" assigned to work at the school. The students were to be taking exams so she was planning to monitor the classroom. I know she was very excited to be in the classroom.
During her time there she has decided that she wants to come home and pursue becoming certified to teach either pre-school or kindergarten. At this point she is undecided about whether she wants to teach in the states or in a foreign country, but she is feeling led to pursue teaching as a ministry/career. She also is busy as a part of the clinic staff team, preparing for guests, hosting them and cleaning up after them. This is a very practical part of mission life.

She spent last weekend in Roatan while Mike and I were in New York City visiting her brother, Chris. Roatan means warm showers that dont require a one handed pull and air conditioning, a nice break from clinic life.
In one of our email exchanges after we both arrived "home" from our weekends I shared with her one of my experiences in New York. While visiting St Paul's Chapel I saw an image of the chapel two blocks from the 9/11 site with the flames and ash of the buildings burning in the background of the steeple. I had really been impacted by the way that God stands even in chaos. And that as a result, the church, God's people, can and should also be a refuge, in a time of fear and loss of hope. Molly carried that conversation into a devotion she led later that night, sharing with guests at the clinic. She talked about how giving in to fear is doing wrong by God and centered on this text.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. Psalm 46:1-6.

We continue to be grateful for the love and care that you all have shown Molly and our family during this experience. One of her emails this week said this...

"I love all the growth im experiencing here and do enjoy living here but I also cannot wait to get home to you guys. I just REALLY miss all of you guys."

Prayer Requests:
-- Continued growth and health for Molly and the clinic staff.
-- Direction regarding pursuing her new ministry/career goal as an early childhood teacher.
-- That Molly's last five weeks on the island, she could "be love" to all those she comes in contact with.

And a PS just for fun.
June 28th was Molly's 20th birthday. We thought this would be a tough day for her, as Abby and the Sunset team had just left and she was away from friends/family on her birthday for the first time. Some of us put together a video to wish her a Happy Birthday. Fortunately she found a laptop at the clinic that she could watch the dvd on and she seemed happy with the simple things we were able to do at this distance.