July 23rd (Trip update 4)
After only 4 hours of sleep on Sunday night, I got ready for the trip down to New York City (my planned 48hr 'vacation sight-seeing' part of this trip). I met up with Joe (my companion for the trip) and we drove to Stamford, CT, where we left the car and took the train into Grand Central Station. From then on I had my camera out ready to take lots of pictures! We walked over to Broadway, passing through Times Square, and we managed to get tickets for Phantom of the Opera. Unfortunately, all they had were 'standing tickets', which meant that we had to stand through the entire production, but at least we got to see it and it was much cheaper! After the show, we saw Times Square at night and then headed back to the house where we were staying - a place called the Hephzibah house, which is a place reserved only for Christian workers and church leaders. We each had quaint little rooms decorated in an old-timey style - very in keeping with the house overall. The big disadvantage to the place was the lack of A.C. so the rooms were about 89*, which was a tad warm! However, we were thankful to be able to stay there.
In the morning we took our breakfast to Central Park to eat there and then we walked to Trump Tower where we had Trump ice-cream! Apparently Miss Universe was due to arrive that day, but we ended up leaving about 15 minutes before her due arrival time since we still had much we wanted to do. I'm sure it would have been interesting to have seen her and Donald Trump, though! We went up the Empire State Building, which took a couple of hours (much longer than I anticipated) so we didn't have time to do a couple of the other things we wanted to do, but at least we got to see the city from the top and see some of the sites from a distance that we weren't actually going to make it to in person due to time.
One of the places on my high priority list to visit was the B&H Photo store! I know that's not on most people's priority list for a visit in NY! However, this store is a great place for videographers and photographers so I was able to gather a lot of information regarding some equipment that I could use in my ministry. Joe had to leave to get back to NH after only 40 minutes in the store so I spent the remainder of my time there (another 1 1/2 hours) by myself. I had become familiar enough with the city in the last 24 hours that I felt comfortable staying longer by myself. I made it back to Stamford later that evening and then drove down to the same place I stayed at in NJ before. All in all, I can say that my brief visit to NY was very enjoyable and I look forward to being able to visit again and see more!
Wednesday was a quiet day - a chance to catch up on sleep and paperwork. In the evening, I went to a local church's Wednesday night service and had a chance to talk to the pastor and give him a packet of information about my ministry. Thursday I head down to WV for a presentation I'm giving to a group at a church in Martinsburg and then I head on down to Washington D.C. on Saturday afternoon.
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July 20th (Trip update 3)
I'm still in NH and enjoying my time here. Since I didn't have any meetings scheduled for Friday or Saturday, on Friday afternoon I went to Maine for a visit to York and Ogunquit. We went to York first and went on the beach very briefly because within minutes the weather prohibited us staying out. We later found out there was a tornado watch in our area! We made it into the Golden Rod right about the time the electricity went out in the whole town and we were left in the dark. After hanging out inside for a while and being tempted by all the treats and not being able to have any because they couldn't sell without electricity, we made our way to the car and headed over to Ogunquit to see the famous Nubble Light. Despite the pouring rain, I ran around outside taking pictures of the light house and the shore line of the town and in the process got rather wet. I think I got some good pictures, though! I'll find out when I'm able to download them :o) We never got to see the production of Beauty and the Beast at Prescott Park in Portsmouth as we had planned due to the weather.
On Saturday we headed down to Boston for the day. We took the T (train/underground) into the city and started our tour just before lunch. We came across some street performers from Peru who were playing some really good music and I was able to get some information about the quena - an instrument I'd love to play! We had lunch at Quincy Market and then continued our walking tour of the city taking lots of pictures along the way. It was a fun, but exhausting day!
I went to church at Trinity Baptist this morning and then headed over to another church in a small town nearby for a meeting with a missions elder. The meeting went well and they indicated that I would be able to give a presentation at the church if I were to come back to the area another time. However, at this time they are not taking on any new missionaries. I had another presentation tonight with a couple of people at Trinity Baptist and that also went well. I'm excited about the possibilities that might come from the contacts I've made this week.
I'll be leaving in a few hours to go to New York, which I'm excited about. However, I'm leaving my leopard gecko behind. My friend up here in Concord will be taking care of her since I'll not be able to take her back to England with me. I know it's just a gecko, but it was kinda sad to leave her behind. She seemed to enjoy her new environment, though, and I'm sure she'll be well looked after. Now I'm hoping to catch a couple of hours sleep before the drive down to NY.
Thanks for praying!
Demelza
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July 18th (Trip update 2)
The time on this trip is going so quickly! It's hard to believe that it's almost the 2nd weekend I've been away. I had two meetings on Monday morning in the Philly area and they both went well as far as being encouraging conversations with the pastors. However, I'm hearing the same thing a lot at the moment and that is that, due to the economy, churches are typically increasing support for the missionaries they already have (which is great), but it doesn't help me out. I did have a nice time with them, though, and one of the churches did say they might be able to help towards some of my outgoing expenses, which will be great!
Tuesday started off a bit uncertain regarding meetings because I hadn't been able to confirm times with the pastors I had spoken to earlier. However, I decided to just go ahead to the churches and hope that it would all work out. It did - at least with the first one. I arrived at the church (a small one with only the pastor working at the building) just before the pastor arrived. I shared with him my ministries and he has a big interest in the UK so he was especially enthusiastic regarding the church plant. So much so, that he took an extra packet to take to another church and he said that he'd show my DVDs at his church without me even being there in order that I might get exposure and hopefully some support. This was definitely the most encouraging response yet regarding monthly support.
I visited 5 other churches in the Lancaster area through the remainder of the day, but didn't really get to speak to the pastors for various reasons. However, I did get to see some Amish country and that was fascinating. I headed up to NJ in the late afternoon/evening and I stayed with my friend's parents overnight which was a huge blessing.
I left for Concord, NH, on Wednesday morning and took the beautiful drive up through New York and Vermont. I did make a couple of unintentional detours, but I made it to my new host family with 20 minutes to get my things into the house, change, have a bite to eat, and then get to the church service. I had expected to be giving a ministry presentation either at the service or afterwards to a small group of people, but it didn't happen - misunderstanding I suppose. However, I did get to talk to the man I had spoken to on the phone and he came up with a bunch of suggestions of people I should contact and that he would help with - as well as setting up a presentation for me to give to a few businessmen on Thursday evening! I was encouraged coming away from that meeting.
I took Thursday quietly since I hadn't had much time to really catch up on some things. So I made some phone calls to try and secure more local meetings among other things. The presentation in the evening went very well. The men were very enthusiastic about my ministries and I think they represented 3 different churches so that was neat. There's a possibility that I might be able to give a presentation at one of the churches they represented, but since it's such short notice, I'm not sure if that will actually happen or not. Either way, the meeting was very encouraging and I look forward to seeing how God might work through it.
Thanks again for your prayers!
Demelza
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July 14th (Trip update 1)
Well, I have almost completed the first week of my trip and I've been keeping pretty busy! I left Greenville on Tuesday afternoon and spent the evening with some missionary friends in High Point, NC, that my family had met while we were still in England. It was good to start off this trip catching up with them.
I left there early on Wednesday morning to get to Reidsville, NC, for my first meeting at 9am. The pastor and mission board leader were excited about what I'm doing and, although unable to commit to financially supporting me at this point, it was a very encouraging meeting. That night and Thursday night, I stayed with a friend's family who had never met me, but made me feel very welcome and I enjoyed getting to know them.
On Thursday I had two churches to visit in Winston Salem and then headed back for another one in Reidsville. I spent over an hour with this pastor and his family who were so excited about what I'm doing that they called another local church and scheduled a meeting for me to go to right after leaving them. When I arrived at this other church, the same thing happened and they tried to schedule a meeting for me with yet another pastor. Unfortunately, that one didn't work out due to the fact that the pastor was leaving for the day, but I left an extra packet of information with the secretary who will be passing it on to this other church. This was all very encouraging to see how God worked it all out!
After these meetings, it was nice to be able to relax back at the house, play with the 18 month old, swim, and get an early-ish night before the long travel day on Friday. I left the house at 9am on Friday and traveled up through VA on the 81 and took the 76 into Philadelphia. The trip was pretty uneventful and I was thankful that when I got sleepy I was able to talk to family on blue tooth and I was also thankful that my neck and shoulder didn't hurt too much!
In PA things got more interesting since I didn't know what to do on a toll road! I figured it out 'on the go' and with some help from a friend who told me I paid at the end of the road, not the beginning! Once I got off the toll road, I needed to find somewhere to stop to put the address of where I was going in my GPS. However, I chose the wrong exit and ended up in the 'wrong' area of town. I pulled over long enough to punch in the address and then followed the directions to the restaurant where the rehearsal dinner was being held. That last part of the trip was particularly challenging since it was about 9pm and I hadn't had a chance to eat so my blood sugar dropped and I was dizzy and had practically lost the use of my left arm. Needless to say, I was thankful to arrive at the restaurant before I crashed completely.
It was good to see my friend Rebecca, the bride, and after the rehearsal dinner I stayed with her and two other girls in the hotel. I spent all day Saturday with her helping where I could. It was nice to be able to spend so much time with her and be so involved in the wedding. The reception was held at a Moroccan restaurant where we sat on couches and had a 7 course meal! It was VERY filling, but neat to try some of the food that Rebecca and her husband, Chris, are used to having in Morocco. Throughout the evening, I had a chance to talk to several people and was able to share what I was doing, out of which some possible meetings might come in the D.C. area.
I am now staying with Rebecca's sister and brother-in-law and I went to church with them on Sunday morning and took the opportunity to catch up on some things in the afternoon/evening, including sleep!
I have 5-6 scheduled meetings over the next couple of days in the Philadelphia area and would appreciate prayer for traveling on these unfamiliar roads and for the actual meetings. On Monday evening I plan to take a mini tour of the city of Philadelphia with a group from the church I attended on Sunday. It'll be nice to see the city and sites without having to do the driving myself :o) After my meetings on Tuesday, I plan to head up to NJ to stay with Rebecca's parents, which will cut an hour and a half off my journey to Concord, NH, on Wednesday.
Thanks for your prayers for my trip so far. I have definitely sensed God's protection and blessing and look forward to seeing how He's going to work in the rest of this trip. Please also pray that the Devil won't have success in causing me to be discouraged. It would be easy to eclipse all the blessings God is pouring out on me by the realities and logistics of not having extra support coming in yet and what that means for the future of my ministries. I know God can and will provide so that I can do these ministries if it's His will so I'll do my part and trust Him for the rest.
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