Pictures

Here are some pictures. Finally!! I'm sorry I didn't post them earlier.

This is the apartment building! It has 8 units in it. Four on the first floor and four on the second. The apartment on the top floor here is the one that Michele and I share. We have clothes hanging from the railing drying!

Michele is 21 and from New Jersey. I love sharing an apartment with her. She is a lot of fun and we have fun cooking, cleaning, reading, getting water and grocery shopping together. I know she would appreciate your prayers.

Chris and Caleb share the other apartment on the the upper level on this side of the building. Chris attended CPCP 2 years ago and would like to be a missionary in Mexico. Caleb is a student at CPCP this year.

Reuben and Debbie and their 2 children, David and Elisabeth are below us. Please pray for Reuben, he has cellulitus and is in the hospital because it is so bad. Pray that he would recover soon and be able to get back to classes. Scott and Kate and their little girl Grace live in the other apartment on the lower level. Pray for Scott and Kate as Kate is pregnant and could deli ever any day! Both of these couples are students at CPCP this year!

This is the other side of the apartment building. On the upper level left side are Bill and Amy and their 2 children Caroline and Eli.

On the upper level right side are Mark and Belinda with their 2 girls Bradly and Erin. Pray for them as they are raising support to go to Papua New Guinea.

Mark and Belinda had all the singles over for dinner the Tuesday after school started. It was a great time of fellowship! I really appreciated it!

On the lower level left side are Alex and Kelley and their 2 children Halley and Graham. Pray for them as they raise support to go to Papua New Guinea. On the lower right side are Matt and Leanne with their three girls Jacy, Julia and Tabitha. Matt is attending CPCP this year.

This is a picture of the new laundry building I mentioned in the post right before this one. To the right (not show in the picture) is the apartment building.

Where the white suburban is parked is the kids play area. There are a total of 12 kids living in the apartment building, which makes for a lot of bike riding and activity!

The building on the far left (that you only see a corner of) is the office building. It has several offices, a conference room and kitchen.

This shows all the building on the property except the new laundry room which is behind the office building.

On the left we have the building (entire building not shown) that houses the class room for CPCP and the apartment for the speaker of the week.

Middle is the office building.

The tall building in the back is the apartment building.

This is the apartment Michele and I share! We decorated with what we have. If you look in the far right of the picture you can see the door frame to our front door. This picture was taken from the kitchen.

Thursday night we had the guys (Chris and Caleb) over for dinner. It was a lot of fun. Chris grilled burgers on the grill and Michele and I made a salad and brownies and heated up fries in the oven.

We just about constantly have someone over. Or are at someone Else's apartment.

There is a really good community over here. the weather is very nice this time of year so we all have our window's open and say hi and have conversations through windows.

This is our kitchen. Seems like we spend a lot of time in it. Sometimes we cook and sometimes we don't. We have not made anything we didn't like or that turned out poorly!

Both of us have limited cooking experience. Ironically, it seems that we both don't like a lot of the same things. We also enjoy many of the same things.

I think the inside of our refrigerator looks rather empty. Not because there is a lack of food but simply because there is only 2 of us. I'm use to seeing enough food for 5 in a refrigerator.

Last night Michele and I had fun cooking for a potluck. Since we all live so close it was decided that we should all eat dinner together. Which was a lot of fun. We had fun tasting good food from other people!

This is my room. I think I'm pretty close to settled. There is however, a few more things I need to do. Things I would like to organize better.

The most important thing left to do is to put up pictures of my family!

When I packed my car before Rachel and I drove to Texas I ended up taking out the pictures! I was very disappointed! However, my Mom was nice enough to mail them to me!

Thanks Mom!

So I'm most likely going to much up pictures tonight!

I also have a closet, a dresser and another twin bed in my room. I have already shared my room with 2 other people. Which I don't mind. It is nice to have the option to have people come stay. I think there will be at least 2 more people staying with us before August.

So that is what it looks like around here. I might, at some point post pictures of the view out our front door. The neighborhood is quite diverse. I find it very interesting!

Check out my next post, soon to come! I have pictures to post from our trip into Mexico a week ago.

We will also be in Mexico this Friday and Saturday!

Small Town Things

I am living in a fairly small town. The sign when you enter says that it has a population of 4,500 people. Which is a decent size I suppose but not when you had been living in a considerably larger city. So my hometown is far from the size of Chicago, and I don't even know the actually population but it is at least 14 times larger than there I'm currently living.

My new little town is positioned on a highway with five lanes. However, it has (as far as I can tell) only one stop light. There is the post office, 2 grocery stores, the goverment offices, a luandary mat, an insurance company, a bank (maybe 2), a Dairy Queen and several other places that I have yet to explore. It is rather cute, if you can call a town cute. I have a feeling that the town streches out farther, but haven't spent that much time exploring it yet.

A bit on a few things in town.

The Post Office is pretty small, I've been there several times. I had to order keys for my mail box and found it quite facinating. I was waiting in line and I watched as each person would take their turn being helped. Some would talk in spanish to the post office worker, others in English. He would respond in whatever language he was talk to in. And I was left standing there thinking 'now there is something you don't see ever in Michigan'.

I went the other day, with Michele to do laundary. I've never done my laundary at a laundary mat. My Mom did it for most of the time when I was at home. It was more efficient for us all to do our laundary together and save on water, Until more recently when we got a new washing machine and it is so efficient she made me start doing my own. Which I didn't mind because I like doing laundary. So Michel and I had to carry all our laundary down the stairs (maybe next time I'll just throw it down) and put it in the car. Drive to the laundary mat. At which point we had to carry it all in. If you don't have quarters you go to the store next door and exchange money for a roll.

The washers at the laundary mat are considerably smaller than my Mom's washer at home, which is funny cause they are so large on the outside. Anyway they worked great. There are not nearly as many dryers at the laundary mat as there are washers. And I was told that some of them will only give you 5 minutes per quarter but others may give you as much as 8-10 minutes. So we had to watch the dryers closely. The whole ordeal took about an hour and a half. It didn't seem like that long though.

Here on the To Every Tribe base they are in the process of building a laundary room. It is getting very near being done. It is a small building in back of the office building and close to the apartment building that has 2 rooms. One will hold 3 washers, 3 dryers, a wash tube and a table for folding clothes. The other side will be storage space. We have all been enjoying watching the progress on the building.

That's all for now... more to come!

First Few Days

The last few days have been very interesting. I dropped Rachel off at the airport Tuesday morning about 8:30am so she could fly back to Michigan. She was missing her husband I think!

I live on the second floor of an 8 unit apartment building. It is on a corner lot and there is a fairly consistant stream of traffic that goes by. I'm sure the speed limit must be about 25 down our road but not many people seem to care. They go speeding by, at who knows what speed, playing their music very loudly. I find it very entertaining.

Between the neighbors in the lot behind the apartment building and the neighbors across the road I think there is about 6 dogs. Most of them love to bark. Once again I don't really mind. Then there is a cat that has tried to get into our apartment several times. I've chased him away several times. Tonight however he was content to sit outside our door and groom himself. I like cats and all but I just don't want this one thinking he is allowed in our apartment.

The Door Bell Range the other day and it was a little girl, probably about 10. She asked be if I wanted to by some cheese from her Mom. I asked what kind of cheese. She said white cheese. I asked how much and she told me $6. Needless to say I had to decline. How often do people sell cheese at people's doors? Who knows I found it a little odd. But the little girl was very cute.

There are 3 set of husbands and wives attending Center for Pioneer Church Planting (CPCP) this year. There is also a single young man named Caleb and a single young woman named Michele. Michele is sharing an apartment with me. She is 21 and from New Jersey. We get along very well and I like her a lot. She are taking turns cooking and and cleaning up!

There are also 2 other families living in the apartment building working for To Every Tribe right now as they prepare to go out on the field. There is also another family here. So the apartment building is booming with activity.

Since there are a total of 6 families living here there are a lot of kids. And I don't even know half of their names but they are all so cute. They like to play on the cement lot out back. It is quite the site to see. They seem to play together fairly well and it provides time for the parents to hang out and talk.

I've worked in the office with Tommi Sitton for 3 days now. And I've learn quite a few things but still have a lot way to go. I've attended a staff meeting as well as many other things that I will not list here. We use e-mail a lot and I love the people I'm working with. I'll have to tell you more about them later.

I've been to Walmart a few times now and it is ratheer strange to look all around and not see another blonde person. They are few and far between down here. I was in line behind the cutest little boy. He kept staring at me and he was wearing a zip up hoodie and kept taking the hood off and on and zipping the zipper up and down and smiling at me. I could help but chuckkle to myself. Also something very different down here is that signs in stores are often in Spanish and English so if you pay attention you can learn a lot.

I think I may be going into Mexico with several other people this Saturday. We will have to see what happens!

The Journey

On Jan. 1 at about 11am my sister Rachel and I left to drive to Texas, which is to be my home for the next 3 years. We drove about 10 hours the first day and made it to West Memphis, Arkansass and got a hotel room for the night.

We had a great time talking and listenign to music we enjoyed when we were teens. We laughed a lot and talked about some serious things as well.

On Friday we hit the road again about 9am and drove to North West Lousiana to visit some of Band and Rachel's friends from when Ben was in the Airforce. I had met the couple and their son when visiting Ben and Rachel in Nebraska last year. So we had a good visit and then hit the road again and drove and got a hotel a little South West of Houston, Texas.

Saturday we managed to get on the road before 9am and reached our destination in Texas a little after 2pm. We were very glad to get out of the car and be done driving. I was excited to see where I would be living and move all my things in.

The road trip went amazingly well. We didn't get lost, get in an accident and my car didn't break down. I'm very thankful to God for his protection on the trip

Snowed In!

I've been meaning to post about this for 4 days now. I should have done it when it happened!

On the 2oth I was so excited about being able to attend my church on the 21st for the Christmas service! However, I woke up the on the 21st to find a lot of snow, and church was canceled for the entire day! I was so disappointed, but then I remembered the last time church was canceled and I got excited!

This time around was no different. I got out of bed to find Mom and Dad sitting with their Bibles on the little couch we have, they had turned it to face our slider. From the slider you have a good view of our back yard. They where watching the snow fall, drinking coffee and reading their Bibles. It was a special time, and I enjoyed seeing them together so much.

We had church in the family room in our PJ's. All five of us. For the rest of the day we just hung out together, watch a movie, read. Later in the day Dad, Mom and I braved the cold and went for a walk. In the evening Ben and Rachel and their friend Luke came over. It was great being together as an entire family!

It was a exceedingly good day. Sunday's usually are. When I'm not at Well of Grace we would be together for the whole day. We would all eat lunch together and just enjoy each others company. I often times get asked, by many of the young people at church, if I would like to join them for Sunday lunch. I just about always turn them down because I love to eat Sunday Lunch with my family. It is an occasion filled with laughter and family jokes. It has to be one of my favorite times of the week.

Good bye Well of Grace

Well this weekend was a good one, but hard as well.

For about the last 13 months I've been working 2 jobs. My first job (started in May of 2007) is with Family Christian Stores. My position is Inventory Control Specialist (ICS). I check in all the merchandise that enters the store, do card orders, track special orders etc.

My 2nd job has been at Well of Grace Ministries (WOG), it is a home for young ladies ranging in age from 18-24ish. I've been a weekend care manager there for a little over a year now. When I am at WOG I'm usually there for about 48 hours (7am sat to 7am mon.)

This weekend was my last weekend at WOG and I'm going to miss the other staff members and the girls a lot. I've made many great friends of different age ranges and from different places. It has been a lot of fun but also challenging in many ways.

I would like to thank the staff members at WOG. It has been amazing to work with so many women who love God passionately, and desire to minister to young women. It has been exciting to see the staff use their gifts to share God's love. I love the enthusiasm, energy and love that is poured into Well of Grace. We all share the excitement and also the sadness felt by each resident and staff member.

We've seen quiet a few staff members come and go, and also residents. Some of use have been there since the beginning and others for only a few months. The part of me that likes things organized and controlled desires that everyone stay forever but God has some people in our lives for very short times and others for longer. I've come to love the way God uses many different people to add little bits and pieces to our lives.

It was very strange to walk out the door this morning, into blowing snow, and think that it was my last time spending time there with friends. Well of Grace has become a home away from my home as well as a family away from my family. I will miss you all so so much! May God be with you and my you grow in, and seek continually after a stronger relationship with him!

Gearing up!

I'm slowing gearing up, very slowly. I really need to pack. I was realizing as I was leaving work today that I only have 2 more weeks of work. Then I'll take 5 days off to pack and get ready to leave.

Work has been crazy. I work in retail and during this time of year, even though I love my current job I am really relieved to go home everyday.

My sister Rachel and her husband Ben have been moved back from Omaha, NE for about a week now and we've been having a great time being together as a family.

Pray for me that I would use my time wisely!

Download

This is the link to my church's website where you can download a copy of my support form!

http://www.rbckalamazoo.org/Missions.html

Support Letter

Hello Everyone!

This is my first post on this blog! How exciting. I'm sorry if you visited before and there was nothing posted yet. This post will be rather lacking in details unless you have not read my support letter. I mailed out a lot of them but also have a many friends that I do not have current addresses for.

Just a quick note! Many people have asked when I will be leaving for Texas. I leave to drive down on Jan. 1, 2009 and my sister Rachel will be driving down with me. We plan to arrive in Los Fresnos on Jan. 3 in the early afternoon. Your prayers for safe travel would be greatly appreciated!

Here is my support letter.

Dear Family and Friends,

I will never forget the first missions trip I went on. It was about a week after the end of my junior year of high school, in June of 2001. The trip was to Mexico and I went with a group from my Grandma Borduin’s church. This was the first time I had ever been out of the country. I took a lot of pictures and journaled pages and pages about my experience. This is when God began to give me an interest in the Mexican people and a desire to be involved in some sort of ministry someday.

In May of 2004, Steve Henry came and spoke at my church’s Spring Enrichment Conference. Steve introduced us to To Every Tribe Ministries (TETM). I found out that they did short term mission trips, and I signed up. Over the next few months, there was a lot of planning that took place. In August, I went to Media Luna, Mexico with 3 others from my church. We joined with a large group down in Texas before breaking into smaller groups to head over the border to minister to several small villages. These villages are about a two hour drive into Mexico from Brownsville, Texas.

TETM’s main mission mandate can be found in Roman’s 15:20-21: to spread the Gospel to places that have not heard it and to plant churches. More about their ministry can be found on their website www.toeverytribe.com.

In 2005 and 2006 I returned to Media Luna. In 2007 I went to Centenario. This year I went to Emiliano Zapata. Each year I went though To Every Tribe. I met a lot of new people, but also built on some friendships that began in 2004.

In January of 2006, TETM started a missionary training school called the Center for Pioneer Church Planting (CPCP). I was very interested in attending, but decided to complete my last year of college first.

In December of 2006 I graduated from Western Michigan University with my Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. In May of the following year I took a position with the local Family Christian Store as the Inventory Control Specialist. I have been working there ever since, paying off my college loans.

Earlier this year, I was still seriously considering, attending CPCP in January of 2009. However while on another mission trip though TETM, I was made aware of the possibility of working with them, rather than attending CPCP. After a lot of time, questions, input from many people including my parents and the elders of my church, and prayer, I am confident that is where God would like me to be.

In September TETM offered me a job as Office Assistant. Some of the things I will be doing include bookkeeping, correspondence with TETM supporters and CPCP students, receptionist duties, helping with brochure and newsletter production, assisting other TETM Staff, and also assisting in short-term mission trip preparation.

TETM has generously offered to provide me with a certain amount of my living expenses, and I have agreed to raise the remaining portion.

I would like to ask for your support. Would you consider supporting me financially, or in prayer, or both?

In this envelop I have included a form. I would appreciate it if you would mail it back to me. If it is more convenient, you can e-mail me at stephanie.dupraw@gmail.com. You can also follow my blog on the internet at www.stephaniedupraw.blogspot.com


For His Glory,
Stephanie DuPraw



Note: I will post a link soon to a downloadable copy of my support form. Which was included in the support letters that were mailed. Should God lead you to support me you can down load a copy and send it in.

Thanks for reading - more to come soon!