Today I was blessed to meet two of our LCMS missionaries, David and Radka Fiala. They serve the Lord and His church in Eurasia in the countries of Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary and are in the U.S. for two months. The International Center of LCMS in St. Louis was the site of their presentation. The motto for their work is to reconnect people to their Christian heritage.
We were introduced to a young man, Alec, who attended the presentation. He was about 11 years old and had gone on a short-term mission trip to Poland in the summer of 2010. Alec shared the love of God in Christ Jesus and was able to communicate with the children in very effective ways; his smile would draw them in. Alec’s mom was with him and also was on the trip this past summer.
The Fialas told about the blessing of support from the SELC district to provide catechisms in Slovak and English; women’s groups who support them in prayer and by sending things to use in reaching out to the people. One example that Radka gave was a make-up consultant who sent small hand care kits. These were given to the women in the community inviting them to come to a gathering at the church. The women were so impressed that people who didn’t even know them would send gifts for them. Mercy personified; and doors that are opened to share the love of Jesus.
The further stated that English speaking short-term trips can be the pebble that begins the landslide. The ESL classes are non-threatening to the Czech people and again dialogue on faith matters occurs and doors are opened.
How blessed I was to meet this missionary family, to hear their stories and share in the work that God has given to them. And a further blessing was that two other LWML friends were with me today, so they could share in all of this, too.
Missionary Fiala told of a favorite quote of his: Proclaim the gospel–when necessary, use words. One of his theme verses is Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God for the salvation of anyone who believes.
God of the harvest, bless this missionary family.

Oftentimes we look for the “big” things in life to see how God directs and guides. This evening I experienced His guiding in two un-related things. I was staying at a hotel and decided to run a few errands. I left my room, and pressed the button for the elevator. As the doors opened, I realized that I had forgotten my cell phone. Since I was driving I decided I really should go back to my room to get it. When I opened the door, the phone was ringing; it was a friend calling. We had played “phone tag” over the course of a couple of days; if I hadn’t come back to the room, we wouldn’t have connected tonight. Thank you, Lord, for prompting me to go back and get my phone.
The second thing happened when I drove back to the hotel; the sun had set and it was dark, as I pulled into the hotel lot, there was an open space, just for me, just a short walk to the front door. There was even a bonus: the spot was right under a street light. My father-in-law would often advise us to park under a street light; the context for that advice was most likely when we were going to the mall in the evening. But, it is good advice for any time of day; there aren’t that many street lights in a parking lot, right? So the Lord blessed me with a parking spot, under a street light, and reminded me of my father-in-law who is home with the Lord since August 2002. Always grateful to him and my mother-in-law; they raised an awesome son, my dear husband!
The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. Proverbs 16:9
Lord, thank you for directing and guiding my steps, even in the minor details of my life.

This evening I had the opportunity to represent the LWML at the reception that we host for the final year students at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Karen Drury, President of the Missouri District LWML joined me for the evening.

Seminary President Dr. Dale Meyer started the evening with a PowerPoint presentation for those in attendance, highlighting some of the grants that you have funded by your support of mission grants in the LWML over the years, including our current $50,000 grant to help in costs of relocating the Food Bank. He also thanked the LWML districts for the many scholarships and grants and ended by asking Karen and me to relay their thanks to all of you. It was a very moving experience. Those in attendance knew the impact of LWML support for the seminary and expressed their gratitude to us.

On your behalf, Karen and I accepted. Now it is important for me to let you know. Thank you for your support of the mission goal of the LWML. Our grants do make a difference in the lives of real people.

God’s richest blessings on your time in the Word, your worship and your walk.

This morning I took a flight from the airport in Milwaukee. While in line for the security I noticed three women behind me. They were all decked out in Green Bay Packers clothing and jewelry from head to toe. The woman directly behind me asked them where the Packers were playing this weekend; Washington was the answer. It was pretty apparent to anyone who saw them that they were on a mission to attend the football game this weekend,cheering on their team, the Packers.

That got me to thinking: when I travel is it at all obvious where my loyalties are? Are people able to look at me and know that I am a dearly loved daughter of my heavenly Father? Do my words and actions show others that I have been with Jesus, encountering Him in the Bible?

Once I got to the hotel, I turned on my computer and downloaded my e-mail. Take a look at the Bible verse that was sent from a ministry as part of their daily prayer prompts; I think it fits right in with what I observed this morning:

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door-frames of your houses and on your gates. “

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

This morning I had the opportunity to talk with the children at St. Paul Lutheran School in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. They are participating in the Children’s Mission Adventure and designating their chapel offerings to support LWML mission grants. I had a delightful time sharing with the students from the 3 yr old pre-K classes to 8th grade, as well as with the teachers, principal and pastor. We talked a little about the whole concept of mites and then I was able to share with them two of the ministries that I have visited who are recipients of some of our grants. Please pray that they will all see how they will help share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with children and families all over the world. Their gifts to LWML mites, along with their prayers, will be used in amazing ways to make eternal changes in the lives of many.
Isn’t that a message we all need to hear? Our mites and prayers do make a difference. In a sense we are all on the Children’s Mission Adventure, because each of us is a dearly loved Child of God.
Thanks for your support of the LWML mission goal.

Each week I have the opportunity to share a brief message on KFUO, a radio station housed on the grounds of Concordia  Seminary in St. Louis. Because of modern technology like Internet, live streaming people can listen to this radio station all over the world.
I must admit there are times when I wonder if anyone is listening! Our Information Technology Committee is able to provide a link to many of my broadcasts on the LWML website; you can find them under “News” on the top bar, on the drop down menu click on KFUO which will take you to a page that has archived many of the messages.
Last week I was driving to Minnesota to attend a funeral during the time of the broadcast. I pulled into a gas station and took the call there. As soon as the call was completed, I received another phone call from someone who was listening via Internet streaming; someone was listening! Truth be told, this woman was listening because she was my back-up in case I did not have cell phone coverage at the time the station would be calling me. Today right after I finished I received a phone call from a friend in St. Louis who was listening in her car. She wanted to thank me for the message and said it had meant a lot to her today. God’s Word ministered to her in a special way today and she just called to let me know.
Do you think that God is ever wondering if anyone is listening to Him? I know all too often I ignore Him, or I am too noisy to actually hear Him.

Speak Lord, your servant is listening.

Last biennium the Christian Life Committee developed a resource titled, 31 Day LWML Prayer Prompts. Suggested prayer topics are listed for each day of the month. Yesterday morning, the 18th, the entry read: Thank You for giving our officers sufficient energy to complete the work they are given to do; bless them with an extra blessing today.
Now, I have to tell you how much I needed that prayer support. I had driven over 7.5 hours on Tuesday to get to Mankato, Minnesota, to represent the LWML at the funeral of our 8th president, Helen Morris. It was a long, tiring day of driving alone, knowing that I would be turning around in a few hours and driving the return trip after the funeral on Wednesday. The Lord did provide the energy I needed to complete what He called me to do in that time and place, plus He provided travel mercies for my return trip. I have no idea how many people use the prayer prompts, but I do know that God is faithful and answered that prayer, even if I was the only one praying it on the 18th.

May He bless your prayer life.

This past week I had the opportunity to visit Gertrude, a 96 year old woman who attended the founding convention of the LWML in 1942. The Lutheran Woman’s Quarterly had an article titled, “Reinventing Servant Gertrude,” on page 9 of the Summer 2010 issue.
I made the trip with two dear LWML friends; we stopped and picked up Kentucky Fried Chicken, Gertrude’s requested meal. When we walked through the door of her place she was so happy to see us and told us that she had been praying for our safe travel.
One of the gifts that I gave to her was a set of the new large print Mustard Seeds devotions, Comfort from the Psalms. I assured her that she probably didn’t need it as her eyesight is still quite good, but that she might know people to whom she could give them. One of the women wanted a photo of Gertrude holding up the packet, so she obliged. Gertrude broke out in laughter as the devotion placed in the back of the clear packet is titled, “Facing the Enemy.” And that is what she was reading while the photo was being taken. I quickly paged through the devotionals and read some of the titles so she could hold up another one for a photo. Gertrude chose the one titled, “God is in Control.”
After the photos were done, I was going through some of the other gift items for her. I had included the LWML perpetual calendar, Simple Treasures, which contains quotations from Alma Kern’s writings. Since the calendar was enclosed in shrink wrap, I opened it for her and turned to the entry for that date, August 12. The quote on that day was from Alma’s book, You Are Special. It read: “Faith is remembering…God is in control. He has a plan for your life. He turns evil into good for those who love Him”.
God is in control; a message that was received twice within a few minutes; one that I need to remember.
How grateful I am for the courageous women who met in 1942 to officially begin the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. How grateful I am that God is in control of the LWML.

For several years I have received a newsletter from International Student Ministries. One page of the newsletter (front and back) contains prayer requests from the various ministries on campuses throughout the country. Once a week I look at the requests for that week and include them in my prayers. This week, August 1-7, contained the following prayer from Audrey, the Director of ISM at Stillwater Oklahoma: “God’s blessings on the material we received from the national LWML grant. May many students be reached with the Gospel.”
Your mites are making a difference!

 Thank you for supporting this grant#16 and the other 18 grants that were selected to be funded this biennium.

In June I wrote about attending the Indiana District LWML convention and the relationships that are a blessing to me. My friend Betty shared the following story:
A Brazilian pastor was the guest preacher at our church in Lafayette many years ago and as part of the sermon he said that when he died and went to Heaven, the first thing he would do when he got there was to fall at Jesus’ feet and thank Him for all He had done for him, especially for giving His life to save him and making it possible for him to spend eternity with God in the joys of Heaven. And the second thing he would do is find the LWML ladies who had contributed the mites that enabled the missionary to come to his town and tell the people there about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I don’t remember much else from that sermon but this part stuck with me.
What a powerful story of the connection that your mites have with real people, all over the world. Thank you for your faithful prayer support and giving your mites. I know of one Brazilian pastor who will be looking for LWML supporters in heaven.