"Since you are my rock and fortress, for the sake of your name, lead and guide me." Psalm 31:3 Blessings to you from the Leader Development Committee. We are pleased to serve the YWRs for the next biennium. Our desire is to provide you with this newsletter every other month. We want to share your stories in "From the Heart of a YWR" column. We want to hear what is working in your districts with the YWR program. We want to give you updates on upcoming events. Finally, we want to know what you would like to see in this newsletter. Please share this with other young women in promoting LWML. Use it to encourage young women in your congregations. Print this and copy it to share, or just guide women to www.lwml.org and direct them to the YWR pull down link on the home page. FROM THE HEART OF A YWR Everyone loves to receive an invitation. However, I wasn't so sure when I received a simple verbal invitation from a good friend of mine to attend the 2002 North Wisconsin District LWML Convention. I had great trepidations. I really knew very little about LWML. What I knew was mostly speculation based on observations of the women in my congregation. Honestly, I went to the convention because I saw it as a few days without the everyday responsibilities of a stay at home mom- no laundry and no dirty diapers! This invitation opened up a whole new world of mission and ministry to me. I simply sat in the back of the convention hall and continued to be filled with awe at the wonderful things I experienced at this event. The one thing I knew was that I wanted to know more and I wanted to be involved with this wonderful group of women ­ women in God's Word with a heart for mission. I went home and really tried to be involved at my church but I had some very big roadblocks in my way; one being that they met during the day and I had 2 small children. Timing didn't work for me. My friend who invited me to the convention was a member of the district Young Women's committee. She again extended me an invitation ­ this time to apply to be the district YWR to Oklahoma City. I really prayed about this invitation ­ what qualifications could I possibly have to represent my district in Oklahoma City? Surely, there was someone else with more experience or wisdom. I did apply and in June I got on a plane to Oklahoma City as the YWR for the North Wisconsin District. I had no idea at that time what doors of ministry God would open before me. I can tell you that our plan is not always what He has planned and I am living proof. I am a passionate person, but my passions had always been youth and outdoor ministry. My experience in Oklahoma City changed my heart. I saw what these women were all about ­ the power of the Holy Spirit filled that convention hall. These women loved the Lord and wanted to share the Good News with people all over the world. And crazy as it sounds, those women loved me. They care about the Young Women representing the districts of our Synod. They want to teach us and to mentor us. They want to motivate us to be leaders in this wonderful organization. And finally, they value us. To this day, I continue to thank my friend Louise for that simple invitation. I have grown in my relationship with the Lord in the last 3 years. I have been humbled by the wonderful leadership experiences that I have been given. I have met women who have influenced me and taught me more that they will ever know. And this is all the result of a simple invitation. I thank God for that invitation. Think about whom you could invite ­ you never know how it may change their life. Anne M. Hartman, North Wisconsin District 2003 YWR Oklahoma City Leader Development Committee Do you have a Mite Box? LWML supports missions and ministries throughout the world by means of Mite Box offerings. These Mite Box offerings have funded tens of millions of dollars in mission grants since LWML was started in 1942. Ask your society president for your own Mite Box if you don't already have one. Also check out the traveling Mite Box option on the Mission Advocacy and Grants (MAGS) link at www.lwml.org. On that same page you can download and print the Mite Box Calendar for the month. It is a great resource to not only fill your Mite Box, but to follow along with one of the mission grant projects for LWML. Check out the MAGS link now. Check out the new LWML brochure and you will find some great facts and information to share with women in your life who don't know about this wonderful group of women in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Here are just a few of the basics you will find in the brochure ­ be sure to check it out yourself. And you can also order the brochures from the Web site and you only pay the shipping. Go to the catalog link on the home page and the brochure can be found under "Public Relations." LWML is for Christ­Centered women of all ages Mission Minded Women Women Serving the Lord with gladness volunteering, serving and training young women Mission Grant goals set every two years for more than $1,000,000 Mission Statement- "The Mission of the Lutheran Women's Missionary League is to assist each woman of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in affirming her relationship with the Triune God so that she is enabled to use her gifts in ministry to the people of the world." Get some brochures now and put them out in your church. UPCOMING EVENTS Leadership For Tomorrow training was last November in St. Louis. The event was titled GOAL ­ God's Own Amazing Leaders. Women from every district attended the training event. They were to return home with a plan to implement the training in their own districts. Watch for the dates the training will be offered in your district. Encourage a friend to come with you and learn more about leadership in LWML. The training is an excellent resource so look for the training workshop near you. FROM THE PRESIDENT ­ Linda Reiser YOUR LEGACY You may have never thought about it, but we are all leaving a legacy from the moment we were born. Every experience, every bit of training, every gift and talent makes us the kind of people who will leave either a positive or negative mark on others. No matter what kind of life we live, others will be influenced by it to some degree. The Bible says: "If anyone is in Christ, he (or she) is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17). The spirit of God wants to create people who have a new heart, a new attitude, a new outlook and a new will. I pray your experiences, the sounds, the sights, the Bible Study, the friendships at the recent LWML Convention all left a legacy with you! I pray those experiences have also led you to consider the legacy you are leaving as you consider involvement in LWML, in mission support, in Bible study, your devotion and prayer life and the gifts you have to share. The next round of legacy events will be the 2006 District Conventions happening at a place near you! Let's make a positive mark on the LWML legacy we are leaving!