A funny thing happened the other night at the ballgame!

"Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the Humphrey Coliseum for an evening of Bas-ket-ball. Mississippi State Style!" And so the evening began.

It had already been a pretty fun day as the Football Bulldogs beat Arkansas for the first time in 10 years! It was cold but it was fun.

So...after the football game I attended my first Mississippi State Basketball game in YEARS. I don't remember the last time I saw them play, especially in the cozy confines of the The Hump.

And I had GREAT company to boot! My friend Lindsey from Gulfport- she works for the Admissions Office at MSU.

















So anyway. I had just sat down with Lindsey and her friend Molly just before tipoff. Mississippi State was playing Fairleigh Dickinson in the 2nd Round of the Legends Classic Tournament.

I mean, really? Who is Fairleigh Dickinson and where are they from?

So I turned to the three older ladies (blue hair, the works!) sitting behind us and asked. I probably should have said, "Excuse me", or something first...but instead I just blurted out:

"Where is Fairleigh Dickinson from?"

The lady in the middle just stared at me. For a long time. She was giving me the "look".

I didn't recognize the look but apparently Lindsey recognized it and jumped to my defense by rephrasing the question: "Do you know where the Fairleigh Dickinson team is from?"

Almost immediately all three ladies jumped into action trying to answer the question- even shouting further down the aisle to confirm their thought that FDU was, in fact, from Hackensack, New Jersey!

And then, just a moment later, the lady in the middle offered the reason for her "look". She told us she thought that I, a total stranger, had turned to her and said, "Where in the dickens are you from?"

Vis a Vis a VISA

I'm probably being a little premature in reporting this but I can't resist.

One of my greatest concerns of late has been securing a VISA to live in Ukraine. I have been hearing all sorts of conflicting reports and rumors about the VISA issue. Namely, that if you entered with a 3 month Tourist Visa that you could no longer simply cross the nearest border and get a new 3 month Visa; that you might actually have to go back to your Country of Origin or wait 6 months before re-entering.

It has also been unclear to me as to whether or not I needed a Letter of Invitation from someone in Ukraine. Some websites make it look like perhaps a US Citizen doesn't need a letter; while in other places that appears not to be the case.

Finally- a few days ago I sent out a PrayerGram to many of my friends and asked for prayer and I simply sent my Passport and a VISA application (without a Letter of Invitation) to the Consulate General of the Ukrainian Embassy in DC.

A representative at the Embassy called me yesterday and after a few questions it looks like I can expect a 3 year VISA with unlimited entries in the mail any day now.

I probably should wait until I have it in my hand before reporting such...but I can't resist. After all that consternation God just made a way and it's too exciting to contain.

Let the search for MINISTRY PARTNERS begin!

A few days ago I mailed my first wave of about 50 letters to potential Ministry Partners.  A Ministry Partner is a person or entity that will support me either through prayer or with finances.  I need both!

I printed out the 2nd wave of letters yesterday- they will go out on Thursday.  The 3rd wave- letters to out-of-state friends will also go out Thursday.

So be checking your mail.  If you haven't received anything from me within a couple of weeks, then chances are I don't have your address.

I need almost $40000.00 a year; that is, I would like to have at least 40 families supporting me at $30.00 per month.  I would like 60 Students supporting me at $10.00 a month.  I need 8 Anchor Supporters that can give me $100.00 a month and 3 churches that can give me $250.00 a month.

What all of you can do is pray for me, especially about raising the financial support I need.

Pray also for my Visa application- it's on it's way to the Consulate General of the Embassy of Ukraine and I should know something within 2 weeks!

Interested in Uganda? Meet my friends!

Maybe, just maybe you don't want to be one of my Ministry Partners as I get ready to go to Ukraine.

Maybe your heart is in Africa- maybe in Uganda- and maybe you want to support someone serving there!  Here's your chance.

The three young ladies pictured here are also new Global Outreach Missionaries.  They went through Orientation with me a few weeks ago.  

From L to R, they are Amanda Taylor, Sadie Mumma and Megan O'Neil.  You can find them on the www.globaloutreach.org website under "where we serve."

I'd love to tell you more about them (but alas, I'm waiting on Amanda and Sadie to send me a synopsis of what they're going to do in Uganda.  And to give Sadie a break...she's already over there!!)

Megan, on the other hand was pretty quick to send me some snippets about what she'll be doing in Uganda.  She's a tall, cool kid from Alaska.  She has a twin sister and two younger siblings (a brother and sister I think).  Here's what she says about going to Uganda.

I'm going to Jinja, Uganda to homeschool the three oldest children of the Fulks family (John Fulks is the president of Jinja's Global Theological Seminary, which equips nationals to pastor churches in their own villages and regions). My desire in this is to allow John and Rebecca to have more energy for their ministries that have been demanding so much of them. I'm currently pursuing a degree in Elementary Education with the very goal of using it on the mission field, so this God-sent opportunity is a confirmation that gives me tremendous joy! During my six-month stay in Uganda, I know that the Lord will reveal a lot of ways to get involved in the surrounding ministries (including orphanages, women's ministries, village outreach, and several others). 
My goals while in Uganda are to 
(1) share God's love with everyone around me, and spread to gospel. 
(2) be a means of relief, encouragement and support to those around me who have given themselves to full-time ministry; I want to assist and learn from them. 
(3) Follow God's will completely for my life, learning to put His direction above all else and also learning to pour all of me into the task that has been set before me.

If anyone is interested in more info, please feel free to give them my email (esteloth@yahoo.com). God bless, and talk to you later!

Yes, I Am... A Global Outreach Missionary

It is Official.  

After completing a week of Missionary Orientation/Training, I am officially a Missionary to Ukraine with Global Outreach International.

I'll write more in a couple of days about MOT and some of the other missionaries I spent the week with.

You can learn all about them at www.globaloutreach.org.  

"We" are a non-denominational ministry with a great Mission Statement:  GO exists to form a family of career missionaries, short term volunteers, support personnel, and partners united to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ, undergird the international indigenous church, and offer help to a hurting humanity.

One of the Seven Core Values is a "No Boundaries" Approach- meaning that if God calls you to it and you can dream it, we desire to help facilitate it....regardless of age, marital status, education etc.

Notice in the Mission Statement that YOU...as a Partner with me in ministry (through prayer, giving or joining me on the field)- are a part of the "family".

I'm excited to begin contacting many of my friends over the next several weeks to share more about how you can be a part of my Missions Family.