Lisa Newland

I got back on the phone last week, making new contacts and trying to schedule meetings in July and August. (I had stopped scheduling a few months ago, but with my support still under 65%, I thought I'd rather not come up short in July... no more meetings and not enough support). But today, I tried a little experiment. With an extra day in Louisville, KY, I decided to get out and meet some of those secretaries and pastors with whom I spend all the day on the phone.

I started out this morning with the excitement of an explorer! :-) I had no idea what the day would bring forth, but I knew Who would be beside me the whole way!

My initial analysis of the results are rather negative, I'm afraid. I visited 7 churches in the afternoon, (or attempted to visit anyway). I met 3 secretaries and 0 pastors, left my packet with a note in 3 doors, and could never find the 7th church. I wish I had kept track of all the U-turns I made!!! :-) :-) :-) One positive: I learned my way around Louisville! :-)

I haven't completely thrown out my experiment. That will depend on results next week when I make follow-up calls.

Tomorrow, I'll have extra time in Nashville, TN. I think I'll try my experiment again with a few minor alterations. I'll let you know how it goes!

Posted by Lisa Newland at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dear Friends and Family,

I’m on the road again! After three months of working from home, it is time to pack the bags! This winter of traveling, I have felt one distinct disadvantage of being a single missionary. I can’t blame anyone else for my poorly scheduled calendar. ☺ I’m not sure where my brain was when I scheduled four meetings in Montana in February!... and did I think Indiana was nearby when I scheduled meetings there for three days later? Oh well!!

Actually, these past few months have been a GREAT blessing! Montana is so beautiful in the winter, and I only had one scary two hours of driving through a blizzard! Praise the Lord for five meetings in January and six in February. One Wednesday night service in Hamilton, MT, we had “I love Africa night”, complete with genuine zebra and giraffe skins (loaned from a nearby taxidermist)! I praise the Lord for each church and Pastor and their love for missions!

Now I am in Indiana at an apartment provided free for missionaries. What a blessing to stay in one place for ten days to reorganize and recuperate. In March, I will be heading to TN, OH, and then a two-week medical training program in NC.

Tanzania update: Praise the Lord for faithful Tanzanian believers. They held a joint service in one of the villages this Christmas, and twenty-six people confessed Christ as their Savior! Also, two missionaries are planting another church in a whole new area of Tanzania. The building is going up right now! (See www.bimt.us for more details.)

Swahili update: While on the road, I’ve been calling my tutor twice a week to practice conversation. Here’s a few interjections to add to your foreign language vocabulary: haya- “O.K.”, kumbe- “wow!”, safi sana- slang for “cool” or “very nice.”

Currently I am at 62%. Will you join me in earnestly praying for 80% by April 1st? Also, continue to pray that I would be safe on the road and filled with the Spirit each day!

A bit of family news... both of my sisters-in-law had baby boys this month! Praise the Lord for baby Jace and baby Daniel! I can’t wait to hold them in May! ☺

Traveling with Him,
Lisa

Posted by Lisa Newland at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the object lessons I like to use when teaching children is how a missionary is like a penny. A dear lady in KS gave me a giant penny last spring, and it's so fun to watch jaws drop open when I pull it out. :-) At the Good News Club I shared that just like a penny is "one cent", so a missionary is "one sent"-by God. Then I ask the kids, "If God sends you, would you say yes?" After teaching 20 1st-3rd graders, a little girl came up to me and handed me a penny, didn't say a thing, just gave me the penny. I'm not sure if she understood the lesson, but the Lord used her to touch my heart! He HAS sent me to Tanzania! There are so many unknowns about the future, but one thing I KNOW...I am sent by God! I'm keeping that penny!

Posted by Lisa Newland at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After several weeks in Montana, I drove three straight days to Indiana. I'll be here 10 days, and then on to a missions conference in Tennessee.

I love small country churches! There are so many of them, I really think they are the backbone of our American conservative Christianity!

Last Sunday I finally got to meet Pastor Bob Courson, a Pastor who has sent several encouraging letters and gifts over this past year. I taught the children's Sunday school, and then shared 30 minutes in the morning service. Other opportunities the Lord gave me that weekend- join the afternoon choir practice, and the next day- be the first missionary to visit a shut-in who was saved a few years ago, and promote missions at an after-school Good News Club in one of the local elementary schools!

One of the churches here in Bedford, IN has three apartments available for traveling missionaries. I've enjoyed staying in one spot for a week and a half! Thank you Bedford Baptist Temple! Last Wednesday evening Pastor Goens gave me the opportunity to share a short testimony in the evening service and then give a half hour devotional to the teens. Later that week he interviewed me for a segment of an upcoming radio broadcast put out by their church. Whoa... I'm going to be famous! :-)

Yesterday, I traveled an hour and a half to Carlisle,IN, to another country church. What an exciting service we had! I taught the Sunday school hour. In the morning service a teenager was baptized (which brought extra visitors), and a young girl was saved! We had a potluck and then an afternoon service where I showed my dvd and shared about 20 min.

This Wednesday, I'm heading to Jeffersonville, IN to share in a Christian school and in the Wed evening service.

Praise the Lord with me for so many opportunities to talk about my favorite subject, Tanzania! :-)

Posted by Lisa Newland at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been traveling all over Montana this last week. Ironically, the worst roads so far were in Utah and a small pass in Idaho. Praise the Lord for safe traveling! I think it helps that I'm on the east side of the mountains now, weather seems calmer.

Last Wed, I enjoyed an exciting service in a small church, 60 miles south of the Canada border! Pastor Henson and his wife and their 9 tropical birds graciously hosted me... what fun to wake up to a yellow canary's song. :-)

The next day I traveled 8 hours to Billings where I stayed 4 nights with a single girl my age who is a nurse. I enjoyed such sweet fellowship with the dear people at West Side Baptist. There were also other missionaries there, a couple who have served back in the bush of Indonesia for 32 years. What an incredible example of endurance!

This Wed through Sun finds me at a missions conference in Great Falls. With 5 missionaries and services every night, how can one not get excited about what God is doing around the world?

Posted by Lisa Newland at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)