Special Goal

Over the past year I have had many individuals and families financially supporting the

ministry. A number of you are those amazing people with which God has blessed me.

As the time comes closer to leave I am asking if you would be willing to commit to a regular

monthly donation for two years.  I know some of you have said you want to support me but

perhaps you don't know what could benefit the ministry.

Let me help with that, even $5 a month is helpful!  To put this into perspective, one $25

a month pledge could completely cover either my personal care items, my language tutor,

or basic household needs. One donor at $50 a month could cover my groceries, classroom

supplies, transportation needs, or my utilities.  Below you will see the goal of 35 committed

monthly partnerships I would like to have by the time I leave. As of today I am only a third

of the way toward this goal. Please let me know if you are willing to fill in one (or multiple!)

of the slots. Thank you and God bless!

$100	$100	$100	$100	$15
$50	$50	$50	$50	$15
$50	$50	$50	$50	$15
$25	$25	$25	$25	$10
$25	$25	$25	$25	$10
$25	$25	$25	$25	$10
$20	$20	$20	$20	$10

(The highlighted boxes represent current partnerships!)

Don't know where to start?  Think about these facts:

According to thesimpledollar.com, the average American spends $12.75 per meal eaten

outside of the home. Considering the average is 18 meals a month this comes to over $230.

Eat at home one day a month more often and you can support me at $10 a month per

person and spend more time with your precious family.

ABCNews.com estimates that the average working person spends $1,100 a year on coffee

not including homebrewed cups.  That makes it about $20 a week spent on coffee out

somewhere. Brew your morning coffee at home one extra day a week and you can support

me with $20 a month.

Still not convinced?  Think of it this way, you as an individual might be giving up a meal or

coffee out, but in turn the support from 35 partnerships will allow me to serve over twice that

amount!  Giving up a few amenities for a couple of years is worth it to change the lives of

100s of people forever 💖

Transitions

June has been a very busy month.

Unfortunately, it's started out with a great loss.  My best friend lost her husband suddenly at the young age of 42.  It was just 3 weeks ago and I'm still at a loss for what to say.  I know her life will never be the same, but she has hope in that he believed in Christ as his savior.  Thankfully my job was willing to give me a few days off last minute to go and stay with her and as I am in transition I have been able to stay with her for additional chunks at a time.  I think it is a double blessing.  I was able to be there so she was not alone, even if I didn't know what to say, and I have been able to spend some quality time with her before I leave.

Amidst this time of grief, I have also been sorting out and packing up my life.  Two days ago, we had 4 big boxes picked up to be shipped out to the Philippines.  Two of those boxes were filled with donations for the Cajigas family and the Children's Shelter. The other two were filled with textbooks and classroom supplies.  In the next week, I will have two more boxes filled with specialty items and things to start setting up my living space.  I have also made multiple trips to drop off donations at the thrift store and sharing items with friends who live locally.

I have had many transitions over the years and generally have done well with the chaos.  I also feel like I usually handle mental and emotional chaos fairly well for short periods of time.  However, the sheer scale of this transition has caused me some anxiety.  I think some of it has to do with the grief added to the mix and knowing I am not just transitioning once but twice in the next several months.

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Once again I started a post and didn't have a chance to finish it right away.  Here I am another week later and so it has been a month since my friend passed, we celebrated our nation's birthday, I shipped the 2 more boxes, and the rest of my life is packed in boxes and bags.

Tonight I am having dinner with my 3 closest friends and we are going to camp out and make s'mores over the fire.  Girls night!  I am super excited about it, but it is also sort of sad to realize we won't be able to do it again for several years.  I'd say welcome to being an adult, but really it is welcome to the life of a missionary!  I am very thankful to have technology that will allow us to all see each other even if we can't physically hug one another.

On a side note, people are already asking me where I will live when I come back and I have to admit it's frustrating.  I'm not even 100% sure where I will be living in 6 months!  It seems crazy to think about where God will have me in 2-5 years.  I'm focusing on the next 2-5 days!  After hanging out with friends for the weekend my best friend and I are taking a road trip to Arizona.  So, 5 days from now we will likely be visiting the Grand Canyon and marveling at God's creative hand :)

Thank you for checking in and keeping my ministry in your prayers!

HALLELUJAH PRAISES TO THE KING ETERNAL:
*Start-up funding is at 98%
*I'm still gaining monthly partnerships
*Packing and sorting life is finished (for the moment)

WE APPROACH GOD'S THRONE ROOM TOGETHER:
*Travel over the next week driving to Arizona
*Safe arrival of the boxes being shipped (probably won't arrive until Sept)
*Anxiety as things are rolling forward

Just another spring day

Today is the first garage sale of the season!  I have collected some donations and emptied out my excess.  A week ago when I chose today how's the day it was supposed to be 60 + degrees.  At 7:30 a.m. it was only 35 degrees.  But we are all set up and starting to get some business :)

This past month I finished with my master's degree and it's time for the next stages...

I started this post two weeks ago.  Isn't that how life goes sometimes? The garage sale was a success and raised about $200.  I don't know for sure but I hope to have another one on May 26th.  This past weekend my parents came for a visit as I walked across the stage and got hooded in my Master's commencement ceremony.

Isn't it amazing how when you complete something in education they call it commencement?  It is as if they understand that you have a journey ahead. Instead of focusing on ending your education it is proclaimed that you are now beginning anew.  I have known for many months that the goal is to leave the US in the fall of 2018. It was not until this weekend when my parents visited and others said "So, when are you leaving?" that it really hit me how soon this is happening.  Don't get too excited, I still don't know when I am actually leaving. Fundraising is still going well, but I have a ways to go before I can actually leave.

For now the focus is finishing life in Michigan and preparing to move back with my parents for the remaining months.  I hope life in Michigan doesn't really finish, but this particular chapter is closing.  It is really difficult now when people ask me, "where are you from?"  Do I say Florida because that is where I was born and learned would it meant to be a follower of Christ? Or do I say Michigan because this is where I received the call and prepared for this wonderful Journey? Do I say Arizona because that is what the United States will recognize as my home? Or do I say Bohol because that is as much home as any other place on Earth?

In all honesty, I think I'll need to start saying, "God in heaven above only knows that answer." It helps me so much better to understand what Paul must have been feeling when he wrote Philippians 3, "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."

Right now I'm anxiously awaiting the next steps. Although it is not all waiting because everyday I am doing something that gets me closer.  Some days it is as little as trying to remember to write thank you notes, but other days it's as big as triple and quadruple checking my budget or determining what needs to get shipped and when.

It is no surprise that as I prepare for the Philippines the book of Philippians is strongly on my mind...Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Phil 4)... I am regularly in prayer and asking others to do the same on my behalf. I have been graciously blessed with family and friends as well as strangers who are fervently praying for this journey. I am thankful to God for this opportunity, I know he is continuing to equip me, and I know that no matter what he is by my side if not carrying me through it all.

I leave you with this:

May the Lord cause you to flourish,
    both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 115

Amen and AMEN!

Changes

Life is full of changes.  Some of them come easy and naturally while others take a toll and require a lot of work.  I am reminded daily that following God has both sides of this continuum.  As some of you know I had started a second term teaching with AmeriCorps in the fall, but the changes that happened in the program as well as my life were significant enough that it didn't work out.  It was not an easy decision to leave, but it lead to a change.  I went back to working in food service which has lead to my stress level being much lower and higher income.  I was just feeling distant to ESL work.  In the last month I had another change that was a super easy decision to take a volunteer teaching position one night a week.  This has been one of the easy and natural changes that has brought energy and life back into my step :)
Now I am sitting waiting the obligatory time in line to renew my license and registration.  While it is easy, it is taking a toll on me as I sit here for what will likely be 3 hours and I should have thought ahead to bring things to work on.  I am thinking of all the things I could be doing on this day off work.  Which brings me to another change... I have gotten the additional hours at work, but it is exhausting to keep up with my schedule now!  I don't know how my sister does it with 4 kids!
On a super positive note the Filipino Feast went really well last week and I raised over $500 due to the event :)  Thanks to all those who came and or sent in support during this time.  We were also able to fill another box so I now have two ready for shipment next month.
The last change I want to share is in regards to food.  Last month I did the Whole30 challenge and it was a challenge.  I didn't feel different except really craving the foods I wasn't allowed to have.  Now I am reintroducing food and realize what a difference it made.  I will likely have to go through this process again this summer to verify, but I'm pretty sure both soy and corn are issues as well as liquid dairy.  I still haven't added gluten so that cpuld be another issue.  You really don't know how something affects you untill you live with out it for a while then reintroduce it!
Anyway, here's to another month done... who know how many to go.  (Hopefully only 4, but only God knows!)

Welcome to 2018!

Wow!  December disappeared quickly and January is following that trend :)  December brought many things including the end of my regular 7-week classes so I am left with the 14-week practicum!  I had the chance to head to Colorado for a week with my family.  We packed up and sealed another donation box to be shipped to the Philippines.  I definitely determined I will be focusing on the Oxford series for my curriculum. And last, but not least, with your help, I hit the 50% mark for raising start-up funds :)

January is already half over and a few things are going on now.  I officially started my practicum and have the first unit complete.  I learned how to drive a manual shift car and almost got one, but it needs major repairs so I backed off.  I just finished planning a small fundraiser event called: "A Filipino Feast" and will be sending out invitations this week. And I am working on an elimination food plan that will slowly reintroduce potentially problematic foods into my diet so I am prepared when I go overseas to know if there are things I need to avoid.

What will the next few months bring?  Only God knows for sure!  I really hope to boost my monthly pledges and get some more hours working.  I'm just plugging along at life and doing my best to enjoy every day as it comes.  Thank you for continued support and I hope to hear from you soon!

Contact me: 616-259-5040; juagdanenglish@gmail.com

Donate to the ministry: call- 1-800-872-5404 (M-F, 8-4 CST), mail- Commission to Every Nation PO Box 291307 Kerrville, TX 708291307; oneline- https://cten.org/christinedavenport/

Me and my brother's munchkins over Christmas break:)

The whole Davenport Clan at a holiday light show in the botanical gardens.

The grandparents with the grandkids after Christmas Eve service

The Davenport Clan: Colorado Chapter ;)

This is what I am doing to help learn about my food sensitivities and prepare for the new foods I will be eating in the Philippines.  Basically, I'm taking out all processed foods and most of the common allergy foods then I will reintroduce them slowly after 30 days without.