New Pages, New Places

Hello Readers,

It has been a lovely week at Partners Worldwide, and we have to admit, we are looking better than ever! Our new offices are finished!!!

Tomorrow I have an important meeting to discuss my future with Partners Worldwide. I have been praying a lot about this and I trust that God will lead me down the path He has for me. As my internship ends today, I will most likely be discussing an extended contract with a slightly different job description. I will update you as soon as I know more!

Yesterday I went to Calvin College to see off the current semester in Ghana program. My friends Chichi and Cassie are going on the trip, and I must say, my stomach told me I should be going again. I miss my lovely home away from home, but mostly I miss my lovely fiance Nana Pomaa. Please continue to pray for her immigration papers to go through!

Also know that most of the extra money I have been able to raise will go towards my paycheck as a contract employee at Partners Worldwide, which will then be spent on getting my fiance into the United States. I will then be able to marry her and start my life with her!

Again, I appreciate the financial and prayerful support thoughout my internship at Partners Worldwide. As I continue to work for this wonderful organization, I pray that God blesses all of you and the people you have touched through your financial gifts!

Take care and God bless and enjoy the pictures!!!

Justin






My new office!

The space outside of my office!

Lou is hard at work! Lou is one of our Africa Reps!

Pellagia is another one of our Africa Reps! She is always working hard and making people smile!

Lora on a phone call. Lora recently became full-time at Partners! She will make a wonderful addition to our staff! Lora is also recently married to her favorite guy, Joel! Congrats Lora!

Roxanne hard at work! Rox is our grant writer and has been a mentor to me throughout my internship! Thanks Rox!

Bonus picture. Nana Pomaa and I shortly before I left Ghana in January. We are patiently waiting for Immigration to allow her to come and marry me. Please continue to pray for this process! It takes time and is expensive, but very worthwhile.

Extension!

Dear Readers,

How is everybody doing? These past few weeks have been a bit crazy in the Partners Worldwide (temporary) offices! As some of you may already know, we are in the process of re-modeling our old offices and making them look beautiful! (I will put pictures up as soon as we move in) The workers have done a glorious job and it seems like we will be able to move in later this week! I am eager to get out of this ice-cold conference room and into a normal office again!

As far as my job goes, many of you may be wondering what is going on! To begin, let me explain that Partners Worldwide always allocates its funds and its resources where they can BEST be used to further the kingdom of God. My faith in God has been strengthened through this principle and I am excited to continue working with Partners Worldwide. Last week I attended a meeting where I found out about an exciting and urgent opportunity that will involve re-writing many of our main documents to fit on a website that will be available to our members. This website will vastly improve the working environment at Partners Worldwide and our hope is to get it published by the end of this year! This is the most likely scenario for my next few months.

The second option, although less likely, is to travel to Kenya and Uganda at the end of September. Although this sounds like a great opportunity for me to learn some things, Partners Worldwide does not have a pressing need for me to be on this trip. There are numerous trips planned in the next year, some of which might be possible for me to take. For now, the new website is our first priority and is the area that I will be able to have the greatest impact on the organization and on God's kingdom work!

This is not a concrete plan as of today, but it could be tomorrow. I will update as soon as I know exactly what I will be doing, which could be never, because do any of us know EXACTLY what we are doing from day to day!? Anyways, I will update when I have a better idea of what I am doing and where I will be!

As usual, I appreciate your generous financial support! I even more appreciate your prayerful support as I seek to strengthen my faith in God and allow Him to lead me where he wants me to go. I am confident that He will make a way for me to serve his kingdom wherever I am and that your contributions will truly facilitate that effort. Thank you all very much!

Take care and expect pictures soon!

Justin

Oh Deer!!!!

Today I was riding through the cemetary on the way to work and I saw a glorious deer in the midst of all the stones. It proceeded to run directly in front of me and into the woods. I though, wow, this lone deer is absolutely beautiful. Alas, it was part of a whole family of deer! There were four glorious deer in the woods to my right. I watched them, they watched me. Finally they all took off in typical deer fashion, with the mommy stoping to make sure her youth made it through the woods safely. In addition to talking to Pomaa, this was a great way to start the day!

And now, for your reading pleasure...

Psalm 103

Of David.

¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

² Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

³ who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

⁶ The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:

⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

⁹ He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;

¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

¹² as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;

¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children-

¹⁸ with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

¹⁹ The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

²⁰ Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.

²¹ Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.

²² Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Holding down the fort!

Hello readers!
How is everyone doing today?! I hope that the grey weather does not reflect your moods!

I am all alone in the office today. Everyone else has scooted over to the Kentwood Community Church for a leadership conference being broadcasted from Willow Creek in Chicago! I did not get my tickets in time, so here I am... but I will most likely be going tomorrow!

Being here alone is not bad!! I have an added sense of responsibility! I get to answer phones, deal with visitors, and work in peace for a few minutes in the midst of all the chaos involved with moving! Our new offices are looking spectacular!

Yesterday we had our yearly strategic planning meeting, an all-day extravaganza of planning and vision! It is extremely exciting to hear what is going to happen with Partners Worldwide in the next year. The potential for growth of this incredible organization is huge. I pray that God works through the staff and its members to further the work of God through Partners.

I hope all of you are doing well! The updated number for fundraising is a staggering $4,685! We'll see how much more God provides and what my co-workers are thinking! There are many exciting possibilities and I am EXTREMELY grateful for all of your contributions!

Take care and GOD BLESS!

Justin

Office Swap!

Hello all,

THUD! THUD! THUD! weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! THUD THUD THUD!

You may be wondering, what in the world is Justin writing on his blog? I am trying to give you all a feel of what we are hearing here at the (Temp) Partners Worldwide offices... or should I say office. We are all crammed in a conference room while the wonderful CRCNA construction crew guts and re-models our offices! They are going to look GLORIOUS!!!

Apart from the noises described above, the office is pretty quiet today. Everyone went to Chicago today for a training session with new members! What a fine place for a meeting! I should get over to the windy city one of these days! I think I'll wait for Nana Pomaa to get here... Speaking of Nana Pomaa!!!

If you haven't heard, I am engaged to a Ghanaian girl named Nana Pomaa. We met when I was in Ghana in 2003 and got to know eachother really well when I went back in 2005! Anyways, when I returned in january I submitted a Fiance visa petition (the only way she can get into our country). Until last week, I hadn't heard anything. Then, at once, it was APPROVED!!! This is a HUGE answer to prayer and I thank all of you for your prayers and support! The next steps are all in Ghana, so just pray that we have the strength and patience to get all this stuff done so she can get a real visa. She would then come over and we would get married and start our lives together!

Anyways, enough for today! Let me know what you are all up to! I hope that God is working in all of your lives. He truly is a wonderful and merciful God! Also, be sure to check out KENYAGREG'S Blog... the link is on the right!

Enjoy and God Bless!
Justin