As promised, here’s an update! I hope that it’s not ridiculously long, but who am I kidding?  I always have so much to say. Also, can I just say that it is really difficult to write these newsletters without emojis? I know, I’m one of THOSE people, but sometimes an emoji can say something so much more elegantly than I…

January

• I welcomed in the new year at home with some kind of stomach bug. I guess the Lord knew I needed to just stay home and rest for the night. I got some premium snuggles from Hani though, so it was worth it!
• So far, we’ve done 10ish Equip presentations at Christian schools in the area. We’ve heard a lot of good feedback from the teachers, and we’re hoping that the students are interested too.
• Another niece, Echo Marie, was born!
• The students and I went to the Farm Show because I HAD to get a milkshake. When I say they’re the best, I am being 100% serious! We split off into smaller groups so that Grace and Emi could ogle the alpaca yarn without boring the guys to tears. Here’s a direct quote from Grace about the trip: “While there we got to see a bunch of cute animals, watch Hannah go almost feral over some plants, and ate some awesome food.“
• Danielle, Jenny, and I took Grace & Emi to get bubble tea in Lancaster. There’s this really amazing bubble tea shop called Kung Fu Tea. If you’re ever in that area, I highly suggest you stop by there! Afterward, we got Pizza Hut and watched a movie. It was a nice to spend time with all the women students and dorm leaders. Weird that it was the first time, but better late than never! (I think that’s my motto.)
• Grace & Emi have started helping me groom Hani. And by helping me, I mean, they do ¾ of the work and I buy them coffee. They do a much better job than I do, and a special shout out to my mom for getting me a grooming kit for Christmas. It’s this really amazing contraption that suspends Hani, taking all most of the fight out of her. She’s… combative to say the least. Thanks, Grace & Emi!
• I stole an idea for my cottage from the Darnell’s. They have lights strung around their living room for ambiance and softer lighting and let’s be real, everything is so much cozier with the right lighting. It’s also nice to be able to plug in the lights before I leave for KFJ or Bible Study, and then come back to a little light rather than total darkness, (especially after the Christmas incident).
• The Warehouse was working on building shelves in the food room, and they were finally finished. They look so good, and it’s really exciting to have all these perishable items more easily accessible to ministries, missionaries, and staff.
• The Loaner Vehicle Program merged with and became a hub for Righteous Rides this month! Righteous Rides is a Christian nonprofit that has been offering vehicles to missionaries for approx. 15 years. Righteous Rides will handle all the scheduling, payments, toll fees, insurance questions (missionaries still have to get their own policy), and accidents. We will maintain our vehicles and any releases & returns to our hub. Personally, I’m really excited about this new merger. The goal is to help ease a little bit of the office’s workload. I’ll be honest, right now, it doesn’t feel like it has, but that’s because this is a big change. There will be growing pains, and I’m excited to see how this part of the ministry changes into God’s vision.
  • This merger had been in the works for a couple of months. Back in September, we had to get a new insurance policy, and it was far from pleasant. The new rates are astronomical, and the CMTS leadership had been praying, trying to figure out what the next step was for this program. The vehicle aspect of CMTS has been really important, not just for the ministry, but for missionaries. It seemed wrong to just stop doing it. Then, God provided!
  • Joel has been in contact with Righteous Rides for a couple of years now getting ideas for our loaner program and building a relationship. “We are all working towards the same goal; we’re not in competition,” as he liked to say. It’s so cool; God orchestrated these circumstances so that with our combined efforts, we can now continue providing reliable transportation for missionaries all around the world, and at a slightly lower cost. It’s been a blessing and a privilege to see Him work in difficult situations. I hope you all feel blessed too, because by supporting me, you’ve had a part in this too!

February

• KFJ is doing really well this year! The attendance rate has been steadily growing, and I am continually amazed by the preschoolers. It’s interesting to see what they understand, and what they’re retaining or remembering from week to week. It’s so much fun working with the amazing leaders at church! Getting to know them all this year has been a treat.
• We had a banquet on February 23rd. This year’s banquet was much less stressful compared to last year (even though last year I didn’t do very much of the planning- that credit goes to Mel & Danielle). Plus, I didn’t get terribly sick the day before! Praise the Lord! 
  • We held the banquet at Shady Maple, and the goal was to reach new churches, garner more awareness about the ministry, and inform people about what we do and how they can get involved! I would say it was a success because I met quite a new few people, and we’ve had a lot of compliments on the night.
  • The week before the banquet, I realized that we were low on brochures, we wouldn’t have time to order more, and I still needed to update them to be accurate. Luckily, over the summer Joel had gotten the office a new printer that prints colors beautifully. All we needed was some brochure paper! Then, I got a call from my mom that she’d just gotten a fancy paper folder for her side job. She so kindly let me use it, and it took all of 5 minutes to fold 150 papers, something that would’ve taken me close to 1½  hours! What a blessing!
• I’m really excited to tell you about what’s going to be happening for me in the next 2 months! In January, I was told that I would be joining the Equip Mexico mission trip. We leave on March 27th and return April 4th. But here’s the thing: my sister and brother-in-law invited me to join them on a cruise… from April 7th – 16th. Oh, also, Righteous Rides is having a Hub Summit on April 22nd in St. Louis. So for April, I’m going to be in Mexico a LOT. I am SO excited!
  • Y’all… My dog is going to forget me. I’m glad she loves my parents because she’s basically going to be theirs for a month…
  • Oh! We are also prepping for the Kentucky mission trip on the first week of May. There’s a lot happening lately, and I can’t wait for my next newsletter to tell you all about it!

Where’s God?

Everywhere! But specifically:

• He has been growing me and stretching me to my limits. As you just read, I’m going to be traveling a lot, something I’ve wanted to do but never had the chance until now. Thanks, God!
• He’s continued to provide finances every month. I have been blessed with consistent financial support each month and it would not be possible if not for God’s moving in the hearts of those around me. Seriously, thank you so much for your support. I wish I could express my gratitude through this letter, but it just doesn’t suffice. Just know that I pray that God grows your heavenly treasure pile to ridiculous heights. I want you all to have more crowns to lay at Jesus’ feet.
• He has protected the ministry. Our septic system is still in the works, but have you seen the mild winter we’ve been having? That’s God! I’m constantly being reminded that this is God’s ministry and He will do as He sees fit, and use every circumstance for His glory. Every. Single. Time.
• He’s blessed me with a supportive family. I could not do this without the support of my friends and family, both biological and spiritual. 
• He’s provided food consistently for everyone at the ministry. He’s provided low-cost resources through places like Hornings and Blessings of Hope, or donations of food from churches, etc.
• He’s shown me grace and mercy when I truly don’t deserve it.
• He’s proven His trustworthiness and His steadfast, enduring love over and over. The other day, I was having a really rough night, and I was listening to my Jesus music to encourage myself in the Lord. The next song to play was “Lover of My Soul” by Dan Bremmes, and it spoke right to my soul, comforting and reminding me that God loves me. Even when I don’t feel it or think it or see it, it’s just a fact that He loves me more than anyone else ever could. No printer, just fax.
• He’s answered my prayer for friends. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such an amazing community of people and to have strong friends like Danielle, Jan, Jenny, and the other women on campus. I remember praying for Christian friends for a long time, and these women were worth the wait. 

Prayer requests:

1. Continued provision! Working and living at CMTS has given me multiple opportunities to see God’s provision, not just for myself but for those around me. It never hurts to ask God to keep providing!
2. Please continue to pray for me as I seek His will, follow His plan, and surrender my own.
3. Pray for strength and wisdom for myself and everyone else at the ministry. Especially for the men and women in leadership. God is bigger than any challenge we’ve faced yet. He is sovereign!
4. Pray for the different projects happening around campus, for the finances to handle all these things, and for wisdom and protection. We have lots of moving parts right now, and I look forward to seeing God’s continued faithfulness.
5. Pray for the Equip program! Please pray that God would use this year to show Himself to these students. Pray that He will guide in their next steps this summer. Pray that God would continue to work in the leaders/staff. This is our growing year too. I wish you could see how much Grace, Emi, David, & Kai have grown in just 7 months; I think you would be proud of them like we are.
6. Pray for the different aspects of the ministry: the Righteous Rides merge, the Warehouse, the Auto Mechanic Shops, the Maintenance people, the leadership, the administration, the missions trips, the list goes on and on!
7. Pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send more workers into His field (see Matthew 9:38). We need help. A few of the major areas of need are in:
   • the kitchen (Debbie, our amazing cook, had to step down, and Juanis is having to fill in for her. She’s doing an amazing job, but in June 2023, the McDermott’s will be leaving CMTS for Mexico.)
   • the office (with me!)
   • Equip
   • The Warehouse
   • The Auto Mechanic shops
   • Hospitality
8. Pray for me specifically while I serve in the office and in Equip. I’ve mentioned a lot of the different things happening like the Righteous Rides merge, the missions trips, etc. I’m excited about what God is doing, and I want to be a useful tool for Him, so pray that I would do my job well, and glorify Him as much as possible. I want to reflect His light and His glory.
9. Pray for our missions trips coming up: Monterrey, Mexico, and Mayfield, Kentucky. Traveling to a foreign country without being fluent in the language is daunting. And the Kentucky trip is going to be tiring, as we will be working on disaster relief for a tornado from a few years ago. We hope to evangelize and encourage on both trips, so pray for opportunities to share the love of Jesus to everyone we meet!

The Ministries prayer requests are available on the website if you feel called to pray for these too!

Thank you again for your support! I am beyond grateful for this opportunity to serve God with my work. I wake up every day excited about my job and excited to see my coworkers! I thank you sincerely, from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to do this and partnering with me. If you have any questions, comments, prayer requests, etc. please email me at noeckerh19@gmail.com (or text me if you have my phone number)!

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