So I’m a little late this time around… Better late than never though, right??

 

May Highlights

• May was a busy month and very bittersweet. At the beginning of the month, we went on our final mission trip to Kentucky, and 2.5 weeks after returning, we said goodbye to the Equip students.
  • I was especially sad when Emi & Grace left. They had both become very important to me in the past year. I know God has good things prepared for them, and I hope and pray they look back on this time with fondness, seeing how much they were loved. Because they really, really were loved. If the fact that they were able to sweet-talk Dunkin out of most of the staff is any indication, then they better know.
• The weekend after we got back from KY was the Christ Link luncheon at PGCC.
  • This was an informational and awareness-raising luncheon to hopefully show people the importance of the ministry we do in CL. We are always looking for volunteers, and the great part is that, like at CMTS, you don’t have to have a lot of background with or be a professional in something in order to serve. I, for example, had no idea how a website was built or maintained or what terms like “SEO” meant. I sometimes still struggle to remember what everything means, but now 3 years later, I can hold my own.
  • Also, I will mention this later in my July Highlights section, but Christ Link has been VERY influential and impactful in working with CMTS. Maybe I’m a little biased, but they’re amazing!
• My niece Arya had a birthday party later that evening, and I got to spend some time with my family and friends, and one of my supporters! Being a stateside missionary (even though I don’t feel like one) has many perks, including seeing the people supporting me often and in person!
• The Equip Goodbye Dinner was a beautiful night of celebrating all the progress the students made. Emi left that evening and planned to take Milk, the cat she and Grace tamed, but decided to leave him at the ministry. He’s a little pushy and very curious, but also really cute. He’s taken to following Doug around from his house to the Auto Body Shop. No mice for them this year!
• Memorial Day was spent, as always, at “the cabin”, or rather, Mel Gingrich’s parent’s house. We had an Equip Open House the Saturday before, so I didn’t spend quite as much time as I would have liked, but it was still enough to see my family and remember why I moved out love them. (I really do love them!)
• While preparing for the Kentucky trip, I had wanted to watch Twister (I know, I know), which happens to be one of Danielle’s favorite movies. So while it didn’t work out for us to watch it before KY or in KY, we did get the chance to watch it Memorial Day evening. The Smith family is always fun to hang out with, so I usually take any excuse to pester their kids or Joel & Danielle.
• We had a couple different work groups come to serve at the ministry in May. They were mostly high school age, and were a huge blessing helping us in the Warehouse, landscaping, etc.

 

Kentucky

Back in 2019, Mayfield, KY, was hit with a tornado and the town is still in recovery. We took this opportunity to put into practice all of the skills the students learned over the past year!

 

Days 1 & 2

• We left @ 10:00 pm Friday 5/5 to drive through the night
• What a drive. Joel was a real trooper and drove from 10 PM until around 8 AM when we stopped at Waffle House for breakfast. After breakfast, we looked around for a Dunkin or any coffee shop really and found a small cafe called Coffee Central. They had a blueberry cobbler iced macchiato that was just *chef’s kiss*
• We arrived at the church where we would be staying for the week at around noon. At this point, I had stayed up almost the entire night because I couldn’t sleep in the bus (next time, I’ll be doing what the others did and bunking on the floor. I heard it wasn’t too bumpy.), but Danielle and I volunteered to go with Nolan and the team leads to tour the town and visit the sites we would be working at, so Joel could sleep and the students & Smith kids could settle in.
• Driving through the town, we saw that much of the devastation is still visible. Whole city blocks are just completely empty, plots of land where houses should be are overgrown and grassy.
• We slept well that night! Actually, we slept well all week. The church has a big gym divided for guys on one side and girls on the other with cots set up that were surprisingly comfortable.

 

Day 3

• On Sunday, we attended the church service which consisted mostly of older men and women, but not many younger families. From what I understand, church attendance has gone down a lot since the tornado. This is especially sad because right now, God is what they need the most. Please pray for the town.
• After church, we all went on a tour of Mayfield, then spent the afternoon at a church member’s house doing basic maintenance for her like cleaning gutters, changing light bulbs, etc.
• The church gym has cornhole, so the students & Smith kids spent pretty much the whole week playing that.

 

Day 4

• Our first day of work showed us how the whole week was going to be. Everyone worked hard. We started gutting a house for a woman named Carla and her family. Danielle worked hard playing Tetris to stack the only dump trailer we had so that we could fit as much debris as possible. Seriously, check out the pictures!
• Tammy and her husband whose name I forgot (Steve?) were one of the couples that served with us for the week, and they have a dog named Atlas that stayed with them in their RV. She was a cute little pick-me-up when the days got long. While spending time with Tammy, I got to hear a few stories of how Atlas got her many nicknames, including “bad dog”. Let’s just say, if there’s trouble, Atlas is in it.
• Grace and Emi went with Nolan to a different house to paint. From what I understand, they painted almost the entire house inside and out by the end of the week!

 

Day 5

• The next day was much of the same – more gutting the house, tearing up carpet, demolishing drywall, scraping up subflooring, etc. Jett, Parker, and Jase pounded nails and scraped subflooring like pros!
• Nolan, Emi, & Grace sat down with the family next door to the house they were painting and talked with them. The family had some small children, which is Nolan’s specialty! He has a way with young kids that when he worked in KFJ with me was a blessing, but also envying. It was always, “Mr. Nolan” this and “Mr. Nolan” that… 

 

Day 6

• We took a break from Carla’s house and went to a women’s shelter to work on a cabin on their property. That was a hot day. We were out in the hot sun cutting away chunks of the porch roof. It was falling off and was a hazard to anyone walking around the property. But, I got to cut some of the roof and use a Sawzall!
• Even though this was one of the hottest days, it was the one where I saw the most teamwork and group work.
• That evening, the church held a dinner that we were grateful to attend. One of the ladies in the church made the most AMAZING baked beans. I HAD to get her recipe; I still think about them sometimes…
• Carla and her children ate with us that evening! Danielle spent a lot of the night talking with her while her kids played with the others. Danielle was super excited to get a chance to disciple someone for even a short amount of time, and I know Carla really benefited from it and felt loved.
• One of the pastors also did a Bible study that Nolan and I sat in on. I can’t remember exactly what the topic was on, but I do remember having a lot of fun listening to the pastor share his knowledge, and hearing the discussion from some of the ladies.

 

Day 7

• We finally finished completely gutting Carla’s house. There was NOTHING left on those walls. I’ll share before and after photos because the amount of work we did is incredible.
• I look forward to seeing it completely finished one day! I hope we’re able to see her and some of the other amazing people we met if we go to Mayfield again next year.
• That evening, Carla made us dinner. She and used to own either a restaurant or a bakery, and made us chicken quesadillas which were to die for and an absolutely perfect tres leches cake. Carla and her kids spent some more time with us, and we got to say our goodbyes because the next morning we were leaving for the Ark.
• I didn’t mention Carol yet! She is one of the women we met who helped to lead us. Carol is not originally from Mayfield, but she moved into the gym where we were staying so that she can spend as much time as possible with the people in the town. She told us that God asked her to, so she obeyed! Carol is just an absolute sweetheart and we all loved her immensely. She took time to talk to everyone individually and pour into them. She especially had a soft spot for Ace and Emi, and the morning we left there were a few tears shed.
  • Carol has been working hard to disciple Carla, who I think is a new believer. She’d attended the church before, but not regularly. Having Danielle and the Smith kids there for the week was a huge blessing to them and an encouragement to Carol, because Carol got to see a side of Carla that she hadn’t yet seen.
• I feel like my writing about this week makes it seem like all we did was work, work, work. But between Carla, Carol, Tammy, and the students, I can see now that it was actually very spiritually impactful. I have a lot to learn in terms of going towards people with intentionality, but lucky for me, I’m in good company at CMTS and surrounded by some wonderful examples of how to disciple and love others well. Y’all keep me accountable, too!

 

Day 8

• We left at 9 am to make the 4-5 hour trip to the Ark. Everyone was pretty excited! Some of the students/Smiths were so excited that they forgot to take off their weapons before trying to take the shuttle to the Ark… Looking at you, Ace! Luckily, we hadn’t parked far away, so he was able to run back and disarm himself.
• We split into 2 groups so that the students/teens could move at a different pace than the younger kids. I walked through with Joel, Danielle, Kylie, Jett, Parker, & Jase.
  • Be warned: if you are looking for a coffee stand, kiosk, whatever while visiting the Ark, good luck. Half of our time walking was looking for somewhere that the employees claimed had coffee. We never found it, and instead asked Nolan to drive his group (who basically speedran the Ark) to pick us up Dunkin.
  • Also, if you plan to visit the Ark, make it a multiple-day trip. We could have easily spent another day or two between the Ark and the Creation Museum.
  • My favorite part of the Ark was probably the Ice Age room. I remember walking through and seeing things being put into practice that I had never thought about. For example, the lights around the Ark, the waste system, things like that. Everything was well-researched and thought out.
• After the Ark, we stopped at a BBQ place for dinner. When in the South, right? And then, of course, the bus.
  • Here’s the thing about CMTS. Ask anyone about the Mexico trips, and they will most likely mention the bus. The bus breaking down is one of the most iconic “CMTS Mexico trip” things ever; I theorized to Danielle that the reason Mexico trips were such a big part of the ministry is because of the bus trips. People being packed onto a bus for hours, driving to a foreign country, and then on the way home, it breaks down? A recipe for lifelong friendships and memories that will last forever.
  • Well, not to be outdone, God decided that our Kentucky trip needed to fit that model. Upon leaving the BBQ joint, we returned to the church parking lot to discover that our bus was suddenly not driveable. We were 10 minutes from the cabins and all very tired.
  • In the BBQ restaurant, a man had walked by and talked with Kai briefly. Now, in our time of need, he just so happened to be out jogging and saw that we needed help. He graciously offered to drive Joel to the nearest auto parts store. When they returned, Nolan and Joel discussed needing more than an hour or two to work on getting the bus roadworthy. The man, who we discovered was former Amish from Lancaster, and a couple, who attended the church of the parking lot in which we’d broken down, offered to drive us to the cabins so we could at least get some sleep.
  • So there we are, myself, Jett, Emi, and Kai, piling into this man’s car who we don’t know “at night in backwoods Kentucky” (so heard my mother). I strategically chose Kai to drive with us because he has a background in martial arts, just in case.
  • We got lost. I have the GPS pulled up, the man driving has his GPS, and we pass the driveway of where we’re staying. And he keeps driving. And he pulls into 2 different driveways. And it is very quiet in the car, and all I can do is pray and tell myself that, no, I cannot push Jett down and run away, I have to make sure he and Emi run faster than me and are safe. I get a semi-nervous text from Danielle asking where we are and if we’re okay. Blessedly, he turned around, figured out where we were going, and we got there safely. All my years of listening to true crime podcasts had trained me on the fine art of flight when represented with a Fight or Flight situation. I’m glad I didn’t need to employ those skills.

 

Day 9

• The couple that had driven Danielle and some of her kids the night before were very kind and brought us Dunkin in the morning since we hadn’t really packed anything for breakfast. After much praying and many calls to Nick, we left at 11 AM on the dot to drive home!
• We stopped for Chick Fil A, as every Christian group must, and finally arrived home at 9 pm

 

June Highlights

• June was a little slower for me compared to last year, but I enjoyed the calm.
• I met a friend (Mel) for breakfast, and another friend (Rachel) from church for coffee. I don’t do things like that often enough, but I’m grateful for friends who remember to schedule these things!
• June 13-15 was the CMTS Staff Retreat in Morris, PA, at Three Springs Ministry. It’s really gorgeous up there, and after 2-3 road trips lasting 12+ hours, the 3-hour drive felt like nothing. It’s amazing what multiple road trips towards the Midwest will do to you!
  • The Staff Retreat was fun, other than getting sick on the second day. I felt better the day we left, which I was very glad for because we had horse riding scheduled again. Last year, there was something wrong with my eye, and this year I got sick. Must be something in the water
• I had another friend from church, Kristen Manbeck, over for dinner. I forgot that her family has been involved in CMTS for many years, so she was excited to see what had changed around campus.
• The Righteous Rides vans have been going in and out quite a bit this summer. We were grateful that they could honor the reservations we’d made with other missionaries before merging with them.
• We decided to redo the Equip logo, and I’m really happy with how this one turned out. It seems more put together than the original, as much as I liked it at the time.
• We said goodbye to the McDermott’s as staff members this month too. Juanis and Michael will be greatly missed, but we know that God has amazing things for them in Monterrey. I look forward to seeing them when they visit and when we go on the next Mexico trip!

 

July Highlights

• We celebrated the Fourth as a ministry the weekend before, with fireworks and a picnic.
• In early July, I went on vacation with my family to Confluence, which is just barely within the state borders. It was a long drive there Friday night, but again, 3-4 hours is nothing compared to 14. It was an even longer drive home because of the absolutely torrential downpours on the interstate, and the fact that I rerouted an hour out of my way to get coffee. I guess when the GPS says it “adds 15 minutes” it means it “adds a route that will take you some random Maryland backroads that you’ll never see again in your life. Hope the Starbucks is worth it!” It was… but like, I didn’t even know Catoctin Mountain Park existed. At least it was pretty to drive by.
• I got to take Hani with me on the family vacation, so it was extra sweet this year! She’s learned to love car rides, and after the last one, it’s to her benefit.
• Ray & Debbie and I went out to Red Lobster, just like last summer. They’re doing a shrimp special, and let me tell you, Debbie can house those shrimp!
• Alicia, Ellie, Jessica, and I went to a ramen place in Reading that is absolutely delicious. Personally, I prefer the udon over the ramen, but anything from there is sure to be wonderful.
• We had a Women’s Shindig at Circle K for all of the church ladies. In spite of the rain, everyone had really positive attitudes, and the speaker did a wonderful job sharing her testimony.
• The deadline for applying to the Equip program this year was July 15th. As the date drew closer, we had 3 students committed. Nolan and I were both convinced that it would be a 4 guy year this year, but it was looking a little iffy on that. Tuesday, July 11th, I started working on the individual calendars for the guys, figuring out who would be where and when for vocations and Flip Side Crew. That evening, we got an application from a guy in Colorado. Guess how he found out about us?
  • This is where Christ Link comes in clutch. Back in May, Aidan from Michigan emailed us with an application for Equip. Apparently, they found the website through Google, which is how Logan from Colorado found us too! Logan told Joel & Nolan that after paid advertisements, OneLife, and YWAM, we were next on the search. How exciting is that?!
  • Here’s the reason for it, I believe. The amazing writing team (of which I am not a part, so I’m not biased) at Christ Link wrote 2 articles (here and here) for the website about Christian gap years. Because of those articles, we are ranking high in Google searches, allowing more people around the country to find us. I am seriously so excited about how God used the internet for His will! What a praise, and what a glorious testimony!
• Most of July for me has been spent splitting my time between the office and the kitchen. Listen, cooking is a gift, and while I’m a decent cook, it’s not my favorite thing to do. I’m sorry to confess that I have not had the most joyful attitude about being in the kitchen more often.
  • Here’s the thing, I know that God can provide. He just hasn’t yet. We have prayed and prayed, but no one has stepped forward as the right fit for the kitchen. We have a couple of volunteers right now, but soon we’ll be losing one, and then Danielle has homeschool starting with her kids so she can’t keep focusing on it. We also have students who need to be taught how to cook that are coming in a week… I have been waiting expectantly for God to provide; I’ve seen Him do it before with Equip, with finances, and more, and with how long I’ve been single, I should be a professional at waiting. But it’s been really rough this time, waiting for God to come through. I haven’t lost faith that He will, but I am growing weary, and Danielle even more so. If you can, please, please, please, pray. It may not seem like a big deal, but in order for CMTS to keep this tight-knit community, lunchtime and the fellowship that comes from it has to continue. Please pray with me, with us, as we wait for God to provide as He said He would.
• I went with Jan to a Woof and Wine Festival, which meant Hani got to come with me! She handled herself well considering she gets weird about dogs that are bigger than her. We met at least 3 other Schnauzer lovers, and Jan and I talked with a woman and her daughter who complimented my “Jesus Loves You” shirt. I love wearing that shirt in public because it always brings out the Christians.
• Later that evening, I went with my church friend, Rachel, and her friend to a free showing of Richard III put on by the Schuylkill Free Shakespeare people. Highly recommend! I’m hoping to find similar things in the Berks area; you’d think that Reading would be on top of that kind of thing.

 

Where’s God?

Everywhere! But specifically:

• He has been growing me and stretching me to my limits. See kitchen prayer request.
• 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. I’m so, so grateful for the people that God has used to provide for me.
• He has protected the ministry. Not much more to say on that; He is in control and I’m grateful for that!
• 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. God is good.
• The septic system is done!!! As of June 30th, the long-awaited septic project has come to a finish! AND the walk-in fridge/freezer is finally in the works to be fixed! That is a project 20 years in the making now; I was going through old newsletters and found so many that mentioned the walk-ins – from the early 2000’s!

 

Prayer Requests:

1. Continued provision! Working and living at CMTS has given me multiple testimonies of seeing and experiencing God’s provision. 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. My prayer is to glorify God in my everyday life, but I often fall short.
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. The 4 new students move in August 4th & 5th, and I am super excited to meet them and watch God grow them and the rest of us this year!
6. Pray for the different aspects of the ministry: the Righteous Rides merge, the Warehouse, the Automotive Shops, the Maintenance people, the leadership, the administration, the need for help everywhere, 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 (I know I keep mentioning it, but again, it’s on my mind a lot!))
   • the office (with me!)
   • Equip
   • The Warehouse
   • The Automotive shops
   • Hospitality

 

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 am truly so blessed to work at a job that I absolutely love! 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)!

 

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Ephesians 3:20-21

 

In Christ, 

Hannah Noecker

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