January 2010 Prayer Letter

*The picture above shows the Atheist Bus Campaign, which is all over Europe and now parts of the U.S.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.  Rom. 5:10

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas!  We look forward to a new year and are anticipating what it will bring for our family!  Our Christmas was full of traveling and seeing friends and relatives during what we  are hoping is our last Christmas in the States! Over the holiday we took a vacation as a family for Christmas. This has been a special Christmas as we desire to create memories for our children as we prepare to leave.  Cullen and Ansley were over-indulged with gifts, as usual, since they are the only grandchildren on both sides!  We are truly blessed to have such precious children and so many people that love them!

Trace’s Ordination

Trace was recently elected elder at our church, which he will transfer to be an elder in the IPC once we move.  He will be an elder at Grace Fellowship and will be able to preach at the church plants.  As an elder, Trace will also be able to help train new leaders in the church and teach them to live a life bathed in the Gospel.  We will both still work with youth and children’s ministries, as well.  His ordination will be Sunday, January 10.

Preparing to Go!

Trace and I have both been anticipating a change for the past couple of weeks.  We’ve been nesting, in a sense.  So, we’ve been packing up some of the things we can to ship to England, purged other things we don’t need and packed up more to store with family members.  We were also motivated to clean out after the overwhelming amount of toys our children received during Christmas!  We are in the process of getting passports for the kids and have begun to focus on the things to finalize preparation for departure. Even though there is still some monthly support to raise, it’s good to have something to look forward to  and we hope to be moving soon!

The Lord has truly blessed us with a great support team. We are so thankful for your prayers and financial support. Our family is so excited about the coming new year and what God is going to do through us all as a team. You are dear to us. Thank you so much!

Prayer Requests/Praises

• There are several churches and individuals we are waiting to hear from that are considering supporting us.  Please pray that we will hear favorable news and our monthly support will increase!
• We were invited to attend the Missions Conference at Oak Mountain Pres.  Please pray for us as we speak and the children will be involved, as well.  They do not currently support us financially, so this will be a great opportunity to share about the need in England!
• PRAISE!! We received a large portion for our remaining one-time need this month!  We are amazed to see the Lord provide!
• Trace has a couple of conferences to go to the next 2 months. Pray for him to make good contacts as he continues to network.
• We will be traveling to some churches we have started partnering with and need prayer for travel and strength.

Upcoming Events

Jan 10- Trace’s Elder Ordination

Jan 22&23- Church Plant/Replant Conference Macon,Ga

Jan 30-Feb 1- Oak Mountain Pres Missions Conference

November 2009- Ministry Update

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.  Psalm 16:11

Autumn is here!  The weather is perfect and the scenery is gorgeous!  This is our favorite time of year!

Trace has been home from England a couple of weeks now and he had a great trip!  The Weekend Away was held at a conference center in the mountains and turned out great!  He was able to spend lots of time with the individuals of Grace Fellowship, just having fun and relating.  He even dressed up as a pirate and did a rendition of “The Pirates That Don’t Do Anything” (Veggie Tales) on Saturday night!   The Brits came up with a session for him entitled ” What Americans Should Not Say”, which he said was both helpful and entertaining!   He came back energized and ready to move, as well as having more ideas for ministry opportunities!  He was able to look at houses and talked with some letting agencies, which is exciting to finally be at that point!

This past week, Ginger went to the Transformation ‘09 conference at Perimeter Church in Atlanta.  She attended the Children’s Ministry portion and was very excited to learn more about that vital ministry and how we can use what we’re learning in England!  Paul David Tripp was the key speaker and he did a fabulous job discussing the heart.  The folks from Perimeter also shared some of their ministry ideas and gave some great resources to use as well.  It was a very fruitful time!

We praise God for keeping us busy and in front of others, telling them our story and the needs of England!  The traveling continues as Trace was in Nashville last  Wed., he spoke with a pastor from Axis Church. We spent Sunday morning with the lovely folks at Perimeter Pointe Church in Alabaster. Here’s a rundown of this week, so that you can pray for these engagements:

Wed- Thurs Nov 11-12:  Troy,AL

Sun Nov 15: Calera,AL (am) and Anniston,AL (pm)

PRAISE!!!

In the last week, we have had 2 new partners, a church and a family!  We rejoice to see how the Lord is raising our money and preparing us to go!!  We are pushing 70% and are still praying to leave at the beginning of 2010!  Will you please pray that bold prayer with us?  And, if you’re not already supporting us financially, would you consider doing so?  We are getting so close and we desire to partner with you for the sake of the Gospel in England!!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!!!

Ministry Update- October 2009

I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations.  I will sing of You among the peoples.  Psalm 108:3

In the midst of clouds and rain in the Birmingham area, we have been very encouraged!   Last weekend, we were able to spend some time with some old friends.  We had the priviledge of having Matt, Carly, Liam and Hudson Chase come and stay with us a few days.  They are missionaries to Japan that are actually leaving for Tokyo Oct. 30th!  It was great to see that they have raised their support and can actually move to the field God has been preparing them for!  To be able to talk with friends who are going through the same unusual experiences is priceless!  

We were also able to spend a little time with the Paulson family, who came in to visit the area for the weekend!  They are former neighbors and church family from the Eastern Shore.  

Now, this weekend, we are preparing to meet Pete and Renee Roman and their new daughter, Leora, in Atlanta.  We became dear friends while in NYC and they are raising support to go to Bulgaria.  They are traveling from SC to ship some of their belongings to their expected field, so that is an exciting time for them!  

We are thankful for times of fun and encouragement with others during this time that can be emotionally, spiritually and physically draining for our family.  To see others reaching their goals and sharing wisdom with us is wonderful!  The family of God is amazing!

As most of you know, Trace is going to be traveling, along with our pastor Burt and his wife, Anita to England for church-wide retreat in the mountains.  Pray that will be a great time of relaxation, building relationships and spiritual growth for the folks of Grace Fellowship.  He is hoping to look at housing options, as well as being “recharged” in support raising and reminded why we are doing all this, by being in that beautiful country around the people we love!  

Please pray along with us about these upcoming events:

• Trace goes to England October 20-26. Please pray for the safety of those traveling, for the families they are leaving at home and the time at the retreat to be fruitful.  
• We are going to Atlanta on Saturday, Oct 17, to visit with Pete and Renee Roman for the day.  
• Sunday, Oct 18, we are speaking to Rock Mtn. Lakes Baptist Church in McCalla, AL during their evening service.  Pray that the Lord speaks through us and that this will lead to more opportunities to partner with others for the Gospel.  

Before you go, notice our new family pictures on the right side, taken by Jessica Wright!  And our new Partner With Us tab at the top.  That is a way to folks to sign up for our newsletter as well as commit to support us!  We’re glad to update our blog!!

In His grace,

Trace, Ginger, Cullen and Ansley Donahoo

September 2009

*The picture above is from the Atheist Bus Campaign in the UK

Well, summer is gone but the traveling continues!  We seem to be living out of suitcases! We are so thankful for the opportunities God has given us to visit churches and friends and share what He is doing in us and in Great Britain!  With both children in school, it has been challenging, but we have seen God’s grace in it!  We just returned from a 7-day trip to the Gulf Coast and were anxious about Cullen missing so much school but his teacher told us this was the best week for him to miss because they were having a review week.  He didn’t miss anything new and had no tests this week!  (Ansley is in preschool, so we weren’t as worried about her work!)

During our trip this past week, we visited friends in Fairhope,AL and that was such an encouraging time for us!  We were also able to spend some much-needed family time at the beach!

**Currently, we are at 62% of our monthly need, due to our budget going up a little.  Our one-time need is down to $14,000.  We are encouraged by the progress, but still have a way to go! Please pray for continued increase in support so we can finally get to England! Our target date to be on the field is the end of January 2010.

New Focus

At the end of this month, Ginger is stepping away from her position of Children’s Ministry Director at our church.  We decided to do this so that she can focus more on support raising, corresponding with supporters and helping the family prepare to move.  It is great to be able to focus on getting to the field.

Prayer Partners

We are committed to pray for our friends, family, churches and ministries daily.  As partners for the Gospel, please let us know if you have any specific prayer requests, just as we do with you!

Upcoming Dates You Can Pray About

Sept 27: We will travel to Redeemer Pres in Florence,AL

Sept 29:  Trace is going to meet with a pastor in Newnan, GA

Oct 4:  Christ Pres. in Oxford, MS

Oct 18: Rock Mtn Lakes Baptist in McCalla,AL

Oct 20-26: Trace flies to England for Grace Fellowship’s church-wide retreat.  He will be speaking as well as building relationships with the congregation and staff.  Please pray for safety as well as Ginger and the children staying at home.

Also, please pray for the many churches and individuals that are praying and deciding on supporting us monthly.

August Prayer Letter

*The picture above is from the Atheist Bus Campaign in the UK

Trip of a Lifetime!

Its hard to summarize our time at Pre-Field Training in New York City.  We learned so many things that we are still trying to process!  We also learned some things we weren’t expecting, mostly about ourselves. 

Our days consisted of many subway rides, lots of walking and some classroom time.  The first week of class we learned language acquisition.  Since we are going to an English-speaking country, we mainly focused on how the British say words and how to change our “glided vowels” so we can be better understood by the Brits!

We also had classes on Evangelism, handling conflict, cross-cultural adaptation, raising children on the field and church-planting.  During the month, we were assigned to work at a church plant in the area.  We worked at Ascension Church, which is a Redeemer church plant in Forest Hills.  There, we helped with VBS, taught Sunday school and helped in the worship service.  That was a great experience!

In addition to the classes, we had assignments.  We  submitted journals weekly on our experiences, conducted intercultural interviews and ethnographic observations.  At the end of the month, we wrote a reflection paper and did a presentation.  We were also mentored throughout the process. 

Living in New York City definitely took cross-cultural adaptation to a whole new level!  We lived in a apartment in the upper west side of Manhattan near Harlem and Columbia University.  We had to survive by finding the local grocery store, coffee shop and where to buy light bulbs.  We found some great places to eat and learned how to get around the city on the subway!  We also had a few free days when we could see the sights of that great city as a family.  We definitely took advantage of our free time!

The month gave us a taste of being away from family and friends.  It also showed us the process of the adapting to a new culture-honeymoon phase, culture shock and accepting the place.  It took a lot longer to do anything in New York, which took some getting used to.  It was an incredible, life-changing experience we will never forget! 

Save the Date- Upcoming Trips

Aug 13-16: Ginger will go to N Carolina for a Women’s Retreat. She will have the opportunity to speak about missions and what God has been teaching her during this time of support-raising and preparation to leave

Aug 21-24: Our family will take a support-raising trip to Macon, GA

Aug 28-29: Trace will travel to Huntsville and Decatur to speak with pastors about support

Prayer Requests & Updates

• Thank you for your prayers for Ginger’s grandmother, Ruth Barrett.  Her condition has improved, but she remains in ICU until her blood levels are up and stable.
• Please pray for our safety during our travels and that we might see growth in our support from our itinerating trips. 
• Cullen starts school Aug 10 and Ansley will start preschool on Aug 17. Please pray they have a good year, it is quite possibly their last year in American schools!

**FYI** We are have almost reached 60% of our monthly need and 85% of our one-time need! Praise the Lord!

More on NYC

This week has been a whirlwind!  It’s hard to believe we’ve been here 11 days!  Are schedule has been leaving the apartment in Manhattan about 7:00, take an hour and a half commute to Queens and be in class until about 4:30.  The subject was Language Aquistion, which doesn’t apply too much to us, but it was interesting.  Most of the others here are going to a country where they must learn a new language.  We did laugh at ourselves a lot when we had to exercise our mouths and make sounds we didn’t know existed!! That program could help us work on our accents and recognizing the sounds Brits make when they speak. 

The kids and I (Ginger) took a day off to rest.  We ventured out to a park behind our building called Riverside Park, which is on the Hudson River.  It was beautiful and there were so many moms and tots out playing.  We also went to the market, washed some clothes and just rested at the apartment.  Cullen and Ansley have adapted well to getting up early and travelling so much, but it does catch up with you eventually!

Last night, we went to Flushing, which is what appeared to be a primarily Asian area of New York.  We ate some good Chinese food and the menu was not in English!  Luckily, we had some friends with us who are fluent in Chinese.  It was a great experience. 

Next week,  we are doing VBS at Ascension Church, where we have been stting up and preparing our lessons.  We will have classtime in the afternoon and will be learning more about Evangelism and Adapting to Cultures.  Please pray for the 80 children planning to attend VBS, that a seed will be planted in them.  Pray also for our endurance, since we will be getting up even earlier, travelling a little farther and then travelling back at lunch to do classes.

First Five Days in New York

It is crazy to think that we have been here 5 days already. This city is so amazing.  We arrived last Wednesday and took a cab to our apartment at the corner of  Broadway and 122nd St. in north Manhattan. Our apartment is the housing at Union Theological Seminary which is located two blocks from Harlem.

On Thursday we spent the morning in Queens at Evangel Church. We are having all of our class time at that location. We take the subway over to it which takes a little over an hour- it is only 7 miles away. At Evangel we meet til 2:00 and then had the rest of the day to chill.  We visited Times Square and the Rockerfeller Center that afternoon and night.

On Friday we had a meeting in Queens to deal with our field location. We will be assisting Ascencion Church as they do a summer camp (VBS) and help in their Sunday services. Ascencion is located in the Forest Hills community of Queens, they have their worship in the elementary school. 

On Saturday we enjoyed a day off and went to the American Museum of Natural History. Then we had a picnic in Central Park and from there we went to watch the fireworks on the Hudson.

On Sunday we went to Ascencion for worship. The pastor and his family were out of town and so we lead the worship and one of our guys preached (Paul Meiners ). We ate luch at a Cuban restaurant and spent the rest of the day resting up for this week.

Today we start Language Technigue Classes at 8:30 am we finished at 4:15pm. Remember it takes over an hour to ride to and from our class location. We ate, stopped by a market, and have begun to do laundry.

We have definitely started to settle in. The kids are beginning to handle the longer days and have transitioned better than I thought they would.  When Ginger asked Cullen tonight what he thought of New York so far, he said “This place is awesome!”. 

We have a great group of people that we are living and working with. Most of our time has been spent with Pete and Renee Roman and Michael and Emily Treadwell.  The Romans are from South Carolina and will be serving in Bulgaria. The Treadwells live in Birmingham, Al and will be serving in Africa. They have a son named Caleb who is 2.

I hope to share more sometime soon. Thank you for your prayers. We have had moments that we have been truly overwhelmed by things here and know that your prayers have been coveted.

June 2009 Prayer Letter

The picture you see above shows the Atheist Bus Campaign. These signs have been posted on public buses across the UK.

England Trip

We had the priviledge of leading a team from our home church to Culcheth in May.  It was great to show our friends where we will be living and working and for them to meet the people who have become dear to our hearts!   The main purpose of our mission trip was evangelism and help get the word out about the newest church plant, The River.  Two days were spent in Warrington passing out cards about The River and interviewing people on the street about their views on religion.  (The team was blown away by the amount of people who really didn’t know anything about Jesus.) The River is going to be going through some changes as Drew will be leaving to come back to the States for seminary.

  One night we prepared food and served it at a Salvation Army shelter, gave testimonies and just tried to relate  to the people who were there. That is a part of the ministry called Release, that shares the truths of the Gospel to addicts of all kinds.   On Saturday, a few of us went to see the Jennings, who are missionaries from our church that live in Birmingham, England.  That was a great visit!  The church also has a ministry that goes out to the night clubs at closing time and hand out water to people who are intoxicated and helps them find a cab to get home safely.  A few members of the team did that, as well. 

Trace and I were able to have some productive meetings and familiarize ourselves with the village.  It gives us a better idea of where to look for housing and activities when we move.  It was also a great time to build our relationship with those we will be working closely.   Thank you all for your prayers during our trip!  God was very gracious to us to provide a way to go, for safety and for our children as we were away!

We are Going to NYC!!!

Some great news we got while in Culcheth is that we are approved to go to Pre-Field Training in New York City!  We will be there from July 1- Aug 1 and we couldn’t be more excited!  The purpose of this training is learn about church-planting from a great model Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, started by Tim Keller.  We will have 20 hrs/ week of class time and will be helping a local church in Queens called Ascension Church, which is a Redeemer church plant.  The other aspect of the training is to learn to adapt to a new culture, learn to be flexible and learn new things.  We will be travelling by public transportation all around NYC, finding the local grocery and coffee shop, etc… Hopefully, we will see some great sites as well!  We are so excited about this opportunity for our family!  Please be in prayer for our time there, that we can learn and grow as a family, prepare us for the work the Lord has for us and for safety.  We also know that all this is possible because your sacrificial giving and prayers! 

Prayer Needs:

• Pray for Trace as he is the key speaker at Community’s Beach Retreat this next weekend.  Also, that the Lord would prepare the hearts of those teens to hear His Word.
• Safety for us as we travel.  We will be in Panama City, Destin and Troy,AL in the next two weeks!
• Speaking and Support-Raising  opportunities- We will be meeting with the congregation and elders at First Presbyterian in Troy on June 21. 
• The laborers at Grace Fellowship in Culcheth.  There is a lot of transition as some leaders are leaving and new ones are coming in. Also, for the Spirital growth of the leaders and members of the church and that they can rest in the Lord.

May Prayer Needs

Hello all!

 Instead of a May Newsletter, we decided to send out some prayer requests this time.  We have a lot going on and more planned for the summer, so we definitely plan on a newsletter next month!  We are so very grateful for your prayers and support for our family and ministry.  As partners for the gospel, we’d love to hear your prayer needs as well.  Our contact info is on right side of this page…

Here’s what’s going on and how you can pray for us:

• This Friday, May 22 Trace and I lead a missions team from our church to our future home in Culcheth.  Our main focus on this trip will be evangelism, especially working with the new church plant in Warrington called The River.  Trace and I will also be doing some things to prepare for our move like get an idea for housing, talking to school admin., and meet with MTW Country Director David Cross.  Please pray for the safety of our team, that we will be an encouragement to the national Christians and for our children while we are away. 
• June 5-8 and June 12-15  On these two weekends, Trace will be the speaker at a Jr High and Senior High beach retreat.  Please pray for Trace as he speaks the Word and also that the Holy Spirit speaks to the hearts of the teenagers present. 
• June 15-18  Our family will be in Destin, FL
• As some of you know, we were planning for a month in NYC for cross-cultural training.  Due to circumstances out of our control, this may be postponed to another month, which is disappointing to us.  Please pray that God will be glorified through this decision and that we will have grace to accept the decision when its made. 
• Please pray that the Lord will speak to individuals and missions committees to support us financially
• Please pray that the Lord will give us more opportunities to speak to churches about our ministry.  We love to tell others our story and our passion for England to see the Gospel!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!  We’d love to hear from you!  Have a great summer!!!

Trace, Ginger, Cullen and Ansley Donahoo

De-Baptism Gains a Following in Britain

 

Check out this article on atheism in Britain from Time magazine:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1891230,00.html#