An update at last!!!

Hi everyone!

Wow, its been awhile since I sent out an update . . . shame on me! So what's new? Well, I started work at the Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility on August 28 in the OB department, and I'm really enjoying it so far! There is so much to learn! I'm trying to soak up as much as I can from everyone, including the midwives and doctors so that when I head to PNG I'll have a lot more confidence in at least this area of nursing.

 

God has been so good to me since I came here! And I have to remind myself often that God is the one who brought me here and He has a special work for me to do . . . though I'm still trying to find out what it is. The needs here are huge, with a population of 180,000+ and an unemployment rate of 43% and an annual per capita income of less that $6000. This places the majority of the Navajo people below the poverty line.  Drugs and alcohol, domestic violence, and many other issues are common here on the rez, but the people do not easily trust outsiders, making it difficult to reach out to them with God's love. We do have an SDA presence here on the rez, with several different mission projects taking place in Paige, AZ, Monument Valley, UT, Holbrook, AZ, and La Vida Mission in New Mexico. Even here in Chinle we have a church of sorts. We have a building at least, though in need of extensive repairs. The current 'pastor' is a police officer who really doesn't pay much attention to the church, other than to teach the Sabbath School lesson for 2 hours on Sabbath morning. The church here used to be a lot more healthy, but gradually the members began drifting away. Some of these members have been contacted and they tell us that they would still come to church if it weren't for the pastor and his wife. Wow, how sad . . . So, things need to change and I'm praying that I can be part of that change in some way. Yes, it can be lonely here, but God has provided another young lady with a missionary heart to be my friend here. She is the teacher at the little SDA school here in town, and while we don't share all the same likes and dislikes (ie. she is NOT adventurous and dislikes hiking/climbing/etc), we both wish to be used by God to reach out to those around us.

                                                                                                                                                       Someone may be wondering, what about your plans to fly as a mission pilot in Papua New Guinea?  I have not given up on that dream. God has provided an instructor who is willing to come to Chinle to train me as soon as I have an airplane. I'm still waiting on God to provide that airplane, but it looks like we should have one soon .  How soon? Well, only God knows, but I am hopeful that by the end of next month, possibly sooner, I'll be in the air. I plan on talking with the pastor who is in charge of the SDA work on the rez and finding out if I can be of service with the airplane. If there is a need, I will try and fill that need as much as possible. Not only would it give me excellent experience as a mission pilot, but it could also help God's work to progress faster here in the Navajo Nation.

    

One of the biggest blessings of the last four months came just a week ago when I had the opportunity to fly to Houston, TX and attend the Generation of Youth for Christ (GYC) conference. What a blessing to interact with young people from around the world who love God and want nothing more than to be used by Him! It was such an incredible blessing! The theme of the convention was "Fill Me: Our Earnest Plea" and as you can guess, studying about and praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the main topic. While there, I saw so many obstacles in my life that I myself have placed. These obstacles keep God from the doing the work that He wants to do in and through me, via the presence of the Holy Spirit. My prayer now is that God will give strenght and motivation to get rid of these obstacles so that He can use me in any way He wants, without self getting in the way. I pray that each one of you will also examine your own lives, identify the obstacles and then ask God to get rid of them so that together all of God's people can receive the promised rain.

Thank-you to all of you for your prayers . . . please keep praying not only for me, but also for our church and our world. Stay in close connection with heaven, for that is the only way to true and lasting happiness! The way may become dark and dangerous, but the destination is worth every sacrifice!

Blessings,

Corrie

Mission Pilot in training
Hope On Wings Foundation

Website: http://www.hopeonwings.org/
Pictures: www.picasaweb.google.com/cosample

Hepler Happenings - an update on what God is doing in my life :)

Hi everyone!

Its time for another update on happenings in Hepler :) For those of you who don't have time to read the whole thing, I'm going to put a list of prayer requests here at the beginning. I would really appreciate it if you would remember these during your prayer time. God is working in marvelous ways, though sometimes He works differently from what we think He should. We have a list of things we think He should do, but we are learning to leave them in His hands, since we know that He will provide what He knows we need and in His time. It is such an awesome journey learning to trust Him completely! Please join us in lifting these requests before God! The more people praying, the better!

Prayer Requests and Praises:

• Small airplane for training purposes - we need a small certified (not experimental) aircraft with IFR certification to get pilots license up to Instrument rating.
• Praise that my parent's house in Edgewood has sold, my brother and his wife and kids will be moving to this area, and we have what we need to finish our house, so we don't all have to live in the 1-bedroom single-wide mobile home!
• Decisions - I'm struggling with a decision of whether or not to get a job as a nurse. The benefit would be that I could get my training done quicker, but it would take away an element of learning to trust God fully for every need. Please pray that if God wants me to get a job, He will make it plain to me and lead me to where He wants me.
• A highly experienced mission pilot and his wife are considering the possibility of joining our team. Please pray that God's will will be done.

The sun has been shining here in Hepler, and Spring is definitely here! The trees are leafing out and the grass is green and growing! Last week I spent most of my time working outside, picking up construction debris that the wind had blown all over the place and then mowing the lawn. On Thursday of last week I got some of the garden planted, but the the worst thunderstorm we have had blew in that night and uncovered some of the seeds. There are signs of growth, though, so I don't think it damaged the garden too badly. That was quite a storm! As we were sitting here in the house, the wind sounded like a freight train and it was so dark it looked like the sun was completely down, even though it was only about 7:15 in the evening. Our mobile home really shuddered and moaned in the 60+ mph wind, but its anchored firmly to rock :) Reminds me of how we are to be anchored firmly to our Rock, Jesus, and when the winds blow, we may shudder and groan, but we cannot be moved!

Towards the end of last week, my parent's home in Edgewood, NM finally sold! My brother and his wife have been living in it, so now they are planning on moving here to Hepler. Ray is very involved with Hope On Wings as well, so it will be very nice to have him nearby. They are planning on moving into the mobile home we are currently living in, so now there is a flurry of activity to get our house at least campable. The water line just got hooked up yesterday, so in the next couple of days we will have a working shower, toilet, and kitchen sink :) There is so much that needs to be done, but only 7 work days left before Dad heads down to NM to help Ray and Crystal move. The last few days have been filled with hanging sheetrock, taping, and mudding . . . I'll be glad when we can move on to the painting! 

Wow, I have now typed three or four paragraphs and then deleted every one of them! There is a lot on my mind and heart and I'm not sure how to share it! The past couple of months have been difficult ones and yet awesome ones! I have had more time to spend with God, and the more I look to Him the more pitiful I see myself to be. I say that I wouldn't choose to serve any other God, but then I look at my life more closely, and realize that self still sits on the throne more often than not . . . and then I get so frustrated because once again I have neglected to give God the controls. He wants ALL of me, not just what it is convenient to give. Its so simple, and yet so hard. But His character MUST be reproduced in me, otherwise He won't recognize me when He comes to take His children home. So now is the time for me to learn these things. I really believe that He has given me this time in order to teach me how to fully surrender so that He can use me. Even though it seems that nothing is going the way I think it should . . . we still have no airplane, no flight instructor, and no funding to remedy either of those problems. I work everyday outside doing things that don't seem to have any relation to being a mission pilot. And yet, every problem that comes my way, every failure, every success, is part of my training. Learning how to lean on God, to give up my perceived right to defend myself, to blend my desires with God's desires, to separate myself from the world, and how to allow God to change me into someone He can use. I don't want anything blocking Him from living in me. 

Anyhow, I don't want to ramble on for too long, lol :) However, I do want to share one Bible verse with you that I discovered not too long ago. Its found in Ezequiel 24:25.

And you, son of man, will it not be in the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters.

Strongholds - everything that I put my trust in (such as training, jobs, money, other people, etc)

My joy and glory - pride, selfishness, looks, intelligence . . . everything that I love more than him.

The desire of my eyes - things I value more than God, or things I do instead of spending time with God . . . could be spouse, books, pleasure, movies

That on which I set my mind - what I think about

God wants to take away all of these things so that He may become my stronghold. He wants to be my joy and glory and the desire of my eyes. And He desires that I set my mind to thinking about Him. Wow. He wants to be absolutely everything to me! He will strip away everything else, all of my security attempts to conform to the world, in order to become the central and leading figure in my life. It can be a painful journey, and I may not understand why He asks me to give up some of the things He wants me to, but it is the only way. What an AWESOME God we serve!

In His service,

Corrie

Our Mandate

God's people have a mighty work before them, a work that must continually rise to greater prominence. Our efforts in missionary lines must become far more extensive. A more decided work than has been done must be done prior to the second appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. God's people are not to cease their labors until they shall encircle the world.--6T 23, 24

Click on this link to read this and past newsletters on the website.  http://HopeOnWings.org/news.html

Click Here to make tax deductible donation online  This is where you can easily set up an automatic $10 or more monthly deduction from your account or do a one time donation of any size.

OR....

Send tax deductible donations by check payable to:

Hope On Wings Foundation
PO BOX 122
Hepler, KS  66746

Hope on Wings Foundation is a tax exempt 501C3 organization.

--
Corrie Sample

Mission Pilot in Training

Hope on Wings Foundation

PO BOX 122 Hepler, KS 66746

Website: http://hopeonwings.org
Blog: http://corrie5boom.blogspot.com
Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/cosample

Ok, and now on to a little more detail :)