Support Letter

As you may or may not know, it has been a dream of mine to travel to Africa and serve in missions there. Well this summer, God has blessed me by fulfilling that wish. I will be going to Lusaka, Zambia for the month of July. I am choosing to go for an extended time because I am searching for God’s direction in regards to missions work in my life. By living there for a month, I will get a good taste of what it really feels like to live in Africa and if that is God’s call for my life. I am praying that God prepares my heart to listen for this answer specifically and also in general. Lately, I have felt challenged to be more in tuned with what God is telling me, to listen for the small, quiet whisper of His voice. It is a desire of mine to focus on listening during this entire process. I know that there will be a lot of excitement with everything that is in store for me, but I don’t want to forget to be still and simply sit in His presence. While in Lusaka, I will be working with the Chisomo Center that reaches out to street children. They have intervention and prevention programs to reconnect street children with their families when possible. My duties as an intern there will be teaching girls about hygiene, leading devotionals, teaching computer skills, and working to improve literacy rates. I pray that God directs my words and with whom I interact. One of my goals is to not ignore the gentle nudging of the Holy Spirit that I so often put aside in my daily life. Please pray that I will not ignore God’s push to do something even more outside my comfort zone. I am only there for a month and I want to be stretched as far as God will take me! Now you may be saying, “isn’t going to Zambia being stretched enough, Ally?” Well…yes and no. No because I have wanted to serve in Africa since the eighth grade, and I am living my dreams. Yes because I am very nervous about going overseas for the first time by myself and also for the longest amount of time that I’ve ever been on a trip. With that comes my fear of becoming homesick and missing my loved ones. I will have Skype, so I will be able to communicate with them some, but Zambia is 7 hours ahead of the East Coast therefore my time to talk with them will be limited. I am also concerned about adjusting back to American life and school. I will have a month before school to acclimate to American life again for which I am grateful. And now comes to that classic part of mission support letters where I ask for your financial support. (Yes, my trip does cost a lot of money: $3100.) However, I ask that you first and foremost join me in prayer and listening. When you hear an answer from God, please respond accordingly, whether it is to support me financially or through prayer or both. I would appreciate it if donations would be sent by the end of April. Ultimately, I only want to share this experience and what God is teaching me with you. Look for updates on my blog (bloomingcuriosity.blogspot.com) and Facebook as I will be posting regularly. Thank you and God bless, Ally Olkowski For financial donations, please make checks out to: CoLaborers International with my name in the note line. And send to: CoLaborers International 101 Morgnec Road B302 Chestertown Md 21620