September 2016 Summary

It was such an inspiration and blessing to have Dustee Hullinger (lady in middle) share her therapeutic art ministry, Gifted Hands (giftedhandsnyc.org), which reaches the marginalized in NYC on September 1 in Newark, Ohio. I enjoyed volunteering at The Courage House last summer during furlough in the art outreach ministry that NewarkNaz Woven Women patterned after Gifted Hands. Hope to help develop such a ministry elsewhere.

2016 Watts Family Reunion in Winchester, Kentucky on September 5. Such a joy to see lots of cousins, their spouses, and children!

While in Florida, God blessed me with unexpected opportunities to meet and learn from persons who have lived in the Philippines. In Titusville I was lunch guest of Patty (served 25 years as missionary in Philippines) and her husband. In this Orlando pic, I was dinner guest of Dan (grew up in the Philippines) and Pat, who are scheduled to move there this fall to serve with a Christian organization.

Girls day out at the Southern Women's Show in Orlando. I collected certain kinds of promotional freebies for "Operation Christmas Child" shoeboxes. My friend Bonita (2nd from left), is a full-time volunteer with OCC.

    

 A meaningful part of being a missionary and partnership development is communicating with prayer and financial partners, praying for their concerns, AND visiting, learning about their families and hobbies as schedules allow. I had a very enjoyable visit with Dr. Wyck and Anita in east Florida, learning of his interest in astronomy, seeing his huge telescope (at top of stairs), and receiving a photo of a rising full Moon (made with that standard Nikon D50 DSLR camera on a 90mm x f/13.3 = 1200mm focal length Schmidt-Maksutov telescope).  Fascinating view of God’s creation! 

   

A very enjoyable Library Staff Potluck was shared and presentation given. There was shop talk and catching up on changing lives.

Friends Community Church interview PowerPoint presentation and BBQ in the park took place September 25. So good to visit with long time friends and make new friends.

THANK YOU, Delores, for your gracious (and delicious) hospitality! It was great catching with you, Terry, and  daughter Christina, and hearing many wonderful things about the Philippines.  Wonderful evening of fellowship and sharing...your Italy photos (Terry you would make a great tour guide!), PowerPoint of my coming educational missions in Davao, and beautiful singing from your college daughter and friends (would love to have heard more!).

My long time Orlando children's ministry assistant and visitation partner, Marsha, and I had the privilege of visiting a dear senior saint at Life Care Center of Altamonte Springs. It was a joy and inspiration to visit Helen, leader in women's ministry and missions support for many decades. Marsha said her jaw dropped and her face lit up when she saw and heard me. I had visited this facility many times in past years - once with our children's church group and often with "Peter Rabbit."  

Of course not all went smoothly...I dealt with frustrating internet connectivity issues, got a wrong Toshiba technical service, and now feel I need to reboot my laptop back to factory status to be sure. Thankful for Wycliffe IT for doing scans and my older sister who will do the rebooting. Sticky keys are annoying. Bronchitis snuck up on me in Florida; grateful for Wycliffe Clinic doctor ordering an antibiotic...on the mend. The beat goes on.

VISA arrival PRAISE REPORT: Inside my returned new passport was the visa entitling me to entry into the Philippines. It awaited me when I returned September 27 to Ohio from Florida after two plus weeks of visits, sharing about my new Wycliffe ministry assignment, and good-byes to Florida friends.

Finally! I had to wait over a year to get a new eyeglass prescription...and on September 30, I was able to select frames. Expecting to get them back in approx. two weeks.
 I thank God for seeing me through several types of eye surgeries this year and praise Him that I am moving forward.

The BIG question I am constantly being asked is "When do you leave?" (i.e., for the Philippines?)

Now that my visa has arrived, my answer is: "I will be able to depart for the Philippines when I have 100% of the budget Wycliffe has set for my ministry in the Philippines."

I am eager to help fill a great need there, and YOU can help make that happen. Progress toward my budget goal was made during my September time in Florida. I now need LESS than $400 a month to be released for departure (I plan to post a specific count down in the RIGHT column of this blog soon). 

YOU can help move the count down and support me as I support Bible translation and other missions in the Philippines by  going to https://www.wycliffe.org/partner/388993 or by calling 1-800-992-5433 Monday-Friday 8 am - 5 pm EST. My electronic "Invitation to Partner" is at http://kaywattsafrica.blogspot.com/p/invitation-to-partner.html.

Any questions? Please email me at kay_watts@wycliffe.org or call me at 407-967-6381.

August 2016 Summary

Some months of our lives lend themselves to trips down Memory Lane, but also require meeting legal requirements in preparation for going overseas, and dealing with necessary health issues. 

MEMORY LANE.  It was good to spend time the first week of August in Lexington, Kentucky, with my older sister Pat and have lunch with cousins Pam and Shirley after my July 30 high school reunion. While in Kentucky, I enjoyed visiting Epperson Church of God and Northside Baptist, both in Winchester. I happened to sit exactly where my missions minded late Aunt Fanny regularly sat…and not far from my late aunt’s very best friend.

On the way back to town, I drove the “Old Ruckerville Road” from end to end, passing the church my father attended, my Grandmother Watts’ former home place…missing the house full of  memories, passing two former houses of relatives.

That evening I attended Northside Baptist Church on Winn Avenue in Winchester  -  next door to where I grew up as a child. The spot where our little house once stood is now a playground and picnic area. The parking lot here replaces the gravel driveway where I fell at age 5 and got tiny small rocks in my head. I received a warm welcome at the church and reminisced with former neighbors.

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8/11: The big day for my double eye surgery – a vitrectomy (macular hole repair) and cataract removal in my left eye…followed by five days of face down 45 minutes of each hour. I was prepared with a tabletop face-down support system secured from amazon.com.

Post-op appointments with both surgeons went well. The macular hole had closed.

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 FORMS & LEGAL DOCUMENTS:   Passport renewal application was mailed and a new one received that is valid until 8/24/2026. Request for my home state Criminal Records Check was sent, received at end of month.  I had a physical exam, chest x-ray, blood tests and lab specimen tests…this and more required to accompany the Philippine visa application that I worked on. Most items are to be duplicate originals, several have to be notarized. 

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August 29: Woven Women of NewarkNaz, Ohio and others were inspired by local author Dixie L. Merrill as she shared her story and her book, Pictures of Hope. This guided study was developed while she served as a Grief Care facilitator at a religious retreat on Lake Erie, and later at a Church in Granville, Ohio. Dixie has used this book as a tool in Grief Recovery and has facilitated the Grief Share program. The Joy of the Lord is my strength.

Pictures of Hope is a love letter to wounded hearts. God is able to lift us out of our dark valleys of despair, into “His Valley Called Blessed.” Fruit grows in His valley; a fruit of love that empowers the weary to rise and lift up another weary soul with the same hope they have experienced in God’s love.