Emily Brumbelow Newsletter (Spring 2021)

Dear Family, Friends, and Supporters;

Hello to you all! It's good to be sitting down and writing this to you all, especially since summer is right around the corner and things get pretty crazy here!

What's Been Happening
Since my last update things have been pretty busy!
The class that I was teaching in our Bible school finished up mid March. It was such a joy to teach the class and I really loved doing it. I've missed spending that time with the students since the course wrapped up.

I've also been doing my best to be involved with my church here. The past few months I had the opportunity to attend a ladies Bible study that went over the book of Psalms. It was a challenging study, but one that brought a lot of growth and understanding. I'm so thankful that I could be involved with it, and get to know the ladies of my church better.

The past few weeks I've had the chance to watch one of the staff kids on Sunday mornings! Darrell is Brandon and Maddi's son and he is 1 year old. Before church on Sundays, Brandon and Maddi have been involved in a class with our church, so while they attend I've watched Darrell and spent the morning with him, which I have loved! He is such a funny boy and he brings me lots of laughs. Please see the photo I attached of us one morning, Look at that smile!

On the weekends I've also been getting more involved in taking care of my flower beds and plants. I replanted and cleaned up the flower bed in front of my house, and I'm really proud of it! I have also visited a few different plant nurseries around town, and one with a friend of mine from church. She and I always have a good time together, and our love for plants and coffee is something we have in common.

Work
Work has been busy! I'm finding that I go through different seasons of busyness. January and February were quite busy due to it being calendar year-end and tax season, so that took up a good bit of my time. We also had our annual audit, which was a lot of work on my end and Mrs. Paula's before she retired. I was thankful for all she did in preparation for that!
We've also had several churches apply for loans, so that has been an interesting process to go through, especially if the loans are approved. In March, Teen Missions and Third World Missions had their big annual board meeting, so I worked on getting numbers to them in preparation for it. I've also helped with different legal matters over the past few months which is always a learning experience! I'm thankful for the job I have here and all of the new things I'm able to learn.

I do ask for your prayers; that I would continue to be diligent in my work, and that I work heartily for the Lord, and not for man.

Teach Them Diligently
In March and April I had the opportunity to help with the TTD (Teach Them Diligently) Homeschooling Conferences. TTD puts together a conference for homeschooling families to attend. The parents can go to booths, classes and workshops that talk about homeschooling and all that entails. Teen Missions ran the children and teen programs for these conferences.
I had the opportunity to help in Nashville,TN; Rogers,AR; and Round Rock,TX. In Nashville I worked with a group of 8 year olds and in Arkansas and Texas I worked with 4 and 5 year olds. This was quite a stretching time. It's a busy and two full days of activities! Plus, we as Teen Missions staff, traveled by bus to these locations.

Our Nashville trip was quite an experience as we had a tire blow just south of Atlanta, and we waited in the rain for roughly four hours for it to be replaced. But we praise Jesus for safety on the roadside and that it was able to be replaced. The trip to Nashville ended up being 14 hours! The trip to Arkansas was a two-day drive there and back, and so was Texas. It was a lot of driving and a lot of time on the bus. However, it was also a time to bond and connect more as staff which was nice. I'm thankful for the time of ministry we were able to have at these conferences and with the kids. Plus, we were able to further promote and share about Teen Missions, which is always a blessing. Through these conferences I was able to learn more and more that nothing done in service to the Lord comes back empty; which is a great comfort, especially for me as a missionary!

Mud Run
Something Teen Missions has been doing since 2015 is a Mud Run! This is a 5k Obstacle Course through our rugged 200+ acre property. All proceeds from the Mud Run go overseas to help with various needs, including providing much-needed medications. This has been a hit each year, and people come from all over to attend and participate. Last year (2020), we unfortunately weren't able to do the Mud Run because of COVID. So, we were excited to do it again this year! It was on May 8th, and I helped with the registrations and finances for the day. It was an awesome turn out and we had around 665 people involved. We are so thankful and praise God for it all.

Travel & Visits
The last weekend of March I was able to go home to Georgia for a short visit and it was so nice to see my family. Sometimes I don't realize how much I miss them because I get caught up in the busyness of everyday life and ministry. But this visit made me realize how much I did. It was a nice and relaxing visit. We watched a lot of TV and ate some good food. There were also lots of snuggles with my parents' dog Winnie and their cat Tiger.

Summer
Summer is coming so fast and I cannot believe it! The beginning of this year has just flown by. There have been quite a few switches over the past few months, and something I've come to learn as staff (and over my years of involvement with TMI) is that you never know where you might end up!

As of right now I'm set to lead a team of preteens (10-12 year olds) to Honduras. This is something I've never done, not only leading preteens, but also going to the country of Honduras. When I was first asked if I would switch to preteens, I was a little nervous. As it is something out of my comfort zone, teens and preteens can be pretty different from one another, even though there's only a few years between them. However, I'm feeling more and more confident and I'm looking forward to it! The team will be working on paving a roadway at the Teen Missions base in Honduras.

I, of course, will be working in the kitchen full time cooking for the team, which I always enjoy. This will be my third time in Central America so it will be nice to go back, but still experience a new place in the country of Honduras.

With all that being said, I could still be switched and go somewhere else. You never know. I'm fine with going wherever the Lord leads!

Our summer program officially starts June 6th, and my preteen team will arrive June 15th. We will be back in the U.S. on July 23rd. Preteen teams are shorter than the teen ones! There is 1 1/2 weeks of training instead of 2, and 3 weeks on the field instead of 4.

I appreciate your prayers for me and my team as we all prepare to go and serve in Honduras this summer. I'm praying for God to do big things in and through us all.

Praise
I GOT A NEW CAR! Guys, I'm so so thankful! On February 17th I was able to purchase a 'new to me' car, but it feels brand new. It's a 2017 Kia Forte and it only had 25,000 miles on it. I'm so thankful for all of the help I had—Ms. Pat, who drove me back and forth, since my old car was broken down; my parents and grandparents who helped with the down payment, along with all of you who support me prayerfully and financially. I love my car and it has already been such a huge blessing! All praise goes to God who made it possible. I'm so blessed.

Financial Support
My financial support is going very well, and I'm super thankful for you all. I'm still looking for more full-time partners in ministry. If that is something you would be interested in doing, please let me know if you have any questions.
You can donate online at https://teenmissions.org/missionary/brumbelow or you can donate online to my church at https://app.securegive.com/dbch/dahlonega-baptist-church/donate/category.

If you would prefer to send cash or check you can do that as well. Please see the coupon attached to this newsletter. Just fill that out and send it with your cash or check. Please make sure checks are made out to Teen Missions and sent to:
Teen Missions
Attn: Finance Dept
885 East Hall Rd
Merritt Island, FL 32953

Through this time and season of my life I'm seeing the Lord teach me a lot. Something He has been teaching me lately is to be more content—content in Him and in His timing. I'm also learning that the only place we will find true contentment is in the Lord. (Philippians 4:11-12)

Thank you all for taking the time to read this newsletter, and for all of your prayers and support. I am so thankful for all of you!

Blessings & Lots of Love,
Emily