check it out! january prayer letter!

Hello friends and family!

The ball has dropped. The last words of “Auld Lang Syne” have faded away. The ashes from the fireworks have settled. And it’s 2008. We begin using our new calendars. We laugh a little bit when we still sign something 2007. We even make some resolutions. With a simple movement of a clock’s secondhand, the entire world is swept into a fresh, new year.

A new year marks a new beginning. And when I think of that, I get a bit of a knot in my stomach, it’s a mixture of intimidation and exhilaration. As I approach 2008, I hesitate and then gingerly approach the first contact of the new year with my words, my thoughts, my actions, my prayers.

So, with both intimidation and exhilaration here’s my first prayer letter of the year. Writing this letter is like looking at the first pages of a new, empty journal. I begin wondering what the tone should be and deliberate about what I should include.

If I look back at my prayer letters from last year I’m not sure I would be able to identify a consistent tone or story that I conveyed. My letters were a bit scattered. They outlined a bit of a crisis with my financial support. And in the midst of that, I would give hurried reflections and updates of my life in Omaha. Thank you for reading through my letters and finding the heart of what I was communicating. Thank you even more for accompanying me through last year. Your support and prayers encouraged me and sustained me through 2007.

This year my desire for my prayer letters is that they are able to have somewhat of a natural flow to them, telling a story of my vocation, struggles, celebrations and life in Omaha. I want my letters to paint an accurate picture of who I am in Omaha and at Word Made Flesh. If I made a portrait of myself based on last year’s prayer letters, I think that there would be broad strokes of crises, fluster, worry and growth. Instead, I want to have a portrait with broad strokes of God’s grace, sustenance, mercy, love, joy, justice, freedom and salvation. I want these strokes to be the foundation of not only my life but of these prayer letters.

Within the body of my prayer letter, I want to include how God’s grace, sustenance, mercy, love, joy and other characteristics are playing out in my life and in the lives of those in my community. And I will also include the times of suffering, loneliness, desperation that I’ve seen in my life and in the lives of those in my community and those whom they serve among. But I want those to be seen through the lens of God’s character.

At the end of my letters, I want you to have a sense of how I’m doing: spiritually, emotionally, physically, financially, vocationally, relationally…you get my drift. Hopefully at the end of these letters you will not only have a clear idea of how you can pray for me and/or support me, but you will also have a clear sense of the invitation I want to continue extending to you: partner with me in what God is doing around the world with Word Made Flesh.

You all have made 2007 a sweet year. From phone calls, emails to letters, you all have invited me into your lives, and I love it. I’ve been able to celebrate the anticipation of a new grandbaby. I’ve been able to share in the excitement of new jobs. I’ve been able to be inspired by visits from friends. I’ve been able to observe selfless love of families in Omaha. I would not be where I am without the unique ways you have linked arms with me in my life. You all have carried me when I’ve been exhausted. You all have prayed for me when you thought of me. You all have sent money by faith to support the ministry of Word Made Flesh. You all are some of the most beautiful expressions of God’s goodness and grace in my life. Thank you for allowing me to observe that.

Here’s to an exciting year together,

Love you,
jara

‘When I run dry, I stop awhile and think of you.’ So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright, Simon & Garfunkel
Dear Friends,
Photographs, postcards, letters and scribbled notes surround me at my desk at work. I recently read a magazine article that suggested that by displaying reminders of friends and family through photographs and notes then feelings of loneliness could be kept at bay. I’ve outlined my personal journey with loneliness in my prayer letters, but don’t worry, I’m not walking into the office each day clutching pictures of friends and family while wiping away tears from my face.

You would, however, catch me hanging up those pieces of mail and photographs that have made their ways though the postal system to Omaha, Nebraska. I have to be honest, when it comes to letters, postcards or anything that is handwritten, there is a good chance I will keep those in some area of my apartment or office. Not just cards for birthdays and holidays, it gets much worse, I, Jara Sturdivant have kept a ‘note notebook’ from middle school that I shared with one of my girlfriends.

I can’t help but keep these tangible reminders of my personal history. With those mementos I am able to refer to my personal history and how my life has interacted and intertwined from the lives of those around me. It’s that context that keeps me grounded in who I am and how I’ve gotten here. And the core of that context is relationship.

That’s one of the reasons why I was drawn to the ministry of Word Made Flesh. Our interactions with each other and the poor are based on relationships. Our relationship to the Lord, our relationship to our community, our relationship to our supporters and our relationship to the poor whom we serve among. These relationships are the basis, the root, the very foundation of building true community.

And you are a part of this community. You are my friend and partner in this ministry. Because of our friendship and partnership, I commit to you that I won’t objectify you by seeing you only for what you can give. At WMF we have steered away from the historically aggressive fund-raising techniques that are solely based on numbers. We base everything on relationships. You are a part of this ministry with Word Made Flesh. You all are not only friends and family members who support me in my ministry with WMF. You all are friends and family members, who alongside me, participate in God’s work around the world.

Thank you for joining me in what God is doing around the world. In the next issue of The Cry we have highlighted what is happening with each of the WMF areas of service around the world. I would encourage you to read that for a glimpse of how God is moving among our friends. Also, you should check out the new Sari Bari website. Sari Bari is a business initiative of WMF Kolkata that gives women dignity-giving employment who were previously trapped in the sex trade. Visit www.saribari.com for more information.

Personally, I am doing well. Historically winter has been a dark time for me in Omaha, but this season I am hopeful. God has continued to prove Himself faithful in so many ways. The very areas where I’ve seen the most desolation in the past two years God has been incredibly gracious in providing this year. I’ve found some good friends to spend time with out of the office. I’m in a good rhythm with my health, exercising and eating well. I’m settling into my role in the advocacy department and establishing healthy boundaries that allow me to move away from being driven by crises.

And I’ve seen incredible, basically miraculous, growth in my support account. I’ll  give you some context with my support account. Last October at this time, my support account was $-4,071.93. As of October 15, my support account is in positive territory! It is $609.68!  

Even beyond the numbers, friends, new and old, near and far, have joined me in the ministry with WMF. If that’s financially or prayerfully, friends have literally surrounded me with love. There are no words to articulate how grateful I am. I celebrate having friends alongside me participating in what God is doing around the world.

If you are wondering how you can join me in my ministry, there are several different ways. First and most importantly, pray, pray, pray. Pray for our friends around the world, pray for those who serve among them (our international staff) and pray for those who serve them (our Omaha staff). Pray that we proclaim God’s hope, justice and kingdom in desperate and desolate situations. Second, I invite you to prayerfully give financially. I know that each month I ask for more monthly supporters…but it’s because I know that God has always provided and that you all have always responded generously. In order for my support account to stay in the positive, I will still need people to join me in financial, monthly support.

I invite you to take the next step in partnering with me in my ministry with WMF. If that is through being a committed prayer partner or if that’s committing to becoming a monthly, or one-time supporter, whatever the case, I would love to have you a part of this ministry. I’ve included the typical response card that can assist you in your giving and also act as a note to me letting me know how you’re supporting the ministry. I’m a lover of handwritten letters so if you include your address, I’ll definitely send some mail your way.

Thank you for being a part of my life and surrounding me with your prayers, thoughts and words.

love, jara

home is usually a fluid idea to me and sometimes it's just a concept. but there are times when i long for home. not necessarily the four walls that make a home, sometimes that's what i need, but sometimes it's just the feeling i get when i feel safe.

i have had the best days with my friends and family. i even humored the idea of living in tennessee again. something inside of me jumped when we flew over memphis and then nashville. i had that same feeling when we were driving by a mcdonalds and on their little sign it read - mickie ds sweet tea $1.

i knew it, i grew up in the south and there's still a part of me who misses it and loves it. i have had the most relaxing time with my friends and family. i hung out with one of my best friends from college. then i celebrated one of my high school best friend's engagements. in the midst of that, i ran into a friend from asbury in a starbucks in franklin.

if you know me, you know which starbucks i'm talking about. that place represents a lot of awkward conversations, lots of reunions. it's a safe place. it's home to me. it's also one of the largest starbucks i've been to in the states.

celebrating jonathan's graduation was priceless. then taking a mini-road trip through tennessee to kentucky. those two hours on 65 and an hour on the bluegrass parkway...i have that memorized like the back of my hand.

that's home to me. spending time with my family. that's home. making phone calls to kenley. that's home. waking up sick and knowing that someone will take care of me. that's home :).

more than that. feeling the security and the presence of my family and friends is so refreshing. i see now why people move back to home or places they attended school or where they have friends. it's safe. but when you don't do that, you live with that tension of living outside of your comfort zone, making friends and establishing a home and rhythm...and then contemplating the life with 'home.' the life where it seems to flow easily, there aren't many explanations, no words even have to be exchanged. it's the metronome of life.