Ready to Go!

I am ready to be in Budapest! I cannot wait for fall 2017 and the new adventure that is following God's call. He has brought me through hardships, trials, and fear. He has taught me so much about trusting Him and what it means to truly follow Him. Look out world, here comes this missionary. Ready to serve, ready to answer God's call. Budapest 2017 here I come!

What?? Still in Texas??

Okay. So I’m still in Texas. That’s the situation. Do I want to be in Texas? No. My heart and I want to be in Budapest, teaching, serving, and working as a missionary full time. God had brought me this far, and I was waiting on His provision to get me all the way there. But it didn’t happen with the timing that I thought was right. The money didn’t come. 

In my personal walk with God I began to get very frustrated. I kept crying out to God saying, ‘God, I’m ready to go! I want to go! Why isn’t the money coming in? Why aren’t things going the way I want them to go?” I kept crying out to Him, sometimes just crying, and asking why. The response was and continues to be, “not yet”. While I was fundraising I was tuning out of what that voice was saying, and I was hoping that it would all work out. But there was one night where God caught me in the silence and I couldn’t tune out that voice any longer. I tried. But it was too loud for me to ignore any longer. “Not yet”. And when I asked and cried and said “God I’m trying to serve you, what do you mean not yet? What do you mean not now?” He said, “I am.” There it was. “I am. The maker of the heavens, the bright and morning star, the One who calmed the seas, the One who always was and is to come. I am. Beginning and the end, I am.” 

And I had my answer. He has the perfect timing. He has the perfect opportunity. He knows my life and my story and what is supposed to happen. I don’t have to worry that I’ve failed or I’ve not done what He asked. He asked me to go and I said yes. He isn't saying no. He's saying not yet. I just have to wait a little while longer.

While at Teach Beyond this summer, I learned about an amazing opportunity. Teach Beyond has a program that goes into national schools and teaches English. If I wait for next fall, I could go and teach in Budapest in a national school. I would be paid, I would have very little support to raise. That is what gets me excited every day. I know that God has called me to Budapest, and I know that I am passionate about working in a national school. I would have loved working for a private Christian School there this fall, but I will be completely obedient to God and what His call is. He is saying, “not yet” and so I will boldly speak with others about what He wants me to do and I will boldly walk forward next year and follow Him and His instructions. I will use this time to lean on His promises and prepare myself for next year.

Roly

This blog post features a little boy named Roly.

He was a joyful little fourth grader. He attended a public elementary school in Erd, Hungary, a town outside of Budapest. Little Roly always had a smile, a warm welcome, and an eagerness to learn that was infectious. Roly loved English club. He came every week and learned a lot. He enjoyed the games most of all. He loved the crafts, but mostly he liked to practice his English. He had the best English in the school, including the teachers. Roly had been raised in multiple cultures, and spoke English in all his previous schools. One week when he came to English club I was sharing the gospel. I did a kid-friendly presentation. Though it was written for children, I used a translator, because the gospel is something that's so important we wanted everyone to understand. It was hard to share the gospel while using a translator, but I think the presentation went well. At the end of the presentation Roly raised his hand hesitantly and asked me, "So if we don't accept Jesus as our Savior, we are separated from God forever?!" That day Roly prayed with my Hungarian translator to ask Jesus into his heart. He knew about God and he attended church. But no one had ever clearly explained the gospel to him. It was a wonderful experience to see the gospel make sense to Roly, and see him learn just how much God loved him. Roly continued to come to English club, and I believe his belief impacted his English teacher, who was a little wary of my faith. Roly will change the world someday. He has Jesus in his heart, and on his side. He is still in my prayers.

Ways to Give

Those Prayer Warriors....

I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude to my prayer warriors who are tirelessly interceding for me before the Father. I have a number of prayer warriors on my side who are daily lifting up my requests. I am so grateful for them and for their positive influence in my life. Raising support, planning to live overseas, and managing everything with the daily grind of work and stress is difficult. It is difficult. Some days are better than others, but there are times when I do feel the stress of it all, and worry that fear will pull me away from what God has for me. But these prayer warriors are building me up and encouraging me to draw closer to God in those moments, and feel His peace about the journey. I was reminded last week to savor the joy in this journey. God has done amazing things, He will continue to do amazing things. If it is His will, the timing will work out. I still have to raise money. I ask that you pray for me in my fundraising, and that you pray about joining my support team. My team will get my newsletters and information about what impact God is having in Hungary and what impact He is having in my own life, and how He is using me for His purposes overseas. I will post pictures and stories on this blog as well. I hope that God blesses all of you the same way He is blessing me. 
"Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we do not give up". Galatians 6:9.


Special thanks to prayer warrior Earlene Jones. Earlene thank you for continually showing me Christ's love by how faithfully you serve Him, how selfless you are with your time, energy, and endurance. I am blessed by you every day.

I thank you all for your prayers

Friends, the plan is to leave in July 2017 for the mission field! I will be teaching English in a Hungarian National School!!

This will be a paid position, but I do have the responsibility to raise funds for some of my ministry expenses before I can begin as a teacher and and ambassador for Christ. Not everyone is called to the mission field, but missionaries cannot go without the support of ministry partners. Those who give are those who are changing lives. Now, you may or may not be able to join me and invest in this endeavor, but it would be an honor to share my story with you and reconnect. I am now reaching out to my friends who may be interested in being a part of my ministry support team.  I would love to set up an appointment and let you know how things are going, otherwise please stay posted with this blog and I'll be keeping it current with my progress!

Yes, I did want to be in Budapest this fall. But the support didn’t come in time. God said “not yet”. Why? He had bigger plans. His plan was not for me to teach part-time in a Christian school. He wants me to teach full-time in a Hungarian national school. He said “not yet” because I didn’t wait for His timing. He has shown me what I’m supposed to do. And now I need your help to get me there!
If you would like to be part of my support team please visit: give.teachbeyond.org/support/anna-deluna/ 
 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.Mark 16:15

The mission

In 2013, I had a life-changing mission trip that lead me to Budapest, Hungary for the first time. It was there I first met missionaries who were serving in Erd, Hungary. They told me about an opportunity for serving there for six months as a volunteer teacher in a national school. I knew God wanted me there. I began raising support and less than one year later I was there!
After spending 6 months in Budapest, I became certain that my next step would somehow involve Budapest and the Hungarian people.
Starting in July 2017, I will be partnering with TeachBeyond as a full-time missionary, teaching English in a Hungarian National School. I will serve for one year in Budapest. At this point, I have the privilege of reaching out to those who may be interested in being a part of my ministry support team. Whether or not you are able to join my team, it would be an honor to speak with you and share my story with you!

-Anna DeLuna