Author Anna Schmidt & Women for Women

My guest today is a longtime friend, Anna Schmidt who writes for Love Inspired, both contemporary and historical. Today she has something great to tell us about! Here's Anna:

Hi all! I'm delighted to be guesting on Lyn's blog. Two things come to mind as we approach the holidays: Number 1- For several years I've supported women struggling to survive through an organization called Women for Women International (www.womenforwomen.org). My current sisters include a woman in Kosovo and another in Iraq. Through my sponsorship they receive education and training in skills ranging from making a living to raising a family. In return I receive these fabulous letters telling me of the progress they have made and introducing me to their families. Let me know if you want more info!

Like Miss Nola (the heroine of AN UNEXPECTED SUITOR) these women have often taken on sole responsibility for making sure their family members are cared for and like Miss Nola they sometimes have to learn that caring for themselves may be the first step to achieving that goal! Number 2 is a far less noble holiday note -- I hope you'll stop by my website and check out my 'cranberry recipe/memory contest!!! Off to make a deadline that's looming. Will check back later! Anna

Author Terri Reed & Northwest Children’s Outreach

Today my guest is Love Inspired Romance Author Terri Reed. She has a special charity that she wants to tell about. Here's Terri:

"Northwest Children’s Outreach: Standing in the Gap for Children in Need

Our Mission

"We stand in the gap between poverty and caring agencies
with resources to help children."

This mission statement was inspired by Ezekiel 22:30 (NKJV):

"...I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land..."

http://www.northwestchildrensoutreach.org/index.php

Several years ago I met a woman at church, a mom with four children of her own, who co-founded a ministry to help supply children in the Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, Washington area with basic needs. I immediately wanted to learn more.

Founded in 2001, this organization collects donated gently used and new items such as Diapers, Clothing-newborn to teen, Formula, New Cribs, New Car Seas, Hygiene Products, Toys and any other items children need, to be given to poverty stricken children through care giving agency. Volunteers sort and stock the shelves at the four warehouses, pack orders specific for a child depending on the child’s age and needs. Then the care giving agency retrieves the bag of items to give directly to the child’s family.

Many schools and churches in the Portland/Vancouver area have also come alongside Northwest Children’s Outreach.

Not only do I believe this non-profit organization to be a worthwhile endeavor, but my children gladly donate the clothes they’ve out grown and the toys they no longer play with. We also go shopping to purchase other items of need and as a family go to the centers to help bag orders.--Terri"

Terri's Latest Love Inspired Suspense Novel

MISSING MOTHER FOUND!

The mysterious man at her door swears he recognizes her. She’s Leah Farley. Mother, wife—and suspected murderer. But her amnesia has wiped away memories of her former life. When a shower of bullets follows the man’s claims, Leah is forced to accept the truth. She’s in danger. And unless she can make herself remember, there’s no way to stay safe. With bounty hunter Roman Black’s help, she must uncover her lost memories—before the killer succeeds in keeping Leah’s past and future buried forever.

Without a Trace:Will a young mother’s disappearance bring a bayou town together...or tear it apart?

To read more about Terri Reed and her books, drop by
http://ladiesofsuspense.blogspot.com/
www.loveinspiredauthors.com
http://craftieladiesofromance.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Terri. That sounds like a wonderful charity.--Lyn

Audrey Hebbert tells the story of Gwen Edland

Today, Audrey Hebbert, a new friend, shares a story about a woman we can all admire. Here's Audrey:

"Gwen Edland is a strong woman. Rather than relaxing in retirement, the 74-year-old Nebraska great-grandmother has become a globetrotting evangelist, sharing the gospel even in the world's more dangerous places.

Sometimes teaming up with organizations like the Omaha Rapid Response Team to offer food and supplies, other times organizing her own team, Edland has prayed with thousands to receive Christ in more than 67 nations, including Iraq, China and Russia. A registered nurse, certified teacher and licensed pastor, Edland has given away countless Jesus and Passion of the Christ videos, and the evangelistic pamphlet, Step Up To Life, which has been translated into more than 28 languages.
(Gwen, Ken & Waheed)

“Being with Gwen is like being with a modern day Moses because it seems like the sea just parts and we walk right through,” said David Collins, Life Care Pastor at Trinity Church Interdenominational in Omaha, Nebraska. He has accompanied Edland on trips to China. “It's an astonishing experience. She's so dedicated and so focused in her devotion to the Lord.”

Everyone loves Gwen Edland, including children, young people and adults, all the way up to one of her best friends and primary intercessors who is 92 years old. Edland always greets everyone as if they were her best friend. She sincerely inquires about people; she dances with the children in the street; and always has a joke or upbeat comment to make. Yet this is a strong woman who gets the job done for her Lord.

“I always assume I have a green light until God gives me a red light,” she says. A red light does not signal stop, but rather, figure out how to change tactics and get the job done anyway. On May 8th Edland will leave Pastor Rafael's house in Uganda around 7:00 a.m. with an eight-person team, headed for a temporary clinic. They will diagnose illness and dispense medicines, and share the love of Jesus with an amazing number of people who have lined up along a dirt path until evening, when they move to the area where they conduct evangelistic crusades until after 10:00 p.m. Then it's home for dinner and rest until the next morning. Somehow this team will find time to deliver sewing machines to people who need to earn money where there are no jobs.

The team will conduct a women's conference, minister to 50 Ugandan pastors, speak to 97 million muslims on the radio each weekend, and conduct a mass wedding for couples who have become believers and are convicted that they need to be officially married. Gwen has been collecting wedding dresses and rings for the “big wedding.” Since I've known Edland, she's had signs and wonders on her short term missions trips. Her first was in 1993 when she went to Sweden. Without knowing the language, she understood everyone she talked with, and they understood her. Since then she's escaped flying bullets, safely walked the most dangerous slums in Venezuela, handing everyone a Step Up to Life, and watching them stop to read it. She's prayed for people with amazing results, and saw a woman come back from the dead.

Read more at http://audrey4j.blogspot.com/2009/02/raised-from-dead.html.

I wrote Green Light Red Light, a novel describing her work in China, where she slips past the Communist officials, shares the gospel with them and everyone in her university-sponsored English classes, and has fun along the way. She plans to be in China this year, July 11-August 15, her 17th trip since 1993.


You'll find the book at http://www.amazon.com/Green-Light-Red-Audrey-Hebbert/dp/0976522233/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241109229&sr=1-1, and more information at www.audreyhebbert.com "

Thanks, Audrey!

Rosemary of Kenya & DiAnn Mills

I'm so happy that DiAnn Mills is sharing a story of a strong woman of Africa today.
Here's DiAnn:



The Courage to Take a Stand



When I think of courageous women, I think of Rosemary of Kenya. I first met her at a Christian guest house in Nairobi in November 2006. My husband had arranged for her to escort me into Southern Sudan so I could research a novel. I was excited about the trip, and she’d done all the leg work to make it happen. With a smile and a genuine hug, we became fast friends.




I didn’t assume a journey into a third world country would be easy. But with Rosemary having made several trips into Southern Sudan, I knew I was in capable and loving hands. She and I had our share of adventures. Once, while driving beyond the city limits of Juba, Sudan, our driver ran out of gas. I swallowed my apprehension and modeled my behavior after calm Rosemary. I prayed hard, and the situation worked out fine. Another time, we were in a car and suddenly found ourselves trapped by several vehicles. Just like the hub of a bicycle wheel, the spokes had us trapped. Again, I modeled my behavior after Rosemary, and a vehicle finally moved to allow us to pass.




One evening, several of us were sitting outside our compound. A man began to tease Rosemary about her heroic feats during the two decade long civil war between northern and southern Sudan. Rosemary had journeyed to the northernmost province of southern Sudan to bring food and medical aid to the suffering people. Amidst gunfire from enemy soldiers, she had to choose between diving into a snake-infested shelter and dodging bullets. She chose the snakes.



Today, Rosemary is hard at work helping the people of Boma, Sudan. Initially, she approached this primitive tribe of mountain people for permission to build a school. Once that was obtained, she gathered teachers to show them how to make bricks for the building, construct a mill for grinding grain, and lay out other buildings in the community. Through her leadership, the children of Boma are obtaining an education, and the people have learned about nutrition, sanitation, and Jesus. Did I mention she is a single parent rearing four daughters? All four girls are devoted to missions and the cause of Christ.




Who knows what tomorrow may bring for Rosemary? But one thing I know for sure is she will not allow a threat of danger to stop her from following God’s will.

You can read about Rosemary’s work at http://www.sea-partners.org/.