My Dusty Road

2022 Review

January 10, 2023 / mydustyroad / 1 Comment

Welcome to the last few days of 2022! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. I had a great time with my family here in Tampa, FL.

The Lord has moved in incredible ways this year! Overland Missions has grown and continues to bring the Gospel to nations around the world. Our team in Simwatachela also saw incredible growth this year. Here are some of my favorite testimonies from 2022!

In April, we held our Annual Leaders Conference for the first time since the Covid pandemic. It was our largest yet with around 300 Zambian ministry leaders in attendance. Throughout the week, we spent time together going deeper into the Word. Our incredible ministers spoke on everything from living out faith, spiritual authority, and more. Our afternoons were spent in breakout sessions with a mix of ministry topics and practical business and agriculture practices. This conference further equips our leaders in the ministry they’re doing in their communities.

In June, we took an expedition team to Kamukeza, an area in the farthest region of the Simwatachela Chiefdom. This area has never had visitors like us before and we saw hundreds reached with the Gospel. From this expedition, we launched bi-monthly discipleship gathering where anyone desiring to grow in the Word comes together. It’s been a slow start in this area but God is moving. We’ve even been able to help with two well repairs, restoring clean water to over 100 families!

Our King of Kings event was held in October and gathered tribal leaders together from over 36 nations! Here’s our latest video with highlights from the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0LrD8HSfGU&t=15s

Support Update

As you might know, I’m currently building up my partnership team to help meet the increased finances needed for this next season of ministry. I’m currently at 94.5% of the needed budget with $325 remaining in monthly support!

If you would like to partner with the ministry in Zambia, please click here (please put my name in the memo section)! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate in asking. I’m so grateful for everyone’s prayers and support. Thank you!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. It means a lot to me and is making a difference in the lives of the Tonga people we are ministering to and with in Zambia!

January Ministry Update

January 30, 2021 / mydustyroad / 1 Comment

Welcome to 2021

2021 has finally arrived and the first month has proven this is not going to be a boring year. Aside from ongoing world events, our team with Overland Missions continues moving forward and seeing God working in amazing ways.

We held our annual Overland Missions conference in Florida this year with our growing staff, community, and fellow believers with a hear missions. Vision was poured out for the nations, our team grew in unity, and incredible testimonies from the field were shared. My favorite part of our annual conference is being able to spend time with fellow missionaries who are in different nations. It becomes a huge family reunion and a chance to catch up in person about how everyone is doing. My teammates are absolute rockstars and their faith encourages me every day.

Please feel free to check out what ministry with our team has looked like this past year from every region of the world we’re currently in. Our annual report is full of amazing testimonies of God’s faithfulness in 2020.

Our team has also released an updated ministry video highlighting our team globally. Please feel free to check it out!

On a personal note, 2021 had another eventful beginning. My mom had a heart attack at the beginning of January. The symptoms were mild but thankfully she took it serious and the doctors were able to catch everything quickly. Thankfully she’s made a full recovery, feels great and we’re so thankful as a family for the Lord’s hand in all of this!

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Support Update

I am very excited to announce that the monthly budget for this next season has been met! God’s faithfulness continues to be proven over and over. Thank you to everyone who sows in finances and prayers for the ministry in Zambia.

If you’re still interested in partnering on a monthly, annual, or one time basis, please feel free to do so here. Anything beyond the monthly goal goes toward special ministry projects. Please put my name or “3004” in the memo box on the form so our office knows to designate the contribution to my account. Thank you!

One of the main projects these funds make possible is our annual leaders conference in Zambia. It costs an average of $50 per leader to cover their conference costs and transportation. Our teams are growing we’d love to see our conference continue to grow as well!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. It means a lot to me and is making a difference in the lives of the people we are reaching in Zambia!

Blessings,
Laura

December Ministry Update

December 28, 2020 / mydustyroad / 0 Comments

2019-2020 Review

It’s the last few days of 2020 and already a month has passed since arriving here in the States! I hope everyone has had a wonderful time with family during the holiday season, whether it’s been in person or zoom calls. I’ve been able to celebrate with my family here in Florida. We also received amazing news that my 2 year old nephew, Ben, has officially been adopted! A wonderful way to close out this year!

December is an amazing time to look back on everything God has done this past year. Here’s a video highlighting the 2019-2020 ministry season. The testimonies are endless and God has proven his goodness through it all! Thank you all for being a crucial part of this ministry through your partnership and prayers!

Support Update

With the start of the new year, I am continuing to push forward with raising up the needed funds for the next ministry season. Praise the Lord for new partners that have already joined, as well as current partners increasing their commitments! Thank you!!

As of right now, I have $310 in monthly support needed to be considered fully funded. Please prayerfully consider partnering, or even increasing your donation, with the ministry we’re doing in Simwatachela!

Also, if you have your church, small group, or even a friend who might be interested in learning more about the ministry here in Zambia, please let me know. We can even arrange a Zoom chat or FaceTime while I’m in the States! I greatly appreciate it!

I’m looking forward to seeing you all and sharing about everything God is doing here in Zambia!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. It means a lot to me and is making a difference in the lives of the people we are reaching in Zambia!

November Ministry Update

November 28, 2020 / mydustyroad / 0 Comments

Wrapping Up A Season

November passed a lot faster than I had anticipated. Bernard, Abigail and I visited each of the areas in Simwatachela that we work in, and were able to set up a schedule for them to continue ministry while I’m in the States. We were able to hold some of our revival meetings, saw two teenage girls healed and delivered, as well as lay out ministry plans for 2021. We’re so excited for what God has planned for the Simwatachela chiefdom this rainy season and next year!

On November 22nd, our Advanced Mission Training class graduated with 50 students from several different nations. This has been our largest class to date and was an incredible 3 months! These months have been an intense season for the students as they dove deeper into understanding who they are in Christ, how to ministry across different cultures, as well as practical skills needed on the missions field.

It’s going to be amazing to see God use them to continue expanding the Kingdom!

The day after graduation, I joined our AMT students in the journey back to their home countries. After about 30 hours of travel, with layovers, I arrived to my family in Tampa, FL. I was greeted by the masked faces of my family and was even able to surprise my brother by a quick visit at his work. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving together. No better way to beat jet lag then baking pies!

Support Update

My plan as of right now is to be in the States until around April 1st. I’ll be in Florida through January, Illinois in February. Then a quick trip to California before back in Florida in March.

One of my main focuses while home is to fundraise for the next season of ministry. As of right now, I have $380 in monthly support needed to be considered fully funded. Please prayerfully consider partnering, or even increasing your donation, with the ministry we’re doing in Simwatachela!

I’m looking forward to seeing you all and sharing about everything God is doing here in Zambia!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. It means a lot to me and is making a difference in the lives of the people we are reaching in Zambia!

Blessings,
Laura

October Ministry Update

October 31, 2020 / mydustyroad / 0 Comments

A Full Month

With the truck officially fixed, October was a full month of ministry. We were out in Simwatachela every chance we had and saw God move in incredible ways. Towards the beginning of the month. two of the AMT students joined our team for a week of ministry. We utilized this time together to hold a one day leaders conference in Simalundu. 40 men and women from every church in the area gathered together for a day of teaching. Bornwell, the headman and one of our local leaders, shared that this was the first time a leaders conference had been held where every church attended.

Over the course of the day we saw hunger for the Truth continue to grow. It was our prayer that by the end of the day, each church would be more open and willing to work together as the Body of Christ. Bornwell shared with us that evening that we were moving in that direction. “They came this morning not knowing what to expect, but ready to disagree with whatever we were going to share. But the Word of God reached their hearts and now I believe we will begin to see the churches to working together.” We’re very excited to see the fruit of this conference and the continued ministry here in Simalundu!

At the end of the month, I was given the opportunity to teach our Advanced Mission Training students for a week. The course was ‘Come Back Alive’ which covers survival skills and travel savviness. Over the course of a very hot week (120 deg F), we tackled subjects like teamwork, traveling and living in a foreign country, scams and pickpockets, medical evacuations. Then each group presented on different survival skills like filtering water, starting a fire, etc. The highlight of the class is the surprise overnight in the bush. While the students knew it was a part of the class, we were able to mislead them a bit in order to surprise them on Sunday. They had a short time to gather supplies, organize their teams, and head out to a location in the bush on the property. The next morning, the team arrived back a bit dirty, tired, but smiling.

While I was teaching on base that week, Abigail and Bernard joined Reuben for two Farming God’s Way trainings in Simwatachela. Both conferences had great attendance and interest in the new style of farming. Our team teaches God’s provision in the land and His love in every part of our lives. Abigail also shared with me that during the conferences, 9 people were healed! This isn’t just about farming but a great tool to use to share the Gospel!

The training came at the perfect time because rainy season has started! Rains are beginning to come more often and we are standing in complete faith that the harvest this year will be bountiful! Please stand with us and continue to declare God’s provision over Zambia!

A Look Ahead

The next few weeks will be busy wrapping up life here in Zambia for the time being. Bernard and Abigail will be able to continue ministry in Simwatachela while I’m in the States. I’ll be flying out of Zambia on November 23rd. One of the reasons while I’ll be home is to fundraise for the next season of ministry. As of right now, I have $380 in monthly support needed to be considered fully funded. Please prayerfully consider partnering with the ministry we’re doing in Simwatachela!

I’m looking forward to seeing you all and sharing about everything God is doing here in Zambia!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. It means a lot to me and is making a difference in the lives of the people we are reaching in Zambia!

Blessings,
Laura

My Dusty Road

2022 Review