Update on Poland Trip Preparations

Friends -

I wanted to post an update on what's happening regarding the trip to Poland this summer. This coming week is the airfare deadline, and there are still quite a few who are short the money. Please pray! We know that God is the great Provider, and we trust that He will provide the finances for each student He wants to go to Poland to be able to go. This evening the Chorale has a concert in New Jersey in which they will share about the trip. Pray for the Lord to move in the hearts of those attending to give.

This morning, I shared at Glenside Bible Church, my church here in Philadelphia, about what we plan to do and how to pray for us. As I did so, I realized that one thing I really need you to pray for me about is my role in mentoring and leading the young ladies on the trip. Pray that God would give me wisdom and a giving heart in my interactions with them both before we go and as we travel together. I've come to really enjoy the members of the Chorale, and I look forward into building into their lives more closely.

The response I received at church this morning was loving and encouraging. I know that we will be upheld throughout our travels by those who have invested in our journey. Currently, I'm a little short in my account for my plane ticket. If you feel the Lord leading you to give, please do so as soon as you are able. Thank you to the many who have already partnered with me financially and in prayer. I currently have about $1,000 in my account, and hope to have the entire amount, $2,525, raised by mid-April. Please use the response form below and return it to Nancy Musgreave in the School of Music and Performing Arts. Please place my name on the response form only; do not write it on the check.

I’d appreciate prayer for these needs right now:

1) Pray for me as I continue to build relationships with the students in the Chorale

2) Pray for the Chorale as they continue to train train to sing, and as they perform concerts throughout the region this spring

3) Pray for open hearts among the people of Poland

4) Pray that God will teach me all He wants me to know through this experience

Thanks for considering your part in what God is going to do through this trip to Poland this summer. You can follow the Chorale as we prepare and as we travel by visiting our blog:www.send.org/pbuchorale2011

Sincerely,

~Carrie Givens~

UNIVERSITY CHORALE

This trip and its ministry will not happen without your prayer and financial support. Would you join me in this ministry opportunity?

Name________________________________________________________________________________________

Address_____________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone number ______________________________________ Email address ___________________________

Team Member _______________________________________ Account number 20-4201-5161-303

O Prayer for me and the team as we prepare

O Financial Support: $50___ $100___$200___other____

Please send this Response Form with your financial contribution. All contributions are tax-deductible.

Please make checks payable to: Philadelphia Biblical University (PBU)

PBU is a non-profit organization and is registered with the state of Pennsylvania.

According to the I.R.S., gifts to PBU, even though designated for a particular ministry event or individual’s ministry support, are under the control of PBU and that while PBU will seek to apply the gift to the designation, PBU retains the right to redirect use of the gifts based upon the needs as determined by the Board of Trustees. According to the I.R.S., the tax-deductibility of your donation is dependent on it being “unconditional and without personal benefit to the donor,” and that it “is made to or for the use of a qualified charity. Further, Philadelphia Biblical University (PBU) must have “full control of the donated funds, and discretion as to their use, so as to insure that they will be used to carry out its functions and purposes.” Thus, we can only accept tax-deductible donations which are given in this way.

Paper

Of late, my "blog" posts have rarely made it off of the paper they often are started on. In the few moments when I actually sit still without a task in the week, I find myself thinking (which to me, means writing), and I'm rarely in front of the computer screen at those moments. That's the whole point of those moments - NOT being in front of the computer.

But then, to share with the world, I have to transfer. And in the transference, what was once timely may become out-dated, what was once living may become a dead thing.

Still, I don't want to let go of my paper. The rolling of the tip of pen over the blank space gives me a feeling of security that black characters on a white screen cannot replace. The ruled lines give me a structure that a bare document or post box cannot contain.

I love to look back at my handwritten words and see where the ideas really got flowing, and the letters lengthened and angled, and the periods became more pronounced. In re-reading a typed document I lose that. I have to rely on my memory to know if it was a great creative moment - and I forget too easily.

No, I do not hand-write everything. I am a product of my generation and have touch-typed at ever increasing speed since I was 15, but sometimes, when the thoughts really begin to flow, the speed of my fingers on the keyboard give me no help in getting them out of me. So I go to the pen.

And I write on paper.