Prayer Book

"Senye, Tout moun se swa mayi anke oubyen mayi pike. Fe m' mayi anke."

"Lord, Everyone is either whole corn or corn with weevil holes. Make me whole corn."



"Papa, Yo di m' se malere. Mesi Papa. Fe m' pov an espri tou, pou m' sa erite wayom Bondye a."

"Father, They say that I am poor. Thank you Father. May I also be poor in spirit, that I may inherit the Kingdom of God."


- God is No Stranger

the date..

I am going to be leaving Kansas City in 2 weeks...on feburary 10th. its crazy i cant believe how fast it has gone since i made my desicion. i am very excited about what is in store. i will be sending out some letters for support. the great thing is that people can give a flat donation or a certain amount for each month. i am trying to not feel guilty about asking people for support when the economy is so bad, but my God is a big God and doing an internship with Much Ministries is really a great opportunity that aligns with my life. If anyone has questions please feel free to email me at t-rae07@hotmail.com

blessings

letter from Kathy & Beaver Brooks

Jan 13, 2009

Thank you for your interest in Much Ministries, Inc. and in Natasha Taylor’s role as an Intern with us. We are so excited about her coming along side and working with us. Natasha is well acquainted with this ministry and is a great fit for this position.

Much Ministries was birthed in Beaver and Kathy Brooks and family. After serving for 10 years as pastor of a Baptist Church in Victoria, B.C. Canada, the Brooks family moved “home” to South Georgia and eventually landed on a small farm in Waynesville, 25 minutes from the coast. The family was involved in Church ministries when they felt the Lord leading them into a “marketplace” ministry that was also a benefit to the nation of Haiti. Much Ministries is the outgrowth of their personal family mission that has grown into an IRS registered 501-c3 nonprofit organization.

The scope of this ministry includes “The MarketPlace”, a collection of small businesses that include a Café and Grill, a Business Center, a Garden Shop and a Thrift Store. The MarketPlace is designed to be a financially self-sustaining, faith based project. All the profits from the businesses go to financially support Haiti missions and the work of the ministry stateside,. The businesses also serve as the “cradle” to Much Love Community. This is the ministry to at-risk populations which includes people with addictions, girls working in prostitution, and dysfunctional families. Our “Much Love” community is a family, working together, learning new life skills, new ways of thinking; Our place for making disciples.

Much Ministries is also a international mission sending and supporting agency. Natasha is well linked to Haiti, the nation we support financially through partnership with missionaries and through sending teams several times a year to help with on-going projects there. As an intern Natasha will be involved in the work that goes on state-side to support our friends on the field.
We are enclosing a brochure that puts it into pictures. Please contact us if we can answer any questions or if there is any other way we can help you.

We have asked Natasha to intern with us for three reasons.
1.We simply love her.
2.We believe that by interning with us for a period of time she’ll be better equipped for the vision she has for her own life. We add our strength and experience to her own.
3.Her gifts will be a big help to us in the way of counseling, bible study, physically helping with the many “acts of compassion” that fill our days.

Natasha is raising part of her financial support through the friends and family members that know and believe in her. Her living expenses come to roughly $900 a month. And will last from Feb. 2009 – July 2009. Donations can be made by check to Much Ministries, Inc. and mailed to the address below or given to Natasha in person. Please indicate on the envelope that your donation is for support of Natasha Taylor. A tax receipt will be issued at the end of 2009 for your gifts. Again, thank you for considering supporting Natasha and Much Ministries in this manner!

MUCH Ministries, Inc.
Rt. 2 784 Hwy.82
Waynesville, GA 31566
admi@muchministries.org


Beaver and Kathy Brooks, Directors

Vision...

it still needs tweaking in terms of really articulating it in a sharp way, but the thing is that i am sure it will change as i learn and grow in God's provisions.

Essentially a few years ago when friends around me started buying houses i started thinking about what that looked like for me. i realized that i didn't want to own a house. it seemed so separate and isolated from community. at the time i was reading 'the irresistible revolution: living as an ordinary radical' by Shane Claiborne (www.thesimpleway.org). it was a book that articulated all the things that i had felt and believed growing into my own. between that book, my church (www.jacobswellchurch.org), the Lesniewski family, and my friend Rachel Bonar i came up with a dream of owning a sixplex apartment building living in intentional community with like minded people.

this dream/vision was pushed in the back of my mind and heart as life happened and i went off to Haiti. however since visiting the brooks family in Georgia and being back in the states it has come to the front of my heart again. i have always wanted to live like i do in Haiti in America, but never known how in the world to really do it. there are so many distractions and 'things' to make you think you have it all and don't need God in America. we or i forget the desperation of how much i need my savior. the brooks family is a living example to me of this kind of faith and dependence. my vision of living in community is so rich and filled with possibilities. when i think about it...i would love to do what the brooks are doing in Kansas city. granted it will look different, because its urban verses rural, south, verses Midwest...but its good. i would love to just be an extension of much ministries. whatever space or apartment i own one day in kc could look like many things. right now i envision an apartment building with porches and on the lower levels there could be a place for revenue to support missionaries in Haiti. that we could have a community garden. that people would not just rent an apartment, but would be about living authentically together in a space that loves God, loves people and follows Jesus.

at much ministries they connect their community to the struggling community in Georgia to the world community in Haiti...its so beautiful to me...and the thing is i can see myself and my life being that too. i can really see this as my life's work. i can see this being something i truly commit to. the beauty of starting at home, then local, then the world and all of it colliding together. its so exciting to my spirit that i want to cry with joy! God can do and will do so much with this vision/dream...i pray.

so all that to say...i am going to be mentored and discipled in what that kind of life looks like...and i am very very excited. i would love for you all to be a part of it!

thanks again for being a part of this journey and what G-O-D is doing!!! :)

blessings.

revelation...

the details...i still don't know how to really formulate all of my thoughts, but i will do my best.

since i am indecisive i asked God to help me in the decision making process between staying in Kansas city until graduate school starts or doing and internship with much ministries in Georgia. i had applied for a position at Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies (www.hm-hb.org) before i left for my 2nd trip to visit the brooks family. It seemed like a great fit...so i decided that if the door opened to there i would stay in kc, but if it closed i would go to Georgia. i turned down the H&R block because in reality in April i would have to job search again and being involved with taxes definitely doesn't really excite me.

God closed the door to hm-hb with the nicest rejection letter i have ever received. throughout the first paragraph i thought they were going to ask me to come in for an interview, but in the end they found someone else to fill the position. i am praying God will keep the connection and open a door in the future perhaps. anyway i started watching George this last week and it is going well, but it makes me miss kevs even more. OK focus...back to what i was saying...

Georgia...i have decided to take the internship at Much Ministries Marketplace (www.muchministries.org). I will have room and board with the brooks. the rest however i will have to raise in support. i know i know...asking for money again. i am trying not to look at this way because despite how bad the economy is right now people still want to be apart of things. people still want to be a part of changing the world and giving hope. the money i will need to raise is very logistical. the details of my life...my sponsorship for Emily Marie, my student loan, my car insurance...but with these things supported i am able to be discipled and still very involved in ministering to the people of Haiti. please take the time to visit the website for much ministries it will tell you what they do, their mission, their goals and more. (www.muchministries.org)

there is many roots to the reason in why i have decided to go and am still trying to wrap my head around it all, but i do know this...that it is GOOD! i know God is calling me to live differently, to something bigger than what i see now. i believe that the brooks family and what they are doing is a big part of it. God gave me a vision a few years ago and i feel that this is the beginning of it becoming something tangible. not until this November with the brooks did this dream/vision resurface and i am very excited about the possibilities God has in store.

in my next post i will explain this vision. its very exciting!

thanks again everyone...for reading my madness of a blog, for participating in my journey, for supporting, praying and more. i am blessed beyond the expression of words... <3 <3 <3

here they are...

crawdads at the coast

takin a boat ride

happy birthday casey

face art

paintin party at sunny brooks farm!

more pictures to come...

where to even begin...

So much has happened in my spirit and life lately and i have lacked the words or energy to post for some reason. Please forgive me. i have been trying to figure out where the Lord wants me and what I am suppose to do in this next season of life before graduate school starts. I recently went to Georgia to visit Sunny Brooks Farm and Marketplace again to make sure my decisions on life and what direction I am taking is filled with peace.

I had revelation brought to me, expressing to not have a slave mentality with the Lord. That I am in the heart of God and seeking to be there...He doesnt want me to just wait for Him right now necessarily to command me in a direction, but to go with Him in either place. He wants me to chose, whether Kansas City or Georgia both places have great things for me. He wants to be my friend and say...pick one and we will do life together...which do you desire...I am on board...

The problem is I am not a very decisive person. I think I know where...but i am a bit apprensive. next post I promise will be filled with more details.

until then blessings on a wonderful day!
LOVE LOVE LOVE

oh and happy 2009!!