Iron Rose Sister Ministries

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Published: 26 November 2013

Katie Forbess, IRSM Board President, wrote the following in preparation for our upcoming newsletter.  It is a perfect example of transformation - on a personal and a ministry level.  May you be blessed on this Transformational Tuesday with this story of God's working in Iron Rose Sister Ministries.  I invite you, as Katie also does at the close, to join us in prayer for the ministry and your possible role in IRSM for the future.

"God will give you the desires of your heart"

No one could have told me last year at this time, as I was packing up my life and my family to make the international move back to the states what God had in store for me. I have been incredibly blessed over the last year and one of the major sources of these blessings has been Iron Rose Sister Ministries. I didn't want to leave my life in Bolivia but it was happening. I didn't want to leave my co-worker, Trish. I cried everyday and sometimes would go to her door, cry, and then when I had myself somewhat together, knock on the door.

I have another friend in Cochabamba that prayed that God would send me friends in Arkansas. That's a true friend. She did such a great job and I have incredible friends here. Yet one of the greatest friendships came with the rekindling of an old friendship.

Three months after returning to the states, I read Michelle's announcement about her new ministry and I knew that I had to be a part of it. Even in the smallest way, I wanted to help her, pray for her, and be a part of this awesome ministry. It was the first time since I left Bolivia that I felt like there was meaning to me returning.

Michelle and I were friends in college. We shared a love for Spanish and a major in Communications, not just our own verbal communication but the actual study of Communication Disorders. She recently reminded me that we would sit side by side and write notes without moving the page because she is right handed and I am left. That is such a symbolic image of how we have worked together over the last 9 months. Endless phone calls, emails, texts, and many prayers. This ministry has gone from being a vision to 6 conferences and one book printed in both English and Spanish. Not translated. Written.

We are the embodiment of this ministry. Sisters who share our Common Threads daily as we work on this ministry. We have cried, laughed, and sat in awe as God has worked through us to make this ministry work.

I had the awesome blessing of being a part of the first bilingual conference in Denver, Colorado, and I think I went away feeling more blessed than anyone as it was a day where my two worlds collided for just a brief moment in time.

I know that there is so much more that God has planned for Iron Rose Sister Ministries and I pray that you decide to become a prayer partner with us.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600.0"] Michelle and Katie at Bilingual Event in Denver, CO[/caption]

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Published: 25 November 2013

What do you do when you have a puppy that won't come? We got our dog from a friend of a friend who needed a home for a 6 month old poodle schnauzer mix. As soon as we got him I called him Sweet Pea and my youngest daughter made it stick. The dog on the other hand didn't. He didn't respond to the name. We tried everything. Yesterday he ran out the door as I was trying to get a wasp out and would not return. The more we went after and called the farther he ran. I was so upset that he didn't listen to his name. Last night I looked in books and googled galore but didn't come up with anything. This morning I had one last trick. I tried his old name, Teddy. The name that he was called by the people we got him from. It worked. My children witnessed it. Even though we have had this dog for about three months, we have to change his name back.

Makes me think of when I am called by God. He calls my name. How powerful it is when I am called back to him. Am I listening? Am I hearing the name that I can obey and trust or am I being called by other names and finding worth in other things? Am I labeled by other for what they want to call me and not the true name that God has for me? The bible says a lot about the names of God and the names of his children. Here is one of my favorite examples -

Isaiah 49:1 "Listen to me, all of you in far-off lands: The Lord called me before my birth. From within the womb he called me by my name."