A painting of my daily view and walk up the hill from my dorm, to the main part of the campus for classes.

Tessa’s May News

Dear friends and family,

The time has come for me to leave my home of two years in South Hamilton, and enter an in-between-phase before I can go to Germany.

YES, I am in fact finished with seminary! On May 11, I graduated with an MA in Religion, focus in literature, from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Below you will find some pictures from my graduation. As my family could not be there, friends who have become like family came to support me in their stead and it was truly a celebration of all God has done to get us to this point.

And now that I have reached this point of finishing my studies, and the door to my future stands wide open...I peer through it with some slight trepidation. I am so excited to start this ministry in Germany, a ministry I truly have felt God calling me to, and preparing me for.

However, it is hard to exist in this limbo state, where I have finished grad school, but cannot quite start my ministry and go to Germany yet, until I have completed fundraising, as well as the orientation for TeachBeyond in Wheaton mid-June.

A friend of mine loves to ask, “What is God inviting you into?” And this question has been in my mind, as I enter this in-between-stage until I leave for Germany: What IS God inviting me into, in my relationship with Him, to learn and to experience during this time?

Below, in the prayer requests, I would love if you would join me in prayer that this time of in-between would be a time of growth and blessing as well, and I would not feel it wasted time, for our Lord never wastes anything!

And more than anything, I just want to thank you all for the prayers that have helped get me through. I know countless people were praying for my thesis (which I completed on time, and received a good grade on!), fundraising, and my health. Please know that those prayers were very definitely answered and heard, and much appreciated, and that you have been in my prayers as well.

God’s blessing and grace to you all,
Tessa

The past two weeks have been filled with spending time with and saying goodbye to friends. Here, two of my closest friends and I are hiking around Walden pond.

Since my parents couldn’t come to my graduation, my church family stepped in, and celebrated with me!

The past year I’ve nannied for this family, and it’s been a huge blessing to be able to get to know all three of them. They were my adopted family for graduation, and I will sorely miss them.

Prayer Requests:

Praise:

I reached 60% of funding!
Graduating and finishing seminary well. I couldn’t have done it without the Lord giving me strength.
All the friends and family that have supported me to even get this far. I’m so grateful for the way I have caught a glimpse of what true community means here at seminary.
Leaving seminary, and all my friends, is SO hard, but that means that I spent my time there well.

Supplication:

I need to reach 90% of funding before I can leave for Germany. Please pray the Lord would provide this by the end of June.
Leaving Gordon Conwell is really hard. My heart feels heavy leaving friends who have become like family. Please pray that the Lord would allow us to remain in touch.
I am leaving, and entering a state of limbo for the next month or so. I will be visiting several different people, several different states, even, and will not be able to settle down for a while. Please pray for strength, endurance, and an ability to live out of my suitcase.

Helpful Links:

If you would like to read previous newsletters, follow the link to my blog: http://teachingtcks.blogspot.com/
If God may be calling you to join my ministry support team financially, follow this link: https://give.teachbeyond.org/support/tessa-sydnor/