2 Months Away

The holidays are over! So sorry it has been so long since I have posted (for those that actually DO read this haha) but I got so busy during the holidays with work and relaxing that I accidentally took some time off from updating...

Whoops! :)

But it is the new year now! And I am going to try to update as frequently as I can for all those who are following me and the mission trip to East Asia.

Guys! It is a little more than 2 MONTHS away!! I seriously cannot believe it...God is so GOOD!

So far in this process, God has seriously humbled my heart with providing for me. He has already taught me so much about having a faith in His works and His timing. With that said, the total amount that has been blessed so far is..

$440.0!!!!

AMAZING!!! Seriously, that is almost a quarter of the way to the complete total! You guys are so wonderful. God is going to provide. I just know He will.

Our next meeting is going to be this Sunday, so if you are one of my prayer warriors, please be praying for team unity and bonding. This is such a big deal because the team has to work together in order to bring the glory to the Lord. If satan is going to strike anywhere, he will definitely strike in bonding with the team.

Thank you so much to everyone who has already given and is already praying. Please know that I am personally praying the Lord would bless you hugely through your obedience and sacrifice. I am praying for Him to teach you new and wonderful things, and for Him to continually grow your hearts for the lost people in this world.

If you are interested in giving or praying for me, please send me your address and I will send you more information on this trip!!

I love you guys so so much!! All praise be to the Lord Almighty!

a big thing happened yesterday

I got my official acceptance letter to go on the East Asia mission trip!

*insert jumping up and down with goofy smile plastered on face*

In case you didn’t already know, this is my very first mission trip. Ever. And even though I am so excited, I am also scared out of my mind! I have no idea what to expect and really no idea what I am doing. But the Lord has called me to this and I am more than willing to go and obey. Please be praying for me!

I am sure you are dying to know the details of my trip, and believe me I am DYING to tell you!  I am going to use my blog to communicate with all of you guys the updates and the progress of the days leading up to the mission trip and then the days that I am actually over there.

So far, here is what I know:

Leaving on March 3, 2011

Returning March 12, 2011

Amount I need to raise: $2,500

Where I am going: East Asia

I’m not allowed to say exactly where we will be for protection of our team and the people who we are going to work with.

What we are doing: We will be creating relationships with college students by hanging out with them and getting to know them. As we get to know them, we will share the gospel with them and pray for their hearts and eyes to be opened. Even if they are not, the seed has been planted and the Lord can cultivate and water it J

We have several training meetings leading up to the trip, including a retreat for our team to bond together before we leave. They are going to prepare our minds and hearts for the culture, people, and the government. Like I said in an earlier post, the precious people are smothered in communism and forced to worship and pray to a god that is determined and accepted by the government. I am fervently praying for these people.

You should pray too!

I, and the team I am going with, need all the prayer that we can get! Praying is so important because it shows reliance and dependence on the Lord to provide and orchestrate this whole trip! Please, please, please join me in praying for some things:

*Preparation of my heart. That I would sit, listen intently, and hear the Spirit speaking to me. That I would constantly look to Him for guidance and support.

*The Lord’s provision. That He would provide all the funds that both my team and I need in order to travel over the oceans and lands to spread the Word of Christ.

*For the hearts of the people. That even now the Lord will be working in the hearts of the people that we will come in contact with. That they will see their need for Christ and desire to surrender their lives completely to Him.

*The wonderful people who we are going to be serving with. A lot of them have been over there for some time and they need so much prayer. There is a lot of spiritual warfare happening and they need prayer of protection of their hearts, minds, and safety.

                 Look at these sweet precious faces.

A Change of Color, A change of Heart

There is one inevitable event that repetitively occurs in life.  One variable that is constant and can always be counted on to take place. The irony of this statement to describe the adventure, as it should really so aptly be described and taken as, is very…. well ironic.

Got any guesses? (I love word games)

Change…

Yes, that’s the thing. It is always going to happen and is always constant. Now you see why it is so ironic.

I, myself, have been going through a season of change and it really has been turning me upside down. The LORD has been challenging me in so many ways over the past few months and I feel like it is not slowing down. The blessing of being challenged and going through change is so encouraging and heart lightening, though.  My love, Ryan, has really given me such encouragement through this time of change, and has told me that when things change they should be counted as a blessing. Because in those moments and times where things are not the same as they used to be, where I am no longer comfortable in my surroundings, where I have NO IDEA what could happen in the next days to come, that is how we know God is at work in and around our lives.

Huh. I honestly never thought of that.

One thing is for certain, I am so thankful that my precious Savior has put me in this time of change during a “seasonal” change. He has placed a perfect picture of what is happening in my life right in front of me. As the tree leaves have SLOWLY (and I emphasize slowly because the weather has been so gosh darn inconsistent) changed color and fallen off, the trees are left bare and vulnerable. Open to any harsh cold wind, freezing rain, or plunging temperatures. But beneath the bark, new blooms are being born and work is being done.

Sometimes, more like all the time, I feel like God has to consistently freeze out my leaves so that they change color and fall off. It is in that moment where I am bare, helpless, and susceptible to all of the harsh realities that smack me in the face that He can strengthen my heart and change it to look more like His. Where He will challenge me to trust His ways over my own deceitful ones.

“(7) Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. (8) For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.”

Here I am, LORD send me.

Back in March, I started going through the book of Philippians in my quiet time with the Lord. I really don’t remember what exactly led me to that book, but I just figured that I should study it. With no expectation of anything spectacular, I was eager to learn more about my Savior and how I can serve Him better.

Plus I really enjoy Paul’s writings.

Thus, I dived into Philippians with excitement and was immediately captivated. Several weeks into it, I came to chapter 3 and every moment was juicy and full of sweet honey. I couldn’t get enough of that word. I probably read and re-read that chapter 4 or 5 times in my studying. But what really got my heart::

“(18) For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, (19) whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things.”

That picture of Paul, probably sitting with his head in his hands, weeping sad, deep, and heartfelt tears, just broke. My. Heart.

Even now, as I am remembering my time in Philippians, tears are streaming down my face. Who am I? Why am I here on this earth? Am I seeking selfish gain to produce a life that is beneficial for myself? For me to be comfortable? Or am I fully and seriously::

“(7) But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

So it was then that God had seriously placed reaching a people whose “god is their appetite and glory is their shame”. So I said, like Isaiah, “LORD here I am, send me”

Its been several months since this heart change, but God has been speaking to and preparing my heart for this life as a servant. I have been praying about places to go out and serve and one thing that is constantly laid on my heart is a people across the deep blue. In a land where communism is always at their doorstep and the threat of harsh consequences of believing anything other than the approved “religion” is thick. As thick as a bramble full of thorns and darkness.

Here I am, LORD send me.

My God is so much greater and more sovereign than communism and darkness. Praise Him! The blessing of the LORD is that His light will pierce through any darkness. His glory will be made known in every country. His love WILL be spread. Though the bramble of life entangle all who come in contact with it, though it is exhausting and dark, the fruit of a life of Christ will bloom and blossom. The flowers of Christ will show through and provide life, love, food, and water for the people who encounter it so that they will never be hungry or thirsty again.

Here I am, LORD send me.

So, here I am, being called in such a way that my heart cannot be swayed. I am sold out for Christ and His purpose.  Because of this, I am going.

I am going to East Asia!