prayer for asia.

i want to share a prayer that i wrote out on my last trip to asia.  i encourage you to lift up asia to the Father.

Lord,
I pray for asia. i pray that every person is able to hear the story of Christ. I pray that you give every asian person a desire to find you and I pray you send people into their lives to help them find the truth. I pray for the asian Christians. i pray that you keep them safe and bold. That they may never fear death or telling people about you. I pray for all the workers on the field. Keep them safe and healthy. Give them discernment in any and all situations. I thank you for sending me to asia. There is no greater task than sharing Christ and I am honored to be given the privilege.

hello weekday.

this weekend was a very relaxing one. i love that i have a job, but i love it that i also get the summer off to sleep in or do whatever i want. its really great.

there is only one highlight from this weekend. sunday was a great day. worship hit so close to home as we sang Leeland "follow you" and then i read it. a facebook message from an unexpected place.

i love my high school girls. seriously, nothing brings me more joy than to see them becoming amazing young women of God. they are accomplishing things that, looking back, i wish i could have at their age. their impact is going to be so great on this world, i just know it.

i always wonder the impact i have on these girls. i wonder if what i'm doing really matters in the grand scheme of things. and honestly, i've wrestled with God about that. trying to discern if this is really where he wants me at this point in my life. i know he put Asia on my heart, but he also put ministering to high school girls on my heart. i have come to a place now, where i know that God wants me to do both. he has shown extreme favor in each area, and i am so thankful.

sunday, i received a message from one of my girls. she told in the message of the impact i've had on her and that she would miss me and be praying for me. it brings me to tears every time i think about it. i never thought that over the past 3 years i would have that much of an impact. it humbles me.

i love asia. i know that God wants me to be a light there. but for right now, God has me exactly where he needs me. and i am delighted to be here.

silly bands and dinner.

so, this week a lot happened. here are a few of the highlights!

monday night, i went to dinner with a friend. it was such a sweet time to fellowship. honestly, i needed it. the stress of life and the excitement for leaving next week has me a little bogged down. but to just unfold everything on the table about life, was such a blessing.

this week, i was housesitting. not leaving a lot of room for packing. so, you can imagine the rush i feel now, as i am home, starting to pack. i have everything from medicine to those magic expandable towels. you name it, i probably have it. so yesterday, i was at good ol walmart getting a few things. you know, picking up some almost last minute items. well, i know that everyone knows about silly bandz. well, i decided that Asia needed to be formally introduced, so i bought some Toy Story 3 themed ones. i emailed my team, and told them of the ridiculous craze down here, and that i had bought them. and you wouldn't believe it, but 2 of the other girls on my team bought some too, from their respective cities! i think my team has already bonded, and we haven't even met in person yet!

as you all know, i leave next week for Asia. i am beyond excited about this fact. a few weeks ago, we were given a specific dress code that involves long pants and long sleeves. since the city i will be in is so rural, it is also very conservative. you would never believe it if i told you, i had absolutely NO "winter" clothes. i own, shorts upon shorts upon shorts. but of course, it was a good excuse to shop a little!

stories.

Did not catch her name
Did not catch her tears
It hit me like a train
When her story hit my ears
Mother of eight sons
Father off to war
Got no home address
Just bricks on a dirt floor
Jesus is all I need


Tiny plot of land
Corn stored up in piles
Years it doesn't rain
They just stay hungry for awhile
No fattened calf to kill
She made a feast of cuy and corn
She said "who else knew my name before the day I was born?
Jesus is all I need
Jesus is all I need"


She bragged about her boys
How they're growing into men
How they learned to praise the Lord
Old style, Equadorian
To buy a new guitar
They had to sell the swine
Said, "my boys go to school on a foreign angel's dime
This world calls me poor
Although my name is on this floor
He always provides
Sure as the sun will rise
So I'll sing him songs of praise
'Cause I know he'll keep me in his gaze."


Rain poured from the sky
We raced back to the van
There were tears in the eyes
Of this poor, forgetful man
Mother of eight sons
She knows the peace of God
Lord, help me learn to lean
On thy staff and thy rod
Jesus is all I need
Jesus is all I need


All I Need by Cademon's Call


i love cademon's call. they have always been awesome. but lately, i have fallen in love with their music. they have such a desire to see the world come to know Christ. its laced throughout their lyrics.

i hope to one day, be an awesome storyteller of the impoverished people of this world. i hope to not only see them come to Jesus, but to share their story with anyone who will listen.

i think its good to share the stories of those that are seemingly less fortunate. it will for sure minister to your heart, but also i think people need to hear about miracles. in america, visible miracles are few and far between to most people. how can someone not believe in Jesus, when they hear the story of someone who has less than they do, but is so so rich?

who's story have you told?

10 days. visually.

i've decided this post should be in pictures. i think you will see my heart through them. at least i hope you will.

 

weekend talk.

i had a great weekend! it is becoming more and more clear to me that i will be without my home church for a month. i am excited about the next month, but know that with this excitement comes sacrifice. and worshiping with at church is something i must sacrifice to make the Lord's name known in a far country.

i loved celebrating my dad. he is the best dad in the whole world! even though things haven't been going well lately, i still know that he is the best man in the world. i think its men like my dad that give me a very high bar of expectation in a man when it comes to a future mate.

my favorite thing about my dad is his humor. he always says its his job to embarrass his children...and man does he do that sometimes. but his corny jokes at the dinner table make me laugh on the inside. because they are corny...i don't laugh on the outside. :)

and like i said, i love my dad. i like to think that even though i look like him, i also inherited his love for the Lord and passion for people. i think he is wonderful and i thank God for giving me such a great dad.

highlights.

i've decided to give my blog a structure makeover. yes yes, my posts have been sporadic at best, and all have had meaning. this is about to change.

here is how they will generally go. monday = weekend talk. tuesday = asia. wednesday = funny story of the week. thursday = serious post. friday = highlights.

so...since today is friday, i will divulge some highlights of the week! and...since i was at camp during this week...most of them will be camp themed. prepare yourselves. :)

highlight #1
as many of you know, i love my high school life group. i love teaching them and sharing life with them. well, this week, we shared a lot of life together. from nasty camp food to deep spiritual talks, we shared it all. i challenged my girls to take hold of the incredible opportunity they have of reaching their friends for Christ. i had no idea who would actually take my advice, but i knew that the Lord would take hold of some girls and lead them to be leaders in the youth group. well, there was a little meeting with all the people who would like to do just that...be leaders. i was amazed at how many of my girls were there, stepping up to the plate. they realized they were created to stand out and radically change the lives of their friends for Christ. it was an absolute joy to see God working in their lives.

highlight #2
while i was at camp, i received an email from the organization i'm going to asia with. this email was from a family that is living in the city that i will be headed to in 2 weeks (holy cow...2 weeks!). their newsletter was so informative. i was so excited to hear of the awesome people God will be placing in my path. the letter told us how this city i will be in is so rural, that some students will be traveling from about 30 miles just to learn, because their villages don't have schools. not only that, but the vast majority of the population in this city lives on $1.00 a day. i am so excited to be teaching english to these students. i can't wait to build relationships with them and show them what Love is all about.

highlight #3
this isn't really a highlight. at camp, we do rec. now, in florida, the heat is intense and almost unbearable. last year, i had the privilege of being on the pink team. we were incredibly talented, and if i remember correctly scored pretty high. this year i was blessed to again be on the pink team. well, this year, we were a little less athletic, but were determined to win. so the first day, we lost every single game we played. the second day we won 2. now, while i know the important part of rec is team building, i can't help but wonder what life would be like without it. just saying...it might be a little bit cooler...literally.

highlight #4
each counselor at camp had a job during free time. for instance, two people had pool duty, two people would be checking cabins to make sure that people were doing what they were supposed to be doing, etc. well, the most envied job of them all was the person in charge of the cart. thats right, the golf cart. this person would drive around and make sure no one was killing themselves by diving head first into the hot cement off a skateboard. well, i got that job. don't ask how, but i guess it pays to have connections. so, i picked up a friend counselor and we decided to be the dress code police. we found every girl walking towards the pool with a towel over her shoulder and checked the color of her shirt to make sure that if she was wearing a bikini, you couldn't see it through the shirt. we had to make a few girls turn around, but all in all, i feel like we were successful at being the dress code police. :)

camp

i have wonderful memories of Camp Orlando from my own high school days. worshiping with steve fee and listening to God inspired words from stewart hall flood my mind with thoughts of "the good ol days". even though i'm not old...by any stretch of the imagination...i felt it this week.

one thing i was so surprised about was the spiritual maturity of my high school girls. the first day we had a great time getting to know each other, but the second day is when the bond really started.

my girls are separated by distance and school. some go to private school and some public. when i was in high school there was a very clear division by that. this week, that wall was completely demolished. i saw girls from all over orlando become friends with a lasting bond that no man can break.

anyways, the second day we shared our testimonies during cabin time. i cannot begin to tell you the effect it had on everyone in the cabin. i learned things about girls, that i have known for 3 years, that i had no idea about. they supported each other in a way i never was able to in high school. they are about to take on a huge role as seniors and leaders in this youth group and i believe wholeheartedly they can do it.

i have never been more proud of who they are in Christ. one girl shared that because of her friend (who also happened to be in my cabin) she wanted to know more about Christ. this same girl gave her life to Christ two nights ago! praise the Lord! another one of my girls was baptized last night! God really changed the lives of these girls. something i had been praying for for weeks.

the heat, exhaustion, bad food, and bug bites were worth it, just to watch these girls realize all that they can become in Christ. God is so good.

face to face.

i was at work tonight, and since i'm at the front desk, i get to hear the saturday night service most of the time. sometimes i find myself checking people in and singing along to the worship songs. i'm sure to the normal person i look very odd, but who cares. so, i'm standing there, and kari jobe is leading worship this weekend along with the Watoto Children's Choir who are here from Uganda.

kari was singing revelation song, which has always moved me to tears. at one point during the song, the children from Uganda were singing alone. i cannot describe the emotion that came over me. just to see those children worshiping the Lord with all their might. its as if they saw Him face to face.

i think thats one thing that i will miss most while i'm in Asia. i think i take for granted the freedom i have to worship here. we sing every sunday, and its routine. i am totally guilty of that. i'm not going to blame anyone but myself. because honestly, its not anyone else's fault.

so, as an imperfect worshiper, i challenge you (and myself) to a day full of beautiful worship. singing praises freely. because there might come a day when we can't worship freely, but oh how wonderful the freedom is now!

filled with wonder, awestruck wonder, at the mention of Your name. Jesus Your name is power, breath, and living water, such a marvelous mystery!  -Revelation Song by Kari Jobe