appoliges to the extramily bad typying nd spelling.
i got a laptop for one of the girls and im currently in te inetnet cafe trying to finally write blog! its so had to put into words everything thats going on here. weve been so challanged latly. right now i chalanged with smplicity, and "what is the chruh REALLY?" the biblicl churhc is MUCH different from the church of today. my eyes fill up with tears when i ask myself the quistion, "what if we actually took care of each other?" and then i wounder why we dont, and i already know the answer, we are all guilty of greed and selfishness.
read james 5:1-5, the rich oppressors. we are rich oppressors, thas s hard to face the north american church is a rich oppressor.
we may not have loads of extra money in the bank, and most of north america has debt, but we live a luxurious life, james 5:5.
most of the world lives on 2 dollars or less a day.
theres enough to go around, but to many live in greed while otheres live in need. and sadily, we are part of that.
were learing about fasting right now and part of that is next week were doing a 25 hours fast. it looks like this.
monday-breakfast only
tuesday-lunch only
wed-supper only
thursday-nothing
friday-breakfast only
and there will be paying going on 24/7 and were fasting from communication wih the "outside world" aka no phones or internet.
ministry is absoultyl amazing, im in "house visitaions". we walk around th townhis prying for the spirit to direct us, we listen and then do. this has brought us to daycares, dance parties, people in need of prayer aginst sickneses, against drinking and for jobs weve mad many frineds we visit often and try to pour out more of God ino there lives. weve helped build and extition onto a house(yesterday) weve come to a house that was augt on fire 3 weeks prior and hped fit it up some, we play with children, weve had line ups of people wanting payer in th middle of the road. theres lots of cool God stories i hope ill have the time to go into more detail soon.
i wish you all peace and love. and please carelly concider your ways. concider others and live in brothly love to everone.
Training camp-one crazy week, lots of
fire ants, bad sleeps, awsome team builders, some good and bad food,
long days, great lessons, lots of amazing prayer, amazing worship,
and great friends.
Africa/JBay-long flight over, beautiful
here, great "home" aka UCSA, great roommates-only one bathroom
for 10 girls, good food, colder then I thought-it hailed!, went
camping in the bush, lots of friends
Its hard to get to the internet cafe
right now because its always full and we dont have much free time at
the moment. Im here and happy and safe. Basking in Gods glory. We
started ministry yesterday. Im doing "house visitations" in the
townships.
I will post a log about training camp,
my african experiences so far, camping in the bush, and my ministry.
Theres lots to pray about! Friendships,
ministry, our leaders, team unity, the people in Jbay, our second
half ministry locations. Just pray that everything is God centered
and we are all open to His will.
My bags are packed and Im ready to go. I leave very early in the morning. To night I will enjoy my last night sleeping in my comfy bed. Iv said most of my goodbyes and will have a few last ones at the airport in the morning. Im good with goodbyes. Goodbyes and me and old friends. I don't know if I have packed too much or not. Nine months seems long to back. I have 2 large, very full bags and a carry on.
Thank you again to everyone! Thanks to all the supporters, thanks for the prayer, and thanks for the well wishes!
Please be praying for my team lots during training week. It will be our first time together and it will be a very intense week. Pray for strong friendships to start, for openness, for humility, for endurance, for our leaders and for God to prepare us for the amazing things he has planed for this mission trip.
Recently I have read "The Prayer of Jebez".(Which I plan to write a blog about soon.) Part of the prayer is asking God to "expand our territory". This sounded weird to me at first. This is not asking God for more land, or more possessions, or for more business, or anything like that. It is asking God for more ministry territory, more people to reach, and more ways to reach them. And it is not asking for ourselves, but to expand the Kingdom of God. To glorify Him. To win more souls for Him.
I have been praying this about our ministry in South Africa. That God will work through us. That we will continue to build off of the ministry opportunities there already, and that new opportunities will constantly arise, new relationships, and new ministry fields. That South Africa, and especially Jbay will be overflowing with people crying out to God and praising Him!
Also, I need to be more bold. Please be praying this for me. Pray that God will give me words to say when I cannot think of any. Pray that I wont let an opportunity to share the gospel slip between my fingers because of fear, shame, or stupidity.
Thanks so much again!
(A break from packing equales messy pudding faces. Pudding!)
umm, pudding
pud!
dripping chocolate pudding.
Pudding!
(Messy chocolate pudding faces might seem random, but there is a long inside joke between the pudding faces.)
I begun packing a few days ago. Getting laundry done, making lists, putting cloths in piles ect ect. Im usually a last minute packer, but Im trying to be more organized this time.
Packing for 9 months can be hard. We wont get to do laundry often, so I want to bring enough that I wont smell rank, but I don't want to bring too many things. I don't want to be the girl that brings everything she owns, but I don't want to have too little either.
This spring after watching the movie "Into the Wild" I decided I had a lot of things I didn't need. So I went threw all my cloths and shoes and threw out 2 and a half garbage bags of stuff. This makes it hard to pack some "grungy" cloths for training week when I have thrown them all out.
I sit in the spare bedroom with all my cloths neatly organized in piles, which is very unlike me. I realize how much more stuff I have accumulated since the spring. Im discussed by how many cloths I have.
I keep remembering this one boy from Ecuador that came out to camp. He wore the same shirt everyday. Did God love him any less because of this? No.
Does God love me anymore because I have lots of cloths? No. Does He love me any less because I have lots of cloths? No. They are just cloths.
"Let me not be blind with privilege
Give me eyes to see the pain
Let the blessing You've
poured out on me
Not be spent on me in vain
Let this life be used for change"
(Starfield)
I am privileged. God has blessed me. I can go out and buy a new shirt when I like to. I can go out to eat for lunch, like I did today. Im thankful for the life I have but I don't want to take advantage of it. And Im willing to lose it if God asks me to.
Wanderlust-a strong, innate desire to rove, roam, and travel about
I have decided to make a personal goal to visit all 7 continents by the ripe age of 25. Im currently 21 and have North America and South America under my belt, and soon Africa will be added to that list. This leaves Asia, Australia, Europe and Antarctica in the next 4 years.
I leave in a few short days. I'll be on my way to Georgia for the training week. Which will involve meeting all the team mates and leaders, team building, worship and bible studies, sleeping in non-electric cabins, showering outside with a hose and a lot of unexpected things Im sure. Im most looking forward to the unexpected. I know from reading blogs that training week can be a very intensely spiritual week.
Everyone has been asking me "Are you excited yet?!". Im happy that Im going and looking forward to it all, but yet I can't say Im excited right now.
Since everyone has been asking me about being excited, this last week I have realized how much pain I feel and how broken my heart is. And there is good and bad in that. It's broken for the right reason, it's my love for others and sense of justice and compassion that leaves me with a broken heart for people all over the world. I constantly feel sorrow for them. I look down at my wrists and see chains that link me to them. I hear a calling from God telling me to do something about it. I feel responsible for every child that is left without parents. I feel responsible for every girl raped in the sex trade. I feel responsible for every women widowed because of AIDS. I feel responsible for anyone that goes hungry. I feel responsible because, even though Im only one person, I can do something to change it. And I haven't. Until now.
The sorrow I feel for the people of the world leads me to tears almost everyday. It could be something on the news, or in a blog, or in a magazine, a verse in the bible, in my prayers, and sometimes I just cry for what seems like no reason. My heart is in pain, and it is broken.
"...and our hearts will certainly break in such a vulnerable life, but it is the best way. We were made to be lovers bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out again and again..."
(twloha.com)
This brokenness deepens my compassion and love. It ensures that I cant turn my back to these people., and that I will do something about it. My compassion will not just be felt, but will be acted upon. But it is hard to walk everyday with this sorrow. It can stress the spirit.
Sorrow and pain are not the only things I feel. They are overwhelming at times, but it is not all I feel. In this world there are a lot of ugly things that leave a lot of people broken, desperate, lonely and lost. In this world there is also a lot of beautiful things that leave people happy, hopeful, strong, and with a smile on there face.
I need to remember that I can have enjoyment along with the sorrow. That God has placed a lot of beautiful thing in my life, and in this world, that we are meant to enjoy.
"So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun."
I just read that we are going to be taking part in a ministry called "Beat The Drum" while in South Africa. I'm so excited for this! A film can be such a powerful thing. It can capture the attention of an audience and show things that we can only try to relay with words.
After I found out about this I quickly found the trailer for the film and watched it, and then followed that by a CNN interview about the film. Here's the links to both trailers, please watch them both to have a better idea what the ministry is based around.
BEAT THE DRUM, Somerset East, South Africa October 12th-19th 2008
Adventures in Missions is joining with other Jeffrey's Bay, South African organizations, churches and friends to bring Beat the Drum to Somerset East and WE NEED YOUR HELP.
HISTORY OF BEAT THE DRUM: The horror of so many millions of souls currently under the curse of AIDS has been seen. The movie "Beat the Drum" was the catalyst for our response. A multi-faceted approach was developed that continued with a massive campaign to train young people in AIDS prevention, mobilizing people, volunteers from Africa and the US to break up into teams to go into high schools to train the learners in biblically-based AIDS prevention under a brand new project called, Beat the Drum.
WHY SOMERSET EAST? In early 2008 George and Michele Mwanza took a team to Somerset East for outreach. They spent three days prayer walking through the community. Through this prayer walk God introduced them to many influential leaders and opened their eyes to the need for change and growth within this small community. George knew that the town was ready for Beat the Drum, it was just getting influential leaders on board. On Friday May 23rd six leaders went to present Beat the Drum to different representatives of schools, businesses, and churches. The response was amazing. God was so evident in that room that day. They are ready for Beat the Drum to happen tomorrow. God is telling us that it's time to move in to Summerset East and open their eyes and hearts to the ways of our Lord.
PRAYER NEEDS: *Continued prayer is needed for the whole week of community outreach week. *Families of the community *Finances *HIV/AIDS positive people in the community *Home Visits *For the volunteers *Curriculum facilitation *Lasting impact and real value *For God's spirit to be poured out on the people attending *Opening of their eyes to the knowledge and truth with understanding *The Truth of the Word of God *For the overall smooth running of our programs
FINANCIAL NEEDS: Vehicle rental/Gas for transporting teams from J-Bay to Somerset East (100 people/3 hour drive) Curriculum-Our target is 6,000 books which will cost $.80 a book which equals $4,800. Any additional food that is not donated by the community
HOW TO GIVE: www.adventures.org/give (Type "BTD Summerset" in the Staff name block)
MISSION: To serve the Somerset East Community by bringing primarily the message of abstinence through Beat the Drum project and giving hope through meeting felt needs in the community.
EXPECTATION: To see the movement of God To see believers, Churches and ministries join hands in unity to serve our community
PURPOSE: To educate on HIV/AIDS To prevent and STOP HIV/AIDS in the community To care for our community
An estimated 24.5 million adults and children were living with HIV or AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa at the end of 2005. Since then, an estimated 2.7 million additional persons have acquired HIV.
During 2005, an estimated 2 million people died from AIDS. The epidemic has left behind some 12 million orphaned African children.
In South Africa alone, an estimated 5,500,000 people are living with HIV or AIDS.
The most devastating part of these statistics is that the majority of people living with HIV don't even know it. Therefore they continue living out a normal lifestyle and thus infecting even more people.
In Africa, if someone does know they are infected with HIV, they don't admit it. They will blame their sickness on TB, pneumonia, or even a curse from witchcraft. Worse yet, if they do admit they have HIV or AIDS, they will be totally ostracized by friends, family, neighbors and even churches.
This epidemic is killing our brothers and sisters in Christ but is kept a secret. It's time for this generation to rise up and reveal the secret that is breaking God's heart and breaking apart Africa. That's why Beat the Drum was implemented.
At first I wished it could have been easier. I wished that the funds would have flooded in quickly. I knew that God would provide what I needed and assumed that this meant it would be easy and at the end of my fingertips. That put a condition on Gods providence. I limited Him. I put Him in a box. It was a beautiful box, one where His will was easy, but it was a box none the less.
I have been weak throughout the fundraising process. I have been jealous of my teammates that seemed to have an easy and quick time getting the funds. I have been disappointed with some Christians I know. I have had little faith. I have had doubts. I have worried.
To my teammates, friends, family, supporters and most importantly God, I am sorry.
Surprisingly I must say, I would not trade in this weakness for anyone else's fundraising experience. This is something I needed to go through to learn some lessons. And it added to my relationship with God even more. It has been hard, and its not over yet, but I can see Gods glory through all of this.
"And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
(Romans 5:3-5)
I learned I needed to ask.
I learned to place all faith in Him, not humans.
I learned His will is not always easy.
I learned not to worry.
I learned to expect supernatural things.
I learned to be bold.
I learned that when I am weak He is my strength.
I learned I can't limit God.
I learned to rely on God.
"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
When I am weak, He is able to show me His strength. He becomes my strength. Through my weakness He is glorified!
Friday morning started off shaky. I was getting ready for work and started up a conversation with my dad about the trip. This talk went long enough that I was going to be late for work, I was a wreck and ended up taking a personal day off.
My dad opened up my eyes to the fact that I was limiting God. I had thought before that if I took out a loan as a backup plan, that that meant I didn't have faith in God to provide. I opened up to the fact that God could use a loan as a way to provide for my trip. But I still felt a conviction that God was going to provide the funds.
I went outside in the backyard and cried out to God. I was down on my knees in the grass, with my face buried in my hands and tears coming down my face. I confessed to God that I was worrying and apologized for limiting Him. I told Him I wouldn't limit Him anymore. I asked Him to work supernaturally for the rest of the fundraising, because it wasn't "humanly" possible in my eyes. I thanked him for what He had already done, and thanked Him for what He was doing that I couldn't see. And I told Him that whatever happens, I want His glory to shine. I asked Him to use my weaknesses as a chance to shine His glory through.
Shortly after I got a call from my pastor with the decision on how much my church will be supporting me. SeasideCommunityBaptistChurch will be supporting me $500 to start off and $100 per month Im gone. This is coming from a church that meets in a school gym, is only a year old and has no mission board to decide something like this. Praise God! (And thank you Seaside)
I had put up some items on kijij to sell to raise some money to go towards the trip cost. Within the first few hours I had over 30 replies back and sold a few items already. Praise God! (And thank you those people that bought something)
A few hours later a close friend of mine I met at college pledged $150 per month that I will be gone. This is coming from a guy a year younger then me, who is saving up to put himself through school next year. Praise God! (And thank you MJ)
Before I went to bed I checked my AIM account to see how much funds were in there, and someone had made an anonymous donation of $1,680. Which is how much I needed to fulfill my 60% deadline before I leave. Praise God! (And thank you "anonymous")
I tell you this, so you can see Gods glory! God is good. Praise God!
umm, pudding
pud!
dripping chocolate pudding.
Pudding!
