All praise be to His name!
our trip officially ended last night
praise God for the transformation He has done in each one of our lives! He has made me new. He has blessed me with friendships that will last a lifetime, lessons and areas of growth that will be used the rest of my life, and He has set a fire to my passions.
praise the Lord.
tomorrow I'm going camping for two days and then I'll make my way through Italy with Darrell and Annette...and then I'll be home! can't wait to see you guys and hear about all your summers!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
there was weeping.
our team just arrived back in Riga after 9 days of camp, and 11 days, in Rezekne, Latvia, for a total of 2 weeks in Latvia...
my life is forever changed.
i will try and share a brief overview of what this past week has looked like, but i am exhausted, so i am looking forward to the day when i can rejoice with you all in what God has done this week in full detail.
zosna camp...picture this...
run down school house infested with mosquitos, in the middle of a tiny village of alcoholics, with an orphanage specifically for children coming from traumatic experiences...if this camp were to run in America it would be shut down before it even was open, which is why its so awesome!! haha...we washed our dishes in the same bucket of "soapy" water all week; camp was only supposed to be 8 days but they extended it to 9 just for the fun of it; the skit to introduce the kids to camp included the use of a real gun, the stopping of and breaking into the campers' bus, and a whole load of other events; our shower was a lake; there was no real schedule, the only regular activity was the two hours of Bible class; we had a nature fashion show; every night we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning around the campfire talking deeply about God and life with all the kids...the list just goes on and on and on...and on...Zosna camp is AWESOME!!!!...
70 campers...14 of us leaders...about 90 in all, including staff...plus a very really, very active, very loving God
in this week i watched in awe as God brought 10 campers to know and accept Him as Lord and Savior, 15 others recommit their lives to Him with a strong desire to live a life passionately pursuing the King...2 of the kids who committed their lives to Christ for the first time were in my Bible study...every orphan from last time remembered me by name, instantly, and then God proceeded to show me how He has answered my prayers for them over the last two years...One example, Vladik. This boy was in my Bible group two years ago and was the most closed off and depressed of all the kids, by the end of the week he was bawling because he had experienced love for the first time and didn't want to let it go; this year, Vladik was in my group again, and this year Vladik talked about God in our group times, asked questions about following Him, and thanked me for helping him to believe in God. He has become my brother. Our God is good.
there are so many amazing things that have happened in this last week that i have been left speechless with awe...i cannot wait to share with you all that our God has done this week, His presence was so real, He lit a fire in Rezekne.
and now...now my heart has been broken and is with those kids...but one thing i know, there is no doubting what God did in those 70 kids, and there is no doubting what He did in me. He changed my life.
Praise the LORD.
prayers for these next two weeks:
-One of the girls on our team is wanting to leave early because of some difficulties...pray for wisdom for us as leaders in what to allow her to do.
-energy and strength to make it through to the end
-Open hearts, eyes, and ears for me and every member of our team as we begin to process what God has done in our lives this summer
-A focused mind and heart, the summer is not over yet and so i want to remain focused on where God has me and what He still has in store, rather than focusing on what will happen when its over.
praises:
-I have never before experienced God's goodness to such intensity as this week
-God's love can never be comprehended by the human mind
-God has answered prayers in my life this last week that i have been praying, not only for this summer, but for the past two years
there was weeping this week, but our hearts were, and are, rejoicing forevermore in our God.
my life is forever changed.
i will try and share a brief overview of what this past week has looked like, but i am exhausted, so i am looking forward to the day when i can rejoice with you all in what God has done this week in full detail.
zosna camp...picture this...
run down school house infested with mosquitos, in the middle of a tiny village of alcoholics, with an orphanage specifically for children coming from traumatic experiences...if this camp were to run in America it would be shut down before it even was open, which is why its so awesome!! haha...we washed our dishes in the same bucket of "soapy" water all week; camp was only supposed to be 8 days but they extended it to 9 just for the fun of it; the skit to introduce the kids to camp included the use of a real gun, the stopping of and breaking into the campers' bus, and a whole load of other events; our shower was a lake; there was no real schedule, the only regular activity was the two hours of Bible class; we had a nature fashion show; every night we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning around the campfire talking deeply about God and life with all the kids...the list just goes on and on and on...and on...Zosna camp is AWESOME!!!!...
70 campers...14 of us leaders...about 90 in all, including staff...plus a very really, very active, very loving God
in this week i watched in awe as God brought 10 campers to know and accept Him as Lord and Savior, 15 others recommit their lives to Him with a strong desire to live a life passionately pursuing the King...2 of the kids who committed their lives to Christ for the first time were in my Bible study...every orphan from last time remembered me by name, instantly, and then God proceeded to show me how He has answered my prayers for them over the last two years...One example, Vladik. This boy was in my Bible group two years ago and was the most closed off and depressed of all the kids, by the end of the week he was bawling because he had experienced love for the first time and didn't want to let it go; this year, Vladik was in my group again, and this year Vladik talked about God in our group times, asked questions about following Him, and thanked me for helping him to believe in God. He has become my brother. Our God is good.
there are so many amazing things that have happened in this last week that i have been left speechless with awe...i cannot wait to share with you all that our God has done this week, His presence was so real, He lit a fire in Rezekne.
and now...now my heart has been broken and is with those kids...but one thing i know, there is no doubting what God did in those 70 kids, and there is no doubting what He did in me. He changed my life.
Praise the LORD.
prayers for these next two weeks:
-One of the girls on our team is wanting to leave early because of some difficulties...pray for wisdom for us as leaders in what to allow her to do.
-energy and strength to make it through to the end
-Open hearts, eyes, and ears for me and every member of our team as we begin to process what God has done in our lives this summer
-A focused mind and heart, the summer is not over yet and so i want to remain focused on where God has me and what He still has in store, rather than focusing on what will happen when its over.
praises:
-I have never before experienced God's goodness to such intensity as this week
-God's love can never be comprehended by the human mind
-God has answered prayers in my life this last week that i have been praying, not only for this summer, but for the past two years
there was weeping this week, but our hearts were, and are, rejoicing forevermore in our God.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
latvia tomorrow!
we leave tomorrow...i can hardly believe it...i feel like i just arrived in Skjolden yesterday, and now we are heading out...craziness :)
please pray.
and praise God that our entire team will be with us, noone is going home anymore! praise God!
please pray.
and praise God that our entire team will be with us, noone is going home anymore! praise God!
Friday, July 3, 2009
halfway down...
So...I can hardly believe 3 weeks have passed by and only 4 or 5 remain (I've lost count)
This morning marked the end of our discipleship training program...a week of incredible transformation...the prayer for a transformational summer in my life and the lives of all the students is being answered.
What happened this week?
- I was in charge of the hostel for the week...Preparing and cooking all the meals for 40+ people, delegating chores and meal prep help, laundry, cleaning, and of course, my favorite, dessert every night :)
- Investing in our girls...This week was full of intense, deep communication with 40 college students from all around the world, in addition to life-changing times alone with God...Each one of the girls on our team has struggled, and yet, God is moving and blessing them abundantly...praise be to His name! I loved loved! this week, last year I had a difficult and overwhelming experience when all the international students came, but this year has been incredible, I have learned SO much, been challenged in SO many ways, and left SO deeply encouraged...again, praise His name! God is doing great things.
- Discussion groups... One of the things I most love is having intense, deep conversations about God and the Word. Every morning this week, after our quiet times, we broke up into our discussion groups and did just that, talked for hours, asking questions, searching scripture, praising God, praying through difficult thoughts...oh, what sweet times!
- Lydia (Inna's sister) and I talked all throughout the week in Russian! sweet music to my ears! :)
What is ahead of us this next week?
- LATVIA!!!!
What will this look like for me and our team?
- Being united as one body witht the UK team (who I really enjoy)
- Spending and being Spent for Him
- little sleep
- lots of conversations, lots of games, lots of craziness!, lots of Russian, lots of smiles coming from me :)
- being surrounded by orphans who are longing for love
Prayer requests?
- One of our girls is really struggling and will probably be leaving back to the States soon/before Latvia (noone has ever been allowed to go home early...a picture of how severe the situation is). Please pray for her, for God's healing hand. Please pray for the rest of us girls and my heart...I find myself feeling like I could have done more to help her, but I need to realize that only God can heal her and pull her out of the pit of darkness that has engulfed this dear sister...all of us girls have truly grown to love her as a sister and it breaks my heart to see her go.
- I'm already thinking about the day that I will have to say goodbye to the Latvians...pray that the Lord would keep me focused on today, His daily bread which will get me through today and today alone, that I would be able to pour out all of my heart each day, without reservation, knowing that, yes, my heart may break, but His will is good, pleasing, and perfect.
- unity amongst the UK and US team as we prepare to leave together...strength, energy, love and compassion, for each other and for everyone at the camp
- open ears, eyes, and hearts...for all God has to teach us and teach others through us
Know that I'm praying for you all and send my love :) praise God for all He is doing.
The last few days I have had Psalm 66 stuck on my mind...may this be true for all of our summers and lives...
"Shout with joy to God all the earth! Sing the glory of his name, make his praise glorious!...all the earth bows down to you, they sing praise to your name. selah. Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf! He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot- come, let us rejoice in him. He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations...Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard, he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested us, you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs, you let men ride over our heads, we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance...Come and listen, all you who fear God, let me tell you what he has done for me...." Praise be to His name!
Monday morning, July 6, we leave for Riga, Latvia...July 9 camp begins in Rezekne, Latvia... This will be my last posting, most likely, until we return from Latvia because the hostel we will be staying at is different than last time (praise God no more Friendly Fun Franks :) )
these next weeks will be very difficult, but still, very sweet...please be praying and praising God for all He is doing! our God is very real, very living, and very active.
I love you all.
This morning marked the end of our discipleship training program...a week of incredible transformation...the prayer for a transformational summer in my life and the lives of all the students is being answered.
What happened this week?
- I was in charge of the hostel for the week...Preparing and cooking all the meals for 40+ people, delegating chores and meal prep help, laundry, cleaning, and of course, my favorite, dessert every night :)
- Investing in our girls...This week was full of intense, deep communication with 40 college students from all around the world, in addition to life-changing times alone with God...Each one of the girls on our team has struggled, and yet, God is moving and blessing them abundantly...praise be to His name! I loved loved! this week, last year I had a difficult and overwhelming experience when all the international students came, but this year has been incredible, I have learned SO much, been challenged in SO many ways, and left SO deeply encouraged...again, praise His name! God is doing great things.
- Discussion groups... One of the things I most love is having intense, deep conversations about God and the Word. Every morning this week, after our quiet times, we broke up into our discussion groups and did just that, talked for hours, asking questions, searching scripture, praising God, praying through difficult thoughts...oh, what sweet times!
- Lydia (Inna's sister) and I talked all throughout the week in Russian! sweet music to my ears! :)
What is ahead of us this next week?
- LATVIA!!!!
What will this look like for me and our team?
- Being united as one body witht the UK team (who I really enjoy)
- Spending and being Spent for Him
- little sleep
- lots of conversations, lots of games, lots of craziness!, lots of Russian, lots of smiles coming from me :)
- being surrounded by orphans who are longing for love
Prayer requests?
- One of our girls is really struggling and will probably be leaving back to the States soon/before Latvia (noone has ever been allowed to go home early...a picture of how severe the situation is). Please pray for her, for God's healing hand. Please pray for the rest of us girls and my heart...I find myself feeling like I could have done more to help her, but I need to realize that only God can heal her and pull her out of the pit of darkness that has engulfed this dear sister...all of us girls have truly grown to love her as a sister and it breaks my heart to see her go.
- I'm already thinking about the day that I will have to say goodbye to the Latvians...pray that the Lord would keep me focused on today, His daily bread which will get me through today and today alone, that I would be able to pour out all of my heart each day, without reservation, knowing that, yes, my heart may break, but His will is good, pleasing, and perfect.
- unity amongst the UK and US team as we prepare to leave together...strength, energy, love and compassion, for each other and for everyone at the camp
- open ears, eyes, and hearts...for all God has to teach us and teach others through us
Know that I'm praying for you all and send my love :) praise God for all He is doing.
The last few days I have had Psalm 66 stuck on my mind...may this be true for all of our summers and lives...
"Shout with joy to God all the earth! Sing the glory of his name, make his praise glorious!...all the earth bows down to you, they sing praise to your name. selah. Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf! He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot- come, let us rejoice in him. He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations...Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard, he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested us, you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs, you let men ride over our heads, we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance...Come and listen, all you who fear God, let me tell you what he has done for me...." Praise be to His name!
Monday morning, July 6, we leave for Riga, Latvia...July 9 camp begins in Rezekne, Latvia... This will be my last posting, most likely, until we return from Latvia because the hostel we will be staying at is different than last time (praise God no more Friendly Fun Franks :) )
these next weeks will be very difficult, but still, very sweet...please be praying and praising God for all He is doing! our God is very real, very living, and very active.
I love you all.
Monday, June 22, 2009
laughter
This last week at the hostel in Skjolden has been nothing short of amazing... We have hiked, done work projects, studied the Word, lasted through hours of discussion and philosophical conversations with Patrick and Darrell, we have camped, we have laughed, we have cried, we have bonded, and well, basically we've done it all :) haha
praises:
the girls. God has blessed me with an amazing group of girls, each of us struggling through life situations, and yet, each of us holding onto this opportunity for bonding and learning from one another
the leaders. Patrick has done an incredible job leading our team, I praise God for how He is working through Patrick, not only to lead us, but also to challenge us and spur us on toward growth.
my growth. God has taken hold of my life, challenged me, convicted me, blessed me, rejoiced over me, and shown me His love in ways I have never before experienced.
laughter and freedom. These last two weeks, I have laughed longer, and more frequently, than I have in a very very long time. Also, and along that same line, as God has opened my eyes to who He has made me to be (personality and character traits, passions, etc.) I have felt more freedom and confidence to be the person God has designed me to be than I ever have before.
I love my team. Bonding and relating takes great effort, but oh how its worth it!
prayers:
tomorrow begins our major construction projects on the hostel and throughout the town, pray for energy, strength, consistent and blessed time in the Word.
Wednesday through Friday our international teams will be arriving...pray for us during that time too, being surrounded by 25 other students from starkly different cultures can be overwhelming and tiring...please pray for our girls, that we would continue to grow closer even as more students come and more of our energy is sapped.
Discipleship week begins on Monday...pray that God would prepare our hearts for that time and for all He has for us to learn, for growth, and greater awe of His person, and for even greater unity amongst all our teams as one big team for the week.
that God would continue preparing us for Latvia, its about two weeks away, might He do in, and through, us more than we could ever ask or imagine.
All praise be to the Lord of lords and the King of kings!
I love you guys! thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement!
praises:
the girls. God has blessed me with an amazing group of girls, each of us struggling through life situations, and yet, each of us holding onto this opportunity for bonding and learning from one another
the leaders. Patrick has done an incredible job leading our team, I praise God for how He is working through Patrick, not only to lead us, but also to challenge us and spur us on toward growth.
my growth. God has taken hold of my life, challenged me, convicted me, blessed me, rejoiced over me, and shown me His love in ways I have never before experienced.
laughter and freedom. These last two weeks, I have laughed longer, and more frequently, than I have in a very very long time. Also, and along that same line, as God has opened my eyes to who He has made me to be (personality and character traits, passions, etc.) I have felt more freedom and confidence to be the person God has designed me to be than I ever have before.
I love my team. Bonding and relating takes great effort, but oh how its worth it!
prayers:
tomorrow begins our major construction projects on the hostel and throughout the town, pray for energy, strength, consistent and blessed time in the Word.
Wednesday through Friday our international teams will be arriving...pray for us during that time too, being surrounded by 25 other students from starkly different cultures can be overwhelming and tiring...please pray for our girls, that we would continue to grow closer even as more students come and more of our energy is sapped.
Discipleship week begins on Monday...pray that God would prepare our hearts for that time and for all He has for us to learn, for growth, and greater awe of His person, and for even greater unity amongst all our teams as one big team for the week.
that God would continue preparing us for Latvia, its about two weeks away, might He do in, and through, us more than we could ever ask or imagine.
All praise be to the Lord of lords and the King of kings!
I love you guys! thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
are you all in?
I'm alive! and I'm in Skjolden, Norway! sorry its taken so long to update my blog (which I promised to be regular about), but this is the first opportunity i've had to get onto a computer...so, here we go...
Norway has been amazing...why?...it is exactly where I am supposed to be. From day one, God has been challenging me, renewing me, reviving my joy, chipping away at my cold heart...God is good. Our team has been such a blessing, and what an experience it has been with the women...leading these amazing girls has already been a great journey and left me praising at answered prayers...God has given me more than enough energy to hike the mountains, all while being able to listen and engage in deep conversation with the girls...and oh how our God works, every single member of our team is the perfect addition, we are all desiring to grow in the same areas and I cannot wait to watch as God begins to stretch and mold us all...how sweet!
are you all in? two hours ago, our team finished our 24 hours of alone time with the Lord...a time purposed to begin preparing us for all that God has ahead of us this summer...the result...for the team it was a realization that our relationships with God are all or nothing, a full surrender of everything, thus, are you all in? this is the challenge, and if so, what does that mean for each one of us?...what did this 24 include for me? a realization of God's presence with me at every moment this past year, He will never leave me nor forsake me, He is here; an understanding that God has a transforming work to do in each of our lives this summer, which begins with a renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2); and a processing of the question that has been running through my mind ever since arriving in Norway...who am I? yes, I am God's, and yes, I desire for my identity to be found solely in Him. but, deeper than that, who am I as a daughter of the King? outside of all the expectations I, wrongly, set for myself and the masks I hide behind, who has He created me to be? what passions, what characteristics shine forth, what does He have for me...who am I?
this summer will be difficult, already has been difficult, this summer will be amazing, already has been amazing, this summer will be fun, already has been fun...this summer I am exactly, exactly, where God wants me.
I am all in.
Isaiah 43:18-19 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."
I love you guys! :)
P.S. I'm loving the Isaiah commentary, Dad! Absolutely mind boggling, leaves me speechless each time I read through it :) love you!
Monday, June 8, 2009
and...I'm off!
5am tomorrow morning I leave to Phoenix and then depart for Bergen, Norway! Pray for safe travels and a sweet time of bonding as we meet up for the first time as a team :)
can't wait to share this experience with you all!
can't wait to share this experience with you all!
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