New Year!

HAPPY (almost) NEW YEAR!!! The day is coming closer when I get to begin my adventure in Kenya! 13 more days! So, now is the time for New Year's resolutions? Here is a few to consider:

• Leading at least 5 people to Christ this year.
• Share my testimony 100 times.
• Learn to fully depend on God for all my needs.
• Ride an camel.
• Ride an elephant.
• Make 365 new friends. (One for everyday!)

Those are just a few of mine... What are yours? Once you make a list, look back and see what the basis of those are. Are they about glorifying yourself (like losing weight so you look better, or getting new stuff)? Or do they glorify God and show love to others? (Note: my list took a loooong time to narrow down.. And I just HAD to keep riding an elephant and camel in there...) You still have time to narrow down YOUR list! 

Mission Field

Goodbyes are always hard, but I guess in order to say, "hello" you have to say "goodbye". The past two weeks have been filled with a lot of "goodbyes" and some "see-you-later's" with my classmates and co-workers. For anyone who knows me, I hate (or dislike with a passion) goodbyes. I also hate (again, with passion) crying in front of people! Well, one seems to cause the other. I managed to make half of my co-workers and a few close friends cry. 
However, I will trust God for whatever he has for me because He has a plan! Jeremiah 29:11 (from the Message):

 "I know what I am doing. I have it all planned out-

plans to take care of you, not to abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for."

I have to trust God. I might never see some of these people on this earth or ever again. Only God knows when our paths will cross again. I will pray that someone will get the blessing to lead them to Christ. I did the job God told me to do. That was my mission field. Where is your mission field? Your school? Your job? The people before you in line at Taco Bell or Walmart? (Don't hate! This is America...) How are they going to see Christ in you? Do they know you are a Christian by your actions as well as your words? 

Scared? Me?!

     Everyone has asked me if I am scared. Well, considering I am a 19 year old moving to Kenya for 5 months, I am not scared. My reason? God has everything under control so he doesn't need me to worry. He has provided the money (which was a miracle in itself!), and the opportunity for me to go to Africa. He promises me in His word that He will not leave me or abandon me there. He is going with me and He will stay with me! His security is the only one I need.
(Although some other ones would be nice... I plan to befriend a older grey-headed African because they are considered very wise there and no one wants to mess with them. Good plan, your thoughts?)
   

My Plan or Yours?

So since August this past summer God has really laid on my heart to go on a mission trip through the International Mission Board (or IMB). He literally placed an opportunity in my lap. I applied for this program called "Hands On", which is for college students to go and spend an extended amount of time in a designated place. My application was accepted, and I found out they were sending me to Kenya, Africa for a 5 month period. Of course, I was STOKED to find out about this adventure! I intensely prayed about God's will for me and this trip:                

                                              God is this really what you want me to do? 

If so, please provide an opportunity for me to go, support from my family, and the money I need to go. Your will be done and not mine. Amen.

The NEXT DAY I got emails and phone calls saying I was accepted, where I was going and what I needed to do next! Considering the back-to-back answers to prayers, I decided to trust God and seize the opportunity to serve God in Africa. Since then, God has blessed me with such a generous church family and close friends who are supporting me to go on this amazing adventure for Christ. 

    Do you also want to help me in this outreach? The BEST thing you can do is to PRAY. Prayer is crucial point to any ministry, and it would be most appreciated!

•  Pray for the people I will be in contact with each day.
•  Pray for my family at home to have courage and peace for me. 
• Pray that God will give me the emotional, spiritual and physical strength to be the witness I need to be.

Me!

      Being a preacher's kid, or "PK", has had it's ups and downs but I wouldn't change it for the world. God has blessed me with such an AMAZING family who is supporting me as I prepare for the mission field. 
      My journey began as an 8 year old girl when I accepted Jesus as my Savior. Even from the start God began breaking my heart for people who are lost without Him. It wasn't until church camp in the summer of 2008, that I surrendered my life to His will for me to be in the mission field. Little did I know that EVERYWHERE God placed me WAS my mission field. He has used me to be a light to the people around me and my job, my school, and in my community. 
       I am so very thankful that he can make something beautiful out of a little "PK"! Because of Jesus I am who I am: I love people, I love any kind of sport, I love ICE CREAM, I love my family, I love playing on the playgrounds at the park, I even love the face in the mirror (sometimes!), and I love this life God has blessed me with. 
   He can do the same for YOU, if you will let Him in... 
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in..." - Revelations 3:20