There is nothing in the world I love more than hispanic children.
Honestly.
I love the friends and fam, baking, rain.. all that stuff, but really, I just get so much joy out of serving little adorable hispanic kids.
Well, the point of this story, I guess, is that we started ministry today.
After some deep, deep cleaning, and some adventures into the dark smelly depths of the boys bathroom, we finally got to meet the kids we'll be pouring into all summer.
As insane as it was, I fell in love. These kids are precious, from Cristian, my sassy new friend, to Pedro, the crazy six year old with quite the mullet.
The kids I'll specifically be serving are so far, a rowdy group of nine and ten year olds, mostly made up of boys. I don't know, but I'm just so excited to get to know them. I know these kids are coming from rough family situations, and are just yearning for love and acceptance. So a prayer to start this out with is that I'll be able to love them as our Father does-to see past their attitudes when something's going on with their families, to put myself at their level so I can best care for them and show them the love of a Father that does not abuse, does not ignore, does not leave- a Father that is always there to comfort them.
If that makes any sense :)
I did get a few laughs out of today, though.
Prayer time:
"Miss, will you pray that my mom gets me pizza tonight? I really like pizza, and she never gets it for us anymore."
"Miss, will you pray that I get healthy food?"
Uh, ok...
We did have some legit prayer requests, though. I guess you give and you take with ten year olds.
Oh, crazy boys..
They are so well-mannered, though. They call us all "Miss" and gosh, they're adorable.
We did also have teen club today, which I'm pretty excited for, too.
The group is a lot smaller than the kids (which gets up to 70 by the end of the summer), averaging around 10 teens, which I find nice- it's a lot easier to get to know everyone.
I guess the one problem with all of this, is that with all the time on the field we'll have combined with the amount of amazing people we're with and the amount of distractions (as nice as they are) in the house we're staying in, is that it's so easy for me to lose focus, to put a conversation with a sweet new sister ahead of getting in the Word and doing my quiet time or preparing for leading my Bible study in the first place.
I don't want to forget why I'm here.
I really don't.
Please pray for focus.
And finally, I really can't sleep here. I've never had a problem with sleeping. But, last night, it took me an hour to fall asleep because I have to listen to music to drown out the snoring above me, and I usually wake up to music so I'm still accustoming myself to that. Then I woke up to an awful dream, ten minutes later another girl woke up to a nightmare and screamed, so everyone had to take a midmorning bathroom break, then there was the girl texting for an hour next to me after.. needless to say, I was awake from four am on. And the work we're doing is draining in the first place...
So I really need sleep.
I know that this is probably counterproductive to be awake right now, but I'm on such overload thinking-wise, I just needed to get it out, get a good devo, and read...
I have no idea how much sense I'm making, but who cares.
Anyway, I'm going to cut this off for the night.
Thanks for the prayers :)
grace and peace
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Father Abraham had many sons...
I realize I said I wouldn't post this much, and I'm sure in reality, I won't as soon as I start my teaching work officially. But oh, well. I have a lot on my mind.
As I said last week, I've been working through a Charles Spurgeon book on praising God. I don't know, I've heard all of this before, but this time in these words, all of it's just hitting me a bit harder.
Talking about Psalm 103:1-Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name-Spurgeon says, "Only a holy man can delight in holy things. Holiness is the terror of unholy men. They love sin and consider it liberty, but holiness is slavery to them. If we are saints, we will bless God for His holiness, and be glad that in Him, there is neither spot nor flaw. He is without iniquity. Just and righteous is He. Even to save His people, He would not violate His law. Even to deliver His own beloved from going down into the pit, He would not turn away from the paths of justice. "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty" (Rev 4:8) is the loftiest cry of cherubim and seraphim in their perfect bliss. It is a joyous song both to the saints on earth and those in heaven. The pure in heart gaze on divine holiness with awestruck joy."
I don't know why that hit me, but it did. How privileged are we that we have a God who makes us clean so that we can delight in Him? How can we continue to sin when we know a God like ours? Are we not doing Him injustice by doing so? If we are called to glorify Him with every breath we breathe, shouldn't we do so by not only doing so in mind, but obedience, and by bring His children to Him?
Spurgeon goes on to say, "David praised God not only with his lips, not only with his hands on the harp strings, not just with his eyes lifted toward the heaven, but also with his soul, his very self, his truest self. Never let me present to God the outward and superficial alone, but let me give to Him the inner and the sincere. Never let me bring before Him merely the outward senses that my soul uses, but the soul that uses these inner faculties. No 'whitewashed tombs' (Matt 23:27) will please the Lord... We must not merely bless the Lord with our bodies, which will become dust, but with our inner spiritual natures, which make us like angels. Our spiritual natures are that which cause it to be said that in the image of God we were create. My spiritual nature, my loftiest powers, must magnify God- not with a voice that sings a self-righteous song of praise, but with a sincere heart; not with lips that cry 'Hosanna' thoughtlessly, but with a mind that considers and intelligently worships. Not with the narrow confines of my body would I sing this song, but I would fill the limitless regions through which my spirit soars on wings of boundless thought with Jehovah's praise. My real self, my best self, will bless the Lord."
It's so easy to fall into a rut of praising God out of habit, only on Sundays. Our God is bigger than that, deserves much more than that. Though all we have to give is already His, our efforts to love and praise Him please Him. Spurgeon quotes 1 Chronicles 29:14, which says "Of Your own we have given You." I think that sums it up. All we have is His. He sacrificed for us. For us. We are undeserving, so why don't we give Him our all?
Why don't we give Him our focus, strive for what little understanding we can achieve, praise Him with all we have, our souls?
The last bit of Spurgeon I'm going to throw at you today is his question, "My immortal soul, why are you spending your energies upon mortal things? Will you hunt for fleeting shadows while you are most real and enduring? Will you collect bubbles, knowing that you will endure forever in a life coexistent with God Himself, for He has given you eternal life in His Son Jesus?"
I find myself worrying about the fleeting, chasing the shadows only this life will know. Why? I have an eternity with my Saviour and Prince to look forward to?
Anywho. We've been invited to a lawn party at a family's house this afternoon, so I think I'm going to do some more reading and preparing before then.
grace and peace
As I said last week, I've been working through a Charles Spurgeon book on praising God. I don't know, I've heard all of this before, but this time in these words, all of it's just hitting me a bit harder.
Talking about Psalm 103:1-Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name-Spurgeon says, "Only a holy man can delight in holy things. Holiness is the terror of unholy men. They love sin and consider it liberty, but holiness is slavery to them. If we are saints, we will bless God for His holiness, and be glad that in Him, there is neither spot nor flaw. He is without iniquity. Just and righteous is He. Even to save His people, He would not violate His law. Even to deliver His own beloved from going down into the pit, He would not turn away from the paths of justice. "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty" (Rev 4:8) is the loftiest cry of cherubim and seraphim in their perfect bliss. It is a joyous song both to the saints on earth and those in heaven. The pure in heart gaze on divine holiness with awestruck joy."
I don't know why that hit me, but it did. How privileged are we that we have a God who makes us clean so that we can delight in Him? How can we continue to sin when we know a God like ours? Are we not doing Him injustice by doing so? If we are called to glorify Him with every breath we breathe, shouldn't we do so by not only doing so in mind, but obedience, and by bring His children to Him?
Spurgeon goes on to say, "David praised God not only with his lips, not only with his hands on the harp strings, not just with his eyes lifted toward the heaven, but also with his soul, his very self, his truest self. Never let me present to God the outward and superficial alone, but let me give to Him the inner and the sincere. Never let me bring before Him merely the outward senses that my soul uses, but the soul that uses these inner faculties. No 'whitewashed tombs' (Matt 23:27) will please the Lord... We must not merely bless the Lord with our bodies, which will become dust, but with our inner spiritual natures, which make us like angels. Our spiritual natures are that which cause it to be said that in the image of God we were create. My spiritual nature, my loftiest powers, must magnify God- not with a voice that sings a self-righteous song of praise, but with a sincere heart; not with lips that cry 'Hosanna' thoughtlessly, but with a mind that considers and intelligently worships. Not with the narrow confines of my body would I sing this song, but I would fill the limitless regions through which my spirit soars on wings of boundless thought with Jehovah's praise. My real self, my best self, will bless the Lord."
It's so easy to fall into a rut of praising God out of habit, only on Sundays. Our God is bigger than that, deserves much more than that. Though all we have to give is already His, our efforts to love and praise Him please Him. Spurgeon quotes 1 Chronicles 29:14, which says "Of Your own we have given You." I think that sums it up. All we have is His. He sacrificed for us. For us. We are undeserving, so why don't we give Him our all?
Why don't we give Him our focus, strive for what little understanding we can achieve, praise Him with all we have, our souls?
The last bit of Spurgeon I'm going to throw at you today is his question, "My immortal soul, why are you spending your energies upon mortal things? Will you hunt for fleeting shadows while you are most real and enduring? Will you collect bubbles, knowing that you will endure forever in a life coexistent with God Himself, for He has given you eternal life in His Son Jesus?"
I find myself worrying about the fleeting, chasing the shadows only this life will know. Why? I have an eternity with my Saviour and Prince to look forward to?
Anywho. We've been invited to a lawn party at a family's house this afternoon, so I think I'm going to do some more reading and preparing before then.
grace and peace
Saturday, 5 June 2010
I really won't be posting every day.. I think..
I realize I said I wouldn't post this much, and I'm sure in reality, I won't as soon as I start my teaching work officially. But oh, well. I have a lot on my mind.
As I said last week, I've been working through a Charles Spurgeon book on praising God. I don't know, I've heard all of this before, but this time in these words, all of it's just hitting me a bit harder.
Talking about Psalm 103:1-Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name-Spurgeon says, "Only a holy man can delight in holy things. Holiness is the terror of unholy men. They love sin and consider it liberty, but holiness is slavery to them. If we are saints, we will bless God for His holiness, and be glad that in Him, there is neither spot nor flaw. He is without iniquity. Just and righteous is He. Even to save His people, He would not violate His law. Even to deliver His own beloved from going down into the pit, He would not turn away from the paths of justice. "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty" (Rev 4:8) is the loftiest cry of cherubim and seraphim in their perfect bliss. It is a joyous song both to the saints on earth and those in heaven. The pure in heart gaze on divine holiness with awestruck joy."
I don't know why that hit me, but it did. How privileged are we that we have a God who makes us clean so that we can delight in Him? How can we continue to sin when we know a God like ours? Are we not doing Him injustice by doing so? If we are called to glorify Him with every breath we breathe, shouldn't we do so by not only doing so in mind, but obedience, and by bring His children to Him?
Spurgeon goes on to say, "David praised God not only with his lips, not only with his hands on the harp strings, not just with his eyes lifted toward the heaven, but also with his soul, his very self, his truest self. Never let me present to God the outward and superficial alone, but let me give to Him the inner and the sincere. Never let me bring before Him merely the outward senses that my soul uses, but the soul that uses these inner faculties. No 'whitewashed tombs' (Matt 23:27) will please the Lord... We must not merely bless the Lord with our bodies, which will become dust, but with our inner spiritual natures, which make us like angels. Our spiritual natures are that which cause it to be said that in the image of God we were create. My spiritual nature, my loftiest powers, must magnify God- not with a voice that sings a self-righteous song of praise, but with a sincere heart; not with lips that cry 'Hosanna' thoughtlessly, but with a mind that considers and intelligently worships. Not with the narrow confines of my body would I sing this song, but I would fill the limitless regions through which my spirit soars on wings of boundless thought with Jehovah's praise. My real self, my best self, will bless the Lord."
It's so easy to fall into a rut of praising God out of habit, only on Sundays. Our God is bigger than that, deserves much more than that. Though all we have to give is already His, our efforts to love and praise Him please Him. Spurgeon quotes 1 Chronicles 29:14, which says "Of Your own we have given You." I think that sums it up. All we have is His. He sacrificed for us. For us. We are undeserving, so why don't we give Him our all?
Why don't we give Him our focus, strive for what little understanding we can achieve, praise Him with all we have, our souls?
The last bit of Spurgeon I'm going to throw at you today is his question, "My immortal soul, why are you spending your energies upon mortal things? Will you hunt for fleeting shadows while you are most real and enduring? Will you collect bubbles, knowing that you will endure forever in a life coexistent with God Himself, for He has given you eternal life in His Son Jesus?"
I find myself worrying about the fleeting, chasing the shadows only this life will know. Why? I have an eternity with my Saviour and Prince to look forward to?
Anywho. We've been invited to a lawn party at a family's house this afternoon, so I think I'm going to do some more reading and preparing before then.
grace and peace
As I said last week, I've been working through a Charles Spurgeon book on praising God. I don't know, I've heard all of this before, but this time in these words, all of it's just hitting me a bit harder.
Talking about Psalm 103:1-Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name-Spurgeon says, "Only a holy man can delight in holy things. Holiness is the terror of unholy men. They love sin and consider it liberty, but holiness is slavery to them. If we are saints, we will bless God for His holiness, and be glad that in Him, there is neither spot nor flaw. He is without iniquity. Just and righteous is He. Even to save His people, He would not violate His law. Even to deliver His own beloved from going down into the pit, He would not turn away from the paths of justice. "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty" (Rev 4:8) is the loftiest cry of cherubim and seraphim in their perfect bliss. It is a joyous song both to the saints on earth and those in heaven. The pure in heart gaze on divine holiness with awestruck joy."
I don't know why that hit me, but it did. How privileged are we that we have a God who makes us clean so that we can delight in Him? How can we continue to sin when we know a God like ours? Are we not doing Him injustice by doing so? If we are called to glorify Him with every breath we breathe, shouldn't we do so by not only doing so in mind, but obedience, and by bring His children to Him?
Spurgeon goes on to say, "David praised God not only with his lips, not only with his hands on the harp strings, not just with his eyes lifted toward the heaven, but also with his soul, his very self, his truest self. Never let me present to God the outward and superficial alone, but let me give to Him the inner and the sincere. Never let me bring before Him merely the outward senses that my soul uses, but the soul that uses these inner faculties. No 'whitewashed tombs' (Matt 23:27) will please the Lord... We must not merely bless the Lord with our bodies, which will become dust, but with our inner spiritual natures, which make us like angels. Our spiritual natures are that which cause it to be said that in the image of God we were create. My spiritual nature, my loftiest powers, must magnify God- not with a voice that sings a self-righteous song of praise, but with a sincere heart; not with lips that cry 'Hosanna' thoughtlessly, but with a mind that considers and intelligently worships. Not with the narrow confines of my body would I sing this song, but I would fill the limitless regions through which my spirit soars on wings of boundless thought with Jehovah's praise. My real self, my best self, will bless the Lord."
It's so easy to fall into a rut of praising God out of habit, only on Sundays. Our God is bigger than that, deserves much more than that. Though all we have to give is already His, our efforts to love and praise Him please Him. Spurgeon quotes 1 Chronicles 29:14, which says "Of Your own we have given You." I think that sums it up. All we have is His. He sacrificed for us. For us. We are undeserving, so why don't we give Him our all?
Why don't we give Him our focus, strive for what little understanding we can achieve, praise Him with all we have, our souls?
The last bit of Spurgeon I'm going to throw at you today is his question, "My immortal soul, why are you spending your energies upon mortal things? Will you hunt for fleeting shadows while you are most real and enduring? Will you collect bubbles, knowing that you will endure forever in a life coexistent with God Himself, for He has given you eternal life in His Son Jesus?"
I find myself worrying about the fleeting, chasing the shadows only this life will know. Why? I have an eternity with my Saviour and Prince to look forward to?
Anywho. We've been invited to a lawn party at a family's house this afternoon, so I think I'm going to do some more reading and preparing before then.
grace and peace
for serious, now..
Sorry about that last post... I was a little hyper. So was my bunk bed neighbor friend Lauren. She helped haha.
Anyway.
Prayer walking through the community this morning, I really got a glimpse of how much this community really does need love. In the thirty minutes we walked, we saw crack houses, brothels, houses with over ten people living in them... and the list goes on. This part of Houston is actually considered to be the worst, but at the same time, the people we ran into that knew about our centers and attended them were just the sweetest and most joyful people I've encountered. This community is crying out for love.
So, please be in prayer for us.
Pray that we can be bold and love those who are usually looked over.
Pray that the community would be aware of us-our center, Joy Center is the farthest away from Gano center, where we stay, so we get very little donations for the most part. Also, we'd love to bring in more and more people. Not for numbers' sake, but these people are in such need for them to be loved and accepted.
Pray for our preparation. The curriculum we're using for the kids is rather broad, so just pray that we can stay focused, not get discouraged, and present God's Word with speech and actions so that these kids will desire to know more about Him.
Also, just pray for our focus in general. I do love everyone here, but I don't want my focus to get off of serving God. I don't want to sacrifice my time preparing my heart and falling more in love with God for hanging out with my goofball teammates, as cool as they are.
Sorry for the not-so-seriousness last night. We have done a fair bit of goofing off together. I love this team :) All of them are absolutely wonderful.
Thanks for the prayers, guys.
grace and peace
Anyway.
Prayer walking through the community this morning, I really got a glimpse of how much this community really does need love. In the thirty minutes we walked, we saw crack houses, brothels, houses with over ten people living in them... and the list goes on. This part of Houston is actually considered to be the worst, but at the same time, the people we ran into that knew about our centers and attended them were just the sweetest and most joyful people I've encountered. This community is crying out for love.
So, please be in prayer for us.
Pray that we can be bold and love those who are usually looked over.
Pray that the community would be aware of us-our center, Joy Center is the farthest away from Gano center, where we stay, so we get very little donations for the most part. Also, we'd love to bring in more and more people. Not for numbers' sake, but these people are in such need for them to be loved and accepted.
Pray for our preparation. The curriculum we're using for the kids is rather broad, so just pray that we can stay focused, not get discouraged, and present God's Word with speech and actions so that these kids will desire to know more about Him.
Also, just pray for our focus in general. I do love everyone here, but I don't want my focus to get off of serving God. I don't want to sacrifice my time preparing my heart and falling more in love with God for hanging out with my goofball teammates, as cool as they are.
Sorry for the not-so-seriousness last night. We have done a fair bit of goofing off together. I love this team :) All of them are absolutely wonderful.
Thanks for the prayers, guys.
grace and peace
Thursday, 3 June 2010
Jesus is a friend of mine! (I've got a friend in Jesus)
Ok, so. I'm not really going to update this on a daily basis-I'd rather be being awesome at Rock Band or playing some catchphrase with my awesome BIBLE BUDDIES*-but here's some stuff to give you more of an idea of what I'll be doing.
Welllllllllllll.....
Today I found out that I will be working alongside of five awesome missionaries at Joy Fellowship Center, which is pretty dope since I get to wear a snazzy green lanyard. If I had been put on the Fletcher Missions Center Team, I would say it was Fletchalicious, but, alas....
Anywho.
I'll be teaching some adorable and crazy and lovely (all at the same time) children Mondays through Thursdays. We also have a food pantry (which is pretty empty if you guys are jonesing to send some food to Houston via mail..) and a clothing closet, so I'll be helping with that. Monday nights we lead teen clubs, Friday afternoon we lead preteen clubs, and throughout the summer, youth groups will be coming for week long trips to help us.
Overall, I'm psyched.
I'll tell you some goofy stories later, but I love you guys!
Here's some phrases that describe you guys:
People who are awesome
Letter sending people
Eloquently gifted with words
Amazing at keeping up with me
Senders of letters
Enthusiastic about communicating
Sharing in friendship
Engaging (not like with rings. yet. haha)
Needing to send me letters
Dedicated to our friendships
Loving people who make my day with letters!
Envelope buying people
Terribly missed by me
Terrific friends (who send letters)
Excited about sending letters to Houston!!
Radically awesome letter senders
Stamp buying friends
Get the point!
Praying for ya'll!
grace and peace
Welllllllllllll.....
Today I found out that I will be working alongside of five awesome missionaries at Joy Fellowship Center, which is pretty dope since I get to wear a snazzy green lanyard. If I had been put on the Fletcher Missions Center Team, I would say it was Fletchalicious, but, alas....
Anywho.
I'll be teaching some adorable and crazy and lovely (all at the same time) children Mondays through Thursdays. We also have a food pantry (which is pretty empty if you guys are jonesing to send some food to Houston via mail..) and a clothing closet, so I'll be helping with that. Monday nights we lead teen clubs, Friday afternoon we lead preteen clubs, and throughout the summer, youth groups will be coming for week long trips to help us.
Overall, I'm psyched.
I'll tell you some goofy stories later, but I love you guys!
Here's some phrases that describe you guys:
People who are awesome
Letter sending people
Eloquently gifted with words
Amazing at keeping up with me
Senders of letters
Enthusiastic about communicating
Sharing in friendship
Engaging (not like with rings. yet. haha)
Needing to send me letters
Dedicated to our friendships
Loving people who make my day with letters!
Envelope buying people
Terribly missed by me
Terrific friends (who send letters)
Excited about sending letters to Houston!!
Radically awesome letter senders
Stamp buying friends
Get the point!
Praying for ya'll!
grace and peace
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Hello from Houston!
Sorry it's taken me more than 24 hours to post this, but I think I'm in love (oops. I realize I wasn't supposed to do that this summer...), but I adore this place!
In the past 48 hours, I have ridden in the teensiest plane ever (not too shabby though), met some amazing new friends, eaten Texas brisket (awesome), learned how to make some rockin balloon animals, heard a clown testimony, played some crazy team building games, helped a new friend with his English, and my personal favorite, played soccer with inner city hispanic children. Well, that's not all, but that's the condensed version.
It really is lovely here, though. I'm all cozy in my bottom bunk at the moment. We're in a room with 17 girls from all over the states, even three from Puerto Rico. We have pretty embroidered Ralph Lauren towels (I mistakenly used a floor mat as a towel last night... oops), matching bedspreads, and even a lounge with Rock Band and such. I made it entirely through a song on hard on guitar last night. I'm proud. I'm sure you were curious (NOT).
Now that I'm done with my extremely random and pointless banter about details I'm sure all of you were dying to know, I'll get onto the good stuff.
It's been wonderful being here. We've had tons of down time, which my summer has lacked thus far. I've had so much time even in these two days to just be still and read the Word, which has been awesome. I feel like God is already giving me a fire for this community. The street we're staying on apparently has at least one drug dealer and possibly a house that trafficks women, so the need for love in this community is great- I am so ready to be a part of that. You have no idea :)
Not only that, but I am so excited to serve along this group. There is such a wide age range-from 17 to 30 in the summer missionaries (or, as we are apparently properly known, Global Footprints Missionaries). They are all so passionate and gifted, and I know this is going to be such an awesome experience being able to learn from them and build relationships.
Hm. As far as updates, tomorrow I'll find out exactly where I'm serving and what I'm doing there. There are three buildings in which we'll serve, Gano Mission Center, Joy Fellowship Center, and Fletcher Mission Center. They all hold kids clubs throughout the week and do Bible studies, but there are a few differences, and I'll tell you exactly what I'll be doing when I find out.
Anywho, I need to go to bed soon, so I think I'll cut this blog to here. Sorry about rambling. Hopefully this'll be less awkward by the end of the summer...
I do have to say though, playing with those kids just gave me joy. I hope and pray that the rest of the community is as open to just goof off and have fun with us as they were. As horrid of a soccer player as I am, it made my day stumbling around and being schooled by a bunch of ten year old kids. I can't wait for a full summer with them :)
Aaaaaand finally..
If you guys need anything to pray about...
I have been having really odd back pain. Kept me up for a couple hours last night. I wouldn't complain much, but I need sleep..
Also, that my heart would stay open to grow in Christ and as a leader. I'm naturally quiet and introverted... so I'm working on this stepping up thing. So. Boldness.
And I'm still praying for peace about a few things.
And of course, for my fellow missionaries-those in Houston, my fellow Sendmenow kids, camp counselors... all of you!
Thanks guys :)
grace and peace
Oh, and I apparently unintentionally used our theme verse for the summer as the verse underneath my blog title haha. Our theme is Vive el Amor :) Cool beans.
In the past 48 hours, I have ridden in the teensiest plane ever (not too shabby though), met some amazing new friends, eaten Texas brisket (awesome), learned how to make some rockin balloon animals, heard a clown testimony, played some crazy team building games, helped a new friend with his English, and my personal favorite, played soccer with inner city hispanic children. Well, that's not all, but that's the condensed version.
It really is lovely here, though. I'm all cozy in my bottom bunk at the moment. We're in a room with 17 girls from all over the states, even three from Puerto Rico. We have pretty embroidered Ralph Lauren towels (I mistakenly used a floor mat as a towel last night... oops), matching bedspreads, and even a lounge with Rock Band and such. I made it entirely through a song on hard on guitar last night. I'm proud. I'm sure you were curious (NOT).
Now that I'm done with my extremely random and pointless banter about details I'm sure all of you were dying to know, I'll get onto the good stuff.
It's been wonderful being here. We've had tons of down time, which my summer has lacked thus far. I've had so much time even in these two days to just be still and read the Word, which has been awesome. I feel like God is already giving me a fire for this community. The street we're staying on apparently has at least one drug dealer and possibly a house that trafficks women, so the need for love in this community is great- I am so ready to be a part of that. You have no idea :)
Not only that, but I am so excited to serve along this group. There is such a wide age range-from 17 to 30 in the summer missionaries (or, as we are apparently properly known, Global Footprints Missionaries). They are all so passionate and gifted, and I know this is going to be such an awesome experience being able to learn from them and build relationships.
Hm. As far as updates, tomorrow I'll find out exactly where I'm serving and what I'm doing there. There are three buildings in which we'll serve, Gano Mission Center, Joy Fellowship Center, and Fletcher Mission Center. They all hold kids clubs throughout the week and do Bible studies, but there are a few differences, and I'll tell you exactly what I'll be doing when I find out.
Anywho, I need to go to bed soon, so I think I'll cut this blog to here. Sorry about rambling. Hopefully this'll be less awkward by the end of the summer...
I do have to say though, playing with those kids just gave me joy. I hope and pray that the rest of the community is as open to just goof off and have fun with us as they were. As horrid of a soccer player as I am, it made my day stumbling around and being schooled by a bunch of ten year old kids. I can't wait for a full summer with them :)
Aaaaaand finally..
If you guys need anything to pray about...
I have been having really odd back pain. Kept me up for a couple hours last night. I wouldn't complain much, but I need sleep..
Also, that my heart would stay open to grow in Christ and as a leader. I'm naturally quiet and introverted... so I'm working on this stepping up thing. So. Boldness.
And I'm still praying for peace about a few things.
And of course, for my fellow missionaries-those in Houston, my fellow Sendmenow kids, camp counselors... all of you!
Thanks guys :)
grace and peace
Oh, and I apparently unintentionally used our theme verse for the summer as the verse underneath my blog title haha. Our theme is Vive el Amor :) Cool beans.
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Mañana!
So.
I will be in Texas in about 12 hours. How odd is that?
After a week of focus and reading the Word though, God really has given me a peace about everything.
Not gonna lie, I'm going to miss some people quite a bit, but I am so excited to get off my butt and start working for God's glory :) Way more fun and rewarding than sitting around.
I do have to say though, it's been interesting how God's worked through my moods though, if that makes any sense. I let myself get pretty down and discouraged the other day about some things, and decided to pick up a random book to cheer myself up. I ended up picking up a Charles Spurgeon book about praising God. It's funny how those thing happen. My heart was so far from feeling like praising- but some of the things he said just smacked me upside the head.
"Do we sing as much as the birds? Yet what do birds have to sing about compared to us? Do you think we sing as much as the angels? Yet they were never redeemed by the blood of Christ. Birds of the air, will you excel me? Angels of heaven, will you exceed me? You have done so, but I intend to imitate you from now on, and day by day, night by night, I will pour forth my soul in sacred song"
That rocked my world a bit. How often have I gotten caught up in worries and pleas to God while I should be praising Him for every breath I breathe?
"Oh, I wish we would often break through order and decorum to give our Lord a song. He well deserves it. May we not let cold ingratitude freeze the praises on our lips."
It's so easy to get used to singing praises on Sundays and along with the radio, but never forget why we sing. Even when we're discouraged, unable to tell what God is doing, or worn down- we have a God who cares about us deeply enough to send His son to die for us. How can we live without praising a God like that? It doesn't make sense.
Not only with our lips should we praise Him, but with our lives-"To feel not only submitted, but willing to be anything or nothing as the Lored wills it--this is, in truth, to sing a song to our Well Beloved."
Sorry, that was the longest tangent ever, but it rocked to me. Our sweetest praises can be sung when we are in our deepest pain and despairs. I think that's pretty awesome.
Job 35:10 says that God "gives songs in the night." So even if you're feeling down as I did, cry out to God. Sing of His grace, his ever-presence, His love, His mercy.. He'll give you the song. He'll make you feel whole again.
As far as Texas goes, I can't wait to be there and serve my Prince :)
I've said my goodbyes (hate those..) and packed (mostly..), so I'm ready to get on that plane.
All I have to say is that I hope I get lots of emails and letters from you guys! You haven't a clue how much I'll miss you! No really, you don't even begin to know..
But I'll be praying for you all! Be assured in that.
love in Christ
I will be in Texas in about 12 hours. How odd is that?
After a week of focus and reading the Word though, God really has given me a peace about everything.
Not gonna lie, I'm going to miss some people quite a bit, but I am so excited to get off my butt and start working for God's glory :) Way more fun and rewarding than sitting around.
I do have to say though, it's been interesting how God's worked through my moods though, if that makes any sense. I let myself get pretty down and discouraged the other day about some things, and decided to pick up a random book to cheer myself up. I ended up picking up a Charles Spurgeon book about praising God. It's funny how those thing happen. My heart was so far from feeling like praising- but some of the things he said just smacked me upside the head.
"Do we sing as much as the birds? Yet what do birds have to sing about compared to us? Do you think we sing as much as the angels? Yet they were never redeemed by the blood of Christ. Birds of the air, will you excel me? Angels of heaven, will you exceed me? You have done so, but I intend to imitate you from now on, and day by day, night by night, I will pour forth my soul in sacred song"
That rocked my world a bit. How often have I gotten caught up in worries and pleas to God while I should be praising Him for every breath I breathe?
"Oh, I wish we would often break through order and decorum to give our Lord a song. He well deserves it. May we not let cold ingratitude freeze the praises on our lips."
It's so easy to get used to singing praises on Sundays and along with the radio, but never forget why we sing. Even when we're discouraged, unable to tell what God is doing, or worn down- we have a God who cares about us deeply enough to send His son to die for us. How can we live without praising a God like that? It doesn't make sense.
Not only with our lips should we praise Him, but with our lives-"To feel not only submitted, but willing to be anything or nothing as the Lored wills it--this is, in truth, to sing a song to our Well Beloved."
Sorry, that was the longest tangent ever, but it rocked to me. Our sweetest praises can be sung when we are in our deepest pain and despairs. I think that's pretty awesome.
Job 35:10 says that God "gives songs in the night." So even if you're feeling down as I did, cry out to God. Sing of His grace, his ever-presence, His love, His mercy.. He'll give you the song. He'll make you feel whole again.
As far as Texas goes, I can't wait to be there and serve my Prince :)
I've said my goodbyes (hate those..) and packed (mostly..), so I'm ready to get on that plane.
All I have to say is that I hope I get lots of emails and letters from you guys! You haven't a clue how much I'll miss you! No really, you don't even begin to know..
But I'll be praying for you all! Be assured in that.
love in Christ
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