hello blog.

I'm just relaxing in startbuck enjoying my night off with Jeanette and Signe. This week has been intense, but so wonderful. Our speakers are Vincent and Lisa from the YWAM- Maui base. The topic is living with "new hearts." We are looking at the sin or other weak areas in our lives and finding the source of those issues so that we can truly be free of them. Yesterday we dealt specifically with wounds from the past and how to go about truly forgiving the people or situations that you got them from.



As I sit here eating Jeanette's norwegian chocolate, drinking coffee, and enjoying the air conditioner, I realize how at home I feel here. The short little walk over to starbucks and the other other shops (grocery, mcdonalds, laundry mat, ect.) has started to feel so natural to me. I love the Honolulu base and living in community. I love at each meal I get to sit and talk with someone different. I love our humble shekinah house, it's crazy but wonderful living with 25 other girls. Here is a picture of my house.

Now don't get me wrong I miss my real home everyday. I miss my family and my bryce, but it's nice to realize everyone here has become my family for the next couple of months.

Team Philippines/ Thailand

So I want to start by informing you, I DID write in my blog the other day and I lost internet before I could post it. It’s been hard to motivate myself to write again since that happened!

I can’t believe I’ve been in Hawaii for almost a month now. It’s nice to have our daily routine down. Time has FLOWN by! Our day is packed with quiet times, worship, intersession, lectures, work duties, community outreach, team times, small group, and of course eating and socializing. It's wonderful, but by Friday I’m worn out and ready to spend the weekend at the beach.

I feel so blessed for my outreach team! They are all awesome! Here is a picture of us! (Left to Right: Mandy, Kimberly (leader), Grace, Chris, Lukas, Sarah, Sam (leader), Yela, Celeste, and Caleb). This was from our team time last week. We went to Pali Lookout and it poured. Our leaders have been talking to our contacts in the Philippines and Thailand, and they are working out the details of our trip. I will keep you informed as I find out.

As of right now, we will be going to the Philippines for the first month, then going to Thailand for the remaining time.

Last night we met our speakers for this week, they seem really great and I'm so excited for this week of lectures!

Thailand!

All week we were extremely anxious for Friday! It was the big day we would find out our outreach locations! In the morning session, they wrote the 4 choices on the board. The only information we received were the names of the places. Then, we had some time to go and pray, and ask God where we should go. We were not supposed to talk to any of the other students, just hear from God. Initial, I began to feel very overwhelmed. This was a big decision to make. I started to pray, but my emotions were getting in the way of hearing anything. I went and found my good friend Tatum to pray with me. (She’s staff so it was okay to talk to her about it). She began to pray with me, and within minutes I knew where I was supposed to go. I didn’t get the word Thailand, I didn’t get a picture of the country or anything like that, I just got excited about it. I got excited, and a peace that I could only get from God. The 4 places are:

1. Nepal and India
2. Thailand and Philippines
3. Samoa and Fiji
4. Vanuatu

I wrote my name and Thailand on a sheet of paper and turned it in. For the next 30 minutes I wait while everyone else finished up. It was a long 30 minutes! Then, everyone came back together and we found out our teams! As they call my team up to the front, I got more and more excited! I love love my leaders and everyone on my team! All the teams ended up having around the same number of people on them, it was so cool to see how the Lord worked that out, and knew the teams before we picked them!

So Friday was cool, then Saturday I went surfing!!! The first Saturday of every month one of the churches here does free surfing lessons and a barbecue! So, of course I signed up to go! The guy that was helping me is a professional surf instructor, but he was volunteering that day because he’s a member of the church. He asked me, have you ever surf? No. snowboarded? No. skateboarded? No. haha Well okay! He was such a good instructor, He told me exactly when to start paddling and would give me the initial push onto the wave. Then he would yell, “stand up!” I got up on the first try!!! It was so cool. I went 3 or 4 more times, riding the waves all the way to shore. Then it was someone else’s turn. I couldn’t have gone much longer anyway; it was such a workout paddle out against the waves!!! My arms are so sore today.

Thanks for staying involved in my life, please continue to pray and check my blog!

Testimony Night

Today was officially the first day of lecture phase. It was a busy day. We had worship and intercession this morning, and this evening we gave our testimonies (in front of everyone). Fortunately, I still had an hour or so to hang out at the beach this afternoon. I had a nice nap in the sand.

The testimonies were very cool. I loved hearing everyone's different backgrounds and how we ended up here together in Hawaii. I'm so excited to grow in the Lord with my new friends.

Friday's the big day! We find out where we are going for outreach and our teams. Our outreach teams have a huge role in our experience here. So please start praying that God reveals where I should go, and that he melds together the perfect team for me to go with. I'm very nervous to find who is on my team, and my leaders.

I'm still trying to get used to the time difference. I've been going to bed super early.

I made it!

I made it! Yesterday was very long, I got here around 4 (10 pm in Atlanta). I woke up this morning at 5 oclock wide awake and ready to go. This time change thing is going to be tricky!

I'm staying in a house with about 25 other girls. I'm VERY fortunate because in my room its only me and one other girl. Its the only 2 person bedroom in the whole house. The biggest room has 8 girls in it! Unfortunately there is no AC anywhere on the base. My roommate is from Denmark. She's really nice. I've met some of the girls, but not everyone yet.

I don't have that much to update on yet. I just had breakfast and we start everything in about an hour. I'm nervous, pray for me!

Last night in Atlanta!

I leave tomorrow at 8AM! 

What a strange last day in Atlanta. After raining for pretty much a week straight, yesterday it began to flood, and i mean big time! Noah's Ark style. Roads all over Atlanta completely shut down and were now rivers. Bryce was in Woodstock (which was one of the worst areas) and he was going to come see me to Atlanta, and I'm pretty sure the only way he could get here was by canoe. Somehow he made it! Thank you Lord!

Today most all school were closed. It's not raining right now but they sky is grey, and there is no sun to soak up the water. 

My parents are on their way here from Augusta. We are going to Barbecue Street tonight. Barbecue Street is a restaurant in Kennesaw, where I used to work. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my last night in Atlanta then with my parents, my wonderful boyfriend, and my three best friends. Erin fiance Trent is the manager so he'll be there, and Greg Kelsey's husbands is hopefully coming too!

During my quiet time this morning. I came across this passage. "May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech." 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (message version). It captures what my heart is feeling. I'm thankful for "unending help" from everyone who has supported me, and I pray for a fresh heart so I can regularly be reminded why I'm there, and why I'm doing this! 

Francis Chan said, "If life were stable, I'd never need God's help. Since it's not, I reach out for Him regularly. I'm am thankful for the unknowns and that I don't have control, because it makes me run to God." What a great quote! I know the Lord is using that to remind me today that the nervous feelings are from him! He wants me to feel this way, so I run to him for comfort!  And so I keep seeking him and his vision on this journey! 

one week away....

I just sat down to start packing... and the overwhelming thought of how I'm going to fit 5 months worth of "stuff" into one suitcase and one carry on made me think of all the other things I could do right now. So.. I decided it would be a good time to update my blog and put off packing just a little while longer.

I want to thank everyone who has been supporting me financially and with their prayers. Financially, I'm over halfway there!! Which is awesome! I'm incredibly blessed!

This last week at home is hard, I'm thankful to spend time with my family and friends, but the anticipation of leaving is just hard! Poor Bryce says I've turned into a crazy person-- just being stressed and emotional! I'm ready for the time to come, so I can say goodbye start out on my journey! I know whatever is ahead is going to be challenging as well, but exciting! and definitely from the Lord!

I also want to say HAPPY BRTHDAY to my mom! I'm glad I will get to celebrate with her this weekend before I leave! I know she struggles with me being gone for 5 months, as any mother would. But we're going to make it through this mommy. love you :)