We have been here for 16 days now. It feels like much longer. A lot of the time we have been going into the slum communities and getting to know the women. Getting to know their education, birthing practices, schedules...Yesterday began it all.
Although we have taught one time ("Breast is best"), yesterday was one of the most mind boggling experiences of teaching yet in my life.
Before we headed into Mampang slum, we spent an hour sorting out what God was saying. We highlighted past impressions and words from God about what we felt for the women. Then we entered into a new prayer time. The final words were; "life", "anatomy" and "reproductive system". So, the plan was set, female reproductive teaching for our first lesson. We all took a piece of the teaching and planned it in a half hour.
We waited for our friends from the church and our translator Anita to come. It is our goal to connect with women from the church we have been attending and have them do outreach with us. We don't want this to just be a burst of evangelism and then die after we leave. It would be amazing if we could find two dedicated women in the church to come in with us weekly and then keep the teachings up after we leave. This is still something we are seeking out. We did however, have two men from the church who are committed to working with local slums come with us. They say that it is hard to break down the barrier between the rich and the poor. Kind of reminds me of everywhere else in the world.
Anyway, flash forward, ten Muslim women, no circulation and one dark room later...Melisa begins sharing about our bodies being fearfully and wonderfully made from the "Holy Scripture". I was the first to teach. I introduced "Anatomy of the female reproductive system" and the women nodded their heads. As I pulled out my teaching aid of a uterus and ovaries, the women zoomed in. I asked them if this was something familar, they shook their heads. I then asked them "Have you ever seen this before?" and they shook their heads. In a city where malls are bigger than Safeco and Quest put together, times four, there are still women who have never learned about their reproductive system. Unbelievable.
The time continued with the women eager to learn and open to ask questions. It was a lovely time that we will get to take part of each week.
God is using education to empower and love women. He is renewing the value that the world has stripped them of. I don't really know what to expect after that, but I am anticipating great things to come of our time spent with the women. Jesus loves His little children, all the children of the world.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Is once a week too infrequent? Is "infrequent" even a word?
This past week has contained several moments of wondering, "How did this all happen?", "Why am I allowed to be a part of this?". There are plenty of moments to reinforce my questions and ultimately the answers come back to God giving me the desires of my heart, more than I even understood that these were the desires of my heart, God knew and He gave them to me.
1. Yesterday while walking through the slums, I able to sit with a woman who was searching her friend's hair for lice. I was blessed by hearing her story of coming to the city. Including being married at 17, delivering her only son at 7 months and selling herbal tea to make ends meet. She wants to learn about preventing diarrhea and fever because her family gets sick during the rainy season since the slum floods during the rainy season.
2. I played hopscotch with 20 Indonesian children who were practicing their english while we waited our turns.
3. Asking a gentleman if I can hold his baby and having him light up that I would want to. She was three months old and had a rat tail.
4. Going to bed knowing that there are 7 other girls in the room who are committed to unifying themselves with me and Jesus. We remind ourselves of the disciples: Ministry together, cook together, clean together, sleep together, hehehe.
5. Each morning coming downstairs to a oatmeal and a secluded courtyard. Following, a time of spirit filled worship and then a couple hours of lecture on obstructed labour with experience filled leadership.
6. A couple of girls being able to meet a woman who was paralyzed from a stroke. She lays on her bed in a dark room because she is embarassed of what the community will think. After praying over her they asked if she would like to come to our teachings. She was fully blessed.
Our life is a gift. God wants to use us. There have been several challenging moments this week, but at this moment of typing to you all, I want you to know that we are blessed to be breathing and knowing our Saviour. When God asks us to obey, it is because He has the absolute best in mind for us. God is bringing healing to our nations.
One last story...
As Robyn, Anna and I headed to Bible reading last week, we had the chance to stop and pray for a man who had a burn on his right leg. He was belssed that we asked him. As we began to pray, heaven opened and we were asking for healing. Before our eyes, the brown skin moved into the pink skin...as we walked away, we knew we had seen God's hand.
Praise God!
1. Yesterday while walking through the slums, I able to sit with a woman who was searching her friend's hair for lice. I was blessed by hearing her story of coming to the city. Including being married at 17, delivering her only son at 7 months and selling herbal tea to make ends meet. She wants to learn about preventing diarrhea and fever because her family gets sick during the rainy season since the slum floods during the rainy season.
2. I played hopscotch with 20 Indonesian children who were practicing their english while we waited our turns.
3. Asking a gentleman if I can hold his baby and having him light up that I would want to. She was three months old and had a rat tail.
4. Going to bed knowing that there are 7 other girls in the room who are committed to unifying themselves with me and Jesus. We remind ourselves of the disciples: Ministry together, cook together, clean together, sleep together, hehehe.
5. Each morning coming downstairs to a oatmeal and a secluded courtyard. Following, a time of spirit filled worship and then a couple hours of lecture on obstructed labour with experience filled leadership.
6. A couple of girls being able to meet a woman who was paralyzed from a stroke. She lays on her bed in a dark room because she is embarassed of what the community will think. After praying over her they asked if she would like to come to our teachings. She was fully blessed.
Our life is a gift. God wants to use us. There have been several challenging moments this week, but at this moment of typing to you all, I want you to know that we are blessed to be breathing and knowing our Saviour. When God asks us to obey, it is because He has the absolute best in mind for us. God is bringing healing to our nations.
One last story...
As Robyn, Anna and I headed to Bible reading last week, we had the chance to stop and pray for a man who had a burn on his right leg. He was belssed that we asked him. As we began to pray, heaven opened and we were asking for healing. Before our eyes, the brown skin moved into the pink skin...as we walked away, we knew we had seen God's hand.
Praise God!
Friday, October 03, 2008
“Thank you God for my roommates…”
It has been a while since my roomies have heard me talk in my sleep. I am convinced it is because they are used to it. This was the muttering from my tired mouth last night as I crashed just after midnight.
We arrived in Indonesia on Wednesday afternoon after 24 hours of travel. Although Indonesia is a four-hour flight from Perth, we took the scenic route. In the midst of our stop in Bangkok we were informed that we had to actually enter Thailand and re-check our luggage for the next flight. 7 hours later, we were in line with our bags to check into our flight to Indo. Being the first in line, we seemed to be on top of things. I wasn’t worried about getting all the bags checked through since we had breezed through in Perth. As a team we were allowed 325 kgs, we had only 309! That is incredible. Everyone intentionally packed. Anyway, long story short, we were on a budget flight which only allowed 15kgs per person. As Becca later put it, “That is just too hard for our team”. She is right, although nearly everyone’s personal bags were under 15 kgs, the team bags compensate for the light weight. We have probably 70kgs of supply. All of this to say, they weren’t going to let it slide. After an hour of repacking, divvying up new carry-ons, layering our clothes the airline wasn’t budging. They informed us that we only had 30 minutes to catch our flight. Becca ended up dashing to an ATM and paying a fee and we were able to lug our way to customs. We “exited” Thailand, headed to security. In the change of carry-ons, we carried on my bag since it was only 9.8kgs. Mind you, it was packed to be a check-on. Hahaha…I didn’t have any back space, so Robyn was lugging it, along with being a mom to 4 children. I was ahead of them and as I sat down on the plane I realized, “The liquid…wait, oh, no, they are going to have to repack the whole thing…” I made my way to the check in counter and asked the gentleman to wait for my teammates, I boarded the plane, free seating. It took me back to backpacking Europe. Easy Jet/AirAsia. No food. No drink. No leg room. Absolutely exhausted from travel, running on two hours of sleeping under chairs, hauling though the airport and heaps of spiritual warfare, Melisa and I sat and waited for everyone else.
We made it. All of us made it on the flight. Praise the Lord.
Later when we recapped, we talked about any discouragement people felt, like “Where was God?” Some shared about doing spiritual warfare over themselves because they felt like we needed a miracle and God didn’t come through. As they shared the revelations they had, I think we were all encouraged. We really fought our hardest. Whether in silent or group prayers, singing, everyone took part in the battle. Becca shared that we did see miracles, like all of us making the flight, especially when they asked her to unpack my bag and she knew that she only had 5 minutes to make the flight. Or that they let one “carry-on” team bag get through with piles of medicine and syringes when they probably should’ve confiscated it all. Finally, I think the best part was we saw a new depth of unity. We were all scrambling at the ticket counter, loading carry-ons until they weighed more than our check-ins. Carry each others stuff, submitting to the leaders in whatever they needed. We did not labour in vain.
Anyway, we are now in our cozy home. The past two days have been spent in orientation, Bible reading and organization. There is a lot of settling to be done. Before we do ministry we will read the whole Bible aloud. We are in 3 hours shifts. As of yet, we are into 1 Samuel. I am up next! I think the truth is cutting through to the southern region.
I will put up some pictures soon.
Some prayer requests:
-Sarah, one of our leaders is in the U.S., she will be coming to meet us in a couple days.
-Communication, whether with our regional coordinators or Perth Coordinators, we want to be on guard of any miscommunication.
-Opportunities in mother and child healthcare would continue to open up.
Thanks Guys!
We arrived in Indonesia on Wednesday afternoon after 24 hours of travel. Although Indonesia is a four-hour flight from Perth, we took the scenic route. In the midst of our stop in Bangkok we were informed that we had to actually enter Thailand and re-check our luggage for the next flight. 7 hours later, we were in line with our bags to check into our flight to Indo. Being the first in line, we seemed to be on top of things. I wasn’t worried about getting all the bags checked through since we had breezed through in Perth. As a team we were allowed 325 kgs, we had only 309! That is incredible. Everyone intentionally packed. Anyway, long story short, we were on a budget flight which only allowed 15kgs per person. As Becca later put it, “That is just too hard for our team”. She is right, although nearly everyone’s personal bags were under 15 kgs, the team bags compensate for the light weight. We have probably 70kgs of supply. All of this to say, they weren’t going to let it slide. After an hour of repacking, divvying up new carry-ons, layering our clothes the airline wasn’t budging. They informed us that we only had 30 minutes to catch our flight. Becca ended up dashing to an ATM and paying a fee and we were able to lug our way to customs. We “exited” Thailand, headed to security. In the change of carry-ons, we carried on my bag since it was only 9.8kgs. Mind you, it was packed to be a check-on. Hahaha…I didn’t have any back space, so Robyn was lugging it, along with being a mom to 4 children. I was ahead of them and as I sat down on the plane I realized, “The liquid…wait, oh, no, they are going to have to repack the whole thing…” I made my way to the check in counter and asked the gentleman to wait for my teammates, I boarded the plane, free seating. It took me back to backpacking Europe. Easy Jet/AirAsia. No food. No drink. No leg room. Absolutely exhausted from travel, running on two hours of sleeping under chairs, hauling though the airport and heaps of spiritual warfare, Melisa and I sat and waited for everyone else.
We made it. All of us made it on the flight. Praise the Lord.
Later when we recapped, we talked about any discouragement people felt, like “Where was God?” Some shared about doing spiritual warfare over themselves because they felt like we needed a miracle and God didn’t come through. As they shared the revelations they had, I think we were all encouraged. We really fought our hardest. Whether in silent or group prayers, singing, everyone took part in the battle. Becca shared that we did see miracles, like all of us making the flight, especially when they asked her to unpack my bag and she knew that she only had 5 minutes to make the flight. Or that they let one “carry-on” team bag get through with piles of medicine and syringes when they probably should’ve confiscated it all. Finally, I think the best part was we saw a new depth of unity. We were all scrambling at the ticket counter, loading carry-ons until they weighed more than our check-ins. Carry each others stuff, submitting to the leaders in whatever they needed. We did not labour in vain.
Anyway, we are now in our cozy home. The past two days have been spent in orientation, Bible reading and organization. There is a lot of settling to be done. Before we do ministry we will read the whole Bible aloud. We are in 3 hours shifts. As of yet, we are into 1 Samuel. I am up next! I think the truth is cutting through to the southern region.
I will put up some pictures soon.
Some prayer requests:
-Sarah, one of our leaders is in the U.S., she will be coming to meet us in a couple days.
-Communication, whether with our regional coordinators or Perth Coordinators, we want to be on guard of any miscommunication.
-Opportunities in mother and child healthcare would continue to open up.
Thanks Guys!
Monday, September 29, 2008
so the room is packed, and we leave in less than 24 hours. :)
We have had a wind down time these past couple days. Grades are in, final evaluations have been done and yes, the bags have been packed. I am busting proud of all the girls and the weight of our bags. I will let you guys guess how much they weigh.
This afternoon Becca planned some team times for us. After our Indonesian lesson, we were to meet in the laneway at 1:30. The sunshine was high in the sky, summer is coming (and we are leaving)! Becca asked us to go into the front lawn and partner up. Then she proceded to blind-fold one of us and give the visionary free reign to dress the blind mouse in any outfit of Salvo clothes (salvo bin is a place for people to put their clothes in when they don't want them anymore, in other words, a treasure box). It was then our goal to lead the person down the bike path to the river, just by the leading of our voice. I dressed Connie in a yellow towel fabric dress. I think it is something that you would slip into after you had showered. Not so attractive. I then fashioned a stretchy cloth into a mini tube top. Since her sunglasses hid her blindfold, she looked pretty goofy meandering down the bike path like a lost child. After the swap, Connie saw what she was wearing and let out a shriek. We were inside a tunnel. Afterwards we swapped and Connie made sure to run me into a couple bushes, off the bike path and into the opposite traffic. Bikes much?
Tonight we are headed over to Becca's house for tea.
Our last hours at the base are slipping away...I am really excited to go!
This afternoon Becca planned some team times for us. After our Indonesian lesson, we were to meet in the laneway at 1:30. The sunshine was high in the sky, summer is coming (and we are leaving)! Becca asked us to go into the front lawn and partner up. Then she proceded to blind-fold one of us and give the visionary free reign to dress the blind mouse in any outfit of Salvo clothes (salvo bin is a place for people to put their clothes in when they don't want them anymore, in other words, a treasure box). It was then our goal to lead the person down the bike path to the river, just by the leading of our voice. I dressed Connie in a yellow towel fabric dress. I think it is something that you would slip into after you had showered. Not so attractive. I then fashioned a stretchy cloth into a mini tube top. Since her sunglasses hid her blindfold, she looked pretty goofy meandering down the bike path like a lost child. After the swap, Connie saw what she was wearing and let out a shriek. We were inside a tunnel. Afterwards we swapped and Connie made sure to run me into a couple bushes, off the bike path and into the opposite traffic. Bikes much?
Tonight we are headed over to Becca's house for tea.
Our last hours at the base are slipping away...I am really excited to go!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
it has happened.
Our room is a MESS. It is packing time. Bags sprawled amidst the dusty floor, mattresses stripped of their belongings and clothes being tossed from hand to hand. As we face this time, I can't help but feel the joy bubbling up inside me. I am leaving without the difficult good-byes, going to a place I have never seen, anticipating God's miracles.
In the meantime, as the Salvo clothes find their new owners, as old "your leaving" cards are read, Sarah is reading. Together we are listening to "A Severe Mercy". Chapter Two is beginning.
In the meantime, as the Salvo clothes find their new owners, as old "your leaving" cards are read, Sarah is reading. Together we are listening to "A Severe Mercy". Chapter Two is beginning.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
6 days.
In less than six days I will be in Indonesia. I feel ready to take off. I picked out all the clothes I am taking last night. I originally thought that everything I brought here with me had to go on outreach, but thanks to a little shed behind someone's house, I get to leave things like my winter jacket. As a team we have several suitcases that we will haul along in compensation for our 13 kg backpacks. Personally, I was assigned the job of bringing a ceramic, expensive water filter in my carry-on. No pressure. Anyway, we will be taking off at 4:30 pm on Tuesday and then staying overnight at the Bangkok airport. Yay Thailand!
Today we had a commitment time as a school. We spent time waiting on God about what we were fully commited to for outreach. I saw Him surface some stuff that I hadn't even thought of. It was a powerful time of unity as we prayed over the person on our left after they shared. Those moments of vulnerability are never easy for me. Today I was thinking about it as I was about to share and then came to, and realized, "hey, this probably isn't easy for anyone". Haaha... Self absorption. Lame.
These next days will be spent busily cleaning the base, our classroom, bedroom, etc. We had our final speaker on Tuesday, and we will have one more inspirational speaker on Friday.
It seems to be the next step to be leaving Perth. I really like Australia. It won't be the same when I return.
Today we had a commitment time as a school. We spent time waiting on God about what we were fully commited to for outreach. I saw Him surface some stuff that I hadn't even thought of. It was a powerful time of unity as we prayed over the person on our left after they shared. Those moments of vulnerability are never easy for me. Today I was thinking about it as I was about to share and then came to, and realized, "hey, this probably isn't easy for anyone". Haaha... Self absorption. Lame.
These next days will be spent busily cleaning the base, our classroom, bedroom, etc. We had our final speaker on Tuesday, and we will have one more inspirational speaker on Friday.
It seems to be the next step to be leaving Perth. I really like Australia. It won't be the same when I return.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Recap. Rewind. Past couple weeks.
They saved the placenta for us to observe on our visit to the hospital. It was so exciting to finally get our gloved hands on one that wasn't made out of yarn and a mozzie net.
We learned newborn resusscitation. The baby was so slippery, I suppose that is what happens with plastic.
We definitely took ahold of the hospital experience...so many tubes and gadgets.
There are different ways to hold the bub during resuss, Sarah is excitedly demostrating thumb-over-thumb.
Let me introduce you to a dilly-sucker. Used to suck out the fluids from a newborn's mouth, or the spit that resides in Rachel's mouth. Dilly bars anyone?
This is at Market Night. I am displaying the ring that was gifted to me and how to properly execute a kitty stab. Please notice our awesome sign in the back, probably part of the reason we won the market.
Becca and Bekah. Staff and student. Friend and Friend.
As we were praying for finances we prophetically came up with "power signs" that represented us seeing breakthrough in finances. We all did our power moves when we were introduced on commissioning night. Mine had to be altered since I was wearing a dress. However, it still held the meaning, breaking through selfishness and on guard on the enemy's lies of doubt. It was the perfect match for "Eye of the Tiger". Can you feel the fierceness? Imagine, this is only a picture...
Here are all the lovely BASers, fully commissioned!
This is my one-on-one/school leader, Darcy. I love her heaps. Stevie jumped in the photo, uninvited I may add. I like candid shots.
Here are the fearless staff!
My scandinavian friends.
If you can't get all the way in the photo, atleast get a body part in. "I'm in the picture!"
Friday, September 19, 2008
shimblie bimbles
I am feeling deeply unispired. We'll see how this goes.
Yesterday, we had planned a night together with all the roommates. Some of us were feeling pretty disunified. Even when we live, sleep, school, eat, teach, shower within inches of eachother, we still have to be intentional about the time spent together. A lot of ugly confessions came out, as well as new revelations from God about what He has been speaking and of course fun times giggling together. It was nice to get caught up with everyone. It's not easy to always be in such close quarters with everyone, but this is definitely how we learn. I think we all caught on that we have to choose to love one another, even in everyone's "annoying habits", we have to choose love. To finish off the deeper-than-planned-evening, we all took communion with soda water and the snack of choice. I chose a strawberry. About a month ago, when we finished 24 hour worship, we came together as a base, and then divided into 20 groups with 20 different fathers leading us in communion. Pete shared that communion is a cornerstone event where we all recognize Jesus' sacrifice and that we are striving to be in right relationship with him. Along with that comes the committment to be in right relationship with one another. So similar to the time that we had as a base, we come back together, confessed and brought light to any other issues that darkness needed to flee from, and then prayed together. It turned out to be quite the evening. Afterwards, I ended up sharing about high school dances, I don't know how we diverged that way. Anyway, all the girls were quite impressed with Charlie's creativity. They all thought that stuff "only happened in movies".
Hehehe!
Okay, it is time for me to one-on-one...Love you family!
Yesterday, we had planned a night together with all the roommates. Some of us were feeling pretty disunified. Even when we live, sleep, school, eat, teach, shower within inches of eachother, we still have to be intentional about the time spent together. A lot of ugly confessions came out, as well as new revelations from God about what He has been speaking and of course fun times giggling together. It was nice to get caught up with everyone. It's not easy to always be in such close quarters with everyone, but this is definitely how we learn. I think we all caught on that we have to choose to love one another, even in everyone's "annoying habits", we have to choose love. To finish off the deeper-than-planned-evening, we all took communion with soda water and the snack of choice. I chose a strawberry. About a month ago, when we finished 24 hour worship, we came together as a base, and then divided into 20 groups with 20 different fathers leading us in communion. Pete shared that communion is a cornerstone event where we all recognize Jesus' sacrifice and that we are striving to be in right relationship with him. Along with that comes the committment to be in right relationship with one another. So similar to the time that we had as a base, we come back together, confessed and brought light to any other issues that darkness needed to flee from, and then prayed together. It turned out to be quite the evening. Afterwards, I ended up sharing about high school dances, I don't know how we diverged that way. Anyway, all the girls were quite impressed with Charlie's creativity. They all thought that stuff "only happened in movies".
Hehehe!
Okay, it is time for me to one-on-one...Love you family!
Friday, September 12, 2008
I hope I haven't left anyone hanging too long.
Today is Friday. We are all pretty exhausted. I have wanted to update since Wednesday but the Aussie internet wouldn't allow me too. Anyway, the page is loaded, homework is done, Friday night meeting is over and it is so late that I get the whole couch to myself. Oh wait, Callie just got on skype, this might have to wait...
MMkay...So Tuesday night ended with me writing a final update and blog. It really feels like forever ago...Anyway, I tossed and turned the whole night, just being in anticipation of what the next day held. I woke up too early, but being on the top bunk, my computer conveniently rests on top of a huge closet. Without waking anyone up, I was fully able to get in contact with the world. I opened my painfully slow Yahoomail Classic (I have been spoiled with lightning email and the all-new Yahoo mail at the Dinneen house)...and low and behold, my total of 3800 had decreased to 3000. Praise God. It was hard to contain my bouncing, even with my mummy bag zipped fully. Without too much time passing, my roommates all had woken up and I was able to contact my mom and share the incredible news. As soon as I contacted her, we rejoiced over the money that had come in on Tuesday and Wednesday, my number of 5800 had basically been cut in half. It was perfect timing really, my mom was actually on the way to the bank, and was depositing some final checks for me. As we added it all together, little by little, my total was falling. Before we knew it, I was totalling zero. ZERO. No more money. I needed zero more dollars. Oh God, you are good! I let out a cry of rejoicing and yelled it to my roommates. How incredible. God's timing is more than perfect.
This was just the start of the day...Melisa also recieved her money before we went to class. Praise God!
So we went into our classroom that morning, praising God for His work and then headed to Hollie's house for small group. Darcy encouraged us to be sensitive. If there was anyone God was laying on our hearts, anything He was telling us to give away, random people we were to wait for on the street, to just be sensitive, to put actions behind our faith. And so we did, probably 20 phonecalls were made, clothing was redistributed, zillions of emails sent and recieved, several SMS's sent via Skype and with each dollar we received news of we praised God. We were all in faith that by midnight, we would have a total of zero. The day was a quick one, stories were scattered from school to school. All the schools had their finances due and each one had their epic tales of anonymous-unheard of-donations.
After dinner time, we all filed into the classroom. We looked at the decreased number, now 15,000 from the morning's 20,000ish. We had already seen God's generous heart that day. It was set, we wouldn't leave the classroom until all of the money came in. We started out by doing some prayer marching. You know the usual, singing "Father Abraham", "I may never march...", "He's got the whole world...", marching seven times around the outside, acting out the story of Jericho. It was a fun time in our groups and prophetic. Again Darcy brought us back together to encourage any final people to contact that God was laying on our hearts. We continued to pray, some people called, others emailed. The hours passed, people came in and out of the classroom. At one time we entered in with the DTS for a time of worship, what a testimony to see them all worshiping, on their faces, praying for eachother, fully relying on God, so much change in such a short time! Around 9pm, we all gathered for one final time. We praised God together for all the people who had donated to our pool, and finally were told how much there was. We had 7000 in the pool and 9000 remaining. BAsically, we need 2000 more dollars. We entered into a time of hearing from God, singing, and then before anyone could do anything, the number became zero. ZERO! ZERO! Who is our God? The creator of the universe, author, perfector, creator. My dad. I am his daughter, and he has provided 120,000 for my whole team to go on outreach. No mountain is too big, no heart is too hard and no amount in any timespan is too big for my God.
We saw God breakthrough. Absolutely.
Thank you for your prayer, your support, your love. Rejoice with us. God is good!
MMkay...So Tuesday night ended with me writing a final update and blog. It really feels like forever ago...Anyway, I tossed and turned the whole night, just being in anticipation of what the next day held. I woke up too early, but being on the top bunk, my computer conveniently rests on top of a huge closet. Without waking anyone up, I was fully able to get in contact with the world. I opened my painfully slow Yahoomail Classic (I have been spoiled with lightning email and the all-new Yahoo mail at the Dinneen house)...and low and behold, my total of 3800 had decreased to 3000. Praise God. It was hard to contain my bouncing, even with my mummy bag zipped fully. Without too much time passing, my roommates all had woken up and I was able to contact my mom and share the incredible news. As soon as I contacted her, we rejoiced over the money that had come in on Tuesday and Wednesday, my number of 5800 had basically been cut in half. It was perfect timing really, my mom was actually on the way to the bank, and was depositing some final checks for me. As we added it all together, little by little, my total was falling. Before we knew it, I was totalling zero. ZERO. No more money. I needed zero more dollars. Oh God, you are good! I let out a cry of rejoicing and yelled it to my roommates. How incredible. God's timing is more than perfect.
This was just the start of the day...Melisa also recieved her money before we went to class. Praise God!
So we went into our classroom that morning, praising God for His work and then headed to Hollie's house for small group. Darcy encouraged us to be sensitive. If there was anyone God was laying on our hearts, anything He was telling us to give away, random people we were to wait for on the street, to just be sensitive, to put actions behind our faith. And so we did, probably 20 phonecalls were made, clothing was redistributed, zillions of emails sent and recieved, several SMS's sent via Skype and with each dollar we received news of we praised God. We were all in faith that by midnight, we would have a total of zero. The day was a quick one, stories were scattered from school to school. All the schools had their finances due and each one had their epic tales of anonymous-unheard of-donations.
After dinner time, we all filed into the classroom. We looked at the decreased number, now 15,000 from the morning's 20,000ish. We had already seen God's generous heart that day. It was set, we wouldn't leave the classroom until all of the money came in. We started out by doing some prayer marching. You know the usual, singing "Father Abraham", "I may never march...", "He's got the whole world...", marching seven times around the outside, acting out the story of Jericho. It was a fun time in our groups and prophetic. Again Darcy brought us back together to encourage any final people to contact that God was laying on our hearts. We continued to pray, some people called, others emailed. The hours passed, people came in and out of the classroom. At one time we entered in with the DTS for a time of worship, what a testimony to see them all worshiping, on their faces, praying for eachother, fully relying on God, so much change in such a short time! Around 9pm, we all gathered for one final time. We praised God together for all the people who had donated to our pool, and finally were told how much there was. We had 7000 in the pool and 9000 remaining. BAsically, we need 2000 more dollars. We entered into a time of hearing from God, singing, and then before anyone could do anything, the number became zero. ZERO! ZERO! Who is our God? The creator of the universe, author, perfector, creator. My dad. I am his daughter, and he has provided 120,000 for my whole team to go on outreach. No mountain is too big, no heart is too hard and no amount in any timespan is too big for my God.
We saw God breakthrough. Absolutely.
Thank you for your prayer, your support, your love. Rejoice with us. God is good!
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
the past couple days...
We just finished yet another prayer time, and yet again, God met us. The latent phase has finished and we are transistioning into hard work in these last hours before our finances are due. We have been focusing a lot of 2 Chronicles 20 since yesterday, it feels like so much longer than that... Jehoshaphat and his army were up against unlikely odds, but rested in God's words that were spoken through people. Tuesday mornings are usually base intercession time, but today Darcy and Becca felt that we were supposed to prophetically walk through the passage. When Jehoshaphat heard that there was a strong army waiting up against him, he went to the Lord and proclaimed a fast for all of Judah. Then together the people seeked God. Jehoshaphat stands in front of the people and declares God's character "you rule over all the nations and kingdoms", "power and might are in your hands and no one can withstand you"...it continues on. In his closing phrases he shares "O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." I really took heart in this bit, all day it has been the cry of my heart. God, I have absolutely nowhere to turn but you. Then the underdog, they quote like 5 generations before him to accredit him, says "Hey, this is God's battle, don't be afraid! You aren't going to fight, but you need to prepare and stand firm. The Lord is going to deliver you. Face it. God is with you." With that all of the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell flat on their faces in worship. Finally, moments before they went out, Jehoshaphat tells his people to have faith and worship as they go out. It was in their time of worship that God sent out ambushes, the enemy was annihilated. The reward was great, and the fear of the Lord succumbed surrounding nations. They rejoiced for their God had delivered them.
I am looking forward to Thursday, the celebration, the deliverance, the worship. It will be beautiful. Until then, we continue to labor, the first 4 cm have come, we are joyful, the waters are broken, but the transitional phase is just beginning, the last hours are going to be difficult, but the one who will deliver us rules over nations and kingdoms, power and might is in his hands.
24,560 dollars to go.
I am looking forward to Thursday, the celebration, the deliverance, the worship. It will be beautiful. Until then, we continue to labor, the first 4 cm have come, we are joyful, the waters are broken, but the transitional phase is just beginning, the last hours are going to be difficult, but the one who will deliver us rules over nations and kingdoms, power and might is in his hands.
24,560 dollars to go.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Friday, September 05, 2008
5 days remain.
Today Hollie recieved all her money. Breakthrough!
We are at 32,132 dollars. Zero, here we commmmmmeeeee!
We are at 32,132 dollars. Zero, here we commmmmmeeeee!
Thursday, September 04, 2008
I talked to my mom today.
She asked me if I had received 5,000 dollars already and if I hadn't been updating them. Although it was her misconception and my undescriptive phrases that teamed up for confusion, it was comforting to hear that my mom is teamed up right along side me. In the end, I clarified, "I am counting down, I still need 5,800, it was just a change from the six thousands." and she responded with "Oh, I bet everyone else got that, they probably aren't as dense as me." Hahaha. All of that to say, there is power in team work. I usually say thank you in my blogs or emails, and I mean it! So once again, thank you, for teaming up in finances and prayer. I am not alone in this. It is unifying as we have prayer times together as a school and just as powerful when I get an email from someone at home telling me what is going on in their life and that they are partnering in prayer with me and the school.
Six days until finances are due. Woooooot (that's for you Charlie).
Tonight instead of Thursday night evangelism, we are having base worship. I think we are going to be interceding and worshiping for the city of Perth, possibly praying for people we have met previously and doing some spiritual warfare for them. I can hear them across the laneway getting set up....I'm excited.
The weather is taking a change these past days. Slowly the scarves are being pealed off and the three-quarter length sweater is a usual part of my outfit.
Anyway. Dinner and singing telegrams are calling...
Six days until finances are due. Woooooot (that's for you Charlie).
Tonight instead of Thursday night evangelism, we are having base worship. I think we are going to be interceding and worshiping for the city of Perth, possibly praying for people we have met previously and doing some spiritual warfare for them. I can hear them across the laneway getting set up....I'm excited.
The weather is taking a change these past days. Slowly the scarves are being pealed off and the three-quarter length sweater is a usual part of my outfit.
Anyway. Dinner and singing telegrams are calling...
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
and now...market night...
Tonight was a beautiful night of community. We have the market night to raise money for outreach, which may seem counter productive since six schools are headed on outreach, so where is the money going to come from? The heart of our evening was to bless the other schools with our creativity, and money seemed to just be a biproduct. As Becca put it "we are going to win the market night!". We went into the evening joyfully and with the right heart to bless the other schools.
The BAS set up quite the spread including: base-famous peanut butter fudge, chocolate and peanut butter balls, crocheted headbands and cell phone covers, cards, and an old fashioned "fishing" game where you could win any of our homemade goods. Some of the crowd drawers were "watch-Dave-make-sushi" bar and the absolutely-irresistable-hot-off-the-griddle-Norwegian-waffles. Most unique, profitable and hilarious was the Singing Telegrams. You could decide who you were selling it to, what song you wanted, how many people and what those people are wearing. Just to give everyone a taste, we began a slow clap in the middle of the market bustle, one by one we formed into a line and then it began, "Lean on me, when you're not strong, and I'll be your friend...", then came the silence, the staring and the all time favorite, beat-boxing. What a crowd stopper and knee slapper. We have four more acts sometime this week. I am anticipating the shock when 12 girls dressed in salvation army clothes knock on the door of an unsuspecting recipient. Hehehe!
Anyway, God is so good. We saw nearly three hundred dollars come in tonight, where it came from, who knows? I believe that in the changing of hands, God is multiplying the money. Amen.
So, since Saturday, when we were at nearly 49,000 dollars, we have seen 12,000 dollars come in. Praise God! Personally, I broke into 5,000s today! I saw almost a thousand dollars come in. God is pushing me and I am learning. This is the time for faith to grow. I believe as a school and as a base, trusting God for finances is a pillar in community-building. As we were in a huge lunchtime prayer today, I got the song from High School Musical stuck in my head, "We're all in this together...". Zach and Gabriella, I like them. Anyway, I really feel like our coming together is bringing power, breaking strongholds, keeping the enemy at bay.
Thank you for all your prayers, I believe the flow of generosity from the carwash and the market is due to prayer beforehand and during the fundraising hours.
Please email me any prayer requests that you have or just drop a comment to say "hi", I really like those.
God is good.
The BAS set up quite the spread including: base-famous peanut butter fudge, chocolate and peanut butter balls, crocheted headbands and cell phone covers, cards, and an old fashioned "fishing" game where you could win any of our homemade goods. Some of the crowd drawers were "watch-Dave-make-sushi" bar and the absolutely-irresistable-hot-off-the-griddle-Norwegian-waffles. Most unique, profitable and hilarious was the Singing Telegrams. You could decide who you were selling it to, what song you wanted, how many people and what those people are wearing. Just to give everyone a taste, we began a slow clap in the middle of the market bustle, one by one we formed into a line and then it began, "Lean on me, when you're not strong, and I'll be your friend...", then came the silence, the staring and the all time favorite, beat-boxing. What a crowd stopper and knee slapper. We have four more acts sometime this week. I am anticipating the shock when 12 girls dressed in salvation army clothes knock on the door of an unsuspecting recipient. Hehehe!
Anyway, God is so good. We saw nearly three hundred dollars come in tonight, where it came from, who knows? I believe that in the changing of hands, God is multiplying the money. Amen.
So, since Saturday, when we were at nearly 49,000 dollars, we have seen 12,000 dollars come in. Praise God! Personally, I broke into 5,000s today! I saw almost a thousand dollars come in. God is pushing me and I am learning. This is the time for faith to grow. I believe as a school and as a base, trusting God for finances is a pillar in community-building. As we were in a huge lunchtime prayer today, I got the song from High School Musical stuck in my head, "We're all in this together...". Zach and Gabriella, I like them. Anyway, I really feel like our coming together is bringing power, breaking strongholds, keeping the enemy at bay.
Thank you for all your prayers, I believe the flow of generosity from the carwash and the market is due to prayer beforehand and during the fundraising hours.
Please email me any prayer requests that you have or just drop a comment to say "hi", I really like those.
God is good.
Monday, September 01, 2008
thank you for praying...
World's most successful carwash, $830. Who even makes that much money at a carwash? We did. We also had $850 of donations towards the school's account as a whole and were sponsored at 27.50 per car and washed 52 cars. When you add all the numbers together it is approximately 3,000 dollars. Wow, God, thank you! We all saw our numbers come down. Personally, I had about $600 dollars come in this weekend. I am now sitting at 6,137 dollars before I am sitting on a plane to Indonesia. Thank you for all your prayers and emails and contact.
Today Robyn shared about Jesus and Suffering for our Jesus Devo. The world clearly states, keep yourself safe, hide from the bad. I mean, I change the channel when the "feed the children" commercials come on, it is uncomfortable to see others in pain. Robyn shared that Jesus was greatly moved and then embraced the pain. There were times in his suffering when he would draw away in the suffering, we are allowed to feel the pain. I think this is something I haven't embraced. It is not natural to want to feel pain.
On Wednesday we are headed to a private hospital! All week we are learning newborn care. So far we have only gotten up to pulling the placenta out, and now we actually get to think about caring for the baby and watching the mum and bub (the aussies shorten anything they can) connect. We will have the chance to palpate a placenta and learn recessatation. We are on the edge of our seats.
Cool.
Tomorrow Sarah and I present the need of Swaziland to the class. 47% of the country is infected with HIV/AIDS. It is estimated the country will die out by 2050. 70% of the people live on less than a dollar a day. I had no idea until about three weeks ago. God be the solution.
Well fam and friends, I hope to hear from you. It really makes my day.
Today Robyn shared about Jesus and Suffering for our Jesus Devo. The world clearly states, keep yourself safe, hide from the bad. I mean, I change the channel when the "feed the children" commercials come on, it is uncomfortable to see others in pain. Robyn shared that Jesus was greatly moved and then embraced the pain. There were times in his suffering when he would draw away in the suffering, we are allowed to feel the pain. I think this is something I haven't embraced. It is not natural to want to feel pain.
On Wednesday we are headed to a private hospital! All week we are learning newborn care. So far we have only gotten up to pulling the placenta out, and now we actually get to think about caring for the baby and watching the mum and bub (the aussies shorten anything they can) connect. We will have the chance to palpate a placenta and learn recessatation. We are on the edge of our seats.
Cool.
Tomorrow Sarah and I present the need of Swaziland to the class. 47% of the country is infected with HIV/AIDS. It is estimated the country will die out by 2050. 70% of the people live on less than a dollar a day. I had no idea until about three weeks ago. God be the solution.
Well fam and friends, I hope to hear from you. It really makes my day.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
it will be multiplied!
as of today, we are washing cars for $19 each! (aside from the money we will get from the car owner!)
paula-$2
melisa-$6
rachel-$7
connie-$4
praise the lord!
paula-$2
melisa-$6
rachel-$7
connie-$4
praise the lord!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
the last winter cafe is tonight!
I feel silly again writing a blog about how revolutionary the teaching has been, but it is looking that way again.
I think as long as we have a teachable heart, as long as we are open to recieve, as long as we are filtering people's views through the Bible, we will always be learning more and more.
This morning we had our final testimony shared. Over the past four weeks, each of us has shared our life story at small group. It has been in this time that we have seen breakthrough in one on one times (staff and student meetings), lectures and relationship. It also has to do with the progression of time, but there has been more depth and understanding coating the classroom as we learn about people's lives. I have rejoiced in my friends' redemption (and mine) endlessly. God is good. Amen?!
Anyway, I want to ask something of each of you. Would you be willing to sponsor me for our carwash this weekend? I am excited to have my friends involved with raising money for our outreach. Currently, we have seen 70,000 dollars come in, and now we need another 50,000. All of our money is due September 10. So far we are washing each car for 9 dollars! Yay! I want to see this quadrupled...atleast. Whether you can give 10 cents per car or 5 dollars per car, each bit counts. Please feel open in asking any questions!
In our financial prayer, it is often brought up, to be the persistent widow. To give of what we have, to be faithful in the small. I am convinced we will see our needs provided for, someway, somehow. We must be in a place of needing a miracle in order to see one happen.
One quick story before I post. About two weeks ago, my power adapter for my computer starting acting funny, you know, melting the plastic, smelling like you had put Glad-Ware on the bottom rack of the dish washer. It was actually so hot to touch, that I was avoiding plugging it in. I was imagining it exploding and then blasting out my computer screen. Anyway, Saturday morning, my cord spliced a three inch hole in itself. After the initial shock, I didn't know what to do. There is no Apple store, perhaps I could send it to Sydney? I wasn't sure if it was even worth the cost. Anyway, one of my roommates asked a fellow Mac user...and it turns out, a four minute walk away, is a store that honors Mac warranties. I walked over there on Monday, and by this morning had a brand new adapter. Thanks Jesus.
Anyway, guys, God is moving in Perth. How about the rest of the world? I would love to hear from you all! Thank you Sarah Park for your prayer request!
I think as long as we have a teachable heart, as long as we are open to recieve, as long as we are filtering people's views through the Bible, we will always be learning more and more.
This morning we had our final testimony shared. Over the past four weeks, each of us has shared our life story at small group. It has been in this time that we have seen breakthrough in one on one times (staff and student meetings), lectures and relationship. It also has to do with the progression of time, but there has been more depth and understanding coating the classroom as we learn about people's lives. I have rejoiced in my friends' redemption (and mine) endlessly. God is good. Amen?!
Anyway, I want to ask something of each of you. Would you be willing to sponsor me for our carwash this weekend? I am excited to have my friends involved with raising money for our outreach. Currently, we have seen 70,000 dollars come in, and now we need another 50,000. All of our money is due September 10. So far we are washing each car for 9 dollars! Yay! I want to see this quadrupled...atleast. Whether you can give 10 cents per car or 5 dollars per car, each bit counts. Please feel open in asking any questions!
In our financial prayer, it is often brought up, to be the persistent widow. To give of what we have, to be faithful in the small. I am convinced we will see our needs provided for, someway, somehow. We must be in a place of needing a miracle in order to see one happen.
One quick story before I post. About two weeks ago, my power adapter for my computer starting acting funny, you know, melting the plastic, smelling like you had put Glad-Ware on the bottom rack of the dish washer. It was actually so hot to touch, that I was avoiding plugging it in. I was imagining it exploding and then blasting out my computer screen. Anyway, Saturday morning, my cord spliced a three inch hole in itself. After the initial shock, I didn't know what to do. There is no Apple store, perhaps I could send it to Sydney? I wasn't sure if it was even worth the cost. Anyway, one of my roommates asked a fellow Mac user...and it turns out, a four minute walk away, is a store that honors Mac warranties. I walked over there on Monday, and by this morning had a brand new adapter. Thanks Jesus.
Anyway, guys, God is moving in Perth. How about the rest of the world? I would love to hear from you all! Thank you Sarah Park for your prayer request!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Just another day at the beach.
Yesterday was Sarah's birthday. It has gone around the other schools, that if you want a party, go to the BAS. Most of it has to do with the fact that we are the smallest school, less of us to get to know, lots of love to go around...
I am feeling unispired as I begin to hack away at my computer...
This week we have the Base Leader's husband is speaking. I guess the "base founder" would be a more concise way to decribe him. The topic is "Spiritual aspects of birth". We began the week by talking about death and suffering, most of which I am still pondering.
The problem with our incredibly deep lectures, is that I am still processing by the time another week rears its head too early Monday morning. Dr. Panter last week invested his heart into our classroom each day last week. Each morning he would begin by talking about what God has laid on his heart for the morning. Most of the week we talked about running the race, and finishing well. What struck me about Dr. Panter was his zealous heart for the Burmese people. It seeped into nearly every lecture, from Women in developing countries to S.I.D.s. His passion to bring change to Burma is invigorating. He has thrown off passivity and will not let even the hardest of the hard stop him.
One story that Dr. Panter shared has stuck with me. As he was overlooking the water, close to his home in the England, he humbly thought about the blessings in his life. He had completed his medical training, opened a personal practice, brought a new baby into the world...life was good...many people had told him and he agreed. He was truly helping people, whether during his 9-5 shift or on a Sunday morning while playing the organ at his church. As he gazed upon the waves, God asked him, "What do I think of your life?". This became a cornerstone for Dr. Panter. As he reinterated to us, God sees our motivations, God does not care about societal values, God cares about you living a life for Him.
I feel changed by this. I am still trying to take hold of it all.
On September 10, all of our outreach funds are due. Please continue to pray for strategy and release. And please, contact me with any new prayer requests.
I miss you, church family...you guys are the bestest.
I am feeling unispired as I begin to hack away at my computer...
This week we have the Base Leader's husband is speaking. I guess the "base founder" would be a more concise way to decribe him. The topic is "Spiritual aspects of birth". We began the week by talking about death and suffering, most of which I am still pondering.
The problem with our incredibly deep lectures, is that I am still processing by the time another week rears its head too early Monday morning. Dr. Panter last week invested his heart into our classroom each day last week. Each morning he would begin by talking about what God has laid on his heart for the morning. Most of the week we talked about running the race, and finishing well. What struck me about Dr. Panter was his zealous heart for the Burmese people. It seeped into nearly every lecture, from Women in developing countries to S.I.D.s. His passion to bring change to Burma is invigorating. He has thrown off passivity and will not let even the hardest of the hard stop him.
One story that Dr. Panter shared has stuck with me. As he was overlooking the water, close to his home in the England, he humbly thought about the blessings in his life. He had completed his medical training, opened a personal practice, brought a new baby into the world...life was good...many people had told him and he agreed. He was truly helping people, whether during his 9-5 shift or on a Sunday morning while playing the organ at his church. As he gazed upon the waves, God asked him, "What do I think of your life?". This became a cornerstone for Dr. Panter. As he reinterated to us, God sees our motivations, God does not care about societal values, God cares about you living a life for Him.
I feel changed by this. I am still trying to take hold of it all.
On September 10, all of our outreach funds are due. Please continue to pray for strategy and release. And please, contact me with any new prayer requests.
I miss you, church family...you guys are the bestest.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
the harvest is here. the kingdom in near.
What would happen if I no longer viewed the world through my own eyes but through God's lense? First off, things would look different, more specifically, I would have a broken heart, I would hate sin, I would that it was destroying relationship, hate that was it was destroying individuals...often times I forget to do that, when that happens, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) becomes sheer evil that needs to be eradicated, I forget that they too are God's people, they too have the promises from our God, they too are seeking to know "Is there a God? Does He love me? Is He Good? What on earth am I doing here? Why do I have to face this pain?". I forget that God's heart is for these men who rape children of their innocence, I forget that God's heart is in pieces for them because they chose to shot another women who refused to become a sex slave, I forget that God is pursuing them, just as hard as he is pursuing me.
And in my pride, I weep. Weep for our broken, broken world, that has been absolutely destroyed, that has absolutely turned its back on God. I weep because He has not stopped pursuing us, no matter how far we have gone.
We are meant for joy. Yet it is a rare occasion that people are filled with happiness and much more likely chance that we are stressed, overworked, tired and weary. Where is the joy? Where have we hidden it? Why have I traded such pitiful emotions for the smiles He delights in?
In my lamenting I have begun to challenge these thoughts, do I dare look at my life in the way that God looks at it?
And in my pride, I weep. Weep for our broken, broken world, that has been absolutely destroyed, that has absolutely turned its back on God. I weep because He has not stopped pursuing us, no matter how far we have gone.
We are meant for joy. Yet it is a rare occasion that people are filled with happiness and much more likely chance that we are stressed, overworked, tired and weary. Where is the joy? Where have we hidden it? Why have I traded such pitiful emotions for the smiles He delights in?
In my lamenting I have begun to challenge these thoughts, do I dare look at my life in the way that God looks at it?
Sunday, August 17, 2008
and we are at the beginning of a new internet month.
:)
I am way past due for a blog update. I did send out an email update last week, does that count for something? The thing I don't like about missing an update is because I miss details, and that seriously agitates me when I can't share all the details.
This week we had an incredible teacher. Not only was he a guy (it is nice to get some testosterone in the classroom every once in a while, although it is more work because we have to put all our models away and turn over all the posters) but his heart is beating for the lost. He presented evangelism to us as a lifestyle. I have been longing for this, but I have not seen it lived out thoroughly. When I think of it as a lifestyle I start to think, "if it is a lifestyle, how will I ever have time to do anything else?" To Danny, we must be lead by the Holy Spirit. As he put it "Jesus walked through the crowds and didn't talk to everyone".
Danny began to softly share his story with us. His parents radically became Christians when he was seventeen. He had grown up hearing the stories of Jesus because his parents forced their kids into Sunday School each week since they wanted nice kids. This transition shook Danny up and he began to push it all away. All he ever wanted was a wife and babies he said, he ended up doing his nurses training and in his early twenties his girlfriend got pregnant. When she decided to abort the baby and rejected his proposal, he went over the edge. Long story short, Danny was doing intravenous drugs for six years. At the age of thirty he came to know the Lord, and essentially has dedicated his life to making God known.
Of course it is these powerful testimonies that people think are "real testimonies", but Danny rebuked those lies, and shared how each of have a different flavour of God in our lives. What we view God as, is what we will share God as. If we see God as our source of joy, that is what people will see God as, if we haven't spent time with God in two months, that is what people will see God as. On Thursday, Thursday night and Friday afternoon, as we proclaimed to the city of Perth, I saw each of our 31 Flavours (ok there aren't 31 of us) come out.
Anyway, we saw two people come to know jesus on Thursday night. Go God! And probably fifty people prayed for...Amen.
On Monday of this week, we had a woman from Denmark come to the base and share about herself. She challenged basically everyone's thinking. What stood out to me was "the Kingdom of God will violate the world". Evangelism is not normal. Going up and talking to people, is not comfortable. Telling people that "God talks to me, I believe he thinks you are beautiful" is not a light conversation. I need to be shaken from my cozy hide. I believe this began to happen a bit more this week. I want to be a violater.
Okay, thank you for praying for our carwashes. Last week, we made $510 and this weekend $770! Go God! We really saw a release of finances.
In the headlines of this week. Drumroll please...we will be headed to Indonesia for 2 months, Cameroon for 4 months and then Sudan for 2 months. Thank you for all your prayers! We are all VERY excited for our locations and KNOW they are ordained by God.
This has been a week of the Holy Spirit moving. God is so cool.
Some prayer requests:
-I have about a fourth of my outreach fund! Praise God! I need approximately 6,000 more dollars. Pray for a release.
-We need to submit our base fundraiser sometime this week...it will take some time to compile it. Please pray for ideas, motivation and a release!
I am way past due for a blog update. I did send out an email update last week, does that count for something? The thing I don't like about missing an update is because I miss details, and that seriously agitates me when I can't share all the details.
This week we had an incredible teacher. Not only was he a guy (it is nice to get some testosterone in the classroom every once in a while, although it is more work because we have to put all our models away and turn over all the posters) but his heart is beating for the lost. He presented evangelism to us as a lifestyle. I have been longing for this, but I have not seen it lived out thoroughly. When I think of it as a lifestyle I start to think, "if it is a lifestyle, how will I ever have time to do anything else?" To Danny, we must be lead by the Holy Spirit. As he put it "Jesus walked through the crowds and didn't talk to everyone".
Danny began to softly share his story with us. His parents radically became Christians when he was seventeen. He had grown up hearing the stories of Jesus because his parents forced their kids into Sunday School each week since they wanted nice kids. This transition shook Danny up and he began to push it all away. All he ever wanted was a wife and babies he said, he ended up doing his nurses training and in his early twenties his girlfriend got pregnant. When she decided to abort the baby and rejected his proposal, he went over the edge. Long story short, Danny was doing intravenous drugs for six years. At the age of thirty he came to know the Lord, and essentially has dedicated his life to making God known.
Of course it is these powerful testimonies that people think are "real testimonies", but Danny rebuked those lies, and shared how each of have a different flavour of God in our lives. What we view God as, is what we will share God as. If we see God as our source of joy, that is what people will see God as, if we haven't spent time with God in two months, that is what people will see God as. On Thursday, Thursday night and Friday afternoon, as we proclaimed to the city of Perth, I saw each of our 31 Flavours (ok there aren't 31 of us) come out.
Anyway, we saw two people come to know jesus on Thursday night. Go God! And probably fifty people prayed for...Amen.
On Monday of this week, we had a woman from Denmark come to the base and share about herself. She challenged basically everyone's thinking. What stood out to me was "the Kingdom of God will violate the world". Evangelism is not normal. Going up and talking to people, is not comfortable. Telling people that "God talks to me, I believe he thinks you are beautiful" is not a light conversation. I need to be shaken from my cozy hide. I believe this began to happen a bit more this week. I want to be a violater.
Okay, thank you for praying for our carwashes. Last week, we made $510 and this weekend $770! Go God! We really saw a release of finances.
In the headlines of this week. Drumroll please...we will be headed to Indonesia for 2 months, Cameroon for 4 months and then Sudan for 2 months. Thank you for all your prayers! We are all VERY excited for our locations and KNOW they are ordained by God.
This has been a week of the Holy Spirit moving. God is so cool.
Some prayer requests:
-I have about a fourth of my outreach fund! Praise God! I need approximately 6,000 more dollars. Pray for a release.
-We need to submit our base fundraiser sometime this week...it will take some time to compile it. Please pray for ideas, motivation and a release!
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