Goodbyes

Jellies on the beach

Itchy and swelling ant bites

Cleaning up after 6 boys

Miss Sharan’s encouraging words and help in the kitchen

Brother Bill’s hugs and inspiring words

Homemade Jambalaya and Gumbo

Southern Sweet tea like every day

Thriller dance every Sunday

Taco Wednesdays

Random burns from the kitchen

Sweating from intense humidity at 8am, 3pm, 11pm, 1am…

Sunday Black Staff Shirts and nametags

Meat parties I watched the boys partake in

Freedom Walk

Shirtless truck drivers

Showering in a trailer

Sleeping on an air mattress in a materials closet

Taking quick naps on the sanctuary pews

Foot washing every Wednesday night and burning sins every Thursday

Getting to pray with High schoolers seeking for something more

Great Staff I lived with for the last 10 weeks

Goodbye Hancock County, Although we have left you, The Lord refuses to leave!

Loving those who persecute you

As I was on site this morning, a woman came up to me that was apart of my work crew and completely attacked me. She started out attacking our ministry and how we have it set up. She was upset at the project they were at and that we wouldn't "let" them go to the roofing site with the rest of their church, a different crew. She continued to say how it was hard to be told what to do when we were so young and they were "go getters" and have all been managers etc. Then she switched to cutting specifically at me. How I help lead worship, how I explain games, my message choice and that just overall they were trying their best not to judge me based on my front I put up towards them. The other church all week has been really encouraging me all week for my leadership and message and were just really supportive, so this was definitely an attack without any strong validity but more preference and not good conflict skills. This complete attack and rant went on for about 15 minutes until Luke saved me and I broke down in the car. Usually I think I could have brushed it off but when my body, mind, and entire being is fried from the end of the summer, I balled like a baby! It was hard because this woman is the pastor’s wife and a Christian counselor and she went out of her way to reprimand me and my team, saying specific phrases like “I realize you guys are still very young and we are a lot older..” I instantly thought of 1 Tim 4:12 and wanted to use it in my words as some sort of come back but I knew that the Lord wanted me to set an example by taking it humbly and graciously receiving her criticism. Ok, got through the attack, now the tough part… I still have to show her love for the rest of the week. When she should be mentoring me and showing me wisdom, I am called to be an example as Timothy was. Maybe the heat is really getting to her and she is just having a really tough week. Please be praying for me so I can be an example well.

Consumed

It is getting to the end of summer, the whole staff is worn out, and we have become 7 different units instead of a team (in my opinion). I think a lot of it has to do with just being down right exhausted, but we have all, me included, become so consumed with our own specific jobs and “responsibilities” that we begin to divide. First we start pointing fingers, either physically and verbally or just internal frustration and bitterness, about how another person is not doing as much as me. Then that bitterness turns into a conscious decision to not help out with “someone else’s” task because it is not my responsibility. Then comes the justification of why I shouldn’t have to help; I deserve a rest anyway. Then we are each left frustrated, tired, and no one to lean on for support. I think Satan does a really good job at doing this inside the body of Christ. He gives us a sense of entitlement instilling bitterness towards one another because he knows we are more powerful when we are on mission together working as one unit. All I can do I guess is pray and continue to lay down my personal thoughts of entitlements and be more of a servant. Lord help me be more like you and not point fingers at others; keep my eyes on you alone unless it is to care for another.

Family Week 1

This week (or last week when the internet finally works to the point of being able to post) is our first family week. It is interesting dynamics because about a third of the group is a youth group from Indiana while their youth leader has brought her one year old. The rest of the group is actual families, some husbands and wives, some mother and children, most husband, wife and children groups. The youngest one, beside the one year old, is a six year old. Then the age jumps to 11 and 12 and up. It has actually been really neat to see the parents serving as an example and teaching their son or daughter how to use a certain tool etc. it has also been awesome cleaning wise because there is so many mom’s here! The place is looking cleaner this week than any other week! Miss Sharan, the amazing local that has been helping in the kitchen all summer, is so happy with how clean it is.

Worship Transformation

One of the most tangible things we see growth in the students is in worship progression throughout the week. On Sunday, when we have songs where you are supposed to jump or do action, there are usually only a small portion that actually participates. Mid week we are usually up to a little over half and only a few crossed arms. By the end of the week, the entire sanctuary is jumping and dancing with passion before the Lord with out fail. It is so encouraging and inspiring to see a little bit of the fruit of what the Lord is doing in each of their lives.

Isolation

It is about that time again. I love doing things where I do not know anyone else prior to a trip, event, etc. Part of the reason for this is because I love meeting new people and that awkward first meeting (that is why new students each week is perfect for me). This can be a really good thing, but I also have really negative reasons for my desire to go into something unknown. I have a fear of rejection that consists of assuming that people will reject me once they truly know me and begin to see my flaws. The Lord has been working hard on my heart over the last year and I know He does not want me to continue to flee. Still I am beginning to feel the temptation to flee from my staff who is beginning to get to know me in a way where my flaws are on my sleeves, and they have the choice then to accept or to reject. The easy fix, in my mind, is to isolate myself and know I can flee from the situation in 2 weeks. I know that is not what the Lord wants, though, so please be praying for a strong finish in this race with the people the Lord has placed me to work alongside.

Miracle Child

This week I worked with a crew building a deck. At Buba O'Malley's, whose house burned completely down and are now living in a trailer. The daughter, Danielle, was diagnosed with
Osteoporosis when she was born. The docters told her she would never walk, talk, go to school, or have children. Danielle is now walking, talking, and graduating in two years with a degree in
Accounting and will be going for her masters after that.

When she was 17 she became pregnant, and the doctors told her that either she or the baby would not survive because of her disability. She spent two weeks in the hospital after the delivery and will never be able to have another baby, but Brelynn is now 2 yrs old and so beautiful! At two, she already says she wants to be an animal doctor. She is so smart, fun, and friendly. My job was very rewarding this week!

Danielle's mom, as they live with her parents, started

to cry when she saw the beautiful deck my crew built this week. She was so touched

to see her daughter, Danielle, be able to walk down the stairs by herself for the very first time in her life!

Confidence in Christ

It is interesting that the one of the best things I can do, specifically the girls, is just model my confidence I have in Christ. I get really tempted some weeks to feel bad when some of the students do not like me, but I realize feeding into that temptation would not help them because we all, especially in high school, struggle with finding our confidence in other people. I have been striving to find my sole confidence in Christ and then show that confidence as a model for these girls desperately seeking acceptance from areas that are fleeting. So confidence and knowing my worth because of my Father has been so key.

3 Hours Later...

Last week, some of us on the team went to a true Southern Baptist Church, Grace Temple. We were literally the only Caucasian people in the medium to smaller sized church. The service went from 10:15am till about 1pm and people continued to trickle in throughout the entire service. They started the service with about four people standing in the front with cordless mikes. The woman on the far left was the lead singer while the others sang backup. These three or four songs at the beginning were more meant to sing with the backup singers as the lead sounded great but sang as the Spirit lead and her heart desired. After these songs, the Pastor got up to do the welcome, having the newbies stand up and introduce themselves, and then announcements. To my surprise, instead of moving on with the message, we went back into worship songs. This time the songs were a little easier to sing along with and everybody was swayin and clappin. After another half an hour or so, teh message started. He was preaching on if you are going to be a Christian, you need to live like a Christian, different from the world and let your actions and mouth reflect your relationship with Christ. He also really pushed the fact that as a church they need leaders to really step up if they want to take the promises that God has given them and the new location that they are wanting to move into shortly. The great thing about the hour long message was that whenever Pastor Francis got really passionate with what he was saying, he would begin to dance a little bit up there and the keys would chime in with him (if he was really going the drums would come in a little bit too!). This of course encouraged the mmmhmmm's and the Amens, which only encouraged his little jig more! After the message, he stated that he really wanted to get us out of there so that people would come back at 5 for a meeting. Before we were dismissed though, there is a time of open mike for any testimonies to be shared. A lady went up and shared how she was so blessed and proud of her church family in how they surrounded her recently when her mom died and she called the funeral a homecoming. The other woman that went up there gave a mini message about the bad effects of gossip on individuals and on the division of the church body. She then laid out all her dirty laundry before all the congregation about her previous drinking problems and how that had effected her parenting. She called herself a bad mother and shared more stuff about herself, past as well as present. She claimed that now you can talk about her and it doesn't matter cause she knows Christ has redeemed her. Talk about confidence in Christ!! I really enjoyed, it is just too bad that we just don't have three hours to give every week since we have groups coming in the afternoon. I like the church I am at anyway, but it was a neat experience.

Big Week

This was a very big week for us. There were about 85 people here, ten work site crews, feeding over 100, and all hands on deck! We were blessed with great leaders and wonderful students seeking after the Lord. The Lord had to minister to my heart from emotional things a lot this week, so many nights I spent on my knees or down on my face crying before the Lord. I have learned so much about forgiveness this week. The Lord has been so good. I also had the best Southern meal I have had during this summer. I had some homemade jambalaya, some pickled potatoes salad, cheesy chicken spaghetti, meatballs, and of course sweet tea! I was so satisfied!!

Starting to feel the Home Stretch

Although this summer has been incredible and we still have three more weeks left, I think the whole staff is starting to feel the longing for home once again. Marisa leaves us after this coming week to do a trip to Alaska, so we will all have to take on a little more, especially me, to pick up her usual wonderful responsibilities throughout the week. Please be praying for that. My Staff minus Azad:

Why do words still hurt?

After we send home a group on Saturdays, we grab our footnote bags where the students have sometimes sent us notes throughout the week. We read our notes, sharing some out loud to encourage one another and then we pray as a team for the group that just left. This morning I grabbed my bag and noticed a bunch of different scribbles on the outside of the bag surrounding various parts of my previous decoration. As I looked closer, I noticed the scribbles were covering up words of obscenity and overall not kind things. Ouch. Why do these words still hurt when they are high school students who I will most likely never see again? Why does it hurt when I know I find my true identity and worth in Christ and not in man? Maybe it is because it does still make me question my worth or for sure my actual impact here. In my head, I know the Lord has me here and is using me, and I also know that the student who wrote it is most likely really struggling with their own worth and acceptance and this act was out of that loneliness and confusion. All of these things my head understands, but my heart is having more trouble. I poured my love into those students, and it is returned with obscenity. Maybe I am getting a glimpse of what Christ felt at the cross. Please be praying for me that Christ would shine His love through me, and that come tomorrow I will be able to shine and pour love out once again to the 80 students coming. My spirit is so willing, but my flesh really just wants to cower and hide.

Material Things

Material thing are so fleeting, but what if it is all you have ever known? The newest bag will offer you extra glances while walking down the hall. The newest style shoes offer you a hundred compliments and jealous girls hanging around you. A shiny car offers you that extra attention from all the guys. And a million friends on Facebook will maybe get you voted prom queen. But eventually someone will get the newer bag and those glances will be directed else where, forgetting about your bag the day before. Someone else will come with a better pair of shoes leaving you with no compliments and the girls who were by your side yesterday are now by her side today. The shiny car will grow dim and the boys will have used you and left you. And a few years after high school all those facebook friends will have forgotten all about your crown and have moved on with their lives, most even forgetting your name. Where will you be left after all the things have faded and the people moved on? Jesus said it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom or heaven than a camel to enter through the eye or a needle. I don’t think Jesus said this because He hates money or wants to make life hard for us. I think He said it because He wants us to experience life to its fullest with actual joy, with friends who will love you to the core, with a husband who will love and serve you and not use you, and with acceptance from the One who will never forget your name or your crown! This week a lot of the students were very dependant on their material items, but I think the Lord has started moving in their hearts and is showing them what true joy looks like. I will continue praying for our group from Philly.

Missions

Missions can only really happen once you

have run out of your own ideas and understandings

have become so frustrated you are ready to give up

have become so tired you have no energy to try anymore

then the Lord can step in with His full understanding, complete patience, and unlimited strength and energy to actually change hearts and see mission through your hands that you are finally willing to surrender to be used fully by the His hands!

Following Miss Judy's House

This is Miss Judy's house over the last three weeks of work. We started out taking out the entire flooring including beams and then replacing it all. Then we took off all the siding on the house and the suffit in the porch.

Now this week is the siding!

Kitchen Fun

As a staff we have found that the best place to hang out is the kitchen and usually around dinner prep time. Everyone is really good about helping by picking up a knife and chopping some lettuce, stirring some beans, or taste testing ;) One night Azad decided to use his construction skills to build a house with the rice krispee treats for the night!

Lesson Learned or Learning...

Don’t you hate when you tell someone some really good wisdom and then have to learn the same lesson a week later. I usually say something like, “Lord, I already learned this lesson. Didn’t you hear me telling that other person about this? I don’t feel the need to learn this!” I told a good friend of mine last week that as a man he must put all his love out even though it may not be returned. This week was a hard week students wise. It was a really small group and half of them were related. They came from a small town and weren’t very susceptible to others, me. I did not feel like I really connected with the students or that they were even interested in getting to know me. They seemed pretty disrespectful and not interested in any programming we did. Some of this may have been because of the fact that their youth leaders both ended up not being able to come last minute because of the family death and so two leaders stepped in really quick. Maybe between the new dynamics to their group, the closeness of the group and town, and the fact that it rained like all week so I did not go on site a lot because of the small quarters of inside site work, all of these turned into little connection and bonds made for me this week. So I started to get kind of bitter and apathetic towards the group. I was putting less effort into getting to know them and having an attitude towards them. I then realized that I was doing the same thing that I was warning my friend against doing to the girl he was pursuing. Jesus did not call me down here this summer to only love the students that are respectful and who are easy to love but to love all including those hard to love and will give nothing in return. I needed to pray to get a heart change since mine was not right toward these students. It was too late to change my actions toward this week’s students, but I think it will change my perspective for the remainder weeks. I’m still learning!

Prayer Needed

The group that is currently driving and supposed to arrive tomorrow afternoon just called because the youth leader's grandpa died. They are in the process of trying to get a different leader to come or they may have to turn around. Also be in prayer about our group's energy level. This was a great and big group this last week and it tired us out. We get about 24 hours between groups and a lot of that goes to prep for the next week, so not a lot of time to rest. Also the Mother Ship (our S10 truck) died this week so we are down a vehicle. It will be a challenge but we will manage.

Also I will try to add pics soon the internet just is not the greatest here.

Southern Hospitality

So when I first got down here I began losing weight because of the heat, our busy schedules, and serving dinner and not a lot of time to eat, but now i am gaining some weight because our residents that we are helping are cooking many meals for us. I am eating tao soup, biscuits, beans and rice, and more!! I am eating like a southern :)

A friend we find all other!

Becoming White

On Thursday I was on a work site with six high school girls. We were sanding off the unneeded layers of mud they put on the dry wall the day before! We danced around the room to Taylor Swift and other songs while we sanded away and then painted all morning. By lunch time I had turned white from the dust but we had laughed the morning away. The girls were so special to me this week, they all opened up to our small group during lunch devos sharing the reasons they are so broken. My heart broke when they shared that one struggled with anorexia, another with a recent peer death, another with a sister with an illness, and another who has spent two separate times at a mental hospital. These girls are so broken and the Lord allowed me the privilege to love on them and pray for each one of them this week! I have been so blessed this week by these girls and I think many of them walked away this morning with a blessing from the Lord this week. On Thursday night most of the 80 students came up to one of the leaders for some sort of prayer. It was incredible different denomination all on one mission forgetting about their differences and embracing their similarities! It was beautiful :) God is so good!

Turning Point

Wednesday is always our foot washing service. We talk about how Jesus is a servant during service and then send them to the gym that is lit by candles and stations are set up where they go as their crew they have worked with throughout the week and wash each other's feet and pray over one another. We knew from training week on that this was an essential part of the week and a big turning point for a lot of the students, but what I didn't realize is that it is a big turning point for my attitude each week as well. My attitude this week started out really tired and indifferent about these students and last night once again reminded me why I am here. The crew I have been working with this week was a group of six girls and they all are very broken and opened up to the group about their lives. One of the girls struggled with anorexia, another girl has a sister who is terminally ill, a girl's boyfriend got an STD because he had been cheating on her, another girl had been in an insane hospital twice in her life. One of these girls that I prayed with after told me she is an atheist because how could a God that is supposed to be loving allow those awful things in her life to occur, where she had no one to love her. I shared the Gospel with her and told her that God loves her so much and His heart breaks for the events that happened. I also looked her straight in the eye and told her that I love her. She was sobbing the whole night but has not come to Christ yet but the Lord is working so I am praying for tonight! At the end of the night we ended in a circle all arm in arm different denomination all united in song together.. what a great picture of what the kingdom of God looks like!

The next night she did pray with me to accept Christ in order to receive the healing that only comes from surrendering to Him!

A bit Under the Weather

My dear Prayer Team,

Please pray for my health and overall energy. A group of about 85 is here this week. I woke up with a sore throat and a head ache this morning. I want to be able to pour into these students this week but I am finding it difficult to transition when we got to know all the students that just left.

Thank you for your prayers!!

Learning to be a Mary and not a Martha

As the week is over, the students left this morning, I reflect on all that happened this week. First I started thinking about all the little details that went wrong: when dinner wasn’t served on time, when JC didn’t say the right thing at worship, how some of the staff wasn’t good at helping out when we need it in the kitchen etc. I wanted everything to go just right and just how I pictured it. The Lord reminded me that the goal as whole was actually met because the Lord moved as He need to. We had people who dedicated their lives to Jesus for the first time, leaders who prayed for someone for the first time, lots of tear shed while we washed each others feet and while we burned the sins that were nailed onto the cross. The Lord did show up in a mighty ways and He will continue to teach me this summer how to be a Mary and enjoy the Lord’s work instead of a Martha who needs all the details in place while missing the Lord’s gentle movement.

³⁸As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

⁴¹"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴²but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:38-42

No Chance Encounters

Every Friday the students get a free day at the ocean. This week we went to Ship Island where we take a Ferry from the coast out to the island. The ride is about and hour each way. I was one of the four that went with to supervise this week. On the way back I went to the lower level of the ferry to buy something to eat. When I got down there, there was already a big line of students who were also hungry, so instead of waiting in line I noticed an older couple was sitting at a table by themselves with a whole side open by the line. I asked if I could sit down just as I wait for the line to die down. They agreed and I sat down and began to share with them what I was in Mississippi for and what our ministries was all about. After a while, I asked the couple what they do for a profession. The male answered that he was a pastor for a small church on the North Shore of Louisiana. We spent the next hour sharing our lives, visions, and passions. We exchanged email addresses and my blog upon their request. They prayed over me and asked for the address of Next Step ministries because their church gives to various organizations. I just love how God works through encounters!

Hope in Lucile

This week I spent my mornings with crew one at Grandma Judith’s house. She needed a new floor that had gotten wet during Katrina and continued to rot ever since. The crew started out by taking out the floor and found rotten beams underneath, so they replaced it all throughout the week. Because they had a big enough crew and I did not want to take away from their tasks I was able to spend quite a bit of time with the residents. Grandma Judith’s daughter Marsha was there everyday with her two children Lucile (16) and James (11). Her other grandson Doc (17) was also there when he wasn’t working.

They all helped to rebuild their grandma’s house. They made the entire group a homemade meal every day for lunch (spaghetti, sausage, hamburgers, and pork roast and always different sides). Early on in the week I was talking to Doc and found out that he had dropped out of school last year and was taking a “break” now before work. I found this sad that a complacency was being passed down by generations in many families I this community, but my hope was restored through Lucile. She has dreams to go to college and be a nurse. She also is a club leader of the red cross at her school and rallied for the most blood given in a year for the entire state of Mississippi! She seems very driven when she puts her mind to something. I was able to pour into her this week and encourage those dreams of hers! On Friday the group that was down, who were actually a choir at their church, gave a concert for the community and we fed the people who joined us. Judy, Marsha, Lucile and James came. They stayed for the concert and then even for our own Next Step worship after that. During worship every night we do a thing called “Yay God!”(s) where we share with our crew where we saw God that day. The four of them joined our crew and cried as they shared the ways they saw God through us. Lucile broke down and shared that she had been seeking for the Lord and asking Him to show Himself to her and that she saw Him through the work we did this week. James also cried sharing that he usually avoids work like the plague but that as we were there he was excited to join in and work hard, and that that had brought him closer to God. It was such an encouragement to see the effects on the community already!

Pleasantly Surprised

This week has been pretty crazy, as leaders going from 6am till 11pm. On Monday, I was put on shower duty where I monitor the girls going in and out of showering. At first I was silently complaining that I had to sit and watch them for 30-45 min, but then the Lord reminded me how I had been begging for a chance to just sit during the day. The Next day I embraced the break and brought my Bible to read through some Philippians while I waited for the girls to finish showering!

Loving Even When it's Hard

There is a woman leader this week who is just a bit difficult. She is a finicky eater and likes things just so. It has already made it kind of difficult on us as a team who are trying to figure out this whole leading thing still. After only s day, we all each had our stories of how she had made one of our tasks harder. After a little ranting, Chase stopped us and said that this isn’t helpful. That we need to change our mindset about her and we need to love her. He reminded us that there would only be one way to do that, through prayer. It is a good thing for us to realize at the beginning of this summer because there are going to be some students we don’t like, some leaders we don’t like, and even some community members who are crabby and unappreciative. When all this comes up, we are called to love, and love, and love, as Jesus loves us. This summer is all about loving, and Jesus even told His disciples that it wasn’t hard to love those who are easy to love but what sets us apart is showing love to those others don’t find it easy to love. The Lord blessed us though this week with ten other leaders that are incredible!! I will be adding pics and describing the site I am working on whenever my next break will be tis week.. I am be beckoned into the sanctuary for some praise practice now.

Chaos

The first students arrived on Sunday night. This is my first actual break since then! Because the church we are staying at is a really solid active church, we run into some schedule conflicts. One being that VBS had a commencement ceremony on Sunday at 4 and then a dinner. Our group was arriving around 4. The Lord was so faithful and the time that they arrived, now looking back we see, was the perfect time for them to arrive. It has been really crazy trying to fit into our roles and run a mission trip! The hardest part has been feeling out what feeding 60+ people is like and next week it will be 90+! Pray for peace for our whole team as we try to fit our roles and let the Lord be the ultimate leader of this ministry!

Clean Up Crews for the students.

Some have said my sponge looks like a peanut!

This is our daily Schedule for the students

We are having the students each week sign the Mississippi sign so it is full of signatures by the end of the summer. I started with Miss Amy!

Footnotes is a place where each student decorates a paper page with their name on it and hangs it on the twine with a clothespin. Then the students are encouraged to write notes to each other to encourage their team mates throughout the week! I stepped in paint and made foot prints yesterday for the edges of the twine!

JC, Luke, an Azad preparing our main food: sandwiches

Nate, Marisa, Brandon, Chase

Longing for the Ocean

I am a bit drained. It is hot which slows us all down and sucks our energy. Everyone is a bit irritable. A lot of site visits and material preparing has consumed the construction guys, the looming messages and songs have loomed over Jc and Brandon, and Grocery shopping for 60 people (my least favorite part thus far) and other little prep things has warn out Marisa and I. It is time for the students to arrive; We need a specific reason to be working together and for all of us to fall into place with our roles. The students will also bring a new needed energy that we can feed off of!

What is so enticing about the ocean? Is it the fact that there appears to have no end? Is it the sound of the waves crashing on shore? For me it is the fact that I can get lost just gazing, leaving all else behind: all cares, worries, life. It is funny how close I am to the ocean right now, about a half hour, and yet it is so far since tasks and transportation stand in my way. Then I realized that I have other "oceans" and that all I need to do is intentionally take time for myself. So here I am writing in a dark room, my ipod on high volume, and laying on my air mattress. I am reflecting on who my creator is and allowing Him to refill me!

Country Fried Steak

I had my very first southern meal for lunch today. Marissa and I went with Brother Harry to Jacob’s Well and had a true southern meal. I had country fried steak covered in gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, southern fried zucchini, onions, and squash, and of course some sweet tea. It was all for $6. I loved it J

Your Approval Alone

My first tears of the summer were shed least night. It was a long day and feelings of inadequacy and helplessness swept over me. Once the tears started, I had a hard time stopping them. I sat outside (the temp still pretty warm but humidity down at 11pm) and cried out to my God. I asked things, in between sobs, such as why He chose me when I have nothing to offer. The Lord showed me that I was looking at things in terms of men and trying to please men instead of the Lord. He showed me that my only true task this summer is to seek His face and learn His ways more. Through that, He will outpour through me the love and other tasks I have for the summer. Summer task number one: seek approval from my Lord alone!

Fully Dependent

This morning we had a little bit of a scare. We had lost the only key to one of our vans we will use for the summer and that was full of tools etc. We looked and looked. We all traced the steps of where it could be. Then we came together and prayer about it. We realized that we really had started our day with a full to do list and with a break we went off our ways without seeking the Lord first. So we prayed in repentance, and asked the Lord to bless our searching as well as restore our joy. After spending time as a team with the Lord, we decided we would not take anymore steps until tomorrow hoping it would show up and continue on out tasks for the day. About an hour later the keys did show up in the grass where the 8 of us had walked past many times before! This was just a really good reminder that this is His ministry and that we must come to Him first! Sorry, I will be posting pics really soon. Unfortunately for us, the church is running evening VBS this week so we cannot set up any of our needed stuff until right before the students come, but the church has been so great to us and have let us eat dinner with the VBS students! Tomorrow is another full day of prep, and I am getting a bit overwhelmed. I am so grateful ya’ll are praying for us J

Day One in Missip!

I hear southern accents downstairs; I am waking up this morning in Mississippi!! Last week was incredible, tiring, and productive. We had many meetings about safety, code of conduct, and logistics. On top of that we had worship (beginning game, songs, testimony, message, etc) three times a day. Each site crew, since all sites including Mississippi were training together last week, would lead a certain day of worship that we would be leading all summer. I am going to be our female vocals this summer as well. I sang more this last week than I have in a LONG time! My team is wonderful! I am really excited to work with them all summer. My team includes: Chase (our site director), Marisa (co-site assistant and worship assistant), Jacee (Worship Director who will give most messages at night), Brandon (worship assistant, really good on the drums!), Azad (Construction director), Nate (construction assistant), and Luke (construction assistant). These people are so fun and come from around the country. I will be adding a picture really soon of my team. This week is now intensive prep for the summer since we have 56 students coming already next Sunday. This morning, once the rest of my team is up, we will be touring our home for the next two months. We have a suburban that we call Miss Betsy, so we will all be piling into her for our tour. The rest of the time this week will be continuing to get the messages ready, finding and prepping the construction sites (we need 7 for this Sunday), and preparing all the details that make a week long mission trip flow smoothly and change lives! So here it officially begins, Mississippi, Miss Amy and the rest of her crew has arrived, and I AM will be with us, so prepare to be changed!!

It is 10:30 p.m. and I have just finished packing up my stuff, other than my computer of course. I will be waking up at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning to leave for Northwestern College where a Next Step Ministries van will pick me up to bring me and other students from Minnesota to Madison, WI where we will be having a week of intensive training with all the interns. At the end of the week we will part ways to our five different sites. My team will be heading south to Mississippi! Please keep me in your prayers as my summer journey officially begins :)

2 Weeks Away

I leave in two weeks...

I can hardly believe it. I have so many emotions inside of me right now.

I feel eager to start this journey.

I feel apprehensive about living in a new environment and dealing with discrimination.

I feel some sorrow for leaving some people here while I go.

I feel humility for what I know the Lord will teach me, and

I feel honored to be His hands and His feet in a very tangible way.

I am trusting in the Lord as I am still $500 short, but

I know HE will provide!

Worship

As I was worshiping this morning at Grace Church in Roseville, I was filled with great joy in realizing that I will be able to worship every single day this summer as we will be having a worship service with the students each night. Worship is so incredibly powerful, and I am so excited to see how the Lord moves in me and others this summer when we focus so much on praising His name!

God's Mighty Blessings!

So this is my very first blog ever! I want to start out with an amazing praise and blessing I received today.
As I was just looking at my bank account, I realized that if I tithe from my paycheck I received today (like I do with all my paychecks) I would be short for my $1000 bill on my account that is due before my next pay check. Without tithing I would have had enough. I was kind of struggling over whether I should tithe first as we are called to do and know that the Lord will provide or if I should pay off the bill first and then tithe for this check and the next one from the next pay check. As I was contemplating this, I checked my mail box to find an anonymous note with Phil 4:19 "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." and $100 dollar bill. I am trying to hold back tears right now! The Lord blesses our faithfulness!! What a mighty caring God we serve!