So, I haven't updated in a couple weeks, my apologies. It's been super busy ever since we got back from Seattle because we now leave for Thailand in just 16 days! Wow. That is insane.
A couple weeks ago we talked about Spiritual Warfare. Most of us were super worried that all it was going to be was about demons and things like that. To our surprise, it wasn't that at all. Basically, the speaker Tom told us that we give way too much credit to the enemy, and that we need to stop doing so. It was such a powerful week, and I feel like it opened a lot of our eyes to the power we actually have. We also talked a lot on forgiveness, and what it truly means to forgive. "Forgiveness is saying, this person does not owe me anything. The thing that they took from me, whether that be emotionally or a physical possession, they are no longer responsible to pay that back. To release them from that, and move on."
Last week, we had another week on evangelism, or what we thought was going to be evangelism, but ended up being a lot of people being set free from past things. It was super awesome. The speakers name was John Goodfellow, and his son is actually on base.
The first day, he focused mainly on the ladies. He had us all get into a line, and he went down the line and put oil on our heads, and prayed over us. Some of us ended up on the floor and were out for a while. I was one of those people.As I went down, I was crying hysterically, and then after a little while I could not stop laughing and then I was out and all I could hear from God was just truths that He was speaking over each individual part of my body. It started at my feet. I felt as if someone was physically holding my feet saying, "These feet will be used to go to places to touch lives." And then it moved up to my knees. I had just gotten hurt again the night before during basketball, and I was wearing my brace. I heard God ask, "Do you trust me?" And I responded, of course I do. And he asked again, "Do you REALLY trust me?" And I responded, YES of course I do. And He healed my knee! It was awesome. It then moved up to my stomach, and all I could hear was God saying, you're perfect, and I love you. No need to look like anyone but yourself. Then it was to my head. I heard God speaking so clear to me at this point saying, "I am renewing your mind, and I will be your strength." I woke up at that point and just laid there with so much joy. I tried sitting up and then fell right back down. I was like, "Okay God, I will just rest here." And that is what I did.
The next day, we were told to write down on a piece of paper of names of people that we have carried with us that have hurt us, or even situations that have damaged us, and we were going to throw it in the fire. John also said that some people may need to throw physical things in the fire, such as clothing, or other things. It was my turn to go up and I basically said I had a list of people who have in some way hurt me in my life, and I've held onto that hurt for too long, and also a few other things. And I threw into the fire a piece of clothing that shouldn't and does no longer have any control in my life. (It was a bikini, and I don't have a problem with them, I just have a problem with how I felt when I wore it. So I decided to give up my right to it, and let God have it. And it was so FREEING.) So then, the next day, we got prayed over again, but by our staff, and I ended up on the floor again. I just got pictures of some things, and it was awesome. One of the staff, Cassie, once I got up, she looks at me and says, "I love how you're always on the floor..." It was great. So basically, I got free from A LOT that week, and have been overwhelmed with joy and peace that I can not even explain to you.
So then, this past week we talked about the Holy Spirit. And wow, what a life changer, again. The speakers name was Nick Gough, and it was so awesome. He went around our classroom and gave prophetic words to us all. The words that I keep getting are radical, soul winner, a sword in my hand, teacher, and leader. In some sort of way, every time, these words come up. So then Tuesday night we had a time of just being able to prophesy over people. I went up to probably 5 different people and told them what God had told me, and every single time I did so, the person I went up to started crying. I'm like, YES Jesus! You are awesome. Seriously. All glory to Him. He speaks, and when we listen, we can build each other up. I titled this, death in it's grave because I feel like in my life, I have officially laid DEATH in it's grave. No longer am I slave to what has happened to me, but I can use that as a testimony of Gods grace and provision in my life. PRAISE HIM. :)
To end this, I basically just want to say, I am learning SO much while being here, and God's been changing and shaping me so much.
We leave in 15 days for Thailand, and I couldn't be more excited to go share the word of God with people there. We will be working with a variety of different people and we are expecting big things there. Our team is awesome, and we are READY.
If you could keep all 4 of our teams in your prayers. There is still some financial needs in our school for people to be able to go on outreach, and we know God will provide. Thank you!!! :)
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Sleepless in Seattle
Wow. How true that is... Sleepless in Seattle. If one thing is for certain, we were all running on very little sleep this last week. This week we were given the great opportunity to go minister to the people of Seattle. And of course, I was super excited because that is so close to home!
So we all hopped into 6 vans, 12 or 15 passenger, and went on a road trip. On the drive over, I was getting nervous, but still super excited to see what God was going to do.
As usual, we had lectures in the mornings, and then lunch. Lectures were about evangelism, and it was so awesome because we got to put it into application right away. It was awesome. Everyday, we also had the choice of what ministry we wanted to go to that day. There was options such as, Jubilee Reach (which is a thrift shop in the area), Union Gospel Mission Men's Center downtown Seattle, where we would serve them a meal, or there was also a demo team who did some work at this one place and also a cleaning crew, yard work crew, etc. The first day, we were also given the choice to stay at the church and help them out where they needed. That is what I chose to do the first day, and it was awesome. We got to fold a BUNCH of tablecloths, and just help the church we were staying at and bless them. To just see the look on the ladies face once we were done was so worth the time and energy we spent doing what we did. Of course, we had fun doing it. Including, shooting a few baskets while laying on the floor.
Monday night, we were sent out to Capitol Hill and were to just go talk to people. I was in a group with my friend Kristen and this guy Javier. We said a quick hello to a few people, but nothing big. So we went back to the church, and I just felt so worthless, like I had done nothing that night, and I was so angry at myself. How is it that I have the faith I have, but can't share it with people? We had debriefing, and it seemed like a lot of people found it hard, but they at least talked to people. I went to bed, and was just still so mad. So the next day, Tuesday, we were given the option of going out evangelizing, ALL DAY. Of course, I jumped on this, and said, PICK ME! I wanted to reach out, and to get the opportunity to do it all day, of course I want to do that. So on the ride over we were talking to the school leaders, Jeff & Kristy, and it made me feel 100% better for what happened Monday night. Kristy told us that she felt as if she just barely got into it when we had to leave, and that she didn't really get to talk to people either. *sigh of relief* I'm not the only one! So, we got into groups, and I was with Natasha and Kristen. We started our day at Starbucks, and then from there we were going to decide where to go. We didn't really feel anything specific yet, so we began walking down to the park area. The first ladies to talk to US were 2 ladies from China who were having a petition for the organ trafficking in China. It was so powerful to talk to them, and listen to what they had to say because we just went through the experiencing injustice, and to see it in real life was so touching. We asked if we could pray for them, and at first I noticed the lady kinda jump back, but then they both let us pray over them. We prayed, and I know they didn't understand a whole lot of what we were saying, but it was good. So we kept walking and a man asked if we could watch his magic trick. So we said, sure, and watched. After his trick was over we talked to him a little bit and found out he was from Vietnam, and that he moved to Seattle about a year and a half ago and was trying to get money for his son and himself. We asked if we could pray for him, and he didn't understand, so we had to explain what prayer was to him, and it was really good. So then we kept walking around Downtown Seattle and we found a homeless lady and we went over and started talking to her. Her name was Rae-Rae, and Natasha ended up giving her dinner to her. (We had packed dinners that morning because we weren't going to be home all day). Then we found out that she was not doing well health wise, and we prayed over her for healing. Just to see her face and talk to her was so powerful and she was so thankful. During our conversation with this woman, a man came over and asked us if we had more dinners to give away, and so I gave him mine. Then we continued on after that, and we came across another homeless lady and Kristen gave her her dinner. It was just such a good feeling to be able to bless them and give them the basic needs, like food and water.
Later that night, we got picked up around 6:30pm and went with the school leaders to Pioneer Square. From there, Kristen, Natasha, Jeff and myself got out of the van and started walking around. We ended up talking to this guy Darrell for around 45 minutes. He said that he is a believer and all he wants to do is help people. That he had just lost his job, son and wife and was now on the streets. He had a joint in his hand, and was pretty out of it. Part of the conversation he made us go really deep with him and tell him our stories of why we believe what we believe. This was so challenging for me. It was digging down to the root and telling people why I believe in God, and what he has done in my life. Darrell ended up sharing with us that he was in a dark place and that he almost committed suicide. So when it came time to tell my story, I really felt like I connected with him because of my past. I just told him how I was in a dark place, and how God got me out of it, and now I am where I am because of it. It was so awesome. Jeff got his number, and we ended up praying over him, and he prayed for us.
On Wednesday I was able to help at this place called Urban Impact, and we helped set up for Halloween. It was really relaxing and just what I needed that day because of all we did on Tuesday. That night, I went with a group back down to Pikes Place, and around downtown Seattle. Right as we got there and started walking around, there was a stabbing across the street from where we were. I was with a staff guy Payton, and Natasha and we had no idea that that had happened until later. We then ended up walking back to Pioneer Square because I really wanted to find Darrell again, and he said that he is always in the same spot. So we went over there, and he wasn't there. So we decided to wait and pray to see where God wanted us to go. Natasha and I both got that we were supposed to go back down by the water by Pikes Place and so we did. We ended up sitting on a couple logs and interceding for Seattle. It was overall a pretty good night.
Thursday we had our last lecture in the morning, and then we had small groups. It had been a pretty emotional week so far, with very little sleep, and so basically it was just spilling our emotions. Which ended up being awesome. :)
Friday we had a free day and I ended up going shopping with Kristen, Natasha and my mom the first part of it, and then had dinner with my family the second half and went to Best Buy to get my mom and dad new phones. It was good to see them again for a little while. Also, I got to see Taryn's parents and talk with them for a little bit as well.
Saturday was a long day of driving back to base, and now we are here. :) It was such a good, long, and emotional week. God is working in Seattle and He definitely broke my heart for those people. I was definitely, sleepless in Seattle, in more ways than one.
So we all hopped into 6 vans, 12 or 15 passenger, and went on a road trip. On the drive over, I was getting nervous, but still super excited to see what God was going to do.
As usual, we had lectures in the mornings, and then lunch. Lectures were about evangelism, and it was so awesome because we got to put it into application right away. It was awesome. Everyday, we also had the choice of what ministry we wanted to go to that day. There was options such as, Jubilee Reach (which is a thrift shop in the area), Union Gospel Mission Men's Center downtown Seattle, where we would serve them a meal, or there was also a demo team who did some work at this one place and also a cleaning crew, yard work crew, etc. The first day, we were also given the choice to stay at the church and help them out where they needed. That is what I chose to do the first day, and it was awesome. We got to fold a BUNCH of tablecloths, and just help the church we were staying at and bless them. To just see the look on the ladies face once we were done was so worth the time and energy we spent doing what we did. Of course, we had fun doing it. Including, shooting a few baskets while laying on the floor.
Monday night, we were sent out to Capitol Hill and were to just go talk to people. I was in a group with my friend Kristen and this guy Javier. We said a quick hello to a few people, but nothing big. So we went back to the church, and I just felt so worthless, like I had done nothing that night, and I was so angry at myself. How is it that I have the faith I have, but can't share it with people? We had debriefing, and it seemed like a lot of people found it hard, but they at least talked to people. I went to bed, and was just still so mad. So the next day, Tuesday, we were given the option of going out evangelizing, ALL DAY. Of course, I jumped on this, and said, PICK ME! I wanted to reach out, and to get the opportunity to do it all day, of course I want to do that. So on the ride over we were talking to the school leaders, Jeff & Kristy, and it made me feel 100% better for what happened Monday night. Kristy told us that she felt as if she just barely got into it when we had to leave, and that she didn't really get to talk to people either. *sigh of relief* I'm not the only one! So, we got into groups, and I was with Natasha and Kristen. We started our day at Starbucks, and then from there we were going to decide where to go. We didn't really feel anything specific yet, so we began walking down to the park area. The first ladies to talk to US were 2 ladies from China who were having a petition for the organ trafficking in China. It was so powerful to talk to them, and listen to what they had to say because we just went through the experiencing injustice, and to see it in real life was so touching. We asked if we could pray for them, and at first I noticed the lady kinda jump back, but then they both let us pray over them. We prayed, and I know they didn't understand a whole lot of what we were saying, but it was good. So we kept walking and a man asked if we could watch his magic trick. So we said, sure, and watched. After his trick was over we talked to him a little bit and found out he was from Vietnam, and that he moved to Seattle about a year and a half ago and was trying to get money for his son and himself. We asked if we could pray for him, and he didn't understand, so we had to explain what prayer was to him, and it was really good. So then we kept walking around Downtown Seattle and we found a homeless lady and we went over and started talking to her. Her name was Rae-Rae, and Natasha ended up giving her dinner to her. (We had packed dinners that morning because we weren't going to be home all day). Then we found out that she was not doing well health wise, and we prayed over her for healing. Just to see her face and talk to her was so powerful and she was so thankful. During our conversation with this woman, a man came over and asked us if we had more dinners to give away, and so I gave him mine. Then we continued on after that, and we came across another homeless lady and Kristen gave her her dinner. It was just such a good feeling to be able to bless them and give them the basic needs, like food and water.
Later that night, we got picked up around 6:30pm and went with the school leaders to Pioneer Square. From there, Kristen, Natasha, Jeff and myself got out of the van and started walking around. We ended up talking to this guy Darrell for around 45 minutes. He said that he is a believer and all he wants to do is help people. That he had just lost his job, son and wife and was now on the streets. He had a joint in his hand, and was pretty out of it. Part of the conversation he made us go really deep with him and tell him our stories of why we believe what we believe. This was so challenging for me. It was digging down to the root and telling people why I believe in God, and what he has done in my life. Darrell ended up sharing with us that he was in a dark place and that he almost committed suicide. So when it came time to tell my story, I really felt like I connected with him because of my past. I just told him how I was in a dark place, and how God got me out of it, and now I am where I am because of it. It was so awesome. Jeff got his number, and we ended up praying over him, and he prayed for us.
On Wednesday I was able to help at this place called Urban Impact, and we helped set up for Halloween. It was really relaxing and just what I needed that day because of all we did on Tuesday. That night, I went with a group back down to Pikes Place, and around downtown Seattle. Right as we got there and started walking around, there was a stabbing across the street from where we were. I was with a staff guy Payton, and Natasha and we had no idea that that had happened until later. We then ended up walking back to Pioneer Square because I really wanted to find Darrell again, and he said that he is always in the same spot. So we went over there, and he wasn't there. So we decided to wait and pray to see where God wanted us to go. Natasha and I both got that we were supposed to go back down by the water by Pikes Place and so we did. We ended up sitting on a couple logs and interceding for Seattle. It was overall a pretty good night.
Thursday we had our last lecture in the morning, and then we had small groups. It had been a pretty emotional week so far, with very little sleep, and so basically it was just spilling our emotions. Which ended up being awesome. :)
Friday we had a free day and I ended up going shopping with Kristen, Natasha and my mom the first part of it, and then had dinner with my family the second half and went to Best Buy to get my mom and dad new phones. It was good to see them again for a little while. Also, I got to see Taryn's parents and talk with them for a little bit as well.
Saturday was a long day of driving back to base, and now we are here. :) It was such a good, long, and emotional week. God is working in Seattle and He definitely broke my heart for those people. I was definitely, sleepless in Seattle, in more ways than one.
The sunset downtown on Tuesday during ministry time.
playing in the leaves after ministry time before dinner on Monday :)
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