Over the Rainbow ...

Back in February Mike and I started praying about going on an overseas trip. Our heart is to travel the world, move overseas for a couple of years, and share the good news of Christ with all. Right now though God has asked us to stay here in Salem, OR for a couple years.
We've barely been married 4 months now, so we have greatly appreciated staying in the states and being able to spend the time growing together. We have been blessed with an apartment off of the base. For an apartment we have a wonderfully large kitchen, an office, and backyard. Our neighbors are YWAMers as well and have fast become some of Mike and I's closest friends; we have most of our meals off the base with them, babysit their kids regularly, and are helping each other grow in our marriages and closer to God.


Still our hearts long to go overseas, even if only for a few months. With our plan/hope to move to Southeast Asia in a couple of years we see it as impertinent to visit that area to scout out locations and ministry opportunities. I personally have never been to the area and am excited about seeing what might be my new home for a time.

All of this leads to our plan to go the Southeast Asia for near a month. We do not know when this will be, but feel the God has called us to plan ahead while being very flexible. Our Asia Journey, as we are referring to the trip, will take us to Thailand, Cambodia and South Korea. We will go to Bangkok to work with the YWAM Thailand base in their ministry to women in prostitution in the Red Light District. After this we will head to Cambodia; Mike went there during his Discipleship Training School, giving us the connections we will need. The most common route to get to SE Asia is to fly to South Korea and then on to Thailand; we see this as a great opportunity to stay a couple of days and serve in S. Korea as well. We believe this trip will serve for two purposes: 1. Sharing the good news and serving the people of Asia  and 2. Seeing if God is calling us to move there. 

Some of you know that we had originally planed on taking this trip this summer. The plans seemed to fit perfectly; we would lead the outreach of an Mission Adventures team in Thailand and then stay for a couple weeks. But even with how eager we were to go and how perfect them plans seemed, Mike and I felt that we needed to stay in Salem. This was a hard choice to make, but I believe we both understand how greatly we and Mission Adventures benefited from us staying and serving with MA this summer.

Mike and I's "rainbow" is to see people come to know Christ. In the 10' 40' window less than 5% of the people have heard the gospel! This is the greatest injustice of all. And we see that there is a great need for people to give up their comforts and preferences to go share Jesus with these people. I don't personally want to live in another country, but isn't God glory more important then my own wants?

A Refreshing Time

About a month ago we got back from the International MA WAVES Gathering, which was held in Tijuana, Mexico. With 13 nations represented we got to spend a lot of quality time with good MA friends from all over the globe.

The conference was amazing; soaked in worship, fellowship, networking, and fun. 

Sometimes working with Mission Adventures you feel like you’re the only one who is doing it .... but you’re not! Sharing, praying, and talking with other leaders of different MA programs brought life to us, and it was a great reminder of why we do what we do. 

One of the speakers, Andy Byrd, the founder of YWAMs Fire & Fragrance School, challenged us to set aside our pessimism and let ourselves be thrilled by what God is doing. 

One of the exciting highlights we got is how fast MA is growing and the direction it is taking in Brazil, Madagascar, New Zealand, and many other nations.

We were deeply challenged to take our MA programs to a new level with God and take larger risks!

This being our, Mike and I, first conference together and being married, the opposition was practically visible.  We'd had a rough week beforehand (our honeymoon) dealing with a lot of sickness and mishaps.  Being surrounded be loving, supportive and caring people for week gave us the rest we had been fighting for. It was awesome to see how God could use this time of teaching as a time of rest as well, where we were covered in prayer constantly and shown His love. 

The Great Romance

About a week and a half ago Mike took me out on a really nice date. I'd bought a cocktail dress a while back and commented on how I hadn't had the opportunity to wear it yet; a couple nights later he got me off work early and told me to dress up. Mike took me to DaVinci's, a super nice restaurant in town, for drinks and appetizer.
When we came back to the base he brought me into the cafe, which him and some of the guys had completely transformed for our date. We had a nice, very private steak dinner and even danced a little.
During our little getaway I realized how privileged I am to be apart of romance. God's heart is to love us, to romance us. What greater love than one who laid down his life for me? God is always pursuing and fighting for my heart my heart. Mikes love for me is nothing compared to the love of God, but it is part of His desire for me, to be loved and pursued by a man after His own heart.
I recently reread 'Black', by Ted Dekker. In the book he refers to Gods love, as the Great Romance. God chooses, pursues, rescues and woos us. I think that describes it very well. 


I get married in 8 days!

Spring Break

This past week Mission Adventures hosted a group of 10 come in from Hillsboro, OR for their Spring Break Mission Trip. They were a super easy group; they were eager to learn, willing to open up to us, on time for the most part, and excited to be challenged! The leaders that came with the group were awesome as well; they truly cared about the students and poured into them quite a bit.
Throughout the week we had different youth pastors come in to teach in the mornings. The focus was 'The Kingdom in Your Heart' as the International MA theme this year is 'Expand Heaven Here'. Random fact: One of the youth pastors we had as a guest speaker was on 'The Bigest Loser: Season 3'.
Every afternoon we arranged for the group to have outreach, ranging from one of our Street Surges (Hot Chocolate Handout, Letters to Salem, Spoken Word, and Speaking with the Stars) to community service, helping clean a local ministry, Stiches, that feeds street kids. And every night we held a 'night session' which held in store for the students experiences like Night of Missions and Experiencing Injustice, each put on by different ministries at YWAM Salem.

Honestly, I feel like I learned more than the students. Every speaker that came in had amazing eye opening things to say about the Kingdom being here in our hearts. The main thing that caught my attention was something one of our speakers said about halfway through the week. "We change the world by having a kingdom mindset; it is not about the here and now". Joseph probably didn't like his here and now, being sold as a slave and then thrown in jail for something he didn't do, but he knew that life isn't about present circumstances. As a slave he served diligently, even in jail he took up work, because he understood that God was worthy of his best no matter if he liked the circumstance. And because he focused on the kingdom and how the Lord can use everything to further His kingdom, God was able to use him to save a nation from famine.
I've been having a hard time not focusing on the here and now. My here and now is cold, rainy, far from home, and in a strange culture (believe it or not, west coast culture is very different than east coasts). But that isn't what my life is about; it is about the kingdom being furthered. I know that God has called me here and I am blessed to be working with youth groups, designing promo, and living in the same location as my soon to be husband! I will serve here diligently, because God is worthy of my best.

Leaping into the unknown

The past two months have been quit a journey. Leaving all you know, leaping into the unknown is scary. This is exactly what God told me to do though. To respond to His call, His love and trust Him.

"I will lean

I'll give in

I will yield to Your draw"

In the midst of moving across the country, adjusting to a new job, trying to make friends, planning a wedding, and traveling with the mobile team I have been s t r e t c h e d more than I could have ever anticipated. I don't think I could ever convey how hard it's been. Honestly I feel like I never know what's going on. Most of the plans I make fall through, get changed or pumped and new tasks are always appearing. Flexibility has definitely been key and when I forget that it makes life miserable.
I knew and was warned be those close to me of how hard it was going to be and still I am shocked. It's surprising how we can know something like that before hand and yet still be surprised. I remember thinking at the end of my fourth week here in Salem, 'This week was kinda good', for the first time since moving. Not that I hadn't had good days, but the strain of learning a new place yet desiring only to be back on the east coast took everything out of me. I've had some really hard and straining days since that week, but overall things have gotten better and easier, which is a result of making the decision to actually live here, not back in Greenville or Orlando (you know in my mind, hopes, and dreams).

"God understands our limits; He also knows how close to our limit
He needs to put us in order for us to grow."

Mike told me this one day when I felt like I was beyond my limit, broken and homesick. It has stuck with me since. I know that God is good. I know that God loves me. He knows me more than I know myself. I know that He wants the best for me. And I know that He has called me to live here in Salem for this time.

That is what I hold onto.

Allowing God to mold me as He wants is painful, but it is definitely better than going half way and then resisting the change (which is what I was doing the first three weeks and still sometimes realize I'm doing), it is a hourly decision I have to make. If He sees it as best for me, than it is!

"This love will not leave you the same

This love is calling your name

Calling you to leap over mountains, into the unknown

Trust Me!

For I want you where I am

So I won't leave you as you are"

- IHOP Prayer Room web-stream, Worship with the Word

4 with 40!

 

At the bus stop in downtown Salem -
everyone has hot chocolate!

Last night was a big night, as we, Mission Adventures Salem, took the Winter DTS along with a youth group from a local church to do Street Surge. 4 different outreaches (Hot Chocolate Handout, Survey Sweep, Cross Walk, and Letters to Salem) were going on at the same time, totaling about 40 people. The streets of Salem were literally flooded with the Gospel!
Some testimonies of the night:

"Being able to ask the Lord for a prayer for this city was awesome."

"I did not want to do crosswalk for fear of how people would judge me. But God taught me a lot through it."

"People gave us some pretty weird looks as we were dragging the cross"

"Feeling the physical weight of the cross really made me think of how my own sins burdened Jesus."

Put it in your calendar :)

in Eastern North Carolina, location to be announced

I said Yes!

Last week when I flew out to So Cal, to meet Mikes family and friends, he proposed!
We have been talking about marriage since the beginning of our relationship, but now those lofty plans are absolute ... fairly soon I will be married. With this move to Oregon and soon marriage, within a few short months my life will have drastically changed.  As unnerving as this steep change is/will be I am thrilled about it. Moving across the country has taken a heap of faith and is constantly requiring more, but making the commitment to get married has brought a lot of security to this choice. I don't know how I found such a wonderful, godly man to spend the rest of my life with.

And check this ring out! Small, simple, and PERFECT for me! When I went to a jeweler to get my finger sized they thought I was crazy for wanting a small diamond, but Mike understood. My heart may have stopped beating when Mike proposed and I saw the ring; not because of the ring, but because of what it symbolizes: he is committed to loving me, learning my ins and outs, taking care of me, and leading me in Gods will.

As part of the proposal Mike set-up a photo shoot with his good friend, Bryan Giardinelli. As a photographer myself I am rather picky with photos, but Bryan did a perfect job capturing the two of us and our love, or as he put it; us being "infatuated with love". 

YWAM Salem

Recently I purchased my plane ticket, with my final destination being Salem, OR. In two days I will be in California; a week, Oregon.

Back in September and October I went through the process of making a terribly hard decision; to be on staff with YWAM Orlando or YWAM Salem. I love the heat and humidity so being in Orlando has its bonuses, plus I already know most of the staff there, some are my close friends, and we just purchased an 198 acre campus that is in the midst of renovations.
The decision was extremely wearing, I love Orlando and it's familiar, but in order to continue my relationship with Mike we would need to be in the same place. The Lord didn't help the agony either, He just kept telling me that I need to be in YWAM and He wasn't releasing Mike from Salem, plus Mike still has another year left in his two year commitment. I will be able to walk out my giftings at both bases. So it came down to whether I thought my relationship with Mike was worth sacrificing Orlando, a place of family and beautiful weather.
Not all of it was bad, I really do appreciate the fact that God was giving me a choice in all this. And even with my decision made, ticket bought and bags packed I can still change my mind. He has made sure I don't feel forced into my decision, though I had to make it quick, and I can still escape.

I'm happy with my decision though. Yes, it is painfully hard leaving Greenville. I've always lived here, in the same house at that, all my friends are here, plus family. Everything here is familiar and safe. Salem isn't. Aside from Mike I don't know anyone there; I'm completely starting over. All the self value I have found in my family and friends here is going to be ripped out of my hands ... with only the Lord left to look to for worth.
I know God is going to do amazing things while I'm there in Salem and I'm sure I'll make some friends along the way; the process is going to hurt, but it's all worth it.