Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3-6
This week has brought me challenges and affirmations. Challenges of being truthful about myself and the affirmation that God’s love is unconditional, He is my Healer, and thinks I am ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’. This week’s speaker is Joanne Blaik, who is speaking on the topic of Identity. She brought in two duplicate pictures of what she claimed to be the most beautiful masterpiece of all time. Joanne explained how much impact these pictures had on her life and thus she wanted us to experience it too, by ourselves. She got the leaders to blind fold each student and then bring us one at a time behind a curtain where they left the individual. I was left alone and when I removed my blind fold, I was staring into a mirror that had written on it, “fearfully and wonderfully made”. I was really taken a back. I did not expect that at all. I was the masterpiece? The most capturing artwork that she bragged about? Bringing into light once again, that God is the author and artist of creativity and diversity. It really opened my eyes to the idea that what the world says beauty is doesn’t mean that is it. We learned about how the Ideal Man/Woman of this World is so un-ideal. It’s every changing and you will never be able to attain to being that ideal. My heart is being challenged, and this school is demanding a lot of emotions – spiritual, mental, and then even physical. Waking up in the mornings can be a tough go (smiles).

This past week, following up just too yesterday, every DTS student has been anxious to find out where they are going on their outreach. It was on a lot of my fellow classmates’ hearts. It was cool. I found out through a game yesterday. It was like tag, and whoever the leader tagged had to hold onto their backs and so on. Then when the game was over, they made us sit with the people who were attached to the tagger and they said, welcome to your outreach team. So where am I going? I am going to Thailand. I am more than excited. My heart seems to be leaping in and out of me. I don’t know exactly where we are going in Thailand; the details are still being worked out. I just want to say that I am so thankful for your prayer support and encouragement. It means a lot to me. I don’t want to leave it at that. I wanted to share with you why I choose Thailand as my first choice. We were in worship on a Wednesday morning and I felt the Spirit moving in this place. The Lord really put me back in my place, and I broke down in tears because once again for the hundredth time I realized how corrupt and sinful I am, and how undeserving I am of his Love and Grace. I wasn’t panicking about where to go on my outreach but I did want to seek God’s guidance. While I was on the ground, I opened my Bible, and brought myself to Proverbs 31 - Epilogue of the wife/woman with noble character. I just knew that God wanted me to open my arms to these women in Thailand, and work with eager hands side by side with them. God wants me to show them that He wants to clothe them with strength and dignity. They were worthy of respect from men, women, us and God. After understanding that this was the Lord and His Word that had confirmed this to me, I shed a few more tears to the excitement of just feeling a calmness that this was what God wanted of me. I started to touch my Huguenot necklace and became wanted to suddenly read Matthew 5:8, which I knew was beatitude but didn’t know which one. It reads, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” This was an amazing experience for me, and it’s hard to put all of this in words, but learning to hear the voice of God has been overwhelming in such an amazing way.
I think this is a fully loaded blog and I will keep you all posted on my further adventures, as I want you to come and join me on this journey. Keep in touch.

Yes and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me (or what will happen) will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 2:18b-21

Outreach

"...Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15

A missionary is an individual or a group of people who partake in a mission of Christ by serving other people; becoming the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.

On October 14th at 9:30pm, I was given the locations of where my possible outreach will be. There are three locations I am able to choose from. I am starting to hate that sentence already...”three locations I am able to choose from”. My life is not about me, nor should it ever be. I desire to go where the Lord leads, but I am scared my personal desires will interfer. I want to be open with where God calls, but when my minds constantly tells me where I want to go, I lose track of God’s voice and leading. It’s as simple as we all know it, seek the Lord through His Word and Prayer. This week is a time a prayer and I ask that you take part in this prayer.

Meditating scripture and prayer is the remedy. I am going to ask you, the readers of these blogs, my friends and family, to uplift me in your prayers. My request is that you pray that I may keep a clear conscious mind, open to the Lord’s leading and guiding, and that I may not be persuaded by my own selfish desires. In the upcoming week I need to have a decision made so I need all the prayers and encouragement I can get. All the students are not talking about the outreach with one another so they will not be persuaded by others. Right now I want to enter my brothers and sisters back at home into helping me understand where I should go. We all need to be obedient to God. So with your prayers and mine, I pray that God would lead me in the right direction.

These are my three choices of outreaches:

1: Palm Island / Mount Isa – within North Queensland
· Focus: Indigenous & youth

2: Darwin & East Timor - Northern Territory & newest country yet seeming one of the poorest
· Focus: Poverty & Injustice

3: Thailand – Patia – sex trade capital
· Prostitution (team of all girls)

“...And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in the sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”
Isaiah: 58: 10-12

Take Time In Prayer.

Lead and Guide Me.

The Flights

I am in Australia. It’s so hard to take in all at once. My eyes are red-rimmed, my face white, and my body sluggish, yet still little bursts of energy creep upon me. I have had some long flights, yet great flights. I have slept a total of around 4 hours in the last thirty five or so hours. To explain all the little details of these flights, the people I met, and the things I have already seen makes me burst with excitement. I don’t have hours to tell you everything but I thought I would type out a piece of my journal which should give you a small taste of the conversations I have shared with those who were created by the same God.

...The flight attendents were sweet as I stepped on the plane and yet, I was quickly distracted as I quickly began to look ahead to find my seat number, 22A. More importantly, who was I going to be sitting beside. As I found my seat, my nerves calmed as I excused myself to get past a mother and a daughter so I could get to my seat by the window. They were both beauitufl. They were kind and soft featured. As I sat in 22A, reality sank in. I am going to Australia. Physically it looks like I am alone. I am not going alone, but with God. I turned on my ipod and listened to Chris Rice, and when the song Carry Your Candle played I was moved. The tears came. I didn’t want to bring attention to myself, so I tried to discretely whip the tears from my eyes. But like now, they just can’t be stopped. I have seen families, young lovers, children, family, business men and women and it seems to always bring me to home. I think of the beautiful mother and her daughters at home....but we got to be children of God. We are called to take Big Leaps and challenges in His Name. So with my will, I will follow Him. I am reminder by a bracelet, a special gift, that God guides me and tells me directly in which ways I am to act. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience,kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. God is my strength...As I continued to talk to this family beside me, the husband came and sat by me and talked about travels. As he asked me what I was doing, he was so interested and attentive. He said to me with te softest eyes and kindest hearts, “God Bless You”. That was enough. He might of not known it, but this was just telling me once more that God is totally behind this all. Not only is He behind it, but He’s ahead of it too. God is with me. When we search for God, God will reveal Himself to us.

Psalm 46:10

I don’t know if that says much to you, but it’s alive in me. These feelings, this goodness. IT all comes from Him, the Giver of Life. I don’t have anyone, or anything to feel comfortable with. This is all new to me, and it’s crazy and scary. I miss my home and all its luxious comforts, just being with the people we love. But right now, God is working something really big in me. Just all the little things that are happening .

So update: I am going to land in Townsville in an hour and a half. I have meet five lovely ladies who are taking up a challenge to learn and understand God through Reef to Outback too, thus hopefully creating a stronger relationship with Christ. The transitions of flights have gone excellent. I haven’t gotten lost or forgotten documents any where. I am living off the excitement God has planted in me, but yet my body is fighting back.

Thanks you all for your continual prayer support. I pray that all things are going just as great at home. Please continue to pray as this journey has only begun. There much power in prayer, and we should not underestimate it. God is truly full of surprises.

‘All this, and Jesus too?’

My days before departure

Leaving: October 8th, 2008

Departing: Toronto Airport at 6:00pm

Flight Changes: Toronto (5hrs) -Los Angeles, US (15hrs) - Brisbane, AU (4hrs) - Townsville, AU

In my room is my suitcase laying open with a stack of clothing piling up in it. It can be surprising how many things I think I need to take, yet as the pile gets higher and higher, I realize I will have to downsize. I haven't gotten all my essentials yet, but I am assuming that I can get it in these next three days before my departure.

As I prepare to leave, my mind jumps from one thought to another. It seems like I can't keep my head on straight. When people ask me how my preparations are going and if I am ready or not, I answer with I think so. Leaving my home, family and friends seem so unreal. Wednesday, October 8th, I will be on the other side of the world. It's not a vacation in which I can just go home the second week. It the huge scheme of things, five and a half months is short for a part of my life, but in the moments where I want to be with my family or friends they will seem so long. Yet, I know that everywhere I go, a member of my family, Abba Father-my friend, Jesus comes with me. Constantly by my side. So as my nerves rise when I thinking about my expedition to Australia, I have a comfort in Him. Every step of the way He is there.

He has given me encouragement. Not a fluke happening, but a reassurance.

I've been getting more and more nervous about my travels by myself, and the long distance from Canada to Australia. My dreams have been filled with me missing flights, forgetting ID's or catching the wrong planes. Silly dreams can get in the way of our minds at time. Anyways there is this young girl, Jarvin who is going to the same Discipleship Training School as me and she lives in St. Catherines. We decided to meet up at a Tim Hortons on Upper James. We chatted about our excitement but also nervous feelings and it was great! When we started to talk about our flight details we soon realized we were on the same plane! I even choose to go to Australia two days early before the program starts to settle in and get rid of my jet leg. So truly God is in control and taking care of me.

So as I prepare, I must tell you I am nervous, and excited. All my emotions are colliding. Oppposite feelings are hitting each other head first. Right now I am just praying for a safe travels and a happy farewell to my family. I only ask that you keep my travels in your prayers and my family and friends.

Praise His Holy Name