Have a Little Faith

"God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to."
-Elisabeth Elliot

A few really wonderful praises to share:)


First, the money for the Ukraine is not fully in yet, but it continues to come little by litte which is huge encouragement. I found out that the deadline I wrote about a few weeks ago was only the deadline for the plane ticket money, which God had already provided almost exactly-- Praise His Name! I was so worried, thinking that we needed all of the funds by that Friday, yet even in spite of my unneccessary stress, He provided for us. He knew exactly what we needed that week and provided exactly seven dollars more than the cost of airfare that day. How great is our God? :) It will all come in in His time, and I am so encouraged by that. My faith continues to grow and be refined each day.
 


Also, God has confirmed in mine and my parents heart that He wants us to take a step of faith this coming fall. He has clearly called me to enroll in Houghton College! We were greatly surprised and blessed by the financial aid package we recieved the last week in April, and although we aren't fully sure how the remaining cost(after aid) will be paid, God has clearly asked us to take that step of faith and trust He will provide. Deuteronomy 7 speaks about how God called the Israelites to enter the promised land, and tells how the people were afraid that God would not overcome the obstacles still standing in their way. God spoke to them through Moses saying,
"You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?”  But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.  You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the LORD your God brought you out." -Deut. 7:17-19

I don't know how God is going to provide the enormous amount of funds that this college requires. But I know my Fathers voice, and I know that going to Houghton this Fall is His will for my next step. I know that I have seen His "miraculous signs and wonders" in the way He took supernatural care of me just last month, therefore I have confidence He will take care of me again throughout this future. I am learning that if I knew all the answers right now, I wouldn't get to know faith in Him. And as much as I desire having my plans all laid out, I wouldn't trade the faith God is teaching me each day for anything.  God is in control, and oh so good! I am so at peace knowing that I am in the center of His mighty hands, and mighty plans.

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. " -Phillipians 4:7

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I have a confession to make. I have not been walking in faith in an area of my life lately. The deadline for our financial support being in for the Summer Ukraine trip is this friday, and God humbled me this morning with the stark realization that I have not truly had faith that God would bring in the final amount that we (my sister and I) need in order to go. We are only about halfway there. I know this may sound silly, considering the amount that He pulled out of the blue for me to travel to Asia so recently, but its true. It hit me as I was sitting in my lifeguard chair at work this morning, attempting to memorize Hebrews chapter 11, (of all chapters!) and came to verse 6:

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

It was kindof a huge humbling moment for me. I've realized that I do NOT want to be the child of His who sat here, in the midst of so many incredible memories of His faithfulness in the past and chose unbelief. No. From this point forward I have determined to believe my God in faith- even if He does not bless me the way I desire.

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 
 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. " -James 5:16-18

The reason I am writing this right now is to ask for your prayers. I KNOW my God will provide for my needs, but when I came across ^these verses this morning, I realized I need each one of you in this faith journey along with me. Please, would you pray with me? It would mean the world.

Home

Sitting in my my own bed again:) I think every time I come back from sleeping elsewhere my bed magically becomes even softer upon my return..
I am so glad to be home.

My flights were great, God was with me and protected me from any harm. Had a window seat for most of my trip so I was able to watch two incredible sunrises over the earth's edge and just sit, awestruck, at the wonders to be seen below. By the end of my journey my brain was so numb from attemting to wrap my head around the earth's vastness. I think one of my favorite things about traveling is the very good shrinking feeling that comes when you are faced with the enormity of God's creation, and your smallness in comparison. It's very humbling.

 I started running a slight fever on my last flight between Vancouver and JFK, probably just from fatigue, so I'm feeling a little under the weather right now. If you could be praying for God's healing for me I'd appreciate it so much. My goal as of right now is to keep these eyes pried open for as long as possible tonight so I can begin fighting the jet lag cycle.

Again,thank you all for keeping me in your prayers during my journey. God truly answered you and poured such blessings on me as a result!

"I wanna sing a song for you Lord
 Lord for you I wanna sing a song
 I wanna praise your Name Jesus
 and listen to the angels sing along

A song of your faithfulness
 a song of your grace
 and of your loving kindness
 to the glory of your Name
With everything thats in me Lord, listen to me say
 I wanna sing a song to you, I wanna sing a song."
-Third Day,'Sing A Song'

Day Fifteen- Home Sweet Home

Finishing up the last few frantic moments of packing here before I head out. We have a quick lunchtime birthday celebration and then Im out of here...I'm going to miss it so much but I am truly full and excited for whatever God has for me next at home. I will surely be reminded of the way He took care of me in His mighty hands for a long time:)

Please be in prayer for my safety and that I would be full of the Holy Spirit's wisdom as I travel home!

Day Fourteen- "Running Over"

What a gorgeous day! I spent loads of time in the sun today beneath a cloudless sky. About half of my time I spent reading more of "The Heavenly Man", and the other half I spent scavenging for seashells with a couple of the little girls here. It was such a delight to giggle, splash and enjoy God's creation with them. Children are truly such a precious gift.

I know this will sound cliche' but I cannot believe this is my last night here. I fly out tomorrow afternoon. This has been such a "pressed down, shaken together and running over" experience for me in so many ways. I can't wait to see my family, but I realize now I'll be leaving a sort of family here to do so. God is good though...He knew exactly how much time I needed to build relationships with these people and I look forward to keeping in touch with them after we part. They have truly touched and blessed my life, leaving loving fingerprints all across my heart.

Thank you to everyone praying about my ride to the airport for tomorrow-as far as I know it has all been arranged and it is indeed safe and timely. If you could, pray that I might be placed next to someone on the plane who I would be able to share the love of Christ as I fly home. Thankyouthankyou!

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel" Ephesians 6:19

Day Thirteen- Eat and Rejoice

Not much to write about tonight...classes are going great and I'm sad to see them coming to an end. One of the children's birthdays is coming up on friday so that should be fun to celebrate. We've had a couple birthday celebrations here already and its so cool to hear the "Happy Birthday song" sung in multiple languages with gusto.
We also went for the last time to market tonight and ate our fill of local fried food, then bought some fresh veggies to bring back to the hotel for later. We would've eaten them for dinner but they needed to be thoroughly washed first. Let me tell you, those green beans tasted divine...

Im realizing my entries are becoming shorter as I seek to spend so much extra time with the people I've drawn close to here. They are so precious, each and every one...I wish I could stash them all away and whisk them home with me to share.

Alright, goodnight everyone. I have one last full day tomorrow so I'll need my rest to enjoy it to the full:)

"There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you." -Deut. 12:7

Prayer Request-
That God would provide a safe, timely ride to the airport for me on Friday. Thanks!

Day Twelve - Soak It Up

"I love you, O LORD, my strength." Ps. 18:1

I truly needed God's strength to get through this day and He absolutely provided! I was not feeling well when I woke up, but over the course of the day God held me in His hands and I gradually felt better. By dinnertime I had caught up on all of my schoolwork and even had enough energy to join the group at the beach, where the water was salty, warm and oh-so beautiful. God is so good!
I desire to take hold of every spare moment I can, reveling in Gods creation here while I am able. To appreciate all that God has blessed me with here and now... for there is just so much to be thankful for. I believe often we spend too much time looking backwards or looking to the future, missing out on all we could be basking in from Gods hand right now. I don't want to miss the path God has for me to walk this day, this moment. I want to soak it up.

"It is God who arms me with strength
   and makes my way perfect."  -Psalm 18:32