http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ajIFfSaEzE

Patiently Waiting...

there comes a time in our life, well actually a number of times, where we find ourselves in the midst of waiting. whether its waiting for a job, waiting for results from a test, waiting for a husband or wife, or even waiting for God to reveal a plan he has for you. im in the midst of waiting right now. this summer has been an amazing experience for me. i have learned so much about culture, people, children, passions, love, and even some medical things i didn't really care to know about. God has stretched me a lot this summer, and one thing he has stretched me really hard on is waiting. not only waiting, but waiting patiently. waiting paitently are probably the two hardest things to do. as humans we are always wanting it now, right now. not later, not tomorrow, but now. but if God always gave us what we wanted right when we wanted it, where would prayer come in? when would we spend time with him? when would we seek him? its when we are waiting that we find ourselves seeking him and praying more and more. i have found that there is something i want really bad, and if i want it bad enough i will do whatever it takes to get it. but then i have to pause. i heard this sermon about the desires of our heart. the pastor talked about wanting something so bad. and i thought to myself, wow i want this one thing really bad. then the next thing he said was, is this something that God desires for you? or is it something you desire? i had to think to myself, ya know, i have no idea. i began to pray "Lord is this disire from you? or me?" how do you know when a desire is from God or from yourself? im having a hard time understanding that one. but as i continue to seek God i am reminded by Psalm 37..."commit your ways unto the Lord.....delight yourself in him and he will give you the desires of your heart." pause...so many times people see that verse and thing ok see God is going to give me the desires of my heart...but if you look at the verse it clearly states :"DELIGHT YOURSELF IN HIM..and..." we have to delight ourselves in him. only then will his desires become our desires. we have to delight in spending time with him. delight in reading his word, delight in telling people about him, delight in the plans he has for us. i recently wrote a song called "i am still." this song talks about waiting patiently. one of the lines in the chorus is "how beautiful are the hands of thine my king. how beautiful are the plans you have for me." no matter what i desire for myself, God's desires are so much bigger and better and more beautiful than i could ever think of for myself. i find myself praying so selfishly sometimes. praying that this would happen and that would happen, but as i study his word, i realize i should be praying : Lord let your will be done. let your desires become mine. only then will God give me the desires of my heart becuase only then will his desires become my desires therefore giving me the BEST i could ask for. so many times we are afraid to commit our ways to the Lord. so many times we are afraid of giving him something, but..HE CREATED US!! HE LOVES US!! HE WANTS THE BEST FOR US!! he's not going to let us down. Isaiah says that those whose hope is in the Lord will never be disappointed. my hope is in the Lord. God has truely spoken to me these past few days and continues to speak to me. as i come down to my last day here in Salone, i will rejoice and praise him for his wonderful mercy. he has taught me so much and i am so blessed! blessed be his name! FOREVER!! or in Krio...blessed be de name ob da Lord tehhhh!!

Dangerously surrendered. Have you?

ONE WEEK!!

So i have been meaning to write about my past week but, the internet has been too slow for me to take the time to write. so let me catch you up...
i went to Kamasundo to visit the Banta Themne people. these are people my mom has a heart for and was able to minister to and even tell the world about them. what wonderful people they are. they were so welcoming. the cheif wasn't there so i wasn't able to meet him. but there was this one guy who knew my mom. he didn't speak krio or english, just themne. but he told me that he was so thankful for my mom. he said that if it wasn't for my mom, many doors would have never been opened. he said if it wasn't for my mom, his people would have never had the chance to hear about the Gospel. how sweet it was to hear these things about my own mother. she is my hero. i met this other lady who has polio. she is a teacher in a school in one of the villages. goodness, what a blessing it was to meet her. there were many many children there. there had been another missionary working there for a while. her name was abbey and they said she looked like me. so when we pulled up everyone kept calling "abbey abbey!!" of course when they got close they realized it wasn't abbey... sorry to disappoint! hah! but anyways. it was really neat to see the place where my mom had been working for so long. it really opened my eyes to see how much work is still needed there. they need lots of prayer. i am blessed to have just one other connection to my mom. ha!
my job has finally started here! we have one man who works for BGR here. so i cook for him and host him. its been really fun so far. i call it my "test week". all summer i have been learning how to cook. so this week, i am being tested. doing all the cooking with no supervision. i had to plan the meals for the week and cook them! so far so good. 3 out of 11 have been great!! so looking forward to one last week of cooking and serving! should be fun!
also this past week i have made such good friends with our neighbors. such sweet people. they need prayer. they are so kind. but so lost. well, another team member has arrived. i have to go cook! one week left!!

TIA...This is Africa

Sorry its been so long since ive blogged. its been a busy couple of days. Sunday i went to my old church! it was so fun to see old friends. they all recognized me. i had a hard time recognizing them but i just greeted like i knew them! ha! they made me stand up and greet the whole church in krio. ha! it was pretty funny. the kids i used to play with as a child were now running the choir and other parts of the church. oh how we have grown up. the church is huge now! i was so impressed. then on the way home, me and donald switched seats so i could drive home and i slipped all the way into a gutter filled with rushing, poopy, water. it was so nasty. in my sunday clothes. ha! i laughed as i watched my flipflop float down the gutter and donald chasing it. it was a sight. then i got home and found that my computer broke because it had been rained on the night before, and i am HOPING it will be possible to fix it when i get back to the states. its a macbook so its not like i can just get another one. ha! anyways if you could pray that my computer gets fixed, that would be great. monday we had our weekly meeting and saw that we have alot to do the next couple of weeks. today we got up, me, chuck, donald, and kathryn went to town. its always an experience going to town. it takes about 30 minutes to get there. so finally we got downtown and we did our erronds and then we went to eat at Crown Bakery. we parked and went in to eat. while we were eating the police came and wanted to tow our car! by God's grace, donald was able to stop them and move the car. then as we were leaving downtown this drunk guy was walking on the side of the road and throws himself into the side mirror causing him to have a "pain" in his arm and making him fall down. so we stopped and pulled over and he was so drunk you could smell it. he called his brother over and his brother was like "pay us 100,000 leones or take him to the hospital." we were like no! he is fine. finally donald gave the man 50,000 leones which is like $15. and we drove off. as we drove off we looked behind and saw him laughing and he got up and was fine! oh man. this is africa is the only thing that came to mind. finally we made it home and me and christine cooked dinner. she is a fabulous cook. then after dinner we went across the street and played with our neighbor's kids. there was this one girl, who had never been over there when we were there, her name is Iesha. she is deaf. we all danced and sang and laughed and she did it right along with us. it was a ball. as me and christine left to go back to the house, she stopped us and hugged us and put her hands on our face and said.."bye bye." with the biggest smile on her face! it was precious! how sweet are the hands of our Creator who created her so perfectly. even though she can't hear, she has touched mine and christine's lives with two words and a smile. it was a good day. tomorrow we are going to the Banta Themne to visit. im excited to see the work that is being done there and to be able to talk about it with my mom. what a precious thing to share with her. well my only prayer request this week is that God would reveal Himself to me more and more this week. when i get busy i often put God off to the last minute. i dont want to do that. so pray that God would continue to be the focus in my walk. and pray for safety while i drive in and out of town this week and next. thats it. i hope you are all well! God is faithful! so very faithful!

P.S. Dangerously surrendered. Have you?

Laughs...and Lessons...

Today was fun. The "grandparents" were out for the day so me and Christine had some freedom around the house! Woke up and read and chilled in the sunshine. Then ate lunch with Christine. Then Christine and i and our two housekeepers, Kathryn and Augusta, walked down to the market to take some clothes of mine to get fixed and then we walked to the bakery and just lauhged about all kinds of things. Christine is still learning Krio and the girls are always making fun of her trying hah! they says...."Ee day try to talk de krio." I speak krio pretty good because i lived here before so Christine is always looking to me to translate. She is so smart though. this is her 5th language to learn. She's nuts! ha! And english is her 2nd language! We came back to the house and sat with the girls and just visited. it was fun to laugh and goof off with them. then we went back to work and i finished some inventory Sharron had asked me to do...
on a side note, i have been reading this book called Safely Home. the most amazing book ive ever read. oh my goodness! its about persecution in China. there have been many chapters where i find myself lost in the words and i have to put the book down and pray. this book has challenged me to pray for the lost. to beg God for the souls of those who don't know Him. to pray for those who are being persecuted. this past chapter gave a interesting description of Hell. it made me tear up because i look around me here, and even think of people in the states that choose not to ask God for forgivness. the book gives a point of view from God. He looks down on the world and offers grace if we will only ask for it.. ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS ASK!!! AND BELIEVE! God is so good and whoever goes to hell will be separated from God and anything that is good. laughter. joy. beauty. taste. fun. light. EVERYTHING that is good will be gone. How awesome is God's grace on us He already went to hell for us so we didn't have to go even though thats what we deserve or worse. I am so thankful that God has a place waiting for me in Heaven. my home. My homeland. I am so thankful that God has a crown waiting on me! PRAISE JESUS! so i challenge you to pray for the lost. pray for those all over the world who don't know Jesus. pray for those who do know him, but chose not to follow him. pray for those who are following him, yet are being persectued because of their faith and obedience. pray.

P.S. Dangerously Surrendered. Have you?

Rain and Sweet African Fellowship

The past couple of days have been great! yesterday was about the rain. its rainey season here in Salone and it rains at least once a day. well, there is a little bakery down the street from our house that we walk to just about every day. we walked down there yesterday and got stuck in the rain. the bread wasn't ready so Christine and i decided to walk back in the rain. it was like being a kid again! we were soaked! i love the rain. the smell of the rain. the lightning. it makes the night cool which is a plus. although, during the day, if it rains, its super hot! but i still enjoy it.
today was a fun day of fellowship. Christine and i and our new team member Chuck and our night guard and friend, Eddie, went to the Bible college and met up with these 3 young guys that Christine had met on the Logos ship. we wanted to fellowship with them and encourage them since they are new believers. it was so much fun to fellowship in full krio. they kept saying.."oh you speak krio??!" or in kro its "eh?? you day talk de krio!!!" or "you sabey de krio?" hah! it was so fun. they said i get a 100% on my krio. we laughed and told stories and just enjoyed each other's compan. it was great! then we prayed together and went our own ways. i hope to be able to meet up with them again before i leave. so overall, it was a great day!

P.S Dangerously surrenderd. Have you?

The Month of July Has Arrived

It is finally July! wow! Just a few more weeks here in Salone. Can't believe it! The month of June was full of adventures and learning experiences. I hope July will be also. July seems to be busy. Next week not a whole lot going on but some organzing downstairs in the volunteer apartment. Next weekend my good friend Donald will be takning me up to the Banta Themne to meet them. They are a group of people in which Donald and my wonderful mother were able to reach out to and start a church there. God has really done a lot there and i look forward to meeting them and greeting them for my mother. the next week will be a prep week for the volunteers coming in the next week. hah. when the 18th roll's around, 2 guys are coming in. one will stay until the 22nd and the other will stay until the 26th...which is the date that I LEAVE!!! yay!! hah! the weeks are comin to an end. i can't believe it. i was talking to some friends this evening and they are counting down as well. my god mother says that my mother and i are the "count down queens". we love to countdown. when i was growing up whenever something exciting was going to happen, we would make a chain out of paper. hah! and each day we would tear off a piece of the chain for the day. i think i will make one for the day that i leave! my prayer request for this month is that I will not focus on the days to come, but focus on the day that is. I don't want to get lazy and miss out on a blessing God has for me. I don't want to miss out on something that He can use me for. so pray that I will continue to be a servant and serve Him every second that i get. thanks! have a great 4th of July weekend!!

P.S. Dangerously surrendered. Have you?

A Change in Pace..

Hey! im sorry its been a few days since ive updated. the internet here has been way too slow to do anything on. this past week was sort of a prep week for the new team members that arrived this evening. This is where my change of pace will take place. for the past 5 weeks i have been living with one other girl. we have a 3 bedroom apartment. now, an older couple (like my grandparents age) have moved in with us. with it just being me and Christine, we had the freedom to stay up as late as we want, eat when we want, sleep when we want. but, the fun is over...time to crack down and do work. even though my job doesn't start till the last week im here, i guess ill have to do some work that they make up for me. hope ill still get to hang with the locals! my krio has gotten pretty good over the past weeks. i can't believe i have 4 weeks left! its crazy!! although the month of june felt like a year, i learned so much! i hope to learn a whole lot more in the month ahead. well, i do have one specific prayer request...pray that the days that go by, will be fast, but that they will be full of lessons and experiences. i'm having a hard time counting down the days...and by that i mean, focusing on when im coming home and not too much on what im doing now. so please pray that the time will fly by but that i will be focused on what the Lord is doing here and now. thanks!!

P.S. Dangerously surrendered. Have you?

When the Darkness Closes In..

Satan attacked today. we were on our way to church on the Logos ship this morning. we turned down the road that takes us to the gate to get into the port where the ship was, and there were trucks parked on the sides of the road so it was one car at a time sort of thing. well there was a truck in front of us and we couldn't pass him. then we looked ahead and they had put a road block up made of a table and stones. then, all of a sudden, a large police truck came busting through! we thought, oh it will stay down there, but no! everyone started running towards our car!! throwing stones and sticks and beating each other! people were running into our car and the police truck was plowing through coming straight towards us. gabe threw the car into reverse because that was the only way out. there was a car behind us. not knowing what was going on, they too put their car in reverse and started to back up. the road seemed to never end. people kept running frantically down the street yelling angry things. people were beating up the police. the police planned to take control but it backfired on them. as we were backing up seriously fast, trying not to hit anything or anyone, we looked in front of us and 2 inches away was the police truck. i thought it was going to crush us. me and sada and christine were just yelling prayers! just yelling JESUS! asking Him to protect us and the people around. me and sada looked up to the police truck and one man had climbed into the truck with the driver and another guy threw a log at this guy in the truck and then threw stones at him and busted their window. rocks were hitting our windshield as we drove backwards. finally, we made it out. ok. shaking, we all thanked God for getting us out safely. it was only by his mighty hand that we made it out alive. it was so scary. i haven't been that scared int a long time. i just saw that satan has such a grip on these people. Anger is something they let take over them. we decided to find another way into the port cause we really wanted to go to church. we found another way and when we got there the worship was so good. the speaker spoke on 2Chronicles 14. 2 Chronicles 14:11 God really spoke to me. "Then Asa called to the Lord and said, "Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, ffor we rely on you, and in your name we have come against the vast army. O Lord, you are God; do not let man prevail against you." WOW! when we were being charged by police and people, we called out to God because we knew that only He could save us. and im reminded of one of my favorite verses "Never will i leave you, Never will i forsake you." God is always watching out for us. If we are children of His then He will protect us. whom shall i fear? Anyways, the Lord really showed His mercy on us today. He is faithful. and when the darkness closes in, still i will say blessed be the name of the Lord.

P.S. Dangerously surrendered. have you?

A Day of New Experiences

today was a day of new experiences. this morning we got up and drove to this womens clinic. it is a free clinic run by sierraleonians and pretty much they supply everything. today we brought them some supplies. such as baby blankets, vitamines, sanitary gloves, and many other things that i sure don't know what are used for. when we got there they told us that this one girl was in labor. so they invited us to go back and observe. so me and sada and christine went in the back and saw this girl laying on a bed covered with a tarp and with only a small lapa (piece of cloth) to cover her. she was crying and in so much pain. no pain killers here, ladies! i walked over and grabbed her hand and started to fan her. yeah there are no fans or air condintioners in this clinic. small building, 3 rooms. i asked the girl how old she was and she said 16!! oh my goodness! i can't even imagine! we sat with her for a while and then went and observed how they examine other women. they do everything by hand. they can measure how far along the woman's pregnacy is by just feeling and measuring with a ruler. they can tell if the baby is breach by just feeling around. they use this wooden instrument to press really hard into the stomach to hear the baby's heartbeat. that was REALLY cool to hear! never heard that before. it was precious. then we all met together in the lobby and with the other patience we had one of the doctors tell the story of Elizabeth and then we prayed and sang some songs together. then we checked on the girl in labor and she was still in so much pain. we couldn't stay for the delivery, although they wanted us to, we needed to get other things done.
after the clinic we went to this ship called the Logos ship. it is pretty much a floating library. they travel around the world and sell books and do ministries. on saturday they are having a missionary dinner. WE EAT FOR FREE! we are very excited about that. i found some awesome books and they were like $4! hooray! and that was my day in a nut shell. pretty exciting and i learned so much!
also, i wanted to tell you a little bit about what God has been teaching me throughout this summer so far. In our Bible study here, we have been reading in Genesis studying Abraham and God has really been teaching me to STOP ASKING HIM WHY! ever since ive been here i have kept asking God "why am i here" "why am i away from my friends and family" "why do you want me here"? in the chapter about Rebekah, i am blown away by her submission to follow God's plan for her life. to not question the servant that Abraham sent. she just says "I will go" and she goes! and here i am, im just in africa for the summer. im not changing my whole life to marry a man ive never met or even spoken to. she trusted God and knew that God had a plan, and ended up falling in love with Isaac and God blessed them. So, like Rebekah, i am going to be still, and trust. i am going to trust in the One who sent me. i have to stop asking questions and just start doing. doing whatever there is. i have surrenderd. so i will live like it.

P.S. Dangerously surrendered. have you?

A Stressful Week Calls for Relaxation...

Ahhh!! i sm so glad this week is over! it has been a crazy stressful week. The team left yesterday thank goodness! this week was frustrating because it was an Administration team so they were in meetings all this week. meetings in which i was not involved in. so i spent most of the week alone. but all is well. today we rested all day! i slept until about 3:45pm! it was wonderful. this weekend we are going to the beach! the whole weekend we have booked this house for friday, saturday and sunday! thank goodness! a weekend away is just what we need! next week will be busy so this week will be a good restful weekend! time is passing faster now which is good! hoping it continues to! im missing home and friends. one of my best friends is getting married this saturday and im sad i can't be there with her to celebrate. but i am wishing her a wonderful wedding and marriage! its kinda hard to hear all of my friends talk about it with her and i can't be there for her. but we will celebrate when i get back! well, guess ill head to bed. its about 2am here. got to work tomorrow. have a great weekend!

p.s. dangerously surrendered. have you?

Tanki, Tanki-O

Today was a LONG day...we went to church this morning and our Director, Cindy Wiles, preached. it was a good service. she is a wonderful speaker and woman of God. she is very encouraging and has a huge heart for God's people and the church. so after that service was over, we went to what is called a Thanksgiving service here. the church wanted to celebrate and give thanks to God for the school. the service was to last from 2 to 6...so we got went into their church, which was pretty nice for an African church, and we sat on the front row. they often put the visitors, or here visitors are known as "strangers", in the front row. they want to show respect. also, in this culture, LOUD MUSIC is huge. they LOVE loud music and yelling into the microphone. So our ears hurt. hah! but anyways, so Kurt, our orphan sponsorship director spoke at this service. it was short and there were so many kids there that you couldn't really pay attention because everyone was talking. but anyways, the praise and worship was fun. learned some new Krio songs. THEN...the march...we all went outside, in the rain, and marched from the church to the school (bout 2 miles up hill) now when i say march, i mean, we DANCED...yeah danced and sang. they had their marching bands there. 3 of them. one for the primary school, one for the secondary school, and one for the parents. me and sada and christine and Lisa (a girl on one of the teams here this week) were in the middle of all the mommies. man we were cuttin rugs! hah! everytime i got "low" they would all yell "ehhhhhh!" hah! it was so funny. man they would be like..."come now, move your body!" they even sang a song that said "move your body for Jesus" hah! it was so funny. we walked for about 2 hours. well danced. man we were so sweaty! there were about 300 of us. about 100 women surrounding me and sada and christine and lisa. pretty sure i lost 10 pounds of water weight. hah! but ya know, i know it meant a lot to those mommies that we spent our day fellowshiping and celebrating with them, their successfull children. so knowing that, we had a good time. even though it was 4 hours long. so church today was from 10-6. wow! hah! lots of praise and worship! Tank, Tanki-O. that means thank you in Krio. I wan fo tell una tanki fo watin una done do fo me. i glady where God ee don bless me. i de lek una too mus. (hah! thats krio and i said, thank you for what you have done for me, and im happy that God has blessed me. i like you all too much.) HA! i hope you enjoyed that! well, tomorrow im going to hang out with the war widow's and their children. i love those children. they just live right down the street. one boy named Oscar, who is about 2 or 3 just captivates me whenever im with him. hah! can't wait to see them all again. well enjoy your week! Tanki!

P.S. Dangerously surrendered. Have you?

Frustration broken with Compassion.

I know that every organization has its problems and frustrations. its a struggle that i know everyone faces. but one thing about some frustrations that i've encountered this week is that is has been broken with compassion. the past two days i have been up country to two places and visited the orphans there. one place called mile 91 housed 100 orphans. and by housed i mean they live in "foster homes" with families. but they don't have it very good. while we were there, our team handed out goodies and candy and cookies and we ate a meal with them and danced and listened to music and just partied. it was so much fun. and our frustrations with meetings and organization and such just faded. it was simply Jesus' compassion that flowed out of us. every child was special. every child had a need. every child was beautiful. and each smile that we had on our faces, to them, was a smile that was encouraging. the smile of Jesus. and you know what, the whole team was overwhelmed with compassion for the orphans and the people. then we got back in the car and went right back to "oh how will we do this and what does this mean and how bout we do this for this, blabla." and we forget, that even its about JESUS! even though i know the Bible says we must be unified so that with one heart we can glorify God. i know there must be unity, but lets not forget the compassion Jesus shines through us. then we went to Bo. this was simply amazing. this one pastor, Pastor Saul Yaiba and his wife and 4 kids house 18 orphans. this was special beacuse Pastor Yaiba told us that they all excell in their education. this is something that doesn't happen very often here in Africa. while the Pastor was speaking to us and the children, he told them that they needed to focus on their education instead of the material things because the education is what will stick. wow! its so true. so many people think oh if i have this or that, but if they have an education they can never lose it! it was something very encouraging that he was teaching the orphans living there. and each of the kids memorized verses in the Bible and they said them to us. they were very well behaved children. it was very special to see. to see the compassion they have for each other, and even the compassion the team had for them. you know, we have never met them and we don't i know their stories. but we do know that Jesus has given us a passion for them and that is what we wanted to share with them. i told the team tonight that i felt like the fact that we the team went out to Bo and Mile 91 meant more to the children then the actual presents. i think the time that we invested in them was something special. i would really like to figure out how that could be possible for GCPN to do instead of always giving money and such, that perhaps they could give time more than anything. this week has been a learning week. with the team being here and the frustration of meetings and such, it has been a learning week. im happy to report that tomorrow we will be going to two more places to hang with orphans and then sunday we will be in church from 10am to 6pm..yeah gonna be a long day! but to God be the glory! guess this is what it is to be dangerously surrendered.

P.S. Dangerously surrendered. Have you?

Walk a Mile in Those Shoes!

Today was a day to remember. This morning me and Christine (my roommate) and Sada (her and her husband are missionaries here and they live next to us) went to the market to buy material to make some dresses and skirts. we have a big service to go to next sunday and will need an african dress to wear to it. it was fun going to the market cuz i remember krio so i could bargan and such. it was fun. um..then we rested this afternoon then around 5 we went to the War Widow's camp. the War Widows are women who lost their husbands during the war. there are 85 of them. we went to the camp and gathered all the children to fit them for shoes that a church sent. it was pretty orderly while the children were there but we started to fit the women for shoes it got pretty caotic because they kept saying..."i want that one! i don't like this one!" but ya know...w just did our best to fit them with what we had and they were thankful. we had fun. it was so hot though. tough thing about living here..it is sooo hot! overall, today was a good day. we are going to the beach tomorrow. gonna be a relaxing day. we have a team coming in on tuesday so work begins tuesday! well. thanks for reading and please continue the prayers!

P.S. Dangerously Surrendered. Have you?

The Journey Has Begun...

Hello... So the Journey has begun. The flights from Nashville to Chicago, to Brussels, to Dakar, to Sierra Leone was...long. very long. took a while to go to sleep last night. still on USA time. hopefully that will go by fast. although its 11:15 pm here now and im still wide awake even after waking up at 6 this morning. i had a hard night last night. i was really homesick. missing friends and family. even missing the smell of good ol America. woke up this mornin and me and my roommate Christine and this girl that lives here with her husband went to town and she showed me and Christine places to shop for groceries. we ate at this nice place which had air conditioning. yeah we have no air conditioning. we have electricity from 7pm to 7am. so we do have a fan at night which is good cuz it is soooo hot here. today was ridiculously hot. so humid. i haven't stopped sweating all day. dont' remember it being this hot. but guess thats AFRICA! funny thing about our toilet: we just got running water so we have to be conservitive and we can't flush our toilet paper. so where does it go? the trash can beside the toilet. yeah our bathroom smells just swell. haha. gross! um, we have internet but it is very slow. only at night as well. my room is very bare. i have to sleep under a mosquito net which for those of you who dont' know what those are its a big net hanging over my bed that i put over my whole bed while i sleep so mosquitoes wont eat me alive. it also does a swell job of keeping out wanted air! i sweated all night last night. it was so hot. still is as a matter of fact. yeah not sure if it will ever cool down. i know this will be the longest summer and hardest summer of my life. please pray that the Lord would give me strength and courage. sada and gabe (the couple that lives here and pretty much is my help) are leaving at the end of june and i don't know what i will do without them. they help me so much. after sada leaves my job will really begin and im a little freaked out. even though its like a month away. yikes. so pray that i will be able to do the job and that the Lord woudl be my strength. im missing my friends a lot at the moment and wishing i was back home hanging in the sun with them. but i know God has something for me here. hope to blog some more soon. keep up the prayers! thanks!

p.s. dangerously surrendered. have you?

And I'm Back in the Game!

Well, it has been a stressful week. Had no visa, lost my chance to leave on May 18th, but by God's grace, today i received my visa! Hooray! Not sure exactly when i will be flying out, but soon and very soon. I have been kind of freaking out a bit about not being on time, but, God had a reason i needed to wait a couple of days. Not sure what it is, but there is a reason. God is in control. I was talking to my sweet mom tonight. I was telling her i was a little scared about this trip and i was scared that i wouldn't do a good job and that i would fail. she told me, "Chelsea, thats a good thing, because that shows that you can't do it on your own. God has to be your strength. He will stretch you." I was so encouraged. My mom has done so many amazing things without my dad by her side. She has even been to Sierra Leone alone and she made it. My mom is the strongest woman i know. She has been through so much, if she says i can do this, i know i can. God has called me to this and i know He will get me through it. I am excited and at peace. My mom also said to me..."Chels, what is it you say at the end of your blogs... Dangerously Surrendered? Now is your chance to dangerously surrender." That popped my little bubble. She's right! This is it. I HAVE dangerously surrendered. Now i will follow through. Please be praying that God would continue to work out my travels and that within the next few days ill be getting on a plane heading to Sierra Leone!

P.S. Dangerously Surrendered. Have you?

Bump in the Road..

Well, sad to say that there has been a bump in the road. Lots of things that i needed to do to get ready for the trip, and one major thing i skipped. Sending my passport to get my visa stamped in it. So as of right now, my passport is sitting in a FedEx envelope waiting for someone to drop it of at the Embassy in Washington D.C. Yes, as of right now my trip is postponed until i can get a visa. I will be staying in different places until i can head out. I will most likely be still heading out of Nashville, hope to be soon. I could use some prayer warriors now! Lets come together and pray that the visa will come ASAP. if it can come before Tuesday, ill be blown away by God's miracles. if it doesn't come in by Tuesday, i will STILL be blown away by God's faithfulness. In His time i will go. in His time i will get my visa. Im just along for the ride! Just a small bump in the road. No biggie! God's got this! Anyways. wanted to share where i am at the moment! Thanks for keeping up with my blog!

P.S. Dangerously Surrendered. Have you?

End on a Good Note.

Well school is out. Classes are over. Tests are done. Books are turned in. My stuff is in my car. Junior year of college is finished. Yes, you said it, ITS SUMMER!!!!! Hooray! What a rough year! Terrible beginning, rough middle, but FANTASTIC end! Friendships were built, and friendships were strengthened. God has blessed me tremendously. Everything that has happened this year has happened for a reason. We are one day closer to being in His kingdom. As i start my summer, I want to glorify Him for all He has don for me. HALLELUJAH!! Tomorrow my roommate will be having a garage sale to get rid of some junk we don't need anymore. hoping to make a little cash to fill up my car with gas for the next couple of days. Gonna be traveling a bunch! can't wait! Well, God is good and im one day closer to my adventure in Sierra Leone! Hooray! Thanks so much for reading this!! ENJOY your summer!

P.S. Dangerously Surrendered. Have you?

Counting Down

Well, the days are counting down. 16 more days to go! The Lord has blessed me with many people to bless me financially. I would like to thank each of you who have helped me financially. Each of you holds a special place in my heart and i could not be going this summer if it wasn't for each of you. I have completed my money raising. The Lord is so good. He never ceases to amaze me. I have purchased my ticket and I am now making lists of what i need to take on my trip. Things like granola bars and shampoo and conditioner. Things i will need when i get to Sierra Leone. Different feelings are running through my mind and heart. Im scared and excited. Im anxious and nervous. Things are going to be great and i know that God will be doing all sorts of things! I can't wait to see what He will do. Be in prayer for me as i finish school this week. Exams will be tough but i know that it will be over soon! Then SENIOR YEAR HERE I COME!

P.S. Dangerously Surrendered. Have you?

A Celebration!

A celebration is about to partake in my family! My older brother is getting married this weekend and i am blessed to be able to go to his wedding! Hooray! My brother has played a huge role in my life. When we were growing up we used to play together like best friends. We used to dig in the trash together to find cool glass bottles and we used to build things together with Legos. One of my favorite memories of my brother and I as kids is when my brother used to invite me into his room to play "Men". Pretty much we would play with his action figures! hah but he called it "Men" hah! Oh the wonderful memories. As we grew up, it was harder to keep our relationship close because we lived far a part for a while. But through the past three years, my brother and I have grown closer. I still get excited when he calls me or sends me a text that says "Hey Sis, I love you." I am so proud of my brother. He is such a wonderful man of God. He has shown me his courage and strength and he has taught me so much. He has encouraged me in my struggles. I love him so much and he has fallen in love with the best woman. She is kind and wonderful and so beautiful. They are a perfect match. I have never seen someone love someone the way my brother loves his woman. He puts her before himself and cares for her like no one else has. I am so proud of my brother and can't wait to watch him stand before his family and friends and watch his bride walk down the aisle. So this weekend will be a weekend of celebration! Pray for my brother and his future wife. Pray that God will bless them together. ROSS AND STEPHANIE... CONGRATULATIONS!!

P.S. Dangerously Surrendered. Have you?

Totally in Awe

Is there anything my God can not do? No way!! This past weekend i went to Arlington, Texas to get oriented for my summer. It was a time of learning and humbling. I learned of the many responsibilities that i will have while in Sierra Leone. It is going to be a summer of stretching. God is going to HAVE to be my strength. I know i can't do it on my own. This weekend my supervisors asked me what they could be praying for me about. I told them that i needed prayer for God to provide money for my trip. That was a big one. And folks, PRAYER WORKS!!! I have about $500 left to raise out of $4000!!!!!! Now you tell me there isn't a God...I'll blow you away with that fact! God IS REAL!!!!! How can we doubt this God of ours? How can we EVER doubt that He will provide? God is in control and WILL provide. My dad always says, "God is seldom early, but NEVER late." I have about 38 days left to raise everything, talk about cutting in close. but ya know what, God is faithful. He is faithful! I am blessed to have people in my life that are obedient and generous. I can honestly say, I am nothing and God is everything. "He must increase and I must decrease." John 3:30.

P.S. Dangerously Surrendered. Have you?

A Huge Blessing

After my WONDERFUL spring break, i was asked to speak at a Church in New Albany, Ms. I was so excited to speak about my trip to Africa and was hoping that everyone would offer to pray for me. I wrote a few notes and was prepared. I prayed that the Lord would receive honor from everything that i said. I went up on to the pulpit and gave a 5 minute speech on my trip. I didn't look at my notes once. I just spoke from my heart. After church was over, people started to come up to me and hand me money and slipping me checks and hugging my neck. One lady came up to me and said "you are an inspiration." I was like, "it is not me, ma'am, its our Heavenly Father." She started to cry and just hugged my neck. i thought, ya know, its wonderful people like this woman that just touch my heart. They are reminders to me that God has placed a passion in my heart for people all over the world, not only to help those across the world, but to inspire those in America. What a blessing. God is so good. He never stops amazing me. I may not be the best at this language that i have to learn, and i may not be a very good coordinator, but if i remain in Him, HE who sent me, i can do anything. But APART from Him, I can do NOTHING! AMEN!

P.S. Dangerously surrendered. Have you?

A Relaxing Week Ahead...

Sigh... Spring Break has arrived and i am so thankful! It has been a rough semester and I am in need of a good break. My roommate and I will be heading to the beach tomorrow for the week! Oh how i long for that sweet sun, salty air, and a glass of iced down coke cola! It will be grand! Not only will i be relaxing on the beach with my best friend, but I will also be spending this time in prayer for my trip to Sierra Leone. There is a lot to be done before I leave, and I want to be in complete prayer before I do all these things. So I ask all of you to be in prayer for me though these months of preparation. God is at work and I can't wait to be a part of His work! I'll be writing back in a bit! Enjoy!

P.S. Dangerously Surrendered. Have you?

Live in Love

As i was reading my devotions today I came upon a verse that just touched my heart so much. In 2 John 1:6 its talking about living in love. I came upon the part that says, "his command is that we live in love." God has commanded us to live in love everyday. every single day. One church is living in love and has blessed me. In two days my sweet Lord has overwhelmed me with blessings! God is so good! I am so blessed to know such a generous church. I know that I said that God's got this, it is now turning out to be so real! God is so real! He is revealing Himself so clearly in all of this and I am so thankful. I know that I can't raise all of this money on my own, but I know that I've the ultimate giver on my side and thats all that matters! Everything will work out in His time! So let us live in love and worship our King for He gives us so many blessings! Amen!

P.S. Dangerously Surrendered. Have you?

First Blessing

How awesome is our God? I must start by saying.... AWESOME! I am overwhelmed by the sweet blessings my Heavenly Father blesses me with everyday. Today I received an especially big blessing. A wonderful man and woman, who have been a part of my family for the past five years, gave me my first check for my trip to Sierra Leone! I was shocked to see my brother-in-law's parents bless me so graciously. They are so encouraging and I am so thankful to them for their gift. I praise God for the sweet blessing of family. I pray He receives all the glory. As I was doing my devotions this evening, I was reminded that if we are born of God we can over come the world! (1 John 5:4) So I say it again.. How awesome is our God? AWESOME!!!!

P.S. Dangerously Surrendered. Have you?

10 Cents Pays The Way.

There are many times in our lives when we can't explain our feelings or thoughts. Times when all we can do is sit in the floor and be still. Still and silent. There are also times in our lives when all you can do is reminisce about fun memories that made the happy snap shot. My sweet Granddad died Tuesday, March 2, 2010. He died eating a bowl of ice cream. Just stopped breathing. What a way to go. When i found out the news, all i could do was think about all of the fun time we had together. all of the times he made us laugh. laugh so hard we cried. One memory that popped in my head was when Granddad and Grandma came to Africa to visit us when we were little. I remember my Granddad and we grandkids were playing some game where you had to throw little hoops onto a stick... well he would stand there and say..."step right up. all ya gotta do is pay 10 cents. 10 cents pays the way if you care to go my friend. she neither walks nor she talks but she crawls on her belly like a crocodile." oh we would laugh and chuckle at that for hours. We still talk about it. Also another memory that came my head was when Granddad used to do Karate. Ha! he used to say, "Chooie... Chooie!" and he would say it in in a really high voice while punching the air. He was so silly! i was so blessed to be able to have a wonderful last memory with my Granddad. He was in the hospital after a heart attack last week. My sister and brother and I went to visit him. He was cracking jokes like his old self. Him and my grandma might as well have had a stand up comedy act. It was perfect. No tears. No sadness. Just laughter. Thats how i will remember my sweet Granddad. A man that was so wonderful and so passionate about our Lord. I know he is in Heaven right now with my Pap and they are fishing together right by the Pearly Gates! Oh how sweet a picture that is in my head. I loved my Granddad so much and he will be missed. Missed by many.

Letters...

So many things to do. I am blessed to have a mother who loves to help me and for the past week my mother and i have been working on letters. Letters to send out to many people telling them about my trip to Africa. Praying that somehow God will use these letters to get the word out that I need prayer and funds. I was a little discouraged when I found out how much I needed to raise for this summer. Thoughts overwhelmed me such as..."how in the world am I going to get this much money in such a short time?" and "What if I don't get it all?" But a quiet voice inside tells me..."Chels, I got this! This is a piece of cake for Me! I can do this. You just sit back and watch what I can do." How awesome is our God? i'll tell ya, He is awesome! I have no doubt that God will provide for me the funds that I need for this trip to Sierra Leone. If anyone would like to pray for me or help fund my trip to Sierra Leone just HOLLA at me! Thanks for taking time to read this! Enjoy your day!

P.S. Dangerously surrendered. Have you?