Reflections

It's hard to believe that it's already the end of this glorious summer. I'm sitting at the Denver airport getting ready to take my final flight home. And sitting here alone, reflecting on the past two months, one thing is for sure. God is awesome.

Let me fill you in on the past two weeks since I didn't have Internet until yesterday. First we served at Boys Camp as kitchen staff. We prepared three meals a day plus two snacks. From someone who isn't all that talented in the kitchen, it was a bit of a challenge. But of course, God is good and provided our team with two passionate cooks! Lara and Katherine kind of led the way with big projects. I learned a lot about cooking... and little boys. On the first night a boy approached me and asked me to cook his crawfish (which he'd caught in the creek) for dinner. I thought he was kidding. Apparently not. It was a fun week, but I missed the spiritual high from youth camp. I missed the amazing worship. However, I had great time bonding with Lara and Joelle and Katherine.

Saturday Lara and Joelle returned home and Katherine and I traveled to Pilot Rock, Oregon to lead Vacation Bible School and a junior high camp. I'll admit, I had a pretty bad attitude when I left for Pilot Rock. I'd already said goodbye to Lara and Joelle and all of the CBBA staff and our hosts. I was getting homesick. And I wasn't really looking forward to VBS AND camp. Isn't one stressful enough?

Well... shame on me for being so negative. Because our week at Pilot Rock turned out to be amazing. They desperately needed someone to fill the music rotation and I was more than happy to do it since I already knew the songs and motions and everything. And they needed someone to lead the 1st and 2nd graders. And Katherine is completely gifted at keeping control of kids. So it worked out perfectly. AND, their normal worship rally leader had spent the entire prior week at a huge Christian festival and was exhausted so we were able to help out by leading worship rally everyday too. After VBS we took about 10 7th and 8th graders to a cabin out in the middle of nowhere and had "camp". We had fun games, Bible study, and great time of bonding. We had different fun activities for everyday. One day we went fishing and swimming at a lake. Another we went to the local aquatic center and swam all afternoon. Last we rode four wheelers out to the scenic views around the cabin. I felt so blessed to be a part of that youth group. It was fairly new and they made such a great group.

So, it's been a great last week. And I can't believe it's over. But I'm ready to go home and see my family and my friends :) Reflecting on everything, I am amazed that the biggest changes I've seen this summer have been in me.

I came reluctantly on this trip, fighting God the whole way. I'm leaving as a slave to Christ, knowing He must become greater and I must become less.

I thought I knew what was best for my life and now I understand that this life is not my own.

I came here with mild expectations and was blown away by the power , the provision and the protection of our mighty God.

A Change in Pace

Hey everyone!

This past week the four of us went to Youth Camp at Camp Touchet. It was very different from Girls Camp where we given responsibility over 3-5 girls and spent all day with them. We had a very structured schedule: ate with our girls, sat with them in worship, monitored them in free time and discussed everything we'd learned each night in our cabins. Youth Camp was almost a shock after a school teacher run Girls Camp. Since all of the church groups brought sufficient counselors, we weren't really needed to fill that role. Lara and I slept in a cabin with one group and Katherine and Joelle stayed in a cabin with Amber, the only girl from her church who had come.

At first I was very intimidated by the girls in my cabin. Most had tattoos (or were planning them during the week). Most listen to music I've never heard of. And most come from homes that I can't imagine. Two of the girls had recently lost mothers. Some are never told they are beautiful or they are loved. I was sitting in my bed listening to them talk and frantically trying to figure out a way I could relate to them. And I blanked. I come from a family where I am loved and continually told that.

But throughout the week as I prayed for them, it was obvious that God healed relationships and created unity within their youth group.

We also led the 9th grade discussion group after morning worship each day. And when GoNow Missions tells you that you should prepare to be flexible, they weren't kidding. We got the topic of our discussions each morning with about five minutes to throw something together. Now, that is not my style. I like to have stories prepared, other scripture references ready to go, and a page of questions to work with. Not the case here. So it was challenging to lead 25ish freshmen in talking about the book of Exodus. But when we prayed about it, God was faithful! We had a couple of really good discussions and on Wednesday after our discussion there were two girls who stayed to talk. The theme of the week was uprising and we followed Moses's journey from birth to wilderness.

One girl said "We were just thinking... what if we really do this? What if we start the uprising at our school?"

And it hit. They got it. They wanted to live it! So we were able to brainstorm ideas and ways for those girls to serve God and others within their church, school and community. And it was a huge encouragement to be a small part of what God was doing in their lives.

There were numerous decisions made for Christ this past week and I loved being able to stand in the back and watch as students surrendered to the Holy Spirit's call. God is so good. And even without a defined role and without feeling effective and without feeling comfortable, God used me.

Tomorrow we leave to go to Boys Camp where the four of us will be in the kitchen all week. Please pray for us! It'll be long hours cooking and some of us have no cooking experience. That Saturday Lara and Joelle are flying home and Katherine and I will be going to Pilot Rock, OR to do one last VBS and youth leadership program.

It's crazy to think that this summer is almost over. I have come to love the Northwest so much... and there's so much work to be done here! So many people who still need to know Christ's love, so many waiting for answers... but in two weeks I'll be flying home to Austin. I suppose it's bittersweet. The girls on my team- Katherine, Lara and Joelle- have become some of my best friends. We've bonded over Boomerang Express songs and beach campfires and monk costumes and late night talks and trips to the mall on our weekends off. And it's going to be very hard for me to leave these girls, who have been huge encouragements and great spiritual peers and love the Lord so much (!), and return home. At the same time I know that my campus is still... what is it? 80% unreached? So although leaving the northwest hurts knowing that God has so much left to do, I am excited about the harvest which I am coming home to. There are so many students at UT searching for answers, forming their lifeviews and if I've learned nothing else, it's that I have to get out of my stupid comfortable church bubble. I have to get away from ineffective "activities" and invest in relationships, in ministries which reach people. And although I'll miss this place and these people, I know that God's plans are always best and He'll lead me where He will be most glorified.

Be Glorified.

I've learned so much on this trip, but there has been one resounding theme. God uses all things for His glory. No matter what the situation, He is in control and very evidently uses situations to further His kingdom.

On our vacation/road trip we visited Mt St Helens, a landmark of tragedy and the power of nature. But the fascinating part is that 29 years ago all life was destroyed within a certain radius of the volcano. Trees were flattened. Wildlife was wiped out. Lakes were boiled. And scientists, in all our earthly wisdom, claimed that there would be very little regrowth and repopulation for hundreds of years. BUT when I was there the lakes were full of fish, trees were new and fresh and living, and we even saw a large herd of elk. Creation scientists are now using this information and this miraculous regrowth as evidence that the great flood could have occurred. Isn't that amazing? A disastrous volcano is being used to glorify God!

In Paterson, Washington there is a very small church which used to meet in a double wide trailer but has recently been able to build a very nice building. Through donations and services the group was able to afford it all. The story that amazed me was how their church was bricked. A truck hauling bricks had turned over on the highway in front of the church. The brick was no longer usable for sale so the church was able to take all of it. How amazing it that? God is so cool!

On the 4th of July we were able to attend a free Jeremy Riddle concert. He's a Christian singer and it was really more like a big worship service. But the concert was in a park with free admission and carnival rides and concessions and other festive things. And if it was anything like the rest of the northwest, most of the people there were not believers. BUT God's named was being praised throughout the entire park. How amazing is our God?

Bethany is helping with Girls Camp and Youth Camp and has been having some serious health issues. She's been having seizures with no explanation and it's been very difficult on her and her family to deal with the symptoms while they wait on tests to explain what's going on. BUT one day in her college class she passed out. A classmate, Kaitlin, stayed with her until she was fully attended to. Bethany invited Kaitlin to church and last Sunday, Kaitlin accepted Christ! Even in the midst of struggle and confusion, God uses the situation to glorify His name.

I am in awe of the God I serve. I am so unworthy to be a servant of the Most High God, but for some reason He called this perishable container to carry His light this summer. And it is my prayer that He will be glorified in me.

One camp down, Two to go!

Well we had an awesome week at Girls Camp! It's been an interesting summer because while we have a vague idea of what we'll be doing at each location, we don't have very many details. And Girls Camp was no exception. We knew that we'd be at Camp Touchet (a camp owned by the churches of the Columbia Basin Baptist Association) and that there'd be about 65 girls there... but that was about it. We're staying in the Tri Cities between camps on the weekends and our host, Lindsay, was the camp cook. Her mother Bobbie was the camp director so it made it easier by being right in the middle of all the important people.

We arrived at Camp Touchet Sunday night. It's a beautiful place, right near a ski resort, but about ten minutes from camp everyone loses cell phone service. My phone gets so lost it stops keeping time. But it's refreshing in a way to be completely disconnected from everything except serving God where we are. We got our assignments upon arrival. I was a 6th grade counselor while Katherine and Joelle had 4th grade. Lara was put on Recreation. We all thought we would be counselors so it was a little surprising when Lara wasn't. We had all bought decorations for our rooms and little trinkets to give our girls throughout the week, but it turned out that Lara fit her job much better doing recreation and tech jobs. She came and slept with me and my 6th graders a couple of nights and decided she definitely got the best end of the deal :)

I loved working with the girls. They were really fun and not clique-ish at all, which was my main fear. I was "in charge" of three girls- Ashlynn, Carolyn and Annika. Although a lot of the girls didn't know each other when they got to camp, they all left as friends. All three of my girls grew up in church and have fathers that are deacons so I didn't expect any of them to accept Christ for the first time at this camp. They had all done that years ago. But I know that they all learned a lot from our Bible study time and did a great job of welcoming the 3rd grade girls and all the first timers.

Katherine and I also helped with the drama rotation. I directed the 6th grade skit and she directed the 4th grade skit and all of the grades and counselors performed on Thursday night. From the start I knew that my group was going to be awesome. I found a skit online and tailored it to my age group complete with High School Musical and Hannah Montana. They had their lines memorized by the second rehearsal and kept adding new and creative twists to it. The point of the skit was that we can't fit God into our lives- or any kind of plot already written because God is much bigger and we need to fit into HIS plan. It went over REALLY well on Thursday night and hopefully I can post the video sometime soon!

We had at least three girls accept Christ for the first time so praise Jesus! Now we're all getting ready for youth camp, also at Camp Touchet, which will have about 200 students. Whew so we're resting up for a fun, crazy, chaotic week. Please be praying for us to have energy and be joyful and just be completely surrendered to what God has planned for the rest of the summer!

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Col 3:23 (Cont.)

On the Tuesday of our vacation/road trip we got to visit a couple WWII forts which protected the coast from attack. We also learned that the west coast of Washington/Oregon was the only US soil attacked during WWII! Crazy. We hiked to a lighthouse and through the thickly wooded forest that led right up to the beach. We saw tide pools with mussels and barnacles and anemone. And then we drove a very long way through Portland to Mt St Helens. It was MASSIVE! At the ridge we were five miles away but it felt like I could reach out and touch the mountain. It was absolutely beautiful! We also spotted a herd of elk as we drove back so took a few minutes to observe about 25 of them there. We got back super late but Wednesday got picked up early to assist at an association retreat.

We provided childcare for four adorable children from Wednesday to Friday which allowed the men on the association team as well as their wives to be a part of the planning and information sessions. Again, we repeated Colossians 3:23. Babysitting for the glory of God allowed the team to bond and get a lot accomplished without having to worry about their children.

Tonight we get to go to a concert and fireworks show so we're pretty pumped for some July 4th celebrating! And tomorrow we leave for Girls Camp. We are all counselors so we'll have about 5 girls each. Please be in prayer that God will prepare the hearts of those coming and will energize us as leaders. Pray that we will be focused and listening for His instruction and won't get tired/frustrated/annoyed by 3rd to 6th grade girls. I will blog again when we get back and let you know all that God accomplishes over the week and I expect it to be amazing so stay tuned!!

Thank you for your prayers!!!

Colossians 3:23

"Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people."

This has been a huge lesson to learn this week. It's been a weird week in the sense that we weren't assigned to a church for vacation Bible school or backyard Bible club or anything. Instead, Saturday and Sunday we worked a booth at a Renaissance Fair here in the Tri Cities (our home base). All of the money we made went straight to missions here in the northwest. And we actually made more than the booth made last year. But... our booth was described as water games before we got there. When we got there we discovered that the "water game" was actually a contraption which had a bucket of water poised over your target (that would be us ;) ) and the paying customer has three tries to hit a bullseye and try to soak the target. So we were really pumped about being dunked all day. But we also got to wear lovely costumes to stay in character with the time period. And we were monks in long robes, getting soaked in freezing water. So we repeated over to ourselves every time a kid came by with an evil grin- colossians 3:23. Because whether or not we enjoyed the cold water, our efforts resulted in $330 over the weekend. And that money pays for one college student to go to Alaska on their mission trip! So that was Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm.

Monday we were picked up bright and early by Pastor Bill and Aunt Bea- they were our host home in Hermiston, OR. And they took us on an amazing road trip through the northwest! All we knew was that we were headed to the Oregon coast and that it would be a long drive. So we had come prepared to play games in the car to pass the time and nap and things like that. However, shortly after we began our journey, we realized that there was so much to see that we couldn't stop for games! We drove down through the Columbia River Gorge, where the huge Columbia River flowed between two tall mountainous sides. It was breathtaking! But that was just the beginning!

We stopped at a replica of Stone Henge built by Sam Hill when the area was first settled. He was in love with Mary queen of Scots and wanted her to visit him. So to make her feel at home, he built a replica of Stone Henge as well as a replica of her castle. Too bad they were both married...

Next we traveled along the gorge and up to a spectacular view of the river from the height of surrounding mountains. We actually stopped at two of these and from both you could see the next city! It's hard to describe how absolutely obvious the work of God's hand is in His creation. From the river sunlight and drifting lazily to the thick forest atop craggy hills to rocky edges, the beauty was almost overwhelming.

All along our drive we peeked the Cascade Mountain range! They were so big and absolutely beautiful with their snow caps.

Then we stopped at Multnomah Falls- which used to be the tallest free falling waterfall at 542 feet. But then a rock at the top broke loose. So it no longer free falls right there. But it was still amazing! It was the first waterfall I'd ever seen and probably my favorite stop on our trip!

As we neared the coast, we pulled into a little state park where the oldest living thing in Oregon was- a giant spruce tree! It was 17 feet in diameter, so big we could climb up the roots like stairs. But there must have been a wind storm come through there pretty recently because the top half of the tree had blown over. I kind of felt like it only accentuated how mammothly large the tree was though.

Then we finally got to our hotel on the beach in Seaside, Oregon. Our room faced the beach- we had an amazing view! So we played in the water for a little while, on the swingset on the sand, and then went out for dinner at a little seaside cafe. At this time, we were all bundled in sweaters and windpants because the beach was quite breezy and at a comfortable 60 degrees. The sun sets around 9 or 930 here so we had a little worship service at sunset on the beach. Pastor Bill spoke to us about the disciples. In Mark, the story of Jesus walking on water does not include the part about Peter joining him on the sea. Pastor Bill suggested we look back at what happened before that and try to understand why Mark would leave that out. Before that night on the sea, Jesus had been preaching and fed 5000 people with just two fish and five loaves of bread. And when the disciples saw him walking toward him on the water later, they genuinely worshipped him and said- "Truly you are the Son of God!" Mark says that before, they hadn't understood. So even after seeing 5000 people fed, the disciples didn't understand that Jesus' power was from God himself! But as He came to them on water it clicked. Well I've seen amazing things happen in my life. I've seen the sick healed, sinner cleansed and lives changed. But staring at this earth, noting the hills, the valleys, the differences in plants and colors, I have seen the power of God in a whole new way.

We sang several hymns and worship songs as the sun set and it was a real highlight of the evening- just fellowship and worshiping together in awe of what we could see. After the sun went down, Pastor Bill and Aunt Bea said good night, but us four girls got some firewood and smores makings and started our own campfire! We spent a couple of hours out on the beach enjoying each others' company and eating way too many marshmallows. I LOVE these girls. We're all introverted people but God is using us to be leaders! Imagine that! Well I've learned that God knows way better than I do what works so I'll trust that this is the team He wanted serving here this summer.

Well, this blog is already long enough and I'm getting sleepy so check out my pictures at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2024141&id=1534440048&page=2 and I will continue about day 2 of our vacation tomorrow!

God bless!

He is the vine, we are the branches...

Wow, I can tell this one's going to be long so I apologize in advance.

We've been leading VBS in Paterson, WA over the past few days and here is a recap of what's been going on. I have four 5-6th graders in my class- Trevor, Hunter, Antonio, and Cristina- and two helpers (who are pretty much their age)-Bre and Sela. Wednesday is the day in our curriculum when we teach about Christ's death and resurrection and what that means for us. We teach about forgiveness. And we teach the ABC's of becoming a Christian. So it's a pretty intense day what with the responsibility of communicating the most important information a child will ever hear all within two 25 minute segments and all the while keeping them engaged through games and activities. I'll admit, I got really frustrated. I got frustrated that we had so little time to actually spend on our Bible stories and prayer but got rushed off to crafts or games. I got frustrated that my kids wanted to play games and compete more than they wanted to focus on discussing how Jesus died for us and rose from the dead just as he said. And because of that I think I was really disappointed that none of my kids wanted to ask questions or learn more or pray with me. I know they're the oldest ones there and have the best chances of fully understanding what it all means. I passed out little cards to each student and asked them to check off which option was how they felt. The options were 1) I feel like God wants me to accept Jesus as Lord right now and am ready 2) I have more questions 3) I have already accepted Jesus 4) I'm not ready right now and want to wait.

It broke my heart to see that while 4 of them put that they were already Christians, 2 said they were not ready. I wanted to invest and make a difference and see the fruit of the labor now. But those two, although they participate in the class, haven't made a decision yet. So please pray for Antonio and Cristina.

However, through all this frustration God revealed that He is God (of course) and is bigger than a curriculum or a schedule. He is capable of invoking child like faith in the short time we have to teach. He is able, although I am far from perfect. He's given me peace to know that sometimes we don't see the fruit of the labor. Sometimes we simply plant a seed and trust that God will send workers into the field- to the harvest.

And we've also been enjoying all that Paterson has to offer while we're here. Tuesday afternoon the children's director Mimi and her husband Sam took us out on the river in their boat! We spent the entire afternoon being dragged behind on a really nice intertube. I read somewhere that we weren't supposed to exceed 20mph but the way those waves felt super fast. I had never done that before so it was a really awesome first experience. And thank goodness I did not fall out! Joelle did though... Well it was more like somersaulted out of the back of the tube. Ha but thankfully no one got hurt and she got right back on. The water was really cold but a thousand shades of blue and sparkled like diamonds in the bright sun. We were surrounded by great hills on both sides and were able to just sit and marvel at God's creation.

After it started getting dark, we headed back to Mimi's house. She is a viticulturist-which means she grows wine grapes- at Canoe Ridge Vineyards. She has 500 acres of vineyards all along these huge hills. It was really interesting because she is a very wise woman of God and used our tour of the vineyards to teach us some spiritual application. First of all, the vine is really thick and sturdy while the branches from the vine are more malleable and are what bears fruit. So when Jesus says that "I am the vine and you are the branches," it's clear to see that the vine is what provides all support and nourishment. The vine is the basis of the entire plant. BUT it is the branches which bear fruit. As Christ's followers, WE are the ones responsible for bearing fruit. When Jesus says, "Apart from me you can do nothing," it's very evidently seen with the grape vines. If you cut a branch off the vine it's no good. It can't do anything alone. An interesting fact from the viticulturist- once branches have matured and produced fruit, they are pruned back so that new branches can grow. Mimi told us how important it is to let God renew us daily. He is not a stagnant God but a living God! So following a truth He revealed to us ten years ago is good, but He has a plan and purpose for today and more/better fruit is produced when you daily seek God's will.

So our tour of the vineyard was breathtaking and vivid- we watched the sunset from atop the huge hill they live on and could see not only ALL of the sky but also acres and acres of grapes, the river reflecting the sun's colors, and the Blue Mountains in the distance. I have never seen such amazing views! But honestly when we heard about Mimi it was our Baptist instinct to wonder about a woman in the church working for a wine company. But as she shared her story with us my heart was convicted for that judgmental attitude. She started out working on potato and corn farms but was asked by her company to become the manager and viticulturist of Canoe Ridge Vineyards. As she prayerfully considered the options she opened to Proverbs 31. A chapter all of us have read and reread. But as she reread it again, she found that the virtuous woman buys a field and plants a vineyard with her earnings (vs 16). And throughout the gospels, Jesus used metaphors of grapes... in fact his first miracle was turning water into wine. Not just any wine though, Jesus made AMAZING wine. And Mimi told us that's her goal- to make amazing wine like Jesus did. Also as the manager she has a position to protect the employees which work on the vineyard. Many are immigrants or migrant workers and are easily taken advantage of so she has taken responsibility for their well being as employees.

Overall it was a fantastic day, full of words of wisdom and God's beauty. As the week continues we have been in prayer for the community of Paterson and their ministries here. Their church is so small that there aren't any youth centered ministries so we were excited to be able to have a Bible study with them this week... however, today was our last day to do that and none of them stayed :( But we went ahead and the four of us summer missionaries had our study.

I will have pictures coming soon! Comments and encouragement is very appreciated!
Love in Christ