Mount Doom

God is so good even if you don’t know it yet. We did a river walk which was pretty much us walking along a river but we did it by ourselves with out any ipods so we could hear God’s voice clearly. It was so awesome ! God reminded me that my story means something and I need to proclaim his name through it. It doesn’t matter how “good” or “bad” you have been God uses everything even if the problems don’t seem that big.

I have officially completed 2 of the Lord of the Rings movies and I have to say after only a couple of bad dreams it was worth it. Plus this weekend we are going white water rafting then camping over night and then climbing Mount Doom!! Which is the mountain from Lord of The Rings… I’m not sure what the mountains real name is though. However It’s super high and there will be snow at the top!

So far this week we have been talking about Evangelism which is pretty interesting. I actually feel like this is one of my spiritual gifts. We have just been covering the basics so far but today in class Tupu, our leader, told us that God gave him a song for each of us that wasn’t Christian and mine was “Dancing Queen” it was really funny. However the Lord told him that I jut need to keep dancing for Jesus and never stop. It was sweet as !

I finished my book report and CIR a whole day and half before it was due!!! I think my procrastinating days are moving behind me .. at least I hope ! I have to read another book on Christian living for another book report so hopefully I find the right book.

Yesterday the weather was so beautiful we laid out on the trampoline and played volleyball for an hour and just enjoyed everyone’s company. I still miss the food back at home so much though and really miss having a bath tub!!! Overall its amazing here and God is up to something great!!

Love

Romans 5:1-5

Heart

This week we have been learning about the father heart of God. It was way more intense then I thought it would be. So many people here don’t have a father figure in their life. I am so blessed to still have my father in the picture.  I did have some issues that I kept inside from what has happened over the years with them but you can’t expect parents to be perfect just like there is not such thing as a perfect daughter but I was able to see the brokenness that I had built up from them and have forgiven them as I hope they can forgive me for things that I have said to them.

I realized that I have a lot of anger built up and I’m not sure where the seed was planted but in these last couple of years it has been watered like crazy! I can’t blame anyone specific in my life even though some one can come to mind but  I’m still in the process of forgiving. I knew I had a problem when the guys stepped up in class  today and said that they wanted to start being real sons of God. A lot of the guys here have struggled with porn and taking advantage of women and they have been convicted this week to change there out look on things. But when the guys stood up today and the girls where asked to pray for them I couldn’t , I just froze and thought about all the hurtful encounter’s I have had with guys these last couple of years. I kept replaying hurtful things said to me and what was worse is that most of the time they had no idea they were hurting me.

This last Wednesday while I was fasting I had a friend on my heart to pray for her healing and my heart just broke for her. However as I kept praying I got this amazing peace from the Lord telling me not to worry and trust him. Then during break I got a letter from her !  God is so good and I’m so excited to see where he is taking me.  I have more and more peace each day that I am here.  This weekend we are doing a river walk , but I’m not sure what that really is  so we will see. Then after church we might hike up to this waterfall if it doesn’t rain again. It has rained really hard every Sunday for some reason. We hardly get any thunder or lightning, is which super sad.  It Is starting to warm up here which is awesome. 

This week has been really slammed with projects. This Monday we have our CIR’s due, a book report over the book “Is That Really You God?” and memorizing scripture. So it’s a lot like school only we are being taught things for 3 hours and then have 3 hours of “homework”. We also pray for about 2 hours a day along with an hour of worship so its pretty draining. Then on Friday night we got to a hangout place where kids can go to get off the streets so we plat games and have dance parties with them. Its a lot of fun to just hangout with locals and hear their stories.

So I still  have a lot to learn so please keep me in your prayers and to also keep the enemy away. The girls in my room have all been having really bad dreams and we hear random loud thumping’s on our door at night. So just pray that the enemy leaves us alone.

I love and miss you all!




Proverbs 4 

Character and Nature of God.

God is so AWESOME!!! This week has been so amazing. I have so much to say and i have no idea where to begin! So i will start with the lesson i learned about Jesus. I never realized how much Jesus truly loves us i mean i 'knew' but never experienced! Once you are captivated by Jesus there is nothing else in the world like it. I am challenged here to memorize scripture which has always been really hard for me to do but with God's help i am accomplishing it! I have also been experiencing more intimate prayer with God and the holy spirit has exploded into my life.

As far as learning about my self i didn't realize how many walls i have actually put up. I didn't understand why i felt so hurt by certain people but God is transforming my heart! We have small groups here and one person who is on staff that we tell everything to. I have learned that i didn't look at myself as worth it to God. I have always been really good at loving others but never really good at loving myself and it comes down to the fact that i don't feel worth it. I realized that even if my problems are small to everyone elses there still big to me and there my own. I cant compare myself to anyone and their story.

So far I done basic chores around the base, this week i am in charge of cooking dinner for 100 people and its so much fun! I have gone to a breakfast shelter in the morning to help feed kids before they head off to school. We do alot of intercession here and i have never worshiped God so much in my life before! This weekend we climbed up the mount and went cliff jumping into the ocean, well i wasn't aloud to jump off the cliff cause the tide was stronger then we though and when kyle went to jump in he got banged up pretty bad from the waves crashing him into the rocks and my friend Erika got pulled under. So maybe next time i will be able to jump.

This season right now is about getting right with God and allowing him to take everything. To be honest the first week i was pretty numb to the holy spirit and wasn't getting to much out of the lectures. Then one day while everyone was full of laughter i was so frustrated cause i knew all this stuff about God but i couldn't feel him. So Johelen prayed for me and said that i need to let go of the things that i knew and start over so that God can truly change me. Then Matilda came and just embraced me in her arms and told me that i was loved and gave me the verse Pslam 39:7 and it says " But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you". I had just gave him everything and i didn't know where to look and this confirmed that i should keep my gaze upon him and put my hope and trust in only him.

I love and miss you all !!


Psalm 34:4  Ecclesiastes 5:2-3

5 Days

  Its been 5 days and I have already had an amazing time. We have moved to our permanent location and its so beautiful!! we have a mountain view and a valley view. We live next to horses and cows with amazing green scenery. The base here is so awesome, we even have a trampoline and a huge area to play games. We have played ultimate Frisbee,football and soccer so far. I will be learning how to play rugby so I'm super stoked. I have a huge room with only 6 roommates and we all get along so great. I have friends now from Canada, Switzerland, Korea, Norway,Netherlands and Germany. There aren't as many as Americans as I thought there would be, there are only 7 of us but its super awesome to hear about where other people come from.

      
   So far as a group we have shared all our life stories and God is moving in all our life's! We have had alot of free time this week because we are still getting situated. The worship here is so awesome and everyone is so nice and I'm excited to see how God uses us all together. This Wednesday we have our first speaker who will be talking to us about the Nature of God. I feel so peaceful here and comfortable. I feel like I am in a dream and haven't woke up yet. I'm so amazed at Gods love for others and I just draw closer and closer to him everyday.

  I have been going to bed at 10 and waking up at 6 in the morning . God has been waking me up so I have been going and doing devotionals and prayer time for an hour about each  day. God is so good. I have moments of missing home but the Lord has definitely made this place feel like a home.  Please pray that the Lord is able to just move this place and transform peoples hearts. There are alot of people here who have been hurt and need healing so also pray for the students on this DTS. I know God is up to something great and I feel like we have already become a little family.

My times are in your hands - Psalm 31:15

The Lord is my light and my salvation - Psalm 27:1

I Have Arrived

After 20 hours of traveling i have arrived in New Zealand. My flight as50 degrees outside but this place is beautiful! Today has been a free day so we passed the football around, played many card games and then we will be doing community worship. It dosent feel like home yet, it feels odd, in a good way. Its exciting to meet everyone that I will becoming family with these next couple of months. Everyone is getting along but it is only the first day. I feel really comfortable here and i think this is a good fit for me. God is defenitly up to something good.