Our Dream-is God's Dream

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called-his holy people who are rich and glorious inheritance.
Ephesians 1:18

Learning more and more about Jesus is such a beautiful thing! This last weekend was so relaxed and very much needed. We moved off the ship on Saturday morning and then had a low key day until we had youthstreet that night. Youthstreet consisted of hotdogs, loud music, glow sticks, the Holy Spirit, and crazy games of extreme musical chairs. On Sunday God blessed me ten fold by being able to skype with my family for a couple hours. Seeing their faces was amazing but made the rest of the day a little hard with the feeling of missing them! We went to a sister church of Hillsong Sunday night and were able to experience a different environment and new people!

This week our lecture topic is Destiny by Design! When I first heard the lecture topic I really didnt know what to expect but after the first day I really felt God telling me it was going to be a light bulb week! So that was an exciting way to start things off. Our speaker's name is Gwen and her passion and zest for life is greater than most people you will ever meet in a lifetime. It is a glorious thing in a speaker. Our callings in life begin before we are born-it is something we have no control over and the person who knows us best (God) chooses it for us. Must fit us pretty well then huh? We are each designed according to our purposes in life. One of the biggest things I got out of this day is that I don't want to be 80 years old and have regret about not being bold enough in my life. I want to go after it. I want to make a difference. Whenever God talks about the kingdom in the bible He refers to little things. One of the examples we used was a mustard seed. He compares it to the little things in life-to do big things in the world-it starts with doing little things. A lot of times we hear our calling-it is the thing that makes our heart beat a little faster when we think about it, our eyes light up a little more than usual, and a fire is lit inside of us. In the mist of all that the enemy sneaks in and begins to put doubt into our minds. He tells us lies to try and prevent us from going after our calling. Once we begin to think too much in our head-instead of relying on what the Lord has told us in our hearts-we start to reason away the possibilities.

Another aspect is hard work. Things are not going to just be handed to us. Yes a calling is a gift from God but it is also an adventure he wants to embark on with us. God is all powerful-he could do it all on his own if he wanted to but he chose us to do it with Him. A lot of oppertunity is often missed because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. How true is that?! Holy cow I was convicted! At the end we took some time to discuss what we loved to do or play when we were little. Often times that will connect right to our calling in life. It is when we get older and begin to care what people think and take on the world's influence that we steer off the path of our calling. It is so fun to look back and remember what made us jump with joy when we were little. I was always running around, trying to find the next adventure, playing power rangers in the backyard with Tommy, and making super hero costumes out of paper. But there was also the side of me the was obsessed with babies, loved to play teacher, would trap myself in my room for ages playing barbies and constantly dreaming of getting married and having kids. Now I have dreams of being a teacher, working in an orphanage in Africa, getting married and having a huge family. All of that corresponds to what I dreamed about when I was little. How great is our God for taking things that we LOVE, that we have a PASSION for and creating it into something we can do for the rest of our lives. All we have to do is CHOOSE it. Let our hearts dream.

At the end of the week we had a "ten year reunion" we all wrote down on a postcard where we were in ten years from now and were able to share them with each other. What a difference it is when you get to say your dreams out loud and pray about them with other people.

The other night we were discussing more about our outreach details. After going to Kerema, PNG my team will head to Rockhampton, Australia to speak to churchs and highschools about life and getting involved with missions. We were asked a question about PNG to get our hearts and our minds really thinking. Our leader asked "Why PNG? Why do you think you are going to PNG?" I sat down and just asked God why he wanted me to go to Papua New Guinea. He said he wanted to make a face for this country. A lot of people don't even know where PNG is let alone what is going on in this country. After hearing this I turned the question around asking okay so yes on PNG but why me? And all I heard was "Because you know" Instantly the scripture in 1 John 3:16-18 popped into my head. It says

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Instantly my heart was just beating! These people are God's children just as much as we are. He wants their hearts to be after Him just as much as he wants our hearts! He is going to use us there to change these people's lives and that is why I am going. To know God is to have his heart for his people and these are his people. 1 out of 7 women are dying in child birth they estimate that by 2015 1 in 7 people will die from AIDS. Those are his children. They need to know about their father in heaven so they can spend eternal life with Him. I am so excited to embark on this journey and I encourage any of you that want to embark on this with us as well to continue praying for my team, the people we are going to meet and this mission of God. I am about $700 dollars away for my outreach fees so if anyone feels it on their heart to give any amount (absolutely anything helps) I will post the link at the bottom of this blog to give you that opportunity.

I miss you all!!! I will update again next week and then we leave for camping from the 21st of November until the weekend of the 4th of December.

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KEREMA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA!

I just wanted to post something saying my outreach location! I have a link to the video they made last year when they went on outreach so it will be very similar to where I will be going and what my team will be doing! There is 9 of us on the team and then a girl leader and a guy leader. We don't have all the details worked out yet but that is what Tuesday night outreach preparation is for! I will post the links and I encourage you guys to look the place up-it is beautiful!

We will be in Kerema for 5 weeks and then the last 4 weeks of our outreach will be in different cities in Australia going to schools and churches and telling them about what is going on in Papua New Guinea and the stories that we will have when we get back!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqG-nW2lK3g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHlI6xw2OPk&feature=share <-----UPDATE ON SHIP!!

Update Update Read All About It!!!

I am so sorry it has been so long since I have updated my blog and unfortunately this one is going to be short and sweet. It has been a crazy last week and a half. We moved onto the ship for the week while the National Leader's Meeting is being held at our base. I love the ship. It is small yet cozy! It is right on the beach so morning runs have been a dream come true!!

Lectures this week are on relationships-oohhh lala. Not quite. We will be talking about marriage relationships but to start with we are talking about our everyday relationships. I am learning a lot about myself and what I contribute to relationships. With the good, I am also learning about of a lot of issues I have with relationships and areas I need to work on to be a better friend, sister, daughter and someday wife. In order to grow we must change and change can be hard but I am anticipating it with an open heart to let God do whatever he pleases.

We also found out that we will be going to Papua New Guinea for our outreach!! We are dividing up into 4 teams and will all go out into different cities. We find out all the specifics on that tonight. We will be in PNG for 5 weeks and then our groups will go out into different parts of Australia for 4 weeks to go to different schools and churches and tell people about what God is doing and the testimonies of our experiences in PNG. I just have an excitement in my heart about this trip and have true faith God is going to speak a lot about my future through my outreach.

As far as finances, I still do not know the exact number on outreach but would guess anywhere from $2500-$3000 which is making me about $900 away from that. Earlier today I was $1500 away but received $600 in total today from 2 amazing supporters. $900 sounds like a big number but if you break it down...if 30 people give me $30 I would be at my goal. God is really challenging me to rely on Him in this and to allow him to use the body of Christ to get me to this goal. I want to allow him to use you guys and give you guys the opportunity to support me. This is such a fear of mine to "ask for money" but in that alone God is doing work because it is such a humbling experience. Humility seems to be a theme in this past week :)In no way do I want people to feel obligated because I have faith God is going to provide but I am simply asking for prayer. Not only in finances but in missing home and everything that is going on there that I am not able to be a part of and for growth. God is beginning a great work in my heart and strengthening my life long relationship with him. I want to be changed at the end of this.

I will continue to remind you all that this adventure is not mine alone but each and every one of you are apart of this. I am learning because of your support and soon(55 days to be exact) I will be in Papua New Guinea where lives will be changing and the credit all goes to God and the people He used to get me there. I love you all so much. I wish I had more time to write but my meeting calls. Hoping you are all well at home.

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