Praise God

"Praise the Lord, God our Savior, who helps us every day."   -Psalm 68:19

When we were in Africa there were a lot of things that stood out that I absolutely loved: Bible names were very common, there was no holding back in worship, and so much more. One of the things that I noticed most was the fact that every time anybody got up to speak, they always started out by simply saying, "Praise God". I can't even explain how natural it was. When we were at some of the kids' Sunday School one day, a little eight-year-old boy got up to translate the message for us and that was the first thing out of his mouth. At one of the schools we visited all of the teachers were asked to give a few brief words about themselves, and again they all started out with the same thing: "Praise God". All of the prayers began that way also! How often do we start out praying by telling God what we need, getting on a roll about how long and hard our day was. Really we should start out our prayers by giving praise to our Savior. It was so cool to experience being with people who put praising our Father above any of our problems here on earth. When we're struggling, we're called to praise God just the same. When our God answers our prayers, remember it was Him and give Him the thanks He deserves! He is with us all day every day, constantly helping us and pouring His love into us. I just want to encourage you to start out everything you do by simply praising God, who loves you more than imaginable! Hope everyone has an amazing week.

An Honest Heart, Beautiful Love

"I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" (Romans 3:17-19).

For a long time in my relationship with God, I don't think I really understood how powerful and perfect His love is. It can be hard to grasp a love that is unconditional and completely does not depend on us. It wasn't until God showed me the importance of being honest before Him that I began to understand how all-consuming His love is. When things are going well, it's easy to be open with God and worship Him; His love is evident. But when you come to a time when things aren't going how you want them and you feel distant from God, it's easy to stop dwelling on God's love and just feel trapped where you are. But it's at those times that we can experience how genuine God's grace is. God doesn't expect us to be perfect and never get upset, He knows that we are imperfect and mess up. He showed that by sending Jesus to die on the cross (Romans 5:8). But He does want us to come before Him with everything.

God wants you to tell Him everything about you; how you feel, your fears, your desires. He's not just some controlling God who pushes His people around, but the opposite. He loves us and wants to walk through everything with us. He wants to walk through life with us and comfort us with His love. When we're honest with Him about all of those things, we draw so much closer to Him and can feel His love at a whole new level.

 It's not about pretending we always feel great or pretending life's going smoothly, it's about being open with our Father. When God puts us in places that are challenging, it can be difficult to remember how near He really is. But at those times when things are hard and feel overwhelming, don't hesitate to draw near to the One who's always there for us. He calls us to himself. 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you". Don't try to do it on your own, turn to God and His mighty love.Trust that God's love is always sufficient and that He always has the best plan in store. Praying that you can be completely honest with God and experience His beautiful love more than ever before!

True Living

Philippians 1:21 (ESV) "To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
Up until just about a year ago, I don't think I really knew what it meant to live in the abundant life to which God called His followers. I knew what the "typical" teenage Christian lifestyle should look like (church, FCA, youth group, etc.) but I didn't understand what it meant to truly live my life in Christ. In order to live more than just a "typical" life, your mindset has to totally change.

Throughout junior high and even the beginning of high school I grew in my walk with the Lord, but I was missing a key part in my relationship with Him, which basically brought me to a stop in my growth....and that part was surrender. I'd never been outside of my comfort zone or felt like I didn't have control over things. I knew that God is in control of everything and that because I know Jesus my life should be radically different than those who don't believe, but I didn't really get why. Up until the summer before my junior year, my life felt pretty much the same as everyone else's around; I was comfortable and people knew that I was a Christian, but I still didn't get the concept of surrender. That summer God brought me to a point where He flat-out taught me what surrender is and showed me that my life was not being lived wholeheartedly for Him. He started to work in my life in big ways. The more I focused soley on Him, the more peace and joy I was filled with. At the end of the summer, He opened the door for me to go on my first mission trip, to Honduras. I'd always thought a life in missions might be what I was called to, but I'd never pursued it. While in Honduras, I knew it was God alone who'd brought me there. He showed me that when our focus is on Him, not on this world, then we can live the life of freedom and fullness He's called us to.

Way too often we get caught up in our lives and forget that this life is so short. For some people, it's getting content doing our own thing and feeling (sometimes subconciously) like we know better than God. Then some people let fear of what God might do in their lives keep them from walking in full submission to Him. If there's anything stopping you from submitting all-out to Him, I want to encourage you to center your life completely around God and His truths, because only then will your life be meaningful and used for a purpose bigger than you could ever imagine. In The Message, Philippians 1:21 says, "Alive, I'm Christ's messenger; dead, I'm his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can't lose." When you give your life completely to God, there's nothing to fear because no matter where He takes you, you will be living in Him. And let me tell you, that's when you are truly living.

Young Friends, Sweet Friends

"Cause at Camp Barnabas you know it's alright
It was Jesus' love that gave me my sight
He took my heart, brought me into the light
And I'm Camp Barnabas Bound"
This past week I got the opportunity to serve at Camp Barnabas during the Young Friends term. The kids ranged from 7 to 15 and had autism/developmental disabilities and were absolutely adorable! The week taught me so much; you definitely don't have to travel around the world to learn things that are life-changing. Just thought I'd share some of the things I learned because they are so helpful and important :)

G1 CIAs
• Humility- I got to Camp Barnabas thinking that I was a pretty patient person... looking back, I don't think I even knew what patience was. Through camp God taught me a whole new level of patience that I didn't even know was possible. The other counselors in my cabin were amazing examples of Christ, loving the campers selflessly and genuinely and never showing any frustration with them. They've all challenged me in how I live and I'm so thankful for them! Luke 14:11
• Selflessness- At camp there's basically no way out of learning to be selfless, which is great! You're literally with your camper 23 hours out of the day and your one main job is to make sure that your camper has the best week of his/her life. There's such a special bond between you and the campers because you get to help them do things that a lot of people do on their own. You get to make sure they have all the food they need, which means special diets for a lot of the kids and things like teeth-brushing are taken care of. You look out for someone else physically and emotionally all day long, so your needs are the least of your worries. Philippians 2:3-4
• Relying on God- The first 2 weeks of summer I was gone, then I was back for 3 days and left again for Camp. It's been amazing and such a blessing, but definitely tiring. The jetlag and possible sicknesses I could've gotten from Africa didn't even have a chance to catch me because I've just been on the go. God has taught me such a big lesson through all of it! Usually during the year I'm out doing a lot of things, but I always come home to my comfortable house with my loving, encouraging family. This summer has been spent going to lots of new places, experiencing new things. I've realized that my strength comes from God alone, not anyone or anything else. My comfort isn't based on where I am because God is my comfort, and wherever I am God is right there with me. We will never feel His comfort and strength more than when we're following Him, walking in His will. Psalm 62:5
My camper, Grace
• Power of prayer- God is BIG. He is all-powerful and creator of everything and He wants a love relationship with US! He is so faithful and constant, wanting to lead us to the fullness of life that He promises. At Camp Barnabas He really revealed His faithfulness, showing clearly that He is always with us during our highs and lows. During the lows He grows and stretches us and during the highs His love and blessings are obvious. But no matter if we're going through highs or lows, if we take it all to Him and lay it at His feet, He will always come through for us and put His peace on us. Philippians 4:6-7
• Trusting God's Timing- Our counselor/camper relationships taught me a lot about my relationship with God. It was so cool to see how patient He is with me and how He really does take complete care of His children. Some of the campers would get so excited for the next activity that they couldn't enjoy the activity that we were currently doing. But instead of getting frustrated with them, the staffers reminded us of how God is with us. A camper used a timer to count down the time to the next activity everywhere we went and it was a perfect picture of how we can be. Way too often I get so caught up in what I want to happen and when I want things that I forget to enjoy where I am at the moment. God has us everywhere we are for a specific reason and He wants us to enjoy every moment with Him. Proverbs 3:5-7

My week at Camp Barnabas was awesome and such a learning experience. It taught me even more than I expected and has opened my eyes. There were so many sweet moments and sweet new friends that I met. I was so blessed by the campers, staffers, and other volunteers. Simple things like seeing all the e-mails the campers got during their week at camp made me realize how powerful God's love is. Through each day's highs and lows God was always there walking all of us through it all.

Goodbye Africa... for now:)

We've been back in the States for a day now and it's still shocking. It's hard to believe that Africa is a whole world away. The 2 weeks were incredible and such a blessing. It was so cool to see that God is SO much bigger than our own little worlds. He is living and all-powerful. Everyone that I saw and met on the trip didn't praise God because of the circumstances they were in but simply because of the fact that He is God, and let me tell you, their circumstances were nothing like ours over here. The adults and kids worshiped like I've never seen; nothing held them back, they praised with complete surrender. They live trusting that God will provide their needs day-to-day and that He is more than enough. It definitely challenged me and will change the way I live. Thank you all so much for your prayers! Our team all arrived home safely and changed by the trip:) Africa, I miss you already... but if it's in God's will, I will be back very soon!

Heart in Jinja

We went to Jinja to shop at a market and eat at a cafe yesterday. There were lots of street venders with little booths. After the market we went to a baby cottage for a couple of hours and held and played with over 30 babies. They lived in the cutest little cottage and it was the first place we've visited that adopts out. Last night was our last night at Canaan's so the kids did a performance for us with a ton of singing and dancing. They are so talented! This morning we walked them to school and had to say our goodbyes :( It was so hard to leave the kids, especially my precious Baby Eddie. Pastor Isaac, who started Canaan Children's Home, told us his testimony before we left and it was the coolest thing I've ever heard. It's so encouraging and exciting to hear people's life testimonies that point directly to God and give Him all the glory. My heart is still in Jinja with the sweet Canaan kids.  Later we left and headed to The Haven, the resort that we're at tonight. It's so nice and right on the Nile....most beautiful view ever! God's creation is so impressive. Best part: Exploring in the Nile with Taylor and Michael (Big Poppy) for an hour and a half in the water. Luckily I had my first real shower of the trip right after :) Tomorrow we are headed to Kampala for our last few days to visit a couple more orphanages. Please pray for God to continue to show His love in big ways. Thanks!

In Love With Africa

2 days ago we left Kampala and headed to Canaan's Childrens Home, which is near Jinja. Canaan's is a home for orphans, with about 120 kids, ranging from 2 to18 years old. They are so precious! They're so sweet and affectionate, always shining with joy. I love getting to wake up to them outside singing and playing, and getting to tuck them in every night. Yesterday we went to Amazima to help with their feeding program. There were almost 300 kids (lots of babies, almost all toddlers, and some older kids.) It was so humbling to get to serve the kids their food and love on and play with them. Later on yesterday I played my first African soccer game! The field we played in was nothing like the ones at home though. It was full of holes, hills, and cows. After our game, the boys invited us to go watch them play against another village team at a field that was "close". By "close" we had no idea that meant a 2 mile walk through the middle of the forest. It was gorgeous though! We literally crawled through a tunnel of trees. Finally we reached the most perfect soccer field I have ever seen. It didn't have sidelines or a scoreboard or anything like that, but was just a cleared out field on top of a mountain with the most incredible view! They boys playing were so intense and so talented at soccer. Before we knew it they had us all as the refs.... intimidating! Graham was the head ref, running in the middle of all the guys (And he did great of course :) ) and Taylor and I were side refs together, and Brennan (one of the boys on our team) was the ref on the other side... so crazy. Today we went to the school that the Canaan kids attend, along with some of the other village kids. The kids here love school and go all year. We also rode over the Nile today! Tomorrow we are spending more time with the sweet Canaan kids and then going to a baby home. God is doing big things and showing me love and hope in these kids that completely doesn't depend on circumstances. Thanks for reading and I'll keep you posted:)

Esto es Africa

After a 13 hour flight and 30 straight hours of being awake, we arrived in Africa yesterday afternoon! We just relaxed and tried to get used to the 9 hour time difference. Today was our first day of serving and it was incredible! We spent the day visiting a children's prison with over 200 kids in it. The kids either no longer live with their families or don't have families at all. But despite all of that, the kids still showed so much joy. The second we arrived, a group of about 30 young kids were cheering and welcoming us. We literally just loved on the kids all day. I don't think there was a moment when a single member of our team didn't have their hands full either holding a child or holding hands with 2 or 3. The kids come from such rough backgrounds, but still worship God with their wholehearts... it's unbelievable! It was so cool to love the kids with a love so strong only the Lord can provide it. Whether it was teaching the kids to play games, singing with them, or painting everyones fingernails and toenails (and by everyone I mean young kids, teenagers, girls and boys:) ), it was all such a blessing. Tomorrow we're visiting 3 more of the prisons and we'd all appreciate your prayers so much, for God's love to be shown to these kids who desperately need to see it and for them to truly experience the hope of the gospel of Christ. It feels like a whole different world over here, finding geckos (spelling not sure ha) in the bathroom and sleeping under nice mosquito nets (esto es africa!)..... but I could definitely get used to this! Thank you so much for your prayers so far and please keep praying:) Thanks!
1 John 3:16-18

Pursuing a Passion

Hey guys! I wanted to start this blog as a place to keep you posted in my journey through life with the Lord. Last summer I was blessed with the opportunity to go on my first mission trip, which was to Honduras. I fell in love with missions and felt called to pursue that passion. Not long after I got home from Honduras, God opened the door for another missions trip. Now that trip is in 3 days! I will be traveling to Uganda, Africa for 2 weeks simply loving on orphans. There is absolutely nothing else I would rather be doing! My brother will also be going on the trip, which will be such a blessing to see him on his first mission trip. We've been preparing for Uganda since last September and it has been so cool to watch everything unfold. God has shown His faithfulness in ways I couldn't even believe. Through the support of family and friends, He provided every single cent needed for the trip! Our God is the ultimate Provider. I know that God has huge plans for this trip to Africa because of the faithfulness He has already shown and doors that He has opened. Please keep our team in your prayers. I'm so excited to keep you all posted and let you know the amazing and miraculous ways God works in the next couple weeks!
Psalm 146:9 "The Lord protects the foreigners. He defends the orphans and widows, but he blocks the way of the wicked."