Friends, God is faithful!! On Thursday Manuela and I got together for another Bible chat session, and the Spirit completely worked in our time. We started reading and discussing different books together at the end of April, roughly meeting once every 1-2 weeks. Each time we've met I've been so encouraged and amazed by how the Lord was speaking to her, even when she didn't see it herself. It was awesome to see how she had underlined, starred,or question marked passages that stood out to her, and Manuela would always ask pretty difficult, developed questions reflecting a grasp of Scripture that surprised me for a seeker. Over the weeks our conversations and her vulnerability would grow deeper, so the amount of prayer for her by others increased to ask God to continue to reveal Himself to her and give her the courage to take the leap and turn everything over to Jesus.
Well, in His infinite goodness, God responded to our prayers. While we were in our most common spot, a picnic blanket in San Paolo park, Manuela told me she wanted to accept God's grace to follow Jesus with her life, and asked me to pray with her. The bits I understood in Italian were so beautiful, and to see a glimpse of how God transcends cultures to be a relevant and personal Father for all peoples was incredible. Manuela is now a child of God, our sweet new sister in Christ!!!
"In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nie others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!"
-Luke 15:7
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Friday, June 15, 2012
Blurbs
Well, goodness....the last month has felt a bit like falling into a time warp, and I'm just now given a chance to breathe. Now that I'm down to my final days in Rome I'm trying more than ever to pour as much of myself and my time in here as possible daily, so forgive my lapse in stateside communication!
Here's a run through of the last month, in reader-friendly bullet form to alleviate the lengthy recap:
Here's a run through of the last month, in reader-friendly bullet form to alleviate the lengthy recap:
- Overall, our retreat was awesome. We all needed a break from Rome, and the region we went to (Umbria) was absolutely beautiful. The Lord really blessed us with rest and time together before splitting up indefinitely. Unfortunately, the last night was pretty crazy...but certainly has been used as a bonding experience! Three thieves broke into the cabin where myself, Taylor, Cristina, Jason, Caleb, Dudley, and Janet were staying. Jason ended up surprising and fighting with one, though fortunately when Caleb went out to help they all scattered and no one was severely injured. Thanks to the boys, the only things that were taken were from the thieves' first stop- our (the girls') room. Everyone else on our team was okay, and now I definitely have a new understanding of what the Scriptures mean when they say the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (1st Thessalonians 5:2).
- Caleb made a video showing the area, you can see it here.
- On May 15th our gallery opened a new exhibit, my friend Francesco's art show. The inauguration went very well, with over 200 people passing through. He's working on an English translation of the poem that accompanies the photographs- once it's complete and online, I will post the link. The exhibit is really incredible- unique technique, yes, but even more it gives a picture of the search one undergoes in life to find meaning....we pray God shows Francesco and the others that the answer is Himself!
- Taylor and I hit crazy land with exams at the university. There was a big misunderstanding with the professor among students, and they came in droves to meet us for the oral exam substitution requirement (3 hours of conversation, broken up in 3 appointments each). Needless to say, for those few weeks the two of us practically moved into the studio for lessons for the 70ish students we could cram together in the short time span.
- My dad and Brooke came to visit for a weekend! That was fun, though super short. It was great to see Brooke here for a few days, I'm very fortunate to have a family that's supported me so much during my time here!
- Since I'm leaving soon, the exchange girls have really banded together to find opportunities for us to hang out- it's been fantastic! We celebrated Manuela's birthday party with some hilarious karaoke, went to a strawberry festival in Nemi for a day, and miscellaneous other activities. I'm so glad they are planning several things for us in the next three days, and pray the Lord will continue to work through our friendships!
- God has been doing some really cool things on our prayer walks down the Colombo (the highway near our apartments). Cristina, Kyra, Taylor and I fit in one last outreach before we were split up, and it ended with us seeing very vividly what goes on in the darkness of the illicit sex industry. While that occurrence affected us all greatly and will be an unforgettable image, we are thankful for the affirmation of the need for prayer and spiritual intervention in the hearts of those involved. Also, God has given us favor with two of the girls, Paola and Bianca, who actually turn down clients who come up when we are visiting!
- The long series of goodbyes has started among our international friend group...very sad. Cristina was the first, and we have someone leaving every few weeks. The upside of that is we (whoever is in Rome) tries to spend as much time as possible together, to make the most of these final weeks. I have a feeling a few of these friends will be asking me some last minute, intense spiritual questions before I leave, so please pray the Spirit will give me the words to say when it's time.
our new tradition, late night monument walks - On top of everything going on here, there have been some big changes for me stateside. A few weeks ago I decided to move my law school enrollment from Mercer to UGA, well after the deadline of course. It's been a flurry of emails, arrangements, Skype conversations, etc, but I know when it's all said and done I will be excited to see what the Lord has in store for me in Athens since He so clearly redirected me!
- Saving the biggest update for last...Manuela and I have been meeting on a weekly basis to talk about the Bible! Yáll, she is so, SO close to choosing a life with Christ...please be in prayer for her. She comes to our lunches together with many things underlined in her Bible, difficult questions, and topics for discussion. God has done a marvelous work in her to this point, so now we need to pray He carries it through to completion for her to make the leap of faith!
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| flyer for the show |
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| Manuela wanted us all to wear red for the festival- it's all about the photo opps with her! |
"...Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel."
-Ephesians 6:19
Friday, May 11, 2012
More, Jesus, More
I just love the late spring/early summer season...life always seems to be craziest here, but it's tipped in a positive direction, as always! Something about the weather getting warmer and people being outside makes a difference...Vitamin D, maybe? Same as the last post, there are a lot of exciting things the Lord is doing here now!
Last week started off incredibly encouraging for me. Two Sundays ago I went to a lunch the Karrs and a member of their local church, Julia, were hosting in our area for a short term team of students coming to work in Rome for a week from Holland. The group was from Athletes in Action, a ministry that uses sports as a common language all over the world and a chance to meet people in new places. Myself, Cristina, Jason, and Caleb (the journeyguys) joined the Karrs and Julia to welcome the four Dutch students in our area. After a fun lunch getting to know each other, they wanted to worship. These sweet students started singing with us, and I was unbelievably thankful to have a chance to worship in English for the first time in over 8 months. Music is so special to me, and corporate worship is at the top of my list for things I miss from my life in Athens-these four, and the rest of their team, actually reminded me a lot of that fantastic SWAT community I've missed. That Sunday afternoon with those four Dutch students is one I will always remember. I went with the Karrs to their hang out time in a park the next Wednesday evening to see them one last time before they left Rome and join them in connecting with locals through volleyball, soccer, and frisbee. At the park I got to meet the rest of the team, and after saying bye to random park friends collected throughout the day we had a fun time eating with the Karr's local church (Breccia), talking about God's movement in Rome, and learning about the "crazy Dutch," as they say. Hanging out with them, the Dutch team and the tiny Italian evangelical church, was such a neat glimpse of the body of Christ!
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| me and the "crazy Dutch" from lunch..beautiful people I'm looking forward to seeing again in heaven! |
Last Thursday, Manuela and I met in the park for our first time talking about the Bible after she's read. I thought we would discuss maybe the first chapter of Romans, but she read through chapter 8! She had a ton of questions, many very difficult, but the Spirit completely guided the conversation and it was awesome. We talked about grace (our main topic), the justness of God, His Sovereignty, how He reaches individuals in different nations, and much more. Today I gave her a new Bible, since her old one is a Catholic Bible and she calls it a dictionary (it's massive), and she was quite excited to start underlining. Get this, she's also talked to her mom about grace and her mom was interested and came up with many questions!! Please be in prayer for not only her, but her family and friends she is starting to tell about Jesus as she is considering the decision to follow Him with her life and heart!
Right after that incredible afternoon with Manuela, Sharon and I headed to Ireland for a long weekend. It's pretty cool that Dublin was the one city I wanted to make sure I saw this time in Europe, and the Lord brought me a wonderful friend who lives there. While I was excited to see everything, really it was a fantastic opportunity to spend time with Sharon. The entirety of our first day (Friday) we spent with her family, in honor of her brother's confirmation. Since Sharon was in Dublin for a confirmation ceremony, religion came up often in passing and the Lord provided opportunities here and there for me to share pieces of what I believe or what's different in the evangelical church than the Catholic church. This trip strengthened our relationship, since we got four solid days together and I spent significant time with either her family or boyfriend as well. I'm looking forward to seeing doors the Lord opens from here...and praying frequently that even though she seems so far off, the arm that is never too short to save will lead her to Him.
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| Sharon and I in front of Newgrange, the oldest building structure (older than the pyramids!). Newgrange was one of many enclosed tombs for hunter gatherers 5,000 years ago. |
Tomorrow morning (or since it's post-midnight, later today) our team is leaving for a much-needed retreat. We have all been waiting for this ever since Steph surprised us with cute hand made invitations a few months ago, and it really is at the perfect time. Cristina will be leaving at the end of the month, the Coopers go stateside in June, then I have to leave in July, so we are all glad to have a weekend resting in our God, encouraging each other, and growing together before the summer splits. Life has been fun lately, full of people time and students that all of a sudden want to be around us often, but breaks are necessary. We'd love if you would pray for our retreat this weekend, that we would be drawn nearer to Jesus and return to Rome rested and ready to go!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Break Ins & Break Throughs
Hey, friends! I know I just updated recently, but there are two new areas where I would love for you to join me in prayer!
In the last few weeks there have been several break ins in our area. We started hearing about the robberies in early April, then in the last week our team has been either directly or indirectly affected. First the woman who lives above the Coopers was robbed, then Cristina's next door neighbor woke to two men trying to open her balcony door. Sunday Jason and Caleb couldn't get into their apartment, and after a locksmith came to help we found out the reason was because someone had tried to crack the lock on their door. Obviously stuff is just stuff and doesn't matter, but it is something to pray about and take precautionary measures toward since you never know when something could turn violent. Also, this weekend after leaving Taylor's birthday party and walking home, our friend Marco was surrounded by a few guys and threatened in an area we all frequent regularly. He got away with just a few scratches, so we're thankful and now he has fun telling his story of pulling a Chuck Norris in defense.
Now on to the really awesome part of this post- Monday afternoon the Lord blessed Manuela and I with an incredible conversation. We met for lunch and ended up running into the boys, so we all ate together and it was good for Manuela to meet them. Afterwards, she and I went to McDonald's (the rooftop terrace is so far where we've had our biggest spiritual conversations, believe it or not) for sundaes. God did not disappoint this tradition, for we ended up talking about grace, prayer, making decisions, the Holy Spirit, having joy and peace in hard times, and so much more. Through that, and her sharing that she prays but feels like something is missing, the Lord gave me a chance to share the gospel in entirety, complete with how it is on us to decide if we will accept the gift of salvation through Christ. Huge!! She wanted me to write all the verses we talked about, so I sent her back with them to read in Italian. I offered to help her start reading through the Bible, beyond the gospels she's read in her father's Catholic church, and she's deciding. Even more, she's wrapping her mind around the idea that it is a choice that we are given on whether or not we will follow Jesus with our lives through a real relationship and embrace the Holy Spirit. Please, please join me in prayer for her as she seeks God and asks Him to show Himself to her...He is SO good, and she is so close!
In the last few weeks there have been several break ins in our area. We started hearing about the robberies in early April, then in the last week our team has been either directly or indirectly affected. First the woman who lives above the Coopers was robbed, then Cristina's next door neighbor woke to two men trying to open her balcony door. Sunday Jason and Caleb couldn't get into their apartment, and after a locksmith came to help we found out the reason was because someone had tried to crack the lock on their door. Obviously stuff is just stuff and doesn't matter, but it is something to pray about and take precautionary measures toward since you never know when something could turn violent. Also, this weekend after leaving Taylor's birthday party and walking home, our friend Marco was surrounded by a few guys and threatened in an area we all frequent regularly. He got away with just a few scratches, so we're thankful and now he has fun telling his story of pulling a Chuck Norris in defense.
Now on to the really awesome part of this post- Monday afternoon the Lord blessed Manuela and I with an incredible conversation. We met for lunch and ended up running into the boys, so we all ate together and it was good for Manuela to meet them. Afterwards, she and I went to McDonald's (the rooftop terrace is so far where we've had our biggest spiritual conversations, believe it or not) for sundaes. God did not disappoint this tradition, for we ended up talking about grace, prayer, making decisions, the Holy Spirit, having joy and peace in hard times, and so much more. Through that, and her sharing that she prays but feels like something is missing, the Lord gave me a chance to share the gospel in entirety, complete with how it is on us to decide if we will accept the gift of salvation through Christ. Huge!! She wanted me to write all the verses we talked about, so I sent her back with them to read in Italian. I offered to help her start reading through the Bible, beyond the gospels she's read in her father's Catholic church, and she's deciding. Even more, she's wrapping her mind around the idea that it is a choice that we are given on whether or not we will follow Jesus with our lives through a real relationship and embrace the Holy Spirit. Please, please join me in prayer for her as she seeks God and asks Him to show Himself to her...He is SO good, and she is so close!
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| precious Manuela |
Monday, April 23, 2012
Scusa?
After 7 months in Rome, I have finally had a full Italian immersion weekend! Goodness, with all the language practice and late nights over the last few days, I was very thankful to have a true Sabbath today. The Lord is so good, for He answered a prayer of mine immediately from last weekend with the opportunities that He provided for this weekend. Sometimes we wait for His answers to see more of Him in the waiting, yet others He graces us with immediate affirmations of asking in faith!
Wednesday afternoon I met with Beatrice for our third conversational lesson, and her friend Giorgia. At the end of our time together, Giorgia offered us a coffee (exciting after the first meeting, to have a student want to extend time). I was already pleasantly surprised with just that, so the invitation from Bea to join her and a few friends for her boyfriend's birthday celebration this weekend was shocking. Taylor and I had just been talking on Monday how we really hoped for more chances to "be uncomfortable," as in joining a group of students who are already friends, making ourselves the outsiders and ones to overcome the language barrier, rather than having to invite new friendship prospects into our group of English speakers. That idea of becoming the outsider, going to the darkness, has been dominating my thoughts and prayers the last two weeks, so this instant invitation from a new student was truly a gift from the Lord and affirmation He had already started preparing me for the experience.
Thursday afternoon I went out with another student, Benedetta, for our first hang out time outside of direct conversation practice. She took me for a walk down her favorite street in Rome, and we spent several hours of the afternoon together looking in shops, a museum near the Colosseum, and chatting. That evening as I was returning to my apartment, I received a surprise dinner invitation from Wayne. Naturally I accepted (who turns down a free meal?), met Taylor, and we headed to his apartment where Cristina met us later. It was such a fun night, because Wayne introduced us to two of his Italian friends (Matteo and Luigi) and the six of us hit it off as a group. That started my spree of Italian practice, since dinner conversation was in Italian, but fortunately in a small group setting I was able to follow along most of the talk and contribute stories of my own.
Friday night we had a Black & White themed birthday party for Taylor at the boys' (Caleb and Jason) apartment. The party went on for over 7 hours, which gave lots and lots of time to talk intentionally with all who came. I left (late late) that night feeling so excited and thankful for how the Lord worked during that time, because I got to follow up with Matteo and Luigi (fortunately my Italian was smoother the second time), got to know Lorenzo (a friend of Francesco's), have some quality time with Franny, met a few new people, and also hung out with the English speakers-Corbmac, Sharon, Alyson, Jacoba, Caleb, Jason, Cristina, Marco, Wayne, etc. As if the night wasn't eventful enough, Corbmac and I put together a surprise for Taylor and 8 of us did a mini flashmob to Michael Jackson's "Black or White." Needless to say, Taylor loved it and the Italians viewing determined we (Americans+Irish+friends) are in fact crazy.
Saturday night was the big night for meeting Beatrice's group, and Taylor and I left with the "we hope they like us!" attitude. While normally I love chatting and getting to know new people, Saturday was a challenge...my dominant question became "Scusa?" I saw how spoiled I've been with Italian friends that have decent conversational English when I was thrown in the mix of a group of Italians speaking mainly the Romano dialect for a night that didn't start until 11-clearly, when my brain is operating at its best..not. The good news is I've become accustomed to the "smile, nod, occasional 'si'" bit when I can't keep up with most of the conversation, and Taylor has strong Italian after living here almost 4 years so she could more or less keep up. Somehow I got through the night picking up on about 30% of the content and contributing my own in very elementary side conversations. A big helpful factor to language lostness is the group dynamics in Italy; guys typically dominate the conversations and girls are not expected to say much, so that works great for me when I can't understand much being said! After we (Bea, her boyfriend, brother, Taylor and myself) separated from the group, they took us to a great overlook of Rome you can only see by car. Bea is so sweet, and sent me a follow up message today saying the group liked us and wants us to join them again soon-yes, we got the casual callback!
While last night ended up being okay, it is really frustrating to work so hard to understand and simply not be able to do so. I felt like I was in one of those driver's ed simulations where they throw in cheesy distractions - first Bea picked us up with loud house music playing in the car, then we met a large group in a pub, then it got later and later..etc etc, all factors making comprehension tougher as the night progressed. Please pray for me, that the Lord would multiply my time so I have opportunities to study more, and simply have favor in His eyes to have what I need with language abilities provided in each scenario!
Thanks for your prayers! The Lord is really opening up some doors in Rome and drawing several people to us all of a sudden from different directions; pray His name is magnified through everything we do and His light shines!
Wednesday afternoon I met with Beatrice for our third conversational lesson, and her friend Giorgia. At the end of our time together, Giorgia offered us a coffee (exciting after the first meeting, to have a student want to extend time). I was already pleasantly surprised with just that, so the invitation from Bea to join her and a few friends for her boyfriend's birthday celebration this weekend was shocking. Taylor and I had just been talking on Monday how we really hoped for more chances to "be uncomfortable," as in joining a group of students who are already friends, making ourselves the outsiders and ones to overcome the language barrier, rather than having to invite new friendship prospects into our group of English speakers. That idea of becoming the outsider, going to the darkness, has been dominating my thoughts and prayers the last two weeks, so this instant invitation from a new student was truly a gift from the Lord and affirmation He had already started preparing me for the experience.
Thursday afternoon I went out with another student, Benedetta, for our first hang out time outside of direct conversation practice. She took me for a walk down her favorite street in Rome, and we spent several hours of the afternoon together looking in shops, a museum near the Colosseum, and chatting. That evening as I was returning to my apartment, I received a surprise dinner invitation from Wayne. Naturally I accepted (who turns down a free meal?), met Taylor, and we headed to his apartment where Cristina met us later. It was such a fun night, because Wayne introduced us to two of his Italian friends (Matteo and Luigi) and the six of us hit it off as a group. That started my spree of Italian practice, since dinner conversation was in Italian, but fortunately in a small group setting I was able to follow along most of the talk and contribute stories of my own.
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| our new friends, thanks to Wayne! Luigi (awesome, I know) is center and Matteo is on the right |
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| flashmob group, and of course all photo attempts show character rather than "serious" faces (way better) |
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| Rome @ 3 am |
Thanks for your prayers! The Lord is really opening up some doors in Rome and drawing several people to us all of a sudden from different directions; pray His name is magnified through everything we do and His light shines!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
April Antics
Well hello, mid-April, I wasn't expecting you so early! Even though I was lacking in the blog updates last month, since I sent out a March newsletter yesterday I'm just going to recap the last two weeks. (If you are not on my Rome listserv and would like to see the monthly newsletters, please send me your email address!)
A super-eventful March closed with the first of many coming goodbyes. Sara, one of the girls who did the exchange program back in August and became one of my first friends in Rome, left to go to Spain for a 5 month work-study program. I'm glad for her she has this opportunity, but we are both sad we don't know when we will see each other again! One upside of Sara's departure is it inspired all the other girls to try to arrange many little events for us to spend time together during her last month, which was great after not being all together in a while due to winter finals (Jan-Feb) and a new semester. In one month we had dinner at Silvia's and a salsa night, several lunch gatherings, a museum exhibit, a fried chicken/Southern food dinner at Kyra's, a bar Sara wanted to visit called Latte Piu (and the Spirit made a way for a gospel conversation there!!), and to cheer ourselves up after Sara left, Silvia, Claudia, and Manuela came to my apartment to learn how to make American chocolate chip cookies! I'm telling you, that's a record number of hangouts for one month!
A super-eventful March closed with the first of many coming goodbyes. Sara, one of the girls who did the exchange program back in August and became one of my first friends in Rome, left to go to Spain for a 5 month work-study program. I'm glad for her she has this opportunity, but we are both sad we don't know when we will see each other again! One upside of Sara's departure is it inspired all the other girls to try to arrange many little events for us to spend time together during her last month, which was great after not being all together in a while due to winter finals (Jan-Feb) and a new semester. In one month we had dinner at Silvia's and a salsa night, several lunch gatherings, a museum exhibit, a fried chicken/Southern food dinner at Kyra's, a bar Sara wanted to visit called Latte Piu (and the Spirit made a way for a gospel conversation there!!), and to cheer ourselves up after Sara left, Silvia, Claudia, and Manuela came to my apartment to learn how to make American chocolate chip cookies! I'm telling you, that's a record number of hangouts for one month!
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| salsa night, Sara center |
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| All of us together for the last time :( |
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| quick shot in Capri before boarding the ferry back to Napoli |
April started with a bang, because my family minus one came to spend a week with me. Since they wanted to see as much of Italy as possible (understandably so, Italy is awesome), we flew through Naples, Capri, Rome, and Florence in 6 days. While we had a good time traveling together, my favorite part of them being here was simply having an opportunity to introduce them to team members and show them a tiny snapshot of my daily life.
After a great day in Florence I said bye to my parents and Anna Claire on Friday night, then went into a crazy Easter weekend. Our team has been waiting for months for our two Journeymen to arrive through the long training and preparation process, and they finally made it to Rome right before Easter! They lucked out, since we had a weekend of fun celebration already planned to graft them right in to both our team and friend groups.
Now I'm finally settling back to normal life...a little too normal, since I got hit with some brutal allergies in this week after Easter. They've told me Rome is one of the worst cities in the world for allergies, and I believe it. Since we have to keep our apartment windows open for air and walk everywhere, there's really no escaping the pollen. Another glamorous element to spring in the big city is the mosquitoes..they come into your apartment and attack you in your sleep. Oh well, it always opens up a conversation with Italians to complain about the bugs together! With all the lessons starting up, Taylor and I had a pleasant surprise from two of our students- they gave us Easter baskets! It's a huge custom in Italy to give Kinder eggs (this special kind of milk chocolate in Europe), and when Marta and Veronica heard we never had Kinder eggs on Easter, they took it upon themselves to remedy the situation. Marta and Veronica are also 2 of 4 of my students who signed up to go on the Athens exchange in August! Please be praying for them, Silvia (a different one, a new student of mine), and Marco...we saw last year the power of being exposed to a growing church and loving community centered around Christ!
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| with our new Journeyguys (Caleb-back, Jason-right) after the first Easter picnic |
Saturday evening Kyra set up something special for our team- we celebrated the first half of the traditional Passover meal together. Only the first half, since we believe Jesus is the Lamb that fulfilled the waiting but we also wanted to honor the Jewish tradition. Sunday morning our team went out for a picnic in a huge, beautiful park so the Karr and Cooper kids could have an Easter egg hunt and we could enjoy more time together. [Note- picnic to "enjoy more time together?" We are so assimilating to the Italian culture, they are all about picnics when the weather is nice to pass the hours with friends].
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| The primary chefs for the dinner, with Italian style gnocchi al forno (gnocchi bake) as the first course and the Irish traditional roast lamb for our second. |
Easter dinner was unlike any I've had before. One of my friends, Alyson, is an au pair here and hosted our crazy group for the night since her
family was out. It's always difficult finding space for large groups in apartments! We had 6 Americans (visitors and new boys included), 2 visitors from Milan, 2 Romans, 2 Irish, 1 German, and 1 French visitor in attendance...the accents were hilarious. We ate a lot (naturally), and enjoyed the chance to introduce the new guys to our little collection of international friends so quickly. The Monday after Easter is also a holiday in Rome, called Pasqueta. While Easter is the day you celebrate with family, Pasqueta is the day you celebrate with friends. So, true to cultural custom, we all went out for...what? A picnic in Appia Antica!
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| 2 of our students gave us Kinder egg baskets! |
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
One Year Later...
Hey friends, tonight's post is going to be a little different. Rather than focusing on the stories in the last week and a half (they'll make the March newsletter, no worries), I thought it'd be neat to write about something the Lord's been reminding me of the last few days. He is faithful. Always.
One year ago exactly, I was wrapping up one of the most incredible SWAT weekends I was blessed enough to coordinate. It was in East Ellijay, and boy, the whole week leading up to the weekend was crazy. I had several leaders drop out 1-2 days before, and through talking with leaders on the weekend I saw how almost every one had experienced severe spiritual warfare in that week. I was no different.
Last March could be classified as a month of storms for me, and ironically so can this March. Both have been marked by death, frustration, uncertainty, anxiety over the future, loneliness, discouragement, sickness, and even small daily inconveniences adding up. Both were months I felt robbed of joy, months where God was quiet and I was waiting. Both months still had good days and brighter points, but overall they've been months where I just really needed to see the Lord in the waiting.
Back to East Ellijay...last March I still did not know that I was going to be in Italy this year. Plans after graduation were at the forefront of my prayer life, but God had things He was teaching me in the waiting. With the two options at that point I was feeling pulled towards, Italy and staying with SWAT, I knew I would need to raise support for this year. Independent, self-sufficient Chelsea did not want to raise support. I was fighting God pretty hard on that one, struggling with unbelief and running scenarios through my head on different ways I could make enough money to live on solely by working over the summer (completely unrealistic).
When all the leaders finally arrived in East Ellijay on Friday afternoon before we went to meet the students, our meeting was terrible. Various circumstances cut into our allotted time for corporate prayer, the most important thing to do before going to love teenagers like Jesus. There was a spirit of discouragement hanging around the room, and it was by far the least peppy send off into a weekend I've ever seen..my fault, as the coordinator. I remember feeling so frustrated that the enemy was still interfering with my precious SWAT leaders, and in turn, the hungry students on that weekend. That night I fell asleep praying that the Lord would not allow Satan any more room into the weekend, that all the opposition was only a sign of the greater things God had in store for us...
That Saturday night, March 26th, 2011, is a night I hope I will remember the rest of my life. Saturday morning and afternoon went smoothly, normal as far as SWAT weekends go. Leaders had started bonding with their groups, programs were close to schedule, the youth pastors were happy...it was good. Or so we thought, until we saw what God means by GOOD. Saturday night, after the speaker finished, the Holy Spirit did not. The meeting room with over 400 people was on fire. It was one of the closest pictures I think I will ever see of heaven while I'm on earth. I still remember each leader I encountered during that time of worship, the worship that extended far beyond when students were "supposed to" return to their homes. I still remember the looks on faces of all ages, everything from amazement to thanksgiving to repentance to humility to awe to sheer joy. There was a time I thought the floor might collapse from the weight of people dancing, jumping, falling to their faces all over the place. Without a doubt, Satan had been giving his all to disheartening all of us and attacking our students in his best attempt to undermine what God wanted to do, but God is bigger. "God," I wrote in my prayer journal that night, "You are alive, and You are moving....It's almost laughable now, all the warfare before-You always win!!"
The next morning, it didn't stop. One on one times with students after that service were wonderful, from the stories I heard. The Sunday morning service we attended at a Southern Baptist church yet again, was met by the Spirit...and I loved how the worship pastor stepped back, and allowed the students to listen to Him and keep going as they were moved. I'm so thankful they did, because God met me yet again that morning, and broke me free from my fears about provision for the next year. I committed to the Lord that morning, March 27th, I would live off support. I didn't know what I would be doing, where He was leading, but I knew He would raise support, He would do the work, and He would provide, because I am His child and He loves me.
After church most of the SWAT leaders went to a local Zaxby's, oh how I miss it. As I was saying goodbye to Jona, a dear friend of mine, I told her I was going to live off support next (this) year. She gave me $10, and said God would multiply it. Well Jona...you were right. He did, and He is still. That $10 bill is now in my room here in Rome.
So here's the thing: I'm in Rome, a year later. A year later, I'm uncertain yet again what I'm doing after this point right now. A year later, I'm praying for breakthroughs with the Lord. A year later, I'm asking God to make a way, wherever and whatever that way may be. The difference? God has shown me over the last year that He is always faithful. He's provided for me in every sense. He's given me the desires of my heart over this year, including desires I didn't even know I had until they were placed in my hand. Now, God has been taking care of me for a long time, years before that weekend in East Ellijay. I was just too doubtful to believe He would keep doing it, and even more, that He wanted to give me the things I asked for in accordance to His will (1st John 5:14-15).
Yesterday afternoon I went to a nearby park for some time alone and away with my Savior, as my sweet friend Melissa suggested. A change of scenery really does help, especially when that change puts us in the midst of His creation. I laughed when He led me to this verse in Numbers:
One year ago exactly, I was wrapping up one of the most incredible SWAT weekends I was blessed enough to coordinate. It was in East Ellijay, and boy, the whole week leading up to the weekend was crazy. I had several leaders drop out 1-2 days before, and through talking with leaders on the weekend I saw how almost every one had experienced severe spiritual warfare in that week. I was no different.
Last March could be classified as a month of storms for me, and ironically so can this March. Both have been marked by death, frustration, uncertainty, anxiety over the future, loneliness, discouragement, sickness, and even small daily inconveniences adding up. Both were months I felt robbed of joy, months where God was quiet and I was waiting. Both months still had good days and brighter points, but overall they've been months where I just really needed to see the Lord in the waiting.
Back to East Ellijay...last March I still did not know that I was going to be in Italy this year. Plans after graduation were at the forefront of my prayer life, but God had things He was teaching me in the waiting. With the two options at that point I was feeling pulled towards, Italy and staying with SWAT, I knew I would need to raise support for this year. Independent, self-sufficient Chelsea did not want to raise support. I was fighting God pretty hard on that one, struggling with unbelief and running scenarios through my head on different ways I could make enough money to live on solely by working over the summer (completely unrealistic).
When all the leaders finally arrived in East Ellijay on Friday afternoon before we went to meet the students, our meeting was terrible. Various circumstances cut into our allotted time for corporate prayer, the most important thing to do before going to love teenagers like Jesus. There was a spirit of discouragement hanging around the room, and it was by far the least peppy send off into a weekend I've ever seen..my fault, as the coordinator. I remember feeling so frustrated that the enemy was still interfering with my precious SWAT leaders, and in turn, the hungry students on that weekend. That night I fell asleep praying that the Lord would not allow Satan any more room into the weekend, that all the opposition was only a sign of the greater things God had in store for us...
That Saturday night, March 26th, 2011, is a night I hope I will remember the rest of my life. Saturday morning and afternoon went smoothly, normal as far as SWAT weekends go. Leaders had started bonding with their groups, programs were close to schedule, the youth pastors were happy...it was good. Or so we thought, until we saw what God means by GOOD. Saturday night, after the speaker finished, the Holy Spirit did not. The meeting room with over 400 people was on fire. It was one of the closest pictures I think I will ever see of heaven while I'm on earth. I still remember each leader I encountered during that time of worship, the worship that extended far beyond when students were "supposed to" return to their homes. I still remember the looks on faces of all ages, everything from amazement to thanksgiving to repentance to humility to awe to sheer joy. There was a time I thought the floor might collapse from the weight of people dancing, jumping, falling to their faces all over the place. Without a doubt, Satan had been giving his all to disheartening all of us and attacking our students in his best attempt to undermine what God wanted to do, but God is bigger. "God," I wrote in my prayer journal that night, "You are alive, and You are moving....It's almost laughable now, all the warfare before-You always win!!"
The next morning, it didn't stop. One on one times with students after that service were wonderful, from the stories I heard. The Sunday morning service we attended at a Southern Baptist church yet again, was met by the Spirit...and I loved how the worship pastor stepped back, and allowed the students to listen to Him and keep going as they were moved. I'm so thankful they did, because God met me yet again that morning, and broke me free from my fears about provision for the next year. I committed to the Lord that morning, March 27th, I would live off support. I didn't know what I would be doing, where He was leading, but I knew He would raise support, He would do the work, and He would provide, because I am His child and He loves me.
After church most of the SWAT leaders went to a local Zaxby's, oh how I miss it. As I was saying goodbye to Jona, a dear friend of mine, I told her I was going to live off support next (this) year. She gave me $10, and said God would multiply it. Well Jona...you were right. He did, and He is still. That $10 bill is now in my room here in Rome.
 |
| a beautiful reminder, every time I see it! |
So here's the thing: I'm in Rome, a year later. A year later, I'm uncertain yet again what I'm doing after this point right now. A year later, I'm praying for breakthroughs with the Lord. A year later, I'm asking God to make a way, wherever and whatever that way may be. The difference? God has shown me over the last year that He is always faithful. He's provided for me in every sense. He's given me the desires of my heart over this year, including desires I didn't even know I had until they were placed in my hand. Now, God has been taking care of me for a long time, years before that weekend in East Ellijay. I was just too doubtful to believe He would keep doing it, and even more, that He wanted to give me the things I asked for in accordance to His will (1st John 5:14-15).
Yesterday afternoon I went to a nearby park for some time alone and away with my Savior, as my sweet friend Melissa suggested. A change of scenery really does help, especially when that change puts us in the midst of His creation. I laughed when He led me to this verse in Numbers:
"God is not a man, that He should lie,
nor a son of man, that He should change His mind.
Does He speak and then not act?
Does He promise and not fulfill?"
-Numbers 23:19
No Lord...no, You do not. You speak, then act. You promise, then fulfill. You delight in giving good gifts to Your children, the best gift of all being Your presence and Your voice.
Just as a closing encouragement, whatever it is you need now...guidance, financial provision, companionship, wisdom, patience, the list could go on and on...bring it our Father. He's a good Dad, and He loves to provide for His children (Matthew 7:7-11). He likes when we ask Him for what we desire, even though He knows better than us what we need, because He wants us to be honest in our relationship with Him. He likes when we ask, so He can be glorified all the more when He answers! He is faithful, always faithful.
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