Prayer Points

during youth group last night, denise gave a little 'plug' about this beautiful adventure. i gotta say it was pretty amazing, tho that's my biased opinion! she asked me for some prayer concerns. so the 1st three off the top of my mind are #1: financial needs to be met, #2: for me to be protected from physical ailments like HIV and malaria, #3: to me to learn swahili swiftly. but since then i've been thinking about more. i've asked people to be praying for me, and i've not done a very good job at relaying what i would like for them to be praying for. and the last letter i mailed out, i don't think i even mentioned anything to be praying for me specifically. (so i'm trying to make up for that in this post!)

for months, luke 9 has rested on my heart. i can remember reading it about 6 months ago, and thinking, God, i'm not getting anything out of this. but i continued to read thru the chapter, again and again, trying to find something. and yesterday, i read thru it again. the words JUMPED off of the page at me. He has been preparing me to recognize these verse even before the plans to moving to Africa. these are the opening 6 verses from Luke 9:

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them: "Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them." So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

so besides those selfish top 3 requests, here are some more:
I trust that He's given me power and authority. So my request is (#4:) to be courageous and (#5:) to know how to drive out all demons and (#6) to cure diseases/heal the sick and (#7) to preach the kingdom of God.

More Letters and Questions

as the time for me to leave draws nearer, people's questions are getting more difficult. 'who will you be working with?' 'do you fear being raped?' 'what if you don't raise enough support?' etc.

it's amazing the sacrifice some people are making in order to give me financial support. it makes me realize that i've not been overly generous with my financial gifts. i would gladly give you the shirt on my back, as long as i have more money to get another for myself. i've always relied on what i have, instead of on Christ's provision. it's a difficult lesson to learn that 'He is all i need'. sending letters, asking (aka: begging!) for money is pretty humbling. it makes me realize that unless He intervenes on my behalf, i'm not going to have enough money to cover the cost of this trip. that's where my faith kicks in, my heart and mind are quieted, and my trust in Him is all that remains.

this morning during church this question was asked to the guy (Lee) being baptized, 'Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?' i can't get my mind around that question. 1st part... do i accept the freedom and power God gives me? (i like freedom and power!) ...to resist evil, injustice, and oppression? (now we are getting to the parts where i'm feeling convicted.) am i doing anything for the injustices in the world? current the answer would have to be: no. i support a kid who lives in oppression. does that count? hardly. am i doing all i can to protect her from evil and injustice? am i'm attempting to allow her freedom from starvation, choice of schooling, ability to purchase new clothes when hers wear out? am i giving her the nutrients required to live a long and successful life? i'm not sure the i can do that for her, let alone a group of people. as i prepare for tanzania i'm praying that i can say 'yes' instead 'no'. and i'm praying that i'll be able to use the power and authority God gives me to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.' and so i suppose that is my answer to the questions.

had a great weekend. went out with some friends on friday night. had lunch with different friends on saturday. attended the battle of the bands. it was an amazing performance by all 10 bands. and today i went with shottie and enjoyed a family sunday lunch. good times!

Commitment!

i got it. i got my ticket. last night i clicked the 'purchase' button. it's a pretty major thing right now. departing atlanta on Feb. 21st and supposedly returning on the Aug. 16th.

Vegas, Baby!

i'm back, and have slept. the trip to las vegas was wonderful, refreshing and encouraging. i had a great time hanging out with frauke and the students from ywam las vegas. nothing like a little shopping to get us in the mood! gotta love shopping at the outlet mall. i've discovered that you can learn a great deal about someone while shopping.

met leona at Central Christian Church on sunday morning. the message was about being financial responsible. it's definitely a seeker sensitive type of church. good message, upbeat songs, not much for getting to know others in the church. (guess that's a megachurch thing.) after church we headed to ihop for all you can eat pancakes.

found this cool link on youtube.com. tho that video is not specifically for the ywam kilimanjaro, it gives good representation of what i'll be seeing. this specific base is in dar es salaam, which is about 8 hours from the base i'll be living.

had a blast with frauke, leona and jeff at Hofbrauhaus. the food was awesome, and frauke's insight added to the fun! frauke, leona and jeff are kimberly's friend, and they were ask to friend-sit me while i was in las vegas, because kimberly was out of town until sunday evening.

monday morning we headed to the airport so i could get my shots. everything went smoothly, even found a parking meter with plenty of time still on it! (kimberly is the queen of finding meters with time left on them!) got 4 shots, (combo hep a+b, Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (dtp), typhoid, and yellow fever). so i need one more helping of hep a+b and perhaps a polio booster, and then i should have all my required shots. i'll still need to get some malaria preventative medication and perhaps some cipro, which is supposedly the cure-all.

Moving Forward

Verse of the Week: 'And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.' (2 cor. 9.8) though i want to grasp how deep, long, wide and high this grace extends... i can't. i can't seem to get my mind around it; i don't understand it. (tho i understand these lyrics). but even tho i don't understand it, i'm living it. and this is what is so amazing!

'The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.' (james 5.16) i must have some righteously prayerful friends. =) perhaps i'm making up words, but 'righteously' seems like a perfect word. it's as tho i'm being carried with the prayers... in the same way incense is lifted upward. that's how i feel. thanks for your prayers, my faithful friends.

crazy happening: i'm flying to las vegas to get my shots/vaccinations tomorrow. this opportunity arose last friday, offering a very cheap fare and a way to get my shots for a hugely discounted cost. plus a brief vacation - and i get to spend time w/ a fellow DTS-er in LV. perhaps i could label this trip 'a blessing from heaven'. or maybe 'evidences of His grace.' either way, i'm grateful for the experience!

the announcement was made at my local church on sunday about this trip. i'm praying for people to raise up and be prayerful for me, and perhaps offer some financial support. i'm saying that i have 50% of my financial support already. I'm not sure how God is going to come up with the rest, but i don't doubt that He will.

tomorrow morning i have opportunity to give a testimony of how God is moving in my life. it should be great! i love small groups of women, and my friend, tricia, always has a way of drawing the best out of me.

"My Lord, I have mistreated You all my Christian life. I have treated You like a servant .... I shall do so no more. Just now I give You this body of mine, from my head to my feet. I give You my hands, my limbs, my eyes and lips, my brian; all that I am within and without, I hand over to You for You to live in it the life that You please. You may send this body to Africa, or lay it on a bed with cancer .... It is Your body from this moment on. Help yourself to it ...." -walter l. wilson
loved this prayer from Tiffany's blog.

Camping and Seeking

i slept in my tent in january, and it was amazing! never before had i slept in a tent in the middle of winter. because i grew up in SD, winters are not "camping friendly". today's high in the town where my parents live was 9 degrees. camping at 9 degrees sounds like suffering to me. i'm a warm weather camper. last night's low here was 48 degrees. this is how it went down: after a fun night with the middle schoolers from church, shottie decided to spend the night. we got to talking and somehow the next thing we knew we were putting the tent up at midnight. it was beautful!

made a little roadtrip to trader joe's this afternoon with denise and shottie. stocked up on trailmix, lemonade and peanut-butter filled pretzels. oh and an organic chocolate truffle bar. then had the pleasure of feeding our faces at sonic. gotta love their grape creamslush. mmmmm - so good. next stop was to get a copy of 'irresistible revolution' by shane claiborne. seems to be the talk of the town. i'll let you know what i think of it later.

e-filed my taxes this afternoon - always a lovely day for me. getting some money back which will certainly go towards this beautiful adventure.

i'm still working on that list of needs. that's my goal for this evening. so after i complete this post, that is what i'll be embarking upon. look for it!

i admire Hezekiah - you konw the king in the old testament who accomplished some great feats. tonight i was reading about when he sent letters to the surrounding countries, inviting them to come and worship at the temple for Passover. it's in 2 chronicles 30. well, the letters drew some people because it mentions 'a very large crowd of people' gathered to celebrate. so all these people are celebrating at the temple, having a merry time. then it occurs to Hezekiah, 'oh man, these people haven't consecrated themselves to the Lord and they are eating the Passover Lamb! what i am going to do?' being a man of God, he cries out to God, 'May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God—the Lord, the God of his fathers—even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.' (2 chron. 30.18-19.) and God answered his prayer and healed the people. so let's break this down: Hezekiah recognizes the people are sinning, so he goes to God and asks for Him to be merciful. and isn't it amazing how that prayer came to life in the man, Jesus Christ? isn't that what Jesus accomplished - pardoning those who set their heart on seeking Him? all i can say is,' thanks, hezekiah, for praying for me' and 'thanks, Jesus, for responding.'.

that led me to think of people who need my prayers, which reminded me of how important my prayers for others are. this is how i'm responding: i'm setting a goal - to get up 30 minutes early to have some moments with Jesus before i get ready for work. that means my alarm will be resounding a joyful tune around 6.10.

ok, now i really need to make that list...

The Tipping Point

my mind moves in so many directions. one second i'm thinking about the word 'captive' and in certain contexts it seems like a kind word, but in other contexts it seems cruel and heartless. then in the next second, i'm thinking about this beautiful adventure and what my needs are compared to my wants. then the next second, i'm wondering if a riend of mine has delivered her son yet. in an attempt to calm my mind and focus my thoughts, i'm making this post.

shottie asked me to make a list of what i need for this beautiful adventure. since i'm not sure what i need, i'll be working on that list over the next couple of days and posting it somewhere on this blog.

last year i read the book, the tipping point by malcolm gladwell. it's an interesting little book which continues to plague my mind from time to time. tonight is one of those nights. the following is a excerpt:

In one experiment, for example, Latane and Darley had a student alone in a room stage an epileptic fit. When there was just one person next door, listening, that person rushed to the student's aid 85 percent of the time. But when subjects thought that there were four others also overhearing the seizure, they came to the student's aid only 31 percent of the time. In another experiment, people who saw smoke seeping out from under a doorway would report it 75 percent of the time when they were on their own, but the incident would be reported only 38 percent of the time when they were in a group. When people are in a group, in other words, responsibility for acting is diffused. They assume that someone else will make the call, or they assume that because no one else is acting, the apparent problem — the seizure-like sounds from the other room, the smoke from the door — isn't really a problem. In the case of Kitty Genovese, then, social psychologists like Latane and Darley argue, the lesson is not that no one called despite the fact that thirty-eight people heard her scream; it's that no one called because thirty-eight people heard her scream. Ironically, had she been attacked on a lonely street with just one witness, she might have lived.

i find it so interesting that when more people are present in a time of need, less people respond. it's sad that there is much truth to this quote, "the lesson is not that no one called despite the fact that thirty-eight people heard her scream; it's that no one called because thirty-eight people heard her scream."

with that being said, i'm going to make it as clear as i can what my needs are, in hope that someONE will respond. this will be made available thru the list which will be posted somewhere on this blog in a day or so. i want to take some time to figure out what i need, and make the list very specific. rick warren says, 'Nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific.' that's another line that has stuck with me for several years.

stumbled upon an interesting blog post. take a look here. 'I wonder what could happen if all of us who are the people of The United Methodist Church committed ourselves to do whatever is within our power to put an end to malaria.' it could be revolutionary!

Current Readings

i've had some extra time to read lately. plane rides normally put me to sleep, but the trip to south dakota offered some wonderful time of reading. on the day i arrived in SD, we made a little stop at crossroads. i picked up a couple of new books, the new friars and my 30 days under the overpass. both books have shed some light and hope.

the new friars' author has in interesting article here. looks like scott bessenecker had the opportunity to speak at urbana. i know a young man who attended urbana, but haven't spoken with him yet. looking forward to hearing how God moved thru this convention. anyway, back to the book. throughout the book, quotes from various friars have journal entries. i recommend the book to everyone. a quick quote from the book:
"And while the qualities that are emerging amoung new friar communities seem radical, tey are ones all of us would do well embrace:
*incarnation - tearing down the insulation and becoming real to those in trouble
*devotion - making intimacy with Christ our all-consuming passion
*community - intentionally creating interdependence with others
*mission - looking outside ourselves
*marginalization - being countercultural in a world that beckons us to assimilate at the cost of our conscience"

my 30 days under the overpass is a daily devotion which challenges our ordinary, selfish, western-civilization thinking. i'm not far into this book, but so far it has been really good. looking forward to seeing how my heart is changed from callouse to compassion.

from my bible, i've been stuck in ezekiel 18 for the last few days. "The soul who sins is the one who will die." (eze. 18.20a) before this verse, there is an entire discourse about if a son should die for his father's sin. is the guilt of a family transferred to the children? the answer is "no", because God is just. then verse 31a and 32 hits like a sonic boom, "Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and Live!" those are powerful words.

Tho It Linger, Wait For It

arrived in atlanta last night about 7.30. it's good to come back home, to get back into the swing of regular life. tho i didn't sleep very well last night, i'm feeling pretty pumped about life right now.

'there are some changes happening at my job.' that seems to be a common statement for me. there always seem to be changes at my office. so with that, i'll be given some extra responsibilities. currently we are working on updating the tech's truck stock. (pretty un-exciting stuff!) but something that was exciting was getting to show some of my co-workers the pictures of the SD trip. they can hardly believe how incredibly flat south dakota is.

anyway, after work tonight i had an opportunity to talk to my pastor about this beautiful adventure. he's very supportive, and is helping to raise support from my church family. i'm hoping to get some people willing to pray for me on a daily basis - any readers want to commit? financially, i have about 30% of my entire goal. (i can't tell you how exciting this is for me!)

before the meeting i cracked open my bible and ran across this verse: "For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay." (hab. 2:3) my bible has a little side note regarding the part about 'tho it linger, wait...' the question was asked, what am i waiting for? am i actively pursuing this? am i seeking the Lord to hold true to His promises in the matter? and i think the answer is YES. i am waiting (and have waited). i'm beseeching God to open avenues for His light to shine, and fulfill His promises. daily i'm trying to take Him at His word, expecting Him to open opportunities for me to tell others of this beautiful adventure.