LoveloveLoveloveLoveloveLoveloveLove

Hey Ya'll,

Sorry it has taken me so long to write. The internet has been down for awhile.This week we had the privelage of hearing from Dean Sherman. Our topic for the week was relationships. We learned so much about love and how relationships should be according to the Bible. Some of what he said was difficult for me to process in the sense that it was really different from what I had always thought about God and relationships. Here are a few quotes from the week:



"I can't love God, if I can't love people"



"Love is greater when it jumps over more barriers"



"Sinners are enemies of a holy God, and Jesus was always around sinners, therefore Jesus loved his enemies."



"The Cross=Love"



"Don't fight selfishness, replace it with holiness"



"Unity is simply corporate humility"



1 John 3:17-18"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in Him?"-Love is practical, what you do dear children. Let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.



"Love is a CHOICE more than it is a FEELING"



"Preaching the gospel needs to be done in a loving way , at a loving time, so that the gospel will be heard."

-We learned so much more this week about love and what loving people TRULY is, but it would be a lot to write. This Valentines day was also really good because the guys here put on a dinner for all the girls. We got to dress up and have a really nice time. I hope everything is going great at home. I love you all and am praying for you!

Matthew 8

Hey guys,

I am writing a quick blog before our 1:30 worship time because I wanted to let you all know about some things happening in Zimbabwe, Africa.

Right now, as of January 31st, over 60,000 people living in Zimbabwe have died from a cholera epidemic that is all over Africa. As a result of the lack of fresh water, and broken, dilapitated sewer systems, there is no way to prevent the disease from spreading. Cholera symptoms include, extreme diarrhea, vomiting, extreme thirst, and leg cramps.
Health workers in Zimbabwe are exhausted and quickly running out of supplies. There are not enough workers, not enough space, and inadequate amounts of medicine.
What Zimbabwe needs right now is people to send money, and to go and help with relief.
I am asking you guys back home to prayerfully consider practical ways that you can raise money and awareness to help the suffering that is so prevelant in Zimbabwe.
What is upsetting about the spread of this disease, is that it is SO preventable and treatable!
Right now, prayer alone is not enough, as Christians, we are called to act. We need to be the answer to our own prayers, and we also need to be willing to be the change that we wholeheartedly long for.
Many people become ineffective for God because they cannot to everything, so they simply do nothing. Let us not be the generation of apathy and boredom. Let this be the generation that rises up and acts. Let us not be ineffective, but let us listen to God, and do what His will is for our lives!
Matthew 25:40-45 (New International Version)
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Hope, is a terrible thing to lose"
That simple phrase tumbled in and out of my mind as we walked outside of the swinging door late that night. As two of my friends walked out the door I heard yelling and screaming. I rushed out quickly to investigate the noise, and was quickly pushed to the ground with the others. Four men were surrounding us with big guns yelling "Get on your knees! Now!". Those who resisted were roughly thrown down; gentleness was not an attribute for these men. "Get on your knees you scum!" they continued to yell. Although we easily outnumbered the four men who had us captive, they held the deciding factor in our thoughts of escape. The big steel pieces of metal gleamed in the moonlight threateningly as we sat huddled on the ground together. The men jeered and poked us with the ends of their guns, and one man broke away from the pack and went towards a white van. The other three men threw blindfolds at us and told us to put them on, or they would shoot us. Obediently, we put the blindfolds around our eyes and began to try and gather even closer together. However, as soon as we had the blindfolds secured around our eyes, we were jerked up to our feet and herded like cattle towards the white van. We were poked and prodded onto the vehicle, and by this point I did not know who was next to me, only that she was as scared as I. As we were all squished into the back of the van, I thought that maybe escape was possible, if they just left us in the trunk alone. Sadly, I heard the loud clank of the door, and a soldier sitting in the back with us was jeering and trying to scares us even more.
As the car bumped and rolled along slowly, I began to wonder "Why had they attacked us", "why were we singled out?", and worse "what were they going to do with us?". As the van slowed to a stop we all lurched forward on top of one another, but had no time to recover. Already, we were being dragged out of the van and onto squishy, wet ground. I clung to the person beside me, not able to see their face, or even ask a name; we simply held onto one another, realizing we were in this together.
As we were dragged further on, I began to hear screams and shouts. The screams were from two women saying "NO, please, don't do this!" Tears begin to stream down my face out of the fear of the unknown. We were again forced to our knees, all the while the soldiers screamed insults into our faces. I could hear the soldiers discussing that they wanted "a small, scrawny one" and again fear enveloped my being. As the soldier roughly grabbed my arm, I began to shake uncontrollably from being afraid. I was pulled closer and closer to sound of the screaming women and finally forced to a halt. Their screams were terrifying, "No! Please! We haven't done anything! Please don't kill us!" they continued to cry. I felt something cold and heavy being shoved into my hands, and I could hear the soldier telling me to "pull the trigger". Numbly, I pushed the gun away, and it was immediately shoved back into my arms. I could not understand what they were saying. "Pull the trigger!" the soldiers screamed. "Who do you think you are?! Pull the trigger!!" one soldier yelled over and over. I began to struggle against the gun, pushing it away again and again. In the midst of the struggle, I heard a resounding "POP", and it was then that I heard a scream that would resonate in my nightmares forever. I heard the crying of the other woman asking "why?" and I heard the laughter of the four men. It had all happend so quickly; I could not comprehend what had happend. It was then that I realized my hand had been on the trigger, and it had pulled back in the midst the fight. I began to sob uncontrollably. The soldiers laughed at my dismay, enjoying the pain that they had inflicted on so many. I was quickly pushed back with the rest of the group and I could hear another person being dragged up to where the last woman was left screaming. I could hear the soldiers screaming at the person to "pull the trigger!",I could hear the captive struggleing against the gun, I could hear the screaming of the woman over and over, begging for mercy, I could hear the resounding "POP" of the trigger, and finally I could hear the deafening laughter of the soldiers.


*This story was a dramatization that we as a YWAM group were put through Friday night. Although some details of the this story are dramatized, children are forced into the military reguarly. The men were not nearly as rough or mean as I made the story sound, but it was still convicting notheless.

Here are some facts about human trafficking:

Human trafficking is the world's 2nd largest criminal activity after drugs, earning up to $39 billion per year.

App. 900,000 people are trafficked across international borders
80% are female and up to half are minors

Nearly 200,000 people live nslaved at this monet in the US and an additional 17,500 new victims are trafficked across the borders each year.

Modern slaves are expendable. At about $100 a pesron, it ismore costly to care for the enslaved than to replace them.

I debated on whether or not to put this story on the internet. I got the idea of putting this into a story form from one of the dts girls here named Kristi. I did not put it on here to scare you, or to be dramatic, I do so because there needs to be awareness about human trafficking. Sometimes, you have to face things that are hard to deal with. Sometimes you have to put a face to suffering, because that is what will push you into action. I love you guys, and if you have any questions or want to get into action but are not sure how, you can email me at haliE_but101@yahoo.com thanks so much!