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Friday, July 16, 2010
Friday, May 8, 2009
Hey guys!
A lot has happened since the last time I wrote.
Team Barranquilla finally went to Barranquilla for the weekend, and we are now back in Cartegena. Our time spent in Barranquilla was a really big blessing. We had air conditioning, awesome food, american movies, free calls to the United States, and internet in our rooms. Also, at one open air we performed and shared the gospel, thirty people got saved!!!!!!!!! God is SO good. His timing is always exactly what we need! It was amazingly encouraging and awesome to hear that our work has not been in vain. Also, we recieved a letter from the Pastor in Santa Ana sharing with us how much we had effected their island for the better. It is just the right time for us to hear about the responses of seeds we have planted.
Now, we will be in Cartagena for a week, and then a week and a half in Santa Marta. We only have three weeks left in Colombia! I know God is going to do a lot in our team and the people here in Colombia. I am excited to see what is going to take place.
God is still teaching me about diligentes and perserverence. He is my constant companion and comfort when I feel alone. I´m so ready to come back home and share with everyone all that God has taught me, and shown me in this time. But until then , you are all in my prayers, and I love you all!
A lot has happened since the last time I wrote.
Team Barranquilla finally went to Barranquilla for the weekend, and we are now back in Cartegena. Our time spent in Barranquilla was a really big blessing. We had air conditioning, awesome food, american movies, free calls to the United States, and internet in our rooms. Also, at one open air we performed and shared the gospel, thirty people got saved!!!!!!!!! God is SO good. His timing is always exactly what we need! It was amazingly encouraging and awesome to hear that our work has not been in vain. Also, we recieved a letter from the Pastor in Santa Ana sharing with us how much we had effected their island for the better. It is just the right time for us to hear about the responses of seeds we have planted.
Now, we will be in Cartagena for a week, and then a week and a half in Santa Marta. We only have three weeks left in Colombia! I know God is going to do a lot in our team and the people here in Colombia. I am excited to see what is going to take place.
God is still teaching me about diligentes and perserverence. He is my constant companion and comfort when I feel alone. I´m so ready to come back home and share with everyone all that God has taught me, and shown me in this time. But until then , you are all in my prayers, and I love you all!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Boom, Roasted.
Hola everyone!
It has been so long since I have written that I do not even know where to begin.
We have been to two carribean islands which were both good and different in their own way. We are currently back in Cartagena, and I am very glad to be back in the city.
Our plans have changed slightly since I last updated you guys. The Baranquilla team is now going to Baranquilla this weekend, and only spending three days there. Instead of going to Baranquilla for a month, we are going to Santa Marta for a week and a half, and we will be spending more time in Cartagena.
Our ministry time has been really great. Our team is usually on the same page, and we work well together. Most of our ministry has been working with children and doing street performing. We have all been looking for ways of us to bless the people we are staying with, and ways to encourage the missionaries that are here for the long haul. The food here is awesome. The people in colombia really spoil us ¨Gringos¨. We have been able to go to some amazing beaches in our down time, and we were all really sunburned for awhile. I think our hosts felt sorry for us because we were so miserable after one paticular day at the beach.
Although this trip has not been easy, God has really been teaching me a lot. He has been teaching me about a daily and real sacrifice of my life, about a daily diving into his word, about a daily surrender to HIS will, and a daily choice to have a good attitude and a remembering of why I am here. I have come to admire and respect the missionaries that are here forever. They have such a heart for hurting and lost people that they are willing to give everything. Giving everything always sounds good on paper, and even to say out loud, but when it comes down to real life, it is much more difficult. I keep asking myself if I have what it takes to do this; to be a missionary for the rest of my life. To sacrifice being close to my family, my southern culture, the USA comfort, my time, and my desires. I have wrestled with this thought for awhile, and I always seem to come back to the same simple solution: What I have witnessed here in Colombia, and what I now know about the character of God, I cannot turn my back on. So, whatever God has me do, whether that is returning to college and living in the States, or whether that is living in the jungle for the rest of my life...I will do it, because I refuse to settle for second best when it comes to my relationship with God. I want whatever God wants.
Adios Amigos!! Until I write again!!
It has been so long since I have written that I do not even know where to begin.
We have been to two carribean islands which were both good and different in their own way. We are currently back in Cartagena, and I am very glad to be back in the city.
Our plans have changed slightly since I last updated you guys. The Baranquilla team is now going to Baranquilla this weekend, and only spending three days there. Instead of going to Baranquilla for a month, we are going to Santa Marta for a week and a half, and we will be spending more time in Cartagena.
Our ministry time has been really great. Our team is usually on the same page, and we work well together. Most of our ministry has been working with children and doing street performing. We have all been looking for ways of us to bless the people we are staying with, and ways to encourage the missionaries that are here for the long haul. The food here is awesome. The people in colombia really spoil us ¨Gringos¨. We have been able to go to some amazing beaches in our down time, and we were all really sunburned for awhile. I think our hosts felt sorry for us because we were so miserable after one paticular day at the beach.
Although this trip has not been easy, God has really been teaching me a lot. He has been teaching me about a daily and real sacrifice of my life, about a daily diving into his word, about a daily surrender to HIS will, and a daily choice to have a good attitude and a remembering of why I am here. I have come to admire and respect the missionaries that are here forever. They have such a heart for hurting and lost people that they are willing to give everything. Giving everything always sounds good on paper, and even to say out loud, but when it comes down to real life, it is much more difficult. I keep asking myself if I have what it takes to do this; to be a missionary for the rest of my life. To sacrifice being close to my family, my southern culture, the USA comfort, my time, and my desires. I have wrestled with this thought for awhile, and I always seem to come back to the same simple solution: What I have witnessed here in Colombia, and what I now know about the character of God, I cannot turn my back on. So, whatever God has me do, whether that is returning to college and living in the States, or whether that is living in the jungle for the rest of my life...I will do it, because I refuse to settle for second best when it comes to my relationship with God. I want whatever God wants.
Adios Amigos!! Until I write again!!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Our Time Is Short
Hola from Colombia!
Sorry It has been so long since my last post; we have been super busy.
Colombia is amazing!
When we first stepped off the airplane onto Colombian soil I was immediately soaked from my own sweat. We drove about thirty minutes to the YWAM base, ate lunch, and had a short meeting. I´m not going to lie, I was pretty miserable. I was missing the Salem base, I felt like I had the flu, I had been use to weather of around sixty degrees, and I didn´t understand a lot of what was going on. I am pretty sure that my team mates were feeling a lot of the same feelings from looking at them.
My room is shared with four other girls and is possibly the hottest room in the house. Every night I wake up three or four times to go splash cold water on my face. Also, I share my bed with tiny black ants that thankfully do not bite...yet. The food here is delicious. We have been most blessed to only have a couple girls get sick from it. God has really been looking out for me because I have been doing great with the food.
Our ministry consist of the same sort of work every day. We go out in the mornings and perform a program for people around the town, and pray for them, and in the afternoon that is usually repeated. The heat is sometimes hard to handle, but it is definitely bareable. There is a cool breeze sent from heaven pretty consistently which makes the muggy air feel much better.
The people here are so accepting and excited to have us here... Many of them are giving me spanish lessons at night after we are done working.
Next week we will be going to the Island of Bocachica, so I most likely will not be able to get on the internet, or the week after that because we will be going to another village. I am really excited to see what God is going to do, and I thank each and everyone of you who is praying for our team. Please continue to do so! It is greatly needed!
I´m sorry if this is all in very bad or simple grammar, as a result of always having to speak in spanish my english has become really slow. I mean, not to say I am fluent in spanish by any means...it is just that my mind is slow right now.
I love you all and I miss you!
God bless.
Sorry It has been so long since my last post; we have been super busy.
Colombia is amazing!
When we first stepped off the airplane onto Colombian soil I was immediately soaked from my own sweat. We drove about thirty minutes to the YWAM base, ate lunch, and had a short meeting. I´m not going to lie, I was pretty miserable. I was missing the Salem base, I felt like I had the flu, I had been use to weather of around sixty degrees, and I didn´t understand a lot of what was going on. I am pretty sure that my team mates were feeling a lot of the same feelings from looking at them.
My room is shared with four other girls and is possibly the hottest room in the house. Every night I wake up three or four times to go splash cold water on my face. Also, I share my bed with tiny black ants that thankfully do not bite...yet. The food here is delicious. We have been most blessed to only have a couple girls get sick from it. God has really been looking out for me because I have been doing great with the food.
Our ministry consist of the same sort of work every day. We go out in the mornings and perform a program for people around the town, and pray for them, and in the afternoon that is usually repeated. The heat is sometimes hard to handle, but it is definitely bareable. There is a cool breeze sent from heaven pretty consistently which makes the muggy air feel much better.
The people here are so accepting and excited to have us here... Many of them are giving me spanish lessons at night after we are done working.
Next week we will be going to the Island of Bocachica, so I most likely will not be able to get on the internet, or the week after that because we will be going to another village. I am really excited to see what God is going to do, and I thank each and everyone of you who is praying for our team. Please continue to do so! It is greatly needed!
I´m sorry if this is all in very bad or simple grammar, as a result of always having to speak in spanish my english has become really slow. I mean, not to say I am fluent in spanish by any means...it is just that my mind is slow right now.
I love you all and I miss you!
God bless.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Paper Planes
Hey ya'll!
I'm sorry I have not written in awhile; things have been super busy here being that we are getting ready to go to Colombia in two weeks! We have been working on dramas, skits, songs to perform, and having a lot of prayer times to intercede for Colombia.
This week we had Colleen Milstein come and speak to us about our worldviews. At first, I was not looking forward to learning about worldview because I was certian that mine was as christian as it needed to be(Silly me :) ). However, I was greatly mistaken, Colleen brought out SO many amazing points and insight that I had never thought about. Colleen is from South Africa, and is currently living in Switzerland working with the YWAM base there. Her passion to see change in the world is truly inspiring. Here are a few quotes from Colleen:
"We Love Jesus sincerely, and we believe he is real, but we keep him in our pocket and do not know how to relate him to everyday life."
"Nowadays, Christians live in a christian "ghetto" and we have lost our relevence to society"
"We see Jesus as Lord of the church, but we don't see Jesus as Lord of ALL."
"In today's society, we have so many options of what we are to do with our lives that those options feed a fear of commitment."
"The question isn't "can I do it?", but "Am I willing to do it?"
"Any place in your worldview that you have not consiencely examined and changed to match a biblical worldview is probably conforming to the world's way of thinking." Ex. ROMANS 12:2
"How much of our christianity in the U.S. is merely a "culteral package" rather than a REAL realationship?"
"Geographic location is not the problem with Christianity, I can change geographic location and be no more of a light to non-believers than I was back where I first started."
I hope ya'll enjoyed these quotes. The quotes were just a tidbit of all that Colleen shared with us. We learned that so much of what we count as truth is simply what the world has been telling us is truth. I would like to challenge you all to go back to the Word, and really examine your beliefs on education, family, government, science and technology, and other world topics to make sure that they line up with what the Bible says.
As the time is drawing closer to Colombia, I have a rough itinerary of what we will be doing while in Colombia:
April 6th: Fly out to Houston Texas and from there we will fly out to Colombia (cheaper then flying straight out of Portland)
April 7th to May 10th: we will be at the YWAM base in Cartagena working and serving the base and city anyway that we can.
May 10th- through duration of our time in Colombia: Our group will again split and half will go to Bogota to work with slum ministries, and the other half will be going to Baranquilla (which is where I will be going) to live with families there and create a kid's camp.
* this schedule is subject to change due to change in God's desire for what we are to do while in Colombia, we are also looking at going to an island and doing some church planting, but we are still praying about that. We don't want to go so many places that we are not effective, but also we want to reach whoever God wants us to.
Thanks SO much everyone for your prayers and support, I am thrilled to pieces at how generous all of you have been! My trip is pretty much paid for, and that makes me so proud of that southern hospitality that I have bragged to everyone here about! I always talk about how loving and giving my church familiy is, and I pray for you guys a lot! I know God is doing amazing things back in Greenwood! I am so excited to come back home and see all of you!
Again, thanks again, and God bless!
-Hali
I'm sorry I have not written in awhile; things have been super busy here being that we are getting ready to go to Colombia in two weeks! We have been working on dramas, skits, songs to perform, and having a lot of prayer times to intercede for Colombia.
This week we had Colleen Milstein come and speak to us about our worldviews. At first, I was not looking forward to learning about worldview because I was certian that mine was as christian as it needed to be(Silly me :) ). However, I was greatly mistaken, Colleen brought out SO many amazing points and insight that I had never thought about. Colleen is from South Africa, and is currently living in Switzerland working with the YWAM base there. Her passion to see change in the world is truly inspiring. Here are a few quotes from Colleen:
"We Love Jesus sincerely, and we believe he is real, but we keep him in our pocket and do not know how to relate him to everyday life."
"Nowadays, Christians live in a christian "ghetto" and we have lost our relevence to society"
"We see Jesus as Lord of the church, but we don't see Jesus as Lord of ALL."
"In today's society, we have so many options of what we are to do with our lives that those options feed a fear of commitment."
"The question isn't "can I do it?", but "Am I willing to do it?"
"Any place in your worldview that you have not consiencely examined and changed to match a biblical worldview is probably conforming to the world's way of thinking." Ex. ROMANS 12:2
"How much of our christianity in the U.S. is merely a "culteral package" rather than a REAL realationship?"
"Geographic location is not the problem with Christianity, I can change geographic location and be no more of a light to non-believers than I was back where I first started."
I hope ya'll enjoyed these quotes. The quotes were just a tidbit of all that Colleen shared with us. We learned that so much of what we count as truth is simply what the world has been telling us is truth. I would like to challenge you all to go back to the Word, and really examine your beliefs on education, family, government, science and technology, and other world topics to make sure that they line up with what the Bible says.
As the time is drawing closer to Colombia, I have a rough itinerary of what we will be doing while in Colombia:
April 6th: Fly out to Houston Texas and from there we will fly out to Colombia (cheaper then flying straight out of Portland)
April 7th to May 10th: we will be at the YWAM base in Cartagena working and serving the base and city anyway that we can.
May 10th- through duration of our time in Colombia: Our group will again split and half will go to Bogota to work with slum ministries, and the other half will be going to Baranquilla (which is where I will be going) to live with families there and create a kid's camp.
* this schedule is subject to change due to change in God's desire for what we are to do while in Colombia, we are also looking at going to an island and doing some church planting, but we are still praying about that. We don't want to go so many places that we are not effective, but also we want to reach whoever God wants us to.
Thanks SO much everyone for your prayers and support, I am thrilled to pieces at how generous all of you have been! My trip is pretty much paid for, and that makes me so proud of that southern hospitality that I have bragged to everyone here about! I always talk about how loving and giving my church familiy is, and I pray for you guys a lot! I know God is doing amazing things back in Greenwood! I am so excited to come back home and see all of you!
Again, thanks again, and God bless!
-Hali
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Pura Vida
Hey guys, sorry it has been so long, it has been an intense couple of weeks!
This week we were blessed to have Jerry Praetzel come and speak to us about healing and forgiveness. Not only did he give us some amazing new concepts and ensight; he also gave us an opportunity to confess past sins, and forgive past sins done against us. This was done in a very sensative and safe environment, before we did confess sins and forgave, we were in prayer and asking the Holy Spirit to convince us of what we needed to share. Also, we recieved a lot of teaching beforehand...I am explaining because I do not want it to come across like a chaotic time of sliming eachother with past sins.
Here are a few things that Jerry taught us:
"What sins we bury from the past, we don't bury dead, we bury those sins alive"
"God will not bring past sins up in your life that he will not redeem and take care of"
"God is more committed to you than things that come out of you, and he will do whatever it takes to get to you."
"You are are a LOUSY redeemer, give people in your life, and past and present sins to God: The Ultimate Redeemer"
"The enemy is not after just pain, it is what he wants you to become as a result of pain that he is after"
"Forgiveness means this person is no longer going to pay a price for what they have done to me"
"The blood of Jesus only covers, what I uncover"- I think I might have said this one before...but it is SO true!
This was just a little bit of what we learned about this week. We all went through a LOT of healing through confessing our sins, and really getting rid of the denial of those specific sin's effect on our lives. I'm sorry if some of this doesn't make sense, I am really tired right now! I love all of you, and I hope you are doing amazing!
-Hali
This week we were blessed to have Jerry Praetzel come and speak to us about healing and forgiveness. Not only did he give us some amazing new concepts and ensight; he also gave us an opportunity to confess past sins, and forgive past sins done against us. This was done in a very sensative and safe environment, before we did confess sins and forgave, we were in prayer and asking the Holy Spirit to convince us of what we needed to share. Also, we recieved a lot of teaching beforehand...I am explaining because I do not want it to come across like a chaotic time of sliming eachother with past sins.
Here are a few things that Jerry taught us:
"What sins we bury from the past, we don't bury dead, we bury those sins alive"
"God will not bring past sins up in your life that he will not redeem and take care of"
"God is more committed to you than things that come out of you, and he will do whatever it takes to get to you."
"You are are a LOUSY redeemer, give people in your life, and past and present sins to God: The Ultimate Redeemer"
"The enemy is not after just pain, it is what he wants you to become as a result of pain that he is after"
"Forgiveness means this person is no longer going to pay a price for what they have done to me"
"The blood of Jesus only covers, what I uncover"- I think I might have said this one before...but it is SO true!
This was just a little bit of what we learned about this week. We all went through a LOT of healing through confessing our sins, and really getting rid of the denial of those specific sin's effect on our lives. I'm sorry if some of this doesn't make sense, I am really tired right now! I love all of you, and I hope you are doing amazing!
-Hali
Monday, February 16, 2009
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."
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!
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