Letter of Reflection

During debrief we had this lovely family of missionaries through Campus Crusade in Australia host us. They had a section of celebration, conflict resolution, encouragement & applying what we had learned here back at the States. During one of the sections, they had us reflect on what God has taught us & what God is calling us to take out of this trip. We wrote it on this paper that they would send back to us in 3 months. I wanted to share with you guys what I have learned.

When applying for Australia summer project, I didn’t even understand how much God would change me in the course of six weeks. I remember praying that God would reveal himself to me & change the areas of my life that He wants to make more like Him.

Before leaving for this trip, I had a fear of randomly sharing the Gospel with strangers. I felt like a secret agent looking for people are sitting alone so I can attack. Kind of lame picture to illustrate but I just really wasn’t comfortable with just going up to people even if it was to say the Gospel. However, since God is mysterious in His ways, I was given Outreach leader at UCLA. The upcoming sophomores can apply to a couple of different leadership areas and outreach was definitely not on my list. However, the staff that was choosing the leaders saw something in me. They saw my love for others and felt that I would be perfect for outreach. I prayed about it a lot and felt like God was saying “Trust me, I got this.” So there ya go! I accepted to be outreach leader despite my fear of actually doing outreach – crazy huh?

Oh don’t you worry, it gets crazier. So with being afraid to do outreach I apply to a summer project aka six weeks of doing outreach. God put Australia on my heart & by the grace of God I got in! Support raising was a huge trusting discipline that God has definitely taught me. You can read my other blogs to see how that process was (: Now back to Australia.

This has been the biggest amount of growth in faith since I decided to take my spiritual walk seriously in high school. These past six weeks will affect the rest of my life.

In Australia, I have learned the importance of keeping Him first. This might seem like a simple concept, but it definitely isn’t. I have realized that I have made so many idols in my life. What hit me is that God has blessed me with good things even biblical things – but those have become idols in my life. Friendship, biblical knowledge, relationships, academics, etc. All of these things are good but not better than God Himself.

Through putting Him first multiple truths and disciplines have been applied to my life. Most importantly for me, I have learned the power of prayer. Prayer has been a constant theme even starting at the support raising process. On project prayer has been key component of our spiritual strength as a team and myself as an individual. This summer when I earnestly prayed with my whole heart – He answered. I prayed for support to come in and money from people I least suspected came in. I prayed that He would reveal a glimpse of Himself to me and when He did I suddenly had this craving to read and study the Bible. I prayed that my fear of evangelizing would disappear and He gave me a new heart for the lost, gave me an eternity mindset and gave me courage to go up to random people to share the Gospel. I prayed that I wouldn’t miss my family, friends and boyfriend as much as I was and He reminded me that HE is my home, my father, my husband and my friend. I prayed for salvation on La Trobe campus and through His power four people came to Christ! I prayed for lasting relationships to be created on this trip and He blessed me with Pauline, Jerusha, Nina, Michelle & EVERYONE on my team. I prayed for Him to reveal to me what surrender looks like and He is current revealing that to me. He has shown me that I can dedicate my time at UCLA to striving after Him through outreach team, classes, working at Jimmys coffee, my relationship with Nate, with the freshman class, with my family & so much more.

This is just a glimpse of the things God has taught me over this summer. Not to mention all the things I learned about my faith when I was sharing on campus, organizing the One Question event, worshipping with my team, reading the Word in my bible study, studying the Word during date nights with Jesus, etc. This trip is so hard to put in words and I know that even if I was more eloquent with my speech – no one else would be able to understand how much God has shaped my life through this project.

It doesn’t stay here in Australia. I now have this new heart for the Lord. A heart that craves for Him. A heart that earnestly wants to strive after Him. I know that I’m not perfect & I will slip up – but now I have this new mindset. A new mindset regarding my personal faith & regarding my relationship with others. Through seeing so much apathy in Australia, I am urged to break down that apathy at UCLA next year! I know I can’t do that on my own strength, but the Lord is with me. If God is with me, whom shall I fear?! This project has created a fire within me – a fire burning for Him. I know I’m prone to wander, Lord knows I feel it, but I pray that He takes my heart and seals it with His. God is my FATHER, PROVIDER, and FRIEND. He is even more than just that! But that is what He has shown me in this short time.

I am sad to leave Australia but I’m more excited to apply all of the things I’ve learned to my home in California.

Supporters, family & friends – I can’t explain my trip with simple words. Just know that I am truly thankful for all who supported me. You not only changed my life with a simple donation but you have helped me to plant a seed in over 50 people’s lives. With my team we had around 250 spiritual conversations and saw 4 people come to Christ! Praise the Lord! Thank you so much for all your prayers and your donations. The Lord sees that and looks down on you with joy!

Our God is great! Please continue to be in prayer for Australia – there is still a lot of apathy in this country.

I will never forget Australia.

Prayers Answered!

Thank you all so much for your prayers this past week! I cannot even begin to explain how grateful I am for your assistance through prayer! The ONE QUESTION event went wonderfully! Seven people at different times came to the event from completely different walks in life. They were all non-believers and the Gospel was presented each time. Overall, it was a very encouraging event and it was definitely an answer to many prayers. I seriously felt the Holy Spirit in that place during the event – it was so great! So much rejoicing and praises were lifted to our king that night!

Our team has been actively praying for salvation & many other things. We have prayed that our friend Mike would contact us back (He went a week without responding to anything), we prayed that our friend Will would respond back to a guy on our team & finally we prayed that lives would be saved this week!

This blog is called prayers answered for a reason – OUR GOD IS AWESOME! First of all, Mike responded with a joyful heart! He wants to hangout with us one last time before we leave! Will ran into us at La Trobe & we got to schedule a time to hangout with him as well & tell him the Gospel! And finally – the greatest news of all!!! Today (August 16^th, 2011) 3 people have came to Christ in ONE DAY. Talk about prayers answered! One girl Tan was a girl that two of our members met today – she prayed to receive Christ & she wants to actively walk with him each and every day. Another girl Lily who a couple girls have met before prayed to receive Christ & will actively be meeting up with a STINTer every Tuesday to make her faith in God solidified. Finally, a girl Ashlie that has been hanging out with all of us for 3 weeks finally has accepted Christ as her Saviour! Talk about beautiful! We all were rejoicing, laughing, crying and praising our God! He is so amazing and really does answers prayers!

SO KEEP PRAYING! (:

Pray for more lives to come to Christ! We only have two more days on campus. Pray that God will use us! Pray that we will find more brothers and sisters of Christ!

One Question

If you could ask God [ ONE QUESTION ] what would it be?

That's the outreach that we're doing on campus at La Trobe Bundoora this week. Bryant & I are in charge of this event. Boy has it been an up & down experience. God has definitely revealed to me that this event is according to His will & not my own. Some things that I have had in my mind regarding this event have been totally changed by God - but in a good way I've found! We were planning to have our event in a classroom but we didnt end up getting one. A challenge at first but then turned into a blessing. We changed the event to a more personal setting. Now we're having 3 different speakers from our team in a coffee shop on campus that will be having small conversations answering their question about God! It should be an intimate way to share the Gospel and really get to the heart of the people asking the questions. Little challenges have been coming up. And the rainy weather sure doesn't help! However this whole experience is reminding me of why I am here. Not to go sightseeing, not to hangout with friends but to spread the Gospel to the lost souls on this campus! As we were figuring out the most popular question & trying to answer it we actually found ourselves straying away from the Gospel and clinging to apologetics. Apologetics are definitely useful and amazing things to know but we had to bring it back to the heart and souls of the people we are talking to. We all talked and figured out how we are going about it but it's going to be a very Spirit filled conversation. The speakers are going to try and answer their most popular question and going to answer it with the Gospel!

So basically this event requires a lot of prayer. Please be in prayer for the speakers that they will be filled with God's words & not their own strength. Please be in prayer for our strength today as we fast for the One Question outreach. Please be in prayer for students to come!! This event could be very powerful but only by God's Spirit will it be done!

Please continue to be in prayer! I love you all!

Prayer

I am very sorry that I am the worst at updating this blog - However I will be doing a long update very soon! (:

However, I would love if you would be in prayer for the ONE QUESTION outreach event that I am putting on this week.

I will update you on the event - Put please pray for these things:

• That my team would rejoice that God is using us as a body of Christ to do His work
• That there would be thirsty hearts & souls for the Lord!
• That people would show up & want to listen!
• That we would turn to Lord to have Him help us figure out what to say

Love you all!

Rejoice!

This is a sunset that we saw the other night on St. Kilda beach and it just makes me praise our wonderful, beautiful and amazing Lord!

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"

Thank you for all your prayers regarding healing. I am so thankful! I am feeling much better now! Praise the Lord! I don't have much time to blog but I wanted to share of the revival this is happening in our group. God is stretching us so much and using us to our full potential! We are praying more than ever and God is being more and more faithful! I am so in love with Him!

Pray for healing

Well hello there! So I don’t think I’ll be able to do daily blogs anymore – cause life here is going by way too fast! Our days are long and I’m totally wiped out by the time we get back to the hostel. I usually fall asleep on the tram (; However, I will continue to highlight great moments and areas that need prayer.

One area that needs prayer right now is health. A couple of people on my team have gotten this sickness. Most were throwing up due to stomach issues. We don’t really know what it is, but it just has to take it’s course and pass. I am unfortunately one of the 5 that have it. I thankfully haven’t thrown up yet but I definitely have never felt this before. Ever since last night my stomach has been bubbly and has made me very weak. It rolled over to today in which I was told to stay back and have rest. Worst day ever! I love sharing on campus and to be restricted to a bed is not fun. I slept most of the day because I could barely stand up without feeling horrible. I am making myself move around more, take little walks down the hall, etc. However my stomach is still not feeling good. I am drinking lots of water but food is not an option. I have not been hungry at all today, but I forced myself to eat a granola bar. Another girl on my team is even worse.

Please be in prayer! Not only for my own sickness but for my other teammates’ sickness. I really hope that no one else gets sick, because after being sick, I don’t want anyone else to go through this. I know God is with me, but it’s very easy to be homesick, discouraged and sad when you’re sick in a foreign country. Please be in prayer for healing and comfort.

LaTrobe Uni

Friday July 22^nd

Major highlight of the day/night: Prayer and worship night at RMIT Bundoora! Different worship songs but it was beautiful singing to the same God Almighty! About 10 Aussies involved in Student Life (Australia’s Campus Crusade) came and I had some great conversations with 4 girls. Since we all were having an awesome time, they invited us to join them at McDonalds (or as they say Mackas). Quite an enjoyable time of fellowshipping with other Christians! Definitely going to make sure these relationships last.

Saturday July 23^rd

Today was our first team exploration day! Our leaders brought us to Chapel Street which was filled with lots of thrift and antique stores! Great team bonding day for sure! However, my main highlight was going to a “Christmas in July” party at a group of the STINTers houses. There was about 10 STINTers, 20 Aussies involved in Student Life and 10 of our group. I met two wonderful ladies Amy and Liz this night! Liz and I had a great conversation throughout the whole party. Talking about how she was the only Christian in Student Life at her uni, her background as being Egyptian and many more! I was very comfortable talking about Gospel related things with her and she encouraged me a lot! Overall, it was great making friends while enjoying the Christmas atmosphere!

Sunday July 24^th

Our home church for the time of being in Australia has been really great! They are going through 1 Corinthians, which is one of the books I’m reading for my quiet time. I really love the community in the church and the messages are great! Worship here is “jazzier” than in the States. Different and great! Today was a good catch-up day. I had some good accountability time with one of the older girls on my team. We’ll be meeting up throughout the summer project and I’m super excited! Our conversation was so fruitful today and she’ll be showing me some outreach/evangelism techniques that she has learned. We ended off our night with a family night – talking about all the formalities for our week to come. I’m so excited for the Lord to use me tomorrow on our first outreach event! Please pray for this week and how the Lord is going to use our team! Pray for the hearts of the Australian students at LaTrobe!

Monday July 25^th

“Here am I, send me God!” This morning was an awesome devotional time about fully dedicating ourselves to the Lord and admiring Him for who he is! There was a section where we all shared inspirational bible passages and it was so great to go through all of them. I love seeing my family talk about different passages that all inspire them in different ways.

Oh boy, today was great day! We are doing an outreach event called “What is the answer?” where we go around asking people about world conflicts. Today from 11am – 3pm I went out doing that survey with another girl on my team Ashley. The questions on the survey are: 1) Why are we here? Why are human beings here? 2) What is wrong with the world? Do you play a role in what’s wrong with the world? 3) Is there hope to put the world right? Do you play a role in putting the world right? 4) Can I share with you how Jesus attempted to answer these questions?

Ashley and I talked to 7 different girls. I wish I could tell you everything about what we talked about, but that would be way too exhausting. However, I would just like to share that God has stretched and encouraged me so much already! We prayed before and after each person we talked to and that really brought up divine appointments and took away the nerves. The Holy Spirit was flowing through my words and it was no longer my words but His. I am so blessed to have a Father that will guide our conversations like he did today. We talked about Jesus with each girl today and I will be meeting up with some again! There were so many different views and answers but they were all thirsty for the Lord!

One amazing story that is definitely not over. The last girl Niki that Ashley and I talked to really made my heart drop. As we were getting to the end of our survey, Ashley asked if she knew who Jesus was. Her reply was no. Ashley then asked if she knew what Christianity was. Her reply was again no. At this point, me and Ashley’s heart dropped. I have never experienced this before. Someone who has never heard the name of Jesus or knows what Christianity is. GOD IS SO GREAT! He is using us at this moment to reach the unreached! She unfortunately had to leave, but she is interested in meeting with us again! We are hopefully going to meet up with her tomorrow and start telling her the Gospel from the beginning. Such a beautiful experience. I am so excited for how God is going to continue using me and my team here in Australia!

Please be in prayer for the students of LaTrobe! (:

Very encouraging verse for being tired this week after evangelizing:

"He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40:29-31

Oh the places we’ll go

Saturday July 16^th, 2011

Traveling is quite a journey within itself. These past couple of days have been fast-paced yet slow, hectic yet peaceful and overwhelming yet exciting! The plane rides went by surprisingly fast; watched a lot of movies and actually got some sleep. Arriving into Melbourne was an experience all on it’s own! Breathing in that first breath of brisk air was the best! All of us were so happy and excited! We instantly forgot all the troubles getting out of the airport, the lack of sleep and the confusing time change. The only thing on my mind was – I’m here. I’m finally here! When we got in Melbourne, we instantly met up with the STINTers here! They are the Campus Crusade friends that got enough support to live here for a year and work on the campuses we’re going on. They were super helpful and encouraging! After we got into our hostel, they showed us the surrounding area nearby. They brought us to Melbourne Central which is a like a giant mall with a movie theatre on one level, tons of stores, food court, underground train stop, grocery store, and more! Basically everything we’d need. They also set up a scavenger hunt, which was really really fun! This was a creative and helpful way to get to know the city of Melbourne more! From running around the city, learning the train system and asking Aussies for help, it was an overall amazing experience! After all that madness, we got dinner in the food court and went grocery shopping. Everyone bought their own breakfast and lunch necessities for the week, which was harder than all of us thought. A not-so-fun fact, everything in Australia is expensive! That was a struggle for all of us to budget wisely. Ending of the night consisted of trying to fight jet lag and stay up till 9:30pm, which only a few of us accomplished.

Sunday July 17^th, 2011

Good morning, good morning! We started the morning off right by going to a church nearby called City on a Hill. This was my favorite part of the trip so far! I loved everything about the church! The people were so friendly, the message was great and the worship was different but still filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s so great to see people from the opposite side of the world worshipping the same God as us in the states. Such a great picture of God’s kingdom! After church we went back to the hostel for lunch and a cultural/safety briefing from the STINTers. Following that was taking a trip to Big W (similar to Walmart) and Melbourne Central for a little wifi time. Papa Goods and Mama Tiff (our project directors) made us a delicious dinner, too many good things to say about that dinner! Ending off the night with a beautiful time of worship was just the way to go. These moments really re-direct my mind and soul to the reason why I am here. Since uni (college) hasn’t started yet, this week is all preparation. It’s easy to get caught up with all the cultural differences and adjusting that we might forget why we are here. I am so blessed to have a Christ-loving team that will always re-direct each other to the purpose of us being here!

Monday July 18^th, 2011

Starting the day off with a great devotional led by one of the guys on our team is just the way I like it. Putting Christ at the start of our day really centers my life upon him. Michael went through three basic points: the truth of the Gospel, evangelism and basic apologetics. We talked a lot about a multiple of things and pointed to over 20 different verses. I am so stoked to go evangelizing on the campuses! I can just tell that I have an awesome and supporting family here that is ready to spread the Gospel! It’s so encouraging! Today was just filled with exploring the city more, ate lunch, went to a coffee shop, dinner and prayer night!

Oh Lord you are doing major work in the hearts of this team already! We are ready to go and make disciples! We are your workmanship and we are ready to further your kingdom in any way that we can!

Tuesday July 19^th, 2011

This morning all of us got up early and decided to visit LaTrobe & prayer walk the campus. This was one amazing experience to say the least. We split up into 2 groups of 10 and walked around the campus first. Noticing the classrooms, center circle of food, dorms, etc. Then for about 40 minutes, we prayed. We prayed in center areas for specific reasons. In the dorms we prayed that community of Christ followers would be created in this time, that this living place would be available for spiritual conversations. In an amphitheatre, we prayed that someday church services might be held here, that there will be a body of believers worshipping the Lord! We stumbled across two separate male/female Muslim prayer rooms. The boys/girls in our group split up and prayed for the people who will go in there. The girls prayed that truth will be revealed and that these women may find their identity in Christ rather than this religion. We prayed over the center food area that divine appointments will come about! That the Lord will use us to love on these Aussies of LaTrobe! Prayer walk was simply beautiful and it has gotten me excited to spread the Gospel here.

On the tram there and back we also met a couple of Aussies! Great conversations already on the first day is just encouraging me so much! I am so excited to follow up with these relationships and I’m ready to meet more friends!

After all that, I had some quality time with two lovely ladies. Going in deep conversations with others on my team really creates this bond that I love! I am so encouraged by the love that they give off, the love of Christ shining through them! Today was just a glimpse of how beautiful they are. Thank you Lord for blessing me with some great ladies!

Ending the night off was perfect. Tonight is date night with Jesus aka go somewhere and be alone. Of course we went somewhere in a group, but we sat in separate areas. This night was filled with just conversations between me and the Lord! Conversations through prayer, journaling, reading the Bible and listening to worship music! Oh I really felt that the spirit was with me at that moment. I started my time off by simply praising Him! He has loved me and blessed me so much that it just causes me to stand in awe of him! Psalm 96 was a good tool to help me praise my Lord! I moved on the being thankful for what he has done in my life thus far and specifically this summer. Following that I prayed that he would use me this summer to do great and mighty works on LaTrobe! I want to be his child and his worker! Ending the night off with a song called “Take My Life (Let it be)” by Chris Tomlin really put me in perspective. I meditated on the lyrics of that song for a while. I want to give my whole life to my Lord who is more than worthy for all my praise! Overall great date night with my one true love, Jesus.

Thank you Lord for this beautiful day that you have blessed me with.

I'm running to Your arms

Oh I'm running to Your arms

I'm running to Your arms

The riches of Your love

Will always be enough

Nothing compares to Your embrace

Light of the world forever reign

Just a little team-bonding worship before leaving for Australia.

These are the moments that make all the past troubles mean nothing to me. When we direct our eyes back upon the person who deserves all attention, everything else goes away. When we worship to our Lord, all other negative feels go away. Oh Lord I know you are here with us! We praise you God for all that you have done, are doing and will do! All the glory to You forever and ever, Amen.

Briefin' lovin'

Oh hey there supporters, friends and family that are following this blog.

Little disclaimer: I may not be able to update as much as I like due to the small wireless internet available and with my time schedule on project.

But trust me, I would blog all day every day if I could! There's so many things I want to say but not enough time to say it.

So far I can update you on briefing.

We're only two days in, but this is one jam-packed-crazy day.

I am:

• Meeting and bonding with my new team family
• Learning about the Australian culture
• Hearing messages about the four concepts - Love your God, Love your team, Learn a New World, and Launch a Movement
• Learning about everything that we will be doing "down under"
• Basically getting super stoked for this trip!

So here it is. The last day that I am in the great 'Merika that we all know and love. The thoughts going through my head naturally are nervous and scared. However, through prayer God is changing those thoughts into excitement and courage. Last night when our whole team was praying together, I could feel the Holy Spirit with us. I can just tell how awesome our family is going to be and what an experience this truly is. I know that I am not completely ready for any question or situation that happens down there in Australia, but I am ready for God to use my imperfections for His glory.

Some quick prayer requests:

• Safety for the flight over to Australia
• Good health on our team
• That God may open doors for evangelism that we haven't even planned!
• That our team may come close as a family and closer to our God
• That our leaders would make decisions based on God's calling and that they stay well rested and ready to do His work
• That the people in La Trobe Uni would have open hearts and be willing to listen and ask questions
• That God will challenge, stretch and grow me on this trip

So there it is folks. My last post from the USA. Well maybe not, we have a lot of time in LAX before we fly.

Please keep us in your prayers!

I love you all so much!

"Blessings!"

(Inside yoke from briefing but it's also appropriate)

And the packing starts

Tonight is the night that I begin my journey... into the packing world. Talk about a major flip from shorts to pants, from skirts to sweaters, from sandals to water-proof boots.

Winter here I come!

Hallelujah!

"Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!" (Psalm 66:20)

Halleljuah! Praise be to God!

This verse explains the email I have just received. As many of you have read, these past months of support raising have been the most faith defying months of my relationship with God. There have been immense struggles but always beautiful victories. When the Lord put it on my heart to go to Australia this summer, I had no idea how I'd raise $5,000! Though the odds were not in my favor, I felt that He wanted me to be there.

So I went along with this journey. I knew He would challenge me, but I never knew it would feel like this. I knew He would grow me, but I never expected to learn the things that I did.

Through support letters, taking extra shifts at the coffee shop, working for my dad, babysitting, bake sales, and calls that I wanted to avoid, God has provided me with that beautiful light at the end of the tunnel.

With my goal still out of reach, I have been in constant prayer. I trusted God to get me to Australia, and He has. The last of my support money is coming from my family at Olive Branch Community Church.

Now, when I received this email, I wish someone was there to see the moment. Reading the words "provide you with the remaining funding of $800," my heart stopped. Could this really be it? Could my great and mighty God be providing the last of my support money now? I didn't believe it, I had to read the email 3 times. After coming out of the reality shock that I was in, I rejoiced! Oh boy did I rejoice! That's why this post is called Hallelujah! God be praised!

"You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever."

(Psalm 30: 11-12)

Oh boy should God be praised because I am definitely not getting to Australia by my own strength. This whole process has been through Him gives me that strength! I am so in love with my God, but I wasn't just in love with him in this moment. Throughout this whole process, I was rejoicing through hardships as the wonderful apostle Paul always says.

I love this verse from Romans.

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Rom 5:3-5)

I am so incredibly blessed with the support family that has now been created. God has taught me many things throughout this process, I can't wait to see what He will teach me in Australia! All I know is that after I reflected on this process, I wept of happiness. I literally got down on my knees and praised my Lord for providing for me, just like I knew He would. Oh Lord, I love you so much! Thank you thank you thank you!

Holy are you God! Holy is Your Name!

With everything I've got,

my heart will sing how I love you!

When my world is shaking

heaven stands

When my heart is breaking

I never leave your hands

Learning through earning

So as many of you know, the end goal for my Australia mission trip this summer is $5,000. Now that is a huge number and a very intimidating goal to reach. However, through God’s grace and power, he has brought me to about $4,400 right now! Praise God!

I have been so blessed by the many families and friends that have decided to give financial support! It has been amazing journey thus far. I have seen countless people, that I least expected, give cheerfully. I have seen people from all walks of life and all religions come aside me and show me support. It has been life-changing to see how many people love me and want the best for me. I always knew I had a family but I never knew it was this big. Thank you for all your support, it has left a lasting impact upon my life.

The most unexpected lesson that I have learned through this process is obedience. Yes, that may sound weird, but again, it was unexpected. First, I had to learn how to obey my God. I learned through a lot of different aspects. I had to learn to obey his guidance that He had placed in front of me. Even though there were times in which I wanted to go my own way, earn money on my own and get myself to Australia, God always had a plan. I learned that He will always provide and always love, whether or not I know he is doing it. Of course I know I haven't fully obeyed God in every aspect of my life, but I'm getting there. I recognize the obedience needed for this relationship and I'm working to be a good and faithful servant of my Lord.

After obeying my God, I have learned to obey many other authorities that are placed above me. One of which being my parents. Since I was still very under my goal for Australia, my parents offered to have me work for my dad to earn money. With the process of doing yard work, painting, cleaning and working with my dad, I have learned many things. I now work with purpose. I know that each plank that I paint or each plant that I cut, I am working for those lives that I will reach in Australia. With this, God provided me with patience, strength and diligence. I learned to obey my father's commands and to fufill them successfully. Who knew I would learn so many life lessons, merely by doing yard work for money? I sure didn't.

I'm still running the race. Still trying to reach my goal. However, I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am reaching up to merely $500 to go and I can almost feel the the relief. This support raising process has given me stress but has also led me to God. It has given me anxiety, but it has also led me to prayer. It has given me thoughts of defeat, but it has also reminded me of how amazing the result will be.

Thank you for all those who have supported. Please keep me in your prayers :)

I love you Lord and I lift my voice to worship you! Oh my soul, rejoice! Take joy my king, in what you hear! May it be a sweet, sweet sound, in your ear!

Glory be to God forever and ever, Amen!

HYPE

Time Flies

I still can't believe that I'm finishing up my first year at UCLA.

It still amazes me that time has gone by this fast.

I remember graduating & I remember stepping into UCLA not knowing at all what was going to happen the next year.

Who knew that I would be going on this new spiritual journey!

I've grown so much in my love for my Lord & He has definitely stretched and challenged me this year.

I'm so excited for the ways that he is going to use me this summer in Australia!

I'm supposed to be writing a paper right now, so I'll blog more later (:

How He Loves

While doing my bible study, I was listening to How He Loves (one of my favorite songs) & one part struck me today. There's this part where it's only instrumental & then all the sudden the tempo picks up and the chorus "Oh how he loves us! Oh how he loves us!" continues in & for me it meant something more than usual.

Through this time of support raising, I've forgotten that I'm not alone in this. I have a Lord God who is working everything out for me & has a great plan for me! And even though sometimes I forget how much he loves me, I always remember. Lately, I've felt like that instrumental part of the song - Still with the Lord, knowing He's there, but not exactly loving him or praising him for what he is doing. Then all the sudden, I feel this rush of peace, joy & happiness that floods my heart and my thoughts and I remember again how much I LOVE HIM. How much He is great! How all the glory goes to Him! And that He loves ME, out of all people. I am his child and he will guide me through an obstacle that I face.

Oh Lord, I love you & thank you for loving me.

Here I am humbled by the love that You give,
Forgiven so that I can forgive.
So here I stand,
Knowing that I am Your desire,
Sanctified by glory and fire.
And now I've found the greatest love of all is mine,
Since You laid down Your life,
The greatest sacrife.

Majesty, Majesty.
Your grace has found me just as I am,
Empty handed but alive in your hands.
Forever I am changed by Your love,
In the presence of Your Majesty.

Australia Lovin

Some of our Wallabe team, mostly UCLA kids with one Cal Poly friend!

I'm so excited for our team! They're all so great in different ways!

Lord, I lift up a prayer for our team at this moment. I pray that they are relying on you and solely you for their needs and wants! I know we are all going through stress with raising support, but I pray that you give them peace in their hearts. I pray for our leadership, that they will be vessels that you will directly use to guide us through preparation and the trip itself. I pray for those who are financially struggling. I pray that they trust fully in your mighty works and know that you will get them through any situation that comes their way. If it's in your will Lord, you will get every single one of us to Australia! Lord, I pray that with these last weeks of school, we will glorify you in everything that we do! That we will shine YOUR light and proclaim YOUR name in our actions and words. Lord I pray for those missionaries in countries and local areas now. I pray for strenghth, guidance, health, and high-spirits! I love you Lord so much and I thank you for placing me in an area where I can publicly proclaim my love for you! I pray this in your son's name. Amen.

Worship

I have always felt a strong connection to the Lord through the act of worship. I get this sense of comfort and love whenever I worship to my Lord through singing or just praying throughout the song. I've never really known why, but I can definitely feel God's presence with me during those times. Lately, worship has been a little different because of everything running through my mind. From Australia support raising, to the trip in general, to picking a leadership team next year . . my mind is just filled with all these thoughts that I'm praying to the Lord for guidance for. However, worship puts me into perspective onto WHOM I am asking the guidance from. The lyrics within the song help me refocus my prayers from asking for guidance to merely praising Him for his work in my life thus far. I am so incredibly blessed and I know that He will help me through these decisions and opportunities that He himself has blessed me with.

One song that has been on my heart lately is "With Everything" by Hillsong.

It's such a great illustration of giving everything to the Lord, which is definitely an intimidating thought, but something we're all called to do!

Open our hearts to see the things that make Your heart cry

To be the church, the You would desire

Light to be seen

Break down our pride and all the walls we've built up inside

Our earthly crowns and all our desires

We lay at Your feet

So let hope rise

And darkness tremble

In Your holy light

And every eye will see

Jesus, our God

Great and mighty to be praised

God of all days,

Glorious in all of Your ways.

Your majesty, the wonder and grace,

In the light of Your name.

With everything

With everything

We will shout for your glory

With everything

With everything

We will shout forth your praise

One of the many countdowns to come

76 more days till I'm in Australia!

Pressing On

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." (2 Corinthians 4:7-10)

This verse today in Bible Study encouraged me to keep pressing on towards my goal to go to Australia and to more broadly just continue evangelizing & reading the Word. Sometimes I may feel intimidated to share the Gospel, but a key point is that I am not alone and that I have the Almighty God on my side. These verses really depict the ups & downs of the Christian life. However, the key part of that is "up." Jesus never lets us stay down, rather he might have to break us down to remind of us of His glory and sovereignty. It's an encouraging thought to have - that no matter what, my Lord will help me, love me, and ulimately save me of eternal pain and suffering. So after this verse I am inspired! To keep pressing on to get into the Bible! To keep pressing on to spread the Gospel! To keep pressing on to Australia!

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

This also was a great verse in Bible Study which was very influential! These verses solidfy the fact that this life is only temporary, but our life in Heaven will be eternal! It gives hope to a future that we can't even fully comprehend. Even though life might have it's struggles down here, it will all pay off when we reach that everlasting life with God. I am encouraged by this verse to fix my eyes on what is unseen, rather than seen. Again - Putting God at the center of my life and having everything fall into accordance with His will.

And yes, this did remind me of Relient K's song "Pressing On"

"I'm pressing on.

Pressing on, all my distress is going, going, gone."

Happiness

My opa sent me this excerpt from one of Billy Graham's devotionals and I found it very relevant to my life. . .

I almost wish that Thomas Jefferson had not written about "the pursuit of happiness." Jefferson was correct that we should have a "right" to pursue happiness, but the problem today is that so many people are pursuing happiness without knowing exactly what they are looking for or where to find it. Happiness is a byproduct, not an end in itself. Happiness cannont be pursued anymore than one can pursue a cloudless day, grasp it, put it in a bottle, and then bring it out on a rainy day to enjoy again. True happiness is not superficial and fleeting, as a day at an amusement park might be. True happiness begins when one is in right relationship with God. In fact, God is the only source of true happiness, because He offers those intangibles that we mistakenly believe can be found on earth: contentment, security, peace and hope for the future. None of these can be found in a job, a human relationship, money, power or position. They are God's alone to give. That is why the Lord Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, told where ultimate happiness lies when He said, "Happy are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."

Now even though this doesn't directly relate to my summer project in Australia, it definitely relates to my spiritual walk with the Lord. It has put me into perspective of where I define my happiness. It brings up questions as to what I put at the center of my life. I do know that I am trying to pursue my Lord Jesus' attributes as best as I can. I am encouraged by this excerpt to further strive after that goal. I know that I am definitely not perfect, but I also know that He is perfecting me. He puts me through struggles for a reason and provides solutions for a reason. He challenges my faith but then picks me up if I fall. My God is a great God indeed and I know that only pure happiness can be found through Him. That is why I am happy today! Because I have full faith in my Lord that He will get me to Australia! One way or another I am going to get over to that continent and spread His name to the nations!

And it begins