Macedonia! Part Two!

This March I'll be traveling with Reign Ministries, partnering with SEND International to work with the Syrian Refugees in Skopje, Macedonia. (March 19-27) 
We will be engaged in refugee relief work that includes food and water distribution, providing supplies to young mothers and their children, and sharing the gospel through SD cards they can put into their phone and carry with them as they make their way north. 

I am so excited for this opportunity to work with refugees and alongside other missionaries. God has placed the Syrian refugee crisis on my heart and I cannot wait to stop talking and start doing something to make a difference. 

Now...here is the fun story. Today is Saturday. On Wednesday I got my acceptance email. And just a couple hours later I got a new email. This email was about our flights. Prices jumped and our travel agent found us a new flight to Macedonia and back. It was substantially cheaper but there was a catch. We would need at least $578 in our accounts to cover the airfare.  That gave me just about two days to raise a large portion of my funds. And then on top of that, my name wasn't online so I couldn't receive online gifts until Thursday, giving me only a day to raise the funds.

I'll be honest. I cried. For a brief moment, I doubted myself. Did I hear God correctly? Am I really supposed to go? How am I going to get almost $600 in a day? I spent that night in worship and prayer and pouring my heart out to God. All of Thursday as I posted online and sent messages and made phone calls, I prayed.
It was a humbling couple days. Realizing that there was nothing I could do and it was ALL in God's hands. I trusted Him and knew that if this is what He was calling me to do, He would provide. And all day I held my anxious heart at bay. 
I knew of a couple gifts that people planned to give but the running total I knew I still needed was around $300. I went to bed that night not knowing if there would be the remaining $300 in my account in the morning.

I had a dream that night that I had raised $1,000. I woke up feeling peaceful and knowing God will provide. 

Hours went by. I kept busy by a visit to the Vet with my kitten Zeke and babysitting at church.It was during that hour of babysitting that I got the message. 

The total I had gotten as of Friday morning was $875!!! I was ecstatic! I was OVER the amount due that morning. I WAS GOING TO MACEDONIA IN MARCH!

But you think that's it? It got better!

By the end of the day, I received over $1,000 towards my trip! How good is our God? How Faithful!!!
Plus, lets not forget that my dream came true ;)

Let me break down the costs of the trip.

• $900 for the trip.
• $578 for international airfare
• $___ for domestic airfare
• $___ travel insurance (May actually be a part of the $900)
• $___ spending money/supplies

All I have left to fund raise is less than $500 for the trip and money to cover domestic airfare (flights Buffalo to Chicago and then NYC to Buffalo). 
I should be able to cover my spending money and supplies. 
I'll be doing fundraising through churches in the area and continuing to take online donations to finish.
The rest of my funds are due March 11th. And I'll need to get the money to book my flights sooner rather than later.

The last couple days have been a wild ride. One that I have enjoyed and learned from. Like I said all through fund raising for Kairos.

MY GOD IS A MOUNTAIN MOVER!!

No time limit is too short for Him. No amount too large. 

His resources are infinite and he is the creator of time. 

March is going to be so amazing!

Macedonia! Part One

I have a lot to tell you about in regards to what is next in my life. This is just part one. 

It all started last January (2015). It was during a week where our teaching was on Destiny by Wick Nease. Wick is an amazing teacher and missionary. He works with orphanages around the world and his story is incredible. As he taught my Kairos class on how to figure out our destiny, he would randomly show us a picture and tell us the story of an orphan he has met. Each day he showed us one or two more orphans and each time I looked into their eyes, my heart ached. It was only half way through the week when I finally let my heart feel what it was feeling and I walked into Erika's (director of Kairos) office and began to sob. God was working in my heart and I couldn't quite explain what was happening. Erika of course knew what was going on and with a loving smile told me, "I knew this week was going to impact you." Glad someone knew what was going on ;)

Later that day at the end of the youth service at the church I was interning at, God began pulling at my heart through the songs we sang. One song in particular spoke out to me. 

"You make me brave. 

You call me out beyond the shore into the waves.

You make me brave.

No fear can hinder now the promises you made."

I knew in my heart that night that God was  calling me to something. I had that feeling even before Kairos started that something big was coming after Kairos ended. And that night God was reawakening that feeling of expectancy. And in all honesty, it terrified me. Because what I was beginning to get more answers on scared me. God was calling me to a place where I may be traveling alone. All my travel and mission trips were always with a large group of people and I could trustingly follow my trip leaders through the scary airports and strange streets of a foreign land. And now God was calling me to something that would most likely mean going alone. Now, I know I'm not "alone". God is always with me. But when I mean alone, I mean with no one to follow.
And that is very scary to me. I don't like airports.

That night I said yes to God. I was scared but God would make me brave. He would provide what I needed to accomplish what He was calling me to do. 

I continued the year of Kairos all the while holding in my heart the desire to work with orphans and continue in missions. But God is faithful and continued to remind me of this new passion.

I saw the movie twice last year. It's called 'The Drop Box' and it is about a pastor in South Korea. He created a safe box in the wall of his house that mothers could safely leave their infants that they no longer wanted. Hundreds of babies die each year on the streets of Seoul. Most are abandoned and die before they are found. This movie touched my soul. I cried both times I watched it. It kept saying something inside me, reminding me that this is what I want to do.


I did research to try and find organizations that worked primarily with orphans and abandoned babies. 

And then I found one. Anchor of Hope-Romania. They work with orphans, young mothers and abandoned and sick babies in hospitals. This is literally my dream come true mission work.

I stayed in contact with AOH throughout the remainder of my time in Kairos and for a couple months afterwards. Their responses to my emails were scattered and took sometimes over a month to get an answer to my question. I hold no hard feelings, I understand things are crazy doing what they do. A couple months ago I was ready to begin my fund raising and I started to share with those around me my plans. But I was still waiting on some important answers. Weeks went by and no word came from AOH. 

During this time of waiting, I was becoming confused and frustrated. I thought this was what God was calling me to do. I so desperately wanted to go to Romania and love on those cute kids and hold those unwanted babies that I would want to take home in a heart beat.

I kept praying, asking God to show me what His plan was because this was taking so long. I was trying to be patient and trust in his timing. I've learned as of late that patience comes and goes with me.
One Sunday before church started I got a text. I get these texts every day and they always include a different verse. That Sunday the verse was:

Proverbs 3:5

 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."

 I thought how great a verse it was and went on my way to church.
That day at church a lady who I hadn't had the chance to meet yet came up to me and introduced herself. Her name is Faith. We chatted for a second and just as she was leaving, she stopped and faced me again. She told me that this was a good verse and proceeded to say Proverbs 3:5. It took everything in me not to burst out in tears. My heart was pounding a loud YES. 

I went home that day and seriously took that verse and thought it through and prayed it through. I was giving everything up to God and putting it into His hands and His timing. I prayed that prayer with all my heart. Just a few days later I was scrolling through facebook and that's when I first saw Reign's trip to Macedonia. My heart leaped instantly. I quickly read the information on the trip and was drawn in. Then I found out that my trip leader from Scotland was leading this trip. Even better because Matt is awesome!

That weekend I went on a young adult retreat. There was lots of worship and time of reflection and teachings. It was a great weekend. I focused on God's direction in my life. This trip to Macedonia would be so amazing. But what about Romania? 

Well, all weekend this phrase kept being said. "Wait, there is something better." And I kept thinking, maybe that's what God is telling me. To wait on Romania because Macedonia is coming first. 

Now, I say all this because my original "plan" was go to Romania in March! And now Macedonia was happening...in March. And I  felt God speaking through our speaker, "Wait...there is something better."

To Be Continued...



Here is a link to the Drop Box Film. Check it out. And if you are able to somehow watch it. It's an amazing film.


http://dropbox.focusonthefamily.ca/


***
I do still plan on going to Romania and working with AOH. They finally did email me back the other day. There is someone new taking over emails and responding. So when I do pick that back up, it shouldn't take months to get an answer! Haha...

Way Beyond Me

"That You gave me the stars put them out of my

 reach

Called me to waters a little too deep

Oh, I've never been so aware of my need

You keep on making me see

It's way beyond me"

"Beyond Me" by Toby Mac

I heard this song on the radio tonight. I have heard it before but tonight it really hit me what it was saying. I knew I had to share it. As I look over the last five years, I can see time after time again that God has called me to something way beyond my abilities. He has called me on four mission trips and a discipleship program. Altogether, I have raised over $17,000. That is such an insurmountable figure to me. It's way beyond me. It's out of my league.

 God is in the business of calling people to things that are impossible to them, to waters too deep. 

Why does God do this?

He calls us to these things so that we can in turn learn how to fully and wholeheartedly trust and rely on God to get us through. 

I would never have raised that amount of money on my own. It was only through God's infinite provisions that I was blessed enough with the funds to go on these life changing trips. And I am no where close to being done. 

God doesn't call you once.

You also don't learn this lesson only once.

Each and every time God calls me to the waters, I feel like I am drowning. And every time God reminds me to trust. 

Just recently there have been some hiccups in my original plan for this spring (I will get into that more in a later post) and I was beginning to feel frustrated and discouraged. I was confused. God had called me to something and now it wasn't looking like it was going to happen. 

Then one Sunday I was reminded of a verse in Proverbs. 

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and 

lean not on your own understanding. In all

 your ways acknowledge Him and He will make

 straight your paths."

I had to refocus. I had to pray. And soon enough God gave me peace. And then He showed me something else. (will explain in a later post)

God came through. He answered my prayers. He always does.

"You take me to the place where I know I need You

Straight to the depths that I can't handle on my own

And Lord I know, I know I need You

So take me to Your great …

Take me to Your great unknown"

So if God is calling you to something and your first reaction is to fear or ignore it. 

DON'T!

"I am absolutely convinced that the greatest regrets in life will be missed opportunities."

-Mark Batterson 'In a Pit with a lion on a snowy day.'

God will make your paths straight, you need only to pray and trust in Him. He is, after all, our maker, Father, and God. 

If you are having trouble letting go of control in your life, feel free to comment below. I'd love to pray with and for you. 

Are you fundraising for something that God has called you on and would like some pointers, let me know! I've definitely done my fair share of fundraising and I'm still not finished!

I definitely encourage you to read Mark Batterson's book, "In a pit with a lion on a snowy day". How to survive and thrive when opportunity roars.Such a great read. One of my favorites! 

(You can buy that here: 

http://www.amazon.com/Pit-Lion-Snowy-Day-Opportunity/dp/1590527151/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453525659&sr=8-1&keywords=in+a+pit+with+a+lion+on+a+snowy+day

Thanks for reading! Be sure to 

subscribe/follow!

Beka

Here is the video if you would like to listen to the entire song!

Death Wish Coffee

WARNING: This coffee is extremely good! 

My dad asked for this for Christmas last year so I thought I would get it and since I had the money, I got myself a bag too. I am one of the few in my family that likes my coffee strong. My Papa, Dad and Uncle all like brown water. Only me and another Uncle like strong coffee. Now, I like my coffee sweet but I also like to taste the coffee under all that sugar ;)

I waited to try this until Christmas morning. If it was as strong as they say, I'd need it that morning!

Christmas morning came and I made myself a large (and I mean large) cup of coffee. (not picture shown)

It definitely is as strong as they say. And the taste was so good!

But what was better than the taste and caffeine? How about the fact it is USDA Organic? Or better yet, FAIR TRADE! I drank my coffee in peace knowing no slaves were used to harvest the coffee beans, something that is very much going on in the world today. 

So if you are wanting to try some new, strong coffee then I most definitely recommend Death Wish Coffee. 

P.S. My dad loved it as well! A little too strong for him when he followed the directions. But later on he just used less grounds and that works well for him.

P.S.S.
Make sure to subscribe/follow!

And if you are interested, here is the link to get your own!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006CQ1ZHI?keywords=death%20wish%20coffee&qid=1453424361&ref_=sr_ph&sr=1

Beka

Come and See

Come and See ...

John 1:46

"We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

John 4:28-29

So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?"

Psalm 66:5-6

Come and see what God has done, His awesome deeds for mankind! He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on food-come, let us rejoice in Him.

Come and see...

When I first read these verses back in October, they really hit me. It stirred something within me. Come. Following Jesus requires an action, a step of faith. See. When we take that step of faith that Jesus is calling us to, He will show us His will. Come and see. I love those three words. I love them because I can attest to the truth in that statement. 

I have heard the call of God in my life many times. I have taken those steps of faith. It always reminds me of that scene in Indiana Jones when Indy has to take that step of faith over the chasm, believing that somehow and someway he will not fall to his death.

In the same way, when God has called me to something or somewhere, I have to take that same step of faith. I never know where the path will lead. I barely know what will happen two steps down the road. I just have to trust in God because I know He knows it all. And that is enough for me.


So come...and see all that God is doing in my life. 

Come and see!

I have started and forgotten so many blogs but I hope this blog is different. I hope this one will stay alive for a very long time.

This blog is for everything. It's for my mission trip updates, crafts, reviews, projects and whatever comes to my mind. I hope you join me in this adventure called life and stay up to date on all that is happening.

Come

And 

See

Beka