14 Days and counting!

I now have 14 days till I leave for SE Asia. I have received all of my funding, $4,225, and sent in the last check. Thank you to my amazing church who gave $2,735 all together. It has been amazing to see how God has worked to get me the funds. I have gotten money from people I have never met that someone I know told them about me and they sent me money. My Aunt gave me $500 for Christmas to go towards my trip, the second time she has done this (last year for Africa). And when I first started raising the funds my church told me that whatever (no matter how much) I lacked they would pay for it. The security that gives is amazing, they even suggested giving it all at one point, I had to talk them out of it (believe it or not). I have had one very faithful lady give me $40 a week for 2 or 3 months, as of today she has given $440.

As the great hymn goes "Trust and Obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to Trust and Obey." He is faithful and will provide, when I started out I thought that the trip would only cost about $3,500, but as my domestic ticket has cost far more than I first anticipated it has become more. But God has taken up the slack and provided way more than I could have ever asked.

Romans 10:14-15

40 Days

Well, I will be leaving for SE Asia in 40 days. I have the rest of my money due on the 4th of December and right now I have $2,245, I need about $1,600 more. Our group is now down to 12 people and I do believe my fellow High Schooler is no longer going which makes me the only one in HS, again, but that is ok I am used to it by now. It is going to be a very interesting trip, we will be encountering a very different culture in a very different place.

Romans 10:14-15

What is going on!

So my preparations for my trip to SE Asia is going well. I have recieved $1,285 to date and my next dead line for funds is on November 7th and I have $1,500 due that day. We have a team of 15 people college students, high-school students (proud to say I am not the only one this time), and two adults going. We will leave on December 26th and return on Janurary 4th (I will arrive home on the 5th due to flight delays). We will travel from LA to Tiwan, then to Singapore where we will spend the night. The next morning we will leave and take a ferry to the island and a small plane to fly us inland. Then we will hike, or take a taxi, or donkeys (not quite sure of the last mode of transportation) to the city we will be ministering out of. We get to live out of backpacks for the 10 days we will be away, hmm, light packing! We will be visiting univerities, villages, and English school classes to teach the Gospel. This is (as Darren so rightly dubbed it) the Amazing Race of mission trips. Please be in prayer for our team as we prepare and gather funding and support for our trip. Then pray for our continued safty while in country and traveling.

Romans 10:14-15

Next Stop!

After returning home from New Mexico, I have had a whirlwind of things to do. I have traveled to Kentucky and back, gotten a job, orientation at college, and am now going to college. But most importantly I have committed to going to Southeast Asia. I'll leave here on the 26th of December and will arrive in country the 27th or close to it. We will be doing cross-cultural work in schools and homes. Sadly we still need people for the team. We have 5 signed up and need a team of 21. We are in dire need of males considering the ratio is 4:1 (the only male being the leader). I also need funds. I have $0 of my $3,525, I have sent out letters but that probably won't raise it all. I hope and pray and know that God will provide the funds and everything else that I need for this trip.

Romans 10:14-15

Result of the last week

The last week, as odd as it was with both genders of campers, went very well. My one to one actually changed to Mercedes rather than Shawny at the last moment. But she was an amazingly sweet young woman. She is a Christian and has been going to church for the last year since she was here before. Thankfully her mom takes her, so she does have a supportive parent. but we got along very well and I hope that I have helped to encourage her in her walk with Christ.

Saturday we all went home *tear* and after a very long day and flight delays I made it home around 2AM. Then I went to church Sunday morning. I love my church and I am so thankful God has given them to me. They are such a support and blessing. So this is the last blog on this mission trip. I will be going to Southeast Asia the day after Christmas so begin praying for that one and that I get all the funding I need.

Romans 10:14-15

Last Week of Camp

This week is very unusual. They have actually never done this before. We are basically having two camps going on at the same time. There will be a girls reunion camp and a boys reunion camp. But they will pretty much not interact with each other at all. The girl staff will be with the girls, there are 8 girl staff and 8 girl campers, and the guy staff will be with the boys, there are 6 guy staff and 5 boy campers. So it will be pretty much a 1 on 1 relationship all week. And since it is reunion campers there is in fact a girl here that is 17. Yeah, she is older than me. Any way here are the campers.

Boy Campers:
Jaimie
Elijah
Tristan
Jonathan
Hunter

Girl Campers:
Emilie
Felicia
Shawny (my 1 on1)
Mercedes
Sheena
Ramona
Yvette
Rachael

Pray for this last week of camp. It is only to Thursday this week but that night we are having the board of trustees at the ranch to visit and hear how the camp went. Friday we will be backing and getting ready to leave and then Saturday we will all be flying home. Therefore, pray for safe travel this weekend also. Thank you all so much and I will probably  not blog again till Friday or after I get home.
Romans 10:14-15

Results of First Year Girls Week 9

I fell in love with my three girls this week. They were all three 10 years old and we clicked very well. Two of them came to know Jesus as their Savior on Wednesday night also. It was amazing being able to lead those girls to Christ and to see the change in attitude the very next day. And the third girl had already accepted Christ so by the time they went home all three of them knew Christ. It was amazing. I rode back with them to Albuquerque on Friday and all the way home i kept hearing about how much they wanted to stay at the ranch. many of them thought in the beginning that camp would be boring or just really bad but by the first day they were having a blast! Most importantly though is they all went home with knowledge of Christ. Even if they weren't saved this week, they can now continue to come to EWYR and the seed has been planted.
Romans10:14-15

First Time girls Week 8

Campers:
Breeauna
Keyana
Bheira
Cinthia
Cheyeanna
Lanea
Rebekkah
Donnielle
Alissa
Alyssa
Larissa
Karina

This week I am in the bunk house, the first three girls are my bunk house and devo group. Please pray for us this week, it is getting close to the end of the summer and we are all tired and some of us are getting homesick (although others are dreading going home). This seems to be a group of girls that won't have too many problems, we do have one girl with cerebral palsy and another who was abused by her father when little so she is really shy towards men. so pray for those two specific girls (niether are in my group but they still need your prayers). Thank you guys and I love y'all. Thirteen days till camp is over... I am gonna miss this place!
Romans 10:14-15 

Results of Week 7

Yippie! We had such an awesome trip to the mountains. The boys had such an great time, especially the older ones. But the most amazing thing that happened this week is that both of the boys I my group were saved on Thursday night. Myself and Joe prayed with Emiliano and Josh prayed with Dominic. It was an amazing experence hearing the prayer of a kid accepting Christ. And they had much better attitudes after that, and that is saying alot! So keep praying for these boys and for their families. They have been here three times and I am so glad that they finnally accepted Him.
Romans 10:14-15

Boys Reunion 3rd and 4th year

Campers:
Dominic
Emiliano
Jacob
Joel
Lonnie
Roger
Tyler
Albert
Austin
Andrew

So the only thing that is unusual this week is the fact that we have a camper that is 16. Yeah, I know, same age as me. That actually isn't bothering me as much as I thought it would. But this up coming week we are taking the guys to the mountains to camp for two days. Please pray for our guy staffers: Jay, Josh, Joe, Zach, Isaias, and Matt. They will be with the guys in the mountains without any breaks for two days. They are going to be exhausted, pray that they keep their heads and get sleep, it is getting toward the end of the summer and everyone is getting tired. So pray that God gives us a big dose of energy every time we sleep. The girls will not be staying in the mountains but rather driving to and from every morning and night. So I need to go get ready to meet said campers. Keep praying, it works, I would know.
Romans 10:14-15

Results of First Year Girls Week 7

So had a pretty amazing week. On the very first day I was moved out of Jay and Sarah's devo group into one with Josh and Hannah. The three of us were specifically put with the two girls that are selective mutes. The older one was my one on one and the younger was Hannah's. In a interesting and slightly confusing turn of events I ended up in the bunk house. Three of our campers dropped out last minute and we couldn't get replacements. So all the girls staff were in the bunk house. On Monday when they arrived they were extremely shy and would barely even look at you, by Tuesday they would look at you but they would answer your questions with very small nods. Once Wednesday came around the three of us had fugured out how to read their body language and how to make them laugh. The older of the girls would laugh and smile but the younger forced herself not to. On Thursday they were much more responsive and began to participate in group acivities, but because they only seemed to trust Hannah, Josh, and I we were the only ones they would partner with during any of the games. Friday we realized that they love air hocky... so we played for an hour before they had to leave. They both laughed and giggled and occasionaly speak to each other, in Spanish so I had no idea what in the world they were saying. They were both very beautiful girls and I am so glad we were able to build a relationship with them, I hope and pray that if i can not come back next year and they do that one of the other staff that they already trust will be here so they don't have to start from the ground up again.
Also you may pray for me this week, I was minorly injured twice in the past week. Once playing volley ball, I bent my wrist backwards and I don't have the strongest wrists in the world to begin with, thankfully that is better but I don't want to reinjure it. Then on Saturday we were going to play a game of staff twohand touch football and during one of the practice warm up runs one of the guys accedently (wasn't looking where he was running) plowed me over. So now my entire left side of my body is sore. I liken said pain to falling off a horse.
Thank you for you prayers and support, I really could feel them this week.
Romans 10:14-15

First Time Girls Week 6

So this week I only have two campers in my devo group. I am not in the bunk house either but Ms. dianne made up for that by giveing me one of the two campers that are selective mutes. That basically means that they chose not to speak, either because they are uncomfortable speaking English or becasue they are very insecure. Or both. So please pray for me and Josh, we are the two that are paired one on one with these girls and we are going to have to be very creative. So here they all are,
Campers:
Jessica
Cecelia (my girl)
Nayeli (Josh's girl)
Sarah
Joselyn
Roxanne
Alexis
Gamilla
Beverly
Shanice
Brandy
Thank you so much again and again for your prayers and support. If you only new how much it helped out here you would be amazed. One of the lessions I have learned recently is that prayer is the fuel for every breathe you take when in the ministry and it should be for everything in your life. Love you all so much and please pray that these little girls open up to, at least, me and Josh.
Romans 10:14-15

Aftermath of Camp Week 5

So this week was pretty much amazing! I absolutely loved my devo group. We had 6 ADHD 9 and 10 year olds and 6 highly intelligent 12 and 13 year olds. Thank the Lord I got three of the older ones. i pretty much fell in love with them. To the point that when one of them left yesterday I cried, I hadn't cried all summer (sad, yes, but not to that point). We had three that I know of accept Christ: Gabriel, Jason, and Romeo. Gabe was in my devo group, Sarah and I singled him out specifically for prayer all week. On Wednesday night, while we were praying for him, Jay lead him to Christ. It was amazing, he had been making some very bad decisions before and Sarah had a conversation with him before he left that gives me hope that he will not go back to who he was before this week. Pray that he and the others will stay strong in the Lord, they have the most important tool, the God-breathed love letter called the Bible, that we give all the first time campers. Keep praying that God will continue to use me in ways I could never imagine. love you guys and thank you so much for your support and prayers!

Romans 10:14-15

First time boys camp Week 5

So this week is all first time campers. From the assessment of them in their homes we have a very intelligent difficult group of young men coming. So, as usual, first three are my boys.
Campers:
Gabriel
David
Carlos
Thomas
Jason
Carlos
Diego
Marcus
Osvaldo
Eugene
Darren
Jordan

Keep pray for our staff. Apparently, as it seems, this group of boys are more intelligent collectively than the whole staff are put together. They all do very well in sciences and gifted classes at school. The majority of their problems lay at home. Also 5 of our staffers will be working VBS at Immanuel Baptist Church during the mornings, myself included but only on Monday cause the girl who is supposed is not going to be here in time to go tomorrow, so I am taking her place. Keep praying for us, and keep praying for the kids. Love you guys. Romans 10:14-15  

Results of Girls Reunion Camp

So this week I was in the bunk house, as I mentioned before. It was pretty amazing, I love my girls and I miss them so much. We had a wonderful week and the girls were really responsive to what we were teaching. We took them to them mountains we hiked and had a picnic lunch. Then we played Sardines in the woods, it was great and the girls had so much fun. After that we cooked hot-dogs over a camp fire and had smores. One of the really amazing things we learned about while they were here( I say "we" cause I didn't know it before) was Laminin. If you don't know what that is google images it. Seriously if I get time sometime this summer I will write a blog about it and show you a pic. It is awesome how God made it to attatche every molecule of our body together. BTW, the video I learned this off of was How Great Is Our God by Louie Gigleo. If you ever get a chance watch it. Also when I say I am in the bunk house I mean I am always with the kids, 24/7, no breaks, I seriously went oevr 32 hours without a break. It was exhausting but I can't wait to do it again! Keep praying for me and for our staff. Love y'all, blessings!
Romans 10:14-15

Ok, wrong campers!

So in the last 12 hours after getting the list of camper's names we have found out that three of them will not be comeing this week but we have found three replacement campers. So instead of haveing the second Asley we have Jordan, instead of Rebecca we have Katlyn, instead of Racheal we have Brianna. There is the fixed list. It doesn't change who I have in the bunk house or in my Bible Study, I still have Alieza, Britany, and Sabriena. Keep praying!
Romans 10:14-15

Reunion Girls Week Four

So this week I will be in the bunk house.So pray for me as much as you can! The first three are in my bunk group, but the rest need my prayers. Campers:

Alieza
Britany
Sabriena
Asley
Desirae
Marisa
Rebecca
Marisa Ann
Andrea
Rachael
Ashley
Anngelleekhaa

Keep praying for the staff here. WE have a couple girls who are anti-men and we will have to really work with them. Also we have a staffer who has sprained her knee, she is really bummed out right now and needs alot of prayer.  Love you guys so much, and thank you for your prayers and support!
Romans 10:14-15

Campers Week Three (Reunion Camp)

This week is a reunion camp, that basically means they have been here before. Sometimes they are older, even in high school, but this week we have 10 to 13 year-olds. So here are our campers: 

Joel
Bobby
Isaiah
Joseph
Zackery
Santiago
Wyatt
Bryan
Patrick
Chris
Dallas
Anthony

Please pray that their hearts be opened to the things God wills for them to hear, and that the staff will be given the things we need to say and that we are focused solely on them. Pray that the Spirit of God flows through us so that these kids can feel the presence of Christ in us. Thank you so much for your support on this mission trip. I appreciate it more than you can imagine.
Romans 10:14-15

Results of the second week!

This past week we had one girl that we know of for sure that accepted Christ, Kaylie. We have had many of them asking good questions and seeking the Lord. I pray that they go back to their churches and ask more questions. I pray that we have deeply planted a seed in these girls life. I got so close to them even though I was not in the bunk house with them. I love them to death and today i even got a letter from one of my Bible Study girls who had been seeking to know more about God. I pray that through writing her I am able to help her understand a little more. Keep praying for these girls, you fall in love with the kids in such a short time and you don't want to have to send them home cause you know what they are going to go though. Pray for our staff also. We need to remain unified and Satan is trying every which way to get to us.
Romans 10:14-15 

After Camp Week One

So week one is over. I am trying to find out who all was saved this week cause we haven't turned in the reports yet. I know that Manuel, Luis, Chris, Dezmin, and Joseph were saved, PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!! I am overjoyed! We had a wonderful week, most everything went well. Thankfully, I did well in archery. I didn't get shot and the kids did really well. I was afraid that I was going to have to lead the archery myself next week because our adult leader is not going to be here, she is going on vacation. So I have been trying my best to pay attention to what she does and then on Thursday she comes and tells me that Mr. Isaias, who has assisted before is going to come and help me. Thank you Lord!

Week Two Campers (Girls)

Please pray for the campers this week. We had 4 or 5 saved last week. I will not (I don't think) be in the bunk house this week, but I will be doing a lot in the Bible Studies.
This week the campers are:
Alicia
Alyssa
Rebecca
Kaylie
Koralie
Victoria
Lauren
Kianna
Amelia
Cassandra
Brittany
Delilah
The staffers are the same but now we have Isaias as the leader for archery for this week.

Please pray for the girls, that their hearts will be open to what we have to say. And please pray that the staff will be unified and radiate the fire of the gospel in everything we do and say. Thank you all for your support!
Romans 10:14-15

Praise!!!!!!

We just found out tonight that Walmart has donated $50,000 to the camp. We will now be able to build the high and low rope courses they have been dreaming of building for a while. This comes as a answer to prayers! Friday Mr. Albert asked us as staffers to pray as a group for the camp. They are planning on building another dorm room and they had to get a permit and they have been waiting on the architect to contact them to let them know that they have a permit, by Sunday morning the architect had called! God answers prayers!!!!!!  Romans 10:14-15

First Week Of Camp (Prayer Requests)

Please pray for the campers and the staffers this week!
Campers:
Raul
Orlando
Tim
Luis
Manuel
Robbie
Dezmin
Joseph
Frankie
Chris
Kevin
Logan
Staffers:
Hannah
Sarah H.
Matthew
Josh
Maddie
Zach
Jay
Joe
Suzannah
Megan
Emily
Bethany
Caleb
Vanessa
Full Time:
Ms. Dianne
Mr. Albert
Ms. Karen
Ms. Colleen

Thank You all so much for the prayers and support. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of the campers and for the Holy Spirit to teach us what to say and how to act. Pray for unity with the campers and with the staffers.
Romans 10:14-15

Week One: Training

So training is complete! YAY! I am assistant teaching archery in the morning and in the evening I am teaching a small group Bible Study. On the weekends I am teaching the elementary Sunday School, we are doing a study on the Ten Commandments. Our group has already become very close and we have developed a very good comrade. Next week we get our first group of kids, it'll be boys week, and we will be diving right in.
Starting next week our schedule will be packed. We will be up and at it by 6:30 and we will have to get the kids up at 7:00, by 7:30 we have flag raising and devotional/testimony, then breakfast. After breakfast we have rotations; archery, outdoor adventure, and horsemanship. Afterward we have singspiration and lunch. After lunch we have R&R, rest and realxation. Then we have swimming and small group Bible Study. At 3:00 we have ice cream then organized 1 on 1 where we have one staffer per one camper and we just hang out and spend time with our camper. After that we have dinner and watch part of a movie. After the movie we have adventure recreation then snack time and debrefing. Then we have outdoor games like capture the flag and volleyball. The small group evening devotions. By 9:15 we are in the bunkhouse and asleep by 10. Them we wake up and do it again!
Romans 10:14-15

Quick update!

Just a quick update before bed! I arrived in Albuquerque on time and meet everyone I needed to. I didn't have too many problems, I did get lost in Dallas but I had enough time to correct it! I have meet most of our group and we are all getting along really well so far. There are 12 staff and we will have 12 campers every week. So we have a very nice 1 on 1 time. We will be having training and assignments for the rest of this week and then we will be diving right in next week. Our first group of kids will be guys and I'll have different responsibilities on those weeks and the next week we will have girls. I am having a blast here and I am learning about my team and about the camp quickly. I will try to get more up in the next couple of days. Keep praying for me!
Romans 10:14-15

Testing

If this email works then I will be able to post things on my blog directly from my email. I hope that it does so I don't have to jump through a whole bunch of hoops. Lucky me, my Dad discovered this yesterday and I only have 8 days till I leave. Please pray for me as I travel to New Mexico next Saturday.

Romans 10:14-15

Upcomeing Mission Trip to New Mexico

This summer I will be working with the North American Mission Board (NAMB) as a sojourner missionary. Sojourner missions is a program for Junior and senors in High School and Freshmen and Sophomores in college. You are given the opportunity to go on summer mission trips to almost anywhere in the United States for two to ten weeks. There are opportunities for many different kinds of ministry from Creative Arts to VBS.

I will be going to Eagles' Wing Youth Ranch in Mountainair, New Mexico. I will be working as a camp counselor at their summer camps. The kids I will be serving will be 10 to 13 years old most of which will come from underprivileged homes. They are able to go there for free because of donations from different churches and sponsors. We will teach the kids how to do things like ride and groom a horse and to shoot archery and lasso a (unmoving) cow. We will have recreational sports like low and high ropes and swimming. Most importantly they will all hear of the love of Christ and about His saving grace.

I will be leaving on May 23 and I will return ten weeks later on August 1, the longest I have ever been away from home at once (pray for my Dad!). I plan to use this blog to update everyone about what is going on there. Sadly, I will not be able to log on here myself, but I will be e-mailing my blogs to my Dad who will be posting them for me. Please pray for me!

God Bless!

Romans 10:14-15

Mission Trip to South Africa

This past winter I was privilaged to get the opportunity to serve as a missionary in South Africa. I was there from December 29, 2008, to Janurary 7,2009. I traveled and worked with a group of 24 people called DoMissions, there were three leaders, two in seminary, one mom, lots of college students, and me, the only high schooler! We were based out of and worked with a church in Escourt, South Africa, called Midlands Christian Centre. We used soccer clinics and "hut-to-hut" witnessing as an opportunity to share the Gospel with the Kwazulu-Natal tribe. We visited three villages outside of Escourt called Wembezi, Ntabamhlope, and Dalton Bridge. We were able to give some of the families food (rice, beans, and corn meal) and the kids soccer balls, cleats, and stuffed animals.

On Saturday we were in Ntabamhlope standing outside our van praying for each other before we made our next visit, a group of kids began to gather behind us. Some of us felt that we needed to talk to the kids, so we split up and some of us made the next visit while others stayed behind to talk to the kids. Our group leader began talking to them and we found out that they had never heard of God or the name of Jesus. My leader, Katie, let me share witht them about who God is and about what Jesus did. I told them about God the Creator, about Adam and Eve and sin. I told them about how the Iraelites had to sacrifice animals, lambs, for the payment of their sins, which connects for them because they believe that you must sacrifice goats in order to appease their ancestors. I told them how Jesus came and lived a life without sin then died for us to pay for our sins once for all. And about how He rose again and invites us all to come to Him for salvation. Then I asked if anyone wanted that salvation, and one girl, about 14 or 15 years old, instantly shot up her hand. I prayed with her, Precious is her name, and afew minutes later the others from our group returned and I introduced her to the full time missionary with us, Erlo, who provided a way for her to get to church.

We need to pray for missions in South Africa! So many people are just like those kids, they have never heard of God! Please pray for Midlands Christian Centre and their pastors Dermont and Glenda Sandalls and Jon and Tracy Kuhn, along with the full time missionaries, Erlo, Brenda, Delhi, and my friend Ntando, and for every DoMission team that goes there. Also pray for me as I look to go back this winter.
Romans 10:14-15

Mission Trip to Jamaica

I was 13 the first time I went on a mission trip. My Mom and I went to Jamaica with our church. We worked out of a church and a school, we did Vacation Bible School in an elementary school every morning. I helped teach the kindergarten class which was every kid from 5 years old down. Many parent would bring their kids to VBS then go to the youth class, we had every age from babys 1 year old to adults 30 years old. Two afternoons we were there we went to an orphanage where some of us taught the kids Bible stories and made crafts with them while others painted the building. It was very sad because while many of the kids really didn't have parents some of them did but their parents couldn't afford to keep them, so they would send them to the orphanage to live and go to school.

Most of the time when someone says "I went to Jamaica" everyone thinks of beaches and vacations. My stay there revealed that Jamaica is not what it looks like on the TV. The majority of the people there make their livelihood from farming or tourists (selling souviners or working at villias). There were not many houses there becasue most people live in, well, boxes. They find whatever they can (cardboard, scrap metel and wood) and stack it all ontop of each other, kinda like kids do when they build a playhouse, and that is where they live. They will live like that till the next hurricane then after the storm they will pick up the pieces and rebuild.

Just like everywhere else, Jamaicans need Jesus, they need someone to bring them the gospel.

Romans 10:14-15

Why Am I Blogging?

I am called by God to be a missionary. I have already stepped out on that calling in the past and I will be going again this summer. I have in the past been to Jamaica, various places in the U.S., and more recently to South Africa, and this summer I will go to New Mexico. I know that I will be going on many more mission trips in my future so I decided to build a blog site to inform people of where I am going and what I am doing. Maybe one day I will be a full time foreign missionary and I will be able to tell any Christian anywhere about how the Lord is working where I am. Maybe God will use this site to let people who wouldn't know what a missionary does get an "inside look". I pray that whatever God uses this site for and anything else I do or say to glorify Him.