Mele Kalikimaka!

It's Christmas Eve here on the Big Island, and I found myself quite lonely earlier today. I even started to pity myself. Then I was hit with a huge reminder of what this holiday is all about. I walked to the beach where I found a lovely palm tree to lean against and relax. As the sun slipped away below the horizon, the sky lit up with magnificent colors! The sunsets are always nice here in Hawaii, but this one seemed a little extra special. Then, as the sky darkened only one star became visible, and it was so so so bright. Okay, so it may have been a planet. But it made me think about the first Christmas night, how they followed the star to find Jesus in the manger. I am just overcome at the gift that was then, is still today, and will be forever! He came for me, I'm not alone! I am not lonely, I have no reason to pity myself. My daddy in Heaven sent the best gift that I get to have every single day. And it's not just mine, it's a gift for you too. And everyone on this planet. I pray that in my lifetime, every person would hear of this gift and be given a chance to receive it. I am so thankful for the love God has for us. I am overcome with joy!! It's a beautiful Christmas on the island. Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas) to all my friends and family :)

Feeling Happy vs. Having Joy

I have recently come to the realization that there is a definite difference between feeling happy and having joy. While both are great and positive things,one is permanent and one is temporary. At first I found this thought rather challenging, but the more I think about it, the more I can accept it and be quite satisfied with the idea. I love the feelings of happiness, but they come and go. It is comforting to know that even in my times of sadness I can find joy. I am a daughter of the Most High, and this fact should ALWAYS give me joy. I may not always FEEL joy but the fact that my Heavenly Father has paid the price for me and saved my undeserving soul is surely something to HAVE joy over. I think that as humans, we get caught up in emotions and feeling much too easily. I certainly do, I mean I'm a single female in my 20s, and on top of that I battle PMS every 4 weeks! This is a huge reason why I need God and rely on God. If it wasn't for Him, my feelings would get the best of me. I'm so thankful I have somewhere to turn to and dump my feelings. Thank you Jesus!!! "...the joy of the Lord is your strength" Nehemiah 8:10

Greetings!
Hello friends and family. Please forgive my lack of frequent updates. I have had a quite challenging few weeks, and I feel I've finally reached a point where I feel peace with the decisions I have made. I wasn't sure what sort of commitment I wanted to make to YWAM or how exactly I wanted to be involved. I was struggling thinking about living on an island versus going home to the mountains that I love so much. I realize now that God is taking me out of my comfort zone for a purpose. And I am now finding comfort outside of my comfort zone. I have committed to the work I am doing here for at least the next year. As I've mentioned before, I'm working with a ministry called PhotogenX. Our small team is currently working hard on a website we hope to launch very soon. The site is a Voice for the Voiceless. We're researching over thirty issues of injustice that occur all over the world, praying into the issues, and presenting them in practical ways. People will be able to visit the site, learn, and do. There will be ideas of projects, places to serve, and specific things to pray for. I am also working on the book that I started with my team in Cambodia. So I am quite busy here. I enjoy the work, but it is emotionally tiring and heartbreaking almost daily. It is good though, really good.
I have many prayer requests! Thank you to everyone who partners with me in prayer. As I said, it has been challenging for me here. I have been feeling overwhelmed and stressed with the work I'm doing. I've been struggling with loneliness, although I do have a couple amazing friends here. In a worship time we had a few nights ago, God was speaking very clearly to me. He said that only when I give everything will I have everything. Whoa! I believe that is true, but it is a tough one for me. Please pray for these struggles. Also, please pray for our PhotogenX family, that we will continue to have a passion and a heart for the issues we are researching. And last, please pray for my finances. I trust God, I trust that I am supposed to be here. I have seen His incredible provision. I am not worried because it is in His hands, but I do need continual prayer and support with finances. Thank you so much for keeping up with me and my adventure! Blessings!

John 16:33 :)

WHAT'S NEXT....

Hello Everyone!
Well, I'm back on the YWAM base here in Kona. I have finally gotten over jet lag and my brain is functioning enough for a brief update. The DTS I am in is nearly completed, and I am making plans for after. I will graduate in a couple days, and hopefully by next week will be working full time with PhotogenX (. This will include working on the book that our team started while in Cambodia, and there are other opportunities within the PhotogenX ministry as well. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I will be living here as staff. All YWAM staff are volunteers who pay their own housing and various other expenses. Please join me in prayer for financial provision. I am excited to see God provide in this time. Please also join us in prayer for this book we will be working on. Thank you for your continued support. I plan to update here often, so feel free to check back!

My Ten Weeks in Cambodia

Nearing the End

Hello everyone!
It has been a while since I last updated on my Cambodian adventure, but I am still here and doing very well! We only have a week and a half left in Battambang, then we will head to another location in Cambodia for one week, and after that we will be debriefing as a team in Thailand. I have a feeling this will all go by very quickly, as the last 8 weeks have. As things are coming to an end, I look over the time I have been here and realize just how much I love it here and love the people. I have made amazing new friends, and I've made some fantastic, lasting memories. I have learned to use chop sticks with ease, eat a bug with a smile, accept dirt and sweat as a normal part of my wardrobe, and honking rarely causes me to jump hysterically on my bicycle anymore. I feel quite at home in Cambodia. I will be sad to leave, but so happy to move on to my next adventure. And I certainly do have some exciting plans. Our team has decided to put together a book. Early on in this outreach, I had vision for a book, and I presented it to the team.  They were excited as well, so we moved forward with it. It is going to be a book about hope. As I've mentioned in a previous update, there is much hope in this nation, especially in the young generation. The goal of the book is to promote prayer, that it would get into the hands of people all over the world and people would pray for Cambodia. We have so much creative talent on our team, so I'm pretty stoked to see what we are able to put together. There will be lots of photos of course, and other artistic expressions as well. We've been diligently collecting information, photos, and stories while we've been here. I and at least one other member of the team, Kat, have volunteered to see the book out to the finish. We will be staying at the YWAM base in Kona after our DTS is finished to work on completing the book and getting it published. Our time to work on the book will include editing, layout, design, and fundraising. I know it will be challenging, and I am so excited for this project. I also have plans for after the book. I plan to stay with YWAM as staff. As you may or may not know, YWAM has many, many bases around the world. As of right now, I don't know exactly where I will end up, but I do have some ideas. I will continue to pray about it. As YWAM staff, I will be living completely on support. This is a little bit scary to think about, but I trust God will provide. I do feel this is what God is calling me to do, so I will pursue in faith. As always, thank you for catching up with me! I appreciate your continued support and prayers immensely! I plan to update again soon!

The Beauty of Cambodia

 Just some photos that I like....

What Am I Doing In Cambodia???

Many people have been asking me what exactly I am doing here. I realize now I haven't really said. During the week, I spend my mornings at a place called the Freedom Center. The Freedom Center is a second step home from the Rapha House. The Rapha House is an international organization that helps girls who have been rescued out of trafficking. At Rapha House, girls have access to counselors, and they are kept in a safe and secure location. It is a sort of rehabilitation center. http://www.raphahouse.org/ The Freedom Center here in Battambang is somewhere the girls can live and learn specific skills. They teach sewing and salon services. I have been spending my mornings with six girls who have been learning how to style hair. Most of them also have learned how to give manicures and pedicures. I have taught the girls how to properly clean their tools and space. I have also talked with the director and helped him choose and purchase some things which might help them. For example, they all had hair cutting sheers, but they were all covered in rust. The director didn't see any problem here until I showed him how ineffective they were, so he immediately went out and bought them all a new pair. They have mannequin heads they practice cuts and styles on, and they have improved immensely since getting their new sheers. It is a lot of fun working with the girls, but sometimes it is very challenging. They all have such traumatic pasts, and I can see pain in their eyes all the time. They are strong though, and we have a great time together. I have a translator with me there who works very hard. I wish I could share some of the photos I've taken at the Freedom Center, but I can't because of safety reasons. So then, every afternoon during the week is when I teach classes at the Youth Center. I'm teaching an English class and hip hop dance. Both are so much fun. I've had a lot of fun building friendships with my students. Most of them were very shy in the beginning, but they're slowly opening up. All of the other members on my team also teach classes in the Youth center, but in the mornings they go various places. These places include an orphanage, a nearby village, a local cafe, and Jeevit's House. Jeevit's House is a home for children who are HIV positive or come from families that are. They have a child sponsorship program as well, and they help provide rice to needy families. http://jeevitshouse.org/ We all also take time out to go out and take photos. There is much beauty here, in both the land and the people. It has been an amazing time here so far, and although there are challenges and frustrations, it keeps getting better. Please keep us in your prayers. As always, thank you for taking the time to catch up with me and my adventures!

Hope in a Generation

Every day that I am here, I am falling more and more in love with this place. God speaks to me so much about the people of Cambodia. It is so exciting. I'm stoked beyond measure for the future of this nation. Last week, my team went on a prayer walk through the city of Battambang. Since that day, my eyes have been opened up to the amount of hope here. A lot of evil has been allowed in and welcomed in this land. Darkness has penetrated through so deeply, yet at the same time God is present here. He has always been present here, He has never left, He has just been ignored. This means there is still hope for the Khmer (Cambodian) people! God speaks to me and tells me He has already begun moving here and in this next generation. Before, I had this idea that it was coming, something was coming; just around the corner is something big. But now I have encouragement knowing it's not just coming, it's already started. I am excited to be here in the middle of it. I totally expect to see full out revival in Cambodia in the near future. This land needs to be, must be, reclaimed in the name of Jesus. He is bigger and mightier than all of the demonic presence here. There is a unique situation here in Cambodia. I've mentioned in a previous post that there was recently a mass genocide. Because of that, the country is very young. 80% of the population is under the age of 30 years old. This young generation is hungry for truth. They are hungry enough for it that they will receive it, it will spread throughout the nation, and this country that is 93% Buddhist will become a Christian nation. I say this with complete faith that it will happen. It won't, however, happen without prayer and hard work. God keeps giving me the word HOPE for Cambodia. I see so much hope in the young people here. It gives me chills to think about it. Please keep the young people of this nation in your prayers.

I see these young faces, and I see hope!

Chom Reap Suo, I made it to Cambodia

       It's Tuesday, July 5th, and I'm currently sitting in an air conditoned cafe with wireless internet in Battambang enjoying iced coffee and spring rolls. Does this sound like outreach to you? It doesn't to me either, but it's quite nice.

bread and jam breakfast in Phnom Penh

      Our team landed safely in Phnom Penh last Monday evening after about 24 hours of travel time. (Korean Airlines is amazing) Our plans were to stay at the YWAM base in Phnom Penh before heading here to Battambang. Our contact who picked us up from the airport informed us the base was full and dropped us off at a hotel. At first, we were a bit worried as we were now on our own in a city none of us were at all familiar with, but it ended up being a huge blessing. We quickly immersed ourselves in the culture of the country. We were flagging down tuk tuks, shopping at the market, finding banks and bus stations, and exploring the city. Learning how to barter in the market is fun, I feel like I'm getting it down pretty well. Immediately I felt welcomed by the people here. Cambodian people are very relational and welcoming. If you smile, one is almost always returned. The hotel we stayed at seemed to be in a pretty modern and westernized part of the city. There was a mall within walking distance where we found some good food and ice cream and western shopping for the essentials.

     

my new friend Kusal

        Our team spent a day going to the genocide museums. In the late 1970s, there was a mass genocide of Cambodian people by the Khmer Rouge, a government organization. The goal was to kill off all the older and intelligent people in order to raise up a generation according to their ways and rules. Though the killings lasted several years, they were not successful in their intentions. It is very sad, and it was so recent. It is easy to look around and see the effects of what happened in the 70s. The majority of the population is under 30 years old. If someone is over 30, they were most certainly directly affected by the killings. I met a man named Kusal as I was waiting for a tuk tuk outside of the market one day. He asked if I had been to the museums and informed me his father was killed by the Khmer Rouge. I wasn't sure how to respond, but it brought forth such a realization of just how recent this tragedy occurred.

       After spending a couple of days in chaotic Phnom Penh, the team was excited to head to Battambang. We took a 5 1/2 hour bus ride and got here late Thursday afternoon. We got to get settled in at the YWAM base. Our room is cozy with 5 bunk beds in a row and a few shelves to be shared between 10 girls. I'm thankful to have a western style toilet, and the cold showers are a blessing after spending our days in the heat of this city. Battambang is bigger than I expected, but it is much calmer than Phnom Penh. Our whole group bought bicycles to use as our main source of transportation. It has been quite the adventure learning how to maneuver through the streets here, dodging motos, cars, buses, and tuk tuks. 

our group purchasing bicycles in Battambang

       We are all getting anxious to start full time ministry. We feel like we've pretty much just been on vacation, but it has actually been a really great transition time. I am slowly picking up on the cultural differences here and trying my best to be respectful. I have enjoyed just sitting and observing the people around me. I am excited to begin teaching. Each afternoon Monday through Friday we will be helping teach classes at the youth center run by the YWAM base here. I have two classes; English and hip hop dance. The mornings will be spent in various different ministries. Those will be starting this week. I'm ready to dive in and start building relationships with the amazing Cambodian people.
       I do have several prayer requests. The spiritual atmosphere here is very heavy due to all the idol worship. There are monks walking around and chanting everywhere, Buddhist temples, and strange statues. The spirit of fear and is quite prevalent here. Also, there appear to be many addictions. The poverty is evident everywhere I look. Please pray for the Cambodian people to be open to God's love for them, and open to the teaching we may bring to them. Please pray against spiritual attacks our team may come under. As always, thank you for taking the team to catch up with me on this journey and support me and my team and the work we are doing.

ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN?

Here is a situation for you. Someone asks, "Are you a Christian?" What is your answer? For many years, in fact, most of my years I have been on this Earth, my answer would undeniably have been a simple "yes". I now have a new response; rather than just a yes or no I will say, "I don't know, tell me what a Christian does, and I'll tell you if I do those things." So today while in lecture we discussed what may come to mind when someone hears the word Christian. While there are many positives that may come up, there are also many negatives. Some examples we came up with of what a non-believer might say are hypocrite, judgmental, religious, boring, offensive, and the list goes on and on. If this is what a Christian is, then I don't want to be one. I will, however, tell anyone that I am a Jesus follower, and as a follower of Jesus I am not ever commanded to be a hypocrite, judgmental, religious, boring, offensive, etc... You get the point. To clarify here just a bit, I am not saying I am not a Christian. I am simply saying that I understand that the worldview of Christianity has been skewed, and now that I have been introduced to a new way to approach this type of question, I believe it can be quite useful in ministry, so this is why I felt it was an important concept to share. If you are having any reservations accepting or agreeing with what I have said, that is okay! You don't have to agree with me. I invite you to pray and ask God for personal revelation.

"Christianity is an apostolic practice, not an explicit command of Jesus, therefore we are free to leave that word behind." quote from our speaker Pam

"LOVE LIKE A HURRICANE, I AM A TREE"

Aloha Friends and Family!
Much has happened since the last time I wrote, and I'm so excited to share with you all! I want to begin by sharing a song I've been listening to quite a bit in the last few weeks, and I invite you to listen to it before you continue reading.




CLASS TIMES:
A couple weeks ago, the lecture topic was the father heart of God. This was presented in such a practical way, unlike anything I've experienced before. Our speaker spent a lot of time praying for each of us students individually. Our speaker's name was Peni Patu, and he has a gift of prophecy. When he prayed for us, he received a word and a scripture for each of us. Then, during class throughout the week, he had each person come to the front and read both their scripture and their word which was typed out in letter form. This revealed more to me about God's father heart than sitting through lecture would have, although that would be beneficial as well. When it came my turn, it was incredible. The words he gave me were some that somebody else had gotten for me in the first week we were here. After the time I've spent here, I've gotten on such a more personal level with God than I knew was possible, and I desire for it to keep going deeper and deeper. Peni made a good point on a somewhat different note that I want to share. When you go to the store and pay for something, it becomes yours, yes? You now own it. Jesus came to this earth and paid a price for us, we are His.

Last week was freedom week, what an exciting week that was! It was all about repentance, restitution, and forgiveness. These are some very challenging things to talk about, and most of us, myself included, felt much conviction during that week. A verse that encouraged me through the week was Galatians 5:1 which says "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage". Freedom does not fully come without repentance, and repentance does not happen without faith. I heard an excellent definition of faith; faith is believing/living truth about God, self, and others. The opposite of this is unbelief which can be defined as believing/living lies about God, self, and others. So ultimately, believing lies about yourself is essentially unbelief in God. This could include things like not believing you are beautiful in God's eyes, or believing you don't deserve to live, and the list continues.  This is heavy, yes, but it spoke a great deal to me. At the end of the week, we were given an opportunity to pray out in front of our class to repent (1 John 1:9) and to forgive. When I first thought about it, I was thinking I could confess and repent of some things, but there wasn't anybody to forgive. I feel like I generally forgive easily, but God showed me a couple areas where I had not forgiven and how that was becoming a hindrance in my walk with Him. These were things that were so deeply buried that I didn't realize they were even there most of the time. One person I finally forgave was my biological father. I didn't realize how much anger I've been carrying around with me for so many years until God pointed it out to me. I don't remember most of my early childhood because of the trauma he caused (although there were many, many good times with my mom, and at age 8 I got a great dad!). I made a choice to forgive, and I almost immediately felt an overwhelming joy and huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. Forgiveness is a choice, and it can be a very hard decision but so worth it.  I also confessed sins I've been walking in and am feeling the freedom from that as well. Doing these things just makes it easier to get closer and closer to God and build a relationship with Him.

Moving on....

Once every week, our class spends two hours together in the prayer room intercessing for different justice issues around the world. A couple weeks ago, our topic of prayer was human trafficking. I've always felt something on this issue, a sort of hurt for the people victimized in this, but I wanted to know God's heart for it. As soon as I asked Him to show me, he answered in the form of uncontrollable weeping. Now, I'm not much of a cryer, so I know this was God. I didn't stop for almost the entire two hours. I felt so much pain and love for the victims of trafficking, and I now feel so much closer to this issue. Also, on that day we prayed specifically for Hawaii as it is one of four states in the US with no anti-trafficking laws. We prayed for government officials to be softened toward the issue and for bills to go through. That afternoon at about the same time we were in the prayer room together, the first anti-trafficking bill went through and now only needs the governor's signature. God answers prayer!

OUTREACH:
I am so excited about our outreach! I can't wait to get to Cambodia! Our team had a team retreat this past weekend. We stayed in cabins at Kalopa State Park, and we spent time hanging out as family, sharing testimonies, and getting pumped for Cambodia. While we are there, we'll be staying at a YWAM base in Battambang. If you want to check it out, this is their website http://www.uofnbattambang.com/ .We have several ideas already of what we can do while there. Each of us will most likely be involved in teaching something. This could include teaching English, photography, dance, sports, music, art, etc.... We've also discussed possibly going out to remote villages to share the love of Jesus, helping a local cafe ministry, showing love to prostitutes, and so on. We have an extensive list of opportunities.

Cambodia team at the cabin

I am also still excited about my local outreach at the homeless shelter while here in Kona. Last week, we prepared desserts and I put together a bible study for anyone interested. Only one lady participated in my bible study, but it was awesome. I got to share my testimony and hear hers. We prayed for each other, and it was very encouraging, I think to both of us. Two weeks ago we had a sort of spa night. We did haircuts, manicures, and facial masks. It was a lot of fun.

Kat and April give manicures

PHOTOGRAPHY
I have definitely been gaining knowledge on photography, and it is fun putting it into practice. I'm excited to continue learning! Here are some of my favorite shots over the past few weeks:

Rainbow Falls, Hilo

Rainbow Falls, Hilo

sunset from the back of a truck

Top of Rainbow Falls

Kolopa State Park

I am praying for a new lens, feel free to join me in prayer for this. Other things on my prayer request list are a continued hunger for all God has for me, patience with the people around me, my injured tailbone, and time balance.
Until next time......
MAHALO!

My Time in Kona So Far

Aloha! Wow, I don't know why I waited so long to write about my time here. I have so much I want to say! So, I hope you have set aside a nice, big chunk of time to read this. I will break this into categories so that my jumble of thought's doesn't become totally incomprehensible.

THE BASE & COMMUNITY LIVING
     I feel so blessed that I get to live on this base here in Kona. It is so wonderful to be living in a community of people who believe like I do, but who come from so many different backgrounds and cultures. There are 39 nations represented this quarter, and in my room there are 5 (Brazil, Switzerland, Korea, Germany, USA)!
     Twice a week, the entire campus is invited to join together for worship. We've had the privilege to worship God in not only English, but Korean, Hawaiian, and French as well. The Korean word for Jesus is Yesu. I love saying it and hearing it, it's beautiful! Yesu! The campus also gets to all come together during meal times. These are excellent times to meet people from the other schools.
     While living here on the base, we are all expected to contribute to the community. Each person is assigned a work duty. We work for two hours each day during the week. My assigned work duty is transportation, so I drive a shuttle to and from Wal Mart and wash cars and vans. I have surprisingly had a great time during work duty. 

LECTURES & LEARNING
     I have learned so much during the lectures. Our focus the first week was hearing God's voice. In the past I've been very skeptical in this area. Many times I passed off what God was speaking to me as my own thoughts. We took time in the classroom to practice hearing His voice, and it was a lot of fun. I used to have a fear of sharing with people what God spoke to me, but that fear is going away, and I now feel a boldness in this area. The second week was about relationships and sexuality. We discussed the biblical view of marriage versus the world view. There were a few things that really stood out to me. The first is what is said in Romans 12:2. It speaks about not conforming to the pattern of this world. I've heard this several times, but I felt like God was saying to me, "you know what this says, but you need apply it to ALL areas of your life, not just parts". I was also very struck by Joshua 7. I realize now that my sin does not only affect me, but all around me. This is a heavy concept to digest, but so crucial to be aware of!
     We have also been learning photography. One of the main points of photogenX is to use photography as a voice for the voiceless, so we will be attaining skills throughout the DTS which will help to do this. There are people at all different levels of photography. I am a beginner so in these first few weeks I am just becoming familiar and comfortable with my camera. Here are a couple of my favorite shots so far:

Queen's Bath

Green Sands Beach

OUTREACH
     Outreach is a crucial part of the discipleship training school. During our lecture phase we all participate in some sort of community outreach. We were presented with several community outreach opportunities. I am on a team of 5 that goes to a local homeless shelter once a week to hang out, play games, teach life skills, and serve in other various ways. We've been twice and both times have been rather interesting. Next week I'll be giving haircuts and we're bringing drums. I'll post more about this as we get more involved. The second part of DTS is the major outreach phase that we spend in another part of the world working in the mission field. Last week our class of 51 students was presented with 6 outreach locations. We were then given 45 minutes to pray about it and write down our top 2 choices. Long story short, I'm going to Cambodia! I'm stoked! I feel really good about this! We also have teams going to the Philippines, Japan & Thailand, South Africa, Mozambique, and Asia. I don't know much about what we will be doing in Cambodia yet. I know we will be staying at a YWAM base in Battambang, and we are each going to have a bicycle for transportation. As I get more details, I will post them. Please keep our team in your prayers. There are 13 of us total, here is a list of names to pray for: Zach & Laura (leaders), Aubrey, Grace, Josie, Carrie, Thunder, Paul, Jessica, Sharon, Campbell, Kat, and Katie. Check out our first team photo here! http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=528542276039&set=gm.144867742235322&type=1&theater

ADVENTURES & EXCURSIONS
     We have very busy, long weeks full of amazing class time, so on the weekends it is nice to clear our minds and let our brains rest a bit. This, however, does not mean we let our bodies rest. I've taken advantage of the last 3 weekends and taken in some of the sites and attractions on this beautiful island. The first weekend, our staff took us to a gorgeous beach

Hapuna Beach

Our second weekend, we rented a couple cars. A small group of us hiked through lava rock to a pool where the queen used to hang out. Then we woke up bright and early and drove to Captain Cook to a bay to swim with dolphins. Unfortunately, it was a very rainy morning so we didn't see any dolphins, but we did get to snorkel and it was so cool! I wanted to take full of advantage of having a car for the day, so we continued adventuring well into the evening. We got to see quite a bit of the island and practice our photography.

rainy day at the bay

And then most recently, we went down to South Point, which is the southern most point in the US. There we had the opportunity to jump off some cliffs into the bluest ocean water I have ever seen, and we hiked to a green sands beach. The fun has not stopped since I have been here! Whether I am in class or out exploring, I am having an awesome time. You may be wondering if I am ever going to stop and rest, and the answer is yes! I plan to use this coming weekend as a refresh and recharge time.

cliff jumping at South Point

Mahalo (thank you) for reading! I won't make all my posts this long, I hope to update about once a week. I am thankful for your prayer and support, so I will do my best to keep you informed.

BOOK REPORT

     I have been here in Kona for two weeks now, and already I have had so many amazing experiences. I am excited to share some of these experiences with all of you, but right now I am just going to share some thoughts on a book I just finished. It is 11:30 pm and this book report is due tomorrow. Oops, I am praying for healing in the area of my extreme procrastination.
     The title of the book is Is That Really You, God? written by Loren Cunningham and his sister Janice Rogers. In case you don't already know, Loren Cunningham and his wife Darlene are the founders of Youth With a Mission. I would not be doing what I am doing today if it was not for the obedience of these two very inspiring people. It all started with a vision Loren had while in the Bahamas. He saw waves of young people going into the nations of the World telling people about Jesus. What began as a vision quickly became a reality. Loren talks about how he envisioned the youth going into the world not just being added to every year, but multiplying, and this is exactly what has happened and is still happening.
     I learned quite a bit in reading this book. One thing that really struck me is the fact that it doesn't necessarily take an extraordinary person to do something extraordinary. But rather, it takes listening to God and being obedient. It's amazing to read stories of what God can do if we only just listen and obey. Another thing I found interesting was what Loren refers to as the Wise Men Principle. The Wise Men Principle is confirmation when listening to God speak. The wise men who followed a star to the birthplace of Jesus all heard separately where to go, and they were all led to the same place. Many times, God will speak the same thing to different people.
     This book is incredibly inspiring and really made me think. I am actually still pondering and processing on a lot of what I read. If you haven't read this, I would highly recommend you do so!

A New Journey

I am about to begin one of the most exciting things I've ever done and I am full of emotions. I leave for Hawaii in less than 24 hours and I'm feeling excited, anxious, nervous, apprehensive, antsy, eager, but mostly I'm just totally stoked. I don't know exactly what to expect, but I do know amazing things are going to happen. So are you wondering what I'm getting myself into? Tomorrow I will be joining the PhotogenX Discipleship Training School run by YWAM. For three months I will be on the University of the Nations campus in Kona studying things like God's character, missions, hearing God's voice, and many other exciting topics. I will also be learning more about photography which is something I currently have very little knowledge of. After the three months on campus, we will depart on outreach. This is an 8 to 12 week period spent in the mission field. I don't yet know where I will be heading, but wherever it is I am excited to go! I can't wait to see how God works in my life over the next six months!