Thursday, December 5, 2013

Annnnnddddd...

I can now announce where I'm being sent for my first year as a single missionary!

General Cepeda Mexico! 

I am so blessed to be sent with two families and two other ladies.  The Quinn Family, the Martin Family, Megan and Madi.



Update!

It's not almost the end of Intake and what a crazy time it's been!



This Intake has been the largest Intake FMC has had yet! 

With 13 single girls, 5 guys and 4 families!


Community life has been awesome.








We had an amazing blessed time in Mexico.





And we have 41 missionaries going to 5 mission posts worldwide!


The Lord has blessed me so much. 

Thursday, September 12, 2013

4

4 days left till Intake starts!
I'm so excited and nervous at the same time.  I can't wait to be blessed and challenged by the Lord. 
Intake is basically like a three month retreat, during which I will listen to talks, learn how to give talks, and study from the Bible and Church documents.  For my first year I will have a dating fast and internet (save for 2 hours on Sunday) fast.  This is so I can focus my whole self on the mission God has placed in my life.  To go to the whole world proclaiming the kingdom of God.  One of the months, November, will be spent in Mexico, in active service and proclamation.  At the end of my training, the directors, Joseph and Brooke Summers, will send me and a team of missionaries to our first mission post. 

Please keep me and my fellow missionaries in prayer.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Make My Heart Like Yours

There is a little less than a month till Intake starts. I'll admit I'm nervous. I'm an introvert and I'm afraid I'll shy away from my fellow missionaries-in-training. I'm nervous about being the youngest girl, I'm afraid I will just try to ''keep quite and keep out of the way".  In the midst of my worrying God has been showing me that it will all be okay.

Psalm 55:22
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

What I need to work on now, and for the rest of my life, is to make my heart like His. People are not my favorite.  They are noisy, talking all the time, they have different ideas than I do, sometimes even a small group of friends intimidate me. Me, is my space, and I don't want a ton of people tramping in it. Dwelling on this I've asked God why He's called me to be a missionary.

Ezekiel 36:26

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
 
I, by myself, can not be a missionary. By myself I will fail. I will see people and freeze, not knowing what to say or what to do. Only with God can I work to be strong enough.  He can nudge me towards a group of people.  Only with God can I be the crazy person who smiles at everyone, even stopping to talk to people on the street. 
This change can only happen if I give my heart to God and ask Him to make it like His.   
 

 

Thursday, August 8, 2013

I'm Just Like Them

              I have this fear of letting God take complete control in my life.  It's as if I think He's the big bad guy in the sky, waiting for me to screw up so He can rain down punishment.  As if He's going to trick me into doing something I don't want to do. Seriously?

I have this fear that is completely unfounded. God has only good plans for my future. And I know this because of all He's done in the past. This summer I've been on two amazing mission trips. This fall I have my missionary training.  I have a wonderful family that inspires me to grow closer to God.  I am surrounded by missionaries who give of themselves to the fullest extent.  I turned my back on the Divine Lover, but he never stopped wooing me.  How's that for blessed? Who am I to fear?
In the book of Exodus, right after God leads his people through the Red Sea, we read that they start to grumble and complain and worry.

"Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out of into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." (Exodus 16:3)

God has just done mighty deeds for them! He split the Red Sea and wiped out Pharaohs' army. And the Israelites are worried about something as trivial as food?  The God who created the earth, who created them, who led them out of Egypt with signs and wonders is not going to forget about food.

        I guess I've always kinda known this but it really hit me today.  I'm just like them.  I sit back after I see God do miracles and say, "Um God I don't trust you with my future."   Wow.  He's shown me in so many ways that He loves me.  And yet I still fear.  God forgive me!   I'm just like them. I can make excuses:
"If I don't know what God's will is then I'm going to mess up and I'll ruin my entire life." 
"God may have done miracles for others but He doesn't do them for me." 

On and on.   Stop.  Think. Are any of those excuses true? No. Okay? Okay.


To wrap up my ramblings I have to say that I don't have a brilliant answer or solution to this problem.  But I'm gonna bet He does.   And I'll just go with that and pray, and ask others to pray as well, that I would learn how to completely trust God.






Monday, July 29, 2013

Ecuador Trip 2

I first watched the movie The Lord of the Rings when I was 10 years old. I'm now almost 18 and I've seen the trilogy more times than I can count; needless to say I'm a huge fan.    At the very end of The Return of the King when Frodo starts to narrate again, talking about how they leave Gondor and head back to Hobbitton I always get a lump in my throat. I can't help but say, "No, stay, don't go back. Just stay." 
As I left Quito, heading to the airport, to fly back home I was telling myself the same thing.
"No, stay, don't go back. Just stay."  God worked in wonderful ways on the trip and I didn't want to leave.
Leading up to the trip I prayed that those on the trip would have open hearts and minds. God answered that prayer 100%.    I came into the trip only know one of the teens, but even in that one week of getting to know them, I saw so much change.   I saw their hearts open to the children we played with, and the adults we talked and prayed over.  I saw their minds open to the great task of missions.  I was so blessed.
One of the main things I love about Ecuador is how hard we have to work to go to small communities.  One day we hike hours to a community, and once we get there we usually start a game of soccer with the kids. It's exhausting but so rewarding. Your legs ache, but as you sing and hold the hand of a small child you know it's worth it.
I was also just so blessed to be back in missions.  I wake up each morning and I know my goal. Sometimes, when I'm back stateside, it's easy to get sidetracked. In missions everything you do is for Him.
Another thing is being surrounded by likeminded people. Not only are you going through a life changing journey, but so are the 20 or so other people with you. And it's so amazing to see them change, to hear their testimonies of God's grace and serve along side them.
Missions is not just me going to another country and teaching people about God. It's also God teaching me through them.  This reminds me of a verse from Sirach: "As you have used us to show them your holiness, so now use them to show us your glory."

Praise God!
Singing at a community
 
Ryan and Matthew (our full time missionaries)  with two of the girls on the trip


Quito 
Singing
 Dirty after a long hike
 
 
 

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

God is Good






God is amazingly good to me! The past few weeks have been crazy.  My family has been away from the Philippines for almost three months now, we traveled from the Philippines to our home state of Oregon. There I graduated from High School and traveled back down to Big Woods.  From Big Woods I flew to Ecuador where I spent two weeks helping to lead a mission trip.  It was so amazing! My second favorite country is now Ecuador.  I fell in love with the people, and the beautiful jungle. It was so good to be back in missions serving and preaching.  I will be leading another trip in July.   
Another wonderful thing that happened was I got accepted to this years Intake! 
Every year starting in September, Family Missions Company (FMC) trains new missionaries to go out to the world.  I will be apart of that this year.  I ask for everyone to please please pray for me. That I would have an open heart and mind to be taught. And that God would just shower graces upon me and those joining me in this blessed work. Also pray that I get enough money to pay the training fees. 

I hope and pray that God shows how good he is to you this week!


Friday, March 29, 2013

Update

Today we remember the trial and death of Jesus, who came to earth to die for all of us, for those who know Him today and those who may never know Him.  That thought boggles my mind.  As a Catholic I've always known that he died for my sins, but for the past few weeks I've been reflecting on the fact that he also died for the sins of people who may never know He lived.   It was this thought, and the sadness I felt knowing that people in this world are living and dying without knowing of His mighty love and mercy, that has set a fire in my heart to continue missions apart from my family.
August of this year I'm going to turn 18, and I know there are many options for me to pursue. For about 4 years now I've wanted to get my certification to be a practicing midwife, this is something still on my heart but it doesn't seem as important now.
Many of my friends are going on to college, but that too doesn't seem as important.  What seems most important living a life, and preaching a gospel that will save souls, all with the help of Christ.
So a couple days ago I gave my application to be a full time missionary with FMC. (fmcmissions.com)
My missionary training, called Intake, starts in September.  I ask everyone to pray for me as I prepare for training.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Back from Camiguin!

We just got back from an amazing and blessed trip! Unfortunately I got sick and am still recovering, hopefully this week I will post tons of pictures and tell all about it.

God Bless!