I'm too young, it's too dangerous!

For those who will eventually read this blog, here is a little note.

I am 19, I'll be 20 at the end of this month. I'm going to Amsterdam. Where there are people that are trafficked, drugs are legal, prostitution is legal, and Europeans drink a lot of alcohol. Some may see danger, danger, stranger danger. But I see a city, no a country, who needs the Lord. As every city and country does. But should I shy away from God's calling, because God forbid, I might be a little uncomfortable? That maybe there might be difficult and hard situations? No!

If I'm where I'm supposed to be, according to God, I don't care about safety, I don't care if I am in the most ghetto place in the world. God is bigger than any danger there could possibly ever be. I'm not saying I'm going to be stupid and put myself in bad situations, I am saying that I'm not going to be stupid. God has called me to Amsterdam, I am not afraid. What I know, is I have a passion, and a heart for these girls, for these men, for those pimps, for this city. I want to tell these girls that someone cares about them, that they are not alone, and even though it seems hopeless, and they have gone so far from where they thought they would be, that it will one day be okay. That one day, they will look back and see God's hand on them throughout their lives. And that they are worth more than what a man will pay for them. The are worth so much more, because they are loved by God. The only one that really matters. That is my passion, my hope, and dream for these girls.

Some may think I am too young.

I am young. But in the bible it says; Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

And it also says in Jeremiah, "Do not say I am only a child, you must go to everyone I say to, and say whatever I command you." Jeremiah 1:7

To those who think I am too young, should I wait a few years? Should I go to a college to prepare me? Have you heard of God equipping the called, not calling the equiped? What do you think will prepare me better, than the most high God?

Anyways, just a little note, not meant to offend, just a tad frustrated.

Fundraising..

And it actually starts. It's funny how I'm already frustrated. But God WILL provide.

I'm moving to Europe!

The other night I received a phone call from Melissa who is one of the three people that make up the staff of The Cleft, well now it's the Lighthouse, but anyways, I got accepted to go on staff there. Which I'm super stoked about. This will be the beginning of many posts about getting there, and living there.

Btw This is my future home. AHHH!!!!

I've not done very well with posting..

It's been almost a month and a half since I've posted something. And things have been interested the past month.

Things are ok. I wish that I could control myself. I wish that the world was perfect, and that people didn't have to suffer. I wish i didn't have to suffer.

Still waiting on Amsterdam.

Still.

Waiting.

God's timing is perfect.

Learn the unforced rhythms of GRACE

Tonight I am captured by Matthew 11:28

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me- watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and learn how to live freely and lightly.

I love the phrase "unforced rhythms of grace", and I think a lot of people are really scared of making mistakes, we're scared that if we screw up, if we don't do X, Y, and Z that God's grace won't cover us. We punish ourselves and think that's how it's supposed to be. When we ask for forgiveness from Jesus, it's gone. Totally and completely gone. And we hold on to it, asking God, but what about this, and that, and he replies with, what and when. Our sin is as far as the east is from the west. It is completely gone, and to keep on punishing ourselves is to say that Jesus' death on the cross means nothing. That his sacrifice isn't enough to cover us, but it is. There is more than enough.

Many people view christianity as a list of do's and don'ts. I look at it as a dance. The steps are confusing at first, and you step on your partners feet a few times, you may be off beat sometimes, but eventually you begin to know the dance, and it becomes natural. I think that's how it's supposed to be.

The Voiceless Will Break Out Into Song!

While I was in Thailand, there was a part of Isaiah that really caught my eye, it's funny that most of the time while I was in Asia I was reading a lot of the prophets. And for some reason, God made it relevant to the country of Thailand, or other SEA countries, that He was starting something. That the people who were oppressed or who were being treated unjustly one day, would be free. That they would no longer be bound by the chains that had previously enslaved them.

And even now, when I read this verse, God reminds me that one day there WILL be an end, that trafficking will one day stop, that slavery will stop, that injustice will HALT all together. I can't wait for that day.

God has also blessed us with the knowledge of these things going on. How can one turn

blind eye to something that is so unjust? It breaks my heart to think that as Christians,

many of us focus on things that aren't relevant. And that not only Christians, but Americans

try to avoid knowing that this is going on in our world. God has blessed us with being a very

influential country. What if we changed what we were known for from celebrities, over-eating,

and spending tons on money, to working to change injustice. Not as a government, as a people.

Not really that sure what I'm trying to say, I'm mostly just thinking, and typing, but if we stopped

buying so many things that were made by slaves what a difference we can make.

Here is the verse from Isaiah:

^5-7Blind eyes will be opened,
deaf ears unstopped,
Lame men and women will leap like deer,
the voiceless break into song.
Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness,
streams flow in the desert.
Hot sands will become a cool oasis,
thirsty ground a splashing fountain.
Even lowly jackals will have water to drink,
and barren grasslands flourish richly.

I want change! I want hope! Let us stand for HOPE, let us stand for FREEDOM!

I'm actually going to stick to this!!

Hello!

This is my first posting in my new blog, that I'm going to actually write in. In this blog I want to talk about what God is doing in my life, my heart, and in the world. Eventually I hope this to be a place where people can check on and see how things are going and what God is doing while I'm away on missions, hopefully in Amsterdam! So, I am very excited!

God has been doing some amazing things in my life lately. In the past month, I have moved home from Seattle, and have realized a lot. God provided me a job at a bagel restruant/ bakery, and I hope to get accepted to become full time staff at the Lighthouse in Amsterdam.

I am filled with so much joy, and I am so excited to see how God will change me in this time at home, and prepare me for missions.