This past week has been the most powerful week that I have
ever experienced in my entire life. Our God is so big and He works in
miraculous ways. He is moving through me, He is moving through my team, and
most importantly He is moving through my generation!
On Monday night our team met for our small group time and God worked through us
in various ways. We prayed, we listened, and we shared. Driver opened us up in
prayer and then we spent a good amount of time in silence with the Lord just
listening to Him and seeing what He wanted us to do with it. We then went
around and shared what we heard from God. Later that night we had an intense
time with the Lord and we were filled with the Holy Spirit. There was so much
of the Holy Spirit in the room and everyone was showing their emotions towards
the Lord in all different ways. There was some crying, there were some
laughing, and there were some who felt completely at peace. We all were filled
with the Holy Spirit but our emotions showed our excitement in different
ways.
On Wednesday night, my team and I went to Unicoi State Park
for the night because the World Racers were staying there for part of their
training. A little while after we got there they had started their debriefing
time around a huge campfire. Walking into that circle of people, you could feel
the presence of God. I stood there and I looked around me and I saw the
generation of people that were laying down thing after thing for God, it
encouraged me and it made me want to lay down all the stuff in my life for him
as well. After they were done Driver brought all of us together along with
other really awesome AIM staff and they all stood around us and one by one we
started laying down the things in our past and we gave them over to God. They
prayed over us and they helped us get rid of the junk in our lives, they helped
us give it over to God. It was powerful, prophetic, and releasing! God prayed
through me to other people, if He wasn't speaking through me I wouldn't have
been able to do it. We spent so much time praying and prophesying over one
another all night. I am so thankful to be in the generation that I am in today;
I believe that God is going to use us and He is going to change the world
through us!
This blog does not do justice compared to what my team and I
actually experienced this week. I hope and pray that every single one of you
will be able to experience what I did this week. If there is one thing I have
learned out of the past couple of days it is do not fear what God can do with your life, nothing bad can
come out of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Please keep my team and I in
your prayers as we continue to live out or lives for Christ.
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THE BRONX:We spent two days in the Bronx doing local ministry there. Our first day
was spent at a senior center and Ashley, Becca, and I helped serve lunch to
them and when we were done serving them we sat around and talked to them. I
talked to two women, Eleanor and Sylvia. They were great ladies, they were so
fun to talk to and the things they were talking about were really funny! Later
on in the day we went to LPAC (Latino Pastoral Action Center). LPAC is a place
where kids can be instead of being on the streets. It is a charter school, an
after care program, and a church all in one place. We took part in the after
care program as well as with part of the church. The aftercare program is for
students K-5th grade that are at school until their parents can pick
them up. I was able to work with some of the kindergartners; I helped them with
their homework and also did crafts with them. I also let a bunch of the girls
braid my hair; at one point I had five girls doing my hair. It was really fun
hanging out with them! Later that evening we sat in on their youth service at
the church called Holy Hood. It was an experience that I had never had before
but it was amazing! They had a time where the kids could come up and recite
poetry if they had anything that came to them and there was this one girl who
came up and started off saying stuff and it ended up turning into a song. It
was amazing! It all related to God and how he was working in her life and it
was so neat to see how God spoke through her. Caleb was able to share his
testimony that night and I have heard it a few times already from various
places that we have been to and he has shared it at. That night when he shared
his testimony you could completely tell that it was God speaking through Caleb,
he did a great job! The kids took in what he was saying and they responded to
him. It was really neat to see someone on my team being able to reach out to
these kids.
The second day we went and served food to a homeless shelter nearby.
After serving the food to them we sat and talked to the people at the shelter.
I think it's always great talking to the homeless because in some sense people
think that they are bad people. I know that I have thought that at times. When
I was there talking to two of the men I realized that these men are normal
people just like me. They have no place to live and some of them may have been
down the wrong paths at times but that doesn't make them bad people. They are
humans and all humans make mistakes. I know I do. We talked about movies and
music and we just hung out. It was really fun interacting with them and getting
to know them as people, not homeless people.
My
time in the Bronx was really good. I was nervous going in there because I had
heard of all the bad stories and all the drug deals and gun shots that go on
within blocks of the place that we were staying. I ended up not being scared of
the Bronx but instead really liking it. The thing that most stuck out to me was
we were walking down the street one night on our way home and some guy said
"Hey! This may be a bad place, but were not bad people". I then thought to
myself, wow, he's right. So many people put a bad image on the Bronx but is it
really that bad? Experience it for yourself, I did!
At Holy Hood In Front Of Their Graffiti Wall Our Group In The Bronx (the people we stayed with) Me and one of the girls from LPAC
In Georgia (or in the south) they have these weekends called Disciple Now weekends. It's where kids in the youth group split up into groups according to their grade and they go to host homes for the weekend. The church brings college aged kids in and they are put with a group of kids and they spend the weekend with them discipling to them and hanging out with them.
As you know, my team and I have been involved with the youth group at Lanier Hills Church and we hang out with the kids every Wednesday and Sunday. J.K. who is the in charge of the youth asked the six of us interns if we would like to head up D-Now weekend and be with the kids that we have been teaching all year since they already know us and feel connected to us. We all jumped on the opportunity and said yes to her right away!
Today my team and I just finished up D-Now. I was with the middle school girls along with my teammate Becca. She and I have been teaching their class on Sunday mornings and we have really enjoyed getting to know the girls. This weekend was amazing for me and I felt God's presence 100% of the time. There were 11 middle school girls that came and we went through five different sessions throughout the weekend talking about filling ourselves up with God. We spent most of the weekend at our host home and Friday and Saturday night we met at the church for a time of worship and also a message from Jamie (a leader of the youth).
I went into the weekend being hesitant about it and I was doubting myself when it came to thinking I wasn't good enough to teach the girls. I was afraid that they weren't going to have fun and I was scared that they wouldn't take anything away from it. The first night I lead our session and God completely revealed himself to me. I was seeing the nods from some of the girls while I was talking, agreeing with what I had to say about God and how we need to be our own person no matter what the world tells us. They were interacting with me and they were enjoying the lesson. It made sense to them and it all became clear to me that God put me there this past weekend to pour into them and feed them what other people have fed me. I got to know some girls that I had never met before and I was able to build stronger relationships with the ones that I had already known. Becca and I poured into these girls so much this weekend and she was an amazing help to me and she built me up when I was hesitant about being able to teach the girls. At the end of our weekend we went around the room and we spoke words of encouragement to each other one by one and it was absolutely amazing. The bonds that I have with these girls now will never break and no matter how far away we may be from each other we are still going to encourage each other and lift one another up. Spending time with the middle school girls opened my eyes to how wonderful God really is. Those girls have such a heart for the Lord and seeing that in them made me want to be so much more like them in that area of my life. I am so proud of them! I am so glad that God put me with those 11 girls this weekend because I truly believe that this is just the beginning of the work that God has planned for me!
In a little more than a week my team and I will be heading for New York City. We are all very excited about this upcoming trip. We will be there for a short time but we are looking forward to our time there. We are going to be leaving on March 13th and we will return on March 18th. We will be staying with a family who are members of the Church that Uncle Dave and Aunt Vicki used to work with in Montvale, New Jersey (about 30 minutes from the city). We are going to be involved with their Sunday morning service in some sort of way but right now we don't know the exact details. Some of us may get to share our testimonies or we may be able to do a drime. Also, we are going to be spending 2 days in the Broncs and we will be teaming up with someone who coordinates ministry with AIM for some of the youth trips that we send to N.Y.C. and we will have opportunities to reach out to different people. On Monday which is St. Patrick's Day, Josh (my cousin) is going to be playing in the St. Patrick's Day parade with his high school marching band and we are going to spend the day in the city getting to see the parade as well as see the city. I would really appreciate your prayers for my team and I as we get ready to prepare for this upcoming trip and that you would pray for our hearts to be in the right places and that you would pray for our safety as we are on the road. Also, a praise, this trip is being completely paid for because of our hard work that we have been doing in the office. God is awesome! I will keep all of you posted on what happens in N.Y.C. when I return, I hope to have lots of pictures and great stories!
This past week I have been reflecting on a lot of different things. Right now Satan is here attacking and he is trying to get into the lives of my team and into the lives of my leaders and I am not going to take it! So many times I want to know why this world we live in is so messy and why is it that people think they can do whatever they want and that they can get away with anything they wish. Why do we say we believe in something but then are hypocritical towards it and turn our backs on it? I'm sick of people wanting what the world offers them and I'm sick of wanting what the world has to offer me. I am done living my life for me and for the world, my God is enough for me! This world has nothing for me, God has continued to be there for me when I have betrayed him and that's as much as I can say for the world. I'm not going to ride a roller coaster anymore and have a high with God one day and then a low with Satan the next, I'm not going to let him bring me down so fast. Sure, I'm still going to get attacked by Satan because that is part of my walk with the Lord but I am going to put up a fight this time unlike in the past where I let him bring me down. I want to make a difference and I want the world to know that I am different than everyone else out there.
Psalms 73:23-25 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
Disciples aren't born; they're made. It's a process that takes time, discipline, and God. In reality, it looks more like waking up than attending a class.
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Your mornings will be spent in training and your afternoons ministering in local communities, activating what you've learned. In the context of experiential learning, you will be discipled by mentors who want to see you grow deeply in your faith.
You will be part of a community of other individuals who share your passion and desire to come alive in Christ. This time will challenge and stretch you in new ways, and you will never be the same. Become a part of The Awakeningin either Latin America or Africa and discover your role in the kingdom of God.
You were made for greatness, to experience the abundant life and freedom that Jesus promised. As they awaken, current participants are saying:
I don't think that I will ever have such an opportunity to give up all of myself and all of my expectations as I do here. (Emily Tissot, Latin America) The Bible study has... turned into a church. So, we have church at noon Tuesday-Friday under the tree in front of the market. I love watching as people just bring their stool/chair/water container... and join in the singing. We are going through the book of Galatians, and it is cool to see how freedom is effecting their hearts. (Denise Eckert, Africa)
Since coming back after Christmas for the second semester I have been struggling with being attacked by Satan. I believe that my whole team has been struggling with the same thing in different areas of their life and we have all been tired and worn out and are all sick of it.
Last night we met for our small group time that we meet for every Monday night and we spent the first part of the night in John 15. In John 15 it talks about God being the vine and us being the branches. It's like a tree, God is the foundation of the whole entire tree and the different branches on the tree are different parts of our lives, some good and some bad. We need to cut off the bad branches from our life and in doing that God will continue to let us grow and he will make us clean. He says in verse 3 that we are already clean because of the word he has spoken to us. I never really looked further into that verse until last night. I took from it that God has already made us clean even when we do have bad branches and through those bad branches he teaches us a lesson and he has already forgiven us of those areas in our lives. God has unending love for us and no matter what we have been through he is by our side. Something that I struggled with was actually taking this passage and applying to my life. Everything is always easier said than done. After last night I am eager to apply this to my life and I am ready to cut off those bad branches in my life.
We spent lots of time in prayer last night just praying for each other and it was amazing! God was absolutely in the roomwith us and I could feel his presence. I feel so much closer to each and every person on my team and I am so excited to see how much closer we become over the next 5 months! God is working in all of us and I can't wait to see the results! I love you Ashley, Becca, Caleb, Driver, Em, Robin, and Seth!
Becca has been working on videos for all of the different locations that we have to offer and is putting informations and pictures together for them about the locations. Here is the Swaziland video, this has been my favorite one so far and I wanted to share it with all of you!
Ashley, Connie, and I are going through the Bible in a year and then we are discussing it as we go along. Today we all got together and we drove to Buford and ate lunch at Olive Garden and got to stop at Krispy Kreme to get some yummy donuts for dessert. It is a lot of fun being able to enjoy the company of other believers and discuss the stories throughout the Bible. We were discussing Genesis and talking about how cool it is to see all the "firsts" that happen. Like the first time someone is killed when Cain kills Abel and the first time God split our languages up during the Tower of Babel. It is very interesting to read through all the stories in Genesis that I grew up learning and knowing so well and then re-reading them today, I get such a different perspective on them. They are stories that I felt like I knew so well and in reading them it seemed kind of funny to read them again but I have taken so much more out of them than ever before, I love how God shows me something new out of things that I have read several times. God's love is so amazing and I am so thankful for him more and more each day. He gives me things to think about and question and I love being on the edge of my seat waiting to see what more God has to offer. I am anxious to keep reading and getting together with Ashley and Connie and talk about it again. It's fun to see all our different thoughts on the passages!
We're excited to introduce a new opportunity that many of you will love. We're taking our best coaches and disciplers and matching them up for a year in community with our most passionate young people. 
In Georgia (or in the south) they have these weekends called Disciple Now weekends. It's where kids in the youth group split up into groups according to their grade and they go to host homes for the weekend. The church brings college aged kids in and they are put with a group of kids and they spend the weekend with them discipling to them and hanging out with them.
of the youth asked the six of us interns if we would like to head up D-Now weekend and be with the kids that we have been teaching all year since they already know us and feel connected to us. We all jumped on the opportunity and said yes to her right away!
time. There were 11 middle school girls that came and we went through five different sessions throughout the weekend talking about filling ourselves up with God. We spent most of the weekend at our host home and Friday and Saturday night we met at the church for a time of worship and also a message from Jamie (a leader of the youth). 
I had to say about God and how we need to be our own person no matter what the world tells us. They were interacting with me and they were enjoying the lesson. It made sense to them and it all became clear to me that God put me there this past weekend to pour into them and feed them what other people have fed me. I got to know some girls that I had never met before and I was able to build stronger relationships with the ones that I had already known. Becca and I poured into these girls so much this weekend and she was an amazing help to me and she built me up when I was hesitant about being able to teach the 
girls. At the end of our weekend we went around the room and we spoke words of encouragement to each other one by one and it was absolutely amazing. The bonds that I have with these girls now will never break and no matter how far away we may be from each other we are still going to encourage each other and lift one another up. Spending time with the middle school girls opened my eyes to how wonderful God really is. Those girls have such a heart for the Lord and seeing that in them made me want to be so much more like them in that area of my life. I am so proud of them! I am so glad that God put me with those 11 girls this weekend because I truly believe that this is just the beginning of the work that God has planned for me!
In a little more than a week my team and I will be heading for 
Ashley, Connie, and I are going through the Bible in a year and then we are discussing it as we go along. Today we all got together and we drove to Buford and ate lunch at Olive Garden and got to stop at Krispy Kreme to get some yummy donuts for dessert. It is a lot of fun being able to enjoy the company of other believers and discuss the stories throughout the Bible. We were discussing Genesis and talking about how cool it is to see all the "firsts" that happen. Like the first time someone is killed when Cain kills Abel and the first time God split our languages up during the Tower of Babel. It is very interesting to read through all the stories in Genesis that I grew up learning and knowing so well and then re-reading them today, I get such a different perspective on them. They are stories that I felt like I knew so well and in reading them it seemed kind of funny to read them again but I have taken so much more out of them than ever before, I love how God shows me something new out of things that I have read several times. God's love is so amazing and I am so thankful for him more and more each day. He gives me things to think about and question and I love being on the edge of my seat waiting to see what more God has to offer. I am anxious to keep reading and getting together with Ashley and Connie and talk about it again. It's fun to see all our different thoughts on the passages!