A Prayer of Thanks

Today, I don't have any fantastic stories to tell... Nothing out of the ordinary happened to me today. But I have a friend, that I care about very much, that I am so thankful for. I saw him for the first time today in a couple of months. He just made me realize how lucky I am to have people supporting me. Not only is he supporting me in my decisions for school, relationships and other things... he's supporting me in this mission trip. I told him today that I'll be going to Haiti and he got excited for me. We talked about how fun it will be and it just got me really excited as well. So I'd just like to say a prayer tonight.

Lord, thank you so much for the people you've given us in our lives that support us no matter the circumstance. Please bless our family and friends, and please give me the courage to go out and be supportive of my friends and family as well. Father, you've given us all so much that is good. And we can't thank you enough for the opportunity to be able to go to Haiti. It's amazing that this support from people also creates the opportunity to be able to fund this trip. Thank you for that as well. Keep us safe. Keep us focused on you. And keep us near to you. We love you Lord.
Amen.

Have a good night everyone!
Tell someone you're thankful for them :)  That's your assignment tomorrow!

Dancing

During the benefit dinner tonight, my good friend Hansel (a Haitian friend), did a dance.

Seeing Hansel dance, is such a joyful experience. He's proud to be up there and representing Haiti, and he's proud to be a dancer.
There's something so cultural about the way that he and other people of Haiti dance. It's so beautiful in such a different way than any other kind of dancing. There's so much emotion and meaning put into the dance. Seeing him up there tonight was so inspirational... It's kind of like he's dancing for Jesus. For as cheesy as that might sound, it's absolutely accurate. Some people sing for Jesus, some people speak His Word, some people play an instrument...Everyone is given a gift, whether it be a talent, or something communicative, everyone has been given a gift. And seeing those gifts used toward bringing people to Christ, or for showing His love and His work in your heart, just gives me so much joy. Especially when you know they are loving every second of what they are doing. I'm sure that I'm not the only one that thought about how happy Hansel looked when he performed.

There's a verse I'd like to share with you guys, a specific verse about gifts. Actually, I take that back, I have a few verses for you to all ponder. =)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. --Colossians 3:23-24

Since we are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.-- 1 Corinthians 14:12

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently, if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. --Romans 12:6-8

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. -- James 1:17

I'd like to say a quick prayer, so if you're reading this, just fold your hands and read the prayer either in your head or aloud. I usually like to think of praying out loud as being more open with God. If you choose to, do so. It feels good.

Father God, I thank you so much for the talents you have given each and every one of your people. Help us to not hide our gifts Lord, but to use them to glorify You, bring honor to Your name and to build up your kingdom. Help us to be humble and help us to realize that we all need each other. Always remind us that our talents can be beneficial to others in some way. Lord, you are great, you are mighty and you are the Creator of all things. We love you Jesus.
Amen.

Have a good night everyone :)

Exodus

The past couple days, I've been spending time in the book of Exodus.
This book has so much to tell me about God leading His people. For a while I've thought a lot about why God is sending me to Haiti, and how in the world I'm going to survive the emotions and the possible ailments that may occur while in Haiti. This book has helped me to understand a lot about trust and faith in God that He will lead me and my team through everything. And it makes me so excited.
If you'd like to read the rest of this song, its Exodus 15... But after the Israelites were led through the Red Sea, and God allowed for Moses to part the waters for the Israelites, and to make it crash down on the Egyptians behind them, there was a song that they sang. There is a part of this song that says "In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling." Today, I felt as if that spoke directly to me. God loves all of us more than anything, and he will guide us to the place where He wants us to be. I have been redeemed, and God will lead me through this trip to Haiti. He will place things on my heart that I've never experienced before, and I can't wait! This trip is going to change my life. He is using me and my fellow teammates as instruments to change the life of the Haitian people, and maybe the lives of each other as well.

I'm off to sleep! Tomorrow is the benefit dinner!!! :) SOOOO excited!

Goodnight!

Two Weeks

It's two weeks until I go to Haiti. Nerves are kicking in, (not that I haven't had them all along)... I'm about to go be the hands and feet of God in a foreign country. This could be the most humbling and faith strengthening experience I've ever had.
Last night at about 12 o'clock, I was beginning to realize a lot of things, about a lot of people. People were stressing me out, and if anyone knows how I am, you know that Stress and I don't get along. As the stress proceeded, I began slipping into a sort of anxiety attack. Scary enough as it is, I came to realize at that point, that this is the devil. The devil is attacking me before I go to Haiti. There is no other explanation as to why I'm struggling so much to even get through a day around here. God has called me to go to Haiti, and I'm going. The devil is wanting so much of the exact opposite that he will do anything to get me focused on myself rather than the reason that I'm going to Haiti. He wants me to focus on being selfish. Well listen here devil, God has a plan for me to go to Haiti to spread His Word and I will do exactly that and push through your distractions. =)

Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. --Ephesians 6:10-12

This verse spoke to me especially today. As me and my other team members prepare for this trip to Haiti, we need to keep that in mind. It hard sometimes when it feels like suddenly everything is going wrong, to stay focused on what the mission is in going down to Haiti.

Prayers are needed and encouraged for while we are down there accomplishing what we need to accomplish and to serve who we are called to serve.

Allie