Ethiopia Bound

LtoR: Melody, Corey, Ulla

Next week we'll have to say goodbye to two more of our Pick-A-Pocketers as they head down to Ethiopia to work LONG TERM with our projects there! So amazing. Corey already left a few weeks ago to work with our boys of garbage city in the capitol, Addis Ababa. Now Melody and Ulla will move to the southern city of Jinka to bring more girls out of prostitution to work in our Rahab Cafe. I'm so excited to see the fruit that will come from their work! Please pray for them as they head out...that they'll receive the finances they need, for safe travels, and that God would prepare the hearts of the people they'll be reaching out to.

All My Devotion

Beautiful Man
Beautiful God

You're more than worth my time

You're more than worth these longings of my heart

Left unfulfilled

Just for a time

And I know You don't come as easy as some

But I will watch and pray

I will watch and pray

Take it all

Take it all

Just give me Jesus

I don't want any other Lover

All of my devotion

Belongs to this man

These words are from the song "All My Devotion" by Kristene Mueller. She puts it so beautifully! Right now, this is the prayer that's on my heart. Plain and simple. (listen to it here)

In The Cool of The Day

So this hasn't been my week for electronics. My external hard drive took a nose dive down the stairs a few days ago, and today I managed to accidentally spill a full cup of tea on my laptop. Luckily, with the help of friends we were able to get it back in working order. However, I was without a computer for most of the day and was unable to do my normal daily work. A blessing in disguise. In spite of my task-oriented nature, it forced me to stop and be still.

And as soon as I got still, I found myself missing God. 

That's not to say that God's not always with me, because He is. But I felt a true longing just to sit in His presence and be. To stop doing and just be with Him. 

So I did. 

I went home and walked, sat, and lay in our garden for almost three hours. It was exactly what I needed. To just be with my Father and lay whispering among the roses. It gave me comfort to realize that despite the fall of man and the loss of Eden, we can still walk with God in a garden in "the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:8). 

Art.Passion.Action.

Right now I have the privilege of helping out with the graphic design track of our Marriage of The Arts Discipleship Training School (there are eight tracks, or departments, all together including fine art, photography, dance, music, film, hand crafts, writing, and graphic design). As I get to know these students and hear their hearts for the poor and the oppressed, I get more and more inspired with my own work. It's so awesome to see these 135 students seeking after God's heart for these issues and using their creative talents to advance the Kingdom. Check out this video from the first day of their school!

The Flame Goes Forward

The day after I arrived in Germany, I had the opportunity to go to Lausanne, Switzerland for the Western European regional celebration of Youth With A Mission's 50th anniversary. It was incredible! Admittedly, it was a bit much to be trying to catch up on jet lag while embarking on a 16-hour drive (one way) with almost 200 people in tow. In the end, it was totally worth it. Not only is Switzerland breathtakingly beautiful, hearing about the past fifty years of YWAM ministry from the founders, Lauren and Darlene Cunningham, themselves was a blessing. As a new staff member, it was so great to really get a feel for the vision of YWAM---past, present, and future---and inspiring to hear all that God's doing in our grassroots ministries worldwide. Not to mention it gave me the opportunity to get to know some of the 135 incredible Discipleship Training School students who arrive a couple of weeks before I did! All-in-all, a weekend well spent.