Aslan Is On The Move...

Hello everyone! I hope that I find you well this fine March! Firstly, a little update on life. I've just recently returned from a short (not really... not short at all...) trip to Florida. I was able to go for the wedding of a dear friend, and I'm so glad that I could make it to the beautiful celebration! I also went to get things a bit more in order for my imminent departure. Now, I'm still a ways off, but I'm certainly closer, so I wanted to make sure all my things were packed and ready to be shipped when I'm ready to ship them, which made things feel a bit more real, and a bit more exciting!

I just want to give a side note, I have about 28.4% of my monthly actually pledged. What this means, is that I have had people sign up, and start giving monthly, and this accounts for that 28.4%. I have had verbal promises of 24% more of that. So, to those that have promised, thank you! But until those promises have been entered into the system, those promised amounts cannot officially be counted. I just wanted to clarify all of this, so that everyone is on the same page about everything. Also, when you start giving before I leave, it goes into my set up budget, so it isn't as though it just disappears or just sits there, it goes into the monies I will use for my visa, plane tickets, setting up my apartment, etc. Now if any of this is confusing, or you would like clarification on any of it, feel free to email, message, txt, call, send smoke signals. I will get back to you as soon as possible!

So, I'm at 52% of my monthly budget! This is very exciting! I still have a little ways to go, but please be praying as I may have some potential opportunities coming up very soon to share with possible financial partners. I am so excited to share the vision and the heart that I have for my time in Belfast! Speaking of, I wanted to take a little bit of this post to share what exactly it is I'm planning to do in Belfast. I recently had the pleasure of talking with my Belfast family (as I have lovingly begun calling them, because they will be my family over there, and I am so looking forward to joining them! I don't think they know I started calling them that, but now they do!) and discussing a bit about what my roles will be, and what I will be focusing on. Many of you have asked, "What are you going to be doing over there?" and I vaguely reply "I'm working with a church plant." Well, there is a reason my reply is sometimes so vague... Mostly because when you are working with a church plant you have so many roles, you cannot begin to possibly go into it... Some days you'll be leading worship, others leading children's ministry, another day you're doing admin, it can get pretty hectic. But recently we were able to discuss a bit more about what roles I should be focusing on, in other words, I'll be doing lots of things, but these are the ministries I'll be focusing on.

1. First, I'll be focusing on youth ministry. This is huge for me, because I never thought I would really have a heart for youth ministry. But recently, I believe in preparation for this moment, God has opened my heart to reaching out to youth. I also believe, and have been told, that my testimony of deliverance from depression and self-harm will be an asset in working with the youth in Belfast as there are so many that are struggling with similar issues. 
2. Second I'll be helping with children's ministry, this is a place my heart has always been, so I am looking forward to helping out with the little ones! 
3. Third, I will be helping out with worship. This is something I am so looking forward to. Worship is such a big part of my life, as I am musically inclined. It is something that I very much look forward to, in growing and expanding my abilities and giftings in worship ministry. 
4. Fourth will be helping with the campus ministry we have as well. I'm looking forward to being a part of this ministry, and being able to build relationships and disciple the college age students that are getting involved at our church. 

So all of this is a brief overview of the major roles I will be taking on in my time there. I will also be working with prayer and deliverance ministry, doing admin work, and any other parts of ministry that need filling. My role at EN Belfast is very important, especially being someone who will have the freedom and flexibility to do a little bit of everything no matter what time, day or night, that it is required of me. My heart is so incredibly excited to be able to serve, and be the hands and feet of Jesus in every role I take, in every part I play as I am getting ready to leave and be with my team, with my family over there.

So, I'm sure you might be wondering about the title of the blog at this point, and I will try to make it quick, as I did not want this post to run too long... So recently I have been listening to Kari Jobe's new album, The Garden (oh my goodness, please go listen to it if you haven't already, it's such a great album!). From the first moment I played the first song I felt so encouraged. I felt the Lord's presence in such a way that I have not felt for so long. It was so fitting for me, in so many ways. I felt like the Lord was breathing me back to life. The first song on the album speaks of the garden that brings hope as hope springs forth again, and I couldn't help but be reminded of Aslan in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. This was one of my favorite books growing up, and I can't help but tear up when I think about the beauty of the allegory of God's love, the sacrifice of Christ, and the triumphant resurrection of our Savior painted in the beautiful words of C.S. Lewis, a man who hailed from Belfast no less. The past several months I had ben clinging to my faith, in God, in His calling, in His love for me. As the beginning of the song states, "I had all but given up"... But so much hope has come, and as it is officially spring, how fitting that this season of my life fits the season we are currently experiencing. Everyday since has been a reminder, that I have hope, that God has called me, that He loves me, and He is working all things together for good. I feel as though, in my life, Aslan is on the move... "Faith is rising...Hope is stirring... Making all things right." I have so much peace, hope and joy. I feel like God has breathed life back into me, and how incredibly fitting is it all? God is speaking, He has given me so much, and I will not forget, I will remember, and I will cling to His promises.

I hope that this post has encouraged you! I certainly feel so encouraged! I am so thankful for all of you that are praying for me, supporting me, and cheering me on! Please continue to pray and encourage, we are almost there, over halfway, and the best is yet to come!

Blessings and Love,

Chrissy

Information Superhighway

Hello everyone!

Hope you are all doing well, and had lovely holiday seasons with your family and friends! I had a very relaxing time, and I am thankful for it. It's almost the end of January (Crazy!!) And the reason I'm writing so late this month is because, well I've been a bit busy. This month's blog will be mostly informational, because I actually have a bit of information to share, so yay! Okay, I'll try to keep this as entertaining as possible, so there may be a few jokes, or a bit of dry humor thrown in here or there to keep you all entertained. Ready? Let's take a journey on the information superhighway of my life! Woo-hoo!!

1. I have begun support raising! Yay! This is a wonderful time for me, because I have been able to start support raising, which I have been itching to do for a while now! Well what does this mean? Okay I'll explain: I'll be sending out letters, postcards, making phone calls, setting up meetings, etc. to meet with potential partners that want to help me on my journey to, and during my time in Belfast. I have a love hate relationship with this process, but mostly love. I love spending time with people who have it on their hearts to be part of my support team, who have caught the vision that God has given me for Northern Ireland. It is really exciting time to connect with old friends and meet some new ones. I'm just not a big fan of licking envelopes....

2. I had the opportunity to briefly share at church on Sunday, and I had a great response after service with people coming to me and asking for more information. I'm so excited to follow up with them, make appointments, and share more about the vision God's given me for Belfast!

3. Now this is half news half prayer request: Dad was in the hospital this week. He's home now, and it wasn't too major, just low blood pressure and some other issues, but he's home now, and he's doing well. My sister is here helping my mom and I out which has been such a huge blessing! While dad is doing better, this has thrown off my support raising schedule a bit. While of course this is by far not the biggest issue, it is something that has happened. SO all that to say please be keeping my dad and his health in your prayers. Also please be keeping my mom in your prayers, since she is his primary caregiver, and takes a lot of this on her shoulders which has taken it's toll on her in the past. And please keep the rest of my family in your prayers, as this is always a difficult time for our family, and puts us all a little bit on edge.

4. Okay now a full on prayer request for me: please pray for encouragement for me during this time. I firmly believe that during this time satan will try to use different things to discourage me, to keep me from getting to Belfast. I am so excited to get there, and join the team, but the waiting can really be a time of growth and encouragement, or a time of frustration and discouragement. I ask that you pray that this be a time of growth and encouragement. That I would not grow weary, but keep pushing on strong.

Okay, so that's it for this month. Thanks for bearing with me, for praying with me, for agreeing with me. It means the world! Keep being encouraged in the Lord, and know that He loves you, He is for you, and He is a great and merciful God. Love you all and hope that in this new year you are blessed beyond measure, and that the love of Christ be revealed to you in new and wonderful ways!

Blessings and Love,

Chrissy

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

I know it's not Christmas, but let's be honest, I think we've begun to get more excited by pumpkin EVERYTHING than snow! Or maybe not... But if you're like me, you love fall! The color of the leaves as they change from green to brilliant hues of orange, red, and yellow. Unfortunately in South Florida all the weather change we know is from disgustingly hot to moderately hot. But hey, at least we still get pumpkin everything! 

I digress, if you're part of my Facebook group, then you know the exciting news I received, I am officially at appointee status! Woo-hoo! This means that: I can start support raising, and really get the ball rolling on heading to Belfast! I am SO excited to be in this stage of the process! At the moment I'm working on figuring out my budget (taxes can be a pretty tricky thing to figure out...) but once that's all done, I can really move forward, and let you all know about how you can help me in my support raising endeavors. 

This is a journey that I am taking with you. Keep that in mind! Your prayer, financial, and encouragement support are all part of making this possible. God created each of us to be part of this process, and I'm so thankful that you are here, walking alongside me, helping out in whatever capacity you can! I'm looking forward to joining the team, who just got offices for the church, which I'm so excited to see! They're also starting another school year with the students at Queen's University by holding another leadership course for them, teaching biblical principles of leadership in practical ways. Tomorrow night they're having a party for some of these students, and over nineteen countries will be represented, how cool is that? I can't wait to get over there and join them! But in this I am most definitely learning patience! It's all in God's timing, and I know that in each season, each place that I am the Lord has me here for a reason, and is teaching me more about who He is, and His heart for the people of this beautiful world that He created. 

I encourage you, that no matter where you're at, no matter how hard it is, to find contentment in the season God has you in. I understand, believe me, and I am in no way perfect at this (see last blog post....), but it is an area I'm trying to grow in. So let's grow in this together!

Blessings and Love,

Chrissy

Finding Contentment In That In-Between Stage...

Hello All! Sorry I haven't written in a while, I've found it a bit difficult to write, to be perfectly honest. So I just want to give an update on everything going on!

I went to New York in June to be a part of my sister's wedding! It was a wonderful time of family, friends, and getting to spend time with my sister and her husband! It was also a bit of a rough time for me as well, dealing with certain things within family dynamics, but the Lord is good, and those things were able to be resolved. Overall though, I'm so thankful for my time in New York, and for my family, whom I love so much!

After my trip to New York came my trip back to Minnesota! Yes, I know, I just came from there, but I had to return for candidacy*. Unfortunately I was not able to do candidacy* with fellow candidates, but I really enjoyed my time back on campus for two weeks, getting to say good-bye to those that I didn't get to say good-bye to before. It also got me even more excited to continue on my journey to Belfast!
*Candidacy: A process that all candidates of Bethany International are required to go through. This process includes classes on all aspects of missional life, from support raising, to member care. It also involves meeting with a therapist to ensure the candidate is fit for fielding.

After my time in Minnesota I returned here, to Florida. This has been one of the most difficult seasons of my life. During this time I've been waiting to move from candidacy to appointee* status with BIM (Bethany International Ministries). I've been seeking employment that fits with my carless, missionary-in-waiting status with little luck. So in the meantime this has left a lot of free time on my hands. This has been very difficult for me, because while I might enjoy having some time on my hands, I'm not so sure I like having quite so much time on my hands. The lack of social life here has also left a lot of time for over-thinking. To be totally honest, it's been rough. I'm not sure when I'll be able to start support raising, and I haven't had too much to occupy my time... While I have been taking advantage of some of this time, to spend it with the Lord, I've been struggling a bit in that area as well. I'm being completely honest with you all in saying that these are moments when I question everything: what am I doing? Why am I doing this? Why am I putting myself through all of this? These are real questions that I really do ask.
*Appointee: After candidacy has been completed, and the therapist has submitted their report, clearing you for fielding, a process which can sometimes take months, candidates become appointees. Once an appointee, you can begin raising funds, and are essentially in a pre-field position.

I am telling you all this because I want you to know: I'm not perfect, and I never have claimed to be. I have doubts sometimes, and I question everything. Just because I have chosen to dedicate my life to ministry does not mean I'm better than anyone, or that I'm a perfect person. I get frustrated that I can't move forward at this time, and I get annoyed that I have to wait to begin support raising, which in turn means I have to wait to go to Belfast. But when those questions come up, when I have moments that I just want to throw my hands up and say "I'm done, I'm going to get a normal job, get an apartment, a car, and be a normal American girl." I have to remember that's not where God called me. He has called me to share His word, to bring healing, and to love people, not here, but overseas. That is my heart, that is my life. It's not easy, especially in this in-between stage, when I feel like I'm just floating aimlessly while I wait. But I have to trust in Him, something which does not come easily to me at this moment. What it boils down to is a choice: am I going to choose to trust Him, to love Him, and believe that He has my best interest in mind, or am I going to choose to go off of how I feel. Am I going to choose to put Him or me on the throne of my life. This isn't an every day choice, this is an every hour, every minute, every second choice. And sometimes, I choose wrong, and have to repent. But I am not going to give up my faith, I'm not going to walk away from God just because it gets hard. It's hard, believe me, but I know that following my own path, that putting myself on the throne of my life leads to a hollow, empty existence. I know this because I chose that path eight years ago, and it led to one of the darkest times in my life. I can't always hear God's voice, but I know that He is here, with me, loving me, guiding me forward. I hold on to all the truths that He has spoken to me through His words: "'Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.'" (Psalm 46:10 ESV) "'Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.'" (Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV) "The LORD will fight for you; you need only be still." (Exodus 14:14 NIV) God will not abandon me. There will be times of trouble, Jesus said there would be (John 16:33), but He hung on that cross for me until it was finished, so that He could be with me, to show me how much He loved me. I can handle this, not because of my own strength, or will-power, but because He gave me the strength to. The same power that raised Him from the grave is alive in me (Romans 8:11), I can make it through this time.

I wan to be honest with you, which is why I've shared all this with you, but I also want to encourage you. I know it's hard. Being a Christian is hard, following God's plan for your life is hard, look at all the obstacles in this world that don't want us to succeed: our flesh, the devil, those alone are pretty formidable. But remember God's promises, remember that you are not struggling alone. It might feel like your drowning (believe me, I know the feeling... very well...) but when we feel like we're drowning, we need to stop looking at the storm. We need to look up, we need to look into those eyes that hold all the love, all the shelter we need. Then we need to reach up and take hold of the nail pierced hand and hold onto it for dear life. We have been given the tools to survive this, we need to start using them. Like I said earlier, we were promised troubles, but Jesus goes on to say this: "'But take heart; I have overcome the world.'" (John 16:33 ESV)

Blessings and Love,

Chrissy

Summer Time....

Malus Beauregard House,
New Orleans

Some pictures from the road trip!
Gateway Arch, St. Louis

Hi Everyone!

So I've been home for about a week and a half now! I had an incredible road trip with my best friend and her brother, we got to see and experience so much! It was such a great trip! And, I got to show her around the place where I (sort of) grew up, so that was a lot of fun too. Now I'm back, I was also able to spend some time with my sister and her best friends during her bachelorette weekend. I really enjoyed getting to hang out with and talk to them. It was a really great time, laughing, talking, and just spending time with each other.

Eating some barbecue in Memphis!

National Civil Rights Museum,
Memphis

I wanted to share a little bit about some time that I spend in New Orleans. On our road trip we decided to stop in the Big Easy for a few days and just explore the city. It was so much fun! Especially since so much of the city has a lot of French mixed in! So while we were there I was able to see another side to it, I'm not sure if it's because I'm just more aware of these things, or because the Lord was pointing them out to me, or maybe this is totally normal to see, but I saw so much hurting, and pain. I saw people trying to make themselves happy, people who were selling themselves to make others happy, and people who were just downright miserable. It broke my heart. I saw devastation of a different kind, devastation of the spirit. I saw a hollow emptiness, and it stirred something in me. I knew in that moment, this is why the Lord has called me to a life of ministry. This is why I have such a big heart, because there are so many hurting people in this world that need to know the greatest healing that can come to their soul is the love of God.

As I reflect on my calling, I'm also reflecting on the next step I'm taking in my life. I am so excited to be going to Belfast, not just because I'm going to be working with an incredible group of people, or because I get to live in an amazing place full of history and beauty, but because for the next few years it is a place where I get to work, full time, reaching those that need to experience love. I get to just love on people, and live out the testimony of Christ's love for me. This is the truth: every person, no matter who they are, or what they've done is worthy of love. Christ taught us this. Love, God's love, has the most incredible power to heal, restore, and transform. This is my heart, this is my calling and my purpose. I want to love, radically, to be an example of the love of Christ. I'm not perfect, far from it, I make mistakes, and unfortunately sometimes I hurt people, but my hope, my passion is to do my best not to hurt others, but to show them love where there is none. Yes, there is more to being a follower of Christ, but it all starts and ends in love. "So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV

Beignets at Cafe du Monde,
New Orleans

Claire and I in the French Quarter

So, my challenge to you is this: love radically this week. Love outside the box. Instead of judging someone for what they are doing, try to understand where they are coming from. Just because you are trying to love by understanding them, and their past does not mean that you condone their behavior. You are simply trying to show them the love that Christ showed you when you came to Him broken and desperate. So step outside the box, think of those that frustrate you, irritate you, make you downright angry, then think of a way that you can show them love this week. I'm challenging myself here too. I think it'll change our lives, don't you?





Blessings and Love,


Chrissy

Gulf Coast, Mississippi