Growing Pains...

Group Photo at the retreat!

Hello all! I hope you have all been blessed in this first month of the new year! Just an update on how January has been for me, and What things are going to look like as I head into a bit of a transitional phase.

The beginning of this month was spent on a retreat in a small town a bit north of Marseille with Evolution 13 staff and ministry workers. It was a wonderful time of direction and planning for all of us, and to just do life together. I really enjoyed the time of prayer, worship, and encouragement that we had with each other. It has definitely made me excited about starting ministry!

Poker night on the retreat (just chips, no money of course!)
Ladies against Gents. Notice, the Ladies won. ;)

Which brings me to the title of this week's blog. It's hard just waiting to start ministry. Of course waiting is necessary as I am still learning and trying to grasp the language. It's funny because before I left, waiting and patience was what the Lord was teaching me, and of course I'm not through learning that lesson yet (not that I ever will be necessarily!)! Now I am learning to wait in jumping into ministry. There's so much I want to do, so many I want to encourage, but I can't.... because my language skills just aren't there yet. And for those of you who haven't tried learning a language in another culture let me paint you a little picture: You are an intelligent adult, who is fully capable of forming sentences, thoughts, and having conversations. Now, you are treated like a child, who can't speak, who can't communicate, and have to ask everyone to slow down when they talk to you because you just can't keep up. It's very frustrating. But in that frustration, there is so much learning! It's amazing to me how much God is teaching me through all of this! In my time here I can feel as I continue learning the language, I am also growing closer to Him. This is probably because I am continuously running to Him through my frustrations and difficulties here. But don't get me wrong! I have my moments where I choose to just let frustration turn to anger, throw up my hands, and desperately want to scream. I'm human after all, I'm not perfect! But I know that God has had so much grace for me in this time. I see it when I can understand so much more in French than I could when I got here, or when I actually try to speak in French, and I can do it! It's all a matter of pushing past the barriers, praying for peace (cause it is NERVE WRACKING to try to talk to people in their native language when it isn't your native language!) and grace, and just DOING it! It is a challenge, it isn't like poof! now you speak another language. It's work, and it's hard, but it is incredibly rewarding, especially when in the end, it brings glory to God!

So here is my challenge to you: how is God asking you to step out of your comfort zone? What has He asked you to do that seems completely terrifying to you, so much so that it's crippling? I challenge you to ask Him for peace, for grace, and then DO IT! I know it's hard, and it's scary, and sometimes it's very painful, but guess what? You will grow so much! In the Lord, no matter what age we are, we are always growing in Him. Our walk with Him is not promised to be easy, but count it all joy, because your faith in Him will grow exponentially! Remember in the end it's all about love. Love Him, and through that you will be able to love others, which includes doing the hard stuff! There's a reason they're called growing pains, but oh man, the end result is something so beautiful!

So in conclusion: Take a leap of faith! It might be tough, painful even, but in the end, the reward far outweighs any temporary discomfort. Please continue keeping our team in prayer, and remember that you are loved! God has a lot in store, for me, and for you. Always remember that.

Blessings and Love,

Chrissy

Amazing Love....

Hello everyone! So to get you all up to date, here's what's happened this past week: I jumped from 78% to 96% (Whoa! Thank you Jesus!), and our plane tickets were bought! We will be leaving on Friday November 8th. God is SO good! I still have a little ways to go, I need $150 on my monthly, but once that's in, I'll be fully funded! So please continue praying about supporting me!

So here we are. At the precipice. The Lord has done so much in me during my time here at Bethany. I am amazed at how much I have learned, and grown in the past month and a half that I've been here. I have been learning so much about patience, love, and joy. One thing the Lord has really been teaching me this week though is that I am not who I used to be. As I have grown in Him, the old me has fallen away. It's like Paul said: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17). I am seeing that be so evident in my life as of late. I've even had people mention to me that they had seen change. It is so beautiful, especially when satan tempts us with the things that we used to love, things we would do, think, or say without giving it a second thought. Suddenly God has brought us to such a beautiful place of healing, and wholeness, a place only He can bring us, and shows us that He has truly changed us. Now what we used to want, we no longer desire to want it. We fight the urge to be the way we were, and we run to the Lord, instead of away from Him. We know that He understands our struggle, and He wants to help us, we just have to be willing to let go of our problems, to stop trying to solve them for ourselves, and instead seek Him, and ask Him to work in the situation, and He always will.

So this is my encouragement to you. Time and again the devil will try to tell you that you haven't changed. He will even use people close to you, people you love and trust, to convince you that you are still the same person, stuck in the same rut of sin, and that you will never change; things will never get better. THAT IS A LIE! You have victory in Christ Jesus, walk it out! Trust the change that you've seen in yourself, the change that the Lord has done in your life! It's real, and you do not have to live in sin anymore! You do not have to be miserable in your thought life, or do things you know are not pleasing to the Lord (and will ultimately hurt you), you do not have to say things you know that you shouldn't just because "that's who you are, and you'll never change." these are all lies that satan will tell you, they are things he's been trying to convince me of in my own life. But satan is a liar, a deceiver who will try to convince you that you do not belong to the Lord. Listen to the Holy Spirit in your life, he will speak to you, He will show you how proud He is of how far you've come. He will continue to work in your heart, and grow you in unimaginable ways. The thing we tend to miss the most about God is that He isn't focusing on our faults, our slip ups, our failures, but in fact He is cheering us on in the ways that we please Him, He is wanting to help us go further in our walk with Him, He is so incredibly proud of you. So never ever forget, the Lord is working in your life, and He is so pleased that you are willing to fight so that you can grow, and learn more about Him, and the amazing love that He has for you.

Blessings and Love,

Chrissy

Waiting Patiently....

Hello everyone! My sincerest apologies for not writing sooner! It's been a hectic month, and things have been pretty crazy! I'll start with news: 1. I got my visa! Which was super exciting! Claire also received her visa later that week, after a very interesting trip to Chicago (which included some delicious deep dish pizza!). 2. I am about 76% funded! Yay! I still need about $900 for set up, and $600 in monthly pledges. 3. I was approached by a new friend, Candy, who is helping me do a candle fundraiser to raise the rest of the money I need! It's such a great and exciting opportunity! If you're interested in helping me financially (and getting a little something extra in return!) Please check out the link at the bottom of this page! 4. My team has shrunk DRASTICALLY! We are now down to three team members: Christine, Claire, and me! I am excited to share this experience with these two wonderful women! 5. My classmates that were headed to Kenya had a huge change in plans, and will now be joining with out Thailand team! That was a big, but exciting change for many friends of mine! Please keep them all in prayer as well! That is all for the news updates!

So, what is God teaching me in this season? PATIENCE! It is definitely a lesson the Lord is constantly teaching me! It is an area in my life that I have had to grow in quite a bit, so I am continuing to grow in this area now, through this process. The Thailand team has their plane tickets bought, and will be leaving in about two weeks. I am SO excited for them! Our France team is still waiting to buy plane tickets. There are a few logistical things being worked out still, as well as Christine and I needing to fundriase a bit more. It's hard. Hard when you want to leave, you want to go out, and share the gospel, learn a new language, and start ministering overseas. But we're having to wait. And pray. And wait. While it feels like there are constant obstacles in our way, and we are barely inching forward, I am having to be content, and stay joyful. It's hard! But the Lord is always speaking to my heart, reminding me that while it feels like I'm not in the right place, I am right where He wants me to be. That while I feel like I'm stuck in limbo, I'm not. I'm right where I should be. And when I stop trying to see far beyond my sight, take a second, and look around, I realize all that I have right here in front of me. I have been so blessed by my friends that surround me here in Minnesota, people I thought I wouldn't see again until after I got back from internship are able to hang out with me a few times a week. I am able to share in the celebrations, the trials, the joy, and the sadness that they are experiencing. Able to be there for them, and with them. And more importantly, the Lord is teaching me to learn from them, to glean wisdom from them, and love on them while I can. I am blessed to be in a place where I am able to spend time with Jesus. To slow down, and take time to let Him speak to me. To read His word when everything isn't making sense, or I am frustrated beyond belief. And most importantly, He is teaching me all about patience in the times when we're ready to jump out of the gate, but the gate just isn't opening yet. I am also learning to be patient with the people around me, to learn that not everyone thinks the same way that I do. It's a hard lesson to learn.

So be encouraged! If God has you in a place that feels like a waiting room, you aren't the only one! Trust that He has a plan for the time He has you there. Learn from the people He has around you, and never write anyone off as someone you can't learn from, they might be teaching you the biggest lesson of all!

Blessings and Love,

Chrissy


P.S. Here is the link for my fundraiser (mentioned at the beginning of the post!): https://www.facebook.com/events/554631631276534/