Muli Bwangi

Let me just tell you, this is a mini post compared to what I will post when I get home. However, I want to tell you all something.

I have been in Zambia, as most of you know, woring with orphaned children due to AIDS. Sometimes double or triple orphans. It's terrible. Zambia is a dark place. We served over 650 orhpans this past week, they are serving and telling over 7,000 this summer about Jesus.

I had no idea what to expect. And, I never expected what I got.

The first day, they just start clinging to your heart. I had 13 girls, between the ages of 10-13, and the stories they told me about their homelife and what happens to them, is just horrible.

This is satan's playground. The satanism and the witchcraft and medicine men over here are ridiculous- they are everywhere.

I had girls tell me things from how they are beaten by their caregivers, for no reason. To having the most horrific nightmares, girls seeing their moms, who are dead, standing there, trying to force them to drink blood - that's witchcraft. A girl who was raped 3 times when she was 5 because her stepfather thought it would cure him of AIDS. She told her mom and her mom didn't care. She told her grandfather and the man was arrested and died in jail.

The disparity here is unreal. These girls walked into my life, I had no clue who they were, and I found myself crying for them, EVERY night, asking the Lord to give me their pain, wake me up when they have bad dreams, asking Him for His heart for them.

In America, we dont' see the witchcraft or the satanism. It's everywhere here. They power of prayer is incredible. Allan had a boy in his group who was 10 years old. He had been brought into satanism and was used as a weapon to kill other people. He had demons inside of him. He could not say the word Jesus or God without hissing or having convulsions. They prayed over him numerous times for great lengths of time and the demon was released. As they were praying the boy just started hissing "you're killing me, you're killing me" but it was the demon saying that. Not the boy.

God is at work here. We have been His hands and feet. Breaking the kids chains for them, telling them how much they ARE loved, accepted, secure, signifigant and victorious in Jesus.

I'll be posting my testimony soon after I return home. This is just a glimpse of what I've experienced. These 13 girls stole my heart, the fact that I know what they have to go home to, absolutely kills me. But all I can do is pray. They had tears in their eyes when they boarded the busses on Friday - I just could nothign but cry.

I may update again while we're here at Victoria Falls, I may not. But either way, I'll update a week from today for sure.

I love you all and miss you all so much!!

Camp LIFE

So the theme for Camp LIFE in Zambia is "Freedom In Christ."

These are our verses:

Who I am in Christ

I am Loved:
*John 3:16 - I am loved by God.
John 15:9 - I am loved by Jesus.
Romans 5:8 - I am loved no matter what I do.
1 John 4:18 - I have no fear because I am loved.

I am Accepted:
*John 1:12 - I am God's Child
John 15:15 - I am Chrit's Friend
Romans 5:1 - I have been justified
Ephesians 1:1 - I am a saint

I am Secure:
*Romans 8:38-39 - I cannot be separated from His Love
Romans 8:1-2 - I am forever free from condemnation.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 - I am established, annointed and sealed.
Colossians 3:3 - I am hidden with Christ in God

I am Signifigant:
*John 15:16 - I have been chosen & appointed
Matthew 5:13-14 - I am the light of the world.
Acts 1:8 - I am a personal witness of Jesus
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 - I am an Ambassador of Truth

I am Victorious:
*1 Corinthians 15:57 - I am victorious over sin and death
Romans 8:37 - I am more than a conqueror in Him
2 Corinthians 2:14 - I am walking in triumph.
1 John 5:4 - I have overcome the world.

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While preparing for this and going over all these verses, it was such a good reminder for me. A reminder for how true all this is for us, and how wonderful it is.

I love you ALL. and will miss you all! I will post on Sunday the 24th and July 1. Zambia is 7 hours ahead.

I cannot wait to share with you all that will happen! I'll also bring lots of pictures back, but I'm sure you already knew that!!

one more day

So, tomorrow, I leave for Zambia. I couldn't be any more thankful and excited.

Thankful for getting to go and share with these children about how amazing God is and how He will love them and protect them and how they are ACCEPTED AS IS in Him.

Thankful for how much He is going to change me in this process, change me into who i am in Him. Thankful that I'll never be the same again.

Throughout this entire process of preparing to go to Zambia, HE has only continued to bless me. Giving me abundant fellowship during the week, full of people who are transparent, who know we are sinful, who knows that we are not perfect, but we come together and bear each others burdens and we're a family - there for one another. He's teaching me a lot about fellowship, and how important it is...and how you really! cannot do anything on your own.

Philippians 2:1-4 says...
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Well, here I am...6 days til I leave for Africa. Up to this point I have been not nervous at all and thinking how wonderful it's going to be. Well I think reality struck a few days ago, and I'm realizing all that's going to happen, which don't get me wrong - I could not be more excited about all that is going to happen while I'm there. However, I'm definetly going out of my comfort zone, out of all that I know as 'convienient' to serve the Lord and come back perhaps, changed for ever.

satan has started throwing his lies back at me really hard this week, just like he did when I first committed to go. so, keep me in your prayers.

Africa will be and is a huge step for me in my faith with the Lord and trusting Him in every way. I know without a doubt He is calling me, and I'm answering. Faithfully. Submitted to the authority that is above me. God and my parents (because remember, they told me I could go, WOW!!) It's going to be just as hard if not harder for my parents and my sister, well my whole family. Because, see...we're all really close and we talk every day more than once a day, and that's something that is not going to happen while I'm in Africa. Only on Sundays will I get to email them to tell them how amazing my God is and how is working and just changing the lives of these children, but also me.

While I know I'm going to share and love on these orphans and tell them about Jesus, I have no doubt that He is going to completely change my heart and everything I know and that when I come home, I'll be a different person - which praise the Lord, I can't wait for.

I'll post twice while I'm over there, so look on Monday morning for a post from Sunday!

I love you all.

Oh. So last night I went to the College Hangout at It's A Grind, and it's just another great reminder of how faithful the Lord is and how He brings fellowship. I had the best time just sitting around drinking coffee in the cool crisp air and just talking with people that I hardly know, but feel like I've known for for ever. Butch and Michelle Smith are absolutely wonderful. I just love them. Butch asked me how much time I had left in school, and I was like well.... it's either August of 08 or December of 08, it'll just depend on how things fall into place....and Michelle goes, December is good...we're not ready to see you leave yet! It's just so wonderful having a home away from home, and knowing that I have people I can call on who would be there in a heart beat. I love my LHBC church family!!

photographs!

oops!

So I know I promised you guys that I'd update this thing while I was in Italy. Well, that fell through. I got wrapped up in the scenery and every night when I was online for my class, all I could do was finish my assignments just before I fell asleep! However, Italy was absolutely beautiful! The flowers you see in the pictures are so true, they line the corners and the streets, everywhere! And since I love flowers, it was pretty perfect! We flew into Milan, took a tour around the city, and saw The Last Supper. We took the train to Lake Como for the day, which was beautiful! From Milan we took the Eurostar to Florence. I absolutely loved Florence! It was my favorite. Our first day in Florence, we took the train to Pisa, and pretty much all there is in Pisa is the "Field of Miracles" which includes the Duomo (church), Baptistry, and the Leaning Tower. We had quite the hike up to the hill, about 5 miles I believe. (A bit much!!) However, standing and looking at it was incredible, it was just neat to think I was actually looking at it and not a picture. We had an excellent tour guide in Florence and got lots of good Italian history! We were in Florence for 3 nights and then took the Eurostar to Rome for 4 nights. I haven't quite figured it out why yet, but Rome was my least favorite place. Don't get me wrong, it was cool to go, but eh, it's not as impressive as it looks in the pictures. It's a very large, dirty city! We did take the train to Naples and a driver picked us up and we went to the Amalfi Coast, which was beautiful! The water was so blue, almost neon...it was amazing! I couldn't dare start to explain every detail on this...because I'm pretty sure you wouldn't read the whole thing anyways!! The trip was a wonderful blessing, and I'm so glad I got to go with my mother and sister (who is 3 months prego by the way!!!, I'll be an aunt times 8!)

Anyways... I just thought I'd post on here...to let everyone know I am home safely! And back to the real world. However, it's a huge blessing to be back in this town with the people that I love and missed!

This week I'm a helper with 1st Grade for LHBC's VBS! Today was our first day and it was tons of fun! Our verse for the week is Ephesians 2:8-10. Our theme is "The Search for God's Big Plan"

In our Bible study today we talked about how that in order to be an astronaut you must have all these things, like a PhD, be a certain height/weight, have good vision, etc. that there are all these requirements. But with God there are no requirements only that you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins. For it is by grace that you have been saved!

These little kids are so precoius and teach us so much!

I leave for Africa in 15ish days! I couldn't be more excited about what the Lord is going to do and I can't wait to share it with you! For those of you who don't know, I'm going to Zambia, Africa with FLMI. We love on and tell the AIDS children in the orphangages about Jesus and who He is and how much He loves them. I cannot wait to see the Lord move this summer!

Ciao :)