A reason to write

There could be no better reason to write than to glorify God. It has been a long time or at least felt like a long time here in Kansas City. I really feel immersed in the community at Nazarene Theological Seminary. The friendships I have developed will help me and guide me through this next stage of God's story for my life. The church that I have been attending here in the Kansa City area, Antioch Church of the Nazarene, has reminded me of many thing. The people have reminded me what a church family is like with hugs and remembering my name, truly caring. The atmosphere of honest love for God that is relational is one you experience with this group of believers. The trust and friendships and concern/care I experienced just rejuvenated my soul so deeply I felt ready to serve again. The family of the Antioch Church of the Nazarene walk their talk and trust Jesus to do what needs to be done through them. Old connections with friends, new friendships commencing, and mentors have been the story of my life and i did not fully understand the significance until this very moment. This is a big moment for the glory of God, when His people get together, pray, and live to serve Him big things are gonna happen to further His Kingdom both here on earth and I general terms! To God be the glory great things He hath done, so loved He the world that He gave us His son. If you have ever heard the grace guerilla prayer you will understand what is driving me. I will conclude with that prayer so that you too may find that the glory of God goes beyond anything we can do without Him. Make me a grace guerilla!

The Grace Guerilla's Prayer  8/24/12

---

Lord, I want to be a grace guerilla,

No longer a chameleon of karma;

The time has come to stand out from the crowd.

Lord, I want to give forgiveness

a fighting chance of freeing me,

to live I love and live it out loud.

Lord, I want to drink deep

of the foolishness of wisdom

instead of swallowing in the wisdom of fools,

to find a source in the deeper minds of meaning.

Lord, I want to search out the unsearchable

to invoke the invisible;

to choose the truths

the TV hypnotists aren't screening.

No camoflage,

No entourage,

No smoothly fitting in...

Lord, I want a faith that goes further than face value

and a beauty that goes deeper than my skin.

Lord, I want to be untouched by my possessions

instead of being possessed by what I touch,

to test the taste of having nothing to call mine

to hold consumption's craving back

to be content with luck or lack

to live as well on water as on wine.

Lord, I want to spend myself on those I think might need me,

not spend all I think I need on myself.

Lord, I want my heart to be willing to make house calls.

Let those whose rope is at an end

find me a faithful friend

Let me be known as one who rebuilds broken walls.

No camouflage,

No entourage,

No smoothly fitting in...

Lord, I want a faith that goes further than face value

and a beauty at goes deeper than my skin.

Lord, I want to be centered outside the circle

to be chiseled from a different seam

to be seduced by another story

and drawn into a deeper dream,

to be anchored in an undiscovered ocean

to revolve around a different sun

a boom box tuned to an alternate station

Abu,let from a different gun.

No camouflage,

No entourage,

No smoothly fitting in...

Lord, I want a faith that goes further than face value

and a beauty that goes deeper than my skin.

Amen!!

Sent from my i

More beginnings and more excitement

Well I am almost finished with my first week of modules here at NTS. It is exciting! It is exciting but it is hard work and tiring. I know more about what is going on in Hamilton and have met my mentor Neville. I have also met the couple, who are super amazing, who lived there last year. The more I learn and am here the more nervous and excited I get. I am learning a lot and I am growing a lot. I making a lot of new friends. The only thing that I am not doing a lot of is resting. It is good though. I will rest up before I head out. I still am working on raising money so do keep me in prayer please. Also prayer for the people that I will be living in community with. Live is good and Glory be to God!!!!!

Well the change winds are blowing. This weekend I am working at a festival to raise money for the trip. But also, I just found out from Neville, my contact in New Zealand, and I have been moved to Hamilton now. So no more Wainuiomata....sad but God's plans are much bigger than mine. Hamilton is located a bit more than an hour south of Auckland, so I will be closer to everyone. I will still be working with children and at a local school!!! Well until next time....

Another New Beginning

So this summer has been full of many new experiences for me and many wonderful accomplishments, but as I begin my pre-module work I realize that some new experiences are hard work and a little overwhelming. I know that in the long run that this will be completely rewarding but right now it seems daunting. I have officially finished reading my first book for class and it was great and really challenging, but I know that finishing it only means I have two more to work on for the next assignments. Well enough lamenting about homework because, to be honest, the more overwhelmed I feel with homework the more I feel a sense of purpose. 


Right now I am currently working on fundraising. Let me tell you fundraising is awesome in that you get to meet new people and experience new things and you always have a great story from it. I love how generous people can be especially when no one is looking. I had a lady just randomly give me a dollar for my trip and she did not even know my name. I know that looking at the total, 10,000, and then looking at what she gave me, a dollar, it seems insignificant, but really it isn't. Every dollar, every penny even is one closer to the total and one more for God's plan. I love it!!! 


Well, I will be trying to do better about updating now that we are officially beginning this thing!!! 
Oh, one last thing I bought my plane tickets 33hrs and 40 minutes of traveling, which includes lay overs!!! And I got a new backpack for traveling at half price!!!! God is good in the big things and the small things!!!!


Until we meet again


p.s. if you want to visit my donation site just click here: http://web.nazarene.org/goto/WhittenNewZealand

Things are a changin'

Things are a changin and sometimes it just does not connect with my mind. I know that God has a plan for me and I know that He will provide. That is not what I am worried about. What I am worried about is whether I can handle everything that is thrown at me in life. The changes at home, the newness at church, the shifting of friendships, all of these had been stable, for the most part, in my life and either everything is changing or I am. It is not the easiest thing to do in life, grow up that is, but it is something we all must face. I enjoy change, don't get me wrong. I just am more of a drastic change and start fresh, not a gently, patiently changing person. I have been participating in a Bible study based on the book "Made to Crave" at my home church and it has gotten me to think. I crave planning, doing, but not really being. Most of the time God just wants us to be, to be in Him, to be for Him, to be with Him. I am not saying that God does not want us to do, He does, but we must be in Him and He in us for us to truly do and plan for Him. So while I sit here at a garage sale that all proceeds go towards this journey of mine I want to be just in Him, no more planning or doing without Him as the foremost thought.


Lord, help me to be with you, not to just do for You. Lord, help me to crave you about all else and to recognize my part in what you have put into being. I need help with the changes overwhelm me and the patience with the situation is rubbing thin. Lord, you are the one that will make this journey bearable and make it successful. Lord, I ask that you not take away the struggles and the confusion but give me the strength to overcome and the peace to recognize that I do not have all of the answers and that is okay.
With all of my love, my life, and my cravings Lord, I give them all to you.
Amen

More mountains moved and many yet to come....

Well I have officially graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education and Intercultural Studies. I have put almost all of my stuff from college away or at least in boxes until next summer. Two very important things accomplished and yet there is so much mort to do!! I have to do a lot of paper work and I am getting many things in order for while I am out of the country and yet, I still have about $14,000 to raise, which in itself is a huge mountain. Now God is providing and I see that, it is just at times, during these waiting times, it can get a bit difficult to be patient. 


 My church family is a big encouragement with the $2 challenge that we have started. Most everyone in my church took a 2 dollar bill with which, after prayer, they will do something to increase it, then pray over that money to increase it and so on and so forth. Not only are they helping to raise money for my trip but they are learning simple obedience to God and witnessing how when we give God a little He can and will make it great!!!


God is good and I know that, I am just anxious to see how He uses the faithful to do His good works. 


Until next time......

Alright guys, so here is the deal. God is so great, He is more amazing than anything ever!!! I know that those statements do not necessarily make sense, but man, God is so good. 

Here is a little story of God's provision.... I had been struggling to complete all of my applications and fund pages for my program. The big application that was looming over me, however, was the visa application that I was supposed to have completed in March. I attempted to apply online, but for some weird reason there was a glitch in the computer and the application itself prevented me from completing it. I looked everywhere trying to delete it and start anew. I had even taken it to my missions professor who could not figure it out either. After a long day of dwelling, I prayed and went back to the website. and BOOM! there was a delete button. So I quickly, yet thoroughly, completed it again. I even double checked some information before I entered it. At the end there it was, the button I had been longing for, the submit button. I prayed again and pressed it. My application was officially in the hands of New Zealand's immigration services. Then today, knowing that I would see two very important people in my life who would ask about it, I checked my status. ........And can you guess what I found? I found that my visa had already been approved. Three business days!!! That's it, three business days and God made it happen. 

Can anyone refute that God is good? I think not!