Apr 23, 2010

Missions Conference Recap

Hey ya'll! (That "ya'll was in honor of my southern roomie, Karis. Lol!) So I've been a bad little blogger; here I tell you about this wonderful missions conference was about to take place & I never actually filled you in on the week. I am very sorry. Haha! I know it was a while ago now, but it was such an amazing week I have to fill you in on the details.

Missions conference officially kicked off on Monday, but really didn't start until Tuesday morning; I started out the day by going to a workshop taught by a young missionary wife from Central Asia whose name is Lucia. She taught a workshop called "The Adventures of a Young Missionary Wife." Very fitting, don't you think? =) She & her husband are ministering to Muslim people in a restricted access country, which is why I can't get too specific in the details for safety reasons. It was incredible to hear some of the crazy situations she & her husband had been in & just to see how the Lord brought them through everything. One of the stories that really stuck out was about the day after they were married. She & her new husband were traveling by train to another city & he was taken in for questioning by the KGB. I wish you could have heard her tell about all of the ways that God worked on their behalf to secure a safe release. Anyways, that workshop was very challenging & encouraging.

After the first workshop, we had several sessions throughout the day, two of which were by an evangelist based in Peru, South America whose name was Tim Chapman. After taking a short-term missions trip to Peru, it was really neat to hear from him & just see how the Lord is working in that country & opening up doors to share the gospel. He is hoping to start a year-round camp in Peru sometime in the near future & it was very cool to see his vision & heart in that! In honor of Mr. Chapman, the dining hall served a Peruvian dish called "Lomo Saltado." After having the real thing at the home of the missionaries we stayed with, I was a little let down by the Northland version. Lol!

Wednesday was amazing as well! I went to a workshop by Tom, Lucia's husband. It was entitled "Sucker Punch 'Em with the Love of God and Spam their Nation." Creative title, no? Haha! This workshop gave very practical advice in sharing the gospel with Muslims. Since I will be tutoring Muslim women this summer, I tried to attend as many sessions as I could that were applicable to that. We had a session later that day by Scott Dean, who is a missionary to Mongolia. It was so wonderful & encouraging to see all of the work that the Lord is doing in that part of the world! Again, in honor of Mr. Dean, we had Mongolian food that night, which was delicious! Then after the evening service, we had our annual "Northland International Grill." They prepared Mongolian, Peruvian, & Cambodian food for all of the missionaries, faculty, staff, & students to sample while we all mingled together. It was a great time of fellowship! Plus, the food was sooooo good! I had to go running afterwards. Lol! Although, once again, the Peruvian empanadas just weren't the same...but what can ya do? Hahaha!

Thursday, I attended another session by Tom; it was again geared towards people interested in working with Muslims & it had an even more unique title than his previous workshop. It was entitled, "Chaul, Camel Hump Soup, Beshpormak, and Other Necessities." Haha! Once again, a very helpful session about reaching out to Muslims with the love of God. The general session was by the father of one of my friends here at school who is an MK to Cambodia. J.D. Crowley was a phenomenal speaker & gave a very challenging message about presenting the gospel. Then, I was able to attend the Findings of the Great Commission Summit. This meeting was the result of some very brilliant men of God who have met in various locations across the globe, from Istanbul, Turkey, to Chicago, Illinois. They met with church leaders, missionaries, nationals, & students to discuss different aspects & challenges of the mission field. This year the summit focused on the idea of "tentmaking." It was a privilege to sit in with a large group of people with such wisdom & a real heart for God & desire to see the world reached with the gospel. Later that evening, I was able to set up a meeting with Tom & Lucia to really discuss one on one the best way to reach Muslims for the Lord. Again, I felt so privileged to be able to meet with this family that was so absolutely sold out for God. They have been through so much for the sake of the gospel, & yet they have such a joy & energy about them. It was infectious! I can't wait to begin this summer's ministry.

Friday came way too soon. We had one final workshop with J.D. Crowley, which was amazing. He has such a heart for God & a gift of communication. Then that afternoon I received an email from Mr. & Mrs. Thompson, who are former missionaries to Chile, South America. They asked if I would like to join them for dinner. So that was a huge blessing to be able to talk with them about all of their experiences & adventures on the mission field. Some if which included learning how to cook a sheep's head (which they had received as a gift!) & eating fish eyes....ewww!! Lol.

All in all, it was a crazy busy, but AMAZING week! I am already looking forward to next year's conference. Sorry it took me so long to update; I'm down to my last 2 1/2 weeks of school & it is definitely crunch time! I hope that you are all doing great & that you have a refreshing weekend =) Thanks for dropping by. God bless!

Apr 11, 2010

One Day at a Time!

That has become my motto this past week. This is the time in the semester where everything is due & there never seems to be enough time to get it all done, but I am enjoying every minute of it! Well....almost every minute. I was outside studying in the 68 degree sunshine on Tuesday afternoon & on Thursday morning I woke up to a snow covered campus. AHHH!!! But you will all be very proud of me: I didn't even cry! Haha =)
Thankfully, it melted the next day & it was back to 70 degree weather this afternoon, which leads my to conclude that Wisconsin is just weird....but I already knew that. Lol!


I am very excited for the upcoming week here at Northland. We are having a missions conference & I have heard that it is the highlight of the year! There will be many guest speakers here who are veteran missionaries, as well as many visiting missionaries from all over the world. There will be workshops given by missionaries from Asia, South Africa, Peru, Romania, Ukraine, Hong Kong, Guam, & the Philippines. There will be sessions Tuesday-Friday finished off by a round-table discussion on the topic of tent making. Thankfully, we will also be given a day off of classes on Thursday to attend a few more workshops.  The choir will be singing an absolutely beautiful song based out of Isaiah 55 on Tuesday night & I'm going to try to get a video to share with you guys. It makes me cry every time we sing it. Lol! Other than that, I can't think of too much else to fill you all in on; I've been too busy to have a life. Haha! If you happen to think of it, I would appreciate prayer for this next week; it is going to be extremely busy, but SOOOOO worth it! I have 3 tests, all my regular classes, & there's always piano. I have my exams coming up soon & I was also invited back to the Heyde Center to play piano this year. I had an AMAZING time when I played last year, but I haven't had a whole lot of spare time to learn a piece for this performance, so I would appreciate you prayers as I tackle some Rachmaninoff =) I guess that's all I have to say for now...well, technically I guess it's all I have to type. Hehe! I hope you are all doing splendidly & that you have a wonderful week! Thanks for stopping by =)

Apr 7, 2010

Amazing News!!

Hey everyone! I just had to share some amazing news that I found out last night. One of my best friends here at school accepted the Lord as her savior last Thursday!!! Praise the Lord!! We had a day of prayer on Thursday & we prayed for the persecuted church (more on that later; it was amazing!) & she finally surrendered to God that day. She had grown up in a Christian home & went through all of the motions for 19 years. She was set on disproving the Bible because she had seen so much hypocrisy in Christianity. Thankfully, the Lord never stops pursuing the lost. I wish you could hear her testimony; she has SUCH a passion for the Gospel & an incredible love for God. It is refreshing to see! Praise the Lord for His amazing forgiveness & love. Hallelujah for the blood of the Lamb who was slain! Thank God for redeeming another soul.

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Apr 4, 2010

Mighty is the Power of the Cross

By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us...





One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now He’s ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
From rising again

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day


One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my Beloved One, bringing
My Savior, Jesus, is mine



-Glorious Day by Casting Crowns





Death could not hold Him; the grave could not keep Him. "Why do you look for the Living among the dead? He is not here, He has risen!" ~Luke 24:5-6


Happy Resurrection Sunday everyone! Rejoice: Our Savior lives!!!