Turkey!

We arrived in Istanbul early Sunday morning and went straight to the hostel. The next day was filled with mosque visits, scavenger hunts, and getting to know our way in turkish culture. Then, we hopped on a bus and rode over to Edirne. We met our hosts and went home for our first meal in a turkish home. My host, D, was a college student studying physics :)

Over the next week we would visit different sites in Edirne. We went into several mosques; one during a call to prayer which was.... erie. We visited famous bridges and saw various historical sites of the former Ottoman Empire capital. But what mattered the most to each of us was the time we got to spend with the different hosts. We had dinner together each night. Some hosts would sight-see with us each day. We all went out together for M's birthday. We became friends.

The most precious time I had in Turkey was with my host, D, and her boyfriend, C. The Lord guided our conversation to be about the differences between Christianity and Islam. I was privileged to share with them that God has provided Jesus in our place, as our Saviour who saves us from judgement. I was able to share with D later about how God created us for relationship with Him and how He desires that with us.

In Edirne Islam is more tradition than anything else. D and C are very nominal Muslims, saying many times that all religions are the same. The work in Turkey is slow. There are only three families working to share the Good News of Christ in a region of 1.5 million people. We must pray for more laborers. We must ask God for a harvest from Turkey!

Berlin!! Part two...

Hey everyone!

My apologies-- an update is long overdue. In the last two weeks in Berlin we did our mini dts, some evangelism, and lots of intercession. The mini dts went really well--it was a small group of students each day but that was nice because we were able to connect with each of them. I taught last Thursday on the kingdom of God and missions (thank you for your prayers!) and the students responded really well. That afternoon we went out to a big public square to do some evangelism. Please pray for Jessie, a girl I spoke with who is really searching right now but unable to accept the miracles of Christ--pray her eyes would be opened and that she would be saved!

This past Sunday I shared a message with a small church plant; it was really a privilege to be able to speak to them and urge them on to seek the Lord. This week we have done a lot of intercession and reading of the Word in public places. We are also preparing to leave for Turkey--we leave on Saturday!

Please continue to pray for our team--for our time in Turkey; we will probably each be in a separate host home. Please pray for opportunities to share the Gospel and for receptive hearts.

Thank you all so much!

Much love, Megan

Berlin!

Hey everyone!

Our last week in Hamburg was great! It included times of prayer and evangelism in a famous red light district, returning to an elementary school for English lessons, and returning to a kids ministry in the mall. It was really nice being able to go to the same ministries a few times. Please pray for Hashad and his sisters Jasmin and Lisa. They are Muslim children who come to the ministry in the mall three times a week. When I asked Hashad about Jesus he just shook his head and said, "we are not that.". Also pray for a man named Asha who I met on the streets. He has been homeless for the last seven years but told us that he likes being homeless. He refuses to recognize that he has any need whatsoever. Please also pray for the ongoing ministries of YWAM and others in the city.

We arrived in Berlin on Sunday evening and the first thing we did was eat delicious doners (pronounced doe-nair) which are a Turkish dish similar to a pita with roasted meat :) they are so good! Other notable things we have done are: prayer walks throughout the city, culture orientation, and making preparations for a mini discipleship training school (dts) here next week. This is a huge prayer request for the team; we are doing all the teaching and everything for the mini dts. I will be teaching on the kingdom of God and missions. Please pray for me in this! We are praying for 20 students to come to this. It will be mon-fri next week (Jan 30-Feb 3).

Other things I am looking forward to are: my friend Kristina is coming tomorrow (Thursday!), the mini dts should be an amazing opportunity to have a role on deepening some youths' relationships with God, and after that I think we are doing some ministry with Muslims, AND then we are going to Turkey! These next few weeks will fly by I am sure. Thank you all SO much for your prayers, love, and support!

For His glory!

Megan

Here's a few pictures: we made waffles with the kids in the mall and i'm not allowed to put pictures of their faces on the internet...so that explains the first picture :)
the next two are at the berlin wall!

Hamburg!!

Hallo friends!!
We arrived safely in Hamburg on Thursday of last week. We hit the ground running with full days Friday and Saturday. We helped teach English to first and second graders, went to a Christian youth center and hung out with the kids there, helped a ministry that gives immigrant children a place to play and learn, saw the city of Hamburg, and went to a house church on Sunday :) on Saturday my friend, Tabea, who I met in Nepal but is from Germany, came and visited till sunday so that was really great to see her!

It has been really eye opening being here--the staff here tell us that Hamburg is less than 2% Christian. Parts of Europe are even worse than that, making many places qualify as unreached. The German people are great but are not super open to talking to eager Americans ;) I am excited though because this week we are going back several times to the places we've already been so we will hopefully see the same people again. This week will also include at least one trip to one of the red light districts here. Please pray for us as we go back to these ministries, that we would connect with people and that we would bring Life wherever we go. Also pray the God would increase the laborers in Europe.

Thank you all SO much for your prayers and support!!

Megan


The pictures are from my phone... Hopefully they are decent... It's a beautiful city!

Over Thanksgiving we organized a Thanksgiving Outreach for YWAM Louisville--We had five teams go out on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of Thanksgiving week doing lots of different things like serving meals to the homeless, distributing Bibles in a low-income area, and various service projects. My favorite time was Bible distribution because it was so great to be able to offer hope in the form of the Word of God to people. We were able to talk with one woman, Starr, who had been struggling with depression. We prayed with her and encouraged her with Scripture. She was so happy--she kept saying, "I'm so glad I opened my door!"

It was a busy but rewarding week :)

Last week our teaching was on Missions. God used it to remind me and emphasize to me that the next step after SOMD will involve some sort of preparation in developing a skill that I can bring into a country. The speaker emphasized having an "entry strategy" that will allow me to enter and stay in various countries. There are so many possibilities--education, business, health...lots of options. I need to seek the Lord and get some further guidance about which direction to step, but i am excited as I think about the work of proclaiming how great our God is to the nations :) Sometimes it seems like such an impossible task--to go to people who have never heard the Gospel and expect them to change everything they believe and follow Christ. But in these times the Spirit always reminds me of Christ's victory in the resurrection, the hope He has given us, and the power of the cross. God is so amazing. the Gospel is so amazing. truly good news. how quickly i forget these things if i take my eyes off of Christ Jesus even for a moment. The Gospel is powerful. Praise God His kingdom is not dependent upon my ability but on His Spirit and His finished victory! this is the message we carry to the nations--that God alone is worthy to be praised!

Last week we went to the southeast conference--all ten bases in the southeast gathered together for a week of worship together in talladega, alabama. There was a lot happening in each meeting and i think the main thing God was showing me was about how what God says is done--is done. That when God says, "It is finished" then it is truly and completely finished with nothing more to be done. when we repent of something and God says He is faithful and just to forgive--He is. When God says we are in Christ and our sin is no longer counted against us, it's true. When God says we are saints and beloved and that we are new creations--we are! It is so amazing the faithfulness and goodness of God.

God is also showing me a lot about grace. I think a lot of it started with Don Stephen's teaching on the Kingdom, which was the week before last. He talked about God's grace and how we are no longer under the law. period. Perhaps if this conference had been before that teaching i wouldve been there trying to do things to clean myself up. Instead, i was able to receive the truth that there is nothing for me to do, nothing that i have to do. I kept asking the Lord this week if there was something i should be doing and He kept saying no--He has done it all.

Amen!

Father Heart of God and Spiritual Gifts

This past week I was privileged to attend classes with the DTS on Father Heart of God as well as go to my own classes which were on spiritual giftings. It was a busy week :) I was in class basically all day every day with only an hour break for lunch. But it was good. I had the teaching Father Heart of God during my dts but it was our first week of teaching and the day before the teaching was kelly's accident so....i wasnt really into it.

One of the most impactful things was hearing the speaker, Doug Easterday, talk about his relationship with his children and his wife. He told stories about doing little, special things for them just because he knew they would like it. The way he talked about his love for his family helped me see God as a good father--caring for His children. God helped me see this week that i have not looked at Him as being a personal Father, but often a distant authority. Hearing Doug talk about his love for his kids helped me to see God's Father love for me. It helped me expand my view of God--He is big enough to be personally intimate with all His kids!

One thing that I have struggled with a lot in the past and this week has been reconciling God's sovereignty and our free will. It has been a struggle for a long time without conclusion. This week it was cool because Doug hadn't addressed the topic at all but for some reason Friday morning it was the first thing he talked about. He recommended a book on the topic and simply said that God is sovereign and we make choices. I'm not sure i will understand more than that. in fact, im pretty sure i will not. But it was really awesome how God brought it up and it allowed me to be more open to the teaching that day which was on forgiveness.

Our teaching this week was about God's calling on individual lives. Our speaker described discovering our calling like the putting together of a jigsaw puzzle--many times God shows you one piece at a time and as you walk it out the whole picture becomes clear. This week was great for me because God confirmed a lot that was in my heart already about going to India and reaching the unreached with the Gospel. God used this week to help me see that His vision is in my heart; I am excited to be preparing for it and living it.

God reminded me this week of His sovereignty. Every now and then I go through times when I dont want to move for fear of failure, but this week the Lord reminded me that He is sovereign. Our speaker said that basically we can expect to fail--but God is bigger than our failures. I can trust the Lord that He will guide and direct me. I can also trust that He will correct me. This is surprisingly comforting :)

It has been a full week at YWAM Louisville! This week our speaker was Donna MacGowan--who (with her husband, Mark) was my DTS Director at YWAM Denver. It was awesome having a teacher that I knew so well. The subject was Biblical Counseling. I loved it because it not only applies to helping us minister to others but it was incredibly helpful in the working out of my own salvation. God used the teaching to remind me and reveal to me again how He desires complete restoration in people. He is not simply satisfied with one being saved, but is interested in making them whole as well. The Lord was so good to me this week by showing me different things within me that He wants to heal and restore. God is so good.

We has the opportunity this week to "practice" doing ministry on each other--we got to share with each other about something we wanted prayer for and walk through the process of leading someone to the Lord and allowing Him to bring revelation and restoration in their lives. Through this exercise I realized how little I knew about counseling others. It was amazing though--to see how the Lord spoke to people and worked in the midst of my weakness. Once again--God is so good.

It was hard for me this week--I find myself being so reluctant to go through the process of restoration. I want it to just be done. But God is always so patient and gentle with me--never giving me more than I can handle. God is so good!

This week at YWAM Louisville we spent a lot of time learning about our personalities and what our natural strengths and tendencies are when interacting with people or completing a task. It was good for me to learn more about who I am and to think about how others are different and how we can walk in greater humility as we honor each other and consider our differences in personality.

God has been revealing Himself to me this week through His word and again through the study of missions in Pathways. He is revealing Himself as a God who desires the praise of the nations. I knew this before but it has been so good to see it revealed in the Scriptures systematically.

God has shown me a lot about myself this week--about fears that I am holding on to and areas where I am not trusting Him. He has gently put these things before me as He shows me more and more how He desires for me to be whole and fully trusting Him.

Early in the week God was revealing these things as He provided people around me to lift me up and support me. I woke up tuesday morning and felt light and joyful. I hadnt realized how heavy i had been. perhaps even from before I left india. God has been so gracious to me in providing such amazing friends that are praying for me.

Another week has gone by at YWAM Louisville...Last week we listened to a series of lectures about Effective Personal Ministry. It was a good teaching concentrating on the fact that ministry is service--meeting people's needs through the strength and power of the Holy Spirit. We also talked a lot about Paul's life and how he really lived out his teaching. It is actually kind of difficult for me to sit in class and learn about ministry. I want to be out in the world doing it; so it was somewhat of a struggle this week for me to engage during class. But God is faithful and always provides His grace even in small things like paying attention to lectures :) I am reminded often that this is a time of preparation and I want to make the most of it.

We also started a study on missions through a teaching called Pathways. It is a collection of articles on various topics but this week we read about how God from the very beginning has been a missional God. One that spoke to me particularly was from Let the Nations Be Glad by John Piper. Piper talks about how the purpose of missions is worship and that "missions exist because worship does not."

Piper says, "The ultimate foundation for our passion to see God glorified is his own passion to be glorified. God is central and supreme in His own affections...God is not an idolater...With all His heart and soul and strength and mind, He delights in the glory of His manifold perfections. the most passionate heart for God in all the universe is God's heart... Missions is the overflow of our delight in God because missions is the overflow of God's delight in being God...The gospel demand that flows from such a God to the nations is an eminently shareable, doable demand, mainly to rejoice and be glad in God."

This thought was a new thought for me--that God is by nature missional. He desires to share Himself. For us we start to see this at creation and it continues through His covenant with Abraham, David and ultimately through Christ.

God is showing me more and more that He has put His heart for the nations into my own. I am realizing how deeply I desire to be a part of God redeeming peoples from every tribe, tongue and nation to gather around His throne in worship. I already knew this a bit but the longing is deeper than i knew. i will go, but not yet...(and for the time being--let us bring His kingdom in America as it is in Heaven)

"Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!" Psalm 96:3


"

YWAM Louisville

Alright...blogging again. my extremely rare habit :)

Well lots has changed in the past couple weeks and now I am in Louisville, KY doing a School of Ministry Development with the YWAM here. It all came about really quickly just a few days before the school started--and the school started one week ago. So... through the school we are required to keep up with a journal each week and we can do it through blogging...thus--the reason for this blog and several to come.

Our teaching this week was on our passions/core values that we base our life on. It was definitely good for me to think about what my values are and how they came to be. The Lord showed me several things about myself and different motivations i have that need purifying in light of His glory and the fact that He alone is worthy of our devotion and praise. The teacher spoke many times about God's ultimate passion being the glory of His name and how we are to align ourselves with His passions. Through these teachings I was reminded again of the worthiness of God. He is passionate about His glory because He is God. He is all powerful, all mighty, always just, always faithful. He is love, mercy, grace. He is.

Through the teaching, times of prayer, and studying the word the Lord has shown me that many of my values come from a self-glorifying heart instead of a God-glorifying heart. He showed me that this will be a season in which i need to be diligent in walking through what He is bringing my way--no longer reluctant or unwilling. I pray I will continue in His grace to do these things.

One of the challenges this week has been transitioning to a new place and starting over yet again. The school I am in is unique in that everyone just completed a discipleship training school all together...except for me. It has been stretching this week to not allow myself to "hide". It is perhaps easiest for me to be alone--or with really close friends. It would be easy for me to not to much and stay out of the group but by His grace I think i did alright in trying to stay involved.

I leave you with this picture of a few of the kids I love in india. ive thought of them often this week and i miss them dearly!

to remember

I read Instrument of Thy Peace by Alan Paton while in Kathmandu last summer. It was beautiful. Here is some:

“Why did Jesus hold spellbound those who listened to him? It was because he showed them they were not helpless victims in the grip of fears, hates, the past, the world. They were the salt of the earth, the light of the world. He showed them a new thing—that obedience and freedom are inseparable. For where is the joy of living in a society in which all obey and none is free? Or in which all are free and none obeys? Something in them rose up to meet him; they were caught up into the bondage which is the perfect freedom; they became his servants and his freedmen; they became his followers and his disciples; in him they found meaning for their lives, and there is no freedom like the freedom of finding meaning for one’s life, of becoming the instrument of a Lord who helps us to be what we were meant to be.”

I am on my way to south carolina to live with some people who are indeed His followers and His disciples. In this next season of life i hope and pray that i will learn from them and step more fully into the life and the freedom of my Saviour.

hallelujah amen!

the shock of culture

Hmmm....I guess its about time for my annual blog.

So, its been just over a month since I left India. I'm still pretty sad about it. Honestly, its hard being in America with nothing to do. I have been traveling like a crazy person. In the last 6 weeks I've spent time in 5 different countries and three different states within America. thankfully I'll be in one place for the next couple weeks. In the midst of all this traveling I have been slowly processing leaving India... well, it may be more accurate to say i've been reacting to leaving India.

I guess I've been continuing to learn what i think is the biggest lesson the Lord has been teaching me through my time in India and now coming home: it's just life. While in India, most of the time i didn't feel like a "missionary". day to day life was pretty standard--taking care of the kids at the children's home and teaching at the school. majority of my time was not spent in what i would immediately call "ministry". but the Lord used it to open my eyes--i think for a while now i've been waiting; waiting for something big to do. And all the time i've spent waiting i've often missed it. missed the fact that we have the opportunity to bring God glory in the little things. when we live in the Spirit, exemplifying the fruit of the Spirt--that is what bring glory to God. When we interact with people in love, patience, and gentleness--that is the fruit of a life redeemed. a life that has been changed forever not because of anything we can do ourselves but because of God's great love. So, i must stop waiting for some big task to do for God and start [continue] living in His Spirit--moment by moment.

now. that being said--I am in America and it feels so.... pointless. I know, i know--saying that is contrary to this whole lesson God is teaching me of not waiting for something big... but it's honestly how i have felt majority of the time since leaving india. BUT--God reminded me the other day of this whole bring Him glory thing in day to day interactions with people. and its true--I have the opportunity, no matter where i am, no matter what i am doing--to bring Him glory. I have the opportunity to respond to people in gentleness and love instead of my natural tendency of being harsh and critical. I can live with joy and in continual hope instead of drowning in self pity and doubt. I can have peace by resting in Him instead of striving in my own strength to accomplish something. but it is a fight. my flesh is strong. there is an enemy consistently working to pull me down. just the same as it was in india--it is here.

So, here we go. No more waiting. Hebrews 12:1-3.

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love." --Mother Teresa

[life is beautiful].

India...

Probably one of the best things about being in India is the acute awareness it causes of my dependency upon the Lord. Something about being out of my normal routine, doing things i wouldn’t normal do helps me to see that i am fully dependent on God as my strength and sufficiency.

The first week we got here I found out I was to teach two times at the womens conference in Nepal. Now. The believers here are…believers. Many of them have had to sacrifice much to follow Christ. And I learn a huge deal from them about what it means to truly be a follower of Christ every time we gather together. So, needless to say (perhaps—or maybe we should say it more often…) I do not feel especially adequate to teach them. So Liz and I were talking about this because she was to speak as well.

Now usually I remind myself about how I am in Christ and I have authority in Him. Which is true. But this time as I thought about how I do not consider speaking one of my strengths—I really felt like the Lord said to me—that is a good place to be--to recognize my weakness. To recognize my dependency on God to accomplish anything whatsoever. it is good. Because the Lord has said—“My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).

And God has just impressed this truth on me over and over in this past month in India. He has reminded me so strongly of my weakness and how He desires to be strong in that. He has reminded me that there are many others who could have come here—that are much more qualified than Liz and I. But we are here. And He desires to use us here. In spite of our weaknesses—or possibly because our weaknesses.

the second week i was here i read Cry, the Beloved Country (highly recommended!). In the book there is a pastor who, when thanked for the good he has done responds, "...I am a weak and sinful man, but God put His hands on me, that is all". what amazing truth.

Life is beautiful. [God is gracious.]

love.

Alright, so i am back in alabama which is....home? close enough. there are people i love here so it is as much home as anywhere else. It was really really great to see people at church this morning. such a warm welcome back--always encouraging. I am reminded again about the amazing people God has brought my way. Such a privilege.

On the way home i was reading Erwin McMannus's book Soul Cravings. the part that i cannot stop thinking about was about God's unconditional love. here's a bit:

"The truth of the matter is that we're uncomfortable with God. We're disoriented by the way He loves... At least on an unconscious level, a part of our struggle with God is our discomfort with love...All of us find ourselves uncertain when it comes to love. We have no real experience of unconditional love, and it goes without saying that conditional love always leaves us wanting. But at least with conditional love we have some control over the situation. The downside is, when we don't meet the conditions, we default on the love."

and the kicker... "What in the world would happen if people actually began discovering the actual message of Jesus Christ--that love is unconditional? What would happen if we began to realize that God was not, in fact, waiting for us to earn his love, but that he was passionately pursuing us with His love? What would happen if the word got out that Jesus was offering His love freely and without condition?"

honestly, as i was reading this i thought, "Is God's love really actually unconditional? Could it be?" (now, i've been a Christian for ten years now. i really shouldn't be asking myself these questions...or rather, asking God) and the Lord quickly brought to mind verses about the height, depth, width of His love, how He forgets every sin, how He makes us new--makes us clean, how God is love, how while we were yet sinners Christ died for us, how yes--His love is truly without condition. (although even as i write this doubts fly...hopefully someday while i'm still living i will be absolutely confident of this truth.) and then i thought--how amazing. honestly, how amazing i mean, what does God have to gain from us? nothing. a few pages earlier in the book McMannus quotes a girl saying, "I turned to God, thinking He was a fool for wanting me." such a good perspective. such a perspective of truth...McMannus responds saying, "Which, of course, is the nature of love, isn't it?"

love. it seems to me that love is completely irrational. especially God's love. i have no worth apart from Christ. so why? why would God want me? unfortunately too many times i come to the conclusion--well, i must have something to offer than (ah that nasty paradigm in which i am in the center is just so hard to kill.) but the conclusion that i should come to is--God is love. He is just that good, that loving, that compassionate, that caring, that humble.

i cant understand it. but i think i'm starting to get it. little by little. after all this time. good thing God is patient as well.

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." [Eph. 3:17b-19]

life is beautiful.

two weeks notice

ahhhh well i will officially be in India in fourteen days. pretty crazy. i feel like it has taken forever to get here and now it has ambushed me. what to do.

It has been five months since i've been back from India. five months. thats a long time and i havent really done anything. Sarah graduated, Kelly ummm....had her wedding, i worked a full WEEK of volleyball camps, worked as a telemarketer for about four days (worst job ever.) and i saw a whole lot of people. time well spent i say. but in the midst of it all i have felt a bit....restless? dissatisfied? complacent?

i must confess (to michelle i guess....if she still checks this?) that this summer i almost completely sold out to the american way. I came back from india knowing that i would be going back to india, knowing that in india i dont get to do what i want, i dont get to be comfortable, i dont 'get' to be selfish--so i came back with the attitude that i was, what i wanted was...well, what mattered (that is the american way, right?). So awful. and so clearly idiotic when i write it out. and so clearly contrary to scripture.

and do you know what i found out?

life is empty when you live it for yourself. utterly, completely empty. i found out that Jesus was speaking truth when He said, "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matt 16:25) Thank God the truth is in me. Thank God for His grace to keep me from selling out completely. So here i go, not just in two weeks hopefully, but now--losing my life for His sake.

all this is not to say that i have hated my time here. i have had some amazing times with some amazing people. some of my favorite people in the world. and in the midst of my frustration with the american way of life i have a deep love for america and have had the privilege of seeing some of her wonders while i have been home. So, here are some pictures to let you know that i have been happy to be home (despite my attitude issues...), and i will be happy to go :)



at kelly and matt's wedding :)



i got to live with this girl and her amazing family!


these guys came to visit and we saw the amazing Maroon Bells


in Utah this past weekend...delicate arch


and these are some of the beautiful faces i will see when i get to India!

God is good. Thank goodness He has made known His truth.

life is beautiful.

beauty

alright so its been ages since i wrote anything on here. I'm pretty sure no one reads it anyways but its just kind of embarrassing to have a blog and not update it for so long. and i just commented on robnett's blog so in a way, robnett--this is for you. or maybe for my pride b/c my last post wasn't really very good.

I've been really caught up lately in what i am doing. God has been so gracious to reveal to me again, its not really about what i do. and for that matter, its not really about me at all. i get so easily entangled in this--what am i doing, how am i proving that i have faith in Christ. or sometimes--though it may seem noble at first--being ridiculously concerned with whether i am living in obedience; seems like a good thing to be concerned with but for me i fall into a state of double-mindedness, unstable in all my ways, questioning every decision to be made, falling into a state of paralysis--unable to do anything at all. but Jesus said, "I have come so that you may have life, and life abundantly". interesting words.

i have started reading The Shack by william young. God has really used it to remind me that He desires relationship, intimacy. and when i am living in that state of mind, there is life. abundant life. God also reminded me of the beauty of relationship. i have been blessed with so many great friends. and i absolutely love spending time with them. it is honestly my favorite thing to spend quality time with the people i love. and i think this is part of the heart of God. i think He enjoys this too--when i am with my sisters and cannot stop laughing. when i am with friends, reminiscing about old memories and creating new ones along the way. it is life. it is beautiful. there is joy in it.

sometimes i wish i was an artist so i had a greater understanding of beauty. like those musicians who just love good music, whereever it comes from. or photographers (namely tera wages) who can capture the beauty of commonplace things. or avid readers--my sister molly can become absolutely lost in a good book.

i guess i will just do the best with what i have, which is enough. because life is beautiful.

"God formed us for His pleasure, and so formed us that we as well as He can in divine communion enjoy the sweet and mysterious mingling of kindred personalities. He meant us to see Him and live in Him and draw our life from His smile." A.W. Tozer (The Pursuit Of God)

waiting to go.

I leave for Colorado for my discipleship training school through YWAM in a little over three weeks. It's interesting...of course I am excited but I am also sad about leaving Montgomery. God continues to amaze me through the people He has surrounded me with. As I think about my years in Florence--so many great friends there that love the Lord and are striving to serve Him; it is the same in Montgomery. The people God has placed in my life are amazing! I am so thankful for them!

I know that YWAM will be an awesome experience. How can it not be? Three months focused on getting to know my God better and then two months spent in ministry to Him...I know it will be better than i can imagine (and probably much harder than i think too!). I have learned that the outreach possibilities are: Mexico, Columbia, or Argentina. (Quite a bit different from my original impression that i would be somewhere in Asia...:) I do not know at this time what they will be doing in each outreach--i won't have to decide until something like the fourth week of the DTS.

But anyway, no news really for me. Just waiting to go. :) Pray that I would have ears to hear the voice of the Lord and the grace to follow Him.

Much love!

-megan

india.

wellllll.....we got back from india two and a half weeks ago now. what a trip.

lets see....JP had been there since the middle of june; jeff, jake, gary, and patrick went on the 17th; cindy and i went on the 20th; everyone else came on the 25th. what an amazing blessing it was to go early. we had the opportunity to spend time at the children's home that Jiwan and Esther are in charge of. it was amazing to see how they live day to day. they live seamlessly--as opposed to how i think of my life in america. Here it seems we are able to somehow keep up with two very different lives--one for church and one every other time. in india its all the same. church is a part of their everyday lives--naturally. it is not forced and it is not a burden. it is awesome.

so we were at the children's home a few days and were able to help esther teach (the boys all went to nepal to visit churches and villages--25 saved in one village!! :) the kids are amazing. there are about 15 kids ranging from ages 3-12ish. only two boys--they are waiting to take in more boys when they have more housing facilities.

when the rest of the group got there (july 27th) we jumped into the youth camp. the youth camp was a gathering of student aged believers from india and nepal. we were expecting around 180 and i think around 250 came! praise God! throughout the youth camp (july 27-30)we had times of worship and teaching followed by family time. each american had a family group--all girls or all boys that would discuss what matt talked about. the girls each had 20-25 and the boys had about 15-20 in each group. Praise the Lord that Selina (Jiwan's daughter who has excellent english) was in my group and my translator.

it was really an amazing experience and different from any other trip i''ve taken because we were able to really spend time with the people. both at the children's home and at the youth camp. The last night of the youth camp we did a foot washing service where we, the leaders, got to wash our family group's feet. what an incredible experience--the girls responded so sincerely. it was beautiful.

Many thanks to all who prayed for us. God did amazing things. I think one major thing was simply connecting believers to the body of Christ. Many believers there are the only one in their family, school, etc. I believe that fellowship is central to God's kingdom and some may just be starving for it there. i encourage you to continue praying for the people there. we are planning another youth conference possibly in march...

"to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." -Jude 1:25