Hey everyone! I'm sorry I haven't been blogging as much as I should! But there's always something going on over here.. It's honestly crazy. But this past month has been a good one! My parents came out on December 16th and stayed till December 26th! While they were here we went to the Koala Cove where you get to hold a Koala and feed kangaroos! It was so amazing, but the fun didn't stop there. Then for Christmas we went up to Port Douglas where I got to go through the rainforest up there and saw all kinds of awesome animals! For Christmas we snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef which I guess you could say was a good time! But the best part of everything was by far being able to see my parents again! Even though my sister couldn't make it out and it wasn't the same without her, I still had such a blast with my parents!
So you're probably wondering what I've done that's productive and if you're not wondering I'm still going to tell you! Our outreach team held a fundraiser at our cafe to raise money for all the people who don't have enough money and it was such a success! We saw God show up in the amount we received!
As for my relationship with God.. Currently I'm in a dry spot and don't really know what I'm suppose to do. I haven't heard his voice in a while and it's been really frustrating this past month with just trying to grow closer to him. But through this time I'm really learning to be patient with God, and for those of you who truly know me, I hate waiting for anything.. I know I just have to trust Gods timing because he has the best timing. (Cheesy, but true)
The paragraphs above I typed at the beginning of the week before my Outreach in Airlie Beach and so I'll tell you how that was!
The first few days were the same as before with God where I was annoyed that I wasn't seeing God move in any of the areas I've been praying for, so I wasn't looking forward to the outreach. What we were doing here is for New Years Eve and New Years we set up a Chai Tent where kids from our school would play live music and we handed out free chai and just talk with whoever came in. The first night nothing really happened, except for a few good conversations with backpackers, and so I was getting even more discouraged in my faith and, was just praying out to God to just let me stay focused and give me strength for the rest of the week. The second night I spent pretty much the whole night talking to a guy named Linus, and he was so awesome! I was so amazed at the heart he had towards life and the way he saw it. He asked such good questions and the same kind of questions I had been asking the whole DTS, but instead of not knowing them God was using me to answer all of the questions and it was making so much sense.. The craziest part was that I knew that God spoke through people but I didn't ever think he would use myself to answer my questions. One of the biggest things I had been praying for, is that God would give me a heart for people, and that I could see them how He sees them, and right after our conversation I just got overcame by something and it shot through my whole body and I started crying. It was the weirdest feeling I've ever felt. But all I wanted to do was tell him how much he was loved.
It's crazy how much desire I have for God now and how much I want to get to know him and have a real relationship with him just from that conversation. He's completely changing my life and the way I see it. I know that it's easy to be passionate for God after you see him move so the real challenge will be if I can continue to be passionate for God even though I don't have the feelings!
If you are wondering how you can be praying for me, here are some points:
-to have revelations on revelations on revelations! I learned that you don't truly know that God is a healer unless you've experience it, same for his love and his faithfulness. And so I'm waiting for my own experiences so I can truly mean it when I tell people those things about him!
-our outreach team still needs a good amount of money so if you could pray for that to come in that would be amazing!
- Unity in our Peru group! We are going to be tested so much while we're gone and we won't be able to have a successful time over there unless we work as a team with God!
And lastly guys, I would like to leave you with this! It's okay to really struggle with your relationship with God.. It's not going to be rainbows and butterflies 24/7.. We get so caught up in worldly things sometimes that it's impossible to always be super on fire for God! But the way you're going to get closer to him is by asking the tough questions.. The questions that nobody can answer except for him! Ask for revelations because when he gives you them then you know that it wasn't coincidence but it was our father in heaven who cares so much for us! And I can promise you there's no greater feeling than being close to the God who created us!
Keep striving to get closer to Him and if you ever need prayer send it my way! I'd love to help you in your journey with God! I love you all so much who are taking the time to read this.. Seriously it means the world to me and I can't wait to come home and see you all! God bless!
