Alive and in America!

I arrived back in Arizona at 11pm on the 22 and am now catching up on sleep and time with my family!! :) I want to apologize for not being able to update my blog very often! I also had written a post following our time in Latvia, but for some reason it was deleted, so again I'm sorry about that! :( I also want to thank you all for making this trip possible...it was an experience that cannot be describe with words!

A few days ago I read a passage in Psalm 40 that describes some of what God worked in my heart...

~ He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God...Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell them, they would be too many to declare. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, "Here I am- I have come...I desire to do your will. O my God; your law is within my heart."

Over the last six weeks God has shown me wonders that have left me standing in awe and has spoken to me of His desire for my love. I, too, have realized how desperate I am for God and how I truly need Him every hour of the day! He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of everlasting praise!

Our God is SO good and He loves us beyond comprehension!

This summer was amazing!!

Three weeks through...already??!!

My time in Norway, and now my new experience with Latvia, have truly been a blessing. I have faced many challenges that have pushed my strength physically and spiritually, all bringing me ever closer in my love relationship with God! We have been told these next two weeks in Latvia will be the most difficult, and I already have no doubt! :) So if you could pray for continued team unity, and energy as we will have very little sleep during the camp here. Also, something I cannot stop laughing about...the "childrens" camp we are running was supposed to be for kids 5 to 18, we received an update yesterday, however, and the new age range is 14 to 27!! and the 5 day camp we planned for is now 7 days!! hahahahaha! oh dear! A great way to learn flexibility! :) I am actually somewhat excited though because now I will have the chance to go deeper in the Bible times because I will be with the youngest group, now 14-16 year olds :) Another area I would love prayer in~ I am leading a seminar on identity for the teenage girls at the camp. As these three weeks have passed I keep remembering a worship song I love that really sums up what the Lord has been showing me and where my desire is...

~In the Secret~
In the secret, in the quiet place, in the stillness You are there, in the secret, in the quiet hour I wait, only for You, cause I want to know You more.
I want to know You, I want to hear Your voice, I want to know You more. I want to touch You, I want to see Your face, I want to know You more.
I am reaching for the highest goal, that I might receive the prize, pressing onward, pushing every hindrance aside, out of my way, cause I want to know You more.
I want to know You, I want to hear Your voice, I want to know You more. I want to touch You, I want to see Your face, I want to know You more.

I am excited, and full of prayer, for all that these next two weeks hold!
Oh how GREAT is our God! :)

One week in Norway

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!

Life in Norway has been nothing short of amazing! We serve a beautiful Lord!! God has not stopped pushing me beyond what I thought I was capable of! He has given me a new strength, brought me out of my comfort zone through encounters with Norwegian children, given me a renewed trust, and a deeper faith!

Tonight begins our team camp which will require a lot more surrendering to God for His strength to make it through the day! And until two weeks from now I will be unable to use the internet, but by that time I will be traveling to Latvia and will have many stories to share with you all!

Love you and miss you!

Packing

As I spent the day packing (then unpacking, then packing again and then unpacking, and then, finally fitting everything in my backpack just right, packing) I was encouraged by the words of a few Psalms...

Psalm 150~ Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

Psalm 62:5-8~ Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

I was thinking today about this wonderful opportunity God has blessed me with, to spend six weeks speaking of the love of Jesus to young kids. And then I thought, "Lord, I have not thanked You near enough! Oh Lord, thank You!" I love Psalm 150 and the reminder that our sole purpose and life song should be a praise to our King! It is also a reminder for this summer, that I would praise God in all things, at all times...that I would be able to dance with joy and just praise Him! Psalm 62 is a comfort as well as an encouragement...I find rest and a peace for this summer in the second sentence, "He is my fortress, I will not be shaken..." and also the ending, "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." During times when I'm frustrated, missing home, or saddened by situations, I can pour out my heart to God and rest easy knowing that I will not be shaken because God is my stronghold. He has blessed me in allowing me to be in Norway and Latvia this summer and I have a peace, for He will hold my hand every step of the way! So...I'm ready!

Norway and Latvia...here I come!

Why Norway and Latvia

As of today there are only SIX more days until I embark on this six week excursion! In November I applied for the Norway/Latvia Exchange only with the knowledge that I would be working with youth and needed to be physically, emotionally, and spiritually "ready". Though I knew nothing of the specifics about this trip, I had an overwhelming urge to go. So I prayed about the opportunity laid before me, and the more I prayed the more excited I became! In January, I received an email congratulaing me and informing me that six weeks of my summer were going to be spent in Norway and Latvia...still I had no idea what I would be doing, but this was when I began praying for God to prepare me for all the summer would hold (and believe me, He has not stopped preparing me!). Then, the first week of March I went to Colorado for training. There I met half of my team and my leaders. During this trip God reminded me how well He knows me and began to show me how perfect this trip fits with the many things I love, as well as, the many things I need to grow in.

Since that trip I have slowly learned more of what a summer in Norway and Latvia will look like. The first three weeks will be spent in Norway developing friendships with high school students, taking them for hikes and having game nights, team building, learning how to lead a Bible study, preparing for the Bible/English camps in Latvia, construction projects, and more hiking! The next week and a half will be spent in Latvia leading camps for elementary- high school aged kids, who happen to be orphans. These camps will include Bible studies, English classes, activities geared toward growing friendships, swimming and sports. The last week and a half we will travel back to Norway, strengthen the friendships already made there, go on several backpacking trips, and make our way back to the U.S.

Now having said all of that, I must tell you a few of the things I love doing and a few that I have several weaknesses with. I absolutely love kids,with all of my heart!!! and I love to hike, I enjoy nature and the beauty of God's creation! and I love talking with people about God!! Some of my weaknesses... I'm a pretty introverted person, which will not work for this trip! :) So I'm praying for my love for others, an ability to stretch out of my comfort zone and for unity on our team. I'm also praying that God would open me, and my teammates, to all that He has to teach us and grow us in... And that He would use us to be a friend, a joy, and an example of love to all those we encounteer... And I pray that God would prepare the hearts of those we meet in Norway and Latvia for all God has to share with them.

Oh, and a little note about the countries of Norway and Latvia. They are two extreme opposites! While Norway is one of the richest countries in the world, Latvia is one of the poorest in Europe. Also, the area of Latvia we will be staying in is right on the border of Russia and the neediest section of Lativa (and, being so close to Russia, I will be able to practice some of my Russian!). Another of the many differences between these countries...during our stay in Norway the temperature will be between the 30s and 60s, whereas Latvia will be from the 80s to the 100s!

So there is a little, yet very long :), description of what I will be doing this summer and a few reasons why I am SO excited and thankful for the opportunity to spend six weeks in Norway and Latvia! And not that I need to make this post any longer :), I want to share with you a passage I really feel God blessed me with this morning:

Isaiah 55:10

(the LORD speaking) "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."

I pray that passage would be true for this summer, that God's will would be done and His word be spread to the ends of the earth, that He would fill us all with His joy and peace, and that we might praise Him with all of our being, that we might praise our beautiful Maker and Creator of the earth! :)

12 days till takeoff!

Hey All!
On June 6, 12 days from today (288 hours!!), I will board the 8am flight from Tucson, Az destined for Bergen, Norway! I am so excited to have the chance to share with you my experiences throughout this summer! During my six weeks away, I hope to journal here about once a week to tell you of all the wonders and lessons God has in store. I am also looking forward to writing down prayer requests as they arise and having the opportunity to pray through them with you all! In a few days I will post an itinerary for the summer and explain why six weeks in Norway and Latvia excites me beyond words!
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
~1 Chronicles 16:34