God wrecked my life-it's the most beautiful wreck I've ever seen

God is just giving me so many opportunities to serve Him. His glory and renowned are all I seek to glorify when I am speaking. Sometimes I don't even know what I'm saying. I have practiced a lot (thanks to all the traveling in the car by myself latetly). I spoke at Gray Fork Baptist Church in Manchester, KY this morning. Surrounded by the beautiful mountains and remnants of the fall foilage, this church encompasses the country culture. The warmth spread into my heart as members started filling this beautiful church. The light shown through the beautiful cross shaped windows. The blue stain glass created a serene illumination of the sky. The souls inside were kind and I could tell that most were hungry for the Word. The pastor, Mr. Boo Smith allowed me to speak and is interested in a partnership with international missions. This is an amazing opportunity for these people to get involved and see the hands and feet tha their money supports. I am very excited to see what God is doing for this little church. Boo spoke on how to be a Christian on Mission in the first with spiritual awakening. <><><

God's Closet

Serving the poorest of the poor in Clay County taught me so many things. We are called to be humble and this is an experience that brings me to that level. At 6:30am (running on less than five hours sleep on a couch) we broke the dawn by running around getting coffee supplies and stirring with excitement for the people who would come today. As we clothed them in a brand new coat-we also gave them spiritual clothes. Upon leaving, they were ushered into a room and the gospel was shared with each person. Five people shared the gospel with 1, 034 people this morning. We are sure of 2 salvations and unsure of the hearts which were stirred as we planted the seeds. My job was to call numbers so that there would be no confusion and so it would be orderly. A group from Applachia Blankets came and helped us pull off this miraculous event. They wore beautiful smiles and bathed these people with the love of Christ. Their positive attitudes and cheer made this an even happier day for these people. They each got a brand new coat, a Bible, pack of socks, gloves, scarves, and bogans! God truly worked in lives and it is not over yet. We gave away every single brand new coat (down coats with fleece on the inside and a hood) and feel like there will be more people coming to see what we have on Monday. <><

I'm missing my parents already..and I'm not even gone....

I've spent two amazing days with my parents. My Dad had the chance to show me some of his dreams becoming bigger and bigger. God is doing so much more than he could ever imagine through these missions he has helped establish in Clay County.
I've been trying to get CrossPoint Baptist (my church in Richmond) to come down and get involved with the center. Yesterday, I visited for the first time and it is simply amazing. I walked in and started breathing the brisk air as the back loading door was open. There were a couple of people volunteering. A guy that I went to high school with is a recovering addict and has committed most of (basically all) his time to this center. One day he stayed 11 hours to get clothes hung up, the floor swept, and the walls painted. Beautiful is the word I can use as I look upon his life and I realize how big God is and He can do whatever He wants in whoever He wants. He serves from early in the morning until he knows everything is just about done. My dad says that these are the people that call asking/begging for somethign to do. This center is helping him recover through keeping him busy on a volunter basis. His story is amazing.
I ran around and took pictures of everything-trying to capture some of the rigid and true to life details of the center. <><

That night we got ready and drove to Williamsburg, KY so dad could speak at a UNITE recruiting event. I never get tired of hearing about how God changed/is changing the lives of the people in Clay County. I'm so inspired by my father's diligence to God and to this cause. He wants better for the youth and the families in Clay County. His devotion is a testimony to his commitment to not only his church, but to God. After Williamsburg, we drove to Pikeville. This was the big event! We attended the UNITE Celebration in which Dad gave the Abner/Bolin Community Leader Award (yep! it's in his name!) and I learned about drugs and kids, challenges in communities, and about what is going on in other counties. I watched these people get awards that they were not expecting and kids receive awards for doing tremendous things in their schools. Truly inspiring!! Tomorrow-we will hand out BRAND NEW coats, scarves, gloves, socks, and Bibles!!!! I spent tonight cleaning bathrooms (!!!) and moving tables. I have a passion for these needs and for their souls. We have the chance to share Christ with all of them!!!! By the way-I got my papers from Brasilia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This will take me into the last steps to getting there!!!! WHOOHOOO!!!

So here is what I know out about my Kindergarten class in Brazil :)
My class consists of:
1 Syrian child (speaks Arabic at home), 3 Zambian (English at home), 1 Brazilian/American (English/Portuguese at home), 2 Spanish (Spanish at home...and their parents don't speak English), and 2 American kids (soon to be 3). I'm super duper excited about this and I cannot wait to meet these precious children!!! Everything is happening VERY quickly!!!!!
Thank you to all the people that have already committed to supporting me. I am amazed at your obedience. Your offerings are blessing my life as I learn that God will spur hearts with the want to give. Also, it will continue to bless others for years to come as I teach these children with and about the love of Christ. My prayer is that we will have spiritual conversations and that God will open their eyes and speak through me as I openly teach them the Bible intertwined with their content.

Thanksgivings:

• Another family received their visas to go to Brazil!!!
• For work and for experiences that are making me a better teacher!!
• God is sending me messengers and encouragers at His perfect timing
• For some great speakers in the past bit.
• For helping me to realize that there is nothing good in me except for Christ

Prayer Requests:

• The lady that is letting me live with her, Nancy, her daughter is going through her third round of chemotherapy. She has a strong faith and such a sweet family. God has given her the strength and drive to take chemo, care for a family, and still work full time. She is my new picture for perserverance.
• Visa documents and continued patience for that part of the trip.
• continued spiritual growth in faith, trust, and patience.
• Lost and hurting friends and family members.
• More work and side jobs.
• Current and future financial supporters!!!!
  

About every other day-someone comes up to me and says, "Amanda, we want to sponsor you." or "Amanda, how can we help you?" A friend called me for a telephone number and in the middle of finding it she says-"Come over later, we're gonna help you go to Brazil" I could SHOUT when people do that. But-I don't think that anyone in the school would understand...so, I try to filter that through excitment mainly in words and a little in voice. My prayers are just being answered again and again and again. God is opening doors and placing opportunities in my path. Some of them-I gain spiritually(those are the hard ones) and others-they are monetary. I'm equally greatful for both for different reasons.

In His Grip

...but as servants of God we commend ourselves in everyway: by great endurance,
in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights,
hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and
yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished and yet not killed as sorrowful yet always rejoicing as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
-2Corinthians 6:4-10


Without His majestic grip-I could not make it day by day.
I look into faces and realize that those were once mine. I remember
the lifestyle of emptiness. I rejected God in every way presented.
God pursued me for 22 years before I finally let Him in.
I rejoice in the fact that even as I am responsible for
Jesus' death-I'm forgiven.

My friend, Julie Lasslo, always presents things to me in ways that are simple and
yet make me think. She and I were talking about a lot of things and "hating" sin came up.
Over the past couple of days-I have pondered this. I do hate sin. I especially hate my own sin-I just don't think I'd ever heard it like that before. Put into this perspective-I realized that hating sin is exactly what God wants us to do. We must do it. There's no mediocrity to sin. You love it
or You hate it. You serve the sin or you run away. You idolize it or you give it up.

1 Thessalonians 1:9
For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised form the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.
Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of Thy wing.
Wilt Thou not regard my call? Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall - Lo! on Thee I cast my care;
Reach me out Thy gracious hand! While I of Thy strength receive,
Hoping against hope I stand, dying, and behold, I live.
Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy Name, I am all unrighteousness;
False and full of sin I am; Thou art full of truth and grace.
Plenteous grace with Thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound; make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of Thee;
Spring Thou up within my heart; rise to all eternity.

For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
2 Corinthians 4:11

Paul's body was marred so many times from the whips, beatings, and other physical inflictions. This did not stop him from being alive spiritually. Though my daily battles do not come by the way of physical beatings-they are anguishing just the same. A friend of mine was sharing with me about how Satan tries to use these weaknesses to get to us. We agreed that seeking God and clinging to Him allows God to use these trials to strengthen us. On the mission field, you fight loneliness, culture shock, misunderstanding of customs, and so many other things. You can cry out to God or allow these hard things to bring you down. It is only because of Christ that we have life.

God uses Paul to show me that a selfless life serving Him is really what I want. Serving others at any capacity is what He shows us. In James 1:27, James shares that, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this; to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
In 2 Corinthians, he also shows us that He, "through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing..." everywhere echoes in my mind as I continue to wait patiently for the remainder of my Visa documents to come.

I became a bit frustrated during my prayers yesterday as I explained to God that I didn't know what was happening or if I had everything right on my documentation. I hadn't heard anything for about three weeks and it can become a bit hard to not hear anything. People say, "When do you leave?" and it's SO hard to just say, "I do not know." or "December something." It is difficult for people to realize that something is really happening if there is no date. But, I will not have a for sure date until two weeks before I leave. The Brazilian Consolate will make sure of this :)

In my thanksgivings-

• God provided some support this week to help my airfare and travel Visa costs!!!
• I received two very important pieces that will help complete my Visa packet!
• I also received my health insurance cards! Yay! I will soon be able to get my allergy medication!!
• Some of my teammates received their phone calls from the Brazilian Consolate and now have to send their passports to be stamped!!! They are really close!!!!

In my prayer requests-

• continued prayers for patience, trust, and faith during the whole process.
• teammates, faculty, and students of Brasilia International School.
• current and future financial supporters!!
• my mother to find another job and for her previous co-workers that are not saved.
• other financial matters-selling my car, student loans

He Gives Beauty for Ashes

Beauty for ashes,

Strength for fear,

Gladness for mourning,

Peace for despair.





These words and my Quiet Time remind me of the awesomeness of God.



As Paul said in 2 Corinthians-

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

It's hard to see this when we live in the United States of America-where we have everything. Our poor people don't have to be poor-we support them (not in all ways, but in a lot of ways that other countries do not provide). My friend, Mare, is working with people in Peru and identifying with these poorest of the poor. It's so hard for them to see Jesus because their circumstances are just horrific. I've seen this in the faces of people in Cuba. I love these people and want them to see Jesus. What can I say? What can I do? Walk among them and give them words that God would have me to say. "Comfort them with the comfort that which we ourselves are comforted by God." Let us not forget to feed them spiritually as well as physically. Reminding these people that our reward is not what we have here, but what we will receive in heaven. I have to remind myself of that all the time. Sometimes...it is just so hard to live here.

Prayer Requests:

• Visa and related matters


• Mare-friends on the street, comforting and sharing with them as God calls us to, future in mission work.


• Brasilia International School-faculty and staff, new building, students.


• Current and Future Supporters


• Continued spiritual growth in patience, trust, and faith.

Praises

• Supportive communication from housemates and the current Kindergarten teacher :)


• Side jobs and extra work providing more income!


• First speaking commitment-went very well! I was so nervous!


• Opportunities to spend time with family and friends!