The following story is one of my absolute favorites from all of my trips to Mexico and happened quite recently...
It was the fourth day of our trip and we had just finished dedicating the house we had built. The family was inside admiring it and crying, and it was a truly sweet time. Myself and three or four of the other girls on the trip were standing with the daughter of the family, who was just a little younger than us. I turned my head and noticed the teenage son, sitting on his parents' bed alone and looking at the box the Bible we had given them was in. We all prodded Josh, a teenage boy on the trip who was a little older than the son, telling him to go sit with him. He argued that he did not speak Spanish, but we made him do it anyways. After making Josh dig a bathroom the day before, I was not afraid of making him sit on a bed with a fellow teenage boy. After a few minutes, I walked over to translate, and Josh and I started asking questions. "Do you go to church?" "Sometimes," he said. Josh asked me if I could tell the boy to start in Galatians when he started reading the Bible, so I did and that boy opened up to Galatians and started reading, right then and there. I then had to go down the street to translate for someone else, but when I returned I found the leader of our trip telling the Gospel story from a tract, and it was the most beautiful sight my eyes could have seen in that moment. I do not know if anyone accepted Christ that day, but we planted seeds and now we trust God to make them grow.
-Emily
Friday, January 29, 2016
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Adventures on the (Part-time) Mission Field {5}
I'm back again with another story, this one a little more spiritual than the last.
It was a crisp November day, and my dad and I were in one of our favorite places: Mexico. Our church goes there four times a year on mission trips, where we build houses, relationships, and hang out with our sponsored kids. This was my eighth trip and, as for my dad, we have lost count. I was so happy to be there, since the last time I had gone was eleven months before. That previous trip we had built a house for a family with a four year old who would be starting kindergarten the next fall. We fell in love with the family, and soon started sponsoring the little girl. Now, almost a year after meeting them, we were having lunch with them and their cousins, whose daughter is sponsored by a friend of ours. Most of the group was in the house eating, but my dad, Michelle's (our sponsor girl) parents, Michelle, and I were outside making rainbow loom bracelets and playing soccer. Then, my dad decided that right then would be a perfect time to open up a conversation about Jesus. With me as his translator, my dad asked Michelle's parents if they knew what it meant to be a Christian, and they did. Further questions proved that they were followers of Jesus, so my dad asked them if they went to church. They didn't. My dad didn't ask why, but rather encouraged them to do so, since church is very important, especially for their daughter. I didn't exactly use the word "encourage" because I didn't know how to say it, but they got the point. Later we found out that Michelle's father's brother had a conflict with the local church, and that they were essentially thrown out. The conflict wasn't big and it wasn't a salvation issue, but it affected his family greatly. From this I learned two things: 1) You shouldn't be disappointed when the people you are witnessing to are already Christians. Instead, you should rejoice with your newly found brothers and sisters in Christ. 2) We should avoid fights within the church at all costs, because Jesus teaches love and unity, despite our differences.
-Emily
Te amo!
It was a crisp November day, and my dad and I were in one of our favorite places: Mexico. Our church goes there four times a year on mission trips, where we build houses, relationships, and hang out with our sponsored kids. This was my eighth trip and, as for my dad, we have lost count. I was so happy to be there, since the last time I had gone was eleven months before. That previous trip we had built a house for a family with a four year old who would be starting kindergarten the next fall. We fell in love with the family, and soon started sponsoring the little girl. Now, almost a year after meeting them, we were having lunch with them and their cousins, whose daughter is sponsored by a friend of ours. Most of the group was in the house eating, but my dad, Michelle's (our sponsor girl) parents, Michelle, and I were outside making rainbow loom bracelets and playing soccer. Then, my dad decided that right then would be a perfect time to open up a conversation about Jesus. With me as his translator, my dad asked Michelle's parents if they knew what it meant to be a Christian, and they did. Further questions proved that they were followers of Jesus, so my dad asked them if they went to church. They didn't. My dad didn't ask why, but rather encouraged them to do so, since church is very important, especially for their daughter. I didn't exactly use the word "encourage" because I didn't know how to say it, but they got the point. Later we found out that Michelle's father's brother had a conflict with the local church, and that they were essentially thrown out. The conflict wasn't big and it wasn't a salvation issue, but it affected his family greatly. From this I learned two things: 1) You shouldn't be disappointed when the people you are witnessing to are already Christians. Instead, you should rejoice with your newly found brothers and sisters in Christ. 2) We should avoid fights within the church at all costs, because Jesus teaches love and unity, despite our differences.
-Emily
Te amo!
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Adventures on the (Part-time) Mission Field {4}
I'm back with more to share
So, we were standing in one of the largest airports in the world with only a few hours' sleep under our belts surrounded by all of the hustle and bustle. Then, one of my travel companions announced that our church's missions pastor was flying our way. The way he said it, it made it sound like he was coming to rescue us. Upon clarification, I realized that he was not. (We didn't really need rescuing in the first place) He had a layover in the airport we were in and so while we were there we would stop by their gate and say hi. But that wasn't for another three hours, so after dinner we went to our gate to wait. I honestly cannot remember what I did in all of that waiting, but I am sure it included a lot of instagramming and youtubing. Finally, their plane was about to land, so we took the plane train (we took that thing so many times I will never forget its speech every time you get on and off) to a different concourse. There we waited and waited and waited, until it looked like they were not even on the plane in the first place. Finally, the missions pastor's daughter, an intern in my youth group, deplaned and I called her name. Her response was that of a tired traveler who was very confused, but it was great to see her. We walked their whole family down to their next gate (at this point we seemed to know where everything in the airport was), took a selfie, and bid them adeiu. The rest of my tale is boring- we went back to our gate and saw a plane. We then boarded that plane and flew through the night, and we finally landed in Brazil the next morning. And that concludes my airport adventure.
-Emily
Saturday, January 9, 2016
I Journaled Every Day for a Year- and This is What I Learned
2015 was an amazing year- I grew so much and one way that happened was through journaling- let's just say I am a HUGE advocate of it. On March 19th, 2014 I began journaling consistently- 2-4 times a week. Then, from December 13th, 2014, I started journaling every day. And I haven't stopped. The funny thing is, I didn't mean to. Nothing happened on December 13th that made me say, "From now on, I am going to journal everyday." Nope. And probably, if I would have said something like that, I would have failed. But somehow, I've stayed consistent. This past year I have just grown so close to Jesus that I can't help but talk to Him everyday. (my journal is a letter to Jesus) I have done a lot of reflecting on my journaling journey, and here are a few things I have learned:
1) It's a safe haven
As time progressed, I found that whenever something exciting or terrible or fun happened, I would run to my journal and write about it. This helped me to process things when I was mad, calm down when I was excited (or mad as well, really), and relive the moment. I now process and react to things differently that I have a place, a safe place, to let it all out.
2) It opens doors
Because I write everyday, I end up writing in public every once in a while. During church retreats I get up earlier so I can write, attracting lots of questions. One retreat, I was having a hard time for no apparent reason, so my leader told me where the chocolate stash was and encouraged me to go have some alone time. Oh, she knows me so well. You had better believe that I took my journal and that chocolate and sat in a quiet place, just to write and relax. My friend came and found me and, in a very pitying manner, said, "Why are you out here all by yourself?" My response? It's a little vulgar for me. "Because I freaking love journaling." True story. She was taken aback because I never talk like that, but it gave her a peek into my life and how much journaling affects me. I cannot count the number of times that someone has seen me journaling, asked me what I'm doing, and upon hearing my response, commended me on how good I am to journal. Let me just say, it's not me. It's Jesus.
3) It's an addiction
Definitely. Once I started, I could not stop, primarily because I was in a period of spiritual growth and I couldn't help but talk with God. Once you find your groove, you may never stop.
4) It's different for everyone
Journaling, like pretty much everything, looks different for everyone. Some people go through one journal a year, some go through five. Some people like to bullet journal, others literally throw up their thoughts and emotions. (I am definitely the latter) Some do it first thing in the morning, some in the afternoon, some at nights, others multiple times a day. Some only write about their day, others pray and write about their spiritual life too. Some people do it everyday, others once a week. I myself have overcome a lot in my journaling, and no matter how you journal- even if you bullet journal once a month- it stills counts, it still helps, and I respect you.
5) The word "Journaling" should not have a red squiggly line under it
It bothers me that words like "journaling" and "journaled" are not in the dictionary, or at least not the one on my computer. Journaling is an up and coming trend that has been around for ages, and it deserves respect. The journals of famous people have gone on to be read and published and are classics, so I encourage you to hop on the journaling bandwagon and commit to journaling at least once a week, and see where it leads you.
I hope you have enjoyed this post! It really comes from my heart, hence why it took a long time to write, and I hope you are encouraged that whatever effort you make in journaling is simply amazing.
-Emily
extremely avid journaler
1) It's a safe haven
As time progressed, I found that whenever something exciting or terrible or fun happened, I would run to my journal and write about it. This helped me to process things when I was mad, calm down when I was excited (or mad as well, really), and relive the moment. I now process and react to things differently that I have a place, a safe place, to let it all out.
2) It opens doors
Because I write everyday, I end up writing in public every once in a while. During church retreats I get up earlier so I can write, attracting lots of questions. One retreat, I was having a hard time for no apparent reason, so my leader told me where the chocolate stash was and encouraged me to go have some alone time. Oh, she knows me so well. You had better believe that I took my journal and that chocolate and sat in a quiet place, just to write and relax. My friend came and found me and, in a very pitying manner, said, "Why are you out here all by yourself?" My response? It's a little vulgar for me. "Because I freaking love journaling." True story. She was taken aback because I never talk like that, but it gave her a peek into my life and how much journaling affects me. I cannot count the number of times that someone has seen me journaling, asked me what I'm doing, and upon hearing my response, commended me on how good I am to journal. Let me just say, it's not me. It's Jesus.
3) It's an addiction
Definitely. Once I started, I could not stop, primarily because I was in a period of spiritual growth and I couldn't help but talk with God. Once you find your groove, you may never stop.
4) It's different for everyone
Journaling, like pretty much everything, looks different for everyone. Some people go through one journal a year, some go through five. Some people like to bullet journal, others literally throw up their thoughts and emotions. (I am definitely the latter) Some do it first thing in the morning, some in the afternoon, some at nights, others multiple times a day. Some only write about their day, others pray and write about their spiritual life too. Some people do it everyday, others once a week. I myself have overcome a lot in my journaling, and no matter how you journal- even if you bullet journal once a month- it stills counts, it still helps, and I respect you.
5) The word "Journaling" should not have a red squiggly line under it
It bothers me that words like "journaling" and "journaled" are not in the dictionary, or at least not the one on my computer. Journaling is an up and coming trend that has been around for ages, and it deserves respect. The journals of famous people have gone on to be read and published and are classics, so I encourage you to hop on the journaling bandwagon and commit to journaling at least once a week, and see where it leads you.
I hope you have enjoyed this post! It really comes from my heart, hence why it took a long time to write, and I hope you are encouraged that whatever effort you make in journaling is simply amazing.
-Emily
extremely avid journaler
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