Unapologetically and Honestly Loving Others with Reckless Abandon

I love that this is like a journal that I can keep and go back to every once in a while and see how amazing this trip has already been for me. I am blessed to see how receptive people are to me and how they all desire to have me come back and be apart of what they are doing. I am so blessed. Man, we could take a lesson from these people. They LOVE me without question, hesitation, suspicion and all the other things that us as westerners allow to get in the way of us caring for others. Whether it be mistrust, hurt, protection of the REAL us, or whatever the case may be, I know that we could take a lesson in love. It even is shown in the way they greet each other. They kiss the cheek of someone who they don't even know, just to greet them, I think we have gotten so far away from that and it makes me sad. I know that I wasn't raised in the polynesian culture, but I have it within me to be that kind of a person to others. Someone who loves boundlessly, freely, fearlessly, recklessly...

I love that being here has encouraged me to make sure that I am in my word and make sure I am prayed up. Not necessarily because trials but because of the love that the people here, have for the Lord and they want to talk about God at all times. If you aren't one who is ready in season and out of season and want to be, you should think about coming here and spending some time with the people here. I have been asked to share at a small group and to share in the family devotions that we have nightly before the kids go to be, at the house I am staying at. I LOVE this family and I pray that I can be a blessing to them as much as they are to me. One of my new friends here is named Sia and everyday she just desires to be with her Jesus and to talk about Him all day, all the time. WOW!!! What an example to have in my life, she is amazing and she just desires to let others know about how wonderful her Jesus is. I am seriously floored at the passion, devotion, desire, and love these people ...

So I have officially been on the RADIO!!! Hahahaha!!! It was amazing, last night I was given the opportunity to share my testimony on the radio station here and I was truly blessed and blown away by the reality of what has happened in my life. I shared why I am here and the Host she asked me if I realized what I left to come here. I explained that when God calls, it doesn't matter what you have to leave, if you want to have a deeper walk with God, then you will do what HE has asked of you. I know that God has a plan and that no matter what, I am here to share the saving love of Jesus. I am so blessed that God has chosen someone like me. I am grateful to be available and used by the Lord. This has been such an amazing opportunity already and I am just a week into it. I can't wait to see what God is going to do during this time. The Host that I worked with last night is a teacher at the High School and she is single and around my age so it has been great to get to know her and to...

I am finally HERE, the place my heart has longed for, the place I have missed and never been to. I am sitting in the office of the radio station I will primarily be working with and staying near. It has already been such a blessing to be here with a warm and hospitable people. I am blessed to know that no matter where I am in the world, being with believers is always home. Yesterday was my very first service with the Tongan people and I was at home, because the Spirit of the Lord was there. I was asked to get up and share, so that was even more amazing. I cried the entire time because the presence of the Lord was so strong. I walked in to the service and began to cry a bit because I was in the house of the Lord. It was such a blessing and I was so happy to be able to fellowship with others who truly love the Lord. Then after our souls were fed, they had lunch for us. It was amazing. I am learning so many things and I am trying to make sure that I am making myself available for all th...

I am sitting in the airport in Sydney and writing this so that I can keep everyone up to date. After a partly sleepless night, because who can REALLY sleep sitting up in a hard chair, I am now sitting again and waiting for my next flight. I have already learned somethings about myself that I wanted to have as apart of  my character, but never could show. I am stronger than I realized. I thought for sure I would break down and cry all the way here, but in fact I have actually gotten more excited. I have realized that I have been prepping for this my whole life. I have ALWAYS wanted to be in this part of the world and I have always had a heart for people who reacted to life the same way I do. I am just to honored and humbled at this realization that I came to. God has ALWAYS had this in His plan and to see it all unfold is incredible. Even just this short time I have been gone has changed relationships for the better, God has freed me from bondages in relationship and given me a clea...

Sitting here in my room packing all the things that I will need over the next twelve weeks is an interesting duty. How do you pick pieces of your life to take with you? How do you decide which pictures or parts of memories will be needed over the next few months? How do you decide what should go and what should stay? This is hard but I guess its just a form of what we do in our spiritual lives everyday. Someone says something mean to us, we react poorly to a family member, we smile when we think of the ones we love, and the joy that we get from knowing a Savior walks with us. What do we take with us on the road of life and what do we leave behind? What memories of joy and sorrow do we choose to hold on to so that we can be better, and what joys and sorrows make us bitter? How do we choose what to pack in our hearts? I am not writing this because I have an answer, a bible verse or a clever quote by a spiritual mentor in the Faith. I am simply asking because I think we should remember th...

Well I am so excited to say that the time has come for me to begin on my new adventure. I am so excited and yet a little nervous. I know this is what God wants me to do, as I type this, I remember back to the night that I found Pacific Partners online and that first email to Graham. I am so excited and I just know that God has such an amazing plan in all of this. I am asking that as you read this you will keep me in prayer. I know that I need to make sure that I am continually attentive to the voice of the Lord. I am stepping out in faith and heading in an unfamiliar direction. I know this time isn't going to be easy being away but I know that it is so important for me to go. This will be my platform to stay in touch with everyone and I am just so excited to see what God is going to do and how He is going to do this. Thank you for your love, prayers and support. Please feel free to email me and I will make sure to return them upon receipt. May Jesus bless your day!