Giving Thanks

Happy (late) Thanksgiving!!!!!  I hope that everyone had a very blessed time with friends and family, I know I did. God has been so good and faithful to me throughout the past few months that I feel like all I can do is tell him how thankful I am.

A few weeks ago another family that is going on the Africa trip with us approached me and asked if I wanted to help and take part in a plate lunch sale at the church. I said yes and we began on the journey that is putting together food for the masses. After weeks of planning (actually more like1) the day had finally com:e and early Sunday before last I woke up and made my way over to the church (by early I mean the crack of 8:30 am). The kitchen was alive and hopping with people from one of the life groups at church who had wanted to give us a hand.

Beans were going, rice was cooking, and tortillas were being filled with cheesy goodness. After doing a thorough inspection of the kitchen, and by that I mean tasting everything, I headed outside to help setup the tables and the area that we would be selling our yummy food.

With desserts set out and to go plates piled onto the table we waited outside for service to finish and the congregation to come and eat.

Now I feel like I should interject right here and say that even though a week ago I said yes to participate and be a part of this fundraiser, I was nervous and terrified of the thought of such a big production. What if we made too much food and didn't sell it all? What if we didn't have enough food? What if the food doesn't taste well or cook all the way?Did I make enough dessert and so on and so forth. I was a mess leading up to the event, so as we waited those last few minutes for our pastor to release everyone I literally had no I idea what to expect.

Finally the side door opened and people came pouring out. Plates started flying off the table, and it was all we could do to keep placing them up there. Finally after both services were finished and we had packed it all in did we sit down to count the total.

Friends, I feel to compelled to tell you that whenever God calls you to a task not are you only fully equipped to handle said task due to his calling, but he will provide you with EVERYTHING you need in order to accomplish his goal. I forgot that, and in forgetting I chose not to rely on the one person who has never let me down. Please remember that.

After a few checks and rechecks (anyone who knows me knows that I am horrible at math) the final total came to $3,000!!!!!! After we divided it evenly Marika and I had earned $1,000!!!! This amount along with a few extra donations puts us just a little under 2/3 of the way there. Thank you to all who keep praying for us and donating. It means more to me than I will ever be able to say.  This journey isn't just about Marika and I going to Africa, but its about the body of Christ coming together and sewing into the kingdom.

Racing Towards Him,
Olivia

Prayer List:

• Funding!! We are 2/3 of the way there and are believing that the Lord will provide.
• Team Unity. The lunch sale was an amazing opportunity for us to work together and start building those bonds. Please pray that the Lord would begin to sew chords of unity amongst not only our group from Crossbridge, but with the medical team that we will be pairing with.
• Devinne appointment. Nothing happens by chance so please pray for the people that we will be interacting with on our trip. From the ticket taker at the airport to women cooking our food, please pray for God's love and word to fall on soft and hungry hearts.

CUPCAKES, and MUFFINS, and COOCKIES, OH MY...

Your mission should you choose to accept it is to produce 3 dozen frosted sugar cookies, 30 banana chocolate chip muffins,2 dozen confetti cupcakes, 17 pumpkin rolls, and 2 dozen banana pudding cups. All must be made in one evening and be ready to be presented for sale the next day at 0900 hours. Do you choose to accept this mission?

                                                        YES!!!!

So that is what we did. Marika and I were busy bakers last night as we filled the house with flour, sugar, and all the baking essentials. From 5:30-11:00 pm we baked like there was no tomorrow and the result was a table full of wonderful sweet treats to sell at Marika's office the next day. Tired and covered with flour and frosting I went to bed praying that the Lord would bless our endeavour; moving the hearts of those at her work to partner with us on this journey and sew into the kingdom.

When I woke up this morning all I could think about was how the bake sale was going to go. I wondered if we had made to much or not enough treats. I new that some of Marika's coworkers had pledged to donate home made baked goods, but I wasn't sure if we could count on these items to boost the spread of things we had already made. I know that God is capable of miracles, as I have seen them done time and time again, but for some reason this morning I didn't know how he was going to turn a table full of sweets into enough money for us to turn a profit.

When I got into work today my calender was so full of things to do and be done that I quickly forgot about the bake sale and dove head first into my tasks to be completed. As I was wrapping up my day I realized that the bake sale was well over and so I texted Marika to find out how it went. When I got home she still had not responded so I figured that one of two things happened. 1) The bake sale was a bust and she wasn't in a good mood to talk about it or 2) she was too busy to text me back at the time. I was praying for the 2nd option.

Later in the evening Marika came home and I asked her how the sale went. She told me she wanted it to be a surprise, but that she thought it went very well. And well in deed it did; after we counted up all the sales and donations the total came to $1,148.30!!!! Hallelujah God is good!!! We are now close to 1/3 of the way there and I have found myself, yet again, amazed at how my heavenly father's blessings continue to fall on us and this trip.

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
                                                                                                                       Matthew 19:26

What an amazing reminder of how my outlook on the things of life seem when I glance at them through my own eyes, but when I look through the eyes of the creator and king of heaven and earth the impossible becomes possible and blessings abound.

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
                                                                                                                            Romans 8:28
How true these words are!

Racing towards him,
Olivia

Prayer List

• Continued provision of funds for this trip. We need $4,000 by December (in order to purchase our plane tickets) and $2,000 by January.
• The softening of hearts for the people that we are going to meet every step of this trip.
• The Lord's favor on flight prices and logistical details.
• Unity amongst our team from church and with the medical team that we are going to be partnering with.

Rwanda!!!

10 Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me.
      Help me, O Lord.”
 ¹¹You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
      You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
 ¹² that I might sing praises to you and not be silent... Psalms 30:10-12

    So I suppose that you could say I have now fallen into step with the rest of my generation and *gulp* started a blog. At the age of 25 I have chosen to put fingers to keys and create an outlet for the things of my life. Will it be exciting? Will it be entertaining? Who's to say, but it will be a shared adventure filled with laughter, tears, and of course JOY!

    This February I will be embarking on a journey 4+ years in the making. Over 4 year ago God called me to a life of missions. When I prayed about where that life would take me Africa was clearly the place that God was calling me to. Many trips and opportunities came and offered me a chance to go but every time I clearly heard the Lord tell me that the timing was not right. Years began to pass by and I began to wonder if I would ever get to set foot where my heart so longed to be.

    Finally about 1 month ago, something amazing happened after a very talented man by the name of Enric Sifa (enricsifa.com) came to our church and preformed. Enric, an amazing musician, has lead an extraordinary life. He was just a young boy when the Rwanda Genocide took place in the mid 1990's and has overcome more than most people see in their life time. As he told his story and how God changed and healed his hart I began to pray about going to Rwanda on an upcoming trip with my church. I new my roommate had it on her heart to go but I was still unsure if this was the trip I was supposed to go on.

    About 1 week after Enric's concert my roommate Marika and I were driving to Houston and discussing the upcoming trip. As we were discussing logistics back and forth she said that she really felt like she was not supposed to be making this trip alone. She felt like the Lord was telling her that she was going to go with someone she new. I had been wrestling with whether or not I felt like this was the trip that I was supposed to go on and then there it was. Peace. The kind of peace that lets you know that you are right where you need to be, doing exactly what you where made to do. In that moment I knew that I was supposed to be on our church's team. I knew that I was going to Rwanda!

    The weeks leading up to now have been a blur of logistical emails and planning ways to raise funds and gain prayer support. I am so excited to see what God does throughout this process. The team from my church, about 8 people so far, will be partnering with a medical team to bring support and care to Africa New Life Ministries. Our trip dates are February 16-25 and we will be in Kigali, Rwanda and a few surrounding villages. Marika and I need to raise $6,000 in support and this cost will cover both of our air fair, meals, and transportation.

    My goal is to keep everyone updated on our progress as well as share this amazing journey that has been so long in the making. Below are links to additional information about the Rwanda Genocide, as well as a link to Africa New Life Ministries and a brief prayer list. Please partner with us in prayer and if you able or the Lord has laid it on your heart please feel free to donate using the PayPal button to the right of the page.

On the Journey With You,
Olivia

Information on Africa New Life Ministries
http://africanewlife.org/

Information on the Rwanda Genocide of 1994
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1288230.stm

Prayer List
Funding: we need to have at least $4,000 by December in order to purchase our plane tickets
Unity and vision: that our goal would be to see God glorified and for hearts and lives to be changed. That we as a group of individuals would come together as a team and the body of Christ.