A Heart for Missions

This year, I felt my heart long for a word that had rarely crossed my mind: missions. The prospect of my little self becoming a missionary or even having a small impact on this huge scary world drove me to always say, "No, someone else will do it." And yet, I was tugged and pulled and pushed into the direction of missions every time I visited Mexico and saw the hurt, the brokeness, and the poverty. When I looked into the awe-stricken eyes of a mother whose new house we had just built for her and her children the call to do something was overwhelming.

The idea of starting a mission's club came to a few of us girls as we processed through the emotions that hit us smack dab in the face. Knowing that tribes were longing, begging, and dying for a missionary to come and teach them about Jesus ripped at our hearts. Realizing that the American dream would always be the easy way out and that it was ultimately our choice to say enough is enough, urged me to make sure we had a mission's club at our school.

Not knowing how in the world us girls were supposed to lead a mission's club, our mentor, Bones, came to our rescue. With a heart for missions more powerful than anyone I have ever met, she continually inspires us to move in the direction of being mission-minded. She challenges us to live for Jesus in every single moment of the day and to never underestimate the faithfulness of our Savior.

With her encouragement, we are now planning, praying, and fundraising for our trip to Ethiopia!!! With a need far greater than the poorest American, Ethiopia is the eighth most impoverished country in the world. Our trip is focused around informing the people of Ethiopia of the horrors of sex trafficking as almost all of the homes we will go into too have already sold their child with the misconception of them gaining a better life.

As we continue to move in the direction of preparing for this trip, I ask that you pray. I ask that you pray for the families who have been mislead into thinking they are helping their child. I ask that you pray for the children enslaved. Pray for the team, the travels, and trip. And lastly, pray that the girls of the mission's club will be open, aware, and long for the same heart that Christ had for missions.

A Season of Flurry

This is a season where my body never seems to get enough sleep.

Where the world seems as if it has never spun so fast and where I'm lucky to finish my homework ten minutes before class starts.

And yet, it is a season filled with an endless amount of peace as well.

My heart has never been so full, so joyful, so happy as it is now.

Through every sixteen hour day filled with ASB, volleyball, homework, family, and friends, I always crawl into bed with a smile knowing someday I will look back onto this season of life and see how blessed beyond measure I am.

The Lord is shifting my mindset into resting in this busyness and using it to enjoy every. single. moment.

And I am so grateful for that.

Someone Hand Me a Tissue

Okay senior year, I see how you work. 

You wiggle your way into my heart and all the sudden every "last" thing my friends and I do together is almost a total cry sesh. 

With every moment that goes by, the excitement grows and yet so does the reality of what is happening. The girls I have known since before I could even walk are moving on to pursue their dreams in different directions then I may go. And that is cry-worthy in itself. 

My girlies are my world. Through every breakup,  every dance party, every struggle, and every joy, my friends have been by my side. They are the people I share my everything with and they know me inside and out. They are the light at the end of the day when life seems overwhelming and I sure am gonna miss them.

They are the first people I share something with, the girls I laugh with when a hot guy walks by, the ones who make silly jokes in the middle of an important lecture, and the ones who have a big chunk of my heart. 

So this is for you my friends. Thank you for the endless joy, giggles, photo shoots, and gifts you have been in my life. I could not have asked for better friends and I love you more then you will ever know. 

So lets make senior year a year we will never forget. Full of many more countless memories, thousands of photos, and enough love to get us by for a lifetime. 

A Carefree Freedom

I went to the beach on Thursday and I am now having withdrawals. With my toes buried in the sand and a Ruby's milkshake in hand, the day could not have been more perfect.

My heart soars and dances a little inside when I think of the endless smiles, the perfect sandcastles we passed, and the continuous laughs that couldn't be contained that day because it reminds me of my God who created this for our enjoyment. To think He knew that we would need a place where we could be silly little kids again and not care about a thing in the world is incredible.

To see his creation sprawled out in an endless mirage of blues with surfers, children, and crazy teenagers all enjoying the beauty of it in a different way, is what put a smile on my face that day.

And as I walked to the car that night, after eating carne asado tacos with people I love, a thought dawned on me. "I can live like this all the time," I thought to myself.

God has not put a limit on my freedom or enjoyment that only exists on the sandy coast of California. Instead, He has blessed me with a freedom that exists in every circumstance, every environment, and every culture:and I get to live into that. I don't have to be free from stress or worry only at the beach because I can rest in the fact that my God is victorious.

His promises are true and real and raw and all I have to do is trust. So now as I sit at home, longing to be at the beach without a care in the world, I am gently being reminded to live in that freedom: every second, every minute, and every hour of the day.