one week

one week till I will be getting ready for an awesome adventure. It will be a time of growing more in my love with my Savior and the people of the continent I love. I cannot wait to see how the Lord will change my life and also the lives of the people that will come into contact with His love for the first time! Until then, I have a lot of packing, cleaning, and loose ends to tie up.

I found this poem and I thought it was perfect as a reminder before I go on my trip.

My goal is God Himself, not joy, nor peace. 

Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God;

'Tis His to lead me there, not mine, but His

At any cost, dear Lord, by any road. 

So faith bounds forward to its goal in God, 

and love can trust her Lord to lead her there;

Upheld by HIm, my soul is to following hard, 

Till God hath full fulfilled my deepest prayer.

No matter if the way be sometimes dark, 

No matter though the cost be oft-times great,

 He knoweht best how I shall reach the mark,

The way that leads to Him must needs be straight. 

One thing I know, I cannot say Him nay, 

One thing I do, I press towards my Lord. 

My God, my glory, here from day to day, 

And in the glory there my Great Reward. 

-Author Unknown 

I pray that this will be true in my life. That my Savior would be my greatest reward and the thing I strive for more than anything! 

Please keep praying for the preparation for my trip and the people of Ghana that we will reach!

Until All Have Heard, 

Mary 

thirteen days

It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone! In two weeks from today, I will be in Orlando meeting my teammates and preparing to leave for a summer of learning and loving in Ghana! The Lord has already begun to prepare my heart for this trip. I am a little nervous about the unknown, but mainly I am excited! Excited to see how the Lord works in my heart and life, but also excited to share the love of my Savior with people who have never heard!!

Until then...

• I'm attempting to pack 6 weeks of clothes and stuff into one bag and only 50lbs. :/

• I'm trying to enjoy my few weeks of time off in America.

• I'm soaking in the extra time to read my Bible and reflect on the love of my Savior.

I wanted to be sure to thank everyone again for ALL of the prayers and support I have received! It is such a blessing to serve the Lord in this way. God is so good and I cannot wait to grow closer to Him this summer. Please continue to be in prayer for my team and myself this summer. It is going to be quite an adventure!

Until All Have Heard,
Mary

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Acts 20:24 

thankful

I literally am in awe of my Savior. 

I questioned. 

I had times of doubt. 

I wasn't sure if this is what I am supposed to do. 

I wondered if I had made the right choice. 

And then my Savior showed up

He clearly orchestrated every detail.

Any time there was the smallest roadbump

He had it under control immediately. 

What an honor it is to do the will of my Father

What a joy it is to sit in His presence and walk down the prepared path

It hasn't always been easy

And its not going to be. 

But I know that it will be perfect. 

I wanted to take some time to thank everyone who so generously gave above and beyond the amount needed for my trip! If there were any doubts about this trip, the Lord quickly put them to rest. I cannot believe that in a matter of a few weeks the body of Christ pulled together and im FULLY FUNDED for my trip! What a joy it is to be prayed for and supported in this way. God has incredible plans for this trip and my heart.

Humbled and So Thankful,
Mary 

In case you were wondering, any extra money for the trip will go towards the flight to Florida for orientation/debrief (before and after the trip) as well as all the numerous and expensive vaccinations that were required as well.

Ghana

Before I spend my summer in Ghana, I figured it would be a good idea to educate myself on the country and the people. So, I decided to make a cheat sheet for anyone interested in learning more about this great country. 

Ghana:

• Covering 92,100 square miles (238,540 square kilometers), Ghana is about the same size as Oregon.
• Its three climatic zones include the southern forest belt (warm and humid), the coastal belt (warm and dry), and the northern grasslands (hot and dry).
• Ghana’s population of 23.4 million is growing by 1.93 percent annually.
• English is Ghana’s official language, partly because of the country’s colonial association with Great Britain and partly because there are so many ethnic languages that no single one could effectively serve as the official language.
• Although nearly 70 percent of all Ghanaians belong to one of several Christian churches, and another 16 percent are Muslim, traditional African beliefs and practices play a major role in society and are often retained regardless of other religious affiliation. 
• At least 9 percent of the population exclusively worships according to indigenous beliefs
• Ghanaians are warm, extremely friendly, and sociable—even with strangers. They tend to be boisterous,
  which makes for animated arguments and celebrations.
• Life Style:
• Families still arrange many marriages, though children have the right to reject undesirable matches.
• A woman may go to great lengths to keep her pregnancy a secret for as long as possible, often fearing that by revealing it or discussing it publicly she may expose the baby
  to witchcraft.
• Because of a high rate of infant mortality, in rural areas a child is not considered a member of society until one week old. At that time, a celebration is held at which the child is given a name and then brought out in public for the first time.
• The Ghanaian economy is based primarily on agriculture, which engages more than 50 percent of the labor force.
• Cacao (from which cocoa is made) is the most important cash crop, accounting for about 45 percent of exports. 

[information found at www.ghanaembassy.org]

I hope this gives  you a little taste as to where I will be this summer. Please keep praying that the people we come in contact with will be receptive to the gospel and their hearts would be softened and ready to learn! 

36 days!! 

heaven

 Sometimes when I get discouraged or frustrated 

With people, 

School

 Or just the world in general

 I like to think about heaven.

I cannot wait for the day that I see my Savior face to face.

I cannot wait until I will spend forever

Worshiping

Praising

Exalting my Saviors name 

FOREVER!

I cannot wait until there are

No more tears

No more shame

No more heartache

No more frustration

No more pain

 

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

But, until then, 

I can only wait 

And praise my Savior on this earth

And bring as many people with me as I can

 

 This is an excerpt from a story I read a while ago from Dr. Harry Rimmer to Dr. Charles Fuller:

"Next you are to talk about Heaven. I am interested in that land, because I have held a clear title to a bit of property there for over fifty-five years. I did not buy it. It was given to me without money and without price. But the Donor purchased it for me at tremendous sacrifice. I am not holding it for speculation since the title is not transferable. It is not a vacant lot. For more than half a century I have been sending materials out of which the greatest Architect and Builder of the universe has been building a home for me, which will never need to be remodeled or repaired because it will suit me perfectly, individually, and will never grow old. Termites cannot undermine its foundations, for they rest upon the Rock of Ages. Fire cannot destroy it. Floods cannot wash it away. No locks or bolts will ever be placed upon its doors, for no vicious person can ever enter that land where my dwelling stands, now almost completed and almost ready for me to enter in and abide in peace eternally without fear of being ejected.
There is a valley of deep shadows between the place where I live in California and that to which I shall journey in a very short time. I cannot reach my home in that city of gold without passing through this dark valley of shadows. But I am not afraid, because the best Friend I ever had went through the same valley, long, long ago and drove away all its gloom. He has stuck by me through thick and thin since we first became acquainted fifty- five years ago, and I hold His promise in printed form never to forsake me nor to leave me alone. He will be with me as I walk through the valley of shadows, and I shall not lose my way when He is with me. "

I cannot wait. 

He is Faithful

As I am preparing my trip this summer,

I am reminded over and over

 that I am so inadequate.

 I make plans. 

 The Lord changes them.

I think I have it all worked out.

The Lord throws a curve ball. 

BUT

Everytime He moves the plans around.

They work out perfectly.

 He is always right.

And always glorified in the results.

 I love this process of learning a new reliance and blind faith in Him.

 It is very difficult but also very rewarding knowing that I have no control over my life.

I literally have laid

 my finances

 my summer

 my future

 at my Savior's feet

 I am just sitting back and watching Him faithfully lead and prosper each part.

So instead of worrying about the trivial aspects of life

I rest in the knowledge that my Savior NEVER fails!

And I get to know Him more everyday

And I share Him with anyone I can.

So greatful for these verses that have so encouraged me in my struggles this week:

Nehemiah 6:9

They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will get to weak for the work, and it will not be completed." But I prayed, "Now strengthen my hands."

Psalm 33:4

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

Luke 12:22-34

  Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable are you than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

   “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

   “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

hands and feet

I heard this quote and it grabbed me. 

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours. 

 Yours are the only hands with which He can do His work.  

Yours are the only feet with which He can go about the world.

 Yours are the only eyes through which His compassion can shine forth upon a troubled world.”

 I am Christ's hands and feet to the world. ALWAYS. Not whenever I decide I want to or when I decide I am ready. I am salt and light and I have to live like that in everything I do and say. 

How are people to hear about God if I (we) don't tell them? How are they to be fed if we don't feed them? How are they to have clothes if we don't clothe them? 

There is so much sorrow and injustice in the world.

We cannot sit around and watch any longer.

We have to take action. 

We have to go in faith and trust that God will provide. 

We have to listen to His call and share His love with those who do not know. We are too blessed and we cannot hold that to ourselves any longer!

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

2 Peter 1:5-9

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves. When our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord.
-Sir Francis Drake