One Adventurous Week...

So I know it's been awhile since I have posted and there are many reasons behind it...

Monday I had the privilege of moving in a precious girl named Selah into one of our Community Resource Centers. Her home life situation is one that is too much to fully explain but she has been raped numerous times. At camp she had no emotion and would not look up at you. She was stone cold and it was so difficult for me to see this precious child in such pain and hurt. To make a long story short, I was thrilled to usher this child in to a safe place where there are Godly women loving on her and providing her with so much than she has ever dream. Selah was timid at first and didn't know what to think, but 2 days later I went back to see her and it was a complete transformation!! She ran up to me with a huge smile on her face and gave me a big hug. I couldn't believe my eyes. This little girl now has joy and life in her!! It was amazing to see!

This is sweet Selah...

Tuesday and Wednesday I went around to evaluate more Community Resource Centers. We are moving in 80 children and we want to make sure that all our CRC's are up to running as a house would run. It's pretty exciting to be a part of something that allows children to be rescued 1 at a time. 

Three girls who moved into the Matero CRC: Joyce, Given, and Grace

Thursday I spent a full day at Immigration!!! I almost had to leave the country!! I overstayed my visa, but with the grace and mercy of the immigration officer they allowed me to extend my visa. It was a new experience and pretty intense to say the least. My heart was beating the whole time and I wanted to make sure I did everything I was told. Finally, we were given the "yes" and we paid our penalty and got out of there. :) I have never been that nervous in my life. haha 

Friday I went to go pick up a child and bring her into a CRC. I was also able to check on the kids that have already moved in. God is soooo good! I love being able to see the quick transformation in the lives of these children.

Some kids at the Garden Hill Compound

 

This weekend has slowed done for a little bit and now we are going into the "break week"...haha. I mean even though it's a break week, there is still so much to be done. I am looking forward to what God does this week. More kids will be moving into these centers. Please be praying for the transition and all the different things that have to happen. God is going to be moving in mighty ways and it's so exciting to be a part of it. 

I will hopefully put more pictures and videos up soon. Thanking the Lord for all of you! 

A Day at the Lake & there after...

I have been meaning to post for so long and the days have just slipped by so quick. Anyways, last Sunday, March 15 was a much needed day of rest for me...SOOO I took the day and went to a lake and spent time with the Lord!! It was by far the best day I have had in a long time. I had my backpack packed with my Bible, journal, and food. I was set! ha..but seriously, I got to walk around, sit by the lake, listen to worship music and just enjoy being outside! The Lord revealed so much to me in the hours that I spent there...and just as the scripture says..."He will wash you with the water of His word...(Eph. 5:26 paraphrased)" and that is exactly what I felt the Lord was doing that day...

1. As I was sitting by the lake I ended up reading Psalm 23:1..."The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want" or another version says, "I have all that I need"...and I came to a much deeper understanding of such a simple verse that I have known for a so long. We all know that we should not be in want because of who the Lord is to us and what He provides for us, but do we trust Him enough to give us what we need and not necessarily what we want? The is the first thing that God challenged me with...'Do you trust me enough with what I am giving you is what you need right now in your life?'

Its definitely a daily choice that we all face...

2. The second thing that I came to realize was when I was walking around this lake. I had not been out there so I was just exploring all these trails while listening to music and the song "Acres of Hope" by Shane and Shane came on. It's basically illustrating how the Lord pursues us and is leading us to a place that draws us closer to Him. He must draw us out of where we are in order to go to a place that He longs for us to be...fully in His Presence.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

He will allure her

He will pursue her

And call her out

To wilderness with flowers in His hand

She is responding

Beat up and hurting

Deserving death

But offerings of life are found instead

*Chorus*

She will sing

She will sing

Oh, to You

She will sing as in the days of youth

As You lead her away

To valleys low

To acres of hope

Acres of hope

Here in the valley

Walk close beside me

Don’t look back

For love is growing vineyards up ahead

You have called me master

And though you’re in the dark here

Call me friend

And call me lover and marry me for good

(Chorus)

How the story ends is

Love and tenderness in Him

Not safe, but worth it

So the valley's up ahead

Or the ones we live

We'll sing together

We'll sing together

This is the scripture that inspired the song:

“Lord, sustain me in the valley. Give me ears to hear

Your sweet tender voice and lead me in to

acres of hope in this dry and weary land.”

"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD,’you will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master. (Hosea 2:14-16)

That day at the lake was the beginning of such a great week of realizing the beautiful pursuit Jesus has for us! For so long I have known that, but it's another thing to receive it and begin to give more of yourself to the Lord. My time in the Word has been so much richer and I long for that time to just sit and quiet my spirit in the presence of the Lord! I pray that each of you take time to let your mind, heart, and spirit rest in this crazy and busy lifestyle we all live in!

Some other highlights of last week...

• I went to lunch with some of my dear Kamp friends from the past several years...Jrob, Kelly Adams, and Liz Norris...it was so fun to get to fellowship with those who you have served along in ministry together! There is just nothing quite like it!
• I headed down to Waco on Sunday to see a few of my closest friends..Johanna Scanio (and all of her roommates!) and Kaitlyn Amos. We went to church that morning at Antioch and then hit up a few of my favorite stops: Food for Thought and Common Grounds. It was so great to see all of them! It's refreshing to be around friends who just get you and who mean so much to you!

This week...

• I have hit the 40 day mark until I embark on an incredible 3 month stint in Zambia! I believe God is going to do so much and reveal more things this year than ever! Please cover the months of May, June, July, and part of August in prayer!
• 1 Year ago from today, March 24 2008, my Dad was diagnosed with Stage 3 Esophogeal Cancer and for 8 months he has been cancer free!! Praise God! He is doing okay, but really needing to gain some weight. He is at his lowest weight since surgery back in July, which puts him below 150 lbs. Please keep praying for his strength to return and energy levels to come back!

I know this is long-winded but I had a lot to write about. I am going to have to get better at this as time gets closer to when I leave, but especially when I am over in Zambia. Thanks again for keeping up with what is going on. I hope you all are doing well!

Serving HIM Alone,

Joy

Weekend recap and Busy Week....

Well to give you a recap of this week I will make it short and sweet because I'm afraid I would bore you all with the details...sooo...

Last weekend was great! On Saturday I slept in for the first time in a while and went to my cousin's baby shower at Botanical Gardens in Fort Worth. It was my first time there and it was beautiful!! I really want to go back and just walk around outside. But anyways, I got to see my mom, sister, nieces, and more family!! (Pictures Below)

*Mom, (my 3 nieces: Ruth, Esther, & Anna), Me, and JJ*

*Mom and her daughters*

It was great to see them and it made me excited about our holiday events that are coming fast around the corner. After that, I came back home (to my aunts house) and took a nice jog before my good friend Lauren Shoush came over to eat dinner, watch football, and eat brownies! We had so much fun just talking, laughing and feeling like fat kids! haha...I mean we kept justifying that it was "okay" to eat as much as we wanted because we both had gone running earlier in the day. BUT we are planning to do it again soon! : ) 

Sunday was sooo busy running around town doing normal errands that I have not been able to do in my normal weekly schedule. My afternoon was spent at Southlake Town Center. It has been my favorite place to go as I was growing up and I just love that I am only 15 minutes away from the best little shopping center!! It's especially great when it's all decorated for Christmas. Anyways, I dropped off my Mac to get repaired, ran into a few smalls shops and grabbed Starbucks. What else could be better on a fall night!?!? Might I had that my Macbook crashed and now I basically have a brand new computer - I lost everything I had from the past 2 years!! Pictures, Videos, Music....GONE!! : ( I guess this is a good analogy of storing our treasure's in heaven because earthly things can be taken from us so quickly. (That sounded cheesy, but my Aunt said that to me so if she said it then it's okay to share - haha) 

My weekend wasn't all too restful with the week I had ahead; however, it was so fun! This week has been quite busy with all the projects and things I am responsible for. I don't even want to try to explain things because it just overwhelms me a bit. Tomorrrow (Friday) is supposed to be my big mail out day...I feel pretty on top of everything with printing out over 800 address labels, scanning over 1000 letters, organizing all the letters written from our kids, and separate them by community schools...Yikes...I have also had to learn to work more in-depthly with our database so that I can fix any issue (hopefully) on the website concerning our kids. It's CRAZY!! Even though I feel like I am not making a dent in any projects I am becoming an expert in soaking up as much information as possible and then somehow spitting out the right answer! : ) 

But seriously, doing all these different projects and seeing all these new things in Family Legacy excites me sooo much!! As God is moving here, He is moving in Zambia. I actually spoke with Holly again today and she said that there is so much happening on that side already! PRAISE THE LORD!! We are seeing so much progress and it's only been a few months. Just think of what the outcomes will be like when several more months pass by...

I can't believe that it's almost the weekend...I CAN'T WAIT!! Tomorrow is my Dad's Birthday so we are going to have a little party for him on Sunday. I will be relaxing Saturday while watching football and then heading to church at The Village that evening. Sunday I'll be down at the ranch all day!! I am so thankful for a place that I can get away and just embrace the presence of the Lord! It's almost like I can breath a little easier out there! I will try to post pictures of this upcoming weekend.

Well sorry that I said this was going to be short and sweet...what can ya do? 

Hope you all have had a great week and enjoy your weekend! 

Focused on Him,

Joy