Move your Hand!

As I am writing it is the Sabbath afternoon. I have the time to contemplate and reflect on God's goodness to me, and listen to uplifiting music. I realize that I need to continue finishing writing about my favorite Colombian experiences.


The first weekend, on Sunday I preached "Move your Hand" sermon. This sermon was talked about how we can find the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, and we can receive salvation through four steps.

1. Accept
2. Believe
3. Confess our sins
4. Decide publicly for Jesus

This night I was going to be making an appeal for people to accept Jesus as their personal Saviour for the first time. Two minutes before I made the appeal a car driving in street stopped right in front of the Paraiso church. The music was blaring over the audience. I immediately thought and prayed, "Jesus be with us." I knew God was stronger than this big distraction. My voice got louder and stronger. I felt like I was shouting at the audience. When the appeal finished 8 people walked to the front to accept Jesus as their Savior for the first time. I know Heaven was rejoicing and the angels.


It was this night that a man, Raphael (pseudo name) started coming. He greeted me in English- and continued to come to the rest of the meetings. Every night I could see his heart hungry for the truth and he was excited to learn the truth. It was exicting for me to see how he was accepting the messages including the Sabbath message. He told me three nights before the campaign that he was going to be there till the end. It was really hard to say goodbye. It was hard to get to know and connect with all of my visitors because of the language barrier. This man touched my heart because his hunger for the Word was filled during the meetings. I continue to pray for him.


Next post is about an unlikely visitor who came to my campaign.

Share Him to Colombia

I can't tell you how happy and how changed my life has been since doing this trip to Colombia! We left as missionaries to share the Word of God with the residents, but we came back changed finding that Christ's Word still has so much power!

This will be my first blog of series sharing my favorite experiences or stories from the trip.

The first weekend that I started my series. I started not knowing what to expect. I had a meeting with the Paraiso church and talking about the organization of the meetings. My impression was this was going to be a great church to work with, small, yet potential. They shared with me how they had been working hard to invite people from the community to come to the meetings. I shared with them that I would be praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We looked through the list to make sure that I was prepped appropriately for the meeting. We looked through my presentation equipment. Not being a pro at it myself, we tried to communicate with each other how to use the Share Him presentation Synchronizer. After 10 minutes it finally appeared on the medium sized wall to the right of the stage. Relief was felt. I really enjoy meeting people for the first time. This experience was a little different. I couldn't communicate what I wanted to say in their language. It was very brief short sentences. I learned that night that anything that I really want to express to my friends would have to be interpreted through my translator. After we were all done setting up the equipment, and safely putting it away in my black case. The pastor took me in his car. I talked with my interpreter the whole way home. She walked with me inside and all the way to the sixth floor of San Jose Hotel. Oh, "we should really practice tomorrow around noon. I want us to be really prepared for the first meeting," I said to her. She agreed to come back to the hotel the next day. She never showed up. I got worried and wondered how our first meeting would go. I couldn't worry too much, because I had to practice and know my sermon well. The first night came. One of the girls, Andreas who would later become a good friend to me in the church said, "Are you the evangelist, you are so young!?" Yes, I could not believe it myself. I had imagined this day coming. But now here it really was.

The first sermon was frustrating. I got on stage, and realized that after explaining to the church the night before how to set up the equipment they had incorrectly set it up. The slides were three behind what I actually said. I thought, here are new visitors, church members, "What do they think of me." The only part of the presentation I could make a connection with the audience was when it should a 30 sec video of the image of Daniel, and I rehearsed it again. God still spoke through me that night even through technical difficulties. I talked with our group leader, and campaign manager they helped a lot with the situation. By Saturday night, we had the program running and synchronized perfectly with my notes! I was happy!

At the beginning of the series. God was teaching me patience and learning to depend on Him. I found that He still blessed even though my Powerpoint wasn't working correctly for the first two sermons. Our visitors still continued to come back because they were receiving spiritual meat from our sermons.

Preaching in Colombia

I'm here in Colombia preaching my first full evangelistic series. I can tell you that so far my first two sermons have been rewarding. The people have shown excitement to hear the sermons on Jesus soon return. It has been trying to get the technology coordinated, and the powerpoint presentation. I don't speak their language. I need the Lord's help, and a miracle to happen this evening.

Last night, it was powerful to share how we are in the feet of Daniel's image and show how prophecy verifies history. The Bible is accurate and reliable! We had a good attendance. The church was packed when I spoke for the church service today I feel unworthy to be doing this, but am blessed to be used by God to spread the three angels messages. Please continue to pray for me.

I absolutely love it here in Colombia. The food is delicious, and the people are the most loving I have met. I love the culture! It is beautiful here and I will treasure each day.

I'm here to spread the gospel. I love Jesus, and I want my friends here in Colombia to have Him in their lives too.

Feliz Sabado!

Missions this summer!

This weekend was reviving for me. I decided at the beginning of the school year to go on a mission trip with the Evangelistic Resource Center. After attending orientation meetings I am pumped up to Share Him to others! I can't wait to share Bible doctrines and the beauty of understanding God's word in these times to my audience. I pray that many will come and desire to accept Jesus for themselves. My roommates went to ARME Bible camp this weekend and were incredibly blessed. Ivor Myers, Taj Pacleb, Calvin Kim, Dr. Paul Ratsara were the presenters. Truly revival and reformation is occuring in our church. I can see the spirit working on hearts here on campus and have seen transformations in their lives. There is a movement that exists in our church. My roommate, Becca was sharing with me that after this weekend she really has a desire to be an evangelist for the Lord. I want to be an evangelist too! We both agreed that there is nothing, I mean NOTHING more fulfilling than sharing the gospel with others and seeing what happens in their lives. It would be a dream for me to be a international singer and share the gospel with others. Right now, I have a callling to make a difference in people's lives on a individual basis but helping them with their emotional and spiritual needs. I want to use what I learn this summer to help me to continue to witness to others personally. Nothing is more fulfilling than serving Jesus!

Noshaq Banquet

Last Sunday my girl friends and I went to a Benefit banquet. Here are some pics from the evening.

Phi Alpha Induction

A couple of weekends ago I was inducted into the Phi Alpha Honor society. It's hard to believe that I've been studying here at Southern for three years. The program was really nice and it was even more special to have my Mom and best friends there. I was able to reflect on what my school, classmates, profressors, school, friends, and family have meant to me through this journey. I remember my freshmen year choosing Social work as major and being excited about it. I remember walking into Mrs. Baker's office many timest the first semester of the Social work program my Junior year and feeling supported and helped through the whole process. I remember Mrs. Heck's Valentine card to each of us Juniors that said "You are loved", with Bible promises written with our own names in them. I am so thankful to have had the privilege to receive my education at Southern and the relationships I have built there I will always treasure. One more year till I receive my degree!

Debbie and I walking to Daniells Hall afterwards for refreshments

Kirsten and I

Surprise visit

At the end of this week, I felt exhaustion from the semester. 14 hours of classes, work, practicum during Spring break. I love it all but I need rest. It just so happened that I had to go to an town near Nashville for a tag renewal on Friday which is only 20 minutes from home. How could I pass going home for the weekend? Thursday during my hour break between work and choir/ classes I filled out a weekend leave request and made a final decision, but one thing I wasn't going to was tell my Mom. I would surprise her. So yesterday after I finished my car errands I headed up the ridge to my sweet hometown, and drove into my driveway. Ranger my dog, wagged her tail at my arrival. My Mom, was so surprised, happy, and smiling. She had no idea that I would come It was nice to surprise her and find refreshment at home after an intense week.

Spring Break

The end of Spring break has already come upon me. This week I have been doing a 40 hour practicum at Memorial Hospital. I'm getting to close to the end of my education. Exciting and yet a little nervous at the same time. Pray for me as I look for the right internship for my Senior year. Last weekend I went home to spend time with my whole immediate family. It was refreshing to be together as a family and share many laughs and talks. Doing observation at Memorial this week has helped me a lot to see what I really enjoy and what I do not.

After my first day at practicum I spent time with my girls. What a fun evening and delicious food!

At the end of our tangerine party

Updates will be coming more often!

Reflections on the 2nd week at Southern

The second week of school came upon us soon! I heard that Collegedale was going to get six inches of snow but had a hard time believing that much snow would come. Sunday night I looked out my window next to my bed and there was not a drop of snow on the ground. Then at 6:30 in the morning I woke up and our backyard was transformed into a winter wonderland. 8 inches of snow! My roommates and I were so excited! Debbie ran out to show everyone that there really was a lot of snow. Kristi made pumpkin cookies and and then in the afternoon we went sledding with Suzanne. The first time I went down with Becca we fell off. It was so funny! More friends joined us and we made games and ate cookies at our apartment after it was over. It was a blast to go sledding! I hadn't gone since elementary school. It was wonderful to have Monday and Tuesday off from school.


It was still an adjustment second week to get used to my classes, and know what I was doing. I'm really enjoying all of my classes and am taking my core Social work classes. On Thursday, our department had a convocation. The Seniors talked about their internships and practicums they are doing. It was inspiring, motivating, and left me excited about my career! It's a good thing to learn and be educated about social welfare policies, social theories, interviewing skills, and assessments in our classes. It's another thing to put it into practice and see how it is impacting others. The seniors in their agencies and hospitals are making a huge difference in the lives of people they are caring for. Connecting people to resources, empowering them, and helping them to have better lives.
It's hard to believe that I'm aleady in my second semester of my Junior year of college. It really doesn't seem that long ago I was a Senior anxious and excited to graduate from academy and next year it I'll be a Senior again!

Here a couple of pictures from our snow days:

Suzanne and Becca getting ready to sled down the hill.

A sled train of friends

Christmas Break: Part 1

Christmas break has been a refreshing time for me. Taking time to contemplate on what I am thankful for this year, and spend a lot of time with my family. My brother Aaron has a girl friend, Cassandra and she has come to spend Christmas with us. Her sweet and fun spirit has added to our home. Today we both had to do errands in Gallatin, a town 20 minutes from home. We decided to venture out and walk in the older parts of it. It was fun looking at shops, finding rare items in a antique shop, admiring historical spots, and taking pictures.

Retreat

It's Thanksgiving Eve and I have so much to be thankful for. I returned home last night. I rode back with Amy, Chelsea, and Caley. When we drove by downtown Nashville we agreed on how we felt back home. There's no place like home, and that's where I love to be at the holidays.

This past weekend I was able to spend more time getting to know some of the girls within my department at Southern. I am in the Phi Alpha Social work club this year, and we took a retreat together in Cleveland, Tennessee. It was refreshing to get away from school and to enjoy being

out in the country.


The house we stayed at

We went on a gorgeous two hour hike!

The girls on the retreat

Joelle and I!

Kirsten, me, and Jessica

Have a Happy Thankgiving!

Trip to Arkansas!

This past weekend I drove 10 hours away to Arkansas for the wedding of Deborah Arakawa and Alistair Huong. It was a lovely and beautiful wedding! It was nice to see two dedicated people commit their lives together. It was also great to be together with my immediate family for the weekend.




Edwin, Norman (my brother), Alistair, and Tim have been best friends for years. They're all married now!

My family

The wedding

Tim and Sunny

My brothers and I

Our apartment

This year I am living off campus in an apartment with Kristi, Debbie, and Rebecca. We are having a great year. It's been so much to hang out together in the apartment and spend time getting to know each other, and laugh.

The living room

Dining table/ kitchen

Backporch


My housemates! We shot some different poses. This is one of my favorites.

My roommate- Becca and I

Suzanne is our adopted housemate and we love having her over too. One Sunday she and Debbie made us pancakes, peach sauce, and scrambled tofu. It was yummy!

These pictures make me happy and thankful for beautiful friendships

My brother Aaron

I've been having a great experience here at Southern these first three weeks. Love hanging out with my girl friends, getting into my classes, and seeing how God is working here at Southern. I will be blogging about it soon!

Last night, my brother Aaron called me and said he was coming down this way for the day. It was bright spot in my day to hang out with him and spend quality time catching up on life. We walked around the campus and he told me some of his stories while he was here. I love you Aaron, thanks for taking the time to spend time with me today. I meant a lot.

My favorite stories from Summer of Evangelism

I can't forget to finish writing my experiences from Summer of Evangelism down in Atlanta. I shared a little bit when I was down there. God was working this summer! Our role as SEYC students was to do the lay work, pass out flyers, greeting, and follow ups at the evangelistic meetings. I worked at the Duluth SDA Church. It was exciting to see a lot of visitors coming out to the meetings at the beginning. One of the visitors, Delight was coming to the first three meetings with her friend. We noticed that she stopped coming. My partner and I went to visit her place and made sure that everything was all right. She said that she wanted to come back to the meetings but didn't have a way. It would be no problem for us to start giving her rides. She came back with us and I remember sitting with her when they preached about the Sabbath. I could hear her getting emotional yet at the same time I could sense a conviction being made in her heart. The night they made an appeal for baptism she walked down the aisle for baptism. There is no greater joy than seeing a person making a full comittment for Christ!

There are a couple of other stories I want to share.

Rick had been attending a church for a while but it unexpectedly closed down. It didn't move to another location. He was looking for a church family. A flyer came in the mail for the evangelistic meetings. What was there to lose? He came to almost every meeting and was the first person to make a decision for baptism at the end!



Gene had been studying the Bible with his brother and came under the conviction that Seventh-day Adventists were the only church who believed in the Sabbath and proclaimed the three angel's message. It just so happened that he came to visit the Duluth church while the meetings were going on. He talked to a couple of our Bible workers in the lobby and they asked if he was member. They soon realized it was his first time to come to an SDA church and made sure he felt welcomed. He came to the rest of the meetings. Praise God, he was baptized too! It was amazing to see God's spirit being poured out on Atlanta.

Remembering these stories is why I love evangelism. I love how it can bring a transformation to someone's life and helps them to find a new life in Christ. It also brings about revival to the church and it's members. I may go back to Atlanta next summer to be a Bible worker. I love to see people find Jesus for themselves and His message given to us in the Bible.

Kelly and I with Delight

The Duluth team