Wednesday, January 28, 2009

FULL of Events

So much to catch up on....

World Mandate was great! I love the conference for many reasons...Worship, the teachings, and praying for the Nations!! There were about 3,000+ people gathered at this conference to pursue Jesus harder and understand HIS heart for the nations. How the conference is set up is we have 4 main sessions spread out over Friday through Sunday and then on Saturday we have small breakout sessions. The theme for the weekend was "The Harvest - the TIME is NOW!" It was emphasized through each session, which was encouraging those who have not stepped out of their comfort zone and said yes to the Lord, to go spread the gospel to the outermost parts of the world. *The entire time I thought of my kids in Zambia and how even though we have planted seeds there, they need to be constantly loved on and encouraged as they are growing spiritually. They are still the in midst of so much darkness. Anyways, it made me so excited about getting there in about 100 days. God is so big in how He will use you, you just have to trust Him and say YES to wherever He shows you to go. 
Main Session Worship

Another one of my favorite parts is the Boiler Room (prayer room). Its set up in different sections: Praying for the Nations, Praying for a specific topic, Statistics and facts about a certain topic, and other saddening aspects happening in the world today. It's set up to give you a perspective on many things that you may not be aware of in the world. It kind of messes you up a little bit because of the harsh reality of it all. One of the areas that was hard for me to bare was Child Trafficking. So many children are sold into the sex trade and they have no way out. A lot of this happens in Southeast Asia, but a lot of other areas as well. There was a picture of a group of girls that I got to pray over and place under the cross (there is a video below). I still have their faces in my head and it hit to the core of my heart. I was overwhelmed with emotion because of their situation. These children did not choose their life, but now they are forced to live in it. They have no hope and are crying out for someone to come rescue them from the unimaginable reality they are in. 
Here are some videos of the Boiler room...



This week being back at work has been great! I have moved office space with windows and where it's a little more quieter for me to work. Praise the Lord! :) However, this week has been cut short because of the crazy weather in Texas...if you live in Texas you know what I'm talking about. We got hit with a big ice storm and most of us don't really know how to drive when things like this come our way!! hahah...So I didn't go to work Tuesday and 1/2 the day Wednesday. When I woke up this morning (wed.) my car was frozen and the street was completely iced over. So after waiting until noon I was able to drive. There is a funny story about this lovely ice all over the road...I was loading my car with boxes full of food for the summer (pictures below) and as I was putting them in the back of my car I slipped and fell straight on my back...oh and the boxes came tumbling on top of me!! It was a little painful to say the least and my body has been feeling it all day! haha...I'm sure you could picture it!! 

*My Car this morning... :(

*You can't tell, but the road had a nice layer
 of ice that I eventually slipped on!

As I just mentioned...I had to pack boxes for this summer! Yes..I had to buy enough food for 3 whole months!! The crazy thing about it is I have to send all of it now and won't see it for 3 months, but then it has to last another 3 months once I get there. Its so beyond me and I don't even know exactly how much food to take. I can only pack 8 boxes and I have 6 so far!! The reason I have to pack them now is that I have to send them in our container we are shipping this weekend. It takes a minimum of 3 months to get to Zambia. All of this is so new to me and I am learning to really plan in advance if you well. I just pray that I won't forget anything...

*So here is some of my food and boxes I'm
 sending for the summer...I hope it last until August!

Hope you all are having a fun week!

Blessings,
Joy

PS - I have a video of my precious little ones in Zambia...it will be posted next!! You will want to see this!! :)

2 comments:

Garrett and Stephanie Peters said...

you're so organized...I am proud!!

emilyboe said...

hi friend! i loved this blog post because i knew exactly what you were talking about with world mandate and didn't have to just imagine it in my head! :) it was soo much fun seeing you, and i love that we share the same heart for so many different things with children and the human trafficking victims and all of that. you are doing amazing things for the Kingdom. love you!