Refreshed!!

"...he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

Proverbs 11:25

Being refreshed can have many different definitions and meanings. You can be refreshed by a cool drink, a nice swim in the pool, a long shower, a good run or walk perhaps, resting, or even listening to music. However, when I think of "being refreshed" I think of... in-depth conversations, full of rich meaning. Challenging, yet loving. Discussing the sorrows and joys. Sharing the beautiful things of the Lord and experiencing the building up of the body of Christ. It is in those conversations that I walk away with so much more joy, hope, and life as I have listened to how God is working, teaching, refining, equipping, directing, and using HIS children to impact the lives of so many. Encouragement is gained. Strength is renewed. The cords of friendship grow stronger. And our mighty, loving, gracious, tender, and loving God is glorified in that moment! You simply walk away differently. Changed. Moved. Sharpened. 

And that is exactly what I got to do this weekend...getting precious time with 3 of my dearest friends. Julie Anna, Sara, and Kaitlyn. I drove down to San Marcos on Friday night and spent the night with Julie Anna and Ryan. (I hadn't really seed them since they got married in January!). We got to catch up, go to breakfast with a group of people on Saturday, shop at the outlet malls, and then meet up with my sweet sister Jamie. We all met up with her family and had a great time at dinner! What more could you ask for...dinner with both your sister and one of your best friends?!?! Afterwards we got to go see where Jamie and the family will be moving to. We headed back to Julie and Ryan's place after we picked up a movie to watch. We popped popcorn and all sat on the bed together with the movie playing on the computer. (That is one of my favorite things to do...watch movies in bed :) haha ) 

Sunday, we woke up, brewed some coffee, got our Bibles and sat on their huge porch. We headed to church soon after that and then I had to say goodbye. I stopped in Austin for lunch with my sweet friend Sarah. I hadn't seen her since New Years..so there was a lot of catching up to do!! We ate lunch and stayed there talking for 3 1/2 hrs!! I know it's a little lengthy but that is what happens when you have deep conversations! : ) I finally made it to Waco to see Kaitlyn! It was my last stop before I concluded my weekend trip. We only got to hang out for about 15 minutes but there is something about being reunited with certain people. I feel so blessed in being able to live life with the most amazing friends! I really couldn't ask for better. 

Praise the Lord for how HE brings the right people in our lives to encourage, support, listen, challenge, love, and push you closer to the cross! Blessed be HIS name for all that HE has done!

Here are some more verses I wanted to share with you that God has used to reach me in ways that only He could...the ways that the Lord scripted His word is amazing to me because it defines itself by itself. In this life, we try to define things by our knowledge, or other's opinions, or wisdom, advice, or simply by going to the dictionary...BUT there is One who can not be defined. He is who He is and His word stands alone.

"While I was with you, I resolved to KNOW one thing...

Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

 (paraprahsed) 1 Cor. 2:2

But we have this TREASURE in Jars of Clay to 

show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 

We are...

hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;

perplexed, but not in despair;

persecuted, but not abandoned;

struck down, but not destroyed. 

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness 

of KNOWING Christ Jesus my Lord, 

for WHO'S SAKE I have lost ALL THINGS. 

I consider them rubbish, 

that I may GAIN CHRIST and BE FOUND IN HIM. 

Phil 3:8-9

...by the Power of God, who has saved us and 

called us to a holy life - not because of anything 

we have done but because of HIS own purpose and grace.

2 Tim. 1:9

Being Refined

I want to share some scripture with you all and explain what God has been showing me this week. This week was difficult in numerous ways, it was one that I needed to recognize some things in my life. Many times we run from the hard pressing of the Lord and seek a place of comfort while ignoring the ways God is trying to get our attention. We don’t want to dig deeper or be exposed of areas in our life that still need refining. It’s been that kind of week for me. So instead of going into all of that, I want the reason for this post to be solely focused on scripture and how God has met me where I am…

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”. Isaiah 41:10

“My flesh and my heart my fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”. Psalm 73: 26 

“He works out everything in conformity with the purpose of HIS will”. Ephesians 1: 11

“I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14

“You are my God; my times are in your hands”. Psalm 31:14-15

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of LIFE…it is sweet to the soul”. Proverbs 13:12,19

Today, Sunday, I listened to a podcast from The Village Church. Matt Chandler is the lead pastor and we are in the Luke series. He was teaching out of Luke 18 and below is what I was able to take away from the sermon...

Jesus is speaking to The Rich Young Ruler

“You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven. Then come, follow me”. Luke 18:22

• Wealth was what the Rich ruler held on to. He was asked by Jesus to sell all that he had. To give up what he held on to most...SO THAT he could gain more of Jesus! 
• Jesus will use the very thing that we cling to and hold onto the most. He will expose us in those places in order to show us what exactly we lack
• Only the Lord knows what we lack and He will press down on us until we give in and realize our need for HIM

Some other revelations...

There are times that we fail to recognize one thing. KNOWING HIM. We have become more focused on serving (doing things) than knowing Him.

We must return…call upon…and cry out for the Mercy of God…HE wants to rescue us…HE wants to restore us…HE wants us to lay everything at HIS feet…He wants to see and know that we are not living for ourselves…but for HIM AND HIM ALONE!!!

Life back in the States

I'm Back!!! I know it's been a little bit since I've been back on this side of the world, but it's been a bit crazy and I honestly have been a little out of it. Monday, August 4 is when I arrived back to the Lonestart State. I flew back with 3 other people...Brian, Bobby, and Cara (The 3 closest people to the front in the picture below). We were all craving a little Chickfila so we decided before we all split off to have one last meal together. It was soooo good!!

Our journey back was quite the journey to say the least...we departed from Lusaka at 2pm Sunday after noon and flew down to Johannesburg, South Africa for a 7 hour lay over. We all were trying to think of things to do so we ate an early dinner and then literally went to every shop in the airport. Once we finished we found a place to camp out for the next couple hours. I couldn't sit still and knowing I was about to sit in a 10+ hour plane ride I began walking around...soon after we made our way to our gate and got settled for the night. Our flight left Joburg at 11:30pm. All 4 of us sat together in the back of the plane and it we felt like we were in a love seat. Haha...not really but it was really fun to be sitting all together. The only negative part about that leg of the flight was there was so much turbulence that I could not fall asleep. The plane was constantly shaking thus no sleep at all. :(  We hit London about 8:30am the next morning and had to move quickly through the huge terminal to our next gate. We jumped on our last leg around 11am for another 10+ hour flight. We finally arrived back in Texas at 3:30pm! Home Sweet Home!

The hardest part about flying that many hours and adjusting to the time difference is that your body is fighting against you. I made myself stay up as long as I could and then crashed around 10:30pm...I didn't wake up until 1pm the next day...14 hrs of sleep! Praise the Lord! When I woke up I was so disoriented and didn't know where I was at first. I had to concentrate so hard on anything I did. My body has not gotten that much rest since before I left in May. Anyways, I was discussing with my Mom the next couple of days and I ended up going to get my hair cut that afternoon. Some advice I would give anyone coming back from spending longer than 1 month in a different country - Don't try to drive when you first get back!! I got on the road and was driving on the left side of the road!! Ahhh...I realized about a minute later that in the States we drive on the Right side...not the Left side as we did in Zambia. Hahaha...it was such a weird moment I had and I can't really describe it all. 

I didn't have much time to adjust until I was off to Branson, MO with my family for the weekend. We left Thursday morning and got back late Monday night. It was the first time to see one of my sisters and her family since April. It was so fun to see them and talk about my time in Zambia. I also got to see some of my best friends that had been working at Kanakuk all summer...Nika and Bekah. It was refreshing to get to sit and hear how they were doing and get caught up on life. I hadn't seen them since October of last year. However, I was struggling to sleep every night. I was so tired, but when I would go to bed I would wake up 3-4 times a night wide awake. I also had the craziest dreams. It was really strange because I was having the reverse affect that usually happens when you first get to Zambia. This past Tuesday night was the first time I actually slept through the night. After a few restful nights I now feel rested! Praise the Lord!! I can function normally and think clearly!! :) 

Visiting Bekah at Kanakuk

Most of this week I have been running around trying to get things accomplished. It's crazy how you have to take care of so many things when you are out of the country for 3 months. One of those things is my Car!! I haven't driven my car since April and I had to get it inspected, serviced, and now I have to get NEW TIRES!! The joy of owning a car! Haha. In the midst of that, I have been able to rest and relax the past 2 days. It has been so refreshing to let myself stop and look back at the summer. God has brought me through so many things and allowed me to be part of such a bigger plan and purpose that only He could orchestrate. And I believe the journey is just beginning...

Thanks again for all your prayers as I was gone these 3 months. The time will be coming soon when I return to Zambia, but the Lord knows the timing and length of my stay. As for now, I am spending time with family and friends. The rest of the staff returns tomorrow and we all will be back in our offices in Irving, Tx  next week. Please pray for the many meetings that will be taking place in regards to all our new projects and even in regards to where the Lord wants each of us. I pray each of you are blessed! Thanks again!

Love to you all!

Joy

Last moments in Zambia...

I know it's been a week that I have been back in the States but I had to finish posting the last pictures taken in Zambia. I will give you updates on the transition back to the State side on my next post. But for now, here are my last shots with my precious kiddos...

Friday at the Tree of LIFE...

Me and one of my best friends Stephanie hanging out with the kids

Me with Misheck and Hassan..

little Bupe is poking her head around Hassan's shoulder

Bupe and Me...she has the most precious spirit about her!

Emma and Me... 

Praise God for how He has restored and transformed her life!

Saturday I said goodbye to my kiddos in the CRC's:

Visitng my sweet girls at Kaunda Square CRC for the last time...

Selah, Bridget and the newest addition Alice

All the girls at the Matero CRC: (Left to Right)

Lontia, Given, Grace, Joy, Gloria, and the newest addition Harriet

The group at the Ibex CRC:

Baby Joy, Anet, Pamela, Dorothy, Sara, and Wisdom

(sorry this picture is hard to see...this is actually the best one out of all of them!)

Pictures of the last days

Thursday with my sweet boy Anderson!! 

Hanging out at Avondale CRC...The 3 boys that live there are Morris, Victor, and Elijah. Our Zambian staff that live there are Samuel (in picture), Gilbert, Daudi, and Pastor Eric

Me and Sarah on Shoe day...it was actually her birthday so I brought her a little craft bag that has fun things in it for her. She was sooooo excited and couldn't believe it. 

George has become one of my dearest friends in Zambia. We have worked on numerous projects together throughout the summer and have had fun doing it all. 

Friday...last day of Camp LIFE!! 

Steph and I...still doing ministry together...

I think we both will be serving together in ministry for quite some time!

Arthur, Dalitso, Me, and George on Friday

>As it was the last day of camp, you could get people to write on your shirt

Austensley and his sister Sarah...

they live by themselves in a child headed household in Kabanana

>They are amazing and very mature in the walk with the Lord<

More pictures are coming from Saturday and Sunday...stay tuned! :)

The Hardest Days

Last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were the most difficult days that I knew were coming. I had to say bye to my precious Zambian family I have come to know and love so much while I have been here. I went to Camp LIFE on Friday and I LOVED being there with everyone and soaking in the last hours with ALL our Zambian staff. As the day came to an end, all the Americans together while the Zambians circled around then worshipping the Lord and then at once they all began to pray over us. It was an amazing moment! I was sitting there and then my sweet friend Martha sat behind me and held me. The next thing I knew my chin was dripping with tears and I couldn't control the emotion I had. Leaving this 2nd family I had developed is so difficult and painful at times, but I knew it was time.

Steph, Christy and I on the last day of 

Week 8, Camp LIFE 2009

Steph, Garret and I right after we loaded up kids from Camp LIFE

Last Thursday afternoon I got to go see Anderson Tembo who lives in Chainda. I went to find him and ended up going to his house. These are all the kids that ended up there because they new about the Mazungu's (white people). 

I'm holding Anderson in the back, 

but all these kids were all around us that afternoon.

Walking back to the Avondale CRC in Chainda

Me with some of the kids

 Saturday wasn't easy either because that day I had to say bye to my precious kiddos in the CRC's. My first stop was at Kaunda Square where I saw Selah, Bridget, and Alice (a new girl who I got to move in Wednesday of last week). As I was talking to our Staff members I noticed that Selah was not around. I was quickly informed that she was in her room, on her bed, crying. I went in there and found her curled up in a ball just crying uncontrollably. I curled up next to her and then I began crying too. She was the first girl I got to move in and be apart of her life changing. I have never felt such heartache in leaving a sweet child. She means so much to me and I consider her to be my daughter. Anyways, I sat with her and tried to explain that I was coming back. She just looked at me with her tears in her eyes and wondering why I had to leave. Oh how I was overwhelmed with such sadness...

Next stops were Ibex, Matero, and Garden Hill. I had kids in each one of these CRC's and it was so hard to tell to the kids that I had to leave. Their sweet faces went from such joy to such sadness. I have lots of pictures with them that I will post later. Once I finished making my rounds to those CRC's I met up with the rest of our team and went out to dinner for my last night. We got back at 9 and then I had a long night of packing and tying up loose ends. I didn't go to bed until about 4am and then I had to get up and head to my last church at the Tree of LIFE. 

What a way to end my time in Zambia...church at the land with all 64 children. The singing, praying, reading of scripture, and sweet faces of these beautiful children was amazing! Soon after that, I had to say a quick good-bye and get to the airport. The whole time I was praying.."Lord, if you want me to stay here for a little longer, I know you will make a way and not let me get on the plane"...to be continued on next post...