God Is Always Good...

"It has been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation. Rather, as it is written: "Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand."
Romans 15:20-21


UPDATE:
Just for you to get a little glimpse of my incredibly awesome team to Sydney, please check out the image to the right. Yes, a very good looking group, right? Yes, I think so, too. In case you are wondering, we are making the letter "S" with our hands for 'Sydney.' =) ANYWAYS, support raising has been pretty steady these past two weeks with no huge improvement, but I have gotten word from some that they are in the process of giving. Even though no drastic change, God is still continuing to show faithfulness so I have absolutely no room to complain. I am just thankful for His provision so far. I received an email the other day about one of my team members not being able to continue the journey to Sydney because he wasn't receiving the financial support he needed so he decided to back out, but give what he had already raised to the team goal. I cannot imagine how hard that was for him to make that decision to back out knowing how excited he was, but if that door was closed, I know the Lord has something incredible planned for his life this summer. If you could, please pray that Chris wouldn't be discouraged by this and that the Lord will give him clarity where he should be this summer.

This past week was spring break for Auburn (and very well needed...)! A group of my closest friends and I travelled to the city of Orlando to stay with the grandparents of one of my friends, Allie B. Our mission while down there was to volunteer at Orlando Union Rescue Mission downtown which wasn't located in the most safe area in Orlando, BUT we went anyways because we had heard of what the Lord was doing through them. This ministry is more like a program than it is an overnight stay for these homeless residents. If you agree with the guidelines, you have to work a job for 40 hrs a week, save 75% of your paycheck, arrive back at the mission every evening by 5:30 PM so they may practice family values like eating as a family, etc,. It's a non-profit, faith-based organization, whose mission is to provide those in need with food, shelter, clothing, and other resources. The foundation of their work is Biblically based- to bring people to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. We were actually able to have a couple conversations with some of the residents that revealed fruits of the missions labor there. Such a cool thing to witness P.S.

We arrived at the mission to find many sweet and welcoming staffers thrilled to see us! Mrs. Sylvia, the receptionist, greeted us right inside the door and after talking with her a little bit, we learned that she had been serving there for about 22 years. I think the one thing that stood out to me while serving for those three days was that everyone we came into contact with couldn't help but talk about what the Lord was doing there. I mean, it was like they had a group meeting before we came or something because they were all on the same page when it came to what the Lord was doing there. It was like they couldn't help BUT talk about it. Mrs. Sylvia told us that it cost $11,000 daily to run and only the Lord could have provided the funds because its not like they made any money there. Everything is cost free for the residents. It was like the Lord purposefully directed me there this past week to tell me, "Listen, if I can provide for this ministry that has been around for 60 years, don't you believe I can provide for you?" God definitely has a sense of humor sometimes. I'm pretty sure if you were standing next to me when all of these thoughts were coming together, you could have heard me laugh under my breath.

If you would like to learn more about the mission, the website is: http://www.ourm.org/

Another cool thing that I've been able to witness is how the Lord's using my trip to Australia as an opportunity to share. I've been able to share what my team will be accomplishing while there and, also, a chance to share what the Lord is teaching me through this whole preparing stage. I'm learning a lot about prayer- how the Lord doesn't always answer us on the first request, but through the waiting period, He allows us to grow more dependent on Him. If we received everything we ever wanted, what would God be to us? Through this period, we learn the art of persevering which develops our character, giving us a spirit of hope, because we know the God we serve is good through all He does and chooses to do (Romans 5:3-5).

Recently, I've picked up Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller. who pulls our understanding of the gospel of Jesus out of the formulaic, propositional framework that the world has placed it in. He presents an explanation of the gospel in relational language, dealing primarily with the story from which our theology has been deducted. Its beautifully written, to be honest, and I recommend it! Here is a little excerpt:

"I confess, I feel there is a God who is very big and who understands everything. In the morning, when i get over these little moments of epiphany about how complex my construction is I begin to fear the God that is, because He made all this that is our existence an He understands its physics. Whatever it is that understands the physics of this thing that is happening to us would have to be quite remarkable, with giant oaks for feet, perhaps, and a voice like wind through a forest and a mind that creates creations of which it might ponder in a way of learning what it already knows. I start to think about this and I confess, it stirs a certain fright and it helps me believe the Scripture that teaches His ways are not like our ways (See Isaiah 55:8-9)."
-Donald Miller

INTERESTING AUSTRALIAN FACT:
It is illegal to roam the streets wearing black clothes, felt shoes and black shoe polish on your face as these items are the tools of a cat burgular.