My God is not Dead, He's Surely Alive...

I got the opportunity earlier this week to go to Wan Chi, which is where one of 2 local red light districts is located. The one we went to is filled with clubs. A small group of us went to pray and worship on the streets to break the ground a bit before we go back later in the week. After a time of worship and crying out to God for this streets we were sitting upon I felt God saying, “Ask me and you shall receive.” So I did what he asked me to, I started praying for Heaven to collide with earth in amazing ways that we can’t do with our own power. I also prayed for people to say yes to Jesus and to see that he is beautiful and wonderful and everlasting. I cried out for those people with everything that in within me and declared the truth of the gospel over the people in the district. I don’t know if I have ever sat on a street and had my heart broken so deeply for people I didn’t even know. I asked Jesus to break my heart for what was breaking his, and just looking down the busy street… my heart was shattered.  I actually am sitting in my house in tears as I write about it, it was a heavy spirit and darkness covering the many streets in the district.
A few people felt God was asking us to go out and pray over the streets and maybe have a divine appointment if God set one before us. I started walking with 2 girls. We stood at one corner and just asked God to give us a few words of wisdom before we set out. I and Arianna got the color red, and to keep our eyes peeled for something or someone in red. We started walking and praying over the streets and all I felt like I could pray for was for the blood of Jesus to cover those streets and deliver the people. It is difficult walking down several large city blocks covered with back to back clubs. It is even harder when you see the faces of the girls who are forced into making that their life. A few times I had to pray to have the eyes and heart of Jesus, and to not look at them with shame. My heart was breaking for them, but at times I didn’t know how to look at them with an out pouring of love.
We had only a few minutes left before we had to meet back with our group when we came across a beautiful woman, Edith. She was sitting outside of Crazy Horse, one of the clubs, wearing a RED coat. We found out she had been working there for many years. She didn’t say it, but we knew that she was a “Madam” for the club, which is basically another name for an owner for the girls working there (aka pimp). She was soft spoken and seemed to just want to talk to someone. We asked her how business was going; she told us it was slow (PRAISE JESUS!). Then one of the girls I was with, Madeline, got a word of wisdom to ask her if she was having back pain. She told us she had back pain for several years, she assumed it was due to old age, and affirmed to us that she was in pain at that moment. She also told us that it was very difficult for her to stand up due to the pain that she was experiencing. We asked if we could pray for her because we believed our God could heal her, she agreed after asking how long it would take. I felt God telling me to place my hand on her shoulder and pray. All I knew to pray was “In Jesus name, heal this woman. Heal this woman. Heal this woman.” I repeated it over and over again. I declared it over here. After a few times of saying this out loud, I felt my hand heat up on her shoulder. We ended the prayer and asked her how she was feeling… no more pain! She was healed! Heaven and earth collided, just like I had asked!! SHE WAS HEALED!!! The holiness of out creator came down and through me and 2 other girls this woman is pain free!! PRAISE JESUS! She got right out of her chair and stretched and moved her back in all sorts of ways and with a smile told us she had no pain. She asked us how long until the pain came back and got to tell her that she would no longer ever feel that pain. Arianna then got to share the whole gospel with Edith. It was beautiful!
Never in my life have I seen a healing happen in front of me, let alone have I been the one God asked to heal someone! Oh Praise Jesus for his faithfulness!

New Heart for Worship…

I have been in Hong Kong for about a month now and my Papa is stirring up some great things within me. He has allowed me to see him in a new light and has brought old passions back to the surface. He has allowed me to press hard into him and see chains broken over my life/past. He has put his wonderful arms around me and comforted me while battles raged against me. He spoken to me almost daily and has set my soul on fire while giving me a new love for the Kingdom. He is good and sweet and beautiful!
One of our daily routines is to have worship for an hour each morning followed by a time of intersession. I have found these times to be the best 2 hours of my day! I get so filled up with the Spirit and covered in the love my Papa pours out upon me daily. There have also been days where I have had some hard conversations and hash out heart issues, and discuss my brokenness at times. Some days result in me not being able to stand still from excitement and other days I am humbled and find myself literally facedown asking/pleading with Papa to deliver me. In the past month I have had one reoccurring thought… What does it mean to worship?
I feel worship is different with each person. My Papa has had to walk with me a bit on this one to help me figure out what it looks like for me to worship him and bless him with all that is within me.
A few weeks ago, while singing in worship, I felt a distance and couldn’t seem to break through the darkness. I then got a picture that I believe was given to me from my Creator. It was a picture of me walking into a church and kneeling before the altar, closing my eyes, lifting my hands up high and singing with all my might. I felt Papa telling me, “Worship me like this. I gave you a voice that is wonderful to my ears, so honor me with it. I delight in the words you sing and the time you worship. Be humble. Be still and know that I hear you. Just sing what is on your heart child.”
I have also had a great desire within me to learn how to play the guitar while I am here. Today I kept getting images of me going back home and walking into my home church and just sitting on the altar while worshiping the lover of my soul! I have been praying hard about what these things me, and I feel that Papa is asking me to go home after this year is over and worship, without a fear of man. To walk into the doors and into a room full of people I know and allow Him to lead to worship as He desires of me. If that means getting raising my arms, kneeling down, or just being humbled enough to be facedown at the feet of Jesus and blessing him for what he has done for me… then I will do it!
This afternoon I came home, did some dishes, washed some clothes and sat down to journal and read. I kept coming back to the feeling of going home and worshiping. I then began to listen to some worship songs and soon found myself dancing around my house, singing at the top of my lungs with my arms stretched as high as they could go. At one point I had to put a pause on making my dinner because I was so overcome with joy and a desire to just close my eyes and jump around (I didn’t feel it was safe to do so while I held a very sharp knife in my hands). Long story short, I have a whole new heart for worship! I have noticed that I often get very distracted with what others think of me during worship. I have also become aware of how Papa has asked to worship him. I have discovered a new love for worship, which is crazy to imagine, since worship is my pathway to my Papa. It is wonderful just being overtaken with joy and a longing to express my love for my Lover.
A few songs that I have really gotten me excited lately are Phil Wickham’s song – You’re Beautiful. And also the David Crowder Band – Like a Lion. Both have amazing lyrics. I will leave you with a few of my favorite lines to sing loudly in my house. I truly believe and desire to speak/sing these words into life. Papa, would you allow Heaven to enter earth so these things would become our reality!

“Let love explode and bring the dead to life.
A love so bold, to bring a revolution somehow…
Let hope arise and make the darkness hide…
Now I’m lost in your freedom,
oh this world, I’ll overcome!

Let heaven roar
And fire fall
Come shake the ground
With the sound of REVIVAL!!

My God is not dead, he’s surely alive,
He’s living on the inside, roaring like a lion”
Like a Lion – David Crowder Band

“When we arrive at eternity’s shore,
when death is just a memory and tears are no more.
We’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring,
Your bride will come together and we’ll sing,
You’re Beautiful!”
You’re Beautiful – Phil Wickham   

Beatuy in the Valley...

This is how i spent my new year! :)

Happy New Year...

I pray that this next year God takes me to new places. That i wouldnt be fearful of what He is doing in my life or in the lives around me. I pray i would hold tightly to the robe of Jesus and that i would feel his comfort when i am weary. I pray that this next year i will stand on new and holy ground with the lover of my soul! I pray for the will of God to be done in my life this next year. That i would not be shaken.
Set a fire down in my soul that i cant contain, that i cant control...
I want more of you God!

Fun Game to Play...

I have only played this once.. but it is a blast! What you do is watch the people walking by, and count how many of them are wearing Chucks for shoes... be prepared to count fast! Ready... Set... GO! Enjoy!

I am the new Mia Hamm...

I have finally played a few games of soccer, and God blessed me with playing in Hong Kong!! What a wonderfully fun time. The first game I ever played took place on top of a mountain, after we took a speed boat across part of the China Sea! It was beautiful. We did an outreach at a drug rehab center. I just wanted to share a few pictures and moments of my first game. Enjoy!!

This is a picture from the speed boat while we were crossing the China Sea.

Picking teams on the mountain.

Playing my very first game of soccer!

Our Outreach Team along with the boys at the drug rehab center.

The veiw from the rehab center. that is the China Sea and also the mountains of Hong Kong! Beautiful!

My Toms in the China Sea :)


My second game of soccer took place after a long (but blessed) day of outreaches. A few of us from our team went to a local soccer field in the village that the base is on. I (much to my surprise) was the first picked to be on a team!! That never happened when I was a kid, so I enjoyed someone wanting me on their team. It was during that game that I began to grasp the concept of how to play the game. Not once did I touch the ball with my hands. I also stunned the crowd (aka my teammates) with scoring my first ever goal!! I wish the moment was recorded for all to see, but if I could imagine my celebration, I would look like Mia Hamm! It was beautiful! My team leader, Tomasi, had to stop my celebration so we could continue the game. J proud moment in my life! and tonight at our game i made 3 goals!! i am kicking butt on the soccer field!

You're Love Never Runs Out On Me...

Hello from beautiful Hong Kong!! I have arrived safe and sound and have hit the ground running. Such wonderful things have happened even in the few short days I have been here.
I was welcomed to the YWAM base by wonderful friends (those that I have known before arriving and others that I couldn’t wait to meet!) The first few nights were difficult due to jetlag, and even last night.. I slept for almost 12 hours (missing my first soccer game because of it.. which is a huge bummer.)
The food here is AMAZING!! The Chinese food we eat in America is nothing compared to how great Dim Sum is! Also at the base, they feed us very well! I have been eating 3 wonderful meals a day and even now I am snacking on some banana chips and craving the apples I have been storing up. I have tried many new things, some are wonderful. Others I have chosen not to eat again!
The people on the base are so wonderful! They are inviting and fun. I so look forward to getting to know them more throughout this next year.

How am I doing? What has been stirring on my heart the past few days you ask?

The song lyrics that say “Our God is not dead, He’s surly alive. He’s living on the inside, roaring like a lion.”  It has such truth to it! OUR GOD IS ALIVE!! He speaks. He loves. He is moving among us! I also believed that to be true, however the past few days God has opened my eyes to how real he is and how much he longs to be in conversation with each of us. Each day we have a time of worship and intersession in the mornings. (Those of you who know me, I LOVE worship, however intersession was one of the lowest on my list of spiritual gifts.) I always found it challenging to talk to someone who wasn’t there, or to wait for an answer when it didn’t come fast enough.  While I have been in worship it feels as if the voice of God couldn’t be kept silenced. It’s an amazing moment to be filled with such love. The first day God was asking me things like, “Will you allow me to just be your Father? Will you allow me to just love you with all I have to give you? Will you let me be the God you dream of, rather than a God who has limits?” That day I left worship realizing I have put many limits on God and who he really is. I have compared my earthly father to the Creator of the world. I have compared the love of my earthly family to the indescribable love of my Savior.
The second day during worship we sang a song with the lyrics, “You’re love never fails. It never gives up. It never runs out on me.” It was in that moment that God came to me, as if he was sitting right next to me and said. “They (my family) have failed you. They have hurt you deeply at time. They have even given up on you. I won’t do that to you. I love you more then you will ever know. I delight in you. I smile when I see you and I sing songs over you. I am your creator. I am your friend. I will never forget you. You are mine. My love will never run out on you.” WOW! I can’t even tell you the emotion that I had hearing that. I so often seek to do good for God and all he was asking of me was to just allow him to love me. And that His love would NEVER run out. I was prayed over that day, and one thing that was spoken over me was, “This love is constant. It won’t go away after a little bit, God wants you to know that you will be loved for eternity.” I don’t know to even tell this without a smile on my face! My God sees me and loves me deeply! J
Today I was really struggling to come to the Lord. It felt that I was being held back by some force that I couldn’t recognize. After much prayer during worship God’s voice was finally heard, “You deserve to be here. You are here. I called you and I want you here for this moment. You deserve this. You can do this. You WILL do this.” God is moving! He is great and mighty.

I think these moments have been my highlight so far. I can hear God’s voice. We have a lecture about hearing God’s voice one of the first few days. It is truth! It is beautiful! Even during our times of intersession God is speaking.

What a beautiful and mighty Father we serve! Thank you Lord!