Can we say....JET LAG?

Okay, so as you've probably figured out, after the first "full day" in Romania, things got BUSY! The camps each day were fun and exhausting, and dinners each night were an adventure. We had a few team meeting times late at night before we literally fell into bed. On Wednesday the praise and worship time with our Romanian brothers and sisters was so refreshing and uplifting...and beautiful. Our time in Bucharest...well, that's a subject for a later blog :)

While I traveled, I continued to read through the prophet Amos in scripture. I also borrowed Radical by David Platt. It's an eye opening book and interestingly enough, as I tried so hard to reconcile the poverty of these kids with the luxury of our hotel with the scripture in Amos with David Platt's thoughts on American extravagance...it was as if the Lord was challenging my heart with the same message from so many angles. Even as I sit here, I'm not quite sure how to put it into words yet. I guess scripture is the best explanation!

Amos 6: Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!...

⁴ You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches.
You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves.

⁵ You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments.

⁶ You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

⁷ Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.

⁸ The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself—the LORD God Almighty declares: "I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it."

Why did God say these things? Was it because he was against all luxury? NO. It was because while the people basked in luxury they purposely forgot and mistreated the poor. They became extremely comfortable and prideful and despised the poor and the needy, engaged in sinful acts and forgot God. Over and over again.

In his book, Radical, David Platt challenges American Christians to truly evaluate their lives and their relationship with the Lord in light of a Gospel message from Jesus Christ that is clear. I am still finishing this book but I am eager to comment on it in a later blog when I'm through.

In the mean time, I will share some of the pictures from our trip!
Iasi, Romania 2010

We're here and it's beautiful!

Hello from Iasi, Romania!!

Despite a rainy day and a death defying, second-scariest-plane-landing-i've-ever-had, we woke up to a beautiful day and a cool breeze after a short but restful night at our hotel, Little Texas.

Today has been so wonderful and full of worship. We started at Way of Joy church where we met some beautiful Romanian people and listened to a roughly translated version of the sermon from the pastor, Valentine. He is leading our camp and we will be working with his son, Raul (22) and his daughter, Alexandra (21). Alex sang for us this morning and she has such a beautiful voice. She is studying music at the university here and it was such a treat to hear her sing. To my surprise, I was asked to play a song on guitar and sing also. Wow. Soooo not prepared for that!! But I couldn't say no, so I chose "Pure" by Kari Jobe and the Lord provided..

More later. I'm exhausted!!

Much love,

K

The Adventure Begins!

With much prayer from several continents, I passed my Physician Assistance National Recertification Exam (PANRE)!!!! I felt terrible and dumb walking out of that test but I am so thankful I don't have to worry about it for another 6 years. Which leaves my brain free for....

ROMANIA!
It's shocking to me that I leave in less than a month for Iasi, Romania. We had our 2nd team meeting tonight and got much needed good information. We will essentially be working with youth in a "vacation bible school" type setting about 30 minutes outside of the city. I'm really looking forward to working along side my teammates and translators. We will be sharing about Creation, Joseph, Daniel, and Jesus' birth, miracles, and resurrection. We'll do crafts, activities, and singing and be gone from 830am to 6pm all five days!! It will be extremely hot (just like Birmingham in the summer, actually)... But I know the Lord will protect us and provide for us and we proclaim Him.

A few of the blessings I've already seen:

~My trip is completely paid up, one month out from departure. (Thank you so much to my sweet friends and family for your generous support!)

~I will get to work directly with my translator Laura from last year. (This is both a praise and a prayer request as she will be finishing up exams right as we get there)

~I will get to see my friends from last year, Miha and Liz!!

~We don't have to endure the 5.5hour bus ride from Bucharest to Iasi after our international travel. Instead, we have a flight!!! A HUGE PRAISE!!!!!!!!!

~The Lord has provided for each of my teammates in raising full support for their trips, and each of us are very excited about getting to know one another while we proclaim the Love of Christ to these kids and this ministry.


More to come!!

.

Words of Wisdom

'God is looking for imperfect men and women who have learned to walk in moment-by-moment dependence on the Holy Spirit; Christians who have come to terms with their own inadequacies, fears, and failures; believers who have become discontent with "surviving" and have taken the time to investigate everything God has to offer in this life.'

~Charles Stanley, Senior Pastor FBC Atlanta,GA


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


'No soul can be really at rest until it has given up all dependence on everything else and has been forced to depend on the Lord alone. As long as our expectation is from other things, nothing but disappointment awaits us.'

~Hannah Whitall Smith, 19th Century Author

.

Happy Memorial Day!

This is my nephew Hunter! I'm so proud of him and look forward to celebrating his graduation from Army boot camp in just a couple of weeks!! He is a young 19 year old man and is a representation of all the young men and women who are eager and willing to serve and fight for this country and our freedom. As you celebrate tomorrow, these words are a wonderful reminder of all we have because of young men like this one, who have served, fought, been injured or died for our freedom. Enjoy this exert from an email I was sent by my dad:

It is the VETERAN,
not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN,
not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN,
not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.


It is the VETERAN,
not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN,
not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN,
not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.



It is the VETERAN who salutes the Flag,

It is the VETERAN who serves under the Flag,




2 Timothy 2:1-13
^"1You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ²And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. ³Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. ⁵Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. ⁷Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, ⁹for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. ¹⁰Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

¹¹Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
¹²if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
¹³if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself."

New Endeavors in ...Dough!

I love pizza. I love whole wheat. So today, in attempt to satisfy my hunger and use up my groceries, I set out to make my own homemade whole wheat pizza dough! At first, I was sad because all of the recipes I found called for yeast. So I sat for a second and thought, hmmm...what if I type in "Homemade whole wheat pizza dough without yeast" into the search engine... and low and behold...I just love modern technology. In an instant, there were multiple recipes at the click of my mouse. I pulled up this one.

NO YEAST PIZZA DOUGH
2 1/2 c. flour 2 3/4 tsp. baking powder (if using baking soda use half and omit salt) 1 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. oil 3/4 to 1 c. water Mix dry ingredients. add 3/4 cup water and oil. Stir until it forms a ball. If dough is stiff, add more water. The dough will be soft, not sticky. Knead on a floured surface for 3-4 minutes. Bake at 400°F for 15-25 minutes. Submitted by: Terry H

And got to work. Sorry no pictures...my hands got a little messy :)

It worked! I liked the texture (texture freak that I am) but it was a little thicker than I was expecting. And not as flavorful. So maybe on my next try, I'll add the baking soda and no salt to see what that does...and maybe add some onion and garlic powder or some basil and oregano to the mix. I might even paint the crust with butter so that it gets nice and golden brown.

Fun!

Procrastination and Prayer....

So the original intent of this blog was to tell you what I'm learning, and to be honest, if I were to share EVERYTHING I've learned lately, I'd have to post like every other day or at least a couple of times a week. And if you know me at all, you know I SHOULD be studying for my recertification Board exam...the exam that determines whether I get to keep my license to practice as a PA....kind of a big deal and all. Wwwweeeelllllllllllllllllllll...... Let's just say that, after 6 years of being out of school, I STINK at studying. I've lost all motivation when it comes to sitting down, in front of a book, and actually reading facts over and over. My mind COMPLETELY wanders. I get that bored kind of hungry that makes me eat dry cereal just to have some ELSE to do. And I start making lists. Lists of all the stuff that floods my mind when I should be concerned about my future CAREER instead.

Needless to say, I should be studying right NOW actually. But instead, I feel compelled to write because I've read something so wonderful, so beautiful, and so convicting, it needs to be shared. It's on prayer and prayer is something everyone needs to grow in. I don't think anyone could say they've perfected their prayer lives. I do know of one sweet lady who is a PRAYER WARRIOR who has even recently prayed for healing and received it. (Maybe I'll blog on that later...I LOVE Ms. Marcy!!)...

So, here are a few thoughts from a man named Arthur Tappan Pierson (1837-1911). I hope this isn't copyrighted because, well, he's no longer with us, so I don't know who I would even ask permission to post this!?!

Anyway, this excerpt is called Continuing in Prayer and is worth the read:

"As assuredly as that which you ask would be for your real good, and therefore for the honor of the Lord; and as assuredly as you ask it solely on the ground of the worthiness of our Lord Jesus, so assuredly you will at last obtain the blessing. The great point is that we ask only for that which would be for the glory of God to give to us, for that, and that alone, can be for our real good. We must secondly ask it in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and expect it only on the grounds of His merits and worthiness. Thirdly, we should believe that God is able and willing to give us what we ask Him for. Fourthly, we should continue in prayer till the blessing is granted without fixing to God a time when, or the circumstances under which, He should give the answer. Patience should be in exercise in connection with our prayer. At the same time, we should look out for and expect an answer. If we pray in this way, we shall not only have answers...but our own souls will be greatly refreshed and invigorated in connection with these answers."

May it be of me, O Lord. May it be.
Night!