Saturday, November 7, 2009

Update about Life in California


Hey everyone!

God is doing so much stuff! I don't even know where to begin! Because it's been so long since I've written, there would be so much to update. But I'll just start rambling on about the more recent stuff, whatever comes to my mind.

First in my mind right now is my mission trip. Everyone in Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry is required to take a mission trip in order to graduate. So everyone has to apply for their top five choices, and then the mission trip leaders hand-select the team they want to take on their trip. Last year, my parents were sorely disappointed, as they did not get ANY of their five choices, in fact, they got the trip they had been Hoping they wouldn't get. So I was somewhat anxious as to whether I would get a trip of my choice. It was kind of one of those things where you KNOW God sees the desires of your heart and He could totally let you go to your preferred place, but you also know that hundreds of people out the 1000+ people here will not get their choice trip. And that could easily be me, as well as any of them.

Well, about a week or ago I talked to a girl who already knew she was going to Siberia, Russia. And her friend had already gotten an email that she'd been accepted to go to Mozambique Iris (Heidi Baker's ministry). Well, Mozambique was one of my highest choices (#2), so my heart kind of sank, knowing I'd obviously not been accepted for that trip. I went home thinking, I hope I won't be disappointed. But if I am, I'll try to still be happy and find God's will in that. So I went home, and basically did my "nightly rounds" in checking my facebook and my email. I found an odd looking email titled "BSSM Recommendation." Hmm. Sounded weird to me, like why would they recommend me and to whom? Well, I was quite the shocked girl when I read the first sentance of the email...!!!!!!!! "Hi Crystal... Congratulations, Im delighted to have you as part of the team to Kenya (Bungoma)!"

Kenya has been in the dreams of my heart since I was in first grade. So although it was the third choice on my application (Thailand was first, Mozambique second), Kenya has always been the first choice of my heart! We will fly to western Kenya first. There we'll partner with the Global Children's Movement and minister in churches, hospitals, businesses, police stations and the streets of the city of Bungoma. Then we will fly to northern Kenya to release God's Kingdom in a multi-ntaional refugee camp and also to the remote and mostly unreached Turkana tribe. The Turkana tribe is one of two tribes in all of Kenya that has not really been touched by western civilization, to my understanding. I can't wait to see what happens when a "despised" people group experiences becoming children of the living God! 

This trip happens to be right over my 19th birthday. March 17-30. And my birthday is the 19th. It's kind of interesting where I've spent my birthdays the last few years. My fifteenth birthday is the last birthday I've had at home in Canada. For my 16th, I was in Argentina. For my 17, I was in Belize. For my 18, in California. And now for my 19th, I'll be in Kenya! Wonder where I'll be next year! hahaha

Talking about mission trips, my parents are going to Israel. And Clarice, who is living with us, got her first choice as well: the Philippines. 

Wow this email is already so long and all I've talked about is mission trips!

We have started outreach time already. I do Sidewalk Sunday School, and it happens every Thursday. What we've done the last two weeks is just walk around knocking door to door, meeting the parents and inviting them to send their kids outside to play and hang out with us. Next week we will begin the real thing, having somewhat of a Sunday School program and teaching them about God and how much God loves them and how important they are. the first time, only a few kids showed up. But that was still fun. We basically just stood/sat around and chatted with them. One of the leaders, Oskar (from Iceland) found out the one of the boys' knee had been hurt in an accident and it had been in pain for a year. So Oskar prayed for the knee, and it got better! The boy began bending it around, surprised that he could kneel on the ground without pain! The boy beside him said that he'd also had some kind of accident, and now he had staples in his ankle and couldn't really run or bend his ankle as a result. At first this boy (Billy) didn't want prayer, but finally agreed. Oskar prayed, and Billy's ankle started crackling! He freaked out. Part of what freaked him out so much was that he could feel the Holy Spirit's presence and he's never felt that before. Well, Billy started bending his ankle around, rotating it. Then he started jumping on it! He exclaimed, "I've been through a haunted house and this is scarier!" People on the street who have no real experience with the true God usually have no idea how to express themselves when they do come in contact with God. Kris (the other boy who got healed) said, "Billy, you should try running on it!" So Billy took off running around the block on the sidewalk! So I would say that was a great first day of outreach. 

I'm learning so much out here. A very big emphasis is God's love and our identity. We have to realize that God made us amazing. He created me amazing, and if I don't be who I am made to be, then I am robbing the world of seeing one side of God that only I can represent! I'm also really experiencing more of the joy that the Holy Spirit gives. Have you ever cried in God's presence, just because the presence of God somehow touches you so deeply? Well, have you ever thought of it that it is also possibly to laugh in the same way? Sometimes the Holy Spirit touches a deep place in my heart that I can't help but begin laughing. And it's a deep laugh that comes from way deep down. It feels so good. The joy of the Lord is my STRENGTH, not a weakness. 

Another very huge thing we're learning here is the power of testimonies. If God does something for a person, and that person retells the story, that releases for the same thing to happen again. In fact one of the meanings of the word testimony in the Bible is "to return, repeat, go about, do again." And remember how much power words have? God spoke and created the universe. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. So the things we declare are filled with power. So imagine this: when you speak a testimony of what God has done in your life, you are declaring a thing that has the power to "repeat" or "do again"!!!!! This has been proven numerous times. For example, Bill Johnson (our senior pastor) once prayed for a child who had club feet (toes curled up and the feet awkwardly curved inward making it very difficult to walk) This was a 3 or 4 year old boy who had never been able to run and play because of her feet. As Bill prayed, her feet became straight! A little girl, the boy's friend, exclaimed, "Run, Timmy Run!!" So Timmy took off running around the inside of the church, for the first time in his life. Imagine the joyful tears of his mother who had only dreamed of how it would be if her child could be normal enough to play games like normal children! I cry each time Bill Johnson tells us this beautiful story. Well anyway, a few months later, Pastor Bill tells this testimony in church. Well, sitting in church is another mother whose 5 year old daughter also has club feet. Knowing the power of testimony, she silently says in her heart, "I receive that testimony for my daughter, may she be healed." After the church service when this mother goes to pick up her daughter from Children's Church, her daughter runs into her arms, her feet completely straight! And then, another few months or so later, Pastor Bill was preaching in church about the power of testimony and he used the example of the girl's feet being healed as a result of this mother claiming the testimony for her own child after hearing about the boy whose feet were healed. This time, another mother was listening to this message being preached via the podcast a few days later. She had an older daughter (I think 10 years old or so). This mother was so encouraged, she thought she would try it on her daughter. So she called her daughter, and as her daughter walked toward her the mother watched her feet slowly straighten! By the time she reach her, the feet were completely straight!

God is so good. He is ALWAYS in a good mood! He loves to bless his children, love his children, heal his children, and surprise his children. If earthly fathers know how to give their children good gifts, how much more will our heavenly Father give us good gifts? He is the same today as he was yesterday, and will be forever! I praise God that I am alive at this time in world history - it's an exciting time to be alive! 

All right, I'll leave it at that for now. Again, I love to hear your feedback to these updates. It's encouraging to read your responses, and I love to stay in contact in a two-way conversation, not just having it one-sided. 

Have a great evening!

.....Heavenly dreams....
           ~Crystal~

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