Mumbai In A Nutshell

I know I said I wouldn't have internet of any kind. But, I lied. When we got to the home we are staying at here in Kathmandu our contact told us we'd have hot water AND internet. We were all so giddy with excitement. So I decided its about time I told you about our India adventures. And then later on I'll update you on some Nepali goodness.

 We arrived in Mumbai India on the morning of November 23rd at 1:30am. We had been flying for over 24 hours and with the time changes we lost the whole day of the 22nd. It was safe to say we were pretty dang tired. After several hours at immigration dealing with a very grouchy man and one of our team members almost not making it into the country, we finally made it through. The second we walked outside I was overwhelmed. It was, at this point, 5 in the morning and the amount of people around made it seem like it was the middle of the afternoon. I turned the corner and a machine gun was being pointed at my face by a man behind some sort of barricade. Thats apparently normal. We then met our contacts and proceeded to go where ever they were taking us. Hopefully to our sleeping quarters for the night. I had never seen driving like I did when I was in Mumbai. So many tiny cars, no traffic signals, no lanes, and tons of horn usage. Every second a car horn or 7 was going off. EVERY second. People were weaving in and out of each other, practically taking off side view mirrors with every pass, and making U-turns where ever the heck they felt like it. One of our contacts laughed at me every time I unknowingly held my breath before each near collision.

Luckily within a few days I got much better at driving in Mumbai and didn't freak out nearly as much. Our schedule was pretty crazy considering we lost our housing and had to stay at a hostel clear on the other side of town. Every day we had to take the train to get to where our ministry would be. And let me tell you about these trains, if you're aren't skilled at charging people, throwing bows, and running onto a moving vehicle, good luck. The trains stop approximately 30 seconds at each station and during that time a hundred people are trying to either push their way off the train or push their way onto the train. Not to mention every cart is full to the max with people hanging outside the side of the train doors. Its a dog eat dog transit world in Mumbai.  Buses are the same way. Once during a train ride home we lost half our group trying to get on. Luckily they were able to just catch the next one. It's an adventure. And depending on my energy level that day it was either fun and exciting, or irritating and draining. But this whole blog has become stories of just transit of Mumbai. I'm going to switch now. Ready? Jesus.

So we did a variety of different things in India including ministering to street kids, teaching at slum schools, praying with Hindu families, fellowshipping with HIV infected families, speaking to small churches around the city, as well as do a prayer walk in Asia's largest red light district, Kamathi Pura, and visit one of Mother Theresas' homes for the disabled. The team we partnered with are doing so many amazing things in that city and I'm so blessed to have been able to witness even the smallest bit of it. Walking around the city they knew nearly every street kid by name. They have been working with the same group of boys for over 4 years. Every Wednesday they take them to a river to bathe and wash their one outfit on their back. Then they gather and worship, give a message, and then take the kids for lunch. Then on Fridays they play a game of cricket, worship, message, and then buy dinner for them all. These boys stole my heart. Going against everything people have told us, me and two other girls went swimming in the river with them complete in our full punjabes and I even forgot to take off my scarf. Being able to see these kids so hardened from the streets actually just be kids was amazing. They splashed, played, and scared us on multiple occasions pretending to be some sort of critter swimming in the water. I made a best friend. His name is Rahul and he's a fiesty 12 year old boy who lives on the streets of Mumbai. He taught me a few Hindi words and we made up a handshake. I don't know if he'll remember me a year from now, but I will never forget him. Something about him made my heart break. Cricket again was an amazing experience. Still not sure if I understand the game even a little bit, but it was fun nonetheless.

 I fell in love with so many kids, I think they might have stolen my heart. Seeing the long term workers dedication to their ministries has given me a whole new outlook on the way I love Jesus. Visiting with children and people of all ages at Mother Theresa's home broke my heart and warmed it all at the same time. Ahh, I have so many stories to tell but the electricity is about to go out here in Nepal for the second time today and frankly, my fingers are too cold to keep typing.

I'll try to post again soon. But our team is leaving for a jungle village the day after tomorrow to spend Christmas with 450 orphans. :) That'll make for some crazy stories in itself. Merry Christmas everyone! Show Jesus some love by loving on others!!

India and Nepal, Here We Come

Wow. I suck at this. My life has been nonstop for weeks. My apologies. Let me attempt to update shortly.

The Tour:
November 5th-11th.
It. Was. Awesome.
I can't even begin to explain how freakin blessed we were that whole trip. The churches we stayed at were phenomenal, we got our faces stuffed with food, some of us got to go surfing, and a pastor we ran into purchased all of our Starbucks drinks. I've also decided Pismo beach is the best place ever. That is all.

The week we've been back has been nuts. Last minute shopping, finances, planning. We also had Thanksgiving dinner with most of the base on Thursday this week since we'll all be gone on the actual day. It was so awesome to spend that time with the amazing family I've been given here. This weekend YWAM LV hosted a workshop with NotForSale which was pretty dang awesome. PS If you, like 90% of the world, own a iPhone or Android download this app. Do it! If not, well join the resistance. Currently its a team of me and I think just one Chicoan friend.

Now for, if you've ever attended a Younglife campaigners, a Jesus sighting. Well, more like a Jesus smack in the face.
Friday at 3pm was the deadline for our finances. That morning my team needed a total of around $7,000 otherwise some of us wouldnt be able to go. (I owed roughly around $800 at this time) After tons of prayer and fasting and a little bit of freaking out we received a huge anonymous donation that covered ALL our costs. So praise Jesus, we're all offically going to India and Nepal on Monday!!! Two days of flying here we come.

I don't think I will have access to a computer the majority of the time I'm gone, so this is the last blog for a few months. I'll just have to keep a really good journal so I can let you all know the awesome stuff Jesus does there that I will be so honored to witness. I love you all and will miss you tons. Welp, see ya later.

Pre-tour

Written on November 5th with no access to a computer or internet:

I'm writing this right now, get this, on paper. I know, stone age right? Well, I'm sitting in a giant white 15 passenger van caravaning somewhere on the Ca 99. I think we just passed the beautiful Kern, California. Fresno here we come. Week 14 of the DTS is going to be spent on the road, in churches, and at colleges in Central and Southern California. By the time I'm able to post this it will be past tense, but I'm over it if you are. We are going all these places raising awareness about human trafficking, talking about YWAM and DTS. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. Public speaking and I have a love hate relationship. Without warning I will sometimes feel like I'm going to puke everywhere the moment I start speaking. Everyone on the school is either going to speak on human trafficking, their DTS testimony, or their personal testimony. I'm speaking at a church in Fresno Sunday night about my DTS experience and what God has been doing in my life in Vegas. I'm also speaking at a church in Irvine as well on Thursday giving my personal testimony. I just hope I don't trip walking on stage.

We leave in 16 days from today(9 days now) Everyone is getting antsy. It almost feels like I have high school senioritis all over again. We just want to go and experience the next step of our lives. The Monday we get back from tour we have to get shots. Can't say I'm very stoked for that.

I don't think I realized how much I missed hills, grass, and trees. 3 months of the desert almost made me forget what all that was like. We get to go to the beach in a few days. Pumped! We have like 5 more hours of driving before our first stop in Fresno. And I forgot to charge my iPod...

He hasn't forgotten His children

In just 25 days I will be on the other side of the planet. Woah. For the first time I'm not going to be home for the holiday season. And in some ways that makes me quite sad, but then I remember what I'm doing and more importantly WHY I'm doing it. I do like to try to think I'm ready for all God is going to show me there in Asia; that all I have left to learn will come in these last few weeks here in Las Vegas-that I've seen it all. But if I'm being completely honest, I'm not. Not in the slightest bit. I don't know what to expect at all. God will be teaching me until the day I die. And when I see the multitudes of children being treated like dirt in India and the countless women stuck in a life of prostitution and all around me are people feeling like there is no way out, I'm going to break. I'm going to cry and it's going to hurt. But if I've learned anything at all it's that God is so much stinkin bigger than all of that. No matter how hopeless I begin to feel, God will be with us and He knows what He's doing. He LOVES these people more than I ever could, and He will not forsake them. 

Be Still

And know that I am God -Psalms 46:10. This verse described my weekend perfectly. I made it my goal to do as little as humanly possible. This past week here in Vegas has been AMAZING weather. 70’s and sunny. Of course that didn’t last too long, we’re back up to 90’s tomorrow. But that’s not the point; I’ll continue my story now. A few of us decided to sit in the grass at the park across the street from the base and just chill. I read, listened to my iPod, and people watched like it was my job. Before I knew it I was praising God for the sun, the cool breeze, the grass, the park, the little kids, the puppies running around, the homeless people taking naps, and pretty much everything I could think of. After a while, I lay down and just existed in contentment. I really couldn’t remember the last time I enjoyed doing that so much. Back home I didn’t lay down unless it was midnight and I knew I had to get sleep before work at 5am. Resting was a foreign concept, there was too much to do, too many people to have coffee with and not enough time in my day. How many of us fall into this cycle of day to day life? I know I do. And how many times did I end up flaking on someone because I overcommitted myself that day? Too many to count. And God was the one who I flaked on most of those days. Over packing our schedules doesn’t help our relationships; it hurts them. No one likes being flaked on. I don’t want to fall into that anymore. These passed 2 ½ months have definitely taught me that I’m not as special as I think; I don’t HAVE to do everything TODAY. The world will not end. God wants time with us so bad, He longs for it. Do we give Him that time? Or are we too busy making sure we see everyone else in town first? I know it will be a process to snap myself out of this habit, but I so want that time with God too.

Moving on..

Sitting in the park on Saturday led to a great conversation with a man named Mark. Mark came up to me and Abbey (at this time we were the only two left at the park) and just simply said in his Spanish accent, “Christians?” We looked at each other confused for a second and said, yes. He sat down and said “Can we talk about salvation?” What was happening? Divine appointments are so cool! Anyway, our conversation lasted over an hour. We told him what we are doing here in Vegas and where we will be headed in just a matter of weeks. He was very encouraging and then he went on to tell us how he came to find the Lord, why he moved to Las Vegas from Mexico City, how he overcame a gambling addiction, his kids and their lives, pretty much everything. He also told us how he feels that God seems to be calling him back to Mexico to preach when his last son graduates high school. He wants to wake up Mexican culture from their Catholic ways that are “full of rules and punishments and no love.” In Mexico a lot of the Catholic religion is just tradition, what they’ve always done. Many don’t actually have a relationship with Jesus. So this excited me. Mark is so very passionate about this; I can tell God is working on preparing him for something awesome. He and some guys play soccer at the park every Saturday. He wants to introduce us to his kids. So next Saturday we’re going to hang out with some new friends. :)

My Many Thoughts

I need to start posting more often, maybe then I can get my thoughts straight..maybe.

Mind blown! That has become my sentence these last few weeks. Everything God is teaching me, everything my eyes are being opened to leads to me exclaiming in a rather loud voice “Mind blown!” And most of it is stuff I’ve always heard that is just now registering in my stubborn self. Morgan Perry spoke two weeks ago about what it means to love God and love others; in that order. We also got to watch her teams’ documentary, Sex & Money, about minor sex trafficking in the United States. She and her team are traveling to all 50 states doing two screenings of this film in each state. The screenings are accompanied by a panel of experts, law officials, and previously trafficked victims who answer questions at the end of the film. The film ends with a very tangible way for people to get involved and do something to help. The Sex & Money Film team has recognized their talents God has given them in film, journalism, public speaking, etc. and used those talents to make this awesome documentary and share it with the people of the United States. In doing this they have started so many fires already under people all across the country. Movements are starting. And it’s dang cool.

Morgan being here that week really got me thinking, about a lot. Not everyone is skilled in those areas-yeah, and not everyone has been called to anti-human trafficking (heck, I’m still not even sure if it is my calling) but we all need to recognize God has given us each special gifts and we need to use those for what matters. Everyone is passionate about something, but so many people go their whole lives without doing anything with that passion. God gave us talents, desires, and a voice for a reason; how beautiful of a world it would be if people realized they CAN do something with all that. America is so set in their ways of living the “American Dream.” We all know the American dream: a college degree in something like business, an office job that you actually hate (but hey, it pays good), the white picket fence, and 2.5 children. Don't get me wrong, not all that stuff is bad, its pretty great actually. But who says this is the American dream? I know when I was growing up I never dreamed about that. Did you? If you did, well, I guess the American dream is for you. Kudos to you for being average. But ask a kid what he/she wants to be when they grow up, listen to their answer. What happened to “you can be anything you want to be.” Is that only something we tell kids until their 13? Then the hoping and dreaming is done and we say “welcome to reality kid, start saving up for your retirement fund?” We forget about the second part of that saying “you can be anything you want to be if you try.” We’ve stopped trying. We find it’s easy to live an average life, why would we strive for anything else? That’s not safe, why would I risk my comfort? We need to wake up from this sleep we’ve been in as a Western culture and start hoping again, start dreaming big. Besides, what good is all that money you make from that job you hate so much when you die? Nothing if you haven’t spent it on the right things. You can’t take that stuff with you. People have tried. Why do you think people have mid-life crises? Because we’re not meant to live a life of comfort, of extreme routine, of boredom. Do something! Get involved. Jesus said He came to “give us life and life to the full.” Are you living that full life? Or are you following the narrow path of what we have been taught is a successful life and not finding satisfaction in that? God has so much more for us than this, just ask Him. I’m sure He’d be happy to give you some direction, remind you of those dreams you suppressed when the world told you it wasn’t practical. Now, the question is, are you willing to follow those directions?

I tend to rant a lot. My bad.

Other stuff I’m doing:
The Shade Tree: The excitement they have when we show up is so amazing. I look forward to their stories, to their smiles. Each week different women make it known that they tell us how happy they are we show up every Thursday. These women are just like you and me, they’ve just taken a wrong turn and don’t exactly know how to fix that. Hopefully by the end of our time here they’ll understand that God has the answer to their questions.

The past two Fridays we’ve gone to the Strip. The people I meet capture my heart every single time. It truly is amazing what happens when we take the time to care to listen to people. Last night we did something a bit different than we normally do. We stood on the sidewalk and played guitar, worshipped, and then some of us gave our testimonies and others told about God’s love. Now I can’t count how many times I’ve seen people on the corner of streets preaching “Repent or you’re going to burn in Hell.” I didn’t want to be that guy. I didn’t want to scare people into believing in God. So naturally, I was dreading this-absolutely dreading it. And of course, I was the first to give my testimony. I was so nervous, but God was totally there. I know I wasn’t being that guy because I spoke about how there is a God who loves me and how that changed my life. And surprisingly, people listened and people responded. Great conversations were birthed out of each person’s story. I only know of one person who gave their life to Christ right there last night, and God is throwing a party for that man as big as it would have been if it were 300 people. And I’ll never know how many seeds were planted in hearts last night. That’s for God to know. It was also raining on us during this so I’m amazed that as many people stood around and listened that did.

Funds for outreach to India and Nepal are coming due pretty soon. Half of the $3,500 is due October 14th so we can purchase plane tickets and visas and get the ball rolling. The whole $3,500 is due November 14th. If you would like to support me, let me tell you, you’re dang awesome. Really, no amount is too small, or too large. You can go to PayPal and send it using my email address: ariellegomora@yahoo.com or you can send a check made out to YWAM to this address:

YWAM
C/O Arielle Gomora
P.O. Box 36606
Las Vegas, NV
89133

PS Check these guys out. Super Rad.

So Much Going On..

Seriously, good luck. So much is going on in this blog, I apologize in advanced.

I have a problem. Half filled journals are taking over my life. Why do I start new ones before previous ones are finished? I really don’t know. One day I’ll finish one. Maybe.

I honestly don’t know how to go about explaining to you what has happened the last two weeks; but I’ll give it my best shot.

Brenda Lewis came and taught on the topic of Identity. She may just be the sweetest lady I have ever met in my whole life. After this week I think if anyone were to ask me what I want to be when I grow up I’d say Brenda. But apart from her being extremely rad she had a ton of great stuff to say. We spent the week digging out our dreams and desires for our lives. At first I felt really uncomfortable about this because I didn’t know what my dreams were. I, like many, had been taught dreams are just dreams and they have no place in the “real” world. But this week we learned that dreams are there for a reason.God uses our dreams and desires to do great things through us. We just have to be willing to follow those dreams with God in the lead. After we all loosened up a little it was like being in a room full of little kids. We started sharing our dreams and how that would look to further Gods kingdom. Eyes began to light up and smiles were contagious, we were dreaming again. Some became full time missionaries in a certain country, others traveled the continents, some had beautiful little families, others adopted slum kids, some wrote books, made documentaries; the list went on and on.

On ministry night we listened to an old sermon by Paris Riedhead. Paris spoke on how humanism has taken over our thoughts and actions. We do things for people and not God. Even when we go out and help people/do mission work we are helping them to relieve them from suffering. And by no means is that bad, it’s great; but we’ve lost the point of it all. We must serve God, not people. God deserves our service, He deserves our love, He deserves us, He deserves those broken people. God doesn’t fit in any box we as humans try to put him in, He’s so much bigger. Paris also talked about the lines we draw in the sand for God. “God, I will serve you and love you as long as you keep my family safe. Once you’ve crossed that line, I’m done.” Of course anything could go in that space but we draw these lines without even realizing it at times. God paid the ultimate price for us, why don’t we give Him everything He deserves? We all became so convicted by the end of his sermon. I was amazed by how humanistic my heart had become and how many lines I had in the sand without me being aware of it all. We sat around in a circle and repented for not doing what we do for the right reasons and sang songs of worship for our great God, simply because He DESERVES it.

Last week Phil Gazley came back and spoke about the Holy Spirit. So many notes, so much information. But that I’ll have to keep to myself.

I’m excited for this coming weeks’ speaker. Morgan Perry was a part of the making of Sex & Money. I’m so excited to pick her brain and find out everything she knows and listen to the stories she has.

We continue to go to The Shade Tree every week and build relationships with the women there. We also continue to street evangelize every Friday night. Every person I meet has a different story; a beautiful, heartbreaking story.

We're in the process of planning for our trips to India/Nepal and Thailand. There is a ton of information about all that, but I'll save that for another blog. I'm still in need of $3,000. If you'd like to send me support you can send a check made out to YWAM to:
YWAM
C/O Arielle Gomora
P.O. Box 36606
Las Vegas, NV
89133

or go to PayPal and send it online to my email address. ariellegomora@yahoo.com

Home Is Where You Are

Now I know I should have done this a good month and a half ago, but I never really got around to it. So here it is now. This is where I live. Its desert if I've ever seen it.

Inside( Keep in mind this building used to be a drug rehab center..):

My room

Creepy hallway.

Part of the dining hall/hang out room

Still the dining hall/hang out room

Stage in the dining hall/hang out room.

The conference room where classes are held.

I didn't get any pictures of the lounge or the prayer room so I'll do my best to describe them both. The lounge is where we hang out, go on the two ancient dinosaur-aged computers, read, watch endless episodes of The Office, and have mini dance parties. It looks like a living room. The prayer room is a small little rectangular room with pillows, drawings, a world map, and music. Very simple, but so cozy. It might be my favorite room in the whole house.

This is my home for at least a few more months, and I'm growing to love it more and more every day. :)

God Is Doin' a New Thing

As of Tuesday, the teams are split and we’re headed towards preparations! I will be going to India and Nepal around Thanksgiving time with five other students and a few staff members. The picking of the teams was completely God led. We all prayed about where we felt God was telling us to go and the teams split even down the middle. It was a bittersweet feeling seeing the names written down knowing our new family will have to split up in just a few short months.

Everyone was squeaking with joy because we finally knew! And when our leaders began to tell us details about the trip we were like little kids on Christmas. As of right now I know my team will be flying into Mumbai and staying in the city for 2 weeks working with girls in the red light districts there. After our stay there we will be flying to Katmandu, Nepal. We will be in the city for an amount of time (no idea how long) but most of our time will be spent in remote villages. What I didn’t expect was that there will be snow. Funny since my last post was about how big of a baby I am with weather changes. Should be fun without heat and electricity. But honestly, despite the frigid weather, I’m so unbelievably excited for this opportunity. Some staff goes to the outreach locations to establish communication with the people we will be working alongside with. When one of the staff members was setting up these communications he came across villages without a single child under the age of 12 because they had all been trafficked. A sickening thought. God is needed so bad in these areas and I’m so excited and honored that God is using me to be a part of the expansion of His kingdom.

This week has been a very difficult week simply because of the topic of the teachings. Jerry Praetzel was here and he spoke on Forgiveness and Repentance. Talk about uncomfortable. But again, God never called us to be comfortable. Those just might be two of the hardest actions ever. For me at least. But God tore down walls, opened hearts, and His glory was shown through it all. Praise God! My heart was turned inside out and deep stuff poured everywhere. Not exactly a pretty sight. But stuff I didn't even know existed, or my memory had completely suppressed. I was able to see things I didn’t even know affected me because I was so blinded by hate and bitterness. I am so proud of my brothers and sisters in Christ here as well. Their hearts are striving for God, so bad. And it’s so apparent when I see Him working in each and every one of them. I was asked last night what I was going to do for my birthday. And knowing the topics we were on I shrugged my shoulders and joked “You know, probably a little repenting and such.” That got a giggle or two but I really did. And God has released me from all that was keeping me from Him. I just pray that He continues to do so. I just want to be closer to Him.

Tonight is an outreach night and we will be going to The Shade Tree, a women’s shelter. http://www.theshadetree.org/ I look forward to this every week, but this week especially because I feel like Papa has done so much in me this week that His love is just going to explode out of me and into the hearts of these women who have been hurt so bad. But needless to say I am ready for the weekend and a little rest after all this.

Prayer Requests:
Finances.
Two of our staff (Joshua and Stacy Stateham) just found out they’re having a baby! So pray for health and calmed hearts for all of them (baby included). :)

It is illegal to wash your car in the city of Las Vegas

That's a fun fact someone informed me about while doing our daily chores the other day. I've never lived in the desert. So I never even gave it a second thought until I came to the desert and water became gold. I grew up running through sprinklers in the front lawn and washing your car became hours of water fights. Here there aren't even lawns. So this living in the desert thing, its a first. And I'll be honest; I don't know how big a fan I am of the ridiculous amount of heat. But I'm also listening to other students and staff talk about coming from weather that gets in the negatives, or humidity that leaves you constantly damp and that doesn't really sound too appealing either. I think it's safe to say I'm a spoiled Californian when it comes to weather.

I'm not afraid to admit it either..I still like running through sprinklers.

Now enough about the weather; lets talk Jesus. This past week our topic was "The Father Heart of God." We learned just how deep the Fathers heart is for each one of His children here and all throughout the nations. It was an emotional week to say the least. For many this was the first time they've ever really grasped the love of God. And even for others having heard it all their lives, it's still overwhelming to know that the God of the universe could love us THAT much despite all the junk in our lives. Hurts and wounds are beginning to heal, names of unlovable, rejected, worthless, failure, etc are being replaced with words of truth; loved, accepted, worthy, child of God. All because His love is deeper, higher, longer, and wider than our human flesh could ever comprehend.

When I arrived here I really didn't know how much the beginning would be focused on our own personal relationship with God. I was so caught up in doing rather than just being. I wanted to help people. Not that there is anything wrong with that either. But before we can pour our love on others we must first be filled ourselves. This week has left me overflowing. The weekend has been relaxing, bring on the next week.

In a few days we will be making the decision for our outreach this coming November. Either India/Nepal or Thailand I will go. Please be praying God's will be done here.

Other prayer requests:
Finances-$3,500 outreach phase.
Energy-vigorous schedules can leave me feeling drained.
Opportunity-please pray God opens my eyes to every opportunity to show His love this week.

A Two-Faced City

Come to Vegas as a tourist and all you'll see is the lights, the glamor, the endless nights of living for the moment. People come here from all over the world to escape real life for a short moment and get lost in the excitement of it all. And for a lot of them, thats exactly what happens. They come, have a good time, and leave. But for many, they don't get to leave. They're stuck in a lifestyle that looks so good from the outside, but leads them to extreme brokenness.

From the outside, Vegas really is glamorous, beautiful, easy. But take a second to open your eyes beyond the lights and you'll see a whole different world of hurting people all in search of love and self-worth in all the wrong places.

Just last night we all went to the strip for the first time at night. The lights really were beautiful, for a moment. Our objective was to go to the strip and talk to people, talk to people about our wonderful God that loves them so much. And to be honest, I was terrified when I heard this was what we were going to be doing. When I hear "Street Evangelism" I picture a group of people awkwardly walking up to strangers and shoving the bible down their throats. I never believed in this. I didn't understand. I was filled with so much fear. What kind of fear exactly? Fear of being judged. It turns out most of my team felt the same way. The closer the time got to leaving, the sicker my stomach felt. Right before we left we had a meeting. After that meeting, my fears subsided. We were told to clear our minds of everything we thought was street evangelism and focus on Gods truth in our lives. Seems simple enough. I am a child of God, He loves me and He died for me. He pulled me out of the darkness and brought me to the light. We were told to be ourselves and just make conversation.

When we arrived I felt pretty confident I could at least do that. We split into groups of two or three and began our search for conversation. Soon after, I felt the fears creeping back up inside my stomach. Could I really just casually talk to someone I didn't know about God? Turns out, I could, and I did. We began praying for some direction, who did God want us to talk to? God lead us to a woman leaning against the same wall as us. I began asking questions about her life. By the look in eyes I could tell not many people have bothered to ask any sort of questions like that. Turns out her name is Sharon. She may have been mentally unstable or on some sort of drug, but aside from that here is what we learned about this woman. She was from Pennsylvania. She was adopted. She was abused, a lot. She moved to Las Vegas two and a half years ago to find a new life. She used to work on computers, her passion. But she found it too hard to keep a job so she decided to pursue a different career. Modeling. She's had no luck in that area. She used to believe in God but felt like God abandoned her, just like the rest of them. We talked for a long time, sharing stories. She's been hurt in so many ways. We had a time schedule and needed to be back at the vans soon. She wouldn't let us pray for her, but as we said goodbye you could tell in her eyes and smile she enjoyed the company. We told her we'd see her again soon and returned to the vans.

Even though she wouldnt let us pray WITH her, we sure could pray FOR her. And we did. Her beautiful smile hasn't left my sight since. If only she knew how much God loves her, how much He is hurting for her. I really hope we see her again, I believe we will. And until then, I'll continue praying. I know God is not finished with Sharon. Not even close.

Orientation Week

This week was orientation week. And boy, has it been a busy week. We went through the rules and curriculum for these next six months, learned quite a bit about just how big the issue of human trafficking really is, and worshiped our God together as a family. We spent abnormal amount of time in the classroom getting all of the information in. Thankfully, I was informed its not that intense every week. I am amazed by how close we've grown so quickly. There are people at this base from everywhere in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, and Uganda. We shared testimonies the past few days. Hearing the stories of how God has worked peoples lives leaves me speechless. Every single time.

I am completely blown away by the beauty of God. I have only been here for 6 days and already I have seen God work so much in my life and the lives of my new family here. I am amazed by the power of prayer. Last night, during a worship session, I was brought to my hands and knees praising the one who saved me. I have never felt such love. I am so excited to see how God works these next 6 months. In my life, the lives of the other students, and the lives of the people we come in contact with. We will be starting our local outreaches next week, which I could not be more stoked for.

Some of you have been asking where I am staying and what its like. So, let me do my best to explain. We live in a neighborhood about 20 minutes from the Strip. The base is a building that was a former drug rehabilitation center...Or at least that's what I've heard. Its in the shape of a U. On one end is the girls dorms, then in the middle is the lounge, kitchen, and dining hall, and the other end is the classrooms and boys dorms. I have 4 roommates. Bunk beds. Of course. One day it'll happen. One day I'll have a normal bed...maybe.

Today we went to the Strip after breakfast. We split up into groups and played around the city. We made fools of ourselves and climbed on anything that looked at all climbable(I'm sure you'll see pictures soon). After playing in the city we took our bagged lunches and headed up to the mountains. Just about 40 minutes away from the busy city life is Mt. Charleston, a beautiful and lush mountain that looked a lot like the Sierra Nevadas back home. We hiked up to a waterfall and climbed some more. It was so incredibly breathtaking. For a moment I forgot I was in Las Vegas.

Now we are back, just had an awesome dinner, and we have the weekend off from classes. More than anything right now, I'm excited to sleep. Don't know how much of that I'll be doing though with all the Mafia and telephone pictionary we play.

Prayer requests: I have to begin praying about where God wants to send me on Outreach in November. My choice are Thailand and India/Nepal. Just be praying that God makes his plan very clear soon. Also, support to come in for my outreach. And pray for energy. I don't want to run myself dry the first few weeks. Thank you all so much. I'll try to post at least one blog a week so you all know what is going on over here in good ol' Vegas.

Day 1-Arriving

So, I'm here. God does crazy things, and this is definitely one of them. Leaving 6 weeks earlier than expected for a completely different location than what I had originally planned. When am I going to learn? I just need to stop planning all together.

If you know me at all you'd know I'm the biggest procrastinator ever. EVER. So packing two days in advanced was a huge step for me. I was proud of myself for that. But I lost any points I gained from that this afternoon when I showed up to the airport only 30 minutes before my flight instead of the suggested full hour. I thought it was just a suggestion? I get inside the airport, see the Southwest line. Oh shoot. I've never seen the airport so busy. Naturally, I begin to panic a little. I get to the front of the check in line to check my bags in. I'm 20 minutes to my flight now. My bag is 49.6lbs. Keep in mind the weight limit is 50lbs. I breathe a little sigh of relief. Until she puts a bright green tag on my bag that says "LATE." She goes on to tell me my bag might not make my flight. Stress. I continue onto the security line and this line is even longer than the first. 17 minutes to take off. Then a song we sang at church this morning popped in my head. "Our God" by Chris Tomlin. And I began to pray. And pray some more. I prayed nonstop the whole time I was in line. Let me tell you, God is so much greater than anything we see as an obstacle. I have never seen airport security move so dang fast. I was through the line in 10 minutes. As soon as I got to my gate my section was boarding. Perfect timing. God's timing is always perfect timing.

I'm happy to say I am here and so are my bags. Safe and sound, just a little hot. Once again Papa proves He is in control.

Here is the address at the base in case you want to be lovely and send me stuff:
522 West Washington Ave
Las Vegas, Nevada
89106