In just 9 short days I will be leaving for Thailand! I fly out of Chicago on Thursday, the 20th. While I have been waiting for this day for over 3 years now, it still seems almost unreal that it is really happening! But, it is!
I am filled with excitement as I think about what God will do in these next 2 years - how He will use me to show the people of Thailand His love, how He will strengthen all of my relationships, and how He will continue to mold me & shape me & guide me on this journey. It's so awesome to think that God has planned this season of my life since before time began and that I am about to live it out!
As excited as I am, I do have some anxiety. I'm not anxious about living & serving in Thailand - I know that God has called me to do this work & that He will be with me every moment of every day. The only thing I'm anxious about is saying all of my "good-bye"s. It will be hard saying good-bye to my family & friends not knowing when I will see them again. But, even in that, I know that God will be with me. And He will be with them.
Thank you all for your continued support & prayers. I greatly appreciate you all!
Stay tuned for updates from Thailand :)
Serving Him,
Alicia
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
A Walk to Remember...
Last night, everyone was busy, so I took advantage of an evening alone to spend some time at Funks Grove...just me and God. It still amazes me at how just the right moment, when you need it the most, God reveals Himself, reminding you of who He is & whose you are!
My first reminder...
...a reminder of why I was there...
...the beautiful view I had the privilege of experiencing...
...as I was thinking "This night can only be more perfect if I see a deer", there He is...
...and the conclusion to my night - a real life place of the "perfect" spot I just last week set as my desktop to remind me to "Be still, & know that I am God."
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Time for a LONG Overdue Update...
SO sorry for the huge delay in updates! This summer flew by! I'll try to update you on all the "highlights" of my summer without making this a novel :)
JUNE
I started baby-sitting my littlest sister, Cassie, three days a week when she got out of school at the beginning of June. We had a lot of fun this summer! The majority of our summer activities consisted of playing, going to the park, watching movies, painting our nails, & just enjoying LOTS of Sister time! The day before she went back to school, we had one last "Sister Day." I kept the whole day a surprise for her, so she was really excited to see what we would be doing. We spent the whole day in Peoria. Our first stop was the zoo, followed by lunch at Joe's Crab Shack, then painting pottery at Fired Up, finished with a stop for ice cream at Emack & Bolio's! It was a long, fun day! We had a lot of fun this summer! I can't believe she's already in 1st grade!
The second week of June, I spent in Louisville, KY attending a class called Kairos. It is a missions overview class that covers the biblical perspective of missions, the history of missions, and the strategy of missions. I learned SO much during this week-long class! I really liked the style the class was taught because it really made me not only think about what I was learning, but also think about what it means to me & how I'm going to apply what I learned. It was a challenging week, but so worth it!
JULY
The third week in July, I went as a chaperone on a mission trip with my church's youth group to Joplin, MO to help with the aftermath from the tornado. We worked at Misti's Mission during the week sorting through donations that Misti had received since the tornado. Her story is really amazing! She started right after the tornado washing people's clothes for them. Within a few days, she had 2 semi-trailers full of donations that people had brought to her. By the time we were there, she had 2 circus tents, 5 carports, 5 semi-trailers, & A LOT of overflow pallets full of donations. She is now becoming a national distributor for disaster relief. (Check out her website for more of her story!) I think the kids really learned a lot this week about service & why we are to serve others!
AUGUST
August started with ACMI's Annual Retreat & Board Meetings. It was a nice break to be able to relax & catch my breath a little while discussing how my preparation for Thailand is going & just spending time with other ACMI missionaries & board of trustees. It's so amazing to see & hear how God is working in all of these ministries & lives!
The day after the Retreat, I left for Fairfield, IL. I was asked to be the missionary for the VBS at First Christian Church. It was such a fun week! There were around 140 kids that came to VBS! I spoke each night to the whole group during the main session about how I got started in mission work, how I got involved in Thailand & about the country itself, what I'll be doing in Thailand, & finished off the week challenging the kids to be involved in missions in whatever way God calls them to be.
This summer has been fun, exhausting, challenging, BUSY, & a big time of growth for me! (I forgot to mention I also took a college class on Foundations of Bible Study at LCU - such a great class!) The one lesson that I've learned over and over and over again is that I can't let myself get distracted & caught up in the busy-ness of each day that I lose sight of the overall picture & goal that I'm striving for. I let the little tasks of each day add up & take priority over what I really need to be doing to get to Thailand. This is something that has been extremely hard for me to admit & makes me feel like I've wasted these past few months. I did learn a lot & experience a lot, but I feel like I'm not where I should be on this journey. That doesn't give me an excuse to give up (don't worry I WILL NOT do that), it just means I have to work that much harder to get where I need to be!
From here on out, my main focus is on getting to where I need to be - both in my relationship with God & in partnership development for my ministry in Thailand. I have seen over and over again these past few months just how faithful God is, even when I am not. One area I have seen this in is my partnership development. In just the past few weeks as I strived to keep the busy-ness & fear from getting in the way & focused on this, my monthly support went from 37% to 57%! God is SO good! May He get all the glory!
So, this is where I'm at - continuing to work on developing partnerships & sharing with anyone & everyone the ministry God has called me to & how He is working in my life. I can't thank you all enough for your continued prayers & support! I'm feeling them :)
Serving Him,
Alicia
JUNE
I started baby-sitting my littlest sister, Cassie, three days a week when she got out of school at the beginning of June. We had a lot of fun this summer! The majority of our summer activities consisted of playing, going to the park, watching movies, painting our nails, & just enjoying LOTS of Sister time! The day before she went back to school, we had one last "Sister Day." I kept the whole day a surprise for her, so she was really excited to see what we would be doing. We spent the whole day in Peoria. Our first stop was the zoo, followed by lunch at Joe's Crab Shack, then painting pottery at Fired Up, finished with a stop for ice cream at Emack & Bolio's! It was a long, fun day! We had a lot of fun this summer! I can't believe she's already in 1st grade!
The second week of June, I spent in Louisville, KY attending a class called Kairos. It is a missions overview class that covers the biblical perspective of missions, the history of missions, and the strategy of missions. I learned SO much during this week-long class! I really liked the style the class was taught because it really made me not only think about what I was learning, but also think about what it means to me & how I'm going to apply what I learned. It was a challenging week, but so worth it!
JULY
The third week in July, I went as a chaperone on a mission trip with my church's youth group to Joplin, MO to help with the aftermath from the tornado. We worked at Misti's Mission during the week sorting through donations that Misti had received since the tornado. Her story is really amazing! She started right after the tornado washing people's clothes for them. Within a few days, she had 2 semi-trailers full of donations that people had brought to her. By the time we were there, she had 2 circus tents, 5 carports, 5 semi-trailers, & A LOT of overflow pallets full of donations. She is now becoming a national distributor for disaster relief. (Check out her website for more of her story!) I think the kids really learned a lot this week about service & why we are to serve others!
AUGUST
August started with ACMI's Annual Retreat & Board Meetings. It was a nice break to be able to relax & catch my breath a little while discussing how my preparation for Thailand is going & just spending time with other ACMI missionaries & board of trustees. It's so amazing to see & hear how God is working in all of these ministries & lives!
The day after the Retreat, I left for Fairfield, IL. I was asked to be the missionary for the VBS at First Christian Church. It was such a fun week! There were around 140 kids that came to VBS! I spoke each night to the whole group during the main session about how I got started in mission work, how I got involved in Thailand & about the country itself, what I'll be doing in Thailand, & finished off the week challenging the kids to be involved in missions in whatever way God calls them to be.
This summer has been fun, exhausting, challenging, BUSY, & a big time of growth for me! (I forgot to mention I also took a college class on Foundations of Bible Study at LCU - such a great class!) The one lesson that I've learned over and over and over again is that I can't let myself get distracted & caught up in the busy-ness of each day that I lose sight of the overall picture & goal that I'm striving for. I let the little tasks of each day add up & take priority over what I really need to be doing to get to Thailand. This is something that has been extremely hard for me to admit & makes me feel like I've wasted these past few months. I did learn a lot & experience a lot, but I feel like I'm not where I should be on this journey. That doesn't give me an excuse to give up (don't worry I WILL NOT do that), it just means I have to work that much harder to get where I need to be!
From here on out, my main focus is on getting to where I need to be - both in my relationship with God & in partnership development for my ministry in Thailand. I have seen over and over again these past few months just how faithful God is, even when I am not. One area I have seen this in is my partnership development. In just the past few weeks as I strived to keep the busy-ness & fear from getting in the way & focused on this, my monthly support went from 37% to 57%! God is SO good! May He get all the glory!
So, this is where I'm at - continuing to work on developing partnerships & sharing with anyone & everyone the ministry God has called me to & how He is working in my life. I can't thank you all enough for your continued prayers & support! I'm feeling them :)
Serving Him,
Alicia
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Not a Coincidence...
"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will..."Ephesians 1:11
Since I have been on this journey of discovering God's will for me & what He wants me to do with my life, this has become more & more apparent to me - that events do not happen out of coincidence, but because God has a plan for each & every person. These "coincidental" events are God's plan playing out in everyday life.
This past week, I was in Indianapolis at a training class on Community Health Evangelism (CHE). (Sidenote - CHE is a wholistic ministry strategy that integrates spiritual ministry & physical ministry. This strategy will pretty much be the basis for my ministry in Thailand, but that's not what I want to explain to you today.) I want to give you a glimpse of how I have seen God's plan working out in my life these past few months.
Last summer, my Mom & I had decided that we were going to go to the National Missionary Convention in Lexington, KY in November. As time slipped away, we both forgot about it until a few weeks before & hadn't registered yet. Because her work schedule was so busy, my Mom couldn't go with me. I decided I was still going - by myself. Normally, this isn't something I would do (and I think it worried my Mom a little) that I would be driving 6 hours & staying in a hotel by myself for 5 days, but I am SO glad I did! This is when I first heard of CHE. I sat in on a workshop discussing the CHE strategy & all I could think was, "This puts together everything that I want to do in Thailand!" I was so excited when I left the workshop that I practically ran back to ACMI's booth to share with them what I had just learned! I found a schedule on the upcoming classes being offered & saw there would be a class in Indianapolis in May. I knew I was supposed to be in this class & decided then that I would attend.
Jump ahead a few months to February when I was in Thailand. The week that Tim & David (from ACMI) were in Thailand, we had a "meeting" day between them, myself, & Stephen. During this meeting we discussed Stephen's history, his ministry, & my ministry. Before I said anything, Stephen explained that we need to be ministering wholistically, to both the spiritual & physical needs of a person. Asians for Christ is doing a great job ministering to the spiritual needs, but they need someone to help minister to the physical needs, which is where I come in. Stephen basically spelled out the CHE strategy without me saying anything. This confirmed for me again that I was supposed to take this class. After he finished talking about his vision for my ministry, I told him that I would be taking this class in May on pretty much all that he had just talked about.
So, last week, I completed the CHE Training class. It was everything I thought it would be & SO much more! I learned what CHE is, why we are called to do CHE from a Biblical perspective, & how to do CHE. I am SO excited to have this knowledge to use for my ministry in Thailand. In addition to all that I learned, I also experienced something else that could only have been orchestrated by God.
The first day of class I met a couple who I found out were also going to Thailand! If that's not "coincidence" enough, this couple currently lives in the same town that I do! It was so exciting to get to know them, to discuss our minitries, & to think of how God may use both of our ministries together in the future.
I think it's important for us to look back & to see how God is working in our lives. He does have a plan for every person. If we just yield ourselves to His will, He will work that plan out in our lives. This is just one example of many on how I have seen God work out His plan in my life. If I had decided not to go to the NMC last fall because I didn't want to go by myself, none of this would have happened. It continues to amaze me as I look back & look toward the future how God not only works out His plan in my life, but also how He equips me & strengthens me to live out that plan!
I am SO excited to live out God's plan for me!
Serving Him,
Alicia
Since I have been on this journey of discovering God's will for me & what He wants me to do with my life, this has become more & more apparent to me - that events do not happen out of coincidence, but because God has a plan for each & every person. These "coincidental" events are God's plan playing out in everyday life.
This past week, I was in Indianapolis at a training class on Community Health Evangelism (CHE). (Sidenote - CHE is a wholistic ministry strategy that integrates spiritual ministry & physical ministry. This strategy will pretty much be the basis for my ministry in Thailand, but that's not what I want to explain to you today.) I want to give you a glimpse of how I have seen God's plan working out in my life these past few months.
Last summer, my Mom & I had decided that we were going to go to the National Missionary Convention in Lexington, KY in November. As time slipped away, we both forgot about it until a few weeks before & hadn't registered yet. Because her work schedule was so busy, my Mom couldn't go with me. I decided I was still going - by myself. Normally, this isn't something I would do (and I think it worried my Mom a little) that I would be driving 6 hours & staying in a hotel by myself for 5 days, but I am SO glad I did! This is when I first heard of CHE. I sat in on a workshop discussing the CHE strategy & all I could think was, "This puts together everything that I want to do in Thailand!" I was so excited when I left the workshop that I practically ran back to ACMI's booth to share with them what I had just learned! I found a schedule on the upcoming classes being offered & saw there would be a class in Indianapolis in May. I knew I was supposed to be in this class & decided then that I would attend.
Jump ahead a few months to February when I was in Thailand. The week that Tim & David (from ACMI) were in Thailand, we had a "meeting" day between them, myself, & Stephen. During this meeting we discussed Stephen's history, his ministry, & my ministry. Before I said anything, Stephen explained that we need to be ministering wholistically, to both the spiritual & physical needs of a person. Asians for Christ is doing a great job ministering to the spiritual needs, but they need someone to help minister to the physical needs, which is where I come in. Stephen basically spelled out the CHE strategy without me saying anything. This confirmed for me again that I was supposed to take this class. After he finished talking about his vision for my ministry, I told him that I would be taking this class in May on pretty much all that he had just talked about.
So, last week, I completed the CHE Training class. It was everything I thought it would be & SO much more! I learned what CHE is, why we are called to do CHE from a Biblical perspective, & how to do CHE. I am SO excited to have this knowledge to use for my ministry in Thailand. In addition to all that I learned, I also experienced something else that could only have been orchestrated by God.
The first day of class I met a couple who I found out were also going to Thailand! If that's not "coincidence" enough, this couple currently lives in the same town that I do! It was so exciting to get to know them, to discuss our minitries, & to think of how God may use both of our ministries together in the future.
I think it's important for us to look back & to see how God is working in our lives. He does have a plan for every person. If we just yield ourselves to His will, He will work that plan out in our lives. This is just one example of many on how I have seen God work out His plan in my life. If I had decided not to go to the NMC last fall because I didn't want to go by myself, none of this would have happened. It continues to amaze me as I look back & look toward the future how God not only works out His plan in my life, but also how He equips me & strengthens me to live out that plan!
I am SO excited to live out God's plan for me!
Serving Him,
Alicia
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
A Quick Update...
...Time is flying by!
A couple updates on the personal side of my life (as opposed to "business" like above)...
* Since my last post, I have moved in with my Mom & Step-Dad. It's another step that is making this whole transition to Thailand even more real. I am looking forward to this time of growing & strengthening our relationship before I move to Thailand in a few months.
I currently have 87% of my start-up costs and 34% in commitments for my monthly support! God has presented me with many unique fund-raising opportunities. I have been SO blessed by all of your continued prayers & support! I am continuing to raise support & develop partnerships, focusing more on monthly support partnerships, so keep praying :)
A couple updates on the personal side of my life (as opposed to "business" like above)...
* Since my last post, I have moved in with my Mom & Step-Dad. It's another step that is making this whole transition to Thailand even more real. I am looking forward to this time of growing & strengthening our relationship before I move to Thailand in a few months.
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| Mom & I in Thailand * I will be baby-sitting my littlest sister, Cassie, 3 days a week this summer. I am SO excited about getting this opportunity to spend A LOT of time with her before I leave! I'm looking for lots of fun things for us to do all summer, so if you know of any, feel free to pass them on :) |
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| Cassie & Me at Cornerstone last Summer |
* This past Sunday, my Great-Grandpa Hermie passed away. We just recently found out that he had cancer & that it was throughout his body. He moved into a nursing home with hospice last Monday & was there just 6 days. It is a blessing that everything went quickly & he didn't suffer much. I'm glad that I was able to be here & spend time with him this past month. He will be greatly missed! Please keep all of my family in your prayers as we go through these next few days & weeks.
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| 5 Generations - Father's Day 2010 Nan, Jaxin, Grandpa Hermie, Missy, & Mom Serving Him, Alicia |
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Winter Jam!
On Sunday, I went to Winter Jam as one of many sponsors with my church’s Youth Group. It was AMAZING! All of the performers were so good! It’s always such an incredible experience to worship God surrounded by thousands of other believers – and it was good to just let loose and have fun! Here are some picture from that night. (Sorry they’re not very good quality – my camera broke, so they’re from my phone).
I'll try to post more pictures if I can figure out how to get them off my phone :)
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| Missy & Me waiting for it to start :) |
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| Jason Castro from American Idol |
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| Missy, Me, & our Great-Uncle Terry |
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| Newsboys' drums in the air! And then they turned on the side & spun in a circle...CRAZY! |
Going Beyond
This past weekend was the busiest weekend by far since I've been home, but one of the best! On Friday night & Saturday morning I went with my Mom, Sister, and ladies from our church to a Going Beyond Simulcast at Minier Christian Church. The speaker for this simulcast was Priscilla Shirer. I had never heard her speak before, but was looking forward to hearing the message she was bringing. I knew the theme for the weekend was "Life Interrupted" and she was going to discuss Jonah, but I wasn't sure what I was going to learn from it - I didn't think I had many interruptions in my life. I learned SO much from her message, that I wanted to share it.
I learned that an interruption is really a divine intervention from God, re-directing you from the path that you've chosen for yourself back to the path that God has chosen for you, which ultimately is a much better way! Interruptions aren't all bad. They can be good, too. Two examples she used were speaking directly at me.
First, she used an example of a season in your life lasting longer than you thought it would (i.e. being single). This is something that I have been struggling with for awhile. In my “perfect” life, I would have already been married & raising a family, but God has other plans for me. I have been trying for awhile now to figure out the “why” of this season and it’s just been in the past week that I have been able to grasp the reason. I’m the type of person that when I commit myself to something, I put everything into it. I focus on it & think of it at all times – I prioritize it first above everything else. I know that if I were in a relationship now, that is what would happen – that person would take priority over everything else, and not intentionally, but out of past habits, over God. That is why I’m in this long season of being single - because I need to use this time to focus on my relationship with God, to learn more about Him, and to strengthen & deepen that relationship. And when the next season in my life begins, I will be prepared & ready to have a commitment to someone else without placing them over my relationship with God.
Another example that she used as an interruption was God calling you into a new ministry (i.e. being a missionary in Thailand). I hadn’t thought of this as an interruption, until this weekend, but it is – it’s something I would never have done going down my own path, but when God re-directed me onto His path, it’s what I’m now doing. There were two things she said that really struck me about this. First, she said of the ministry work (and I’m paraphrasing), “It’s not about you. It’s about doing the work for His Kingdom, that God has called you to do, that He has laid out since before time began.” This really struck me because I keep getting overwhelmed with the idea of wanting to do so much good work in Thailand – Will I be able to do it? What if I’m not good enough? etc. etc. When I was reminded that God has been preparing this work from before time began, it put me at ease knowing that He is in control & He has a plan & a purpose for me - I just need to let Him do it. The second thing that she said is, “The work is not only for them (the people you are serving). The work is also for you to be able to see & experience God’s power instead of just reading about it.” This definitely re-energized me! I am SO looking forward to seeing not only how God will work through me to serve the people in Thailand, but also how He will work in me & change me in this season of my life! May He get all the praise & glory for the change you see in me!
There is so much more that I learned from this simulcast, but this is turning into a novel, so I’ll keep it short :) I just wanted to be able to put this out there in case anyone else needs to hear it as much as I did!
I learned that an interruption is really a divine intervention from God, re-directing you from the path that you've chosen for yourself back to the path that God has chosen for you, which ultimately is a much better way! Interruptions aren't all bad. They can be good, too. Two examples she used were speaking directly at me.
First, she used an example of a season in your life lasting longer than you thought it would (i.e. being single). This is something that I have been struggling with for awhile. In my “perfect” life, I would have already been married & raising a family, but God has other plans for me. I have been trying for awhile now to figure out the “why” of this season and it’s just been in the past week that I have been able to grasp the reason. I’m the type of person that when I commit myself to something, I put everything into it. I focus on it & think of it at all times – I prioritize it first above everything else. I know that if I were in a relationship now, that is what would happen – that person would take priority over everything else, and not intentionally, but out of past habits, over God. That is why I’m in this long season of being single - because I need to use this time to focus on my relationship with God, to learn more about Him, and to strengthen & deepen that relationship. And when the next season in my life begins, I will be prepared & ready to have a commitment to someone else without placing them over my relationship with God.
Another example that she used as an interruption was God calling you into a new ministry (i.e. being a missionary in Thailand). I hadn’t thought of this as an interruption, until this weekend, but it is – it’s something I would never have done going down my own path, but when God re-directed me onto His path, it’s what I’m now doing. There were two things she said that really struck me about this. First, she said of the ministry work (and I’m paraphrasing), “It’s not about you. It’s about doing the work for His Kingdom, that God has called you to do, that He has laid out since before time began.” This really struck me because I keep getting overwhelmed with the idea of wanting to do so much good work in Thailand – Will I be able to do it? What if I’m not good enough? etc. etc. When I was reminded that God has been preparing this work from before time began, it put me at ease knowing that He is in control & He has a plan & a purpose for me - I just need to let Him do it. The second thing that she said is, “The work is not only for them (the people you are serving). The work is also for you to be able to see & experience God’s power instead of just reading about it.” This definitely re-energized me! I am SO looking forward to seeing not only how God will work through me to serve the people in Thailand, but also how He will work in me & change me in this season of my life! May He get all the praise & glory for the change you see in me!
There is so much more that I learned from this simulcast, but this is turning into a novel, so I’ll keep it short :) I just wanted to be able to put this out there in case anyone else needs to hear it as much as I did!
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