Month #2 Of Outreach!

Sawadikaa (this means hello in Thai) friends and family!

It is crazy that it is almost May! This month of April has been jam packed with so many different experiences and new places! I am so excited to share with you some of the highlights! 

After the Hill tribes we stayed at a church in Chiangmai called City Gate Church! We stayed there about two and a half weeks! We got to share testimonies on Sunday's, share our sign dance, and help keep the church clean! 

One of the day's a group of us went to a main hospital in Chiangmai! We got to sing, perform skits, and simply just make the kids laugh! Lots of the kids were suffering from cancer or other life threatening diseases! Most people in Thailand are Buddhist so they believe that that person must have done horrible things in their past life to deserve being so sick! It was so sad to see all these kids and families seem hopeless! You could feel the heaviness in each room, so it was a true joy to make them smile and laugh!

We also had the privilege of leading out an extended weekend camp for the kids in the church as well as some hill tribe children! My teammate Juliane and I taught the younger children about the fruits of the spirit! It was such a fun week! The kids were so fun to get to know and you could just tell how eager they were to learn more about God! 

These past two and a half weeks we have been in Phang Nga, Thailand in an orphanage with about 14 kids! We have been running a soccer camp for them but have also had lessons about being united in the Spirit, what it means to be family/part of the body of Christ, and how to have faith in God, one another, as well as ourselves! I have definitely found a new appreciation for what teachers go through on a daily basis! I only had to plan two lessons and to be honest I was pretty exhausted haha! It was so fun and rewarding though to see the kids be engaged in each lesson and really have a fun time learning new things each day! Their laughter was honestly one of my favorite parts! 

We did lots of arts and crafts to keep the kids engaged!

The whole crew!

These kids were soccer super stars!!

Being a super hero was just an added bonus this week!

We performed a variety of skits! This one was about not finding satisfaction in earthly things but in God alone!

Some extra adventures we went on on our off days were also pretty spectacular!

We got to see an elephant show and ride elephants one day!!

We had a fair share of exploring night and day markets!

The guys on our team made us mango sticky rice and handwritten cards just because, one evening! It was very sweet (both taste and the jester)! 

I have had many coffee dates with Jesus! We have been living under a coffee shop so the temptation to get coffee has been real! I have loved my time spent here as well as getting to know the friendly staff here! Every time I order I alway got a Carmel Frappe! The staff here know it as "Megan's usual" haha! 

We got to take the kids to the beach a few times! It has been so nice to be back by the water! One night we went "crabbing" which consisted of kids running like crazy tackling crabs so that we could eat them for lunch haha! The other times we went to the beach we played beach volleyball, soccer, and the kids swam! 

Unfortunately I also got to spend a fair amount of time at the doctor this past month! I have had a really bad ear infection that has been lingering since the beginning of the month! I haven't been able to hear out of that ear and have experienced quite a bit of pain! However! God has been so faithful and I've realized because I have had this ear infection it has caused me to relax and take it easy a bit more! That's part of the reason I've been able to have a lot of coffee dates with Jesus, which I have cherished that time so much! 

Prayer requests:

My ear infection is gone(praise God!) however I still am unable to hear and still have pain every once in awhile! Please pray that God would completely heal me 100%! 

Please pray for my team and me because we leave for Naga, Philippines this Thursday!!! Yay!! :) 

Please pray that we move forward united, pray that we would all be healthy as we have a long day day of travel, and pray that we have an awesome last month of outreach!!

Thank you again for all of your support and prayers!! 

Stay tuned for what the month of May will bring! :) 

To God All Praise and Glory, 

Megan

The First Month of Outreach!

Hello family and friends! 

I hope you all had a very Happy Easter!! :)  

Thank you for your patience in regards to me posting on my blog! My team and I just got back from the Hill Tribes in Thailand yesterday and I haven't had wifi until now!

Here is what I have been up to this first month of outreach!

We left March 15th for Chiangmai, Thailand! We stayed in the city for a few days and then left for Omkoi, which is about a 2 hour bus ride away from the city!

This was our home for about a week! No plumbing, phone service, Internet, beds or running water for showers! But on the other hand plenty of quality time with God!

We did a lot of field work while we lived there, including clearing 2 fields! We dug about 200 holes total so that they can plant during their growing season! 

These photos above are from the first Hill Tribe we went to!

These are from the second Hill Tribe we went to!

These pictures are from the last Hill Tribe we went to! In summary we did 7 church services total for the Hill Tribes! It was so awesome seeing God use us to share the Gospel even though we couldn't communicate very well with the Karen people! Our services consisted of our testimonies, teaching songs, skits, and sign dances! We were able to give the proper medicine to those who were sick or hurting as well! The majority of the time we just took in their culture and way of life! I learned so much about how to be hospitable and caring to people I don't even know! They were all so kind and eager to feed us and house us! 

God has once again taught me so so much this past month! I really have found my passion and joy in missions! I didn't think my smile could get any bigger, but anytime I hear from other missionaries/speakers or think about how much joy there is that comes with sharing the Gospel with others so that they may be saved, I just get filled to the brim with happiness!!! God has shown me what I want the rest of my life to be like and what is most important! I am so excited to see what this month of April will bring!! 

Thank you so much again for the prayers and support!

I would like to encourage you all to find that one thing that sets your heart on fire! Life is too short not to pursue the desires and dreams that God has placed in your heart! 

To God All Praise and Glory,

Megan

13 Days Until Outreach!!

Hello family and friends! 

The day has almost arrived! In less than two weeks my team and I will be departing from Kona to Chaingmai, in Thailand!! 

We will be leaving early on March 14th! It sounds like we have a long lay over in South Korea (we may have time to explore, so that's exciting!) and then will be staying in the city of Chaingmai! Things aren't set in stone yet but it sounds like we will be spending time in the Hill Tribes(still in Chaingmai) and then spending time in the city at a YWAM base there! The last month of outreach we will be in Naga, Philippines! Both places have connections to orphanages and have a high percentage of human trafficking going on! (Shout out to my aunt Vicki who told me awhile back that she could see me working with sex trafficked girls. I didn't believe her at the time and I couldn't picture myself having anything to do with that, I thought it was something I wasn't capable of. God's funny isn't he? He gives a glimpses of what he has in store, we just don't pay attention haha!)

This past month of lecture phase has been just as incredible as the last! I learned so much about who God is and who I am in his eyes! We had an intense healing week at the beginning of this month that rocked my world! I had carried so much baggage and it was amazing to finally surrender them to God! The following week we learned about prophesying and how we all have the capability to do it! We all hear God's voice and can give prophetic words to people! We went out on the streets of Kona and it is crazy how God talked to the people in Kona through us! Last week we also learned a lot about relationships, what we should look for in a husband/wife, how men and women receive love, and how we can find our identity in Christ first and then add someone else to the picture! This was the condensed version of the weeks but to say I learned a lot in all these areas would be an understatement! God has been so faithful, loving, caring, and patient with me in discovering who I am in him! 

Here are some snap shots from the last couple weeks! 

Please keep my team in your prayers as we prepare to go on outreach! Pray for all the people that we will come into contact with and that they would be open to hearing about Jesus! Pray that we would remain in good health and continue to be filled by the Holy Spirit as we go out onto the mission field!

Thank you so much for all the love, prayers, and support! 

I couldn't do this without each and every one of you! 

To God All Praise and Glory, 

Megan

Recap on Month #1 in Kona!

Hello family and friends! 😊

It is so crazy that it has been almost a whole month since I started my adventure here in Kona!! God has been completely rocking my world this month! 

The first week we went of the foundations of what YWAM(Youth with a Mission) and what we each expect/ hope to get out of our time here! We also learned about the different ways we learn and how we all learn better with certain teaching styles! 

Week 2 was all about the character and nature of God! So so awesome getting to know my Heavenly Father better!! 😊 We also learned what sets Christianity apart from all other religions! It so crazy how some religions use fear as a way to get people to follow them, whereas Christianity is all about love and God's grace!

Fun Fact about this week: I heard God's audible voice for the first time(at least first time in a long time) 😊 I was so stoked!!

Week 3 was about Hearing God's Voice! I think this week has been one of my favorites so far! I've never learned how to differentiate between my thoughts, other's thoughts, the enemy's voice, and God's voice! It is so crazy to me that we all have the ability to hear God's voice and He seeks to be that intimate with us, in yet most of us are too busy or we're too distracted to take the time to listen! I'm so excited to continue growing closer to Him!!

Week #4 is coming to a close! We got to hear from Darlene and Loren Cunningham(the founders of YWAM)! It was so awesome hearing their testimonies and their obedience to what God has called them to do!

Here are some pictures of my time here so far! 😊 

All the people pictured in these photos are my team/Ohana members! 

Some prayer requests:

Prayer that all my team members will get their funds in for our outreach in the Philippines and Thailand!

Prayer for continued team unity as we prepare to leave for outreach mid March! 

Prayer of praise that thanks to a lot of you wonderful people, I am fully funded for my discipleship training school and outreach! 😊 

Thank you so much for all the support and prayers!! 

To God All Praise and Glory, 

Megan

The Journey Has Begun!!

Hello family and friends!

Just would like to take a brief moment to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! I am so grateful to each and everyone of you for making this trip happen for me! It's because of your prayers, support, and generous donations that this dream is an actual reality! I landed safe and sound about 4pm Hawaii time. Today has been a lot of touring around and making the University of Nations our home. I am rooming with 5 other girls and they are absolutely wonderful! So far haha ;). We did some team bonding today, there are 14 people total on my team, we are definitely are one of the smaller groups on campus but I can feel the unity and family already!

The top photo is at 5am Minnesota time, before leaving for my lay over in Dallas. Middle photo is at the Kona Airport. Bottom photo was flying over Hawaii!

Thank you again for all your support and prayers!
Please pray for continued unity and bonding for my team. Pray for good rest tonight, everyone is pretty tired haha but having a great time! Pray a special prayer for the girls who are my roomates. Pray over their trip and that God would speak to them and they would open their ears to what God would like to say to them over this trip!

To God All Praise and Glory,

Megan

8 Days Until My Adventure Begins!!!

Hello family and friends!!

I would just like to take a moment to thank all of you who have supported me and helped me with my mission trip so far! I can not thank you enough, I so appreciate each and every one of your generous donations! I literally could not do this without you!! I am over half way funded for my entire trip! Praise the Lord!!!

 smile emoticon

I can not believe that in 8 days my adventure will begin!! :) grin emoticon

To say I'm excited is a bit of an understatement! As of Christmas day I officially moved out of my apartment, had my last day at work, and have begun the final preparations for my trip! 

It's finally almost here!!

This past week I have been able to spend a lot of time with family and it has been absolutely wonderful! Seriously, how did I get so lucky? Believe it or not the picture below still doesn't capture the whole gang!  

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and I hope 2016 brings even more laughs, smiles, joy, and memories!

If you guys have a moment, please keep me in your prayers! Pray that the Lord would continue to prepare my heart for this trip, pray that the remainder of my finances would come through, and pray for team bonding and unity with my fellow team members/staff members!

Thank you so much again for the generous donations, prayers,and support!

To God All Praise and Glory! 

Megan
grin emoticonTo say I'm excited is a bit of an understatement! If you guys have a moment, please keep me in your prayers! Pray that the Lord would continue to prepare my heart for this trip, pray that the remainder of my finances would come through, and pray for team bonding and unity with my fellow team members/staff members

New Chapter, God's Calling, Here I come Hawaii/Philippines!! :)

Hello Family and Friends! :)

Wow! It has been quite awhile since I posted last. Time has just been flying by! I have a good explanation though! :)....

Since my last post I have decided to pursue and have been accepted into YWAM! For those of you who aren't as familiar YWAM, it stands for Youth With A Mission! It is an organization that trains young adults and prepares them to be world changers. The first 3 months I will be in Kona, Hawaii deepening my relationship with God, learning how to share the Gospel, as well as go out at serve within the community! The fun doesn't end there! The 2 proceeding months I will be using everything I have learned to reach people in the Philippines as well as surrounding countries! I am so excited to see where God takes me these next few months and I can not wait to see what God all has to teach me! :)

It's a little tricky to see but the red star indicates where I am. The green circle to the left is where I will be taking my Discipleship Training classes and the purple circles is where I will be on the outreach part of my mission trip.

I can't wait to share my journey with you! In exactly a month from today I will be in Kona, Hawaii starting this next chapter of my life! :)

Thank you to all the friends and family that have supported me and all those who support me in the future!

I will try my best to update you guys periodically so you can see where God's plan is leading me!
Prayers would be so much appreciated! Pray that people would come to know Jesus during this trip, pray for the staff members at YWAM who will be sharing their wisdom and knowledge with us, and pray also that God would give me strength these next few months to do everything that is in His will!

To God All Praise And Glory,

Megan