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

Finding Self Worth In The One Who Is Worthy To Judge

Hello family, friends, and followers! :)

I am still getting in the rhythm of how often and on what day I would consistently like to post. So just bare with me until I get this whole blogging thing down! ;)

This has been an interesting couple of weeks! God is teaching me so much and I am so excited to share it with you!

I can only speak from a woman's point of view, but that doesn't mean guys can't apply this to themselves! At the very least you guys can see a little glimpse into the complex mind of a woman haha!

So I have just been thinking a lot about where my self worth, value, and identity comes from lately. I can honestly say for most of my life that tends to all come from people. Whether it be my manager, my family, my friends, and so on, my self worth seems to come from them. That's something we as humans desire right? We seek approval and acceptance. So let me ask you guys, where does your value and self worth come from?

I feel like most woman to at least some extent want to be loved, desired, and cared for. I can unfortunately say that we put a lot of pressure on ourselves sometimes. Why else do you think we would spend hours doing our hair, makeup, and finding a cute outfit? Trust me, it is not because it's fun and we enjoy it by any means. You don't think we would much rather jump out of the shower, throw on some clothes, and head out the door? Umm, yes please! Sign me up for that! Guys by all means have this too, but our world is so focused on outer beauty it is ridiculous! America's version of beauty is so crazy. Skinny but curvy(Guys: fit, but muscular). Perfect hair. Perfect skin. I mean can you honestly think of one person like that? Heck no. No one looks like that unless it's photo shopped. So why do we strive so much to look like that? There's a difference between wanting to be healthy and putting so much emphasis on beauty. I am so guilty of this by the way, but this has all got me thinking, why do I find my self worth in some other human being? We're all flawed, all sinful, all have a different opinions about what beauty is. If someone asked you for a picture of someone beautiful, what picture would you give them? I can tell you, my first reaction would be to find a model in a magazine.

Here's what's so cool though you guys, there is someone out there that sees us SO valuable, SO precious, and SO worthy to be loved. That guy's name is Jesus! If there is one thing that I am trying to apply to my life after this week it is this; find my self worth in someone who is worthy to judge me. Some days I get so sucked in to being loved that I don't care who's showing me it. I just want to feel valued, loved, and feel like someone actually cares about me. When really I should be looking to my Heavenly Father to feel those things. You know, I could change my whole life for someone who thinks I'm beautiful, valuable, and worthy of love but at the end of the day I'm always going to be disappointed. Want to know why? Because NO ONE is going to love you as much as you should be loved except for Jesus. No one could possibly fulfill me the way Jesus does. So I encourage you all, do not give a guy or a girl or anyone else for that matter that much power over you. Don't let that person determine how much you're worth. No matter if you are single, in a relationship, or married, put God first. Find yourself in Him.

Trust me it is so much easier said than done, but I can promise you that it is so much easier finding my worth in Christ versus a guy, or manager, or friend. God knows all my flaws, all my imperfections, all my insecurities, in yet He loves me more than I could ever imagine! God also knows all my wonderful qualities and he uses those to help all my brothers and sisters in Christ!

 Heavenly Father,
I just pray over my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that they would find their self worth, their value, and their identity in you, God. In this world it is so easy to not feel beautiful, valuable, or loved. Help us to not look to a guy, girl, manager, or friend for our identity. Lord, you tell us how precious we are to you, I pray that we would believe it and embrace it. You love us so much that you gave your Son, Jesus, up so that we could enter our heavenly home some day. I just praise you for that God. I praise you for your unconditional and unfathomable love. Let us not look to this world but to you, God. Help us to put you first above everything else. It is so hard to do that sometimes, but I know that you also provide us with strength to get through the hard times. Let us always remember that we are yours and yours alone.
In His name I pray, Amen.

God's Blessings,
Megan

What A Little Sun, Sand, And Rest Will Teach You

Hello family, friends, and followers! :)

Greetings from Sanibel Island!

For most of this week I have been here soaking up the sun, eating alot of food, and laughing with my family! It has been so nice to take a break from the busyness of life and be able to relax! I may be on the other end of the US but that doesn't mean that God taught me any less this week! 

There are two things that God has shown me this week! 

#1 It is crazy how big this world is! I mean have you ever stopped to think how big this world is? But then think how big that means our God is? He made this world so detailed, complex, and down right beautiful! Each thing so perfectly fit together, so perfect, so flawless. But in all this greatness, God decided to make me. Tiny, fragile, sinful me. If you're reading this, that means that God chose YOU! He chose to give YOU life! Out of all the tiny cells that could come together, He chose to create YOU! Doesn't that just make you feel precious? A big, powerful God wanted and desired YOU to be His child. That is so crazy to me! I pray that we embrace this gift each and every day because some days I find myself taking that too lightly.

#2 Sometimes life is too loud to hear God. There is a reason why God saves the Sabbath as a day of rest. We need rest. I strongly believe one of Satan's greatest tactics is making us too busy. He makes the world around us so loud, crazy, and busy that we don't have time to just sit and listen to God. It's so interesting that I've only been here a few days, but in those few days I've gained so much clarity and peace from God about decisions I will be making going forward. It honestly is gross how much time I spend on pointless stuff. You don't have to keep track by all means and no cheating, but just take a mental note one day of how many times you check your phone, how many times you're checking social media, how many times you're on the computer. Now, I understand that for some of you it is part of your job but just take a mental note regardless. I am guilty of this and will use myself as an example, but when I did this one day it was crazy how much I actually did those things. We do it without even thinking, it's like a weird habit that we have to be doing something at all times. In yet when it comes to reading God's Word(I'm convicted of this too) we say we are too busy or too tired. So what I'm saying by doing that is: I am too busy to spend time with the one who created me but I'm not too busy to check up on what Sally Mae is doing on Facebook 10 times a day? That sounds so silly when you put it that way, doesn't it? We are all guilty of this. Whether it be our hobbies, work, school, and or play, we all have excuses some days that prevent us from listening to what God has to say through His Word. But no matter how many times we may fall short a day, God is still faithful. He loves us so much. He's never going to stop trying to speak to us. He doesn't like to see us exhausted and drained. Instead He uses those days to draw us closer to Him. He wants to be our source of refreshment and rest. Matthew 11:28-29 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

My prayer is for those of you who need rest. Those of you who are worn down, tired, and just sick of being stressed: I pray that you find rest in God. I pray that He gives you strength and perseverance. 

I pray for those of you who have found rest in God. I pray that you would not take this precious life for granted. I pray that God would use you to your full potential. God created you for a special reason and I pray that you would open your heart to wherever God leads you. I promise you, you won't regret it!

God's Blessings,

Megan