I wish i had wit tonight as I sit and write this. I may not have wit, but I do have a little bit of truth. This week we started bar ministry and it's been beautiful and broken. For all of you young life leaders out there, it's like doing contact work on crack. From the moment we walk onto Bangla Rd you are constantly assaulted by sights and sounds people asking you to come watch strip shows and buy stuff every two feet. Listening to God's voice can be quite the task in a place like that. As we walk the roads and pray and as we sit in the bars and talk, I am struck by one...

Lord, teach me to thrive in danger, to find joy in the things I fear. Set my Spirit on fire in the very moments when I feel most uncomfortable. This is an intense prayer to pray.  But I have been praying it.  Because I am tired of living halfheartedly.  But how in the world am I supposed to love with all my heart when there is so much to feel, so much to see, so much to hear, so much to think?  This past semester, I was constantly overwhelmed with the world…overwhelmed with how little time and energy I had to love people the way I wanted to, and the way God calls...

Hello pals:) Here's what we're up to:      Construction! -> We've been mostly painting on primer, digging to secure an island, and cementing. Yes, it DOES sound like a bunch of random things put together, but its all to help in preparation for a new building for the organization we're partnering with. I have recently been realizing even more how much joy I get from manual labor and construction. It allows for us to work in unity and glorify God. He has made our bodies able! By putting those bodies to work, we are praising Him with what He has given...

Lord,      Pour out Your Spirit. Let it rain until the bars are flooded with Your presence. Until the darkness that's suffocating us right now is eliminated by Your light and your love. Drown every lie that tries to creep into the minds of the girls dancing and the men watching. Let your all consuming fire fall down. You are calling us to call these people out of the ashes of their broken lives. We walk in victory tonight and we speak with authority. We can dance down these streets tonight with rejoicing because the battle is won. These bars belong to you. The hearts of...

God and I have this really neat aspect of our relationship where I ask Him to challenge me or grow me, and He calls me to something incredibly uncomfortable so I can learn that lesson. This past fall, He presented the latest part of this growing process by calling me away for the summer. To do what, exactly? Spend two months in Thailand with an all girls team of 24, going to bars and playing Jenga and Connect Four to build relationships with prostitutes while drinking a lot of Sprite. More than anything, I wanted to run. I wanted to head in the opposite direction and never look back, but...

Machetes and Prayer. What do these things have in common? They are used to help pave the way.   Last week was spent doing just that. SHE ministries acquired a new piece of property lately so they can move and expand their facilities. The land was really raw- overgrown grass and plants everywhere. I had the priviledge of taking the machete to the thick vines and "grass" on a small island connected to the property. We were all working to clear the way for new buildings.     Early last week we were able to go on a prayer walk down Bangla Rd clearing the...