Giving

One of the best parts about taking a leap of faith is that often it requires a team of people.  People supporting
you, praying for you... and sometimes giving.

I've been asked by several people, "Can I help you financially?"  Every time someone says those words I'm surprised... and HONORED.  This isn't a "Please give to me!" post.  This is a post that explains how to give if you want to.  I'll have two options to do so.

OPTION ONE

Make a donation directly to my PayPal account.  It's simple and easy.  It is a donation directly to me, so you won't receive any tax benefits for this.  I will transfer this money into my moving account and use it for moving expenses.

• To make a PayPal donation go to this link: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/send-money-online  (Or go to www.paypal.com, hover over "Transfer," then click "Send Someone Money")
• Type in your email, my email (emilyshill at gmail dot com), and the amount you'd like to give.
• PayPal will walk you through the rest.  It's FREE to give if you have a PayPal account or enter your bank account.  There's a small fee for use of a credit or debit card.

OPTION TWO
Make a donation to Sought Church in order to receive tax credit.  We are still working on the logistics for tax exempt status, so all donations will go through the District.

 

• Go to:  https://agncn.webconnex.com/eGive
• Scroll down to "Other" and type the amount in the corresponding box and pick the appropriate drop down option
• In the Memo box type: "Sought Church Moving"
• Complete all the Donor and Billing Information, then click "Submit"
• When you receive confirmation of your donation, email that confirmation to jakem at soughtchurch dot com (This has to be completed because the donation is combined with other donations to the church and the Network is unable to separate donations)

 

THANK YOU.
Seriously.
There are a lot of expenses associated with this move, but I'm doing my best to follow where God is leading.  I've been so blessed by people wanting to pray for me and encourage me, and I'm shocked when people say they want to give.  It's incredible...  You are all incredible.

When I Think of Haiti...

...here's what I will remember.

Teenagers

We spent a week in Haiti, Saturday to Saturday.  There were 12 of us on our team... 8 high schoolers, 4 leaders.  Our teens changed in that week.  They grew by leaps and bounds, in boldness, joy, maturity, and worship of the Lord.  Our nightly prayer meetings reflected the day's work - these kids pushed during the day, and they pushed at night.  They love our Jesus with a fiercer love than before - and I am so very proud of them.

My Inabilities

Philippians says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."  That was proven this week - with a reminder of the opposite... I can do nothing, at least nothing of consequence, without Him.  This is my prayer - that I remember this in all things... That HE is the source of all my abilities AND my inabilities.  I can do nothing without His power working through me, and all things should point to Him.

The Worship

Have you ever sung in Creole?  I have...  I LOVE it.  Worship at the Mission of Hope church was infectious... even if you didn't know what you were singing, you knew you were glorifying the Lord - and joining hundreds of other believers, belting out the lyrics.  These people show no restraint in their worship.  If they want to praise the Lord, they do so with every ounce of their being.  They sing loudly, dance exuberantly, and shout His praises from the beginning to the end.   

On Tuesday night, we had a worship service...  Mostly songs, some prayer--a lot of time praising the Lord.  After an hour and a half or two hours, it came time to take the offering.  After about 5 minutes of worship, things started to be dying down... a few of us looked at each other, ready to take our seats.  All of a sudden, the music ramped up again--louder and a little faster.  Something was happening.  People began pouring out of their seats and into the aisles, dancing, singing, laughing, until sweat was visible on every single person there.  On and on and on the music played, increasing intensity, building joy and laughter.  After about 10 minutes, Justin stepped out to video the intense worship, as the rest of us just kept moving with the music.  We were clapping and laughing, singing all of the "Oooohs" and as much of the Creole as we could figure out.  Our students joined in a conga line.  The people around us danced and sang, shouting out thanks to God - "Meci, Jezi!  Meci, Jezi!"  20 or 25 minutes in the music finally finished... worshipers flushed and hoarse, filled with laughter.  I suspect it will be a long time before I experience this intensity in worship again!

God's Orchestrations

The things that seemed so little when we started this trip out became vitally important.  God planned each of the 4 leaders to head to Haiti with these teens--2 men, 2 women.  Each of us was needed, with our own abilities and strengths.  Who knew that we would need the expertise of each at one time or another?  Only God.  I feel so very honored that I was chosen as one of these leaders, and that I was able to serve Him not only by ministering to the Haitian community, but also to the youth of our own church.

There were other times when I was amazed at how God would place one person in a position to minister and it would be the perfect person.  One example: We were in a village on our last ministry day, talking to the people in the street.  The afternoon was hot and muggy (as all are in Haiti).  Women were washing clothes in the river on the other side of the bridge.  Children came running to us calling out, "Blan! Blan!  (White! White!)"  A group of men were resting in the shade of a huge tree, right next to the river.  One of our students, an evangelist at heart, grabbed one of our translators (yes, they're interpreters, not translators, but down there that's what they're referred to as), and began asking these men if they were Christians, if they believed in Jesus, if they wanted prayer.  He made the rounds... then stopped at one man sitting by himself.  The older man lifted up his left arm to show our teen the scars from where the bullets of a gun ripped through his body.  Our young evangelist adjusted his shirt to show where the bullet of a gun ripped through his own body--putting him in a place to recognize the reality of Jesus.  Young boy and old man--connected with an awareness of how precious life is and how it needs to be used by God.  The old man gave his life to Christ that day.  God used two very horrible situations to bring His glory into the lives of His children.

Greetings and Language

When I see someone here in the US, I still want to greet them with "Bon Jou" or "Bon Swa!"  I want to tell people, "Meci!"  I want to ask, "Komen ou ye?"  I still hear our teens shouting "Jezi vivan!"  In telling stories to some of my Deaf co-workers  today, I signed things in ASL, but mouthed them in Creole--because things happened in Creole.

The Sweating

OK, it had to be mentioned. At multiple points during the week, everyone's shirts were soaked with sweat.  It was hot.  And working hard in the hot means that your pores start leaking.  I can still see David on the ladder inside the school, painting the corners and edges, both shirts soaked and hair plastered to his face.  There were shiny faces all week long - but loving Jesus means you get to sweat sometimes - it was worth it!

The Healings

We serve a God who likes to do miracles.  One of the teens on our team went to Haiti with very bad asthma.  While there, he had a massive, get-him-to-the-hospital-or-he-could-die asthma attack.  Those on our team who were with him at the time started to pray - and instantly he was healed.  Not just healed in the moment, but permanently healed.  There is no more asthma in his body.  God is amazing!

The last night we were there, God told me to ask the teens for prayer for my knees.  I've been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my left knee, and there are times when the pain is debilitating.  This was their trip and I didn't want to take away from that, plus I'm so dang prideful, but God was clear... so I asked.  They prayed.  I stood up and went to the stairs... going down about half of them, turning around, and coming back up...  Something was different.  There was no grinding.  No grinding.  My knees have been grinding every day since last January - and often before that.  The grinding was gone.  I had no idea how to respond.  My knees felt weird, different than they ever had.  I yelled out, "There's NO GRINDING!"  I went up and down the stairs - again with no grinding.  How do you respond??  My prayer the whole time was, "Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief!"  It still is!

See...  There's still pain in my knee--specifically my left knee.  but... it's different.  I'm not sure how to describe what's different about it.  The grinding is gone.  I'm going up and down stairs now and not crunching--something I wasn't sure I'd ever experience again.  I have an appointment later this month with a knee specialist--something that got scheduled before I left for Haiti.  My endocrinologist (who made the appointment) suspected that there may be more than just arthritis in there.  I'm tending to agree...  I'm wondering if God DID specifically heal the arthritis, so the doctor will be able to see what the OTHER problem is clearly.  I don't know how our Lord works - I just know that I will continue to pray and thank Him and be so very excited!

 That's all for now.  God is GOOD.  He is FAITHFUL.  I am so in love with Him.

I'm going to HAITI!!!

Dear friends and family,

This spring I have the incredible opportunity to join a group of youth and other adult leaders on a short-term mission trip to the country of Haiti.  I am unbelievably excited, and cannot wait to see what God can do through us as we love on the Haitian people.

We will be involved in drama, music, evangelism, rebuilding, and a myriad of opportunities presented to us, especially as Haiti is still recovering from the earthquake that rocked Port-au-Prince two short years ago.

The trip itself costs approximately $1,800, which doesn’t include the immunizations required to travel to this area of the world (adding up to a few hundred dollars more).  I have already paid for my plane ticket, but still have the other half of the money to raise.

If you would like to be an integral part of this opportunity, there are two things you can do.  I would be extremely grateful for any financial assistance you would like to contribute.  If you would like a tax receipt for your donation, please write your check out to Faith Assembly of Lacey, and attach a note including my name and indicating that it is for my Haiti trip. 

The other way you can support me is through prayer.  I covet any and all prayers over this trip—for our safety, for the organization we will be working with (Mission of Hope: Haiti, www.mohhaiti.org), for the Haitians we will encounter, and for God to work well through us.  We can’t do this without your prayers.

Thank you so much for your support.  I hope that you can sense a bit of the excitement I am feeling!  I am nervous, but cannot wait to see what happens on this trip!

God bless you, and thank you for everything!

(PS - Let me know if you'd like to donate - I can get you addresses and info off line! :))

Do good quietly.
~Max Lucado

One Life Impacts How Many?

It's late and I'm laying in bed reading blogs on my laptop. I know I should go to sleep, but I always seem to push it to the limit on the weekends... weekdays, too, I guess. A few weeks ago a friend asked me, "You love sleep so much... why do you always try to put it off???" I guess I'll never know the answer to that one. :)

In my last post, you read about the book Outlive Your Life and how it and my small groups are affecting me. I'm here to say... it's still going on. This week's video during Tuesday's small group was so powerful--I was almost in tears watching the lives of 2 ordinary Americans change when their world was flipped in Haiti... when the earthquake hit just one week after they moved there to become English teachers. They found their ministry HOME, where they knew they belonged.

My heart has been yearning even more to make a difference in the world. I have always, ALWAYS wanted to leave a legacy, something that I was a part of that is so much bigger than me. God's showing small ways to do that now--and how to prepare for more ways to make an impact in the future. Our small group is planning on tackling an issue in our community, and I'm excited to see this group of women grow into that. I've been completely convicted in my lack of relationship building (i.e. letter writing) for my child I sponsor through Compassion. That conviction has led to me joining a group of other sponsors who write their children every second Friday (that's today, by the way!). My Ezra has a letter in the mail to her right now, and one sitting on my night stand with a bunch of pictures in it--just waiting for one finishing touch and a stamp. By sponsoring her, I AM fighting poverty, hunger, need... she's getting an education, learning about Jesus, and developing a friend--ME. I'm so blessed to call her MY friend... and over the last several months we've actually started to get to know each other better. If I ever go to Indonesia--she's the first person I want to see.

OK, it's nearing midnight. I'm going to go to sleep. But here's tonight's question... well, questionS. Have you written to YOUR sponsored child today?? If you don't have one, are you willing to make a long term difference in someone's life?

What Do *I* Know of Holy?

The first time I heard the song "What Do I Know of Holy?" by Addison Road on the radio, I really liked it. I thought it was beautiful, but the lyrics really didn't impact me. I learned them, though, and sang along each time I heard it. Then something changed in me...

I've started a new small group this season. It's based on Max Lucado's book, Outlive Your Life.
The study is rooted in the book of Acts. It questions our lives as we are currently living them; asking if we should stay in our safe comfort zones, or if God really meant it when He said that "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27) We have the decision right now to do something about hunger, poverty, orphans, the unloved, the hurting. WE have the capability. WE DO. YOU and I. RIGHT NOW.

Enter the marriage of "What do I Know of Holy?" and "Outlive Your Life."

"If you touched my face, would I know You? Looked into my eyes, could I behold You?" If I am doing nothing for the hurting in my community, in our world... what DO I know of His holiness? I DO know the stories; I CAN talk about His mightiness... but what about His desperate love for those who are DYING TODAY because they aren't being fed, or loved, or clothed. Did you know that in the last 5 minutes, NINETY children have already died of preventable illness?? 90!!! During my half hour lunch, every single day, that means that 540 children are dying... and I am doing almost nothing about it. What DO I know of Holy?

Now... I probably am not going to be able to save 2,160 children each week (the number who die during my lunch break during the 4 days that I work). I know that I make a difference in the life of the little girl I sponsor through Compassion. Many of the people I associate with do more than what most comfortable Americans (even American Christians) would say is "our part." But would God have me, would God have any of us stop there?

Questions that have bombarded me this past week:
* Why have I not re-examined foster care and gotten that process started?
* Why do I feel I have to wait until I am married before I can adopt?
* Why have I never volunteered with the food bank through my church?
* Why do I walk by so many needs in my own community and remain, for the most part, unaffected?

The answers (and resolutions) to these questions are between me and God. However, here is the question to YOU:

When your grandchildren discover you lived during a day in which 1.75 billion people were poor and 1 billion were hungry, how will they judge your response?

Gleeful Feeding :)

So I just watched the second to last episode of last season's Glee. Do you watch Glee? It's the most fantastically fantastic show on TV right now, at least in my opinion. And when you watch the episode for the second time, you catch the little bits that you missed the first time - and laugh even harder. This was the Lady Gaga episode and it was so fun this time to sing along to Bad Romance and Poker Face--songs I'd never even heard of before this... that I know own on CD! I can't wait till next week when the new season starts! I have to watch it the day after after it airs, though--it's on too late for me. :)

Today we had the Combined Fund Drive fair at work. CFD is through the state, a way for state employees to donate to charities. Today was several of those charities in one big event. I LOVE these fairs. (We have Public Employee Appreciation, a Safety Fair, CFD... the diversity fair was cancelled this year... but they're so fun!) I always get a ton of STUFF at them... and when I moved my office a few months ago, I had a "garage sale"--all the crap that I'd collected over the years went out on the file cabinets for whoever wanted them. I probably had about 20 or 30 items! It was great!

Anyway, today's fair was fun because I got to see the folks from Feline Friends. that's where I adopted my kitties from. They're such wonderful people--and I got to see my babies' foster mom, too! She loves seeing pictures of the boys and hearing stories about them... they were her first fosters! They're having a bit of a rough year this year... They did a rescue of 42 cats from a horrible environment and had astronomical bills. If you can help them at all, I'm sure they'd appreciate it. You can even donate online.

While talking to them, I mentioned that I'm transitioning the boys to raw food. THIS has been an adventure. This week I chopped up my first raw chicken into tiny little bits... very gross. ;) But... they seem to be happy. Cosmo has lost about 4 pounds... I'd like to see him up about 1 lb--then he'll be really healthy. Lucky, on the other had, has gained weight. He weighs approximately 20 pounds now--he's a beast. I want him to DROP about 4 pounds. I'm hoping that this diet will do just that. As of yesterday, they're on 100% raw at night, but still with kibble in the morning. I don't have any organs in the meat that I have, so I'm nervous about completely switching them. Plus, Lockwood isn't completely keen on the bones yet, so I'm giving him time to learn how to eat it. They seem content, though... they do love their chickens!! I'm kind of looking forward to watching for sales and seeing what other meats I can get for them... they can have beef and poultry and rabbit... pork... occassionally a fish, but you've got to watch the mercury levels--that could get dangerous. For right now, as I'm learning, I'm staying away from raw fish. If you're interested at all, I'll keep you updated. If you're grossed out... I'm sorry! ;)