Jana's Journey
 
I am a horrible blogger.  I wholeheartedly admit it, and I apologize to you, my loyal blog readers.  There is really no acceptable excuse for leaving you guys hanging for over 2 months, however I think I can come pretty close with numerous “almost good excuses”.  In a nutshell- God has been a movin’ and a groovin’ in my life these past several weeks, and boy do I have some stories to tell!  So many, in fact, it would be the longest blog post in history if I attempted to write them all today.  So, just like any good book, we’ll take it a chapter at a time until I completely catch you up on my life.  

People often ask me what my job entails on a day-to-day basis.  I have yet to find a good answer, because my days are never exactly the same.  I work on what God places in front of Catalyst and myself, and I don’t worry about having an exact job description nor do I worry about working the exact same hours at the exact same place every day.  My job would be impossible if I did that.  This past month has proved that no matter how well I try to guess what God has in store next for me, I will never be able to fathom the extent that He will use me if I am just obedient.  When I first started working with Catalyst I actually didn’t like when people called me a “missionary”.  For some reason I didn’t feel worthy to have such an honorable title.  I didn’t feel like I was in a specific field domestically or internationally, and that planning mission trips didn’t constitute a full-blown missionary.  I instead opted for “working in missions” or “mission trip planner” title.  However during these past several weeks God has taught me quite the opposite lesson.  I am now proud to take full advantage of opportunities He places in front of me that I am privileged enough to have because I am in the ministry full-time.  A “missionary” doesn’t necessarily have to live in Africa or run a mission in inner-city New York.  Just as I can’t give a day-to-day description of my job, neither is there an exact job description of a missionary.  After seeing God work in my life these past few weeks, I cannot deny that just as surely as I work for Catalyst Missions I also work as a missionary for our Lord and Savior.  Intrigued yet?  Awesome.  Stay tuned for more stories from the most recent trail of Jana’s Journey.
 
 
A few weeks ago, The Ogg Family packed up for our bi-annual family vacation and headed to the red-hot tourist spot known as Massanutten, Virginia.  I must admit, I was a little skeptical going into the trip about the level of excitement the week would hold. Our family normally likes to hover around A Good Amusement Park Ride level, but this trip seemed to forecast more of a Bingo Night at the Nursing Home level.  Luckily, this particular blog is not about predictions, because I actually ended up having a great time despite my preconceived notions.  All that to say, Massanutten held one peculiarity I have yet to see anywhere else in the world…friendly deer.  I’m talking deer straight out of a Bambi movie that eat from the palm of your hand.   Nope, I’m not lying.  Really, I’m not!  Fine- I’ve got video to prove it, so see for yourself:
Told ya.  Mom had told us she had read about these extroverted little creatures, but I didn’t believe it ‘til I felt it’s tongue lick my hand.  I’m so used to deer being the darty, car-killing, make you run off the road doing 360s with your best friend kind of animals we know in the South (yes, there is a story there- I’ll tell you one day don’t worry).  These guys were so much cooler, as they would calmly stand by the road and all but wave when you drove by.  As we were driving home I couldn’t stop thinking about the differences between the deer here and there.  Although just a few hours separated us, the deer had completely different mentalities.  The funny thing is, the deer in the South get scared and A) Run directly into your car or B) Freeze directly in front of your car.  They do this to protect themselves, but ironically it puts them and us in much more danger.  The Massanutten deer stay calm, cool, and collected and not only stay out of car grills but also get to eat free Chex Mix!  If only the poor deer down here in the South knew the secret of the Massanutten deer than their lives could be saved!  This brings to mind several different analogies here, and since I know my readership is far above average intelligence level instead of expounding upon just one allow me to mention a few:

     ·         Do we not have THE life-saving “secret” that should be shared with those right down the road from us to save them from certain death?

     ·         How many of us have habits that we do to protect ourselves from “danger” that end up having the opposite effect on our lives?

     ·         How many times do we dismiss sin or immoral activities just because that is what everyone around us is doing?

     ·         God offers us literally everything we need right in the palm of His hand; isn’t it so much better to just take it from Him rather than run away from Him and into danger?

So there you have it: some food for thought.  You didn’t know YOU were gonna be the DEAR I was hand feeding, did ya?  J
 
 
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I received the following in a recent e-mail conversation with a good friend of mine (thanks for letting me use this btw J).  I have actually had numerous conversations with people along these lines, so I thought it would worth sharing with my very small blog world in case you’ve ever had similar thoughts:

“Right now I am struggling with the “freeing” feeling of what my future holds for me. On optimistic days I am content to believe that not knowing is a kind of adventure, like trying to solve a mystery or waiting for a surprise from your friend. Most days though, I am tossing and turning as I mull over when I will be able to afford a house, how many kids I will have, whether or not I will ever get the chance to go back to school again, or if my career will look anything like a career at all or if it will resemble more of an on-and-off hobby. I am having trouble living in the present. The past I can hit my head over for hours at a time, and the future I can scan my brain about for days at a time. In the end, I never get anywhere, never decide anything- I finally just settle on waiting on a sign (or something). Why is it so hard for us to live in the present?”

I think lots of people in our day deal with us, as it’s just the way our society is- always looking towards the “next best thing”.  Sadly, I think that greatly affects people’s happiness, as it’s hard for them to be happy in the here and now when they have yet to receive their anticipated future.  So…as I know this is what you were on the edge of your seat waiting for…here is my 2 cents that I have just recently learned: you are free to take it, leave it, or throw it back.  The past has already happened, thus making it fact.  It happened, whether we hated or loved it, and there is nothing we can do to change it.  We learn from it, and without our past we would not be what or who we are today.  Every person and situation we have encountered have combined forces to make up the intricate details of our current lives.  The future is a complete unknown.  Take just tomorrow for instance: There are literally a million different ways that tomorrow can go for me.  Most likely, I’ll get up and work and eat and talk and laugh and play and go to sleep.  But think of the thousands of things that could happen to change the course of the day: a phone call, a car wreck, an e-mail, a virus, a war, a winning lottery ticket, the list goes on and on.  Can I predict any of that? No way!  Take those million of things that could change my life tomorrow and multiply them by the next several years of my life and you’ve got a very complicated and completely unpredictable web of craziness.  So, each night I can sit around and try to guess what will happen and thus develop a game plan to counterattack those millions of situations and treat life much like a war scenario in which at the end of each day I try to survive with minimal causalities.  Or, I can just sit back and enjoy it.  Plain and simply just take each day and each step as they come.  Don’t plan.  Don’t worry.  It’s never going to end up like you had envisioned anyways, so really you just end up with a lot of wasted time and mental energy.  And most importantly, you miss out on pure happiness.  How can you ever be happy in the moment if you are always looking toward your next happy moment?  Yes, one day you’ll have kids and love it.  But for now, stop and treasure the quiet nights with your husband.  Yes, one day you’ll have a home of your own.  For now be glad when something breaks you can call the landlord to come fix it.   I’m a big believer in “Letting Go and Letting God”- it takes a ton of stress off of us and allows us to take notice of how blessed we are-today.
 
 
As you all have probably heard, it rained a little bit here in Nashville last weekend.  Who would have thought that this metropolitan city could ever experience such a massive amount of flooding in just a couple of days?  The weekend started off just like any other rainy day, but then it got really bad, really fast.  Everyone has their own flood story; mine is one of the more fortunate ones.  My roommate Kelsey and I decided to wake up on Saturday and head to Chick-Fil-A a few miles down the road.  It was raining hard, but we thought nothing was out of the ordinary.  We took our time eating and talking and then began to head back to our townhouse before beginning our plans for the day.  We saw the first sign that something was wrong when we reached the road right before our house.  It had running water rushing across it, and although it wasn’t very deep we decided to take the long way around.  Even those roads, however, had begun to flood and we eventually had to risk it and drive through a couple inches of water.  Just to get home we passed four separate flooded spots on some pretty major roads.  We decided to cancel our plans for that afternoon just in case, but just an hour or two later we turned on the news to see that Interstate 24, which is only a mile from our house and the interstate we were just on, was underwater with cars flooded up to the roof.  From that point on we knew the severity of the situation, and we stayed glued to the television watching helplessly as our beloved surroundings were engulfed with water for the next two days.  Our townhouse was completely untouched, and we were one of the few areas on the grid that never lost power.  Kelsey and I mentioned numerous times that it didn’t even seem real that all that was happening so close to home, yet we were nestled safely away where nothing seemed different.  Yet houses just a couple of miles down the road were flooded to the rooftops.  I’ll never know in this life why God blessed us so much, but I do know I can use my own blessings and continue to bless those who were less fortunate.  Thank you all for checking up on us during and after this situation.  It meant so much to know that friends and family across the country were praying, and I don’t doubt that played a huge part in our complete safety.  Continue to lift up the numerous families that lost everything in this disaster, and pray that Catalyst and all Christians in the area can use this is a huge witnessing tool to those who are hurting.  Also, if you’re going to have some free time this summer and want to help in the relief efforts let me know, as we are already beginning to organize teams to help clean and paint houses that were hit.
 
 
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Who: Me and 29 other participants from churches across the U.S.
What: Mission Trip with Chosen Children Ministries
When: April 18-24, 2010. 
Where: The country of Nicaragua
Why: God had planned for us to be in that country, that week, for His purpose

We Laughed:  
            The original purpose of this trip was to deliver food to a little-known area of Nicaragua nestled in the Matagalpa mountains.  The drive was 4 hours from our mission house, 1 ½ hours of which were on a dirt road-in a school bus.  So on our first full day we ventured to this area to deliver 25 pound food bags containing rice, corn, beans, sugar, and salt to families in this area.  This was enough food for about a month, so as you can imagine the people were ecstatic to receive it.  While we were fellowshipping with the locals, a group of kids formed that we were able to share the gospel with.  Several of them raised their hands when asked if they wanted to receive Christ, so we gathered them together and I began to lead them in asking Jesus into their hearts.  As I was finishing up, I noticed a bit of a commotion coming from behind us.  I didn’t think much of as the prayer came to an end, but the first thing these precious children looked up to see as new Christians were… a herd of cows, in which one male bull is attempting to reproduce with an evidently quite attractive heifer.  Only in Nicaragua…

We Cried:
            This is my 4th visit to Nicaragua, and every other time I have been we have spent at least some of our time in the barrios closest to the capital city of Managua called Emmanuel, Marvin, and Paradise (the name is not at all indicative of the situation there).  We were not planning on spending much time there this trip, but God quickly showed us He had other plans.  On the Monday night we were there, a horrible storm hit these 3 communities.  The storm produced very strong winds, rain, and tornados.  These factors are scary enough to us, but picture yourself facing them from inside a plastic house made from wood sticks and trash bags.  As you can only imagine, the storm easily devastated much of these communities.  Nearby, 3 people were killed and many were injured.  Over 40 houses were completely destroyed and numerous others sustained damages to roofs, walls, etc.  It broke our hearts to imagine the people we hold so dear to our hearts sitting in the dark, dripping wet and scared to tears.   A group of people who had virtually nothing had every belonging swept away.  They have no insurance.  They have no money.  They have no tools or supplies to rebuild.  Yet God did not forget or forsake them.  “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own”  Matthew 6:34

We Saw Miracles:
·         God had us in Nicaragua that exact week because He knew what was going to happen, and He knew His people would need help.  It was no coincidence this trip was organized last-minute, and it was no coincidence we were there to immediately help.

·         Ronnie, a 70-something year old man, was in Nicaragua on a construction mission trip the week before us.  Ronnie has built over 300 homes and countless churches during his life in missions, and he is one of the hardest working and most efficient construction managers I have ever met.  He went home the weekend we arrived to spend time with his wife for a reservation they had, but he told her he felt God telling him to go back for our trip.  So he turned right around and headed back to Nicaragua.  After the tornados hit, Ronnie wasted no time in beginning to organize the rebuilding of as many houses as possible, getting up with the sun at 5:00 a.m. to survey the damage.  He organized a construction team from our group that, under his direction, was able to rebuild at least 6 complete homes and repair more than 12 in 4 days!

·         One of the women we rebuilt a house for had an 8-day old baby.  The single mom had her house blown away while she was huddled inside, and that night she slept under the stars on her metal springs bed-frame-the only possession she had left.  She had no clue where she and the baby would go, or what they would eat, or how they would survive.  God did not forget her.  Our group stumbled upon her and was able to not only build her entire house but purchase a mattress, baby supplies, cooking utensils, and food for her.  In a matter of hours this woman went from absolutely nothing to being completely provided for. 

·         We all worked pretty hard to raise money for all the food that was distributed.  Had we come the week or even days before and passed out the food to these barrios, it would have been lost or ruined from the storm.  But God’s timing is perfect, so instead we were able to pass out over 2500 pounds of food to victims of the intense storm.

·         Time is pretty flexible in Nicaragua.  9:00 might mean 9:15 or 9:30.  But on the day of the storm Guillermo, Chosen Children’s field director, was not playing games about time.  Since we were going far onto the mountain, he insisted we leave NO LATER than 3:30 to be sure we got off the mountain by nightfall.  However, once we started feeding none of us had the heart to stop until the food ran out, as you can’t look into a hungry woman’s eyes and tell her no when you have food.  So, we didn’t end up leaving til 5:00- an hour and a half later.  We later found out the storm hit the highway we were traveling back on exactly an hour and a half before we passed it- which would have been right when we were traveling through it had we been on time.  To make this even crazier: Kelsey, CB, myself, and a few translators decided to ride back in the back of the food truck, which is completely surrounded by a metal cage that could have easily been conductor rods for the constant lightning.  

Don’t bother making your own plans, because as this trip proved- God’s are way, way better.
 
 
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          I am a big fan of spontaneity.  Whether it be taking a last minute trip to see a friend or deciding to go on a foreign mission trip a month before it leaves, I think everyone needs a healthy dose of spontaneity in their lives.  To prove I don’t just talk a big talk about being spontaneous, I am going on a last minute mission trip to Nicaragua.  Ok ok I’m just kidding- being spontaneous is pretty much the last reason I’d pick to go on a mission trip.  But I really am about to be headed to Nicaragua!!

            At the beginning of March, Chosen Children Ministries (the organization we always work with when I bring a group down to Nicaragua) sent out an urgent message to all their contacts in the states.  They had recently discovered a little known barrio (really poor community) nestled in the Matagalpa Mountains in Nicaragua.  Not only are these people hungry spiritually, but they are also literally starving to death.  I have been to Nicaragua 3 previous times, and although I have always seen some pretty severe hunger I’ve never seen anyone at the point of starvation.  I know the Nicaragua natives that work with Chosen well, and if they say there is a pressing need then most likely it’s worse than we could imagine.  After working with Nicaragua so often, the country and its precious people have become quite dear to my heart.  There was no way I could ignore the plea for help, so I signed up to join this emergency mission trip to get food and Jesus to these men, women, and children in desperate need.  Although this trip wasn’t on our original “trip list”, we at Catalyst can’t ignore the opportunities God places in front if us.  I am only bringing two other people with me due to the last minute nature of the trip, but we’ll meet up with 26 others from 10 different churches across the country who also felt led to answer this call.  I am so very excited to see all my Nicaraguan brothers and sisters, but I am more excited to see what God has in store for me this trip.  It will be a very different role for me as I am not the head honcho of this trip, and thus I can sit back and simply serve as needed. 

            When I first agreed to go, I felt a slight twinge of panic as I had no clue how I was going to raise enough money to go.  There was no way I could ask my close family and friends because they already are so generous to give to my support each month.  Once again, I deserve a smack on the head for doubting God.  Just a few days later during dinner with my sister, God put a “red letter thought” in our minds.  Jennifer is running the Country Music Marathon on the day we get back, and she wanted to run for more than just herself.  So, she agreed to run for our cause, and thus “Run for Rations” was born where people can sponsor Jennifer for each mile that she runs!  God has been so great to provide through her contacts, and I am very close to having what I need to go!  If you want to know more about it then check out the website (and if you feel led to give I won’t stop you J) at http://RunForRations.weebly.com

             Yep- you know what I am going to ask you for.  PRAYER!! Please lift our group up in prayer whenever you get the chance as we seek to minister to this new group of hurting people.  I have seen miracles on our trips before, and I’m a firm believer they are a direct result of people back in the U.S. praying for us.  There no insurance better than good ole’ Prayer Cover- and you can provide it free of charge! It is impossible to explain the eerie smoothness of a trip with lots of people praying for you, but I can guarantee it is ONLY by the grace of God.           

            We are flying out this Sunday, April 18th and will be back on Saturday, April 24th.  I look forward to giving you a full report when I return, and until then don’t forget to give us a shout out to God when you think about it!
 
Cents for Sense 03/29/2010
 
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            A few weeks ago I went to a grocery store that I had never been to in my life.  This in and of itself is not that exciting, as I have lived in Martin for most of my life and now, living in Nashville, I often visit new places for the sole fact that I have never been there before.  This grocery store, named Aldi, is advertised as good food for cheap prices.  I decided to go check it out for myself to see how sketch it was, and if there were any items I could buy there to save a few bucks each month.  As I was walking into the store, I tried to grab a shopping cart but quickly noticed they were all chained up to each other.  I do live in a part of town known to be “slightly” ghetto, but really- do they need to chain up their shopping carts?  Being a stereotypical female, I could NOT figure out how the contraption worked.  I messed around with it aimlessly for five minutes until finally an older gentleman walked out with an empty cart.  I was so relieved to have found a solution, and promptly walked up and asked him if I could take that for him.  Instead of the smile and shopping cart exchange I expected to occur, he pulled the cart close to him and asked if I had a quarter.  Clearly confused, I frantically searched my purse for the .25 cents, but with no such luck.  I despondently replied that I did not have a quarter, to which he answered with a low-pitched “Hmmp” and drove the cart around me.  I stood there stunned for a second, and finally decided to just walk inside without a cart to figure out what just happened.  As I browsed up and down the aisles, however, I found myself unable to focus on anything but this rude old man.  Was he just trying to jip me out of a quarter?  Is that the going rate to rent a shopping cart now?  He was clearly done with it, so what did it hurt him?  I was actually saving him some steps.  ONE QUARTER!! Seriously, stingy old man?  I felt my blood pressure rising and had to get out of that wicked, no good store immediately.  Furious, I stormed out to my car and did what every frustrated 23 year-old would do: called my mom.  After I ranted off the entire story to her, she gave a small chuckle and then refused me the sympathy I knew I deserved after being taken for a quarter.  Instead, she had the audacity to offer another, saner alternative to why the old man wanted a quarter.  Rather than trying to steal a quarter from a young girl, she mentioned, maybe the high-tech chain contraption I failed to figure out was actually a quarter machine in which you put a quarter in to get a cart and got one back when you returned it.  Even though it was still just a quarter, it’s possible the old man always keeps one in his car for said trips to the grocery each week.  Mom: 1  Jana: 0

            The more I thought about the story in the days that followed, the more I realized the application I took away from it.  You always hear when you are a kid that there are two sides to every story, but as you grow older and so much “smarter” you often assume the sophistically intelligent ways you see the world are indeed the only rose colored glasses available.  I thought I was really good about seeing something from the other person’s point of view, but as Mama Jane proved I don’t always do that.  How many times have I gotten so upset at someone or something and never stopped to think about the actions that led up to their reaction.  Everyone has a story, and people act the way they do based on how their book has been written up to that point.  I’ll be the first to admit, God has very much blessed me with an awesome book thus far.  I grew up in an amazing home with amazing parents and have had some pretty amazing opportunities already in my life, not to mention an amazing God that teaches me how to act daily.  I’ve been given just about every life tool possible up to this point, and look how very far from perfect I still am!  Yet I’m often quick to criticize people who have not been so fortunate in their life’s story and expect them to meet completely unrealistic expectations.  There’s no way I can learn every person’s story that I come into contact with, but I can give people the benefit of the doubt.  You know, the economy is hard right now- maybe that old man is literally saving every penny he has.  That person who cut me off in traffic- maybe they have an emergency they are trying to get to.  Or maybe not- but I’ll tell you from experience, it’s much better for you to do the Mama Jane and give them the benefit than to get worked up over a made-up possibility.  I haven’t yet been back to that Aldi grocery store, but I plan on going soon.  I might just bring a stack of quarters with me, because you just never know people’s stories…
 
I'm A Jerk 03/15/2010
 
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I try to always be a really nice person.  In fact, mean people are one of my biggest pet peeves.  You never know what other people are going through, so I hate it when anyone is a jerk to another human being.  Plato once said it best, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle”.  People have enough hardship going on without me adding to it, so one of my goals has always been to truly try and be a genuinely nice person to everyone.

I failed.  Ok ok, I actually probably fail all the time.  Which is the scary part.  We’ll get back to that in a second.  This time, I actually caught myself being a jerk.  It was around 11:15 one recent dark, freezing night.  I was working late and really needed to get a few things in the mail, so I decided to make a late night run to the post office.  It was spitting rain/sleet outside, and was generally a miserable evening.  I shivered as I walked the five feet to my car, and got slightly annoyed at how long my heat was taking to cast its warm blanket over me inside my Cube.  My car finally heated up by the time I pulled up to the post office, but I had to go inside to weigh a couple larger envelopes. When I pulled up I noticed two homeless people huddled in the corner of the post office.  This is where I’ll get brutally honest with you: My 1st thought was: “Hmm…I hope they aren’t dangerous.”  My 2nd thought (as I’m walking in): “I’m in a hurry- don’t make eye contact”.  My 3rd thought (as I’m walking out): “I wonder when they are going to get kicked out of here.”  I know- I told you I completely and utterly failed at being nice and was nothing but a jerk! You didn’t believe me did you?  Here I am, the “missionary” that goes halfway across the world to feed hungry people both physically and spiritually, yet I completely ignore two people in need that are literally a mile from my house.  To make matters worse, I didn’t even feel bad at first.  I got back in my toasty car and began happily humming to the radio, excited to snuggle up in my warm bed at home after a good day’s work.  That’s when it happened.  God decided to drop the hammer on me…HARD.  I can point out the exact spot I was driving when it hit me like a ton of bricks:  “You hypocrite!  You. Are. A. Jerk.  How in the world can you completely ignore those two people and yet tomorrow you’ll go on planning trips like some saint.  Ever heard of practicing what you preach?”  Wow…did that really just happen?  Did I really just do that?  For one extraordinarily long second I had no thoughts except that of extreme shame at how disgusting I had acted.  As a tear began to well up in my eye I quickly turned my car around in the empty intersection and headed to the Wendy’s nearby.   As I pulled back up to the post office with a few junior bacon cheeseburgers in hand I saw the homeless lady’s initial reaction.  She was surprised to see me.  Someone came back for her.  Someone cared.  She graciously accepted my gift and as I sat and talked with her briefly I couldn’t help but notice the pain in her eyes.  She wasn’t one of those annoying con artists who beg on the street then go buy beer.  She was a sweet little lady who was down on her luck, trying to find a place to escape the bitter cold outside.  And I almost let myself completely ignore her.  I take that back- I did completely ignore her.  Thankfully God didn’t let me get away with it.

As I drove home I couldn’t help but wonder how many times had I been a jerk and never even realized it?  What if God hadn’t thrown the hammer down on me?  I never would have thought twice about my actions.  I shuddered to think of how many people I have thoughtlessly brushed past or been unnecessarily rude to in my life and never even known it.  And I consider myself a nice person?  I tell you this story not to make you think back at how many times I’ve been a jerk to you (although if you think of any- I’m very sorry), but rather to make you aware of how flawed we are without God.  Without Him, we are nasty, mean, heartless human beings incapable of good.  But the good news is, we’ve got someone to keep us in line.  Someone who literally died to allow us to have the capacity to be better than ourselves.  No matter how hard I try in my own flesh, I’m always going to be a jerk.  But I literally thank God that I’ve still got a chance to be a nice person after all, with a little help from the hammer of course.
 
 
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Watching the Olympics this year reminds me of when I was a kid and I just knew I was going to play for the USA Olympic softball team.  My plan was to play at LSU and as soon as a I graduated be recruited to play and turn into a Wheaties Box hero for America.  Unfortunately, I was never even close to being good enough to play for LSU or USA Olympics, but as I reflect back I wouldn’t trade the life I have now even if I could go back and drastically improve my skills.  I heard one athlete this year who while crying after she had won the illustrious gold exclaim that she had “sacrificed everything for this”.  It’s true- this caliber of an athlete has to literally sacrifice everything and everyone in their lives to train and be the best in the world at what they do.  Then, once every four years during their prime, they exhibit what those hours of sweat and tears go towards.  Is it glamorous?  Heck yes!  Is it impressive? Most definitely!  Is it worth it in the grand scheme of things?  Hmmmmm- good question.  The obvious Sunday School answer here would be that God is really the only thing in life worth sacrificing everything for.  Take that as you may, but that’s not really the point of this blog.  Tonight I had coffee with two super awesome sold-out for Jesus type of guys, and as we were talking both of them mentioned things that really stuck out in my mind.  One of them was talking about the Christian life in general, and how when you think about it life with J.C. is really an adventurous, spontaneous, put the pedal to the metal kind of life.  Christians somewhere got this bad rap for being boring, straight-laced goody two shoes, but life with Jesus is everything but!  I could give you hundreds of daily examples where God has thrown a FastCurveKnuckleBall in my life when I least expected it, all because He knew I could hit my very best home run off of it!  I never know what to expect next from God, but that’s what makes life so incredible.  If I always knew where my next paycheck would come from or when I’d meet my future husband, I would soon take all of life’s greatest faith moments for granted.  Then I would have no faith that God will provide and have gotten a big fat F in lessons learned. Yeah, I could have dedicated my entire life to being amazing at one sport, but look at all the crazy, you’ll-never-believe-this, whoop-whoop for Jesus moments I would have missed out on.  A little later on in the conversation, the other guy mentioned that it is often when we hit rock bottom that God can speak to us, use us, and grow us the very best.  Suppose I had gone for my 7-year-old dream.  What if I would have gotten to the Olympics after a life of dedication, only to be put out in the qualifying game?  For every gold medal winner, there are hundreds of thousands of people below him or her who failed to reach their dream.  And where does that leave them?  As a failure.  BUT, whenever I fail in life, which I often do I’ll be the first to admit, God picks me up out of the dirt.  He cleans and polishes me and somehow at the end of it all, I’m better than before.  He turns my weaknesses and embarrassing failures into successes, and I walk out a better person because of them.  I’ll never be an Olympic champion, but you know what, I’m completely ok with that.  I’ll happily take the super-duper-you-never-know-what’s-next-excitement of the Christian life instead.  Hang on- it’s gonna be a wild ride.
 
Nicaragua 2010 02/14/2010
 
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How can I possibly describe an amazing week full of God's miraculous power and grace to you in one mere blog?  I can't.  There is no way to convey in any amount of words what all God did on our recent trip to Nicaragua.  So, I shall venture to give you a quick summary that covers the highlights, but just know in order to fully understand you are just going to have to come with me on the next one :)  On January 2-9, eleven young adults ventured from Tennessee, California, Georgia, and Wisconsin to Nicaragua for the Catalyst 2010 Nicaragua Mission Trip.  We worked with Chosen Children Ministries, an organization that plants churches and trains native pastors all over the country along with maintaining an orphanage.  During the course of this trip, God moved in and through our group in extraordinary ways that none of us could have predicted.  Not only did the Lord allow us to be a part of the incredible revival that is sweeping across the country of Nicaragua, He also blessed us with actually being able to see the crop harvested when we saw over 70 children in 7 different barrios come forward expressing interest in accepting Christ!  In each barrio our group conducted backyard Bible clubs with the children consisting of various Bible stories, at the end of which we had the opportunity each time to present the gospel of Jesus dying on the cross for their sins!  Afterwards, our group conducted sports clinics with the children, playing whatever game the kids asked for from soccer to “handball” to baseball to “carry the gringo”.  The sports served as a great way to bond with the kids despite the language barrier, and you’d be surprised at how skillful most of them are!  We also had the opportunity at each barrio to meet the pastor of that area, and in every place he was there ready to help.  It was so encouraging to know that we weren’t just coming in for a week and leaving but that we were contributing to his ministry and those pastors would be there to follow up with the children long after we leave. 
       One particular story from the week that epitomizes the love and compassion of Christ really sticks out in my mind: One of the first days we were there serving at the Emmaneul barrio one of our team members witnessed one of the boys, Juan Jose, who had just asked Jesus into his heart immediately display God's love.  Our team had just finished distributing all the food when a little boy walked up to our group late.  We were by that time completely out of juice and bread, but when Juan Jose noticed that the new boy wasn't going to get any he took half of his bread and shared it with the new boy.  I’d definitely say he gets the message of Jesus!  God continued to display His mighty power throughout the week, and our team will never be the same after witnessing it!
       I've posted a much longer trip report under the "Catalyst" tab in the upper left section of this page if you would like to read more in-depth about our trip.  I've also posted a few pictures under the "Photos" tab in the same section.  Bottom line- God is moving all over the world, and we are so incredibly blessed when He chooses to use us- the broken, misfit, battered, and so very flawed humans that we are- to aid is His global missions.  As you have read over this quick summary I hope you look inside yourself and ask how you can be a part of what God is doing across our globe.  He is longing to include you- will you let Him?