In The Morning When I Rise

My typical day of training @ the JAARS Center :)I am usually an early riser, and while I was at the JAARS Center in Waxhaw, North Carolina, I soaked in all the nature I could get! Going from Southern California to North Carolina was quite a weather change, but I enjoyed it tremendously! I would walk early in the morning and one day I thought tobring along my camera. Here are a few photos I captured of the beautiful walk I took every morning and the gorgeous sunrises God sent my way :)

Each day was filled with wonderful teachings and wise information for missionaries. From adapting to partnership developing, budgeting to spiritual warfare, each day was packed with treasures that I hope will stay in my mind that I may glean some wisdom from the experiences each person who spoke had. God has used

them all in miraculous ways so that all the credit is due Him- may my spiri

t be as sensitive and submissive to His as theirs has been. They are role models in that their model is Jesus- as is mine.

During the last few hours of the evening, I would either hang out with my other team mates (play games, sing songs, or just talk), or I would read. Being a Librarian and avid reader- I went prepared! All of these were read between the air-flights, train rides, and down times :) The book are (from top to bottom)

- My Phone

- Bible: God

- Growing in God's Grace: Jonathon Edwards

- The Acceptable Sacrifice: John Bunyan

- Climbing: Rosalind Goforth

- Kirsty Knows Best: I forgot...

- To Timbuktu and Beyond: Marcia Woodard

- French Vocab books

On my other blog- BookHugger- I have written a few short reviews on some of these books, if you would care to check them out.

My evenings were just as cherished as my mornings- the skies are so beautiful and clear compared the the area in SoCal where I'm from! Reminds me of Fernando Ortega's version of Give Me Jesus:

In the morning, when I rise

In the morning, when I rise

In the morning, when I rise

Give me Jesus!

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Give me Jesus!

Give me Jesus!

You can have all this world,

But give me Jesus!

The Team was wonderful- staff and 'students' ;)

You all taught me that we truly are the Body of Christ- each given specific gifts to help one another out and together bring people into worship of our Lord and Savior with us!

Until all have heard.

Forks in the Road or ACME Anvils Dropped in Your Lap

So many times our lives are filled with forks in the road, choices to make, decisions to ponder. Well, when it came to me joining the Wycliffe's GSP it was more like an anvil dropped in my lap!

I have been involved with ministry since I was 8 years old and have wanted to be a missionary since I was 15. For the past 7 years I have been working with international people in some way or another (mostly french) and have always thought that the Lord would send me to France since I've done so much work there. But the Lord had other ideas. When the idea of joining Wycliffe's GSP and going to the Cameroon to work in the school's library came up, my first reaction was "But Lord, what about all the ministry I've done for You here in CA and in France? You just want me to up and leave them?" I admit I struggled with it for a few days, but the Lord convicted me with this thought:

The ministry will continue without you, Kirsty. Afterall, it's My ministry, not yours. It will continue without you, so trust Me and follow My lead.

Watching God open doors, close other ones, and change my heart has been quite a thing to see. I now see how God has prepared me in advance for this journey through Wycliffe, if it is what He wants me to do. Amazing how He works things out I have always tried to be submissive to His Spirit, for I know that His ways are ways beyond my imagination! I have seen blessing after blessing each time I give up everything to Him, whether I yield to God's leading about the fork in the road or the anvil He drops in my lap.

Once Upon a Time...

... there was a girl who was trying to love God with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength. She thought she was doing what He wanted her to do for the rest of her life, but then He threw her a curve ball. Yet, when her Master said "Go", even though she was a little hesitant, she moved forward to what He was wanting her to do, knowing that He knew what was best for her .

This is her story of following her Savior to wherever He wanted her to go- whether it be San Diego, France, or the Cameroon. This is her life, her reality, her adventures, through her eyes.