Good Ole Tennessee

Hey peoples!

We just finished a summit at Bayside Baptist Church in Harrison Tennessee, about 30 minutes out from Chatanooga. This was a good summit. A GREAT summit. Not exactly personally (energy-wise) but corporately, in the church. They were so prepared for the Lord to work in their lives, and He manifested His grace all over the church of about 1000. There was one particular day where we didn't have practice in the morning, and so I walked into the sanctuary expecting it to be empty, and instead of that, I found staff members scattered all across the room, praying in the pews, on the stage, in the balcony. It impacted my heart. I've gotten burnt out spritually, and when we led worship every night, I find myself just going through the motions. That night, God broke through the walls in my own heart, and He just simply showed me how much He loves me. And I broke into tears onstage. Oops. But it didn't matter. Everyone was awestruck in the presence of our Almighty God.

Towards the end of the summit, we have a time in some of the services that is set aside for people to share testimonies of how God has worked in their hearts in the past 15 days. On Tuesday night, Sunday morning, and Sunday night, this church was just so open and honest about how God had impacted them. Sometimes when we go into a church, we just plant the seeds and don't ever see the growth because we leave. But here, we saw some of the fruit already, and it was so encouraging to our hearts. We will not grow weary in doing good, for God is working in His church. :) 

Three weeks ago, the day we pulled into the church to setup, a pretty big snowstorm blew through (for the south)...about three inches fell in two hours. After a few days and that had melted, a bigger one came through and left seven inches. Ta- da:

And then it was this again:

And then I just decided that Tennessee is bipolar like Ohio. And it's absolutely beautiful.

And here's some exclusive takes of some of our children's ministers, because yes.

One day, all the girls on our team went to an awesome little coffee shop called the "Camp House" in Chatanooga. It's set up as a coffee shop during the week, and then they turn it into a college and youth ministry on Sundays. So so cool. I wouldn't mind at working at a place like this.
And the coffee was amazing. And the chai tea. Cuz I ended up getting both. Don't judge.

 And I got to hang out with my friend Ashlee. <3 Shes a gem. 






















Tomorrow we're on our way to Orlando Florida for Vision Gathering, a fundraising conference for Life Action. Please pray for safety on the way. :) Warmth, HERE WE COME!

Thank you again for your prayers and support! :)

Bethany

Catchin Up

Hey guys.

First,
NEWS FLASH.

God is leading me back home. I have loved every minute of traveling with Life Action Ministries, and I will miss it LIKE CRAZY, but... I will not be returning to travel again next year. God has given me peace about going back home. I am so thankful for how He has grown me and is continuing to grow me in this ministry; He has taught me things that I don't think I would have learned outside of this environment. Now it's time to walk into the unknown yet again. My plans of now are to get a job when I get home, and to start school next spring semester. I am so excited to get settled in at my church, to find local outreaches to get involved in, to start ministering at home. But do I have any definites? No. Because it's not a given that I'll have a tomorrow. But for now I'm just following Jesus. :)

On a side note, I was planning on going to China again this summer to teach English. However, I left it in God's hands and asked Him to show me if I should go by using this:  I have to work family camp at Life Action Camp in Buchanan Michigan for the beginning of June through July 11th. The China trip, however, starts July 11th. So I wrote the camp director asking if I could have the last two weeks of family camp off so that I could get ready for the trip. I believed that if the Lord wanted me to go, I would be given permission to get those two weeks off. And if not, it was not meant to be. Well, the camp is short-staffed and I was not able to go home early. So I won't be going to China this summer. Honestly, I was extremely disappointed [and may have cried a little], but I am so relieved that God took care of it and showed me so clearly. Maybe He will use me for His glory in a far greater way than if I went to China at this specific time. I am excited to relax in an Ohio summer and to be able to spend time with my family and my boyfriend whom I haven't seen for six months!

Here are random snippets from the last few months of road life. :)


First of all, this:
is normal me. At the end of our first summit in Arlington Tennessee, I got a pretty bad fever. I NEVER get fevers. But I was up to 102 for two days, and it was nasty. Dizziness, tiredness, no nausea (thank the Lord), but then I got a horrible cold after that. It wasn't the best few days of my travel year, but it did force me to slow down and rest, and seek the Lord. Anyway, I'm not sick anymore, but I'm tired all the time. Some of it is from dehydration and can be cured by drinking a lot more water. But a lot of it is just from the strenuous schedule. But anyway, Taylor is a picture ninja.

After Arlington Tennessee, we had an 8 day summit in Dalton Georgia. An eight day summit is not normal, but Grove Level Baptist had a full 15 day summit a few years ago, and they wanted us to come again to run a "refresher course", so to speak. It was encouraging to see their open hearts to the Lord to have continue revival in their personal lives.

 Grove Level Baptist, Dalton Georgia

We visited Chattanooga Tennessee with our host family in Dalton because it was only about 30 minutes away. The highlight was definitely a cozy little coffee shop called Rembrandts.

 Also, while in Dalton on our offday, we went HIKING in the foothills of the Smokies. It was pretty hardcore. The trail was out in the middle of nowhere. There were literally miles and miles of a one-lane dirt road (extremely bumpy with huge boulders included) that winded through the mountains to get there. We almost thought we were lost but we finally found the secluded trail. We hiked a total of about 12 miles, and I had the privelege of these girls (Alyssa and Ashlee) being my trail buddies. :D I could do it every day, it was so refreshing to be away from the busy-ness and to just spend time alone in nature.

If someone were to ask me the question, "Ocean or mountains?" No brainer. Definitely mountains.

Annnndd here's normal loading-up scene.

Our next stop after Dalton was Faith Baptist in Bartlett, Tennessee, where we had a four day summit. Which actually turned out to be a one day because three of the services were cancelled due to ice and snow. Nevertheless, it was a good few days of unexpected extra rest, and the family Karis, Lindsay, and I were staying with were so much fun and it was GREAT to be able to hang out with them. They truly felt like family and I'm so thankful for the time we got to spend with them. :D


 We're just about to finish up our summit at Bayside Baptist in Harrison Tennessee, and I will update you on that hopefully next week sometime.

 

Please pray for:

• energy. That I don't get burnt out spiritually.
• that I can find more time for Jesus. My problem right now is that I am so busy that when I DO have free time, I just want to sleep...and I need sleep to function, but I also need time with Jesus to function. So pray that I will prioritize well. 
• that I will continue to study Mandarin and not get discouraged.
• that God will give me further direction about what He wants me to do in China and/or with the Chinese, and about school.

Thank you for your prayers and support. It means so much!! :) God bless!!

Bethany

P.S. If the Lord has led you to support me financially, you can go to  https://www.lifeaction.org/donate/support-a-staff-member/ and pull up my name under "staff members". :)

Intercession

Lately I have been reading the book about Rees Howells, "Intercessor", by Norman Grubb. Rees Howells was a man who was dedicated to God and devoted to prayer, so much that his prayers affected the course of World War II (I have yet to come to that part in the book). What has saddened me is that my life used to look like his, giving undivided attention to the Lord and living in prayer. I don't know what happened, but I lost that. My mind has gotten too crowded with everything this world has to offer - even the good things. I have not been abiding in Christ. I realized that I have not had a burden to pray for something specific in a very long time. To be exact, it was last year. I had applied to Life Action Ministries mid-May of 2013 and I waited and waited and waited to hear back from them, but no response. Time kept on going until one day, a huge burden came upon me to cry out to the Lord for a specific request, that they would contact me within a day. For a whole hour I pleaded on my face before the Lord. Within 24 hours, they called and I was accepted to travel with Life Action.

Today I was the reading the book and I asked the Lord that He would give me a burden for which I must specifically intercede. "Where has my faith gone, Lord?" I asked Him. Where has that passion, perseverence, and patience gone that I once had?

He has given me that burden tonight for someone I know. Out of nowhere, this overwhelming burden for them has come upon me and I know I must pray with great persistance until God will answer. I pray that soon I will be able to tell you in detail, for I believe He will answer according to His steadfast love.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you,

ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15:8.

Bethany

A Day in the Life....

of a Life Action team member at Staff Training camp. Particularly, band member.

You could get up (and should) at around 6:45, but in most cases, it's 8 o'clock. Most of the times you have to skip breakfast because you don't have enough time to get ready. You hurriedly wash your face and put on makeup (if you're a girl) and go to DNA at the Tab at 9 o'clock - this is a meeting of all the teams at the sanctuary building on the camp property. This meeting consists of announcements, devotionals, etc. Usually this lasts for about 30 or so minutes and then you go to practice. You learn new songs for about three hours, with about two breaks lasting for five minutes each. Then you go to lunch in this building, which is called the "Lodge".

 It looks like this inside, except this was a special dinner that the cooking crew made for us one night, so usually there are just bare tables and you grab your own plate and go through the food line.

You have about an hour and a half to two hours of rest time where you can hang out with friends....or you can take a nap, or have your Bible time that you didn't have in the morning. Or, you could practice your instrument or read a book. Or write your support or update letter. Or work on debriefing from your trip to China. If you went on a trip to China. Oh, you can also drink lots of coffee to keep you going. You'll need it.

After break, you go back to practice for another three hour period, with a few breaks in between. You can work on some of your favorite songs, or ones that you've been wanting to do your whole life like this one!

 You goof off with your team members when your worship leader and sound guy work out sound system issues. Or actually, the best thing is to be quiet while they're doing that so they can concentrate. So you can take quiet selfies instead, if you would like. Or you can sit around and wait and stare at eachother and wonder why you have to travel with eachother for a whole year.

Then you have dinner at 5:30 or 6 o'clock. And you wonder why you're eating again, cuz it seems like the only thing you do is practice and eat. And that is literally all you do.

Then you go back to practice at 7 o'clock for about two hours of practice, which is usually just vocal practice. This is the point of the day where you start getting super tired and get super goofy and crazy. After this practice, you can go back to the Lodge and hang out with your team members and play games like spoons, which is very dangerous. Bruises might be made, but memories will be as well so it's worth it. :) Or, you can play a tame game of Hand and Foot.

You aim to go to bed at around eleven o'clock but you never get to bed till 11:45 or 12 o'clock each night. Good ambitions though.

And that is the normal day in the life of a Life Action band member at Staff Training. Of course, things vary from day to day and every day is interesting!!
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Things have been going great here at Life Action camp as we prepare to go on the road in two weeks. We still have a lot of songs to learn, so please pray that God will give us energy to learn them and that we would just dive right in and get it done. :)

Last night, Blue Team (my team) went to a staff member's house and we were challenged to get a selfie with the whole team in it. And we had fifteen minutes to plan this and to get the picture. So we ended up deciding that Jonathan should get on the roof of the house and take a picture of us making a hashtag. For #selfie. Hahaha get it? Ok. So this was the outcome.

And then we got another one of our hosts and us. :D COVER YOUR EYES

This is my team this year. And what a great team they are. They are all incredible and I can't wait to travel with them this year! It is such a blessing to see the level of spiritual maturity in them; I am humbled by them and I pray that God would make me more mature and deep in my walk with Him as they are. I'm expecting God to do amazing things through this team this year in His church. :) 

Keep updated! If you would like to receive my update letter, please message me your email address on Facebook and I'll get that to you as soon as I can. :)

If you would like to join my financial support team, you can partner with me financially by going to https://www.lifeaction.org/donate/support-a-staff-member/ and click my name under “Staff Member” (it should be at the top since my name is at the beginning of the alphabet). Or you can send a care package to P.O. Box 31, Buchanan, MI, 49107. Those are always appreciated. :D

Thank you so much for keeping updated!! It means more than you know! You are in my prayers! God bless.

Bethany

I Had a Dream.

I had a dream.

One of faces. Those at roadside stands. Those ready to learn. Those curious about the Person the foreign strangers speak to before every meal. Those whose religion claims that they can earn the right to heaven. Those who were hospitable to foreigners to make a friend. Those who bartered at night markets. Those who smoked. Those who stared at the rare white faces
coming through their city. Those who had high ranking in the government and with whom the foreigners had banquets. The one who owned a laundromat, and who invited the foreigners to her house because they made the effort to befriend her. The one who stuck by them the whole time to help them with anything they needed. The one who taught Chinese to that one foreigner.The one at the roadside stand who sold the hats of her people. The one who was so excited to speak her little known English to an American who visited her shop quite often.  The one who owned a salon and made unspoken friends with these visitors. The one who had a 1 Corinthians 13 on a plaque in her house without even realizing it's origin.

One of traffic and lights. Defying death in adventurous taxi rides. Breezy and cool night drives in the city. Learning to balance while standing up in a public bus. Driving across a floating bridge across the yellow river.  A bus breaking down mid-route, dumping its passengers to find another one.

One of beauty. Of rugged mountains. Of remnants of one, the Great Wall. Of desert. Of chairlifts to a mountaintop on which hiking commenced. Of fields of corn. Of a valley stretching as far as the eye could see, with the magnificent yellow river winding its way into the mountains beyond. Of magnificent buildings that are replicas of those past.

One of spiritual depravity.  Searching for eternal life in all of the wrong things. Worthless prayers to a nonexistent god. Customs that are dearly held onto because there is an idea that they will be a way to heaven. Dryness of souls. A yearning for something more, but what?

But it was a dream of hope.  That girl is asking questions about the One who saves. Another girl believes in the Father and wants to start a church for her people. The bus driver has put his hope in the Son some time past and continues to grow. The young man and young girls who saw the difference in the foreigners lifestyle have begun to seek why. Most of all, the One who sees
every bit of this despite the sin and guilt and shame interwoven throughout it all, He looks down upon all of this with great love, longingly working in it, that it may come to Him and be a beacon for nations.

And then I realized it was not a dream. It was real, and it was China. And I long to return to this reality, but till that day, I know the One who provides the only possible hope is still there working in every heart, and he will bring the good work that He has started to completion. To him be praise, in China and the world forevermore. Amen.

Beautiful Times

 Owl City's new song "Beautiful Times". I swear Adam Young prays over his songs, because they bless my life every time. I love how he always manages to have a hidden message about or to God.

This life is a journey, filled with pain, joy, disappointment, sadness, excitement, happiness. It's so beautiful. God has been showing me the beauty of pain. The beauty of sacrifice. It's all for Him. He uses it in our lives to teach us, to make us stronger. I've realized how weak I have been, tossing and turning on every wave. It's time to be strong.

When did the sky turn black?
And when will the light come back?

We all suffer
But we recover
Just to discover life where we all are.

I fought all through the night,
Oh oh, but I made it alive.
The sun's startin' to rise
Oh oh, these are beautiful times.

This fight of my life is so hard, so hard, so hard
but I'm gonna survive.
Oh oh, these are beautiful times.

My heart's burning bad,
And it's turning black
But I'm learning how to be stronger,

And, sincerely,I love You dearly
Oh, but I'm clearly destined to wonder.

 We are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith - being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when His glory is revealed. 1 Peter 1:5-7, 4:12.

I've had to make sacrifices as I look at my potential future in China. There are things I want that I cannot have if I want to follow God's call. But then I realize that this sacrifice of will and desire is sharing in Christ's sufferings, for Jesus sacrificed His will to the Father because of His incredible love for us, and so that He might suffer and die and then rise again for each and every one of us. Mark 14:36 - "Not my will, but yours be done." I can do no other.

Be strong Christian. Soon we will be with Jesus and it will all be SO worth it.

Smile. :)

Bethany

Tired Talking

Hello all, how are you? :)

We're now in Newton, Iowa at Community Heights Baptist Church. We arrived here last Friday and this is the second day of the summit (the night of, that is - I'm going to bed like as soon as I'm done with this :))

Let's talk about the time that I forgot that I was supposed to play a song last night, so I went all the way to help in kid's clubs, only to be tracked down by team members, urgently telling me that I was on to play right then. Yep. Ran into the sanctuary to hear our main revivalist, Steve, stalling by
talking about "replacing the team's violinist if I don't come back from China", etc. ;D Needless to say, a humbling experience, but kind of fun in the sense that it was a way to break the ice with the congregation. :) Anyway, the song went well, and everything turned out fine. :)

Also, I woke up at 9:48 this morning when my roommate and I had to leave the house at 9:45 to get to church on time. For your information. Let's talk about a good wakeup call. #sleepyheadstatus

I just HAVE to share pictures of these adorable pandas that I saw at the Memphis zoo the other day.  They were literally the best animals there, even though you all know I love animals. :) Red pandas are ranked #1 in my world. And then black and white pandas. And then cats. Or horses. But yeah, like all of them, after the pandas.

Well, this is tired talking now so I should probably go and spare you from any more randomness. Just wanted to keep ya'll caught up a little bit on the past week. :)

By the way, preparation for the China trip is going very well. I finished my partnership letter; I sent it to my mentor for him to check it over, and as soon as I hear back from him, I'll send it out. If you haven't given me your email or snail mail address but you want to get the letter, you can still just drop me a comment on this post or send me a Facebook message. :)

Love you all! God bless! Keep Him in your focus always. :)

Bethany


P.S. For your enjoyment, a picture of beautiful Iowa scenery:

P.S.S. It snowed this morning.