Exactly Where I Am Suppose To Be

"For you created my inmost being;

You knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

you works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Psalm 139:13-14

The fact that God already knew exactly what I would be doing this summer before I was even born leaves me in total amazement. He knew I would be in my new office at Grandfather Home for Children making fun of people with my coworkers for putting they worked the 32nd of May for 8 hours from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Yes someone put that on their time sheet. Oh Americans...) He knew I would be walking back to the Lunceford's from checking the mail and having to chase down Scout as he broke through the screen in the window and escaped. He knew I would spend every minute of VBS play with my adopted brother, Eli, having the time of my life. He even know I would be sitting here eating pizza, drinking tea, and listening to God of this City. The point is God placed me in Boone for a specific reason this summer, and he planned this before I was even chilling in Mama Betsy's with the wombmate.

I fought with God for a long time this past year to go back to Guatemala for the summer. I found the cheapest flights, I found a place to stay, and I even started budgeting myself in order to be able to go (I am an accountant I like to budget). I had everything planned out to go back, but God quickly shut the door in my face and said, "Nope not this summer bud; you will be working 40+ hours a week at a big boy job." I was a tad bit confused. Here I was trying to do foreign missions and take the Gospel to people who have never heard of the death and resurrection of Christ, but God was not letting me. All of my friends were going out this summer to different states, camps, countries, or where ever and I was stuck in Boone. Don't get me wrong, there is no place I would rather be (except Guatemala) than the High Country, but I was trying to get out and do some other type of missions.

As I dig into the Gospel, it is pushing me out to share Christ resurrection with those around me. Whether it is indirectly by making it possible for the kids at Grandfather Home for Children hear the gospel during their time on campus, directly with all the ladies that I work with in the accounting department, or directly with random people I pass by everyday. God has placed me in Boone this summer for the spreading of the Gospel to the lost that are here.

The relationship I have with my coworkers has been great. I love going to work everyday and talking and laughing with the accounting department (despite all the drama between them). God has uniquely designed me as an accountant and money person so that I would be able to use those gifts for his Glory and to share the Gospel with those I work with. He has given me a different gift and job than my twin, my brother, and all my friends. He purposely made me this way so that I may share his word with those around me in the accounting field. As I continue to build relationships with my coworkers the burden of sharing the Gospel with them grows heavier and heavier. The purpose behind me being at Grandfather Home is to share the gospel with those there and to bring Glory to God. They might not speak Spanish there, but the need for gospel is just as evident. 

No matter where you are, what you are doing, and who you are in contact with, our purpose for being there is to proclaim the Gospel. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, and God has placed us in a specific place for the same reason: that His name be glorified and the lost will recognize Christ invitation and turn to Him.

So even though it has been a rough summer at times, God has specifically placed me in Boone for the summer. The Gospel saves me daily, and it matures me, pushes me, and sanctifies me. It is the power and strength of God that I go out each day, and it is for the Gospel that I push through the depression and loneliness of life. I am exactly where I am suppose to be this summer, and may God be glorified every day for it.

"For I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is

the power of salvation for everyone; 

first the Jews then the Gentiles." 

Romans 1:16

God's Calling

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he

would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went,

even though he did not know where he was going."

Hebrews 11:8

This summer I spent ten weeks in Guatemala. This will be the first of many post I write about my time there. To start out with, I will tell you a little bit about what I did in Guatemala as well as why God called me to Guatemala.

For part of the week I worked in a village called Pachipac with Luis, Marco, Jorge, and Julia (4/6 Quiche Missionaries). We taught an ethics class in one of the schools and we also worked in a Christian Radio. We would visit each house in the village and share the gospel. I played a lot of soccer with the kids.

The School in Pachipac

Jorge at the Radio

Radio en Nahuala

For majority of the week I was on a construction site. I was helping build a health and training center. At the site, there will be a clinic for patients to receive medical assistance. It will also be a place to receive both medical treatment as well as hear about the Gospel. The site will also be a site where Guatemalans are trained in health promotions, and they will go back to their village to open a clinic and work with the people in their village. The site will also have a pharmacy and have housing for other American missionaries. The site will also host programs such as woman programs. The project is through the organization International Indigenous Community Development (IICD) and through the NC Baptist Men. Check out the IICD website for more details. http://iicommunitydevelopment.com/

Training Center

I applied to go to Guatemala through the NC Baptist Men and BCM summer missions. It was a complete God calling event. I remember sitting in my bed and reading an e-mail about summer missions opportunities. I was looking at all the positions and came across the Guatemalan position. I immediately felt God calling me to apply, so I started praying about the position right then.

Well, God opened the doors and sent me to Guatemala. When I got there, I absolutely loved the people, the culture, and everything about Guatemala. However, for the first two weeks, I had no idea why God called me there. I know nothing about construction, especially Guatemalan construction. I have never made adobe, lodo, cement, or really done anything with construction. I was confused. I loved it, but always asked God, "Why did you send me? Why not someone who knew anything about construction?" I felt like I was in the way cause I had no idea what I was doing. I had no strength to lift the adobe.

The Guatemaltecos that I worked with all summer

After a while, I started building relationships with the Guatemalan workers. I got to hear most of their life stories and meet most of their families. I absolutely loved all the Guatemalans that I worked with. I joked around with them all the time. I never saw them not smiling or laughing. We would through frogs at each other and have adobe fights. We worked hard, but had so much fun together. I would take break with them and eat lunch with them. They taught me Quiche, and I taught them English. We would just yell out each others names across the work site and just laugh and joke around. I absolutely love those guys so much. They all considered me a "Guatemalteco" by the end of the summer. Plus, not only did I build relationships with these guys, but I also built relationships with the neighbors and the workers building a house above the project site. I got to become really close with them as well.

The family across the street were the nicest people I have ever met.
They would invite me over to eat and play soccer all the time.
Pedrito was also one of the cutest kids ever!

Elvin's Son. By far the cutest kid in Guatemala.
He acted just like his dad!

Elvin's wife and daughter

These kids were so much fun to play with

It was through being at the construction site that I was able to meet these guys and work with them. God taught me all about the construction as well as gave me the strength to do it. I now know that God called me to be there to build relationships with the workers. One thing I heard when I was younger that I have always remembered is: "God does not call the prepared; He prepares the Called." I witnessed that this summer. He called me to Guatemala, not prepared at all, to build relationships with these guys and to love and care on them. He prepared me to work and gave me the strength to work, and it was through the construction that I met these guys and built relationships with them.

Francisco and Elvin.
My two best friends!

Francisco, left, and Elvin, right, were my two best friends in Guatemala. I got to be extremely close to them. I know God put them in my life for a reason. One night when I was struggling with wondering why God had me at the construction site, Francisco and Elvin both texted me. Francisco said, to the extent of, "You are such a blessing to my life and an answered prayer." Elvin said to me, "You are my best friend, and I do not have another friend like you. I know God put you in my life for a reason. Thank you for your friendship and loyalty." God's timing was perfect. God showed me that he called me there for a reason, and it was to love on these Guatemalans. I really can't put into words how much these guys mean to me and how much I love and miss them.

Throughout the summer I often referred back to Hebrews 11:8. Unlike Abraham, I knew where I was going, but I had to have the faith like Abraham that God had a reason for calling me to Guatemala. God often reminded me to just have the faith in Him that He had called me to Guatemala and that He had a plan for my time there. If you do not get anything out of this blog, I want you to grasp and understand this: If God is calling you to go somewhere, have the faith to listen and GO! If you do not feel like you are prepared for what He has called you to, have faith in Him, for he will prepare you. He has a reason for calling you, so have the faith and respond by saying, "Yes God, I will go." Like Abraham, you might not know where God is calling you to, but have the faith in God and go.

I had the absolute best time this summer in Guatemala. 

Be ready for more blog post about my summer and the things God did.

Fixing up the adobe

we would cook our tortillas on the fire everyday

so glad the trusses are finally up

God gave me the strength to work this summer
con Francisco

Freshman Year Semester 3

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

2 Corinthians 5:17

The semester is finally over! Final grades are posted, and I am back at home relaxing with the family and back working at the YMCA. Before I get started, I just want to apologize for any grammatical errors; it is 5:00 in the morning, and I am working at the Y while running on 3 hours of sleep.

After having a pretty terrible year last year, I decided I wanted to start my college experience over. I am already graduating a whole year later than expected, so why not have a whole other freshman year? Going into this coming year, I felt like I was a freshman again. I did not know my roommate. I did not know who my support group was going to be. I was trying out a different campus ministry and church. I was completely starting over. I came into the year as a different person, renewed in Christ. I had a different mindset going into school, and my goal was to reach out to the other students on App's campus. I was extremely nervous about going back to App, but after my 3rd semester of freshman year has come to an end, I could not have asked for a better semester.

At the beginning of the year I spent a lot of time in my room. I did not really have a support group, and my whole group of friends from the year before changed. I'm not going to lie, the first couple weeks of school was pretty rough. I had this whole gameplan and mindset for the new year, but as soon as I got back to school, it was like it completely left me. After the first couple of weeks, God reminded me that he had everything under control and reminded me of what my goal was for the year. I spent every night praying that God would provide the solid group of friends and opportunities to spread his word. God immediately began to answer those prayers.

I have met so many wonderful people this year. I decided after prayer and talking to the campus minister that I would stay at BCM. I am part of the prayer team, and even though our meetings were on Thursday mornings at 8, I loved waking up early and meeting with those people. Though I hated my Thursday classes, Thursdays seemed to be the best day of the week. The prayer team is led by Jordan, who has been such a blessing to me this semester. The team consist of me, Jordan, Marge, Joseph, Kelsey, and Stephanie. It has been so great getting to know the members of my team and hanging out with them. They always seem to keep me laughing and smiling. They definitely make 8:00 more enjoyable for me. We went throug the book of Colossians, which is probably one of my favorite books in the New Testament, and we finished up the semester in James. I have loved being on the prayer team this past semester, and God has provided me with some amazing people.

It was not till halfway through the semester that I met the people on the 5th floor of my dorm (I live on the 7th). My friend Asheigh from BCM lives on the 5th floor, so I went down there one day to talk to her, and I ended up meeting all of her hilarious friends. I spend mroe time now on their floor than I do mine. They have been so much fun to hang out with and get to know. I love them to death, even though I was trying to taker a nap and they wrapped a whole roll of toilet paper on me.

God has provided me such an amazing support group; I praise Him everyday for providing me with my main group of friends. At first, I was expecting God to just put someone in my life and magically become best friends with them, but it was not that easy. Getting into the semester, I realized that I have to be intentional with people if I really want to get to know them and reach out to them. I started out with getting to know some of the freshman in BCM. I felt like such a creeper, but I invited a couple of the freshman guys to lunch. I am sure I creeped them out with some random guy just asking them to hang out. I got lunch with Caleb first, and apparently the first impression I made on him was not the best. When I walk, I am in the zone. I have my mindset on where I am going, and completely block out everything else. With this said, I was in the cafeteria waiting on Caleb to get there when I saw one of my other friends. I went to go talk to her, and apparently Caleb had came up to me and said hey, but I did not see him and completely ignored him. It was not till a couple days later that someone told me what had happened. Not the best way to start out a friendship, but luckily Caleb has not held that against me, and I can say that now he is one of my best friends at school. We are planning on rooming together next year, and I cannot wait! After getting luch with Caleb, I got lunch with Taylor and Will. They are pretty awesome! Kept me laughing the whole time. Hanging out with them has been great. Will always crackin' your mom jokes and Taylor just being hilarious. I blame both of them for my addiction to LOST. They also brought Sly Cooper! Don't know what that is you are missing out. BEST GAME EVER! Through Taylor and Will, I met Dusty, Beth, Ali, Maggie, Alex, and Madison. These people are AWESOME!!! I love hanging out with them. They always have me smiling, joking, and laughing. God has blessed me with this group of friends, and I praise Him everyday for putting them in my life. I am excited about next semester playing 4v4 volleyball with Maggie, Ali, and Will. Needless to say we will dominate. Speaking of volleyball, my team won the championship this past semester for the 3A league. I am excited to be home for Christmas, but I don't see how I am going to last a month without seeing these people. We are all taking snowboarding together next semester, and words cannot even describe how excited I am about this!!!

There are several other people that I love to death! Hunter has been such an awesome friend this semester as well. I stayed the other night at his cabin (which is extremely nice), and it was one of the best days I have ever had! My "hookup" partner for BCM, Matt Gillis, has been such a blessing to me too. It has been great getting to know him and talk to him. I got lunch most every Tuesday and Thursday with him and some of his friends, and it was great talking to them and joking around. They made me feel a part of the group the day I met them. Marge is also one of my best friends. Whenever I need a venting session, Marge is always there for me. I have loved hanging out and talking to her. She has been one of the hugest blessings at my time at App. She has been there for me every step of the way this year, and I am so blessed to have a best friend like her!

This semester has been awesome. I could not have asked for a better semester, classes, or friends. This year already tops last year by far. This freshman year has been everything I imagined plus more! I cannot wait for this next semester to get back to school and see what all God has in store for me. As for now, its good to be home with the family, and just spending some time relaxing!

5th Floor Doughton: Gotta Love Them!

Zumba!

Lost: Give me your eyes

Give me your eyes for just one second

Give me your eyes so I can see

Everything that I keep missing

Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the broken hearted

Ones that are far beyond my reach.

Give me your heart for the ones forgotten

Give me your eyes so I can see

~Give Me Your Eyes

Ever since the week of Thanksgiving, I have been obsessed with the TV series, LOST. I blame some of my best friends, Taylor, Will, and Dusty for this. Most of the time the only thing playing on my TV is football games, baseball games, or my personal favorite Gomer Pyle, so I have never actually gotten into watching a whole series of shows. LOST, however, has got me addicted. I have found myself shouting at the TV, getting mad at the characters, and constantly thinking about it. It has gotten to the point that I compare everything to LOST. You could say that I am a LOST addict.

I finished up season 3 today, and I started season 4. While I was watching some episodes today, I began to think about what life would be like if we could see through the eyes of other people. If you have never seen LOST before (I strongly recommend that you start watching it), during each episode, there are flashbacks to each of the characters lives before the plane crash. Each episode, you learn about a different character and his or her life. The audience is able to see the person's life before the crash, and learn more about the character. As I was watching a few flashbacks today, I was thinking about what it would be like to see life through the people's eyes around us. What would the world be like if we set aside our own problems, and we started to care about those around us? What if there are people around who are hurting, but we don't take the time to help them. What if the person beside us on the bus, in class, or even in church is going through a rough time, and no one is taking the time to talk to them? What would the world be like if we stopped, listened and cared?

I know recently, I haven't taken the time to look through the eyes of those around me. I know I haven't cared for those who are around me like I should. Lately, I have been really concerned with myself. I pass by people every day in my dorm, classes, and street, but I don't take the time to stop, get to know people, and listen to their story. The times I have actually stopped and cared for people, I have noticed that they have experienced some of the same things I have, and I have been able to tell them how God has helped me in those times. I have also noticed that some people just need someone to listen to them and care for them. So if this is happening, then why am I not caring more about others? What would it be like if we all started truly caring, and not just saying we care? We could reach out to so many more people, and really spread the love of Christ to others.

My goal in my faith for the upcoming year is to love and care for others more. I want to get to really know the others around me, and show that I really do care for them.  I want to be able to reach out to those hurting. I want to rejoice when others rejoice and mourn when others are mourning. Its not going to be about Jess anymore, for I am second, and I want to share the love and joy that God has filled me up with, with others around me. I want the eyes of others!

"If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it"

2 Corinthians 12:26

God is my Healer

"I will exalt you, Lord,

for you lifted me out of the depths

and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

Lord my God, I called to you for help,

and you healed me.

You, Lord, brought me up from the

realm of the dead;

you spared me from going down to the pit.

~Psalms 30:1-3

Last semester was the roughest, toughest,  and longest semester of my life. I went through a extremely bad depression. I took a survey in the counseling center at App State, and on a scale from 1-25 (1 being not depressed and 25 severely depressed), I was a 23. My emotions were all over the place. I couldn't control my thoughts. Life was just miserable. I was alone, scared, lost, hurt, broken, and away from God. My relationship with Christ before my depression was one of hypocrisy and going through the motions. I did not understand what it meant to be a follower of Christ.

It was through that rough time that God healed me. God showed me his love and pulled me up from the realm of death. Over the course of the summer, my relationship with Christ grew tremendously. God constantly showed his love to me. He filled me with an abundant amount of joy. Going from a place of being torn and broken to where I am now, God has healed me more than I could have ever imagined. God has provided some amazing people in my life, and He has really worked through them to help me out. This semester (no longer depressed) every time the devil has tried to bring back my past, God has always provided scripture, friends, family, or whatever to remind me that He is my healer and that He is watching out for me.

This semester has been 30275406530 times better than last semester. My mood has completely changed, and it is all because of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I am realizing how blessed I am, and how much God loves me as well as the people around me. God has not only healed me, but He is using what I went through to reach out to other people going through similar situations. I do sometimes get upset, but I mean what person doesn't? I do, however, know that God is in completely control and there is nothing that God can't overcome. Death has lost its sting!

Going from last semester to where I am now, I know that my God is mighty and willing to save! God is my healer!!!

God Provides

"Dont worry about anything; instead PRAY about EVERYTHING."

Philippians 4:6

It's amazing how God hears our prayers and then answers them in ways we cannot even imagine! After a rough semester last year, I was worried about coming back and with whom I would hang out with. The first couple weeks was filled with sitting in the room a lot just hanging out trying to find someone to hang out with. I was worried I would not have a solid group of friends to hang out with this year. God taught me to go outside of my comfort zone and to be intentional with people, but I was still worried that even after that I still would not have anyone.

I have Philippians for on my dry erase board in my room, and it is one of my favorite verses! God always pulls this verse out and reminds me of it at the perfect times. I began praying everyday that God would provide me some friends up here in Boone that I could hang out with and grow closer too, and that would also help me in my walk with Him. Well, God took that prayer request and provided me with more friends than I could handle. He has blessed me so much these past couple of weeks, and I am so grateful for the people He has put into my life!

This weekend has been one of the best weekend I have had up here in Boone. Hanging out with some awesome people Friday night. The Wonderful William Walter took Dusty, Maggie, and I to Chilis, and then we watched Captain America. The ending was pretty bad, but the movie in general was pretty good. Saturday, went to Trinity Baptist to do some painting and some other work. God has definitely blessed that Church. They are soooo nice and genuine. Pastor Nathan was so awesome, and the people that went to help out were pretty hilarious. I don't think I have laughed this much in a longgg time.

Saturday was the perfect day to go to the parkway! Dusty and I chased a deer; it was pretty epic. We made the deer run out in front of a car, which could have ended pretty badly, but it was still pretty awesome. My goal before graduation is to touch a deer. We watched the beautiful sunset. God's creation is beyond beautiful! Enjoyed listening to Patrick Austin's guitar playing, and enjoyed bonding with Sarah, Lindsay, Anna, Dusty, Caroline, and Meg. That night we went night hiking. It was pretty adventurous to say the least. The group left me for a little bit, so I got to see what Helen Keller felt like. I was trying to find my way in the dark, tripping over a couple rocks and sticks. Lucky my blanket saved me, and saved me from some rapist! (Caroline haha). We attempted to start a fire, but that was an Epic Fail! It turned out better though, we laid on a huge rock and looked at the stars and saw some shooting stars. Like I said, beautiful does not even come close to describing God's creation. The fellowship with some awesome friends was great. I got to get to know my friends a little better, and got to share some pretty scary and funny stories.

Today, I somehow slept through my alarm and missed church. Pretty disappointed in myself, but my quiet time made up for it! I really wanna try going homeless for a month. Sounds crazy, but lately all my devotions are about looking through the eyes of the less fortunate. I would love to see put myself in their position. I am applying to work with some organization that volunteers to help the homeless. I am pretty excited! This afternoon, I went and cooked with the Prayer Team for the BCM Thanksgiving feast tomorrow night. I absolutely LOVE those people. We had such an awesome time, and cooked some delicious foods. Learned a lot about each other, especially Stephanie! (She surprised me haha). After that we I went to the SRC to play some Volleyball. Looking forward to this game all day, and it was cancelled. The other team didn't have enough girls. #disappointed but we are going to the Championship tomorrow HOLLA!

So to say the least, God has blessed me with some awesome friends. I love seeing God's power. From last semester to now, God has filled me up with so much joy, and I cannot praise him enough for answering my prayers and providing for me. It has been a truly amazing semester so far, and I cannot wait to see what else God has planned for this school year!

Beautiful sunset at Price Lake

Love the 5th floor girls!

Painting at Trinity Baptist

Shannon's Birthday!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

"Come now, let us settle the matter," Says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:18

I love snow! I guess it's a good thing I go to Appalachian then. After leaving my prayer team meeting at BCM house this morning, I walked out into the flurry that was covering campus. The first thing that came to my mind (after, "hey, it's snowing!) was Isaiah 1:18. My sins were once as red as crimson, but God made them as white as the snow falling on my face. It amazes me that even in times when we fall short (which I know I fall short of his glory a lot), he still loves me enough to forgive me of my sins.

As I sit in the lobby of my dorm staring out my window at the snow, I cannot help but to think of every snowflake as a sin that has been forgiven. Each one that falls from the sky represents a sin that God has forgiven and made white. No matter how much snow falls to the ground, they are all white. No matter how many sins we commit, God still loves us and is cleansing us of those sins. It is amazing how little things such as snow can symbolize such a huge topic such as God's love and forgiveness.

I was reading my devotional today, The Voice of the Martyrs: Extreme Devotion,  the story the author shared was of a little girl who was beaten because of her faith. The girl was given a white dress when she accepted Christ as her savior. This white dress symbolized God cleansing her heart and making her pure and as white as snow. As the little girl was lying on her death bed waiting her arrival of her new home, she asked for this dress, that was now covered in blood. This dress represents her new life in Christ. The blood that covered the dress was shed as the little girl's father beat her for her faith.   The little girl states, 

"Please, I want to show the dress to Jesus. He was willing to bleed for me. I just want Jesus to know that I was willing to bleed for him"

Sadly enough, the little girl died shortly after saying this. Once the girl accepted Christ as her savior and was made white as snow, she was willing to give up her life for Christ. She was willing to wear the white dress as just more than a dress, but as a symbol of her new life in Christ. Christ shed his blood on the cross to make us white as snow, and this little girl shed her blood to show Jesus how thankful she was for the love and forgiveness he gave her.

As I sit here wishing the snow would stick, I reflect on my life and the new life that Christ has given me. The joy he has filled me up with, and unconditional love he gives me. Am I willing to shed my blood to tell others about the blood shed to make me white as snow? Is the new and pure life that Christ has given me reflecting on my daily actions? As I close out this blog, I pray that you take the moment to reflect on the forgiveness God has poured out on you, and reflect on how he has made you white as snow.

"As the rain and the snow come down from Heaven, and do not return to it without water the earth and making it bud and flourish, that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty,but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11