Strange keyboards...

I am in an internet cafe.  And the keyboard is so different.  I feel as if I have to learn how to type all over again.  For that reason, this post will not be very long.

Something we have all had to adopt as a mantra: the differences we encounter here are not good nor are they bad, they are simply differences.  I have had to get used to a different pace of life, different food, different personal space rules, and especially a very the different language.  The native people are generally very hospitable here, it makes learning the language and our interactions with them very enjoyable.

[Sidenote: I cannot find the apostrophe on this keyboard, so I am using no contractions...haha...yeay different]

Something I have learned while being here: We deserve NONE of the love that God chooses to lavish upon us. We will probably never understand why He chooses to treasure us, but the reality is that He does. He actually desires for us to get to know Him.  P.T.L. (Praise the Lord)

Thanks for reading.

Grace and peace,
Shayla M.

I'm here, and I know it's only by the Lord.

After three days in LA,  24 hours of traveling and 10 hours of time change, we made it to our destination.  We're staying in a flat on the 7th floor of an apartment building in the middle of a city comparable to the Bronx or Queens, New York.  We totally lucked out and we (the ladies and our team leaders) are actually staying in the landlord's personal flat.  He rented his personal space to us and packed up the majority of his stuff and went to another apartment.  This means that our apartment is fully furnished and that it has a lot of charm.  Picture soon (hopefully). 

We took a ferry ride yesterday to another part of the city for more briefing.  As I sat on the ferry and watched the city roll by, I was struck with the realization that I really, really, really, don't belong here logically.  The Lord protected me from the knowledge that I would go through culture shock, that I would miss America and 2% milk, that I would feel like I couldn't do the work set out for us--(had I thought of these things seriously, I probably would have refused the trip). But the Lord truly called me here and made it clear that He wanted me here to do His work and, I think even more importantly, to grow me. 

I think the latter part of that statement is really why I'm here.  I honestly believe that He could use anyone in the kingdom for His work over here, it doesn't matter if it's me or any person of our 14 person team, He doesn't specifically need any one of us.  I have a deep sense that this trip really is more about my growth as a person of faith and as a daughter of God.  Sharing the Good News is icing on the cake. 

With that said, I'm expecting growing pains. Today we go out to do what we said we would do here: step onto college campuses and talk about Jesus.  More to come.

Grace and peace,
Shayla M.

It came in.

All of it. All $5650 and more.  The "more" is money that can be given to other students on project who didn't raise enough before project starts.  I can hardly believe it.

When I raised money for my last trip, it was only $2350, which now seems like a drop in the bucket.  When I applied to this project, the number $5650 loomed over me.  I had people asking constantly "hmmm, well what happens if you don't get it all?"  I honestly didn't know how to reply, because I didn't even want to think of it that way.

I wrestled with two different mindsets: "Believe that God wants you there and He's going to provide! Do not even think of a Plan B" and "You should maybe have some plan for when it does not come in, you really only have about $500 to your name, what are you going to do if it doesn't?"  At a deep level I knew that the former was a statement that I needed to cling to, that I needed to have faith that He would bring it in somehow.  The other statement is faithless and doubting.  I don't know that doubting God has gotten anybody anywhere.

Neil T. Anderson, in his book Victory over the Darkness explains it this way:

The strength of Plan A [living God's way by faith] is determined by your personal convictions that God's way is always right and by how committed you are to believe Him. The strength of Plan B [living our way by humanistic reasoning] is determined by the amount of time and energy you invest in entertaining thoughts that are contrary to God's Word.....The more time and energy you invest in contemplating your own plans on how to live your life, the less likely you are to seek God's plan. You begin flip-flopping between acknowledging God's plan and leaning on your own understanding. (p. 151, 152)

About a week ago I mentally committed to Plan A. I would not allow myself to think about Plan B. And within one week, the rest of my support came in.  I challenge you to sit with God and ask him "in what ways am I living Plan A? In what ways am I living Plan B?" He is faithful, my friends, to answer.

Grace and peace,
Shayla M.