Prayers for Haiti! In the hardest places, breakthrough happens!

It has been over a month since the tragic earthquake in Haiti. Things seem to be dying down and new headlines are starting to hit the newsstands. It almost seems like people are done thinking about Haiti and praying about Haiti... BUT THE PRAYERS CAN"T STOP! We need to continue praying for that nation and we will continue seeing God doing incredible things there! In the places where there is the most tragedy and the most devastation and the most heartache is where our hearts need to be! Miracles have been happening there! People in Haiti are being healed! People in Haiti are coming to Jesus and Jesus is not slowing down. Please keep Haiti in your prayers! Pray that the people there are being rescued and getting the help they need. Pray that they are getting the basics necessities of food, shelter, and water. Pray that Christians get the call to go there and serve them as well as sharing with them the Greatest News ever! I also ask that you specifically pray for my church. We are sending out a team once a week for the next two months to Haiti. As one of our college pastors said, "They need our prayers all week as they will be pouring themselves out completely all week long. It is in the impossible places where God can be glorified the most. So let's contend for a powerful move of God through our team there this week!"

Psalm 86:10 "For You are great and do marvelous deeds; You alone are God."

Spring Break!

Spring Break is in two weeks and I will be spending it in Waco, Texas doing missionary work and getting discipleship training. I will be going with my church's college group. (http://antiochnorman.com/) Our church is a plant from our home church in Waco called Antioch as well! My two best friends, Lauren and Caroline, will be going too! We are so excited to see all the powerful ways that God is going to move in Waco! We will be helping the homeless and going out and just sharing the Gospel! I am fully expectant to see people healed and come to know Him! This trip will be such a testament to how God is working in America. I need to be reminded all the time that I don't have to go overseas to encounter God. He is here and He is moving! Spring break in Waco will be such a preparation for when I go to Japan! I will be having to get out of my comfort zone and fully depend on God, trusting that He will move mountains in Waco. I will try to keep you all updated when I am down there to let you know about all the awesome things that happen.

"Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members on of another." Ephesians 4:25

My Two Best friends and I are so excited for Waco!

Thy Kingdom Come in the Land of the Rising Sun

It is so cool to look back at my life and see all the ways God was working even when I wasn't following Him. One of the ways He was working was back when I attended Sand Lake Elementary school in Anchorage, Alaska. This school offers a Japanese Immersion program where half of the students day is in English and half is in Japanese. All math and science was in Japanese as well. I was enrolled in this program. While studying the language of Japanese, I never really thought what I would use it for. Everyone told me it was a great language to learn, but I had no idea why!

Fast forward to this year. I haven't spoken Japanese in five years and thought that those ten years of learning Japanese maybe was a waste. Last semester, I started praying about what God wanted me to do this summer. I was considering doing a relatively long mission trip but I wasn't sure where and I had also been offered a really nice job at the Christian summer camp I have worked at the previous two summers. Then, what I thought was out of nowhere, I started being reminded of my Japanese Language skills and the country of Japan.

First, I started hearing Japan being brought up in many different conversations around me. This made me think....hmmmm.....what about going to Japan? But then I forgot about it. Then, I was leaving my Chinese class (Yes, I am minoring in Chinese which is a whole different story for another post), I saw a shelf that had a sign that said "Free Books." Being the book lover that I am, I went to investigate, and sure enough the only books on the shelf where Japanese Language Textbooks!! (My school doesn't even offer Japanese!) I took both textbooks and started to refresh my memory of the language. By this time I suggested to my roommate, Lauren, that I might start looking into going to Japan during the summer. However, I was still really drawn to the job I was offered at the summer camp. It paid really well, it would be so much fun, the job was essentially being created just for me and I would be really good at it. I also had to tell my boss within a month if I was going to accept the job! So, God started moving even more!

For my birthday, Lauren got me a side by side English and Japanese Bible (God was obviously using her to speak to me.) Then, one normal, regular day, I was getting on my facebook account like I do everyday, and my entire facebook was in the language of Japanese!! I knew now that God was telling me something and it was time to spend some serious time with Him in prayer because my selfish and prideful side was still telling me to take the job at camp. Fortunately, that week, at our CRU prayer group, we decided to have a spontaneous 48 hours of continuous prayer. So, at three in the morning, when it was just me and the Lord in the prayer room, I started asking for wisdom on my decision for this summer. I started reading scripture on being obedient to God and on seeking wisdom. God spoke to me. In my head all I could hear was "Japan, Japan, Japan!" It was like a palpitating heart. In my stubbornness, I said "Ok, God! I hear You, but let me at least think about this other job!" But in His wisdom, He wouldn't let me think about it. He just kept telling me "Japan, Japan, Japan!" So, finally, I gave in! It was wonderful! I started praying for the country of Japan and all the people that I would encounter there and share the Gospel with and I started writing scripture in Japanese. There was no question about it, I was going to Japan this summer.

Later, I realized why God was calling me there. Yes, the Japanese are in desperate need of Jesus and He will use me to bring them to Him, but the real reason why He was calling me there was so I could be completely dependent upon Him. He gave me humility in telling me that I was broken and that I can't do anything without Him! He wants to take me out of my comfort zone to know truly what it means to follow Him! If I had taken the job at the camp, I would have been prideful in thinking how good I was at it and I would have been comfortable and therefore, not relying on Him.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5

Some facts about Japan:

-Most Japanese follow the religions of Shintoism and Buddhism.
-Only 1% of the population is Christian.
-Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the World.
-Japan is one of the wealthiest nations in the World.

The Reason!

Hi Everybody!

This is my first blog and my first post so I would just love to share with you the reason why I decided to create this blog. I felt led to do this after realizing how important it is to share how God is working in my life. Through this blog, I pray that I decrease and He increase. I also created this blog because I have been called to the mission field and wanted to be able to keep all my family, friends, and supporters updated on how God is using me. I also want this blog to be a place where I share thoughts and scripture God has laid on my heart.

I went on my first mission trip last summer to Albania for two and a half weeks and that is where the Lord solidified that I was called to the mission field. This summer, I will be going to Tokyo, Japan for six weeks with Campus Crusade For Christ. (In a latter blog I will go into more detail of how I was called there!)I don't know where I will be going once I graduate, but I have been learning the languages of Chinese and Japanese and God has put Asia on my heart!

I also feel like I am here at Oklahoma City University to do full time missions. Classes (even though they are still important) have become so secondary to me. My greatest desire is to see God glorified on this campus and for a revival to start.He has already put me in awe of all the incredible ways He has worked on this campus and many of my posts will be about that!

The Harvest is Here and I want to be a harvester! I want to share the greatest news that anyone can hear! Jesus loves you!


In Christ,

Courtney