(Image found here)

I happened upon this thought provoking print this morning. Not too long ago I had this really bad habbit of saying things like, "I'm so poor", or "I don't have any money" in a pathetic and whiny "woe is me" sort of fasion. So... Neither of those things are true. I am richer than rich in my God, and I have not been back down to zero dollars since I've been back to Bolivia. In Canada I worked a full time and hit zero several times (negative zero periodically) even though all I was doing was paying rent, bills, and eating costs. Here I have had no real income to speak except for the generosity of my "not so wealthy themselves" missionary parents taking me in. Guess what, I have never gone hungry!
God is able! And as I seek to serve Him, He keeps food in my fridge, clothes on my back, a roof over my head and my life overflowing with LOVE. I am rich indeed!
THANKS GOD.

People I Really Love...

My sister. The girl who's been with me for over 19 years. And up until recently, she's always been by my side. Now we're far apart and getting the hang of being there with and for each other when we can't be there in person. I love this little girl. She's a wonderful, beautiful, feisty, lovely young woman and I MISS her. In honor of my best bud, here are a few photos from a trip we took right before she went back to Canada last year. She is sooo great to travel with!



That's what we called our extremely mini backpacking jaunt to Samaipata (a cute little turist town maybe three hours outside the city and into the mountains) "Excursains Around Samaipata of 2011".
We loved it! She had been asking me for the whole year if we could go on a trip. After she finished her last school year and before she hopped on a plane back to Canada we finally got to go on the "trip". Three whole days together "roughing it" in Samaipata. We found a hostel and got the cheapest room we could, shareing a single bed and staying nice and toasty.

(The quaint little the kitchen where we cooked all our hot water for all our coffee:) )

To be completely honest, I think all we did was eat! We'd wake up in the morning, head up to the roof to drink some coffee, read, and watch the sunrise. Then we'd go look for breakfast. After that we'd head back to our room and regroup while we waited for lunch to role around :)

(Adie and I tromp around the country side between meals)

(Adie was drinking her coffee one morning when she discovered the Lord and the word "poderoso" or "powerful" on the coffee mug we had purchased at the local market the day before :)



(We loved our little hostel and as such, we were especialy careful to keep the "hauling" down and not to do any dirt contaminating :)



We made it home safe and sound and a little bit closer as a result :) It was deffinately the BEST vacation I've ever been on and we'll deffinitely be doign that again someday, hopefully soon.
We're hopelessly different and exactly the same all at once and I LOVE my little sister!

Be the Bush...

Image by Sian Richardson of TWELVEBYONE

My tour of the Menonite school was on thursday, that's four days ago. I fiiiinaly finished filling out my application and e-mailed it off just this morning. It took me four days!! It wasn't particularily long or difficult, and yeah, I DO believe that this is the direction I should be walking in. So why did it take me so long?

Simple. I've been running scared since Thursday!!

But WHY? Scared of WHAT? Those are the questions I asked myself.

Here's what I came up with:

I'm afraind of failing. I'm afraid that I'm NOT going to be able to do this. "I don't teach! I don't know how to do it! Never have "officially". So why would I be able to now? What if the kids don't like me? What if the kids are really bad and I can't handel them? What if I just CAN'T?

And it's not like I don't want to do this so I'm trying to come up with a whole lot of good reasons why I shouldn't. I DO want to. I want to help these kids....But I'm afraid that I can't."

Until church yesterday.

Pastor Ed preached about Moses and the burning bush. Classic story right? Everyone knows it right? Well yeah most of us probably do. Eighty year old, runaway, shepard in the desert Moses is out tending his flock when he stumbles upon God HIMself in form of fire on a bush that was not being consumed by the flames (you can the whole story here!). It's a wonderful story.

So I'm sitting in my front row seat taking notes, admitedly only half listening to the story that "I know so well" when the pastor says this:

"A bush doesn't get busy to be great. First, it develops a relationship with the fire"

"Ok, what??"

Here, read it one more time.

"A bush doesn't get busy to be great. First, it develops a relationship with the fire"

At that point in the sermon I sat up straighter and listened more closely as the Spirit zeroed in on my heart and my fears. I had been being a busy bush.

In all of my planning and striving I had been trying to "prepare" myself, to "strengthen" myself.

I had forgotten that it's not MY strength that matters. Pastor Ed also said that, "God will not strengthen us so that we can do great things. No, God wants to works through us, to live in us. God wants to walk in our sandals."

That seemed so crazy to me because I realised that for some time now, I've been trying to walk in GOD'S sandals. I just kept finding that they're way to big for me. Too heavy, too great. I CAN'T. It was such a releif to realise that I've had it quite backwards for so long. God doesn't ask us to walk in HIS sandals. He asks us to "take off our sandals", just as he asked Moses, so that HE can walk in OUR sandals.

WOW. What an amazing God.

That's what I learned yesterday. I must be content to be the bush, and let God be the FIRE. I must take off my sandals, and let the God of the universes walk in them and shine through me.

I want to develop a relationship with the FIRE.

(ps. I'm going into the cave)

It's the little things...

...like Fernando James. I took this picture this morning of my little brother outside of our house. He's wearing his new big boy overalls...but don't be fooled! He's tiny.

Highschool Camp, 2012

Who God is.
That's what Mike Banks had us camp counselors think about one morning as we sat together drinking our all-important coffee.

Who God is.
I was challenged. Challenged to remeber that it's not about me. It wasn't even just about those kids. It's about God. It's about doing everything for His glory. I walked by this tree at least once every hour for two days before I "noticed" it. Before I saw God in it. It glorifies Him. And I want to do the same. Ok, I'm done preaching (for now :) ) CAMP!!

I wanted to go to camp for two reasons. 1/ I wanted to see what God would do in the lives of the students. 2/ I wanted to serve them.
I wasn't disappointed.
Day 1 we didn't make it to camp. We were met with a very Bolivian "bloqueo". Which is a fancy word for protesters blocking the road and not letting anyone pass. We ended up staying in a hotel the first night in a small town an hour away from camp and the next day we had a 4.4 kilometer walk across this blocade awaiting us.

(4.4 km walk across the blocade. Those kids amazed me. Seriously, what troopers!)
But God got us through! He showed Himself to those kids in a mighty way and for that we thanked Him (we also thanked Him for air conditioning, TV, clean showers and towels for our first night of "camp" yes!)

(Hamin being his great self (and freaking Mariela out) This guy was a super huge blessing to me this week!)

We made it there in one peice the next day and "camp" started to look like camp at last. There was good food, team activities, the pool, card games, ping pong, solo times, small groups, worship times and sessions. For me it was all about the serious times. There were the kids that were there just because it was better than being in class. But then there were those who were there looking for Christ. There were those who knew they didn't have all the answers, but that Jesus DOES. I was blessed to pray with some of them, and observe the rest of them from afar.

I love watching people fall in love with Jesus!!

Meet some of "my girls". Ok, they're not really my girls...I had never really hung out with them for real before this camp, but I still called them that :) They're the senior girls and they're beautiful (get ready for the cliche) inside and out! I was in their cabin with the lovely Miss B. (go Emily Barlow!) and got to know them ever so slightly. They love each other, and they love Jesus. It was amazing to see!

Finally, meet Mike Banks. My Highschool youth pastor, the guy who made camp happen, lover of Jesus Christ, and one of my heros. I admire this man so much, but it's not him, It's Christ living in Him! God has has done an amazing work in and through Him and has His hand is on his life. We saw God sustain His life in amazing ways this week. Spiritually, emotionally, sanity-wise, and physically.

Thank you Mike!!

And thank you God for Mike.

Thank you highschoolers of SCCLC you're all awesome!

(ps highschoolers: remember, it doesn't end here, this is only the beginning)

Flashback!!

Febuary 13-17, 2012 = HighSchool Camp for the lovely 9th -12th graders of the Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center. Oh what JOY! (That's where my brother, sister, and I graduated from highschool here in Bolivia.)

I was blessed to attend 3 highschool camps while here in Bolivia the first time and now I've managed to weasel my way into a forth. You may be wondering, "But how Whit? You don't work or volunteer at your old highschool. How did you even get an invite?"

I invited myself! I heard Miss Emily Barlow (shoutout to my highschool english teacher!) talking about it at Bible study and basically said, "Take me with you!".

"But WHY??? Isn't camp caracterized by montser bug stores told, and retold hundreds of times by those attacked and their loved ones?". To that I say; Indeed it is. But, camp is also caracterized by an entire highschool student body coming together in one, sometimes muddy, hot, and bug invested, BEAUTIFUL campsite to learn about the one true God.

How could I miss out on that?? I want to see what God does in their lives. I want to see God move among them and through them. I want to see them learn things that I learned when I went to camp. Not long ago I was in the same shoes as these "kids" and I want to serve them during this time.

(My senior year of highschool I helped out at Junior High Camp. These lovely ladies are now 10th and 11th graders! And yes, if you can believe it...that is me!)

Please pray for them! Pray that during this time they will be safe, have a good time but more than anythng that they will GROW. Pray that they will grow in their understanding of who God is and how much he loves them.
(ps. You can pray for me too, I like to grow and I certainly don't want to have to relate any such bug tales when I get back!) Have a great week!

Post #1

Hi! It's me, Whitney Joan.

Welcome to my little peice of ciber space!

Family and friends that I don't have near to me...< I miss you all so much!> And I want to be able to share with all of you the amzing things that God has been doing in my life and the things that I know He'll continue to do.
I have been away from my Canadian home for a year and a half now and I have so much to share! God in all His grace, love, and totally amazing goodness has seen fit to bless me beyond anything I could have ever imagined here in my current home of BOLIVIA.

A little bit of back story: I spent the first almost year working with the same mission that my dad does (Operation Restoration) with street kids. Right after that, I did my YWAM Discipleship Training School, which I just finished a few short weeks ago. More on those two times to come later!

(I have so much to tell!!!)

Special shout out to big brother Spencer and little sister Adrienne! (this one's for you Spence!)

I hope you enjoy reading about God, my family, my life, what I'm learning, my ups and downs, and my PROCESS! Speaking of my “process” this is the one I’m in right now:

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear much fruit unless you remain in me.”
-Jesus Christ (John 15:4)

I’m in the business of remaining. That’s what I’m doing/learning right now...the art of REMAINING in Christ. More on all of this….later! Thank you so much for visiting and I truly hope that what you read here will serve to lift you up, encourage you, enlighten you, inform you, make you smile and bless your heart!