Imbabazi

Hey everyone! Apologies that I haven’t been posting very often, it’s difficult for me to put into words all that is going on here. First off I should update you on where I’m going on outreach! As I mentioned earlier I put down that they could send me anywhere. The night that we found out they set up an elaborate and drawn out reveal of our outreach teams and the suspense was driving me crazy! I finally found out and the place I’m going on outreach is Rwanda! It (of course) was a complete shock to me, but after being able to process it and let it sink in, I am very excited to be going! Our team of 7 is made up of 3 Americans, 3 Canadians, and one Norwegian! We haven’t learned exactly what we will be doing while we are there but we will be staying with a missionary family in Kigali (the capitol) and doing short outreaches to other areas of the country.

The last two weeks of lecture have been great, but very emotional (it seems like that’s a constant theme here!). The first week our speaker was John Bills and he spoke on the Father-heart of God/Hearing the Voice of God. He was very real and open with us about things that he’d dealt with in his life and his testimony was so very inspiring. The last two days of the week our whole class kind of had a “breakdown” where people stood up front and shared some really deep and painful things/areas in their life, just laying it all out and being vulnerable. Our class really came around those people and just loved and prayed over them. We truly have become a family! 

This last week our speaker was Andy Byrd who talked about Intimacy with God. I've never heard anyone speak so passionately! His zeal was so contagious. A few snippets from his lecture I’d like to share:

• Sometimes if we want the PEACE we have to give up the right of UNDERSTANDING”
• Live from the revelation of His love, not for His love
• We have embellished what we’ve given up and minimized what we’re gaining
• You are either a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness
• God wants us to be revived, delivered, and freed so that we can go out and bring revival, deliverance, and freedom!

On Monday our class was giving the opportunity to volunteer at something called Candyland. A local church here in Kona puts it on every year to help keep children off the streets during Halloween and give them a safe environment to trick or treat. There were fun game booths, face painting, jump houses, a rock wall, food, balloon animals, entertainment, and tons of candy! I helped out with one of the game booths and was dressed as a 50’s chick. It was such a great experience, especially being able to connect with the community here; around 8,000 people showed up!

PRAYER REQUESTS

·        Unfortunately I’ve been on and off sick for the past few weeks so prayers for my continued health 

·        Prayer for our Rwanda team that we would be able to grow close in our relationships with each other and be able to prepare as much as we can now so that we can be most affective on outreach!

·        Finances! I am still needing around $3,000 for my outreach expenses.

If you feel called to support me on this journey financially please contact me at bethany2v@yahoo.com

Imana aguhe umugisha, ("God bless you" in Kinyarwanda)

Bethany

Send Me

Ahh, I don't know where to begin. I feel like there is so much to say yet I don't know how to say it, which means this post will probably on the shorter side. We've had two weeks of lecture now, the first was on the topic of the Kingdom (of God) and the second on giving up our rights. We were blessed to be able to hear Loren & Darlene Cunningham speak this last week as they have such amazing stories and testimonies of faith. I won't go into detail about the lectures because I know I won't be able to do them justice. I will say this though; they have blown me away and been really beneficial to my spiritual growth.

I have however been struggling this week a lot with missing home, my family, friends, pets, fall, etc. I'm still getting used to the routine of things and settling in. It takes me longer to make friends then most people so that can be hard at times too (even though everyone is so friendly). Kona is such a huge campus with so many people that it can be really easy to get lost in the mix and feel lonely. Another thing about the campus is that there is a LOT of walking. I counted today that there are over 98 steps of stairs on campus that I walk every day (and more than once)! I'm looking on the positive side that all of the walking/climbing will help prepare me for outreach! Speaking of outreach....

We learned our outreach locations on Tuesday! There will be ten teams with about 8-10 people in each of them. The locations are:

1. Cambodia
2. Rwanda
3. Colombia & Chile
4. India & Sri Lanka
5. Myanmar
6. Japan
7. South Africa
8. Cambodia & Vietnam
9. Virgin Islands & St. Croix
10. Mozambique & South Africa

We were given note cards and told to put down our top three options, however I ended up writing on mine "wherever you feel led to send me". There are several reasons for that decision but mostly because I didn't feel a real peace or calling to any specific one and I will be satisfied with any of the choices, knowing that wherever I go, it's in God's plan. I am very nervous/excited to find out though! We will learn our locations and teams this Monday night. 

I am still needing to raise most of my outreach fees. Depending on where I go it will be between $4,500 - $6,000. It's a lot of money but I'm believing that God can and will be able to provide that for me. If you do feel led to help support me you can use the donate button on the right side of the blog or email me at bethany2v@yahoo.com for more information on how to donate. 

Mahalo!

Bethany