Compassion Sunday

    Woohoo! Today was Compassion Sunday at Stonecreek Church! I have been so excited for today! Here are a few reasons why…

• Because of the Dominican Trip with Compassion over spring break, myself and the other eight students that went were able to be onstage in our middle and high school environments. This gave us the opportunity to share our stories and how God worked through us.
• We were able to take part in getting 150 children sponsored! Giving hope to these precious children!
• I got to see the power in opening up and sharing my story.. So often I think “Oh I am not going to say anything, I will just sound stupid” or “If I share would it really make a difference?” 

    The answer is “YES!”, when we are open to letting God us He can do amazing things! And don’t for one minute doubt that!

    Okay so I have a video of the team answering questions… But it is such a big video that I will have to edit it down before I can post it… But be looking out for it soon!

Did you participate in Compassion Sunday? Did it change you in any way?

                                                                                              Kristen

One Life

One life…

One person…

One story…

What’s yours?…

What’s theirs?…

It only takes one, one person to change the life of a precious child or teen forever. Over spring break I worked with Compassion International in the Dominican Republic. I had the amazing chance and opportunity to meet so many amazing people. I got to meet the children in Compassion zone 313 Blanco Arriba. I was able to play games, make bracelets, talk, share my faith, and just love on these amazing people.

One day that we were at the project we go to meet all of the kids that had just entered the program and needed sponsors… These are the kids that need sponsors.

Compassion Sunday for my church is this upcoming Sunday, April 17th. So on this day myself and the rest of the team get to host the Compassion Sunday, also we are speaking about our trip and what God has done and is doing in us and the people in the Dominican Republic. It is going to be an amazing service.

I am challenging you to think this week about sponsoring a child… you will be giving them a chance, a hope.

  Would you be willing to be that one? The one to change a life…

I have seen first hand how your $34 a month can change the lives of a child and his or her family. Bringing food, clothes, education, and medical help are the physical things that you will be giving. But something even bigger is giving a hope, knowing that someone loves you and is caring for you even though they have never met you.

We were able to ask some of the children about their sponsors, it was amazing to see how they could practically quote their letters and were able to tell you everything that they knew about their sponsor off the top of their head. All of them had a very special place that they kept their letters that usually only they knew about.. or others kept them in a glass case on display.

If you are a sponsor to a child I am asking you this… How often do you write your child? Once a month? Once every three months? Once a year?

Compassion would suggest that you write once a month. Receiving a letter is something that the child so looks forward to… give them something to look forward to.

 

Would you be willing to sponsor a child? To change the life of a child, family, community? Help break the cycle of poverty one child at a time.

 

 

                                                                             Kristen

I am back! Lets start at the beginning…

 

I am back!! I have missed blogging!

    As most of you know I went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic this spring break… so the next few posts may be about the trip   I am sure you wont mind, especially after you see the faces of all the children!

     There are so many things that I saw and experienced on this trip I don’t even know where to start!

Well I guess the beginning is always a good place… So we had a two flights one from ATL to MIA then from MIA to Santo Domingo. I got the window seat when we were flying from Miami! So this is what it looks like from the clouds! Every time that I fly I am amazed and in awe of how big our world is… It is not something that we thing about when we are in our daily routines, I know that I didn’t stop and think of the people that are all over the world and how big our world really is.

Flying puts it into perspective of how small we all really are.

This is the amazing scenery that we drove through to get to Blanco Arriba every day… Rolling mountains with the most beautiful blue sky that I think I have ever seen! With perfect white puffy clouds meeting the tops of mountains. The Dominican Republic is the most colorful and green country that I have seen so far. (I have been to three countries…haha) But really God amazes me at his creativity and artistic design!

 

At the moment I do not have my camera with pictures of the kids. I should be getting it back within the next few days, when I get it back you will be sure to see many pictures and stories of the amazing people that touched my heart. Until then here is the only picture I have of me with a child.

This is Natalie!

 

What did you do for spring break?

Did you waste your time doing nothing?

God calls us to be missionaries whether that is at your home, school, church, or another country.

What are you going to do to make a difference?

 

                                                                                                               Kristen

A Dream

  

     What God showed me on Friday night….

    All last week we were planning on going down to see friends and go to church with them on Saturday (yesterday) then go with them to a fundraiser for our other friends trip to Africa. Well Thursday we find out that it is supposed to be raining over the weekend… like REALLY rainy. To get to our friends houses we have to drive downtown past the airport and it is about and hour and twenty minutes drive. Mom told me on Friday how much she did not want to go because of the rain, she was nervous driving on the interstate with so much rain. For some reason I had this feeling that we needed to go see everyone and that what we were going to hear at church would be something that myself and my family would want to know. So I prayed…. Friday night.

    Friday night I had the most interesting dream…. We were driving on the highways and intersections and near our house it was POURING… but the farther we went from home the drier everything was. There was this feeling inside of me that we had to get there and I had to make sure that Mom would get us there and not be scared of driving.  Then there was this voice… it was beautiful, it was soft and gentle and as quiet as the wind. Though it was also strong and powerful. It kept saying

Do not be afraid. Trust Me. Come.

    These words just for me to think about them it gives me chills. God spoke to ME in a dream! It excites me to think that He really truly hears my every prayer!! And this is not even the end.!

    Alright so Saturday I get up, I didn’t tell Mom about the dream BUT on the way there it did yes rain and pour and there was thunder and lighting. The whole time we had the radio on and were singing praises and songs to worship our God….. The farther away we went from the house the rain just stopped! The roads were clear and dry the whole way there. The church service was something that my family had studied so it was so cool to learn a little deeper about the topic. After the service we all caravanned to the fundraiser we watched the Lion King. (one of my favorites!)

    And again on our way home the roads were all clear and dry then right as we got to the SAME EXACT SPOT that it stopped last time it started again! SO the ONLY time that we were in the rain was when we were close to home, so Mom didn’t feel worried or nervous the whole drive.

So morale of the story… God hears you! Each and every cry, shout, and plea.

I hope you have a super Sunday!

 

Kristen

Thought of the day…

  I am in a teen girl Bible study at my church and for this month we are reading Lady in Waiting by Jackie Kendall and Debby Jones. I have never read this book but am excited to start it!

    Going along with this book our Bible verse to memorize is 2 Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”   This verse got me thinking… what do I have in my life that is unclean, unholy, not pleasing God, and causing harm to myself?

One of my weaknesses would be music. Music is something that I am passionate about, it speaks to the soul. It can make you feel happy, joyous, comforted, loved but it can also make you sad, depressed, and angry. (there are many more but you get the idea) Music has the power to make us feel things. That is why we should be cautious to what we listen to. I think of David when he would play music for King Saul to calm him and bring him peace. Or how David danced through the streets singing and shouting praises to Adonai!

So just some things to think about…

What are you doing, listening to, watching that is unclean and unholy?  I am not telling you to completely change the second you finish reading this but think about what you are doing before you press play.

Have you read Lady in Waiting? If so what are your thoughts on the book?

Here is a song that I am really liking right now…

:)

 

Kristen