Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair. - GK Chesterton

The night we spent painting the inside of this church, was one of my very favorite days in Brazil. This little church was located deep into the amazon about 3 hours from Manaus Brazil. 
And here is where we were so very welcomed by the sweetest church family. What God taught me this night as we were working, painting, laughing hysterically, goofing around with each other, as the fans were doing the best job they could at keeping some air circulating.

..... was that we are closest to Gods presence, and face to face with Him when we set aside our needs, agenda, worries, and just meet the needs of those around us. That night my "heavy burdens" fell off and I really experienced Psalm 16:11 In the presence of God is the fullness of joy! Was it ever! Those who stayed painting till the end remember just how hard we were laughing, cracking jokes left and right, many new inside jokes were birthed for the rest of the trip,laughing at the black acai all over Paul's and my teeth (a pic I will not post!) lol 

I came home knowing that this part of my walk with God, and how I live would look different, seeing to it that not much time goes by without stepping away from my needs and meet those who cant ever pay me back. I also learned that serving Christ does not always have to be "hard" and "suffering" but blissful joy!

Now every time I see that paint on my flip flops my heart skips a beat, where I fell more in love with my God, and was loved on by the sweetest little church family in the interior of Brazil.  

"Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless......then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal." Isaiah 58:7-8

It has really shifted my heart to live this lifestyle more in my home town, and the times of doing that here in the states have been JUST as fun since I got back! 

Just a shout out for this little church in the interior, you could be praying for them as they are meeting the needs of people who have never been out of the jungle, their children have a very small chance of ever leaving the jungle, but because of this little ray of light of God through this church, people are meeting their God and following hard after Him, things are changing. Please lift up the Pastor in this church, his dedication blew me away as they were obviously training the next generation the word of God, and they are growing! 

John 13:34-35

Melissa 
XxOo

 
 

Sweet Friendships & Accountability

Early Mornings......

"Who's on your team? Who knows you well enough to glimpse your potential as it emerges? who can nurture and encourage you for the distance so that you become the person you were meant to be? We need people who will help grow us into who we really are." Chris Hodges { Fresh Air }  <------ Click there

 Accountability is a wonderful thing, especially when it comes from a sweet friend.
I love that above quote from one of the books my friend and I have read together, who is that trusted person that can be by your side praying along with you, in every season of life?

Every Tuesday at 5, yes ehem, 5:00 AM, (I still think we are crazy) ....before work starts, before babies wake up that are home with their daddy, my friend Hannah and I meet for coffee, time in the word, and holding each other accountable with all things in life. Things such as business strategies and marketing, meal planning, ministry work, working out, house projects, making sure we prioritize true rest. We talk about child raising, books we want to read together and mission trips.

















How sweet it is to have a friend to remind each other to pray for the current and the future things in life :) If you have not heard of these books in the above picture please Click Here!

 Having a prayer warrior friend that I meet with on a weekly basis has changed me so much, and is continuing to. God has used this time to push and sharpen me, to really live out what Ephesians 2:10 says "For we are Gods masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

I love how Jesus modeled by the twelve disciples the importance of choosing those to share your heart with, your life with, your hardships and your joys!
I am just blessed enough to share this with a long time friend on Tuesday mornings, and other dear friends who God has hand picked for me!  

Who is that person in your life? Its so easy to let time go between catching up, or be together and not be intentional with your conversations, I know we at times have to reign in our conversations ;)  But I would so encourage you to pick a good read, or a book in the bible and read through it together, you can meet for coffee or set up a phone call chat, depending on your season of life. Even for those who are wives, sometimes the men in our lives can only handle so many 2 + hour conversations, but us girlfriends sure can! Its been such a wonderful gift in my life and I hope it will be for you too! 

I just love this song by Ellie Holcomb!

Have a great week!
Melissa <3 

The Dream Center

 A Sunny Saturday Morning .....

 













Our group of girls that meet at my home Monday nights (and their brothers) had their "mini missions trip" to the neighborhoods of down town Freeport to work alongside my friend Jon at the Dream Center.

 













They were so excited to join the team, put on their yellow shirts that said "The church has left the building" and in their own words "the salt has left the shaker" Matthew 5:13 and hit the street, meeting the physical needs of the people in these neighborhoods. We even had a young lady who lived their join us the whole morning! 

 
They were given direction how to meet not only physical needs but to simply be Jesus' hands and feet as they went through the streets, to be sensitive to the needs around them to stop and talk with whoever needed a smiling face or word of encouragement.They were ready to apply all we have been studying in Acts on our Monday's nights.

Going from one yard to another 

  

Weeding in the community gardens throughout the neighborhoods

Smiles all the way!
 

"The Team"

 It was a wonderful yet very warm morning, that did not slow down any of the kids from digging right in. We had a time of debriefing and got to hear their hearts about the morning, what they saw, and how God moved. We were all amazed how the kids in the neighborhood wanted to be a part of what we were doing, and simply just wanted attention. One of the girls Kyley had brought stuffed animals in her backpack with cards that she had wrote, saying how much God loves them, the kids just ate that up. We know God planted seeds in their hearts and we know His word does not return void! She and all of us were thrilled to see how God used that idea He gave her to reach the children in the town. 

The Dream Center was started by Jon and his friends years back and has turned into quite the facility to be a blessing to the people in downtown Freeport. During the summer months they are there every Saturday Morning and could really use more hands as they work throughout the streets. If the time is not yet right for you or you can't yet afford an overseas missions trip this is your opportunity, and it's a great one! I would highly recommend calling up the Dream Center and going and helping. The Lord changes my heart more and more every time I go, it's such an opportunity that is not always available where we love to meet needs of the people in our own country who live in really hard situations. 

They are open to individuals or teams from any church or home group! 

 You can click here  to visit the Dream Center site! 

Have a wonderful week! 

Melissa <3

hello & welcome

Welcome to my first blog post! 

My intentions for this blog is to share stories of what God is doing in this area, what He is doing as a result of the Missions trips you have prayed for alongside me, and support me on. This is my attempt to turn my mission letters from an email into a blog so you could experience more of what God is doing. :) please bare with me as I learn how to run all this techy stuff 😆

I foresee some of the blog post containing content such as.....

~ Mission Story's 

~ Local Happenings 

~ Networking with others (Missions and Local Business) 

~ Euntrepenurial Tips I learn along the way 

~ Updates the Young Ladies Bible Study 

~ Happenings at Hidden Creek 

~ Healthy Lifestyle Motivation (for me along with for others ;)

~Fun Little Musings ect.

One of my verses for 2017 is.....

// 2 Corinthians 4:7 

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. //

This is exactly what I intend this blog to be, a place to share Gods power and Gods glory, that I get the joy of partnering with Him to share with those I love! 

So here is to this new Adventure! 

Melissa <3