trees

trees

Monday, August 13, 2012

3 months later.....

So.... It's been a while.

These past few months have been INTENSE and so much is changing/has changed/ will change.

So this September I am going to College instead of carrying on Homeschooling! English college is different to US college however- for you Americans I am essentially going to be back in my Junior year of high school. My college course is 2 years long and the subject I'm focusing on is Health and Social care- this means that I will be studying on different aspects of health, socially, physically and emotionally. There are many different parts to the course and I'm still not 100% sure what it's going to be. It was a pretty spontaneous decision and tomorrow I have a meeting with one of the teachers so then I think I'll know what is actually going down. :) Yay for change. It's scary but so exciting. God has given me so many conformations about this and his promises to me are so strong. I'm not really fearful, just not knowing what to do with myself for the last 3 weeks of summer vay-cay before college starts!

OLYMPICS 2012. 


As we all know the Olympics this year was held in England. This is where I live. This also meant that many different teams were going to be sent out to Olympic cities all over England to do outreach. At first I was determined that I was going to be in a London team but God had a different plan. He put Coventry on my heart. Coventry is a city that is about 20 minutes away from where I live, and its where the football was being held for the Olympics. I knew that God was going to send me there and at first I objected strongly to the idea but then gave in because I knew God wasn't going to back down... and who am I to argue with my maker? After I chose my destination I had to chose my team. There were a couple of teams going there from the King's Lodge and God had to pull massive strings in order to get me to go on the team I went on. I actually registered and paid just the night before the training camp started. Most impulsive decision I've made so far....

So this outreach started off with a 5 day long camp in YWAM Harpenden (near London). It was called 'Go 4 Glory' and it was an Arts & Sports camp with teams from all over the world. We basically just got to know our teams better and spent a lot of time worshiping and prepping for outreach there. After that, the Coventry teams left to go to a town called Droitwich where we did 3 days of Family Fun days for a local school. God taught me a lot through it and it was a really surprisingly fruitful time :) Yay Jesus.

When Droitwich had finished, the Coventry teams then split up again into our individual teams. My group was actually living in a church center that was located right in the city center which was great for ministry! The other Coventry team was staying at the King's Lodge. 



Ho Hm. That is the basic outline of the outreach. And it was probably one of (if not) the best outreaches I have ever been on. Statement! I say this because my team was incredible and I have never seen so much immediate transformation in people before. Every day we would see people come to accept Jesus on the streets and in the church. My team had about 15 members and each person encountered God strongly during the week. We all came out as different people because of the love that God had revealed to us and then how we could apply that love to our lives. While we were there we did street evangelism, cafe ministry (there was a cafe running inside the church), Ceilidh dancing (scottish dancing), open air family fun days, friendship ministry.... All sorts :) 


Through out the week I fell so in love with Jesus. Who knew what a gentleman he was? :) He revealed that to me personally and also through other people... He knows exactly what we need! It's so exciting.

Stories? Ok.

We were on the street doing street evangelism one day and a man and woman came running up to some of us. The man knew my team leader but the woman was new to us... They were both from Thailand and the man was a Christian but the woman wasn't. We asked them what was going on and he told us that the woman didn't know Jesus but she wanted to know. The Thai woman started crying and she told us that she was so broken and that she wanted to know who Jesus was. It was so precious and it broke my heart.... I then shared the gospel with her and through translation, she accepted Jesus as her saviour. :) waheeeeyyy!!! I saw her again a few days after that and I asked her how she was doing... she said that she felt so free and happy :D She looked so different and her face was brighter. Jesus works miracles! 

The church I was working with was called Holy Trinity Church. It's a beautiful, old, Anglican church and it's located right in the center of Coventry. It's a historical building which means many tourists come to look around all through out the year, and especially during an event like the Olympics. One day an Indian man came in and got talking with someone who worked at the church. He said to them 'I am a Hindu but I don't want to be any more... I want to be a Christian.' um.. Wow? That isn't normal. But it was incredible. A translator was brought in and the man gave his life to Jesus the next day! :)






I have so many more stories. so many. I would love to share them with you but I think I've written a lot already!! But I'm always up to talking to ANYONE! Just let me know and I'd love to meet with you. Love you all!!! Thanks for your support and prayers.... Watch this space for more updates :)











- Giving out flowers to the public :)







Tuesday, May 1, 2012

long time no see!

Wooow it's been over a months since I've posted one of these things. 


It's probably because I have no 'news' that is blog worthy. But I thought I'd write something to just let you all know that I'm still alive. 


It's been weird trying to transition back to normal life after travelling around so much... But its good to settle down for a bit. But then again, what is normal?! I have no idea. I don't think I'll ever know! 


I've currently been studying a lot... catching up from India and trying to get ahead because of the craziness that is about to happen slash is currently happening!


At the moment we have some friends from Hawaii at the Lodge.. Andrew Dutton and his daughter Emily are here visiting slash Andrew is teaching on the April DTS here at the Lodge. They are part of the family that I went to Mexico with so it's crazy and amazing that they are here in England !! What the heck :) 
Also, in less that 2 weeks some more friends from Hawaii are coming to the Lodge for a few weeks. 


I AM SO EXCITED.

What are the chances that I get to see some of my favoritest people from across the globe within the space of 2 weeks?! Here in England?! :) God has blessed me so much.

But yeah. Apart from that I am just spending a lot of time studying and spending a lot of time with friends and family :) Really resting while I can before life gets crazy (because it's not already). 

God is blowing my mind everyday. He is speaking to me so clearly and his love is penetrating my heart, breaking the shell off of my life that is hiding the real me away from him. He is also constantly reminding me how society is so different to his standards. In society performance = 'love'. For God, love=love. There is no compromise. He loves US independently from how we act and what 'good deeds' we do for him. That is crazy! I am still trying to get my head around it. And I know it will just get better! God is so good. To all of us! Even in the hardest of times, he is still there with his arms wide open. :) He is so fantastic. 
These are just some Tuesday night words of what is on my heart for all you dear people. 

Be blessed and be a blessing! Love you all :)






May this song bless your heart :)



Saturday, March 17, 2012

Incredible Provision

Lately I have really been reflecting on the blessings I have received.

Here is a short account of how God has provided and blessed me just in the past... 2 years. :)

I have lived in Hawaii. I've made a spontaneous unexpected trip to Japan and Turkey. I went on a 6 week missions trip to Mexico which was incredible. I went to Romania. I've been blessed with a D-SLR Camera. I've been blessed with multiple trips to California. I have met some fantastic amazing people along the way. And most recently, I've been blessed with a trip to India.

God has provided every last payment towards these trips- and He has blessed me with so much more along the way.

I'm not telling these things to show off, but instead to increase your faith and hope in Jesus, that He really does provide. There is no way that I could have come up with all that money in time for the deadlines. But Jesus is good and He works all things together for the good of those who love Him.

If God tells you something that He wants you to do, no matter how big it is, then He will fulfill his promise. He is faithful. Nothing is too big for him. After all- He did create the universe, all the people and everything in it. :)

 Through out these two years I have seen incredible miracles of provision. Hundreds of pounds of money were given to me in tiny spaces of time. The generosity of people has really been a blessing to me :) I want to thank all you lovely people for giving me these opportunities.

The ride Jesus is taking me on has been so crazy. He loves adventures. Yeah.... just ask God to take you on an adventure, He'll do it in ways you have never known :)

For me, my hearts desire was to travel. It is what I wanted (and still want) to do more than anything. I love the world, culture and people around me. God knows this- it's why he put those desires there. He fulfills them so that we can see his greatness and so that our faith will increase in him. That has most definitely happened with me!

I encourage you all to ask Jesus to take you on an adventure and to fulfill the desires of your heart :) He knows them. He just wants you to ask :)

Love and peace <3



Sunday, March 4, 2012

cheeky reflections

So... It's all over. For now.


I have no idea when I'll be touring the world again. Hopefully it won't be too long....


I'm currently just reflecting on life. This past year. Where I was a year ago today.


March 4th 2011.. I was chillin' in Hawaii, praying about going to Mexico. Woahhh that feels like a lifetime ago. :) Thinking of how far I've come, how many friends I've made and how many experiences I've had makes me happy. It gives me hope for the future because I know it's going to just keep getting better.


Yep. This summer I think I'm just going to stay in England and do some sort of ministry with the Olympics.. I have no idea what will happening. I'm just trying to get through this week. :) 


But yeah. Watch this space! lovelovelovveeee----


{Istanbul, 2012}

Monday, February 27, 2012

England-Bound

LAST FEW HOURS.

This is a bittersweet day.

I have been here for 17 days and I've really started to get into the hang of life- Indian style.. and I've made some really great friends here. It's weird that tomorrow I will wake up and my Indian life will be no-more.

I have had such a brilliant time here- So any experiences I will nver forget. I want to say thankyou for everyone who has contributed towards me coming here :) and thanks for your prayers along the way.

But yeah. I've loved every moment. I'm not saying that it has been easy, but I have learned and grown so much... been challenged and refined. :)

Jesus has taught me so much while I've been here.. He has been so good to me. 
And blessed me so much. I can't handle it :)

Ahhhh. My time here has just been really fantastic.
 If you want to know more... hear stories... experiences and stuff... then I'd love to meet up! 
(over tea, naturally).

It's hard to fully convey life over the internet.

Yep. Love and Peace. Here are some pics to keep you keen ;)









 



Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Half way point

We are half way through our time here in India. This time next week we will be packing up, preparing for our 1am departure (death worthy, I know).

I don't feel like I can put into words what I have felt or seen while I have been here.

The reality of how half the world has to live slaps me daily. Tonight I was in the 'house' of a family of 8 people, and the size of the one room they owned was so small it would be physically impossible for them to all sleep at night. That is no exagguration. Yet with the little they had, they served us chai and continually thanked the Lord. :) They were such an inspiration.

The team from my church left on saturday, so it is currently just my dad, jonny and me doing outreach with the other ministry people. Last week we went to one slum where we prayed for a man who had stomach cancer, and he gave his life to Christ that night. Today we went back to that slum and his wife told us that he'd passed away a few days ago. My heart broke for the family that has been left behind, yet I also rejoiced because this man is now in heaven and that I will hopefully meet him one day =]

Life is so short! The reality of now and eternity is crazy. 

Hmmm. Apart from that, I love India... the people, the crazy traffic, the weather.... :) Everyone is so friendly. Counter-cultural shock, coming from England! haha

I spent 3 hours searching for a camera charger in a city. I finally found one. PTL.
Another thing- I'm coming down with a cold which is ironic... but also annoying. I do not need this sickness right now! ><

Keep sendin' your prayers my way! I need them all the time:)

Love & Peace <3

Blogspot isn't letting me upload pictures but you can have a look at what I'm getting up to here:









Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The last few days..

I feel like every day is 100 hours long.

I can't believe I have only been here for 4 days... however every day is full of ministry...

In the mornings we have generally been going to a school that is in a slum. As I said before, we have joined a DTS that is on their outreach now, which means we have a bigger team. We do all the standard outreach stuff: songs, games, a craft, etc, but the kids loooove it! Language barriers are always hard and I have basically mastered the art of 'Charades'. :)

In the afternoon we then usually go door-to-door within different slums, praying for people and building relationships. Each day we go to a different area, so it is kinda hard to keep meeting different people every day, instead of meeting up with the same people to see how they are doing, ya know? meh. It's all good.

Another thing that has been awesome and totally un-outreachy is the ridiculously cheap prices on everything.. clothes.. general shopping.. we obviously have not been doing that, at all. O_O.

Yep. Transportation is also always a fun one- Health & Safety go out the window, and the focus is how many people can fit in a car at one time. I have been spending a lot of time on the back of a motor bike, and when times got desperate we squeezed Jonny on the back of it too (No need to worry Mother :) just trying to understand the culture)

Yes Hannah! Livin' large haha



 Sally and Hannah got to pray for this woman



 The man in the center used to be completely paralysed... until one day our translators came to his house and prayed for him. Since then he has been getting better and he is now able to walk and move around =]



For more pictures and in better quality, have a look at my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elisa-joy/

Sunday, February 12, 2012

The 32 hour long weekend.

uhhhh SO TIRED.

Our flight left England on Saturday at 11.30am and 10 hours later we landed in Mumbai on Sunday at 4.30am. No sleep on the flights. Too many movies... Not enough time. O_O

We drove back 2 hours to the YWAM base and arrived just in time for breakfast.. which was rice and tea. Yes. =] We basically eat curry and drink tea 3 times a day. love love

Seeing as we had the whole day to kill, my dad, jonny and I walked down the road where there were some shops, lots of traffic and lots of people.We were just down there for the morning. Too Hot.

India feels so much like Mexico. Yesterday I kept having memory lapses and thinking I was back in TJ or something. Either they are strangely similar or I was delirious from being awake for too long... probably a bit of both.

The rest of the team (Pete, Mick, Sally, Sally and Hannah) arrived that afternoon and they were also very tired... Some of us decided to join a team going down a slum that evening. We went to one just down the road, where we played with some of the kids and then went so some houses that the people from the base knew. We prayed with the people there, who had disabilities, sickness, and unemployment. We also prayed with the elderly, some young mothers and mothers-to-be. It was such a special time because we saw breakthrough and broken people coming to the feet of Jesus and just letting Him love them. I think the base go to different slums every day so there will be more stories to come :)

But yeah. After 12 hours sleep everything feels so much better.

My dad is going to a base down south for a few days, so Jonny and I will carry on chillin here.

My deodrant exploded in my bag so i currently smell like a man, courteous of my brother's Lynx. 

Yep. That is the DL of what has happened so far :) Thank you  so much for your prayers and support <3






Tuesday, January 31, 2012

God's Heart

Wooooahh currently being blown away by God and his goodness!!!


For real. I was just editing pictures and I couldn't focus at all.. all I could think about was Jesus hmmm:) 


Let me just say that I'm sure I have some pretty skeptical readers who don't understand or believe in the whole 'God' thing, which I respect... I'm just simply trying to convey what I believe God has been speaking to me about and what has been happening in my life. 


The Holy Spirit has recently been simplifying and explaining God's heart to me which is essentially love, relationship & grace (although I can in no way confine Gods being into a few words). What a merciful God we have!!! He just loves us all so much.. and just wants to spend time with us, experiencing a loving relationship. Go on adventures with us. Laugh, cry, love and live with us :) I believe that God has called us BY NAME. He calls us his precious possession. His treasure. Each one of us, can satisfy him like no other. Cool stuff yeah?!


There is no regulation. No repetition. No 'We must pray at 5pm today or else we will be zapped'.. There is NO condemnation. Just as parents discipline their children because they love them, so God disciplines us. We learn and grow through mistakes.. God can make all things work out FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE HIM. Even the worst situations. YAAAA.. what a crazy God we have?!? hahaha :)
I'd love to talk with ANY of you about any of this. Love you all!



This song has really blessed my heart. I just want to share it with you. Enjoy :)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Land of Sun and Sea.


        Moments like now I wonder why I like travelling.
I am so tired. 
                     so so so tired. 


Mon papa et moi arrived safely this afternoon, exhausted from our 4am start to the day. It is currently 6:43pm (2:43am Englandish time) and I'm practically ready to sleep til next week.

This evening I was walking down the street that the YWAM base is on and i realized just how much I've missed America and all of its goodness. Everything here is so big.. and shiny. :) I like America.


I'm excited to spend this time to see friends, meet new people, chill with my dad, listen to God and enjoy the beautiful California! :) 


Life is so full-on and I love it. 










Thursday, January 12, 2012

And So It Goes...

Yes. My life is a genuine Ferris wheel that spins 100 mph with an annual 3 minute stop. 

Ok... Extreme use of hyperbole. But it's something like that :)

                One of my closest and dearest friends, Abbey, made up a last minute decision (always the best way) to do a DTS in Holmstead.. tomorrow. WAIT WHAT?! I am soooo excited for this next period of life that she will experience.. but I will miss her so much!

On a lighter note, this Saturday is my friend's 18th birthday and party.. I have known Dan practically since I was born into this bright and wondrous world and it has been so cool to see him grow up into who he is today.. AMAZING things will happen for you, Dan!!

Then, to add to this beautiful month, the next weekend is occupied by one of my other best friends 18th's :)
Anna, you're a babe and I love you so much!!

In 2 weeks I am jetting off to L.A.. I am pretty gutted because it means that I am going to miss some of my good friends' wedding... Sampson & Vanessa. :)

This last week I have been sooo satisfied with life. I am meeting amazing people, understanding and learning so much more about our AWESOME God who loves us beyond comprehension, and planning my future life with my incredible Madre :)
I just want these next few years of school to hurry up.. There is so much to do and I just want to throw caution to the wind and jump on the next plane to the ends of the earth, ya know?

Ah.. reality check. How are you all doing? I'd love to hear from you!

Gratzia for your continuous prayers and thoughts.. Lots of love to you all!! 



                         My family gathering!!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

2011 < 2012.

So. I will refrain from doing the cliche run down of the year and how it has been fantastic, although it would be true.

.... This Christmas we did something a bit different. My family joined with the Salvation Army and we served Christmas dinner to some amazing people...{the elderly, the lonely, the homeless}. The conversations I had with some of the people there really blessed my heart and it was a brilliant way to spend my Christmas. I would definitely recommend it :)

During the rest of the holiday it has been pretty crazy; we have had tonnes of family and friends come over and it has been great to catch up.

Numero uno:
One of the main things that God has been teaching me (personally and through people) is that I don't need to strive for a relationship with him. Life happens but everything is in his hands so I don't need to worry. He is good and his love is complete. I need to stop doing things in my own strength because those plans would ultimately fail. The freedom that comes from surrender is amazing...


Numero dos :
Us humans, as God's children, should come before God as royalty, since that is what we are. We should come and ask for things with authority because we have been granted that privilege through Jesus. I have decided to stop asking for things, as if I'm a beggar. Because I'm not. We're not. God offers us these good things and its up to us to speak these blessings into our lives :)

            Basically, that is the run down, and a cheeky 2012 encouragement!
                                        Keep pressing into God, guys.. He loves us so much!!!!



..... And now as the new year starts, I am trying to get back into routine which everyone knows is difficult after the late nights and mornings. :) In 3 weeks I am heading off to California with my dad and then not soon after I get back, I'm going to India with my dad and brother. Life is crazy and I love it. (: