Weeks 8-13

Ask me what God can do in just one and a half months..oh man! So it's been 6 weeks since last time I wrote and as usual, God likes to flip us upside down and all around... if you're looking for adventure, let me tell you, God definitely takes us for a ride. Haha. I am actually done with lecture phase and i'm leaving for outreach tomorrow morning!! The topics have been Worship and Spiritual warfare, Cost of Discipleship and Servanthood, Worldview and Cross Culture, and then Releasing Destiny and Missions! If I wrote about each week I would write a book so i'm going to try and just hit on the most meaningful things.

So, with all my time here, the classes/lectures, ministries, small outreaches, etc. have been really great and i've grown a lot, but, I think the thing that has really impacted/ taught/ and challenged me the most has been getting to know this family down the road from base. This all started by going to play football (soccer) with my best friend here, Michael, and through that I have been getting to know all the guys on his team really well, but especially Michael's two closest friends, Zagaro and Bruce (they are brothers). We had been going over to their house every day before football but I hadn't really talked with the family at all until their Aunt got really sick. Now, neither of these brothers have any interest in “all that God stuff”, but when their Aunt got really sick, Michael came to me and said “Lindsey I need you to come to Zagaro and Bruce's place and pray for their Aunt!” Now, you don't know the whole background story and what I had been going through before this, but a very very short summary, I have been wrestling with the whole gift of healing thing and trying to figure it all out, how it works, if I have it, what it means, etc. And the week before this I has just gone through a very emotional discouragement in this area. But my faith had been built up and I was confident in my God! I didn't know much of her case but long story short, Oleva, their Aunt, she's only 26 years old but she has been soooo sick, to the point where all she could do is lay in bed, couldn't walk, couldn't talk, and could barely eat (she's been close to death for a long time). She had been this way for FIVE YEARS!! And she's been to several doctors and no one knows what's wrong with her. They've even traveled to surrounding countries to seek guidance and nothing has worked. The family thinks she was involved in some kind of witchcraft and this was the result. Anyways, Michael told the family that we have a big God and that he would bring me and we would pray for her and we prayed and prayed and prayed! And I wish I could say that we proclaimed Jesus' name over her and she was instantly healed, but this was not the case! I grew a real love for this woman and felt God's heart for her and after we left the first day, I was really confused and frustrated with God. I just wished God would heal her and show this family the testimony that God is real and he does work in powerful ways and he can even use young students such as michael and I to reveal his glory, but God chose not to fulfill our request and it just made me sad. And I was hurt because we had faith and really believed God could heal her and I just couldn't understand why God chooses to heal some and not others and why he says even if we have faith the size of a mustard seed that we can move mountains, and yet the mountains aren't moving, and we have much faith! It just confused me. But God was teaching me a lot through this and I learned I have to trust God even when I don't understand him and this is the time I have to continue to press into him and believe he knows the bigger picture and he knows what he's doing, and I don't. The passage that had been heavy on my heart was James 1:2-4, "Consider is pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." I've realized that he IS testing my faith and that if i continue to press into him even when i'm frustrated with him, that it will build my faith.

So, very long story short, if I couldn't show God's love through his healing touch, then I knew I could show God's love and heart by serving the family anyway I could. So, the following 3 weeks, I had been going to their house every day and just pray over her and just be a support to the family. Now, about 5 weeks later, I go over there about every other day and I can't even explain it all but I have really become apart of that family and I love this family as my own! I will never forget them. I go over there and help them cook (and they've taught me the real african way of cooking.. it's been awesome!) I help them clean dishes, wash clothes, sweep the house, we eat meals together, have tea, watch movies, I even go there to take naps, I go to church with the family, we just sit and talk for hours upon hours! And the most amazing thing is Oleva is now walking, talking, and eating! With going over there every day, day by day, she has slowly been getting better! God does work miracles. She's not 100% better but when I first met her, she couldn't move, now, this past weekend we cooked lunch for the family together and talked for like 3 hours! I realized that by becoming so close to this family and just loving and serving them has actually showed God's love and power MORE then if he just instantly healed her the first day. And because he didn't just instantly heal her, I have been so blessed by this family, and learned and grown more than you can imagine.

The thing this has made me realize is, THAT is what our faith is about! It's not about whether we can heal someone, or prophesy, or preach a powerful sermon, or quote a lot of scripture, but it's about loving and serving the people around us, that is what Jesus did and he is the one who is our example. We have really taken our faith and made it so “religious”. Something we talked about in class, which is so simple but it just blew my mind... Jesus was here on earth for 33 years. We always say that Jesus only did 3 years of ministry, starting at the age of 30, right? The first 30 years of his life, he was just a carpenter, and then at the age of 30 he started his “public ministry”. Jesus did not only do 3 years of ministry, He did 33 years of ministry~ 90% of his life/ ministry was just in an ordinary job, just living life with people, and reflecting God's love through who he was and his acts of service. When Jesus began healing people and performing miracles, that was only 10% of his life! So, if we are to live like Jesus, which part does he show to be more important?

It’s not what you do... it’s how and why you do it and who you are while doing it. Being able to prophecy or preaching a powerful message does not impress God, all he wants is our hearts, to know us intimately!

In class we talk about the importance of making DISCIPLES. When Jesus went back to his Father, the last thing he said to his disciple was to go out and make disciples of all nations! He did not say go out and “save” every person. Our mission is to disciple, to disciple someone means it’s not just a one time prayer but that’s teaching and showing by example how to strive to live every day like Christ. If we look at Jesus’ disciples, they just lived life with Jesus and learned from him, they did everything with him! That’s who we’re supposed to be.

Christ says we are to be the salt of the world. If someone takes a spoonful of salt, what will they do? …They will run for a cup of water and guzzle it down! The world is not thirsty for what we have because we are not living like salt. We are giving the world the wrong answers to their questions. They are looking for hope, but, we are giving them religion! They don’t need a boss, they need a Father! So much of Christianity has turned into straight, plain religion. The week of Releasing Destiny, we talked on how your destiny is NEVER ever ever ever WHAT you do! Your destiny is who you are becoming! So instead of focusing on what we are “called” to do with our lives, ask yourself, do you do what you do as a son or daughter of the King? This is meaning whether you are a teacher, a chef, a business man, a truck driver, a soccer coach, etc. Working in the “church” is not more spiritual, it's not wrong, it's just not “better”. Yes, sometimes God calls us to a specific nation, or ministry, or whatever, but a lot of times he allows us to choose, what do you want to do with your life? We shouldn't feel if i'm a christian I need to be doing the “ministry” that everyone thinks of. We are NOT called to die to our dreams. What are your passions and dreams? If God asked you,

“If it doesn’t matter how much it costs, cause it really doesn’t, and you know I’d say yes, what would you ask me for to do with your life?”

“The size of your dreams for your life, is a reflection of how big you believe God is!”

My dream is to go to all the different nations and learn their culture, live with the families, learn from them, serve them, and just fellowship with them (Just like I am with Oleva's family here). Something I learned in class is God calls us to go to the different nations to learn about Him! God is like a diamond- He took a facet of himself and put it in you and me. If we don’t live out our faith and show our unique beauty and giftings (because we each have something no one else has), then the world does not see that part of God’s glory. This is how each nation is as well! Each nation we go to, each culture we learn about, reveals a unique part of God's character and of his beauty, each nation has a unique gift that the other nations don’t have. We are called to the nations to learn about Him and to bring out nation’s gift to them!

I have so much to talk about but this is getting long...! Anyways, tomorrow morning I will be going to a new nation to go love on and serve the people. My team and I are going to the Congo, into the Bush Bush! And I will not have my computer... so this is goodbye for 2 months! I'm excited to go into the jungle and to now practically live out everything we have been learning. 


Some prayer requests:


One, just a grace to have a desire to really love and serve the people there. Here, we have had small outreaches where we go serve for like 2 or 3 hours but then we get to come back to base and just rest and hang out. But, it is going to be all day every day while on outreach and I probably won't always have that excitement to go minister or mop floors or pick up garbage or have to walk an hour just to get drinking water! I'm sure I will have times where I'm frustrated and tired. So, prayer for strength and to find my rest in God!


Two, there is a lot of witchcraft in the Congo and the spiritual realm is very real and strong there! There is some really scary demon possessed areas and people and for us from the West, these things don't really seem real to us. But it's real, and even the church in Congo has been corrupted and they are involved in witchcraft too, even the pastors and it's really serious! So, for me, I am beyond far naive about witchcraft and evil spirits. So, prayer for discernment from the Holy Spirit and that I can just really be sensitive to the spiritual realm and be able to grow in wisdom in this area and to hear from the Holy Spirit what to do if/when confronted with these things. 


Three, I have been chosen be the student leader for outreach and to join our 2 staff who are going on outreach with us, and I will now be considered one of the leaders. I feel really honored and blessed to have been chosen, but I am a little concerned because I am the very youngest person on the team and I now have authority and leadership over my team, which is a very big responsibility! I know that I am going to really be challenged and I will grow a lot from this amazing opportunity but I also realize that I definitely need prayer! I went to the leadership meeting with all the staff here on base and they talked to me about what my role means and what my responsibilities will be, and oh boy, it's a lot! I am in charge of the discipline on the team, communication, and organization. I could go into much more detail but basically, I need the prayer support for wisdom and to really be able to step up and take advantage of this opportunity. I know that I really have to be in the word and constantly seeking guidance and encouragement from our Heavenly Father. So please please please be praying for me especially in this area! 


Thank you all for your love, support and prayers. Once outreach is over I will definitely make sure to share my experiences and update you on what God has been up to!

Much love,

Lindsey Dawn

Week 6 and 7

Week#6

Oh boy, I don't even know where to start! These past couple weeks have been quite the roller coaster, Spiritually and emotionally. Our class topics for week 6 was Pride and Humility and the Fear of God. We started the week talking about the name of God: YHWH. To have true humility and to have fear for God we need to know who God truly is. The name YHWH used in Exodus 3:14 says, “I am who I am.” The meaning for YHWH means HE IS. period. This is meaning He is EVERYTHING! There is no way to describe him, no way to say what that name means. He is holy, breathless, any and every thing, all you need, worth everything, complete, true, limitless, awe, incomparable... HE IS. He is who He is. We talked about how God does not need us to be God, He does not need us to tell others about Him, and believe it or not.. He does not need us to worship Him. What we do or don't do does not change who HE is! He says, I AM... He does not need our help. Then why did he create us? He created us to ENJOY Him. He has so much love and joy to offer and just wants to be a part of it. He loves us more than we will ever know or be able to understand. We realized that “God does not want servants, he wants LOVERS!”

Our teacher gave us homework for the night and said we had to ask God two questions: Father, do you love me? And then, why do you love me?

I left class thinking “Haha, this is silly. Easy homework.” Little did I know that these two questions were about to rock my world and completely change my relationship with Jesus!! So that night I went and had my nice little quiet time and asked God these questions. We came to class the next day and our teacher asked us what God had told us.. I felt proud of my very thoroughly thought out answer and raised my hand to share first (first mistake, lol). I said, “Okay so I really took time and thought this question through and God said, Yes I love you. He loves me because he put time and thought into me! I am a piece of art created from His hands. He created me to glorify Himself. He has a purpose for my life, and he knows my intended reason for creation. When he sees me, he sees all my potential that he created me for. I have a role in His story and it is good—even if I don't live it out or fulfill it he still sees me with why he created me.” Directly after I shared, the teacher looked at me and said, No! I thought to myself, No!? What the heck!? He said “Lindsey, I heard a lot of thinking. I can see that you have a lot of joy... but you need to enjoy. Enjoy Him, you need to just lay in a field of lilly's and lay there just enjoying Him. Stop thinking! Stop trying to figure out what you should DO for Him, just love on and be with Him. What you will do for the Lord will come, i'm not worried about that, but you need to just enjoy Him. He did not create you to fulfill a role, you need to re-do your homework!”

-Gah! This really shook me up! It might not sound like that big of a deal but this totally wrecked me! I began to think and question, well Why does He love me then!? And why do I love Him!? Before I said that I love Him because He gives me a purpose for my life, a reason for living! He gives me a chance to be a part of something bigger than myself. But I then realized that has nothing to do with HIM. What about HIM do I love?

So after class I went off on my own and asked God the same questions from before and this time I waited and listened, I didn't think... I just waited for Him to tell me. This time He said, He loves me because I am His. I am beautiful and he created me and longs for me— because I am His. I am His daughter. And he created me only to be with Him. I realized there is nothing I can do and nothing I can become to make Him love me. I then went through well why do I love Him? And after going through many questions, frustrations, and doubts... The Holy Spirit really came upon Him and there is no way to explain what happened to me! For the first time I met God as my LOVER. I have known him to be my Father, and my best friend, but i've really never known Him as my lover. And I began to get giddy about Him! I began to laugh and cry and dance and just be crazy about Him! I had the feeling like a little school girl who has a major crush on a cute boy! I couldn't sit still and I had that feeling of love where I got like super excited and almost nervous and just wanted to dance! So I ran up to my room and put music on as loud as it could go and I just danced! I began to just laugh and I took this beautiful scarf and twirled it around myself and danced with my Lover. I have never felt more joy and freedom in my life! The other girls saw me and wondered what in the world was I doing, but I did not care! I just wanted to be with my God. I saw God just smiling! Just smiling and saying, “Wow, that's MY baby girl! I love her so much! I am so proud to call her mine!” I fell in love with Jesus.

**“If YHWH has our love, He has our everything!”**

Week#7

HOLY SPIRIT WEEK! Yikes this was an interesting week. So, the topic of week 7 was the Holy Spirit. This was probably the week I was looking forward to the most and I had high expectations. I was really anxious to be filled with the Spirit and to meet with Him in a more intimate way than I ever had before. But to be completely honest, unfortunately, this was a really rough week for me. Our teacher really did have a lot of good stuff to say but I was not comfortable with many of the teachings and did not agree with several of his views. But it really made me grow because I couldn't just believe everything I heard but I had to really use discernment and go to Jesus Himself and ask Him about what we were talking about. The focus of the week was what does the Holy Spirit give us? In Acts 1:8 it says, “You shall receive POWER when the Holy Spirit come into your life.” He talked of how our God has no limits and many people put Him in a box and believe He doesn't really live or work in radical ways anymore. He asked us “How big is YOUR God?” I agreed with all of that but the rest of the week we talked about speaking in tongues, healings, and prophesying over people... these are all really great things but I felt that it wasn't all genuine or all from the Spirit. I felt it was more about the power we receive when we receive the Holy Spirit rather than truly knowing the Spirit personally and intimately. Something my dad told me when I talked to him about my unease was that we need to focus on the GIVER, not the gift. The Holy Spirit does give us spiritual gifts, but that's not the most important thing. It's more about HIM who is giving us that gift. If God chooses to give that to you, then great. If not, then we shouldn't pursue something that he doesn't want. When we practiced speaking in tongues, everyone in my class started to cry and scream and people were falling on the ground and shaking and speaking in tongues and gah, it was a very intense environment! Now, I am not one to judge and I do not know all their hearts, but for me, I did not feel comfortable with it and did not feel a peace with what was going on. I felt it was forced and not entirely genuine. I believe that the Holy Spirit can give you the gift of speaking in tongues but I did not agree with the way it was approached and played out (this was just my personal opinion).The form of tongues that was taught and encouraged to practice was the form used for personal worship, where the holy spirit fills you with a love language. I believe this is a very intimate thing between you and God and it can not be forced. Since I was not at ease with it, I decided to leave and go for a walk with God. At this time there was a HUGE thunder storm! It was pouring rain, wind whipping, and lightening was striking through the sky! I decided to grab my blanket and just sit under this little roof and watch the storm with my God. This session confused and discouraged me. And like I said from the previous week, I am now experiencing God as my Lover, and it's hard to explain but the way He has been speaking to me lately is in that form of relationship, as my Lover. So during this time of speaking in tongues, I felt like this was a “first kiss”, where you're like “let's meet here at this time and we'll have our first kiss”, all planned out, where it is forced and makes it awkward and uncomfortable. Whereas I'd want the kiss to be in the moment and when you're both ready for it and not feeling the pressure. So, I felt like this pressure of a forced intimacy. I was so uncomfortable and I felt like I just wanted to cuddle up and be held in His arms rather than starting to kiss. (This probably sounds completely bazar and straight up weird but it makes sense to me and it was very powerful! Lol). Anyways, when I left I felt like God was like, “Lindsey, I will never force you to do anything you're not ready for or don't want to do. I just want to be with you. We can sit here and you can just cry in my arms. I love you!” (Now with me getting to know him in an intimate way as my Lover, this was a huge deal for me!) During this time I learned to rest in His arms and to trust Him. With the rest of the week I had my guard up and continued to seek for the God I know, my God who is faithful, filled with love and patience. Even though it was a rough week, I really did learn a lot and learned to use discernment and to trust in my God that I know! Just another step of challenges and growth!

Anyways, sorry that was so long. I'm just pouring my heart out onto this page, Haha! So, seriously, thank you for those of you who actually read all of that! It really does mean a lot and to know that there are people back at home supporting and praying for me means the world to me. I could not do this on my own, so thank you. I love you all so much.

Much much love,

Lindsey Dawn

Week 4 and 5

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been a few weeks since i've updated this. Things have been very busy but it has been such a great couple weeks! We've done several small outreaches in these past few weeks, some at churches and some at high schools. And wow, the Spirit has been moving so strongly! We've been doing the skit of the creation story and then God making man and then how man (or technically woman in this case because I played the human in it) fell away from God because of all these different sins, many of you have probably seen the skit before, it's fairly known in the States. It's to the song “Everything” by Lifehouse. Anyways, people here have never seen this skit before and it has been so powerful! The first time we did it, it was at this high school and the crowd just went ccrraazzyy! They were all yelling and screaming and then clapping and laughing and then crying and GAH, it was intense! Afterwards there were more than 60 students who came to the front who wanted to give their life to Jesus! It was so humbling and so encouraging to see how much the Holy Spirit was working. We were all in shock and then we realized God has given us a powerful tool to show others the relationship that God so desperately wants to have with us and how even when we go through abuse, harships, and doubt, God fights for us and over comes all that sin. The people here are so desperate for someone to look to for their hope and someone to put their trust in that when we show them the unconditional love of Christ, it's such an eye opening and life changing moment. After that first day with seeing their reaction to the skit, we've done it every time we do an outreach. And every single time the Holy Spirit joins us and the people's hearts are touched.. Along with the skit we've had people sharing their testimonies or our group will sing some songs, it has been really great.

So I have a friend who is on a futbol (soccer) team here and he told me how they were having a few matches and he told me to grab my boots and to come join him! I didn't really know what to expect but I grabbed my stuff and we headed out. We had to walk through these villages to get there and we traveled to the bottom of this mountain and there was just this big dirt opening and then like 40 guys!Oh boy. So we begin to just kick the ball around and then we split up into 3 teams and scrimmaged for the following couple hours. It was soooo much fun! I haven't had that much fun in the longest time! I was kind of nervous at first but the guys were so great, it was funny though because well 1- I was the only white person and then 2- I was the only girl... so they were watching every single move that I took! It was just so great though because it was the worst field I have ever seen, if you could even call it a field, and they had no goals, so they just set up rocks, many of them didn't even have shoes, they didn't have pennies to differentiate the teams, but they don't care, they just love the game! I realized that I would really love to use futbol more for ministry and it's something I truly enjoy and is such an effective interest and respect grabber. Haha. (especially with me being white and being a girl! Girls don't play sports here. And they are just fascinated with whites) Anyways it was sooo hot playing and I was so gross and sweaty and then it just started to down pour with rain!! then we just all played in the rain and gosh, it was amazing! Lol.

Then the other day my friend and I went on this run/walk all morning and went into this village and a lot of the kids had never seen a white person before so all the kids just started running after us! My friend who took me is from Rwanda so he was just laughing at me the whole time cause the kids would just latch onto my body and touch my skin and play with my hair and there were just groups and groups of people watching and wanting to touch me, it was so funny. We walked through all these huts and saw all their homes and living situations. It made me realize where I'm staying right now, it's like a luxury to them (even though we have no showers/toilets), they have to walk several miles down this huge mountain just to get a some water! It's basically them living in a mud hut and sleeping on the ground. And yet, these people are more thankful and joyful than anyone I know back in the States.

And then yesterday 4 guys from my group and I took moto's (motorcycle taxi's) into town and then we went for this beautiful hike! When we got to the top we could see all of kigali and the view was breath taking. Again, we had groups of children just following us the whole way up the mountain. They just run up to you and hold your hand all the way up, it's so cute. It was so crazy though, on the way down we met this man and he didn't know us at all but he just invited us into his house and offered us tea and biscuits and to just talk. I was like ehh...sketch? But then my friend whose from here was like oh no, it's totally fine! This is really normal and completely safe. So all of us went in and we had a wonderful time, even though they don't have like anything to offer, they are so giving and so friendly! That would NEVER happen back in the States. After about an hour of a lovely evening we headed out and that was that. It was really neat.

Anyways, there are many many stories I could continue to tell but this is getting long and if you've made it this far and are still reading, I'm impressed! Haha. I haven't even gotten into the teaching for this week but in short we've had lecture on Relationships and then the following week it was on Sin. You'd think they are two decently simple topics but they really made me think and view my friendships and actions in a whole new way! So these past two weeks have been soooo good! I just love it here and i'm having an amazing time. Oh and our team has decided that we're going to Congo for outreach! I don't know details yet but that is our for sure location, so exciting! Prayers for deciding the specific ministries are needed. Thank you all for reading!!

Much love,

Lindsey Dawn

Week 3

I've only been here for three weeks, but it feels I've been here for a year! I still love it, but everything isn't all new and exciting anymore, it just feels like home. I've gotten really close with several of the people on base and that has been really great. I feel like I'll have a lot of life long friends from several different nations, which is really fun.

So this week we talked about the 'Father Heart of God.' We looked at how God is our Father, and we are his sons and daughters. We talked about the love of a father and his heart towards his children, this was really powerful for most of my class because most of them don't have a father. Most of them grew up as orphans on the streets, with no family, no security, and no love. And for those who do/did have fathers, they were abusive, or just really didn't love them the way the needed. So, their view of a “father” really isn't a positive thing. So we talked about how God fills that spot and he has all the love that we need and even more. We then talked of how God is our 'Mother' as well and he has the compassion and intimacy that we need from a mother. So we talked of the same thing of God filling that role in our life. Our speaker talked of the expression 'I love you' and it was heart breaking to find that more than half my class has NEVER been told those words. They don't have that confidence in who that are and that they are valuable. So our speaker stood in front with his arms opened wide saying whoever wants to receive the hug and the words from a father or mother that they've never had before, come up here. And you wouldn't even believe the reaction, the whole class started to just bawl their eyes out and just cried in his arms with him telling them he loves them. It was such a healing process for so many. We then talked about forgiveness and that was life changing for so many. My friends here have such deep wounds and such insecurities from their tragic past. People's hearts were opened and for the first time and they forgave the person who killed their parents or sibling or friend, or who beat and abused them, or who lied and hurt them, or who rapped them, or who belittled them, etc. We brought it to the cross and the Lord really worked in their hearts and it was life transforming.

But for me, i'm in a very different situation. I come from an amazing, loving, and trusting family. I come from a family who has a perfect picture of how a Father and Mother should love their daughter. I come from a family where both my parents tell me every day that they love me, their proud of me, and that I am valued and treasured by them. I really don't have any deep scars from my past that need healing, I don't have bitterness or anger towards anyone in my life who has wronged me. I am confident in who I am and in my value. So at first I was almost discouraged because I felt confused why I am here, trying to figure out my purpose and where I need to grow. But the I realized how much God has really blessed me with and how much he has saved me from. I realized that I am here, I am created, to help others find that healing, to help others find their identity, I am here to bless others, and to bring glory to my Heavenly Father. I learned how God really can bring that healing but you can not do it on your own, we need God. I realized that I can be such a testimony to people of how God intended a family to be and how a father and mother should love their children, and then point them to the love of Christ. We then talked about the needs of a human being; the need of time, attention, someone to listen, kindness, encouragement, and someone do just 'do' life together... and God has all those for us. God looks at us and sees our pain, he says in Matt 26:37-38, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” He tells us that 'he came to heal the brokenhearted!' And that is why we are here too, when we find that peace and joy, then we are to help others find it as well. And that is only found through Jesus Christ.

So, this was a really powerful week and I can't wait to see what God has up his sleeve next!

Outside of class, it has been a really fun week, i've gone to an orphanage and played with some street kids, i've gone into town and went to the african market, i've gotten fresh fruit and corn off the streets, we have a 'culture' night where everyone dressed up and represented their country/culture and we all performed cultural food and dancing (but American doesn't really have anything exciting, I just made chocolate chip cookies. Haha. But all the other african countries had some really sweet traditional clothing and dancing.) Oh and random, I'm a pro now with washing my clothes by hand! Haha! It takes a really long time but i've gotten the hang of it. And I've made dinner every night this week for the whole base so that's been fun learning how to cook over an open fire. Well there's always more to talk about but it is now lunch time, so I must go. Thank you all for reading.

Much love,

Lindsey Dawn

Week 1 and 2

Wow.. I don't know where to start? So I've been here for about a week and a half now and I've learned and grown more than I ever expected! It's funny to me how comfortable I am here. I feel like I am more myself than I ever have been before. I feel like I am really becoming a new person and it is so exciting! God is really opening my eyes and made me realize that I have had my faith wrong all along. You see, we have “lecture” about 2 or 3 times a day. This past and current week our speaker has been Astrid, she is an amazing Godly woman! She grew up in the Netherlands but now has given up her old life and now lives in the bush bush in Burundi, started and running a children's village. Anyways, the first week was about the character and nature of God. To be honest, I kind of had my nose up in the beginning and was like, oh I know God's character, I've been to a christian school all my life and taken SO many bible classes! This is might be boring. Oh wow, was I soooo wrong! Thank you Jesus! We talked about how God is who He says He is. If we would just knew who God TRULY is, know what he has called YOU into, know YOUR inheritance, know His power FOR you. “If we would just understood, it would change everything!!” We talked about how we believe God to be only according to the limitations of our personal experiences with Him. And it's so true, I don't even know how to explain it but the way she used scripture to show us who God is, He became so alive! “But God's word only REVEALS him, it does not CONTAIN him.” We studied how God spoke in the scriptures and then we began to learn how to Hear God's Voice today. (That was the next topic) And at first, I was so discouraged! I just couldn't do it! We began to practice and to build our faith and I can't even explain it in words but I have had such a revelation and I am beginning to really be able to identify his voice. I have had tears of joy! After several days of practicing that, we began to talk about our Identity in Christ! We talked about if God is who He says he is.... then I am who God says I am! So we studied what our identity in Christ really is and what we should do with that. It has been so powerful and so revitalizing!

So besides classes, we just all hang out on the base or walk into town and just rome the streets. We're in a safe area so it's nice that we can just walk around outside and do whatever our heart desires. Haha. We have a lot of worship and intercession meetings, which have been amazing. The African culture truly takes advantage of being free in the Spirit to worship, they go full out and dance their hearts away! We play a lot of volleyball or futbol during free time. And we have to read a lot. We have to do a journal with questions for each lecture and we have to read 3 books and write papers or book reports on them and then we have to read different books of the bible each week that they assign and we have to write a paper on that as well. So during free time you really have to prioritize and get it all done.

So it has been great. I love love love it! There's much more to tell but for now, just know that God is real and that he is alive and he is doing so much in my life, and in my teams life. Prayers are always appreciated. Thank you all for the support.

In Him Alone,

Lindsey Dawn

First Impressions!!

Muraho, Mwaramuse! (hello and good morning in Kinyrwanda)

I am here safe and sound! I have been here for 4 days now. And it is everything I hoped and prayed for. I LOVE IT!!!! It will definitely get me out of my comfort zone, we have absolutely no running water! So no showers, no toilets, no washing my clothes, no sinks, no hot water, nothing! Haha. For showers we can to fill up a bucket from the cold well water and take a cup and splash it over your body. (that i'm still getting used to! Tehe.) For toilets we have to go in a hole in the ground. For washing clothes, everything is by hand, and then you hang it up on a clothes line to dry. For food, oh boy. So every morning we have bread. Just bread. Plain white bread. For lunch, we have rice and beans. And for dinner we have rice, beans, and potatoes. Every day!! lol. It's all starch!! So it's hard on my stomach just cause my body is no used to it. But we get a lot of it, so i'm not going hungry. No meat! That is hard, we get meat only on tuesday lunches, so that's a little difficult. And when I say meat I mean like they put a little hamburger meat in the rice. Haha. But these people are so thankful for it! It's amazing. The team is AWESOME! I love everyone so much. We have a lot bigger of a team than I expected, we have 19 people! Woot woot! There's 9 Rwandans, 2 Congolese, 3 Canadians, 1 costa Rican, 2 Burundians, 1 Ugandan, and then me, the only American. So it's a very diverse group, which I absolutely love! We get along really well, we're all SO different but it's really neat. The teaching is CRAZZYYY GOOD! This week we are talking about the character and nature of God and our teacher is radical, passionate, and a woman of the Lord. I can not wait to see what God has in store for me. Next time I get on i'll tell more about the teachings. Well it is time to go take my cold morning bucket shower!! haha. It's 5:30 am right now, we have to get up real early! But I will try and get on again soon and share more. Have a great rest of the day!

Much love,

Lindsey Dawn