Pawley's Island ROUND 2

Hey everyone!

So it has been a while since I updated this blog site - have been updating the team site (www.ignite-pawleys.blogspot.com) for my mission stuff... Since my last post I have graduated and received my AA degree (3.98 GPA!). I finished up the school year (finally!) and have led a mission trip back to Pawley's Island. Tomorrow I start back to work (praise God for summer school!) and thus begins my saving for my house down payment!

Anyways - I just wanted to type up my story from Pawley's. What God did IN me and THROUGH me during 1 week full of challenges, joy, frustrations and growth. Debbie Humphreys (my college pastor's wife) and I took 11 girls up there. 10 hours in a mini van with 5 girls will teach you a lot of things, let alone, a whole week of intentional relationship building! It was so good to see everyone from last summer (Jess, Van and Van, Horace, the Halls, some kids from VBS, and mainly the Smith family whose house we are working on). Anyways, so here's my story!

God did a lot of things IN me this week, even if it was directed towards my girls. God taught me a lot about humility and depending on His strength to get me through the challenges that come way. One of my spiritual gifts is believing (being a prayer warrior) and through humility, God took my prayer to a whole new level. We had some issues with team unity throughout the week. Renee and Franny were great and all of the adults were being used by God to speak words of truth into these girls lives. But even doing that, I wanted to take it deeper - God could speak through me, but He also could simply work on their hearts. Thursday, instead of speaking more, I prayed when I wanted to say something. That was a day some of the girls started to get it. It wasn't anything I said or did... It was totally God working in their hearts. God really worked on my pride this week. The team Bible study was on Daniel and God broke the proudest man on earth - He can certainly change anyone's heart. I also became refocused on being intentional with building relationships with my girls. I had forgotten some of the power of being intentional with things and God reminded me how much I love that daily student interaction.

God also did a lot of things THROUGH me. Through being intentional, I got to have some good conversations with some of the students. Some deep conversations were with Nicole about prayer, Mollie about worship, and Amber about friendship. I also feel it was a good week to encourage Franny because now is a time when you start needing God's supernatural strength (she is an intern for 10 weeks like I was last summer). I also could see the joy in the Smith family (especially Doniella) when she saw I came back. It is so exciting to be a part of God's big picture. I have set a goal to contine letting God use me in that I want to be intentional with one student every week (that ends up to 52 students a year! Imagine what being intentional will do!).

The trip definitely was a hard growing experience in many ways - but God did some awesome things in these girls lives and I believe many of them owned their faith in a powerful God who is on our side. If He could make King Nebuchadnezzar crazy like a wild man, He can do some pretty awesome and mighty things through the youth of today!

Thanks for all your prayers and support along the way. This definitely will not be my last mission... Keep checking back to make sure I am living on a mission all the time!

Love,
Joy