Renewed Spirit… and more things to laugh about

I continue to be amazed at the faith the staff and students have in other countries… the Fijian staff and students are no exception.  In the past couple of days there has been story after story of students and staff meeting the coaches of some of the teams here for the Vanuatu Games and then getting to present the gospel to almost the entire teams.  At our church service/outreach yesterday 50 students filled out comment cards of which as one student put it “Only 32 indicated decisions for Christ”.  Their expectation is that everyone would!  They are incredibly bold, yet something we are getting to help them with is being clear with the gospel as many students we share with have grown up in the church but don’t really understand what it means to trust Christ.  THey can say all the right answers but it really takes further questioning to understand what they really understand and don’t.  Please keep praying for us to know how to come alongside of the staff and students here.. to be motivated by their faith in what the Lord can do and to equip them with things that help them be more effective in their ministry while not taking away from the island way of doing things.  

I’ll also be doing a couple of training sessions for the students here in becoming a spiritual multiplier the end of this week… pray that the Lord would guide my time as I prepare for that!

I’m embracing our living environment more and the Lord is teaching me to be glad and joyful when I would prefer to escape to “nicer” places.   This morning I was thinking about the sweetness of the Lord to allow me to experience these tensions in my heart so that He can continue to change me.   Last night, the Lord used a cockroach in the process.  Cayla discovered a LARGE cockroach running across her suitcase to which she of course screamed, and Don came in to help kill it.  Now, I don’t mind killing bugs but large ones really don’t sit well with me.   When Don showed it to me I screamed (even though it was dead) and thought… there’s no way I’m going to be able to go to sleep tonight knowing there could be more.   I say it had to be 2-3inches (don insists it was 1 1/2) either way… it was the largest I’ve ever seen.  I know, I’m a baby… yet the Lord is sweet to meet me in my child like stages of growth.   As I laid in bed, jumping at every little thing that felt like a bug on my body, the Lord prompted me to thank Him for the cockroach (and that Cayla had been the one to see it alive and not me ), for the chance to trust Him with simple things.   And 2 sweet blessings happened last night… 1 – I fell asleep quickly and slept through the night and 2- the dogs that have been barking all night, every night for some reason moved locations and we didn’t here them last night!

There’s so much more to write, but that’ll give you a couple snippets of my time so far!

Port Vila, Vanuatu… jumping in…

We (Don and Kathryn Mansfield and Cayla) arrived to Port Vila late Wednesday night, so we spent the night at a local motel before heading to join the summer project on Thursday.   I don’t know why, but for some reason the adventurous person in me has been quite fearful of our what our living conditions would be like.  I learned pretty quickly we would be nearly fully submerged in true island life.   We were directed to our rooms, not bad for 2 people only to discover that 3 maybe 4 others would join us in a room that clearly was designed for 2.  I swallowed and prayed “Oh, Lord I’m going to need you to lower my expectations and my american mindset quickly… give me a servants heart” (we later found out they were only adding 2 others!) We then walked to where the staff were having their first training session to find that they were training men and women from a local church on how to share their faith and undertand the spirit-filled life.  A bit exhausted and still adjusting to my new surroundings, the campus director came up to me and asked if I would help teach the first follow up bible study to the women after the training session.  There ended up being enough girls for Kathryn and then Cayla and I to each have a group and we dove right in.   It was precious as we talked through assurance of salvation with 3 girls who were shocked to hear they only needed to ask Christ into their lives 1 time.   You could see a sense of relief and freedom lifted from their shoulders as we talked through what that meant for even how they dealt with sin in their life.   I felt renewed energy and excitement to be here and be a part of the Lord’s work in the lives of so many young people.

As the day went on, I’ve been able to laugh a bit more at my environment… the fact that my bed caved in when I sat on it and so I slept… my body in a V-like position, that packs of dogs from I don’t know where howling through the night and then would stop abruptly only to be egged on by more howling dogs in the distance, that we have to fill a bucket of water to pour directly into the toilet so it will flush and that we figured out that the curtain that was across the window that covered the entirety of one side of the shower was in fact see through at night… fortunately we figured this out before it was a problem    The taxi cab drives have already been more of a tour then getting to a destination, because you won’t really be taken a direct route.  But we’ve really gotten to see a lot of port vila as a result and  yesterday the taxi cab took us through perhaps the poorest part of port vila and I was taken back to the memory of the shanty villages in Zambia… they looked exactly the same.  I think the Lord has been using these 2 days to more soften my heart to the reality of the “idols of comfort” that I hold on to.   I feel like such a wuss compared to what others have to live in and how such simple inconviences can make my flesh respond with selfishness, but it is good to see my heart and the ways the Lord wants to change it.  Would you pray that the Lord would give me a spirit of selflessness and servanthood with the staff and students here.   That I would lay down the american mindset that I’m sure I’m not even aware is there half the time and replace it with a Biblical mindset of Paul “that I have learned to be content in all circumstances”.  Even though it’s just a couple of weeks as I pray about my future in the islands I think it is a sobering reality that moving to this part of the world will not be easy. 

On another note, we will be ministering largely to students age 18-24 from all over Vanuatu who are here, and living at Manatoa college as they participate in what is called the “Provencial Games”…. athletic games where over 3000 students are a part of.  Pray God will lead us as to how to minister to these students and guide us to those whose are searching for Truth!

Help Send a Fijian Student to reach other Islanders

 

A recent letter from Matthew Anderson, a staff member a part of the ministry in the Pacific Islands:

“I just got back from Fiji this weekend, it was a fantastic time.  One of the things I did was to speak at the weekly meeting at the University of the South Pacific on “How to know God’s will”.  One of the Fijian students came up to me afterwards and said “God sent you tonight” now I liked hearing that of course but I asked him why J  He said that he had prayed the night before and asked God to send him someone to help him figure out whether he should go on the student project to Vanuatu.  After listening to my talk he felt God had confirmed that he should go !

For the first time ever 21 students and 3 staff from Fiji will go to Vanuatu during the first 2 weeks of December to open up a ministry there.  The campus in Vanuatu is the location of the School of Law, where according to the Australian government 70% of all future lawyers and politicians in the South Pacific region will come from this school.  We want the students to raise as much of the money as they can themselves, but we also want as many students from USP to go on the project as possible.  We know this project will allow God to impact the students’ lives, as well as the country of Vanuatu, and the entire Pacific Islands region.

Ok I know this is different but I have a donor willing to match any gift dollar for dollar for these students.  Would you consider helping us reach the Pacific with a gift that will be matched dollar for dollar to send an island student to reach islanders?  If you can help these students please let me know, either way please pray for these students because they have never done anything like this before!!

Thanks friends, Matthew”

 

If you feel called to be a part of sending a Fijian student to Vanuatu,  please email me at lindsey.parrott@uscm.org and I would love to help direct your giving.  I’m excited to get to be a part of this project the first two weeks of December.  Please be praying for me as I fly out on Nov. 27th!  I’ll write more details soon!

My latest ministry update!

The Lord has been doing a lot in my heart and ministry here at Headquarters and I’m excited for you to get to read my lastest ministry update!

Just click on the link below and enjoy!

October 2009 Ministry Update

Life in Transition

As I’ve spent the past 5 years working with many seniors in college and preparing them for life after college, I didn’t realize how much of the things I’ve equipped them with would be things that I would  need to be equipped with myself in this new season of life.   Adjusting to a new place, a new climate, a new job, new friends, new church is,  if I’m honest, a bit more difficult then I originally thought it would be.   I find myself itching to be settled in, to know what I’m doing, to be fully engaged in where I’m at and to be able to deal with the “bigger” things in my life then just the things that come out in the transition.  Though someone said just the other week that often the Lord chooses to show up in more ways in our lives during the season of transition because that is when a lot of our junk is often exposed as the stress level is higher.  The thing that the Lord is continually drawing me back to is His love for me and His desire for my heart to just be His.  He’s not waiting for me to figure it all out, He just wants to be in it with me.

As I’ve slowly stopped trying to just figure everything out and adjust already, there has been a sweetness of the Lord in my life.   I’ve been able to laugh more at my frustrations or spaciness for that matter (is that a word), like walking into a meeting that I thought was the one I was supposed to be in at 10:30 only to find out it had been rescheduled to 11 and causing quite a scene.   It has been neat to watch the Lord slowly show me why He chose me for this particular role at headquarters, helping new staff at headquarters be trained and equipped in ministry skills in a way that isn’t just going through materials but helping them connect these things to the heart.

I’ve seen God increase my heart for the lost to know Him.  I work in a Christian office 9-5 and find myself longing to be around more people who don’t know Jesus.   As I’ve had the chance to meet non-believers through everyday activities as well as through evangelistic events with the new staff my desire to talk about the Greatest Love has only grown stronger.   I love how in the midst of the Lord doing some overhauling in my personal life, He is still pouring out of me in fresh and new ways.   This is a season of change and transition, preparation for the future yes, but also a chance to experience the Lord in some ways I never have before.  I look forward to letting you into more of what the Lord is doing in my personal life and through my life.

Almost settled in…

After driving for two days, I finally arrived at my new home for the next 9 months in Orlando, Florida!  We got in Friday evening and have spent the past few days getting settled in and learning the ropes of Orlando, including braving all the crazy drivers down here.   Some of our adventures have included:

- braving the Target that happens to be the busiest Target in the country this past weekend, and I unfortunately went twice without knowing it was a such a bad weekend to go until later.  That experience definitely increased my stress level!

- enjoying some time meeting and getting to know other staff members who are doing Lake Hart Stint for the year, this included a crazy game called “Curses” which I recommend everyone to get for the sheer sake of how much you will laugh just reading the cards for it!  Look it up and you’ll see what I mean!

- finding a little chocolate store entitled “Wild Woman Chocolate” and spending about a half hour there getting to know the owner, Julie and one of her bakers, Audra and hoping to get a chance to go back and talk with them more about life and prayerfully the Lord!  Pray for them!

- checking out a great church on Sunday.

- Receiving a free Disney Pass for the year that comes with our program… what in the world!?

So, those are a few highlights from the week so far. I have to admit it had a bit of a rough start to it, from the sheer exhaustion of packing up, driving down and then entering into a whole new atmosphere.  And then the reality of moving to a new place sinking in even more, I’ve been a bit drained.  I’m ready for our jobs to begin and to have some more structure to my day!

Tomorrow (Thursday) morning we have a breakfast with all of the Lake Hart Stinters and then on Friday we head out for a weekend of orientation, and head to the office on Monday!  I’m excited to meet some of the new staff women that I’ll be training and developing and getting to grasp my roles a little more firmly.  Keep praying for me as I adjust here!

Moving to Orlando…

Tomorrow, I head up to Oxford where I’ve kept my stuff to take with me to Orlando and begin the journey of moving to Orlando on Thursday with my housemate Julie who will be spending the year with me doing the same program.  I can’t believe how fast the summer has flown by and that after 5 years at Miami I really am moving on!  I think I’m experiencing the whole gammet of emotions right now.   So, I’m sad to leave my family and little nephew, sad to leave what I’ve been a part of at Miami for so long (the staff, students and ministry), nervous at the new opportunities ahead, all mixed in with so much excitement at how the Lord is moving and directing me.   I’m looking forward to spending 9 months in Orlando developing a broader understanding of Crusade, and being personally developed, and of course all that comes with living in Florida.  I’m so grateful that the Lord has this year in mind for me before I head overseas.   I just wrote more information about this program in Orlando (called Lake Hart Stint) in my most recent prayer letter which you can find in pdf format on my “letters” page.

Ways you can be praying for me this week:

- That I would leave family and friends well in the next couple of days

- That the Lord would really meet with me as I drive by myself (caravaning with Julie in her car) Thursday and Friday.

- I would settle and adjust quickly to life in Orlando, and specifically find a church that I can get plugged into quickly and know best how to serve there!

Crazy next couple of weeks…

As I sit here, I’m thinking of all that is ahead in the next few weeks.  I’m finishing up spending much of my summer raising additional financial support.  I’m trusting Him to provide an additional $530 in monthly support to bring me up from a shortfall this past year.  He has been so faithful this summer and I’ve gotten to sit down with some amazing people.  The Lord has reminded me of how sweet it is to have a team of people surrounding me with prayers and investing financially in my ministry.  What a blessing!

So, I’m also thinking of all the packing that looms ahead of me, packing up the past 5 years of my life at Miami and preparing to move to Orlando for a year and then the Pacific Islands.   I have a week to pack before I head to Colorado for our National Staff Conference.  Then back to my parents house for a few weeks, a few trips to continue raising support the beginning of August and then heading to Orlando around Aug. 20th!

In light of all of the upcoming events it’s been easy for me to get overwhelmed at everything to come and have a hard time living in my present reality and thinking of what needs to happen today and not tomorrow.  Would you be praying for me that I would trust the Lord for each day and find my rest in Him!  Pray that the next week and a half I would see the Lord continue to bring in my support needs and that I would pack efficiently!

Thanks so much for your prayers!

Numbers 10-11… we are so similar to the Israelites.

I’ve been reading through the Old Testament and I have to say that while much of it has been incredibly sweet, as I’ve waded through Leviticus and now Numbers it’s been a bit overwhelming at times trying to make sense of the Law and the Lord’s demand for holiness for His people.  One thing that I’ve noticed however is that it’s all to point to the reality of the Lord’s love, His goodness and His grace.  That we would really get just how Holy He is that we would understand more fully the extent of our need for grace.

Today, however I have some thoughts on what I just read in Chapters 10 and 11 of Numbers.  At the end of Chapter 10 we see the Lord beginning to move His people through the wilderness after they have just spent a couple of years in a pretty stationary location it seems just getting adjusted to this new freedom they have just received.  But, almost as quickly as they begin to move, and the promise of the presence of the Lord goes before them, the people begin to complain of their lack of Meat “real food”.  The Lord has provided Manna, but even food raining down from heaven seems is not enough for the people to know that “I am the Lord, Your God”.  There eyes are fixed on their own appetites and desires, their minds have rested on the past to the point where they only see what they are missing, not the freedom they have been given.  It is interesting that with freedom in Christ, freedom from sin, as believers, we can easily come under the illusion that parts of slavery somehow were better, easier.  How easily deceived are we?

And I see the weight that the complaints of the people bear on Moses, and the graciousness of the lord to provide others to bear the burden of the people with him.  yet even as Moses leads it’s as if he just wants the Lord to satisfy the cravings of the people to shut them up.  And the Lord decides to do this!  He promises them excess of the meat they have asked for, to the point that what they want now will become disgusting to them.  I believe He does this that the people would realize, it won’t satisfy!  Even in the Lord’s anger, He desires to draw His people to an awareness that He’s enough.  We can have everything taken away to draw us to that or we can be given an excess to make us realize that it doesn’t satisfy.

I love how Moses question’s the Lord’s ability to provide meat for the over 1 million people who are wandering the wilderness. He gets a bit dramatic asking the Lord how he will gather “all the fish of the sea to feed them”.  And the Lord responds “Is the Lord’s hand shortened?  now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”  Can the Lord not do what He says He can do?   If He could provide such an abundance but perhaps chooses not to, can we not trust in His power, His strength, His ability that His choosing “yes” or “no” is actually our provision… His Best for us because He sees the bigger picture.  He sees what will cause us to run to broken cisterns and what will cause us to run to Him, the only source of true life and joy!

We are just like the Israelites.

America’s freedom has driven us to excess, where we have become a people that contiually fills our voids with “things” that will never satisfy.  We have become a country that refuses to acknowledge the Lord is the author of life, and freedom and everything that we have comes from Him.  I wonder if we as a country will continue to run after excess, be given what we “think” we want, or be driven to our knees. Could this economic crisis actually be a blessing in disguise to draw us back to the only one who has the authority to say “I am the Lord, YOUR God.”?

I pray that my heart would more quickly run to Him, and not things/relationships that prove time and time again to never satisfy in the way that He can and does and longs to.

Turning 30… March 29, 2009

I’ve been thinking about this day for awhile as I’ve watched friends enter this new decade of life and as I’ve thought of the cultural norms for how our society says we “should” look at turning 30. To be honest, where my life is today is not anywhere near where I thought it would be. The biggest expectation being marriage. Not only did I think that by age 30 I’d be married, but I also was under the impression when I was younger that I would most likely have a child or two. My husband would be doing the things that come less naturally for me, keeping track of the finances, our car or cars and leading us in what the next step is for our lives. None of these things are even remotely true. There isn’t even a man in my life to think that the potential of that is coming anytime soon.

Several years ago, however, I was reflecting on what I hoped and prayed I would be like if the things I thought I desired the most weren’t true as I turned 30. I started to think that even if I had what I thought I really wanted at age 30, there would always be something else that I was longing for beyond that: a bigger house, a new car, children who behaved more, more time to myself. So, I distinctly remember at age 23 praying that when I turned whatever that age was where expectations of my life were different than reality, that I would be able to not just be thankful but to embrace and enjoy the years the Lord has given me. To rest in what I have and not what I don’t have.

So, this past year I’ve been preparing my mind and my heart to enter my 30’s in celebration of where God has taken my life. It may be a silly thing, but I didn’t want disappointment and sadness to rule or even take hold this year. That I would live out, at least for this year, what a wise man named Solomon said about wise women: “she laughs at the days to come”.

Last year, when I turned 29, I began to think “As I grow old what will it take to change my way of thinking from fear of aging to excitement?” So, I started to process with the Lord and found myself saying “Lord, one more year you give me is another year to invest my life in people and celebrate that more will know you and trust you through my life… this is what will excite me most to grow old” I asked the Lord then, in celebration of turning 30 that He would give me the privilege of getting to see first hand 30 people place their faith in Jesus, trusting Him for the forgiveness of their sins and entering into a personal relationship with their Creator for the first time. Only the Lord can move someone’s heart to trust Him, I only can show people how so I knew that everytime I saw someone actually trust Him would be His gift to me! And guess what… This year I’ve seen 32 people indicate decisions for Christ! Every single one the Lord reminded me was His gift to me to open their eyes in front of me that I would get to see them go from death to life.

I’ve been reflecting this week on where the Lord has taken me in just 30 years and I am amazed. The other day I tried to think of a list of 30 of the most influential people in my life who have been a part of shaping who I am today… there were over 40! I can’t believe the fullness of life and hope and joy the Lord has given me at such a young age. The opportunity to travel to over 15 different countries, bringing the hope of Christ and investing in people’s lives all over the world. The chance to disciple students at Miami, in the Netherlands, Macedonia, and countless other students from campus’s across America.

As the Lord has fixed my eyes on Him and what He’s done with my life it has been easy to celebrate! I pray that continues as I move up the age bracket, that I would have a spirit of celebration, laughter at the wrinkles, hope at the days to come (whatever those days bring, joy or sorrow). I continue to hope and pray that the desires of my heart for marriage, children come true… But, more than that I think I’m realizing the reality that our lives are “but a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” The more I grasp the reality of that, the more I want my life to be about His dreams for me and not my own, for He created me and knows me better than I know myself… and His plans for my life are far greater than my own.

So, though there are dreams that haven’t been realized at age 30, there are so many greater things God has done in and through my life that I don’t think I would have ever even dared to dream or could have come up with on my own. He has done in my life already “exceedingly, abundantly, beyond what I could ever hope or dream of.” Let the next 30, 40, 50 even 60 years of my life draw me closer to my Savior, the only one who is worth my life, and let more of Christ radiate through my life into the lives of others! “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain!” Phil.1:21