Strangers in the Air, Angels Unaware

After a whirlwind trip to Seattle to celebrate the goodness of life I have been struck by the way the Lord provided for my every need. He held absolutely nothing back from me and spared no expense. 

Since the day I heard about people that would go on wild trips around the world without a dollar to their name and see God provide for them miraculously, I wanted to go on a faith trip and see those kinds of things happen to me. Little did I know what He was planning for me...

This whole business of me flying back to the mainland started in a rather odd way. After Jonathan and I returned from India, we found out that my brother was graduating from school a year early. I hadn't planned on being in Seattle until September. I had no idea how this trip would even be possible. There wasn't any way I could see to make it happen. But then I checked how many miles we had on our credit card.. and found out I could get a $10 flight to Seattle. Woo hoo! That kind of thing NEVER happens to me! Crazy!

The week before I left, I told God that I really needed some cash for the week I'd be gone as I didn't have any to spare for this family trip. To be honest though, He and I had been having quite a few conversations about the needs in my life recently, and how I was (once 100x's again) telling him that I did indeed trust Him, in spite of the doubt that kept creeping into my mind. The day before I was leaving (my last day teaching 2nd grade), a student handed me a sweet thank you card. Inside the adorably decorated card, a check slid out. $50! Thank you, Jesus! Spending cash for the trip! WHOA! Later on that day, another parent came in a handed me another card. Inside was more than enough to pay our phone bill that was due THAT DAY. No way! Our needs were met, in such a beautiful way, highlighting the blessings that we have in Christian community. At the end of the day, another student handed me a card, and a gift card for Starbucks popped out at me, like they knew I was just about to fly over to the land of Starbucks! Turns out I was able to use that for airport food, breakfast, and a coffee date. Let me tell you folks, about the goodness of the God I serve...

So the trip began, and everything, from our flights, to travel arrangements with 3 people sharing 1 vehicle, to traffic jams, sleeping arrangements, and crazy jam packed schedules went so incredibly smooth. There is just no way that our planning made any of that as smooth as it went. We experienced such joy and peace at every turn of our trip.

The last part of this story I'd like to recount is my flight back to Kona. 

I was blurry eyed and dizzy tired from everything that had happened in the past week. I just wanted to sleep and be home as soon as possible. Honestly, I'm not really one for talking with strangers on airplanes. However, if they start a conversation with me, I'll engage them. On my first flight back home I sat next to a local Hawaiian who had been visiting family for a graduation. He just wanted to be back home eating Hawaiian food and got really excited when I mentioned "loco moco." On my last flight from Honolulu to Kona I sat next to a guy that had an Australian accent and was on his way to visit his mom who had recently been injured and was in the intensive care unit in the Kona hospital. This man started sharing with me details of his work and where his travels have brought him around the world working with impoverished people. I was able to share with him my experiences in India. I had told God early in our conversation that I didn't want to share my story with him, just because I was getting tired of repeating the story over again. But of course when I mentioned that I had been in India, this man wanted to know what had brought me there. So I figured God wanted me to share about what Jonathan and I do. That naturally led into all the supernatural provision and answers to prayer we've seen. He then shared with me that he too works with Christian organizations around the world and was familiar with YWAM. Before we landed I asked him if I could pray for him and his mom. He said yes and we bowed our heads and prayed. When we landed we wished each other well and parted ways.

Jonathan called me when we were in the terminal to meet us with the vehicle. I found my dad and briefly mentioned my conversation with the gentleman on the plane. Suddenly I heard a man's voice trying to get my attention. I turned around and saw that it was the same guy that I had sat next to on the plane. He walked over to me and said "I want you to do me a favor." "What's that?" I replied. He reached out to shake my hand and said "Keep the faith." When I opened my hand, I couldn't believe it. I said "Bless you, sir!" and he turned to go. In my hand was a $100 bill.

This family trip was not just about celebration and reunion--it was about seeing the real life faithfulness of God at work in my life. I watched God take my worry and turn it into contentment and generosity, while giving me the desires of my heart. I felt him give me such love for my family, I never knew I could possess.

It's amazing to see how God is providing for our needs, even as we are currently living on less than $400 a month. I suppose I would be a bit more shy with disclosing that information, but that is $400 that God is giving to us through generous donors and He deserves the praise for this provision. Our hearts are full, and we eagerly await the next miracle that He will do in our lives. There's nothing like living on the edge of your seat seeing God move mountains right in front of your face. It's nothing short of an adventure, that's for sure!

Much love to you all!

Miracles, Accomplishments, New Life, and Celebration!

Back at home now, it's been incredible to reflect on the whirlwind week Mom, Dad, and I shared together. I can't believe we did as much, saw as much, or enjoyed so much in the past week. So let's recount the journey together...

The 1st day we were in town we spent the day cleaning up 5 months of home remodeling construction at my Aunt and Uncle's house to prepare for my cousin's engagement party scheduled two days later. I'm pretty sure I've never worked that hard in my life, and we cleaned house! It pretty much sparkled by the time we sleepily slunked out the door. Their remodeling job looked absolutely fabulous, and it was so sweet to be a part of their hard work.

The 2nd day, was loaded with activities for the 2 grads (my brother and His fiance)  in our expanding family.

The Ivy Cutting Ceremony is an Seattle Pacific University (SPU) tradition in which each graduate is given a piece of ivy to serve as a symbol of them leaving the school and going on to greater things remembering where they have been. 

 From there, we went onto brunch at Kaelin's parent's home. Her mom makes a killer breakfast casserole...I'll be craving that for months! The view we got to enjoy on Lake Washington was spectacular.

Following brunch was Kaelin's Nursing Pinning ceremony. It was such a fitting ceremony to reflect on the nursing graduate's journey through nursing school. Kaelin has such a big heart for especially those in the hospital from alcohol and drug abuse, and will be working in the trauma center of a prestigious hospital nearby where she will be able to care for many of those that need her attentive and capable care. I'm so proud of this girl!

Later that evening, I was able to meet up with my dear friend, Audrey from Florida, as we celebrated in town. She's just moved to the Northwest, following God's call on her life and will be working in nursing as well. It has been so amazing to watch Him provide for all of her needs, and even the timing of her job placement was so awesome. She continues to boost my faith and encourage me as we keep in touch. It was definitely an added bonus that she got to join in the festivities!

Top: Future Bride in the middle surrounded by bridesmaids
B. Right: Kaelin and me
B. Right: The groom and bride-to-be and me

My wonderful cousin's (Tianna) engagement party came with great excitement, as I finally got to meet her sweet Groom-to-be. Jordan is a top-notch gentleman that has valiantly won the heart of Tianna. He is in his final year of Chiropractic school and will be graduating before their big day. I am so pleased that I get to be be the Matron of Honor in their wedding and look forward to June 28, 2014 when the wedding bells will ring. She and I have always been close since childhood; and even through distance has kept us separate, our hearts have remained close.  I love her to pieces, and greatly value her insight into education as she is a fellow teacher. Tianna was invaluable to me as a bridesmaid in our wedding, working into the wee hours of the morning making jam and finishing other tasks. What great things await us in the future!

Lil' Bro and Big Sis.
Let's just talk about the money lei Mom and I made by hand folding dollar bills ;)

 Graduation Day arrived with much pomp and circumstance. Christopher and Kaelin earned every bit of honor they received on this day. It was remarkable to see my little brother walk to receive his diploma for his B.S. in Biology. He will go on to study to receive his degree as a Physician's Assistant in a few years. Don't tell him I said this *wink wink*, but my little brother knows waaayy more than I do, and it's so cool to see him stretch himself like this.  I have so much respect and admiration for him and I know he is going to make a  wonderful doctor!

Our families join to celebrate the graduates' accomplishments!

The graduation party was held at a local gourmet pizza shop. Wow! We had such a fun time together!

Gourmet Salads, Pizza, and Cake was served. Yummo!

A typical rainy day in Washington.. >_o

 The last day of our trip was spent with two other cousins. We got to visit Nick at his home overlooking the Puget Sound. Such a peaceful location that I could spend hours just soaking up the view of the sound and wildlife. Nick is a real life miracle in our family, as we watched his broken body recover from a horrible fall from scaffolding. Now he is walking about, and ready to start a new job after years of being on disability. His dream is to be a "rock star" and his guitar skills are amazing. I would say (with an untrained ear) that he plays tunes sounding a bit of classical guitar mixed with blues and rock. He is definitely gifted with impressive talent.

Family!

We drove over to Anjilee's home to help prepare meals for her and her hubby, Chris. You may remember them from this post when they visited us here on the Big Island. Ashton is just under two weeks old, and the timing of my trip was so perfect that I was able to meet him so soon. Hopefully, she and Chris will be well fed for the next couple weeks from our labor of love in the kitchen. Anj's job was to rest, and it was such an absolute pleasure to give her this time to rest. But, Ashton...what a perfect little boy! There are no words to describe this bliss!

The last evening finally came, and the Whitcomb tribe headed to our favorite haunts in Seattle's Chinatown. First, Kau Kau (cow-cow) a BBQ pork hideaway my family has frequented for years and years, where we always eat too much while listening to the restaurant's favorite Michael Buble CD. Then we headed to Oasis for bubble tea. Yum!

This trip was everything a girl could hope for in a visit with family and even more. I was so blessed to be with the ones that God has put in my life for good, and give and receive love so freely. This, I know is such a special season of everyone's lives as we see new things on the horizon and reach farther above to pull from the fruitful tree of hope. My heart is so full, and I am so blessed.

Headed to the Emerald City

Hello friends, 

I'd appreciate your prayers this week as my love and I are separated by the Pacific Ocean. It's happy troubles indeed 😊.  

My little brother is graduating, as is his lovely bride to be. I also get to attend the engagement party of my dear cousin who is getting married next summer (June 2014).  

View her gorgeous engagement pictures here:   http://erinperkinsphotography.com/blog/jordan-tianna-chinook-pass-engagement/. 

And just as it couldn't get any better, my newest cousin was born this past Friday, May 31, 2013.

My brother and the baby!!

Will post updates soon!! 

Much love!

Justice Water

Imagine hiking a 5 mile dusty trail in the scorching sun holding a 10 pound clay jar. At the end of this trail is marshy area filled with algae covered brown water. This water is the only way to quench your thirst, or cook your family's meal, or avoid dehydration. It is also the way you will probably die. The worst part is, you have no idea there is a better way to provide water for your loved ones.

Credit: water.org

Another ministry growing on our campus and spreading into the world is Justice Water. In a 1st world country, we have no idea what it is like to not have access to clean water, Justice Water is answering the thirsty call of millions around the world. So many diseases are spread from drinking unclean water. Justice Water can give a community clean water using a sand bio-filter, for just $20. The technology they use is ridiculously simple, but that is part of the genius to this ministry. Anyone anywhere in the world can maintain the wells and filters whereby Justice Water is supplying and educating small villages. By bringing sustainable life giving water to a community it prolongs thousands and millions of peoples lives, gives them a higher quality of living, and opens the doors to share the good news of the Living Water Jesus offers us!


Check out their promo video below and then go to Justicewater.net to get more information.

Voice for the Voiceless

In the past two months, I have had the AWESOME privilege to teach the children of men and women who are working to bring righteousness, justice, and love into a hurting world. The Learning Center exists as a school that these inspiring missionaries can send their children to knowing that they will get a solid education and also have the freedom to be mobile when the time comes for the missionary family to travel without sacrificing their children's education.

I would like to spotlight a few of the ministries that are shaking our world. In this post, I would like to introduce Voice for the Voiceless through this video presentation:

A link to view other videos by PhotogenX

I have been so moved by what these organizations are doing in our world today. My eyes have been opened to many injustices that are happening right around me because of the way Voice for the Voiceless has given such a platform for these issues. I encourage you to take a peak on their vimeo account to see many other well made videos showcasing their other points of ministry.

Just a Little Prompting

Many of you have seen the status update I posted on my Facebook page the other day.

"I've been starting each morning with a writing prompt for journaling asking silly questions (ie: if people walked like crabs what would life be like?). This morning I was preparing to put one on the board when a student made a suggestion for a writing prompt. "Can we write about what Jesus means to us?" My heart just about melted, and I've never audibly heard the voice of The Lord speak, but I think I did this morning. Now I'm reading all the testimonies about who Jesus is to each 2nd grader in my class. Wow. I'm still blown away how good God is!"

This little event really got some of my brain gears turning..

When is the last time an adult told me what Jesus means to them?

When is the last time I told someone (of my own accord and joy) what Jesus means to me?

Well, for starters..I should tell you that life on a missions base is full of "Jesus did this for me" conversations. I  love how most anyone I bump into and ask casually about how their life has been will usually result  in a spontaneous testimony of a victory they have seen in their life because of Jesus' intervention, or how the Lord has miraculously provided for them. My life is so full of the goodness of the Lord raining all around me, BUT just talking and being excited about the character and personality of Jesus is a bit different..

So, I want to tell you about what Jesus means to me. Before you tune out another "count your blessings" sermon, I want you to understand me.

I used to think God was boring, moody, and hard to reach. I used to think that He would only love me if I looked a certain way. I thought I had to play by a set of rules and jump through the right holes to have any hope in life. I thought that finding His will for my life was a good goal, but if I couldn't even keep these "rules" and look the right way that it would be just impossible find what He wanted me to do with my life.

That thought process began to build a layer of resentment in my heart toward me and every other "God-lover" out there because I was measuring myself up to their standards. The problem was that each person's standards were different and some cared what I did and how I felt, but most really didn't. If one girl seemed to find success in the eyes of the church then apparently she was a good "rule keeper" and somehow had the secret for jumping through hoops. I would immediately resent her for being "so good" at whatever it was she had. Then I would try to find the person who had done it wrong and obviously had a bad reputation so I could measure myself against her and feel satisfaction that I was doing better than her. You can imagine the gossip and malice that flourished in my world with this kind of mind set.

My conscience held me to a higher account than to openly rebel. My parents have taught me to respect authority, so I never obviously or broadly shared my disenfranchisement with this "good at God" act I thought everyone was trying to put on. But I secretly rebelled. It started in my heart. Viewing authority with resentment and being respectful to get under the radar. Then I began cutting corners when I thought no one was looking. I'd do what felt good to me when the coast was clear. I felt guilty. all. of. the. time. I thought every conversation with an authority figure would uncover the double life I knew I was living. I grew bitter, and in that bitterness grew a carelessness of my own life and value. I didn't trust anyone. This continued for quite a while. I made decisions for myself based off that world view. It continued until I reached a point of recognition of who I had become.

I looked in the mirror.

I looked in the mirror of God's Word to see (for myself, not just what a preacher told me) what I was apart from the LOVE of JESUS.

He told me that everyone has really messed up their lives. EVERYONE. Me..the girl that was really good at that one thing, and even applauded in church..the girl that has a bad reputation.. each of my authority figures I resented so much.

Then He told me that "people are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life" NOT when they dress the right way, or look a certain way, or even do the right things on a stage in church. He even said that it's THAT SIMPLE so that NO ONE can boast or brag about what they have done right in life to be right with Him.

He then told me that He wanted to transform me into a new person and change the way I think, SO THAT I could learn His will for my life. HE was going to do the work in my life, so HE could show me what I had been wanting to see, but felt there was no way possible to see it.

This was like water to my dry, cracked, and bleeding lips. A cleansing rain after walking for years in a dusty dry desert. This news SAVED MY LIFE. I had been believing a lie, and the truth had just been revealed.

So now, let me tell you what Jesus means to me!

Jesus means life. John 10:10 says,  "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." He didn't come to tell me to live in a box wearing all black all the time. He came to give me a life lived TO THE MAXIMUM! If anyone knows the value of one life to live, it's Jesus! He created me and has the whole exciting plan for my life!

Jesus means freedom. I am no longer bound by the chains of judgement and bitterness that once ruined every day I lived. I live in glorious freedom to walk out my salvation with joy and unbridled love for the MAN who died to one day be with me. I can freely love even the people that are rude to me, that do judge me, that do think I'm nutso because Jesus has freely put that love inside my heart for me to use. I am free from the consequences of sin as I walk in His footsteps leading me far away from the ditches I used to crash into emotionally,  physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Jesus means peace. Not the hippie, every one make love not war kind of peace. But the peace that doesn't make sense that stays in my heart when my life is no longer in my control; or when the world I used to live in has fallen away and I'm in a new place, with new street names, with new faces everywhere I go. Or the peace that stays near me when I have to have a tough conversation with someone and I can't control their reaction. I have that peace because I know the God of the universe who has EVERYTHING in the universe under His careful watch and protection.

Jesus means joy! Each one of the things I've listed gives me such incredible joy! Just talking about how good He is to me, and what He's done in my life brings me such absolute joy!

So back to the original discussion of how this subject was "prompted." One of my students wanted to write about what Jesus meant to her, and that afternoon as I read what my students wrote, I wept.

Even children know how wonderful Jesus is. 

So, I've saved the best for last. Please, enjoy what my delightful students shared with me in their journals. Grammatically, it's not perfect, but in Jesus eyes, it's exactly what He loves to see.

"What Jesus means to me"

"He gives me kindness. He gives me faith in hard times. He comforts me when I'm scared. God loves me when I feel like no one else loves me. He leads me when I'm lost."

"Jesus means goodness to me. Jesus means kindness to me. Jesus means peace to me. Jesus means gentleness to me. Jesus means helper to me."

"He's like my father, my heavenly father. He loves me for who I am. He protects me from Satan. He gives me the kindness. He loves what I do."

"I think that Jesus is awesome. I think that he is amazing. I like about him is that he created me. I think that he loves children. Jesus means to me that he is my King."

"I think he is a master. He is a Messiah. He is a savior. He is a prophet man. He is a kind and loving."

"Jesus means to me the Savior. Jesus means to me three in one. Jesus means to me creator. Jesus means to me my friend. Jesus means to me a good friend."

"I think he rocks. He is so cool. He is the best. He rocks so much. He is the best of all."

"He is my savior. He is the Christ. He is God's son. Jesus died for us. I love Jesus."

"I think Jesus is cool and awesome! Jesus protected me! He always mean something to me! Oh, he gets me out of traffic! Wow he does so many things for me! You should think about it! I wish I could be the same! It would be so cool! Do you know I wish everyone was sort of like God! That would be cool! It already is cool! I wish you could do the same!"

So, the question remains..

What does Jesus mean to you?

Just to brag a little...

Couldn't resist posting a little note I got to send out to my 2nd grade parents. My 2nd graders have worked so hard this week, and I know I have done my far share as well.

 Please, share in my joy as I celebrate my students' milestones! :)

Hello Parents!

What a week we have just come through! I'm so proud to tell you that 2nd Grade has just successfully graduated from Bar Models in math! The entire class received grades in the A and B range, and my heart couldn't be more proud of the hard work, sweat, and tears they have poured into learning these and getting them down. Truly, this was the climax of all the hard work they have put into learning math this year, and it really paid off!

I want to thank each of you for all the tutoring I know you were doing at home as they came home with these bar models and for all the words of encouragement you spoke into them. Truly, I felt I was teaching a 3rd grade class this week as I watched them use incredible self-control, good time management, and careful reading of all the instructions as we worked through this chapter.

We've been discussing how the Holy Spirit gives us the ability to be all of who we need to be in 2nd grade, and I watched in awe as they allowed Him to give them the help they needed to overcome this challenging week.

Praise the Lord!

Have a Happy (Homework Free) Thursday!

~Mrs. Freeman

My Super Stars working hard on their tests :)