This morning I find myself doing a very similar thing to what I was doing this time last year, but in a very different place. Today, after a four day debrief I watched the NOVAs teams go home. It has been a year since I left South Africa and said to goodbye to my teammates myself and a lot already has changed; 2 leaders married, 1 engaged, 2 new babies, 1 teammate married, 1 engaged, teammates spread out all of the globe and eternity, my heart is with you all.
To all the NOVAs peeps, I cannot wait to see and hear about how things will be at home and how you all will take the ways you were challenged, stretched, and grown to bring The Kingdom more and more each day. It has been amazing to see you all grow and learn in this season. I love you all!! To all my FYM peeps, keeps pressing in and never forget the faces we saw, the love we felt, and the ways you were forever changes. Brothers and sisters let us never forget.
FYM, last generation
NOVAs, you're one of a kind :)
It is crazy to think of where I have been, what I am doing, and where I am going to be....here's to the last year of my life and to the next!
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's
purpose that prevails.
If Jesus had a phone what kind of phone
would He have? Probably the kind that did everything and could contact everyone
and He would definitely have an unlimited plan. He is after all the beginning
and the end, all knowing, ever present and all of that. I wonder if He
would get our prayer requests via text message. What would He text
back? Can you imagine a world where Jesus texts back the answers to our
hearts deepest questions and desires?!?! As tempting as the simplicity of
a quick, short, and to the point text is I don't think I would like it.
There is a mystery in the Father
that I am growing to love more and more every day. It's such a mystery
that I am having a hard time gathering my thoughts to write this blog in way
that it will make sense! There is no formula, no 2+2=4. In the
Kingdom 2+2 may very well equal 2,000,000! It is a mystery to me how
God speaks to me here in America but then He also speaks to people there by the
South Africa. It's a mystery to me how a baby can learn how to talk and
walk. It's a mystery to me how God fits all the stars in one sky and while
I am in American looking at the night sky my friends in Africa are watching a
sunrise. It's a mystery to me how God knows me so well, how He has such
perfect timing in every aspect of my life, how He knows every facet of my life;
past present and future, and is using it for His glory. My favorite part
of these mysteries is that the answer is in His presence.
I ask "God what is this?"
"Lord what is going to happen then?" "How did that happen?"
"Why did You allow this?" "What in the world does this mean?!?"
In the clutter of questions and mysteries is the resounding answer:
"I
Am."
A text message simply would not do. It would not have cut it for the Israelites and
it will not suffice for me.
I cannot even begin to tell you. I am getting so excited for the World Race, my sleeping bag was delivered to the office last week, I got it out and crawled into it and got comfy! It felt like home, which it will be for 11 months :)
It has been so fun getting to know my squad a little bit over facebook and what not. So each squad that has been on the World Race is identified by a letter in the alphabet. We are the "O" Squad...
OH what's going to happen?
OH, so excited to embark on this adventure!
OHcan't wait to meet my team!
OH, I still gotta raise $6,000!
OH I hope I pack enough underwear.
OH this is really happening!!!
OH the God I serve is a big God!
OOOOH!!
Before actually leaving on the World Race we have a training camp for about ten days in Georgia. Training camp is only 47 days, I can't believe that this is right around the corner! In preparing for this mission I am in need of support, I have sent out some letters and have heard back from many of you. I want to thank you so much for all of your support financially and in prayer, I have had a lot of encouragement while I have been here in Georgia all of you back home as well as my community here. When I sent out my letter about a month or so ago I was in need of $10,000 dollars, at this point I am still in need of $6,000 dollars, and I am trusting the Lord to provide every penny.
I know that the Lord is going to continue to move as He launches me into the next eleven months. I was reading a book a couple of weeks ago called The Happy Intercessor by Beni Johnson and there was a quote from it that describes really well what the Lord is doing in me and where I am at.
"I began to feel like something
was being pulled out of me and
that something was being
activated in me"
I read this and so identified. I can see and hear and I have read in His Word about who I am, and what He has created me for. I have learned that there is a difference between knowing my identity in Christ and actually walking in it, and He is showing me what that looks like.
Each one should use whatever gift he(she) has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
Replacements(n):
An exchange; a person
or thing that replaces another.
Recently
the Lord has been teaching me about replacements; it
started a few weeks ago. Do you ever think about situations, and assume
the negative? My thoughts have power, they affect my attitude you know? Do you remember as a child dreaming? I
remember dreaming of ways the Lord would
move, imagining the miracles that He would do. At some point that
changed, there is a shift in our thinking. Where life gets to us; it
wears us down and
we begin to be more "realistic". I
believe that the Lord longs to take us back to that place of trust, He
desires
to dream with me about what He desires to do in my life. He desires to
replace the lies of death with
abundant true life.
"This day I
call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I
have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose
life, so
that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your
God..."
Deuteronomy
30:19-20a
He
has set before me life and death, day by day I am challenged
to choose life so that I may love the Lord.
Life
replaces
death. Love
replaces
stress. Hope
replaces
despair.Hallelujahs
replace
grumblings. Truth
replaces lies.Freedom
replaces silence. Innocence replaces guilt.Sincerity
replaces
image.
Life
replaces death, death never replaces life.
Over
the past two years the Lord has been teaching me about
love, true abundant love. The love from
the Father. The kind of love that breaks through the highest and
strongest walls. The kind of love that calls us to obey. The kind of
love that beckons me to a life
where God receives all of the Glory. The
kind of love that not only reaches in and pulls us out of the pit, but
the kind
of love that can destroy the pit! Love
and life go hand in hand, love brings life, and life is not really life
without
Love. Think back to the imagination of
childhood...and take it back, it's yours! Take back
the dreams, take back the trust. I
am called to faith and trust that risks and I am taking it back!! God is
Love, and today I expect that He will
do abundantly and exceedingly more that I could ever dream or imagine
because
of His great Love.
"He
called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell
you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you
will
never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself
like this
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:2-4
Take it back
friends. What needs to be replaced today?
Hello everyone, this is a story of one of the peeps on a Real Life trip that's in Kenya right now. I am working in admissions for the Real Life program with AIM and I wanted to share with all of you a story from the field. I am really enjoying working in the office and helping future participants be placed and prepare for trips. These peeps are binging Kingdom, revealing the Love of the Lord to the people all of over the world. This is why the Lord has me doing what I'm doing.
"God
has placed this vision in the group about doing something greater in the
IDP (International Displaced People) Camps; something that will be
lasting, something that will bring the Kingdom of God down to that place
after we leave in 2 months. When you go to this place there is no hope;
these people have no hope of getting out and you can feel the despair
when you get there. It is almost as if they are there for the food and
that is it. So our group sat down and prayed about the vision that God
has for this place. And we knew that it was something greater than going
there every Saturday to hand out a bag of ugali and feed the kids a
bun.
Discipleship.
I have been reading a lot of Paul's writings about discipleship and the
significance that it has on people. Coming along side of someone,
investing and teaching someone until they can go and do the same to
another person. Holli made a good analogy: it is like you are holding
the hand of God in one hand and the hand of the person you are
discipling in the other and you are there until that person can
eventually hold the hand of God themselves. That is what it is about.
Guiding people, helping them understand the greatness of God, and coming
along side of them so that you can grow God's followers.
So
God has given us this vision of discipleship for the displaced people.
Now how do we go about fulfilling what he has called us to do? I think
it means taking one step at a time and building those relationships so
that the people truly interested in spreading the word of God after we
leave will have been invested in by us. There is so much need in that
place, so much hurt and so much despair. There is no way that we can fix
everything while we are here, but God has given us a vision of
something bigger, something greater than ourselves, something that will
be lasting; now we must step into the fear of the unknown and act. While
it is going to be hard and frustrating at times, It is exciting that
God has given us the ability to carry out something that He started in
us. God is so good.
"For
we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our
gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, wit the
Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you
for your sake. You became imitatiors of us and of the Lord; in spite of
severe suffering you welcomed the message wit the joy given by the Holy
Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and
Achaia. The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and
Achaia- your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do
not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind
of reacetion you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to
serve the living and true God, and to wait for his son from heaven, whom
he raised from the dead- Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." I
Thessalonians 1:4-10" Blog byJenna Ghizas, picture by: Katie Duff
To read more about what's going on with our other Real Life trips you can check out their blogs at:
Hello friends I just wanted to post and update everyone on what is going on here in good ol' Gainesville GA. I took some pictures of my work area here...
Fun desk where I can make phone calls to people interested in trips, and answers e-mails and all that fun stuff!
Pictures of friends and family from back home as well as my sisters from FYM :)
My wall of trip info, and the urban word of the day sign! Yesterdays word was "Mondaze" we need to update that!
COLOR CODED PENS!!!
Post-Its=necessary
So all of that said I am enjoying helping out in the office, I love getting to talk with people who are interested in trips and helping go through the process of getting on the field. I learn something new pretty much everyday and it's good for me! Anywho I hope all is well y'all :)
"Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?" Isaiah 58:6-7
Father what does it mean to loose the bonds of wickedness? Show me what it is to undo heavy burdens. I long to hear chains break as the oppressed go free! The Holy Spirit is the great liberator and a God of redemption and reconciliation. Do you know that the Holy Spirit lives in you? I remember being told "The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in you." I hear that a lot. But it's even more than that...
"Then Peter stood up and addressed the crowd...'In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved..." Acts 2:17-21
The same Holy Spirit that inspired Peter to address the crowd and preach at Pentecost lives in YOU...
"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick." Matthew 14:14
"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek." Mark 1:25-26
The same compassion and power that was in Jesus that drove Him to heal and cast out demons is in YOU...
"Heal the sick, raise the dead, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."
This is a command from Jesus Christ to His disciples...brothers and sisters I am a disciple. You are a disciple. There is example after example in scripture of how we are to live as Christ did. We have freely been given the Holy Spirit; we have been given hope and LIFE. I know that this may be a bit crazy but I am taking this literally, I believe that the Lord is going to use me to heal the sick, to cast out demons, and to raise the dead, not because I can but because HE can. And you know what, it's not a matter of IF...if He will raise the dead or heal or deliver. The question is, how many?!?! Haha!! I have been accused of being a little crazy and maybe I am, but again I ask, how many??? I am asking the Lord, how many people do you desire to raise from the dead today? How many divine appointments for healing do you have set up? How many broken hearts do you desire to mend and whose chains of oppression are You going to break today? He wants to use me, He wants to use you. The Holy Spirit lives in YOU and He wants OUT!
On my team blog for the World Race we were ask to make a post about our expecations for the trip, I just thought I could share what I posted. :)
I do not expect to be in the United States for 11 months.
I do not expect to get a hair cut.
I do not expect for my knowledge of the National Anthem to be tested.
I do not expect to know where I will be living along the way.
I do not expect to paint my face like a lion for Halloween
I do not expect to see my family or friends back home for 11 months.
I do not expect to have a cute little boyfrannnnn.
I do not expect to go office supply shopping.
I do not expect to learn how to ride a unicycle.
I do not expect to get any new tattoos.
I do not expect to have a pet rabbit.
I do not expect to ribbon dance for a large crowd of Romanians
....the list could go on....
I should know exactly what to expect from the race, but if there's one thing I have learned over the past year and a half it's that things change, and nothing is ever what you expect. I have thought about writing this blog a lot and have thought about my expectations quite a bit. I expect the Lord to show up. I expect that I cannot do this, I know that I cannot do this.
So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matt 24:44
So last week we I had the opprotunity to help with another Real Life training camp. These groups of peeps are heading to Kenya, Swaziland, and India. We started off the week again with a night in Atlanta...
After the night in the ATL they came here to the training center in Gainesville. It was 3 days full of learning about the Holy Spirit and empowering them in their faith. Each team was given a blank black piece of cloth they were told to pray and paint something that represented what their time wanted to be about or work towards while on the field...
It is so great to be a part of these training camps, to see these peeps have new realizations of their faith and who the Lord has created them to be and what He has created them for; to see them come alive. It is so special to be there for those moments. The moments when they realize that the creator of the universe created them and created them to go to Kenya or Swazi or India at this time. I learn a lot from them, their passion is inspiring.
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Luke 4:16-19
For this blog I would like to share with all of you what it next for me. In June I will be leaving on an 11 month trip called the World Race. Over the 11 months I will have the opportunity to travel to 11 different countries and learn how to minister in these different cultures. This will be an opportunity to develop my leadership skills, and learn even more about what it is to love the way Jesus loves. He has given me hope abundantly and joy that surpasses all understanding and He has put in me a desire to share that with the people around the world...
Ireland
Ukraine
Romania
Israel
Egypt
Uganda
Kenya
Explore Africa
Cambodia
Thailand
Explore Asia
This is my route for the World Race, I will be posting a blog next month about what ministry could look like in these places. I just wanted to post a quick blog about where I am at and what I am up to, the Lord has me in Gainesville Georgia helping with AIM in the admissions department until leaving in June. I cannot wait to share more about what the Lord is doing and how He is being glorified!!
Like everything else I cannot go alone, I am asking if any of you desire to partner with me in this financially or in prayer please let me know. I have already raised about 4,000 dollars of what I need from monthly support that will be in by the end of the trip, but there is still a need for 10,000 more. You can donate money through this blog by clicking the “Support Me!” link the trip cost is 14,300 and I believe He will provide every penny, He has already started. It you are already supporting me monthly you can continue doing so, I am still receiving that support for this trip If you desire to partner with me through prayer, or just have any questions let me know by sending me an e-mail at brittanypriess@gmail.com or commenting here on the blog. I will be posting my support letter within the next two weeks with a full financial breakdown.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. I see the Church come alive every time I read an e-mail from one of you, or get to talk with you on the phone, or receive a gift of support from someone. You are all answered prayers and such an encouragement; I thank God for you, and pray that the Lord will bless each of you and that we may all together come to a realization of the height and depth of the love that the Lord has for us!
it has on people. Coming along side of someone,
investing and teaching someone until they can go and do the same to
another person. Holli made a good analogy: it is like you are holding
the hand of God in one hand and the hand of the person you are
discipling in the other and you are there until that person can
eventually hold the hand of God themselves. That is what it is about.
Guiding people, helping them understand the greatness of God, and coming
along side of them so that you can grow God's followers. 
r him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?"
