Rose with a Mission

  For those of you who still follow this blog, the story with that guy is turning out so well.  We continued to date and get to know each other. In December Stewart asked me to marry him and I happily said yes. On March 25th, we got married. I'm so grateful that God gave me this kind and Godly man to walk by my side and for the life I'm getting to live.   My mission is still the same, I'm just doing it on a different mission field than I thought. I'm still seeking to love God and people. I'm still seeking to encourage those around me and be the servant God has called me to be.  Thank you to everyone who has loved and supported me on my missions journey. I'm so thankful for the adventure God gave me and for the people like you who cheered me on. Thanks for continuing to cheer me on in this new adventure of marriage.  May God continue to bless and encourage you.  Happily Married, Rose 

All summer I had been praying and asking God for support so I could go back to YWAM. The only stipulation I put on this was that if YWAM wasn't where God wanted that He would make the support not come in.  He listened to me and had the support not come in. I was hurt and confused. I didn't know what I was doing wrong or why I wasn't getting the support as quickly as I had for everything else related to YWAM.  Then last weekend God brought an answer to a prayer that I have been praying for years.  This is Stewart, my boyfriend. He is very Godly, kind, and gentle. I have so enjoyed getting to know him and look forward to seeing what God does with this relationship in the days to come. This does mean that I'm not going to be returning to YWAM for the foreseeable future. I am going to stay at home and enjoy getting to know this great guy more.  I'm signing off for now and won't be posting weekly updates anymore.  Thank you for all the love an...

Once again, God has been faithful to lead, although it wasn't where I was hoping.  The original plan was that I would come home from YWAM, work for two months, spend lots of time with family, fundraise to become a missionary, and be back at YWAM by mid August.  This week that plan changed. It really hit me that I don't have the monthly support to return. This was hard. I went to God and asked Him what I should do. He said to stay. While this wasn't what I envisioned, I trust His plan and His guiding hand. I'm going to be staying at least until October. Right now I will continue to work at the preschool, love on family, and seek out God's best plan. Over the next few weeks I'm going to be seeking God and asking Him what Is best plan is. In the meantime, I have an exciting event to look forward to. My brother is getting married in September! I'm so excited for my brother and his lovely fiancee. They both love the Lord and are perfect for each other...

This week I was gumpy at work, I tried not to let it show, but it was there all the same. At first I didn't know why work was ticking me off.  As I prayed I realized what was going on. Unless God moves in a mighty way (which I've seen Him do before), I won't be able to go back to YWAM in mid August like I had hoped.  This week I was struggling with that disappointed hope. While I know that God is working all things for my good and He ultimately has control of where I go, it hit me that I wouldn't get back there as soon as I want to.  Something that has softened this realization is that I am in a good place. With God, at home, and in life. God and I have a great relationship, I have a great home to live in, and I'm thriving in relationships. God is good. Ultimately even if I don't get to go back to YWAM as a missionary, I can trust God's guiding hand. He has never failed me before and He will never fail me.  So I can slip my hand into His and walk...

This last week has been very full. For starters my brother got engaged!  We are so happy to welcome this lovely lady into the family and that my brother found such a Godly lady to call his own. While they have jumped into wedding planning, I got a cold. I'm so thankful for the coworkers I have that covered a few days of work for me while I was sick and let me rest. And I'm thankful for the little kids that felt bad for me feeling sick.  I feel like life has been so full that I've been a bit stretched thin lately. So many emotions, so much to do, so much to process, and only so many hours in the day. I'm thankful that God has been showing me how to love those around me well and how to rest and let my body heal. As I continue to walk forward into what He wants me to do, I'm so thankful that He's taken all the guess work out. He keeps reminding me to keep asking for support, keep loving those in front of me, keep doing what I know to do, kee...

A huge shout out to my sister grace for the new blog graphic! She is so talented and I loved the way it turned out. This week there isn't much to report. I continue to work at my job, pray, and spend time with friends and family. Life is good. Today I am deeply grateful for God's healing/restoring power in my life. Today marks five years since my engagement was broken. As I look back I see God moving and working to heal and restore a shattered me. He made me new. He restored my soul. And for that I am so grateful.  Even when there's not much to say, I can always take comfort in how far God has brought me, both in the last five years and in the last year. He's helped me take giant leaps towards knowing Him. He's given me adventures beyond my wildest dreams. He has given me a heart that wants Him more than anything.  What are you grateful for today? Grateful, Rose

  This Saturday I had a party to share stories and pictures from our time in Tanzania. It was so special to have that time with friends and share with them what God had done in response to their prayers and giving. I love sharing about what God did and how He moved. It was great. I'm also continuing to work on projects and spend time with friends and family. Life is settling into a nice routine.  While I continue to fundraise and work, I'm so thankful to be here and with so many that I love. God is good. Settled in, Rose

  When I first went to YWAM, I didn't consider myself a missionary. I wanted the training and adventure, but in my mind it was those who served overseas and had devoted their whole life to the mission field got the title of missionary.  Over the last year, God has not only taken me on an amazing adventure that helped me to see what a missionary really is. It's not just a title I get to assume when I'm in a foreign country, it's a lifestyle I get to live all the time. The truth is we all are called to serve and love those around us and around the world. We are all called to share the gospel. We are all called to live holy lives for Christ. We are all called to be ambassadors for the True King regardless of where we live. Since this is the life God has called us to live, we all hold the title of missionary. We all have a part to play in fulfilling the great commission.  So I now gladly wear the title of missionary. Not because I'm in a foreign country, but because I...

  I once did a blog post about how much my kids at the preschool have taught me about the way God sees me. This last week and a half of working in a preschool has given me more insight. She all but smashed two pieces together trying to make progress on the puzzle. She proudly showed them to me. Is this how I look to You, God? When I'm trying desperately to fit things together that are mismatched? He was fighting not to nap with everything in him. Is this how I look to You, God? Is this why You make us lie down in green pastures? Because I fight the rest I so desperately need? He kept crying when he didn't get his way and missed out on so much fun.  Is this how I look to You, God? I get so focused on one thing that I can't enjoy what is right in front of me.  He walked into the room and hugged me so tight.  Is this how I look to You, God? When I get discouraged and come to You for comfort? If it melts my heart, I wonder if it melts Your heart too.  I'm...

  On Wednesday I went back to work at Solid Foundation Preschool.  It was a little weird to be back at the same place that I worked at before after having spent a year at YWAM. I Although it was really good to be back with coworkers that I love, in a great environment, and working with kids again. They are so precious and teach me so much about how God sees me. I'm so thankful that God opened up the doors for me to work there. Not only do I enjoy the work, but I appreciate having a schedule. It's nice to be getting into a routine and to have great people around me to do it with.  While I miss my friends from YWAM, I'm thankful for the family I have around me and to be back with my church family. As I went to church on Sunday I realized how many people prayed for me. It warmed my heart to share stories with them of what God did in response to their prayers. As I continue to move forward and adjust to life here   things have stood out to me.  1. N...

  When they handed me my diploma and I was walking back to my chair, I started to cry. I was overwhelmed by God's faithfulness. I remembered all the times He had helped me overcome difficulties to get to this point. We made it! We (God, my team, and I) had made it to the end. I love this group so much. They have taught me so much and become so dear to my heart.  After a ton of pictures, goodbyes, and one victory shout, I went to bed happy at all that God had done.  The next day my dad came and picked me up and took me home. It was so good to see family and get hugs from them. There's nothing quite like family hugs. Plus I loved showing them pictures from Tanzania and stories of what God had done.  This week I've been doing a lot of resting and organizing of my room. I'm glad to have a place to stay for a few months while I fundraise. My plan is to work for the next two months while fundraising to become a full time missionary with YWAM. I've loved my tim...

  Today I graduate SOE!  This has been a crazy amazing journey with Jesus and I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I'm incredibly thankful to Jesus for how He has lead me this year and how He has been drawing me closer to Himself. I'm so thankful for my amazing school leaders Anthony and Emily for loving me, challenging me, and encouraging me in my walk with Christ. I'm hugely thankful to the staff at YWAM who spent hours mentoring me, encouraging me, letting me cry with them, and drawing out the best in me. I'm also so thankful for all of my fellow students. All of you were a part of my spiritual growth and demonstrated God's love to me in such a deep and powerful way. Thank you for all the deep conversations over coffee, the times of volunteering together, discussing lessons on short breaks, comforting me when I was crying, encouraging me when I was feeling down, and helping take care of me when I had a blood blister and a sprained ankle. You are amazing.  And ...

  While I was in Tanzania, God was doing a lot of work in my heart.  As I have been debriefing, I came up with a lot of sentences to summarize what God did. God loves me for who I am, not what I do. I'm valued more than I dared hope or imagine by God and my team. When a little girl was content to sit by me for over an hour, God whispered to my heart that He wants me to be as content with Him as that little girl is with me. When we were with the Dhaiso I became friends with a girl named Fazla. Even though we didn't speak the same language, her supporting me on uneven ground and working alongside me spoke more than words. I went to Tanzania to share God's love with people. Little did I realize they would share God's love and joy with me.  When I struggled with feeling left out, God used it as an opportunity to have intimacy with me.  The slower pace helped me learn to be more than do.  I also fell in love with Tanzania. I pray that one day I will get to return in ...

  After leaving the Dhaiso, we headed out for a much needed rest day.  I can't thank my team enough for how they helped me after I sprained my ankle. They pushed me around in a wheelchair, included me in games, put a compression sock on my ankle, encouraged me to walk on it some, and encouraged me to lift my eyes to the one who was above it all. They are the best team a girl could ask for. From Tanga we took a bus to YWAM Arusha.  Here we rested and prepared for the last week of ministry.  On Sunday our team had the privilege of speaking/leading worship at a small church in Arusha. I'm so thankful that whether in a mega church with bright lights or a tiny church with a dirt floor, the same God fills them both. The next day we headed to a YWAM base called Enkicaret. It's within sight of Kilamongaro and the mountain views were spectacular. Ministry here consisted of sharing some stories and songs with the kids in school, visting/encouraging wido...

  Just a few days later we were in a bus heading to the Dhaiso village of Bewetti. As we got closer, I got so excited. I couldn't wait to see what God was going to do in response to our showing up.  When we got to the village, the village leader said he didn't know if we would be good for his village. But Pastor Alfred reassured him that we w hiould be better than he might think.  That first day we went to examine some property to purchase for a future church and missions center. The land that we felt like God wanted us to buy is so beautiful. It's on the side of a mountain in Tanzania overlooking the village and has so many large trees.  For hours we prayed for the land and the people and worshiped God. It was great.  The next day we returned to see what we could do. The village leader invited all the kids to come out and play with us. We ended up playing with about 50 kids. It was so fun. I tossed a ball around and we showed them how to do a dance....

  There is more to come about Tanzania, but I wanted to tell you about what God has been doing this week.  After a few days back at YWAM Tyler, we headed up to Kansas City for a huge evangelism effort called the Flood. 5 days of worship, prayer, and evangelism. Even though I was still tired and processing everything God did in Africa, He empowered me every day to go out and share His love every day with people in Kansas City. I enjoyed being able to pray for so many in the city and the people I got to meet. They were so encouraging to my tired heart. God has also been using this week to confirm my call into full time missions with YWAM Tyler. I'm excited about that.  Today we are attending a missions conference called The Send. So far God has been speaking to me about cultivating intimacy with Him and continuing to labor where He's placed me. God is so good and I've seen Him moving this week as I step out in obedience. God knew I was tired, but He ...

  I'm back and so excited to share my Tanzania adventures with you. Thank he first place we went was a town called Boyamoyo. Pastor Alfred (our main contact for this trip) and his wife Anna made us feel so welcome to the Amazing Grace Church and preschool. A few years ago he had a vision to build a church and preschool. With prayer, vision, and help from some American donors the church and preschool are thriving. The first day we were there, I got to experience my first African church service. I didn't understand what was being said most of the time, but I loved the worship music and dances. I enjoyed joining in and dancing to Jesus. The next day we jumped right into ministry. Half the team was working on helping Pastor Alfred clear land and put up a fence around the church and preschool. The other half of the team (myself included) spent Monday through Friday in the mornings teaching at the preschool. Whether we were playing games with the kids,...