UPDATE: Sonic went great! $800!! :)
I only need $2600 more!! I know that He will provide! This has been an amazing journey and i havnt even been on the trip yet! I got six shots a few weeks ago and it hurt so bad! I also was able to get my bag and some of the things we are suppose to bring. Things are really coming together! I leave in a 1.5 months! :)
I promise to start updating more often! I'm thankful to you guys!
Our lesson for this week is love!
I love chick fil a
I love my family
I love my friends
I love my room
...I dont really love all of these things the same but i use the same words! This is not the love that is talked about in the bible.
Matthew 22:34-40
34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[a] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[b] 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
We are called to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind - this is also Deuteronomy 6:5
We are called to love our neightbor as its also said in Leviticus 19:18. We are to love others with the same type of devotion with which we love God. We are called to fully give ourselves fully to our neighbors, to love them in a way that is self sacrificing and self giving. To love is to give to someone what that person needs.
John 13:34-35
34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
We are to love each other just as Jesus loved his disciples. This is powerful and should serve as a constant reminder to the self sacrificaing way in which we are called to love. Jesus loved his followers, he served them, sacrificed for them, and eventually died for them. It was the ultimate picture of self-sacrificing and self giving love that we read about in Matthew 22.
"All people will know" - The world will know that we are followers of Jesus IF we love each other in a self sacrficing and self giving kind of way.
I pray that i love better so that this dark world might see Jesus' light shine through me.
1 coringthinas 13:1-8
John 4:7-21
Monday, April 19, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
busy busy busy!
Life has been super busy with school, work and trying to get all of the letters out to people for Africa! The letter is finished and i have sent the first half of them out! If you happen to come across this and i didnt send you the letter i'm going to paste it at the bottom of this blog post. So far i have Ten Dollars towards my trip! Thanks dad! :) We had an Africa meeting this past sunday and really prayed a lot that the Lord would provide the funds for this trip. I really feel like the Lord has led me to go on this trip so i have no doubt that He will provide everything for it. Our first lesson was about missional living and how we should be living out the call of God on our lives in every aspect. This is something i dont do often. When i think of missions i think of trips across seas but the Lord is changing my view. We spent a great deal of time talking about what the main story of the bible is and how you would explain it to someone else. Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration and Consummation.
1) God created the not out of need but out of love.
2) God wired the world and its inhabitants to live and move in a particular pattern and He did so not as a distant deity but rather as an intimate creator.
3) Man did not trust the word of God and took of the forbidden fruit. In so doing, rhythm was shattered. The intimacy was instantly removed and a great separation now stood between the creature and the creator. Genesis 3:1-24
4) The life of Christ reeminds us of God's intention from eternity, that at the right time He would write Himself into the greatest story to restore His wayward people to a right relationship with Himself. Romans 5:6
5) In His death, Christ paid the price that was owed God for the sin of man. His death reveals the extent to which God would go for His glory and for humanity's salvation.
6) In His resurection, Christ defeated sin and death and reconciled man and creation to the rhythm God intended. We have not a dead savior, but one who is living in which all hope rests for there is nothing that is not under Him. John 20:30-31; 1 peter 1:3
What a beautiful story. We have hope because one day Christ will return to reclaim all of creation once more to be fully under His rule and will restore the rhythm completely. The more i have really studied it this past week i'm learning how desperate we are for a savior. How broken we are and how much we really need the cross.
I love you guys!!
Here is the letter i mailed out!
Hello friends and family,
I am so glad that I am getting to write this letter to you. I have been given the opportunity to fly oversees to Sudan (which is in Africa) on June 7th, 2010 for two weeks. It is a city on the southern border of Sudan named Yei. It is one of the safer cities in all of Sudan, and most of the people living there are primarily Juba Arabic speaking African Christians.
Our specific goal is to go and love on children in the orphanages. We have nine other men and women going on the trip with us that will use their individual gifts and talents to serve men and women in Africa. This is an exciting opportunity for this city of +40,000 Sudanese that we will visit. Join is in prayer that they would be greatly blessed by our efforts there!
I don’t know if I have ever been this excited about something so purposeful. It is hard to explain, but there is such a great joy when you know you are living for something bigger than yourself. It seems to be a food that really sustains. Why would we travel such great lengths to help others when we can help our next door neighbors? Because God, through his son Jesus, has given me so much, I cannot help but give happily this grace to others in return. I am overjoyed that I not only get to do this every day here in America, but will also be able to be a visible representation of this in Yei. I’m truly excited to share and live the Gospel half way across the world.
I need your help… This trip will cost $3200 plus all of my incidentals (shots, passport, toiletries, etc.). They have suggested about $1000 to cover this. The trip cost has to be paid directly to the church and is tax deductible. I have set up a paypal account or can receive personal checks to cover the incidentals. Your Prayers are first and foremost what we covet, and I would be most thankful if you decide to give financially. You can fill out the attached stub to:
The Village Church
Attn: Financial Department
2101 Justin Rd
Flower Mound, TX 75028
Please make the checks payable to The Village Church by June 1st, 2010. Make sure to write “To support the work of Chelsea Smith” in the memo line of your check. Like I said these contributions are tax deductible and my church will issue you a charitable donation statement.
Personal Checks given to cover incidentals go to:
Chelsea Smith
2644 Mount View
Farmers Branch, TX 75234
If you have any questions please feel free to call me at (214) 557-4329.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
If you are getting this letter, then it means that you are near and dear to my heart, and I am very thankful for you in my life. I definitely look forward to telling great stories of what God will do in our time in Sudan. Please follow me on my blog as I will continually update on how the journey is going. (the link is http://csmith89.blogspot.com/)
Much Love,
Chelsea Smith
1) God created the not out of need but out of love.
2) God wired the world and its inhabitants to live and move in a particular pattern and He did so not as a distant deity but rather as an intimate creator.
3) Man did not trust the word of God and took of the forbidden fruit. In so doing, rhythm was shattered. The intimacy was instantly removed and a great separation now stood between the creature and the creator. Genesis 3:1-24
4) The life of Christ reeminds us of God's intention from eternity, that at the right time He would write Himself into the greatest story to restore His wayward people to a right relationship with Himself. Romans 5:6
5) In His death, Christ paid the price that was owed God for the sin of man. His death reveals the extent to which God would go for His glory and for humanity's salvation.
6) In His resurection, Christ defeated sin and death and reconciled man and creation to the rhythm God intended. We have not a dead savior, but one who is living in which all hope rests for there is nothing that is not under Him. John 20:30-31; 1 peter 1:3
What a beautiful story. We have hope because one day Christ will return to reclaim all of creation once more to be fully under His rule and will restore the rhythm completely. The more i have really studied it this past week i'm learning how desperate we are for a savior. How broken we are and how much we really need the cross.
I love you guys!!
Here is the letter i mailed out!
Hello friends and family,
I am so glad that I am getting to write this letter to you. I have been given the opportunity to fly oversees to Sudan (which is in Africa) on June 7th, 2010 for two weeks. It is a city on the southern border of Sudan named Yei. It is one of the safer cities in all of Sudan, and most of the people living there are primarily Juba Arabic speaking African Christians.
Our specific goal is to go and love on children in the orphanages. We have nine other men and women going on the trip with us that will use their individual gifts and talents to serve men and women in Africa. This is an exciting opportunity for this city of +40,000 Sudanese that we will visit. Join is in prayer that they would be greatly blessed by our efforts there!
I don’t know if I have ever been this excited about something so purposeful. It is hard to explain, but there is such a great joy when you know you are living for something bigger than yourself. It seems to be a food that really sustains. Why would we travel such great lengths to help others when we can help our next door neighbors? Because God, through his son Jesus, has given me so much, I cannot help but give happily this grace to others in return. I am overjoyed that I not only get to do this every day here in America, but will also be able to be a visible representation of this in Yei. I’m truly excited to share and live the Gospel half way across the world.
I need your help… This trip will cost $3200 plus all of my incidentals (shots, passport, toiletries, etc.). They have suggested about $1000 to cover this. The trip cost has to be paid directly to the church and is tax deductible. I have set up a paypal account or can receive personal checks to cover the incidentals. Your Prayers are first and foremost what we covet, and I would be most thankful if you decide to give financially. You can fill out the attached stub to:
The Village Church
Attn: Financial Department
2101 Justin Rd
Flower Mound, TX 75028
Please make the checks payable to The Village Church by June 1st, 2010. Make sure to write “To support the work of Chelsea Smith” in the memo line of your check. Like I said these contributions are tax deductible and my church will issue you a charitable donation statement.
Personal Checks given to cover incidentals go to:
Chelsea Smith
2644 Mount View
Farmers Branch, TX 75234
If you have any questions please feel free to call me at (214) 557-4329.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
If you are getting this letter, then it means that you are near and dear to my heart, and I am very thankful for you in my life. I definitely look forward to telling great stories of what God will do in our time in Sudan. Please follow me on my blog as I will continually update on how the journey is going. (the link is http://csmith89.blogspot.com/)
Much Love,
Chelsea Smith
Monday, March 1, 2010
My Paypal Account
If at anytime you are able to give financially to this trip i would greatly appreciate. You can do this by clicking the donate button to the left. This is linked to my paypal account. You could also send it to the address listed below if that would be easier. Again i appreciate it so much. Thank you for everything!
2644 Mount View
Farmers Branch, TX 75234
I love you guys!
2644 Mount View
Farmers Branch, TX 75234
I love you guys!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Going to Sudan, Africa
So on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 i got selected to go on a missions trip to Sudan, Africa. I'm super excited to have this oppertunity. Since around November 2009 i have really felt the Lords call on my life to pursue missions. As i began searching for trips my church offered i came across this one for Sudan. I never thought i would step out of my comfort zone and go somewhere like Africa. If you are reading this and you know me, you know i'm the world's pickiest eater! :) This wont stop the call Jesus has laid on my heart. The goal of this mission trip is to have teachers go love and teach the gospel to orphans. As many of you know i work at a day school with four year olds. I love trying to help them grasp the gospel. I love when little kids will say "Jesus forgives me for my sense" and "Jesus died on the cross for me". My heart absolutley melts when they pray. So after a long application process i found out i was selected along with nine other men and women to head to Africa on June 7th for 13 days. We had our first meeting today and it was really exciting to meet everyone and hear their hearts on how Jesus has led them to this trip. Very encouraging! One lady said "Jesus knew before the foundations of the earth that we would all be traveling together" how cool!
So the reason for this blog is to share with my family and friends the spiritual journey i'm about to embark on. I have to raise $4200 before June 1st and so this will be a good way to also keep people updated on how that is going. I also hope to get a paypal account set up so that people can donate in that way. Although raising money is a huge part of this trip, i know the Lord will provide that. I want to first ask for your prayers. Pray that i will Glorify Him, behold the worth and work of Christ, love orphans, be conformed more and more into His image, and come to a greater knowldge of the global implications of the gospel. The Lord is about to do some work in me and i'm excited! I want to invite you to walk with me in this amazing season He has me in. I will post pictures and updates as often as i can.
I love you guys!
Thanks for your time, prayers and support!
So the reason for this blog is to share with my family and friends the spiritual journey i'm about to embark on. I have to raise $4200 before June 1st and so this will be a good way to also keep people updated on how that is going. I also hope to get a paypal account set up so that people can donate in that way. Although raising money is a huge part of this trip, i know the Lord will provide that. I want to first ask for your prayers. Pray that i will Glorify Him, behold the worth and work of Christ, love orphans, be conformed more and more into His image, and come to a greater knowldge of the global implications of the gospel. The Lord is about to do some work in me and i'm excited! I want to invite you to walk with me in this amazing season He has me in. I will post pictures and updates as often as i can.
I love you guys!
Thanks for your time, prayers and support!
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