Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

     

 

   

In the past week my group of 6 friends & I have moved into a new location in the town of Ella up in the mountain range of Sri Lanka. This is another month of asking God for direction, where to go and what to do everyday, it’s such an adventure! What does a month of asking God for direction look like on a daily basis you might wonder? Good question!

A typical day this month has gone something like this: I wake up around 7:30 am, (try to) get a good work out in, a short 20 minute run, or maybe a quick cardio workout. Shower, have some solo time, and by 9:00 am we meet for a team meeting. In the team meeting we will have a bit of worship, time in the word, and prayer together.

Sometimes it’s a little mixed up depending on who is leading for the day & has a little different style every time (each one of us takes a turn to lead team time everyday) After time team, for about an hour we sit in prayer/reading the word/simply spending time with God before we get going for the day. We ask for direction on where to go/what to do be doing then come together to find out what people heard for the day & see if any of it matches up.

From about 11-6 pm we do whatever was laid on our heart to do for the day! In Sri-Lanka, it’s been ALOT of prayer times! Other days, it’s climbing a mountain together, worshiping on top of a giant hill together, or maybe even prayer walking to a waterfall. Yesterday we went and explored the famous “nine arch” bridge and ended with some worship with a ukelele there & met some fun people along the way!

Of course, through it all we are trying to be intentional with taking advantage of opportunities laid before us to build relationships with the people we meet too. Around 7:00pm or so, we gather up again & get to debrief about the day, & have some fun together. Sometimes it’s a bit more serious, like hearing someones life story, other nights it’s a bit more light hearted, like playing a card game etc. a good mix for sure!

By 10:30pm, all of us are probably sleeping, resting up for the next day to come. Of course, this is just a general outline of what the day entails, & it realy is subject to change & does change up often depending on what opportunities arise.

Something that I recognize the World Race Journey is really good at is the emphasis on community living. Learning how to love well the people I’ve been placed to live with everyday-overflows to loving people we meet all together. I’ll humbly admit, sometimes it can be a bit difficult with differing opinions/personalities/needs, but surely it is teaching us how to understand people better, call out the gold in one another, die to self at times, and to embrace the one right in front of us! Team community living is a ministry in itself.

My friends and I have come to realize that Ella is a tourist hot spot. A bit pricey but never less a really fun place to meet people from all over the world. With that, we have noticed that the locals are not always treated as well as we would hope. One morning as we were sitting together, contemplating and praying through the day, someone came up with a creative idea. Bake cookies & hand them out!

So, while some of us went and bought the ingredients to bake, a few of us stayed back & spent time writing encouraging notes, painting pictures, and asking Holy spirit for words to put on the paintings/notes that would encourage the local workers. Sometimes it’s been as simple as “Thank you” or “you are loved”, other times it’s been a bit more specific.

On the way to lunch there were several opportunities to hand out these cookies/notes to a few locals I have got to know a bit in the past week. Though they looked a bit surprised & maybe even a bit confused, but when I explained that we wanted to simply show them appreciation for what they are doing & that they are loved, their faces lit up. It is SO fun loving on people in unconventional ways!

A couple more ideas that are brewing in our hearts are to set up a “free hair wrap” or “free braiding” stand for locals and tourist passing by on the main street. I see this as a fun way to give back to this community, and also allow Holy spirit to guide in some pretty cool “life giving” conversations. Another one in the making is to perform for a live music night at a local restarunt in town. We also have plans to help pick tea leaves with local workers at a tea plantation, & also plan to help plant, actual plants for a new friend we met as a way to serve him!

We love getting creative!

On my previous blog I mentioned that I was asking God for more boldness when it comes to “Stepping out”. Whether it’s been conversations about my faith in Jesus Christ or asking for God’s miraculous healing on behalf of a persons hurting leg, more than enough opportunities have fallen in my path this week.

I am so thankful & it means even more to me that I can see it on the expression of peoples faces that they feel the love too. One man that I had prayed over for a physical leg healing, came up to me the following day & said his pain went down after we prayed. Another person that I had a spiritual conversation with, though we had differing opinions, initiated & embraced me with a big hug after. We have had some great meals & conversations together too! Another person that I had wrote an encouraging note for, gave me 4 bananas for free & I’m pretty sure that was his way of saying thank you, which was so kind & sooo cute! 

For a long time I used to be fearful of “rocking the boat” in any way. What would someone think of me if I said what was on my heart? If I spoke what I thought maybe holy spirit was leading me to say? What would others around think if I prayed for that person? Who would I be perceived as? These scaries in my head have disappeared. I’ve come to conclusion that if it is compelled by love & I feel peace in my heart to go forth, i’ll take that as a “Go for it!”.

It’s been really cool realizing that I am believing that in my heart too, there really is nothing to loose. If I am doing my best to follow the voice of Abba, the good, good, Father, that’s all that is starting to really matter to me. & there is more than enough grace for any mistakes/improvements along the way.

Part of what helps me feel more at home & also embrace the world race lifestyle is simply by making friends with the locals in whatever location we reside in. Instead of buying a mango & walking out, I like to ask for that persons name, & if time permits, even strike up a conversation & see where that leads. It has made my heart so happy to get to know these locals because when I walk the streets of Ella, I now have a connection with these people who make up the beauty of this place! I really believe that by getting to know the locals more, we altogether develop a bigger heart for them because we can now put a name to a face, there is a heart connection!

I can say hi, I can ask how their day is, I can pray for them, I can build a relationship with them & it provides even more opportunity for Abba to move on all our behalf. In Ella, I feel at home & also feel taken care of by the locals already in these past 2 weeks. & while our heart is to pour into the locals and people we cross paths with along the way of journeying through these countries, I must say too, I have felt very poured into by the locals as well.

Let me share a story with you.

Our next stop after Sri Lanka is India. With that, we needed to fill out a visa application online, filled with a variety of detailed steps. Long story short I needed a scanner, a copy machine, and some really good wifi! So one day last week I went on a search for those things. In Ella village, the Wifi has been less than good, & I was having trouble finding a store that could make copies, let alone scan a passport photo for me. It seemed like about any store I walked into, they said that I would need to go into another town to scan & make copies of my passport.

After about my 6th try, I turned around to go home.

I felt a bit let down & quite honestly worn out from the search of a place with all of those things. & from the remarks of the locals I talked too, it did not sound promising. As I was walking back home to our room, feeling a bit discouraged I thought to myself, “God there has to by someone here that will let me use their scanner, copy machine, & wifi, please show me”. Within 15 seconds of that prayer I made eye contact with a guard who must have watched me walk up and down the Ella main street in search of a good spot to do my application.

The guard waved me to cross the street to come talk to him so I did. I told him what I needed help with a 2nd time & then he said that he would be right back. With that a manager of this hotel came out and offered for me to use their scanner, printer, and wifi for my India Visa application. Not only could I use it but it would also be for free.

Not only did they let me use their scanner, but I had the manager sit with me for over a half hour helping me to fill out the application. They let me sit in the quiet office & do what I needed to do to fill it out. They let me use their wifi for free & several hours later, let my 6 other friends do the same! The same night, one of the workers gave me a plate of delicious Sri Lankan rice, curry & vegetables, just because. Another worker handed me a free sprite! All of this was so unexpected, they went above & beyond to help me out, I felt soooo cared for! & it was one of those times where I reflected upon the day & thought to myself, wow God, thank you for providing for my needs today through these kind people.

We have spent a part of almost everyday at this same hotel, where the workers come say hello to us, we build on conversation, and have become friends. It is really awesome. Shout out to La Ella Breeze hotel, we love you!

How am I doing? I am doing well & also feeling a bit sentimental at times. I feel as if I am getting a fire hose of experience, growth, and knowledge poured into, it’s been awesome & challenging. Throwing away the “old” and stepping into “the new” is so worth it yet a bit tiring at times too!

Month 3 has hit me and I will admit, I miss the comfort of a bedroom that is familiar, I miss loved ones, and also miss things like the convienence of buying tacos from my favorite Mexican grocery store in Michigan. Shout out to Mi Favorita in Holland, MI! I miss clean bathrooms & miss quite places. I miss the City of Chicago. Silly as it sounds, I also miss my jean overalls! & my long board too!

Here are several verses that I have been speaking over myself on the daily. I desire to walk in these truths from the inside out, and I figure that speaking them out is a good way to start. Woot woot!

“Dont be afraid of the enemy, remember the Lord who is great & glorious & fight for your brothers, your sons, your wives, your daughters, and your homes” Nehemiah 4:14

We are all created to be warriors for love!

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Romans 8:30-36

Emmanuel-God with us! 

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

We have opportunity to take captive our thoughts, and throw out the ones that are not life giving!

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Romans 8:1-5

We are free from shame & guilt, the choice is ours!

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. Psalm 62:5-7

I am protected by the ultimate protector!

My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:20-23

I am choosing to guard my heart, for I want to protect it from unnessacary pain, confusion, and confliction, in order to shine as bright as possible in this world.

Abba has provided me with limitless truths from the Bible that I can claim over my mind, spirit, heart, soul & body! I am understanding more and more that we are all warriors, warriors for love, warriors for truth! I want to step into that more and more & the truth from the Bible is where I am finding protection from lies that try to steal life from me & others.

Do you have a favorite bible verse or principle/motto? I would love to hear it! 

Do you have a good book recommendation for me on travel days? 

More to come soon. For now, take care & deep deep, deep, peace to you my friend!

With love, Kailey

P.S. Check this awesome song out! https://youtu.be/f7NdBVTtvcg