HEY EVERYONE!!
And still yet another update from Fort Worth, TX. I am nearing the beginning of my trip and would like to update y'all on what has been happening here. I originally got to TX May 20 to share my testimony at a Youth conference. If you got my last email, that conference was amazing and God really worked on my heart even as I shared some tough parts of my testimony. Since then, I have just been helping around at my friend's church and just hanging with some of her friends while preparing for my trip.
I leave next Friday (June 10th) for Garden Valley, TX where we train for 6 days before leaving for Nepal. In Nepal, our ministry is going to be a drama called the Journey Man as well as teaching English in schools, ministering in a recovery center for sex trafficking victims, and street ministry in which we walk around and share the gospel will those we encounter in the village. We will be in Kathmandu -Pokara Valley
In India, we will be in Chennai, where we will also be doing the Journey Man drama, VBS for kids, prayer ministry (similar to street ministry) and also Servant Evangelism where we assist with everyday household chores and present the gospel through building that relationship. Below is a tentative Schedule for this summer.
Tentative Trip Schedule for Summer:
* June 13 – Arrive in Garden Valley, TX and meet your team
* June 14-15 – Train for your mission to Nepal
* June 16 – Depart Texas for Nepal
* June 17-July 4 – Minister in Nepal
* July 5 – Spend the day touring Nepal
* July 6-11 – Minister in Nepal
* July 12 - Travel to India
* July 13-30 – Minister in India
* July 31 – Spend the day touring India
* August 1-2 – Depart for Texas
* August 3 – Spend a last day with your team and prepare to go home
* August 4 – Depart for home and change the world
*Project Directors and Team Leaders are required to arrive to the Global Expeditions' headquarters on June 10
Financial Need:
I had such a great response as of my last update and am so grateful to you all for praying and supporting me.
Here is where I am now, financially:
$30 - mission acct balance - this is what is owed for me to go! This is everything that Global Expeditions requires to be paid in full before the trip. PRAISE GOD! this is significantly lower than the $400+ I listed in the last email! Thank you JESUS!
$200 - spending money - I put this amount although I know GE recommends a bit more. ($50 per week) What this money would contribute to is fun treats, souvenirs, and also phone cards, and anything else that may come up that is not a necessity but would be nice to have
If you want to give - please support me through my paypal account which is : rhemma.payne@gmail.com or click on the Paypal button on this blogsite
Prayer Requests:
* My needs: that they are met!
* My health : my eyes, tooth have been bothering me in particular; overall health!
* My project: Project Directors: Kenny and Tanya; Team Leaders, Missionaries; ministry contacts
* My growth: This trip is going to be an amazing opportunity for me to grow spiritually, please pray that I'm willing and open to these changes
I appreciate all your prayers - immensely. I have so many who are willing to support and pray with me and it can be overwhelming. In it all I'm trying to remain grateful! Keeping my Attitude of Gratitude! Satan would rather me fixate on these last minute expenses and health needs but I'm choosing to stay grateful and thankful to God who has brought me this far!!! He is faithful to complete it! Thank you all for allowing me to share this with you as I prepare to have an experience of a lifetime.
I'm reading the book The Shack right now, a fiction novel about a man whose daughter is abducted and murdered; after receiving a mysterious note that he believes is from God inviting him to go back to the shack where his daughter was murdered, he sets out to get some answers. It is here that he finds himself interacting with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit through various situations that help him address all his hurt...while finding out about God and HIS goodness....
.... I mention this book only to share with you where I feel like I am right now. I feel as though I am learning about God in a whole new way in this point in my life and having to address some religious ideas I have of HIM and learning to truly live my life solely for HIM.
What does that look like? What does that feel like?
I'm learning about myself and how I tend to run from things that challenge me, how I use anger to shield hurt, how I expect people to fail - which translates into expecting (and sometimes hoping that God would fail to). In regards to this trip, I know that it is important that I confront head on my biggest fears in hopes that I will have an experience similar to this character in this book - believing that when I meet God a place of hurt, brokenness, and massive amounts of unknowns, and ugly truths (about myself) that I don't want to see, that He will be there - preparing an encounter for me, specifically designed for me, an unforgettable experience with HiM that I will never forget. My shack represents my fear of flying that I will continuous conquer, my challenge to share my life with the teens on my team, my hurts, guilt, shame from choices I made prior to receiving Christ....and many other things I've tried to hide away in my heart.
I know this trip to Nepal and India will help me address myself as I share my life with those I've never met. This is why I am fighting until the very end to go! Yes, I want to go overseas and share the gospel, Yes I want to see people healed, delivered and SAVED in Jesus' name! BUT I also want to meet God in a different way, willing to be vulnerable and willing to have HIM address whatever He needs to address in my overseas shack.. giving HIM permission to shake my world up...
My prayer is that we all will be able to find that adventure that is both exciting and challenging to go on, knowing that through all the preparation, all the fears, that we would risk it all for the chance to meet God face-to-face and to have an experience that no one will be able to take away from us!! FIGHT FOR YOUR ENCOUNTER WITH GOD! He has an experience designed for you and only you, you just have to decide whether or not you will accept the invite to go away with Him!
God bless you all and thank you for reading!! I leave you with this..one of my favorite songs right now by Jesus Culture, Come Away
lyrics: "it's gonna be wild, it's gonna be great, it's gonna be full of ME"
Jesus Culture "Come Away"
It's gonna be a wild summer!! Love you all!!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
So close...yet still so far.... Update from Fort Worth, TX
Hey friends!!!
Greetings from way down in TEXAS!!! I had very safe trip down to TX last Fri and have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. As soon as I arrived, I was immediately thrown into the events of the weekend. For those of you who may not know - I came down to TX earlier than planned because I agreed to share my testimony at a Youth Conference my friend Anji was hosting at her church. So we were rushing around getting things ready for the night concert and then full day conference on Sat.
The conference was amazing and I can't imagine planning an event like this so I was very proud of my friend for all her diligence. I know I can't share every single moment in this email but the biggest moment happened Sat night following the conference. I was asked to fill in at the concert after a musical artist dropped out. I was fully UNPREPARED to do this, but told my friend I would if they absolutely needed me to. Even after saying that - I proceeded to make her aware that I was uncomfortable with this scenario. Why? Because these were artists performing at a concert that had a fee...I - on the other hand - am NOT an artist, no CD to release...no project I'm currently working on...
After moments, I realized that there I was going to have to do this. I was facing intimidation and knew I had to make a choice. To believe God would bring something good out of this performance. I had to believe that above my own self-confidence that was lacking - that God was confident enough to trust to put me on stage with my guitar in order to once again be able to share my testimony in a different way.
I told Anji that I would do it and asked if I could go first (again, hoping to save face and humiliation by being an opener as opposed to a part of the concert) It was too late, however, because I was wedged in the middle of two gospel rap groups. I barely made it through sound check with the 5 chords that I know, but was filled with this familiar feeling of calm that God has given me so many times before. I knew that something great was going to come out of this. And I knew I had to be broken in order to get to the good on the other side. It was then that Anji told me that she had this idea to have all the artists share their Cardboard Testimony somewhere in their set. The basic premise of the Cardboard Testimony is to write who you once were on one side and then who you are NOW after Christ on the other side. I was beginning to be more aware of what God was doing now. Earlier when I shared my testimony - adults weren't in the room (except a few) - Now God was creating a way for me to share my story again - but I had to be an "artist" to be able to share with all those who had come to the concert! =)
I sang three songs that I knew well on my guitar and shared parts of my testimony throughout each. But in the end - I put my guitar down so that I could fully focus. And I looked out and knew it was time to GO HARD and completely open myself up (AGAIN) for the sake that one person may hear and see God's glory and want to accept HIM as their Lord and Saviour! I took out my cardboard and shared my story; the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful ending of salvation! and I ended with giving glory to GOD. This was an amazing experience because when it was over - I felt an amazing release of joy!! I got off the stage and one of the rappers from the group after me commented on how one thing in particular in my testimony he had never dealt with in his life. He said it encouraged him - later that night during his cardboard testimony - he was amazingly open and shared about some very personal things that amazed me
I'm having an amazing time here in TX and will be hanging out and finishing up some things before my next destination. Tonight I will be visiting the Youth Group at Grace church and sharing my experience in South Africa last summer and some fundraising ideas as they prepare to raise money for their summer Youth program. Please pray for this to be a fun, encouraging time with these awesome youth kids and that they believe that anything is possible with God. I think they each have about $500 to raise in 3 weeks! I know God can do it!
As far as my fundraising.. I'm hitting a bit of a bump. I still need $650 to pay off the rest of my account and expenses that are necessary for my trip. This includes the fuel surcharge for the international flight, CPR certification ($89), Hep A&B vaccine, Japanese Euch... vaccine, and $50 to buy appropriate clothing in India for cultural sensitivity, etc
PRAISE REPORT: someone sublet my room for the summer so that expense is not an issue anymore!
There is still time to donate online to my mission account if you are willing and able to give. Visit www.globalexpeditions.com Click on Donate
The last day they are counting online donations is May 30th (because it takes a week or so to process) After this - you will be able to give by contacting me. I will give you my account info, or paypal which is rhemma.payne@gmail.com and is linked to my chase account. (Let me know if you are unfamiliar with paypal)
*For your donation to be tax deductible you will need to donate online by May 30th!*
All this is due at the time I arrive on campus in Garden Valley, TX on June 10th. I've heard testimonies of people getting the last bit of money needed right before they get on the bus to head out, but I'm not wanting to push this limit if at all possible. =) However, I know God is a miracle worker so only time will tell!
Still praying daily at 10:40am/pm so please join with me in prayer about these concerns and for the trip this summer!
Thank you for opening this email and making it down to the end! =)
Greetings from way down in TEXAS!!! I had very safe trip down to TX last Fri and have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. As soon as I arrived, I was immediately thrown into the events of the weekend. For those of you who may not know - I came down to TX earlier than planned because I agreed to share my testimony at a Youth Conference my friend Anji was hosting at her church. So we were rushing around getting things ready for the night concert and then full day conference on Sat.
The conference was amazing and I can't imagine planning an event like this so I was very proud of my friend for all her diligence. I know I can't share every single moment in this email but the biggest moment happened Sat night following the conference. I was asked to fill in at the concert after a musical artist dropped out. I was fully UNPREPARED to do this, but told my friend I would if they absolutely needed me to. Even after saying that - I proceeded to make her aware that I was uncomfortable with this scenario. Why? Because these were artists performing at a concert that had a fee...I - on the other hand - am NOT an artist, no CD to release...no project I'm currently working on...
After moments, I realized that there I was going to have to do this. I was facing intimidation and knew I had to make a choice. To believe God would bring something good out of this performance. I had to believe that above my own self-confidence that was lacking - that God was confident enough to trust to put me on stage with my guitar in order to once again be able to share my testimony in a different way.
I told Anji that I would do it and asked if I could go first (again, hoping to save face and humiliation by being an opener as opposed to a part of the concert) It was too late, however, because I was wedged in the middle of two gospel rap groups. I barely made it through sound check with the 5 chords that I know, but was filled with this familiar feeling of calm that God has given me so many times before. I knew that something great was going to come out of this. And I knew I had to be broken in order to get to the good on the other side. It was then that Anji told me that she had this idea to have all the artists share their Cardboard Testimony somewhere in their set. The basic premise of the Cardboard Testimony is to write who you once were on one side and then who you are NOW after Christ on the other side. I was beginning to be more aware of what God was doing now. Earlier when I shared my testimony - adults weren't in the room (except a few) - Now God was creating a way for me to share my story again - but I had to be an "artist" to be able to share with all those who had come to the concert! =)
I sang three songs that I knew well on my guitar and shared parts of my testimony throughout each. But in the end - I put my guitar down so that I could fully focus. And I looked out and knew it was time to GO HARD and completely open myself up (AGAIN) for the sake that one person may hear and see God's glory and want to accept HIM as their Lord and Saviour! I took out my cardboard and shared my story; the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful ending of salvation! and I ended with giving glory to GOD. This was an amazing experience because when it was over - I felt an amazing release of joy!! I got off the stage and one of the rappers from the group after me commented on how one thing in particular in my testimony he had never dealt with in his life. He said it encouraged him - later that night during his cardboard testimony - he was amazingly open and shared about some very personal things that amazed me
I'm having an amazing time here in TX and will be hanging out and finishing up some things before my next destination. Tonight I will be visiting the Youth Group at Grace church and sharing my experience in South Africa last summer and some fundraising ideas as they prepare to raise money for their summer Youth program. Please pray for this to be a fun, encouraging time with these awesome youth kids and that they believe that anything is possible with God. I think they each have about $500 to raise in 3 weeks! I know God can do it!
As far as my fundraising.. I'm hitting a bit of a bump. I still need $650 to pay off the rest of my account and expenses that are necessary for my trip. This includes the fuel surcharge for the international flight, CPR certification ($89), Hep A&B vaccine, Japanese Euch... vaccine, and $50 to buy appropriate clothing in India for cultural sensitivity, etc
PRAISE REPORT: someone sublet my room for the summer so that expense is not an issue anymore!
There is still time to donate online to my mission account if you are willing and able to give. Visit www.globalexpeditions.com Click on Donate
The last day they are counting online donations is May 30th (because it takes a week or so to process) After this - you will be able to give by contacting me. I will give you my account info, or paypal which is rhemma.payne@gmail.com and is linked to my chase account. (Let me know if you are unfamiliar with paypal)
*For your donation to be tax deductible you will need to donate online by May 30th!*
All this is due at the time I arrive on campus in Garden Valley, TX on June 10th. I've heard testimonies of people getting the last bit of money needed right before they get on the bus to head out, but I'm not wanting to push this limit if at all possible. =) However, I know God is a miracle worker so only time will tell!
Still praying daily at 10:40am/pm so please join with me in prayer about these concerns and for the trip this summer!
Thank you for opening this email and making it down to the end! =)
Financial Update - May
Hey everyone!
So... the last time I emailed you all.. I was pretty frazzled by the news that I needed $541.40 to meet my next deadline. This was a BIG jump from the $70 I thought I owed. Well since then, if you have been following my posts on facebook, God completely rockeed my world last week. Within two days, I had $206 raised.
Here is a brief play-by-play:
Monday - freakout day, had to regroup my emotions and sent emails, received encouragement and began countdown of my FIGHT...
Tuesday - received $150 in donations towards my trip!
Wednesday - received $160 in donations towards my trip!!
Thursday - left for TN with my family and checked mission acct and saw some donations I hadn't counted!
Friday - posted on fb that I only needed $46.40 left to meet my deadline and before I could post to gmail, someone claimed that!
WOW... (it was more exciting to see the chipping away on fb, because that has timestamps..but still really cool)
So .... in 4 days.... God provided $541.40 for my ticketing deadline.
As of Monday, May 2, 2011, I have been ticketed for the summer trip to Nepal and India! This just means that my international ticket has been bought and that I'm officially on this trip!
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PRAYED, GAVE, AND SUPPORTED ME!!!
Because of my discount, I have paid for my entire trip in full as of Monday! Leaving only additional expenses for me to raise - I would say this has been a pretty awesome week so far!!!
God is so faithful and i believe this was a test to see if I would hold on to HIS peace and HIS promise in the midst of not knowing what was happening.
So thank you to all who prayed, supported, and helped me spread the word!
You still want to support? Here are some fun ways to join in this opportunity!
So... the last time I emailed you all.. I was pretty frazzled by the news that I needed $541.40 to meet my next deadline. This was a BIG jump from the $70 I thought I owed. Well since then, if you have been following my posts on facebook, God completely rockeed my world last week. Within two days, I had $206 raised.
Here is a brief play-by-play:
Monday - freakout day, had to regroup my emotions and sent emails, received encouragement and began countdown of my FIGHT...
Tuesday - received $150 in donations towards my trip!
Wednesday - received $160 in donations towards my trip!!
Thursday - left for TN with my family and checked mission acct and saw some donations I hadn't counted!
Friday - posted on fb that I only needed $46.40 left to meet my deadline and before I could post to gmail, someone claimed that!
WOW... (it was more exciting to see the chipping away on fb, because that has timestamps..but still really cool)
So .... in 4 days.... God provided $541.40 for my ticketing deadline.
As of Monday, May 2, 2011, I have been ticketed for the summer trip to Nepal and India! This just means that my international ticket has been bought and that I'm officially on this trip!
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PRAYED, GAVE, AND SUPPORTED ME!!!
Because of my discount, I have paid for my entire trip in full as of Monday! Leaving only additional expenses for me to raise - I would say this has been a pretty awesome week so far!!!
God is so faithful and i believe this was a test to see if I would hold on to HIS peace and HIS promise in the midst of not knowing what was happening.
So thank you to all who prayed, supported, and helped me spread the word!
You still want to support? Here are some fun ways to join in this opportunity!
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