Monday, December 29, 2008
Pictures
Here are some photo's :) Yay! I finally got some to load! Hope you all enjoy. This goes from Oct 4-Nov. 16 (right before I went to Haiti).
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Christmas in St. Croix
December 21-27
It has been different preparing for Christmas when there is no snow. The beginning of the week began with class. We watched a video series called “Pause” by Andy Stanley. In them I learned about temptation and when we make decisions/give into temptations there are things that are at stake. My future (or legacy), my family, and my faith. A couple questions that were brought to my attention during these sessions...What am I hungry for? (Good and Bad), Do I really trust God?, and Who’s am I really? Class concluded for the week on Tuesday.
On Tuesday evening, the girls had a sleepover at Lori’s house (our DTS director). We had a fun time playing dutch blitz and scattergories, painting our nails, having hot coco, and watching Runaway Bride. It was a lot of fun.
On Wednesday I spent the day reading by the pool and then we had a party in the evening. We had a gift exchange, ate dinner (bbq wings, spinach dip and chips, crab wantons, scotcharoos-I made them :D, and a few more goodies). We had a Wii tennis tournament, my team lost, but it was still fun. Then the girls slept by the Christmas tree.
Christmas Day a few of us opened our gifts from home, had awesome cinnamon rolls, watched Elf, and set up/decorated for our late afternoon dinner. The staff worked hard to make a nice Christmas dinner for us all; turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cream corn, cranberries, salad, rolls, and pumpkin and apple pie. It was all delicious, it made it feel like a real Christmas dinner. I played Ticket to Ride with a few others, I won with 145 pts :) It was a good game. Throughout the day I was able to talk to my family which was very nice. I missed home a little bit, but am so glad of where God has asked me to be.
Friday I slept in and in the evening the students all went out for dinner in Christiansted. It was good. Then I worked on some homework and watched Lord of the Rings 1.
Today, Saturday, was an interesting day. A group of us staff and students went to Carambola, a nice resort on the Island. Most of the group stayed back by the beach while four of us hiked to the tide pools. The waves were very large and the current strong. My classmates plus one of their brothers who was here for Christmas went out in the water and were soon pulled by the current. Everyone is safe, but they struggled to get back to shore. Bob and his brother were thrown towards rocks and Bob has some deep gashes. Please pray for them all as this was a very traumatic experience. I was at the tide pools where we had about 6 foot waves. There was a barrier between us and the waves, it was a lot of fun. Slightly dangerous, but I made it out with just one scratch from the coral. I am very thankful for God’s protection. He woke me up about 3 am to tell me, “You shouldn’t go to the beach” At the time I thought it was a silly statement but I thought okay. This morning I forgot about it, but still decided to go to the tide pools instead of the beach. I believe God was saving me from major harm. Isn’t God awesome! Things could have gone a lot worse today, but He showed us all here that He is in Control.
I want to thank you all for your prayers and the many cards I’ve received. I appreciate them all. God is doing so much in me here and it is great to know that I have so many people supporting me in prayer :)
A few prayer requests:
* For Bob, that his wounds from today would heal
* For my DTS, both students and staff, as we prepare to go to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. We leave on January 14.
* For me, my jaw was locked for about 2 weeks and then last week went back to normal with a small amount of pain. On Christmas it began to hurt again and this evening it seems to be exceptionally bad when I open my mouth, even a little bit. A thanksgiving prayer would be that my eyes are doing exceptionally better :) I can’t wear my contacts yet, but I don’t have any gritty feeling to them anymore.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and stayed safe on the roads :)
Love, Grace, and Peace to all,
Kathy
It has been different preparing for Christmas when there is no snow. The beginning of the week began with class. We watched a video series called “Pause” by Andy Stanley. In them I learned about temptation and when we make decisions/give into temptations there are things that are at stake. My future (or legacy), my family, and my faith. A couple questions that were brought to my attention during these sessions...What am I hungry for? (Good and Bad), Do I really trust God?, and Who’s am I really? Class concluded for the week on Tuesday.
On Tuesday evening, the girls had a sleepover at Lori’s house (our DTS director). We had a fun time playing dutch blitz and scattergories, painting our nails, having hot coco, and watching Runaway Bride. It was a lot of fun.
On Wednesday I spent the day reading by the pool and then we had a party in the evening. We had a gift exchange, ate dinner (bbq wings, spinach dip and chips, crab wantons, scotcharoos-I made them :D, and a few more goodies). We had a Wii tennis tournament, my team lost, but it was still fun. Then the girls slept by the Christmas tree.
Christmas Day a few of us opened our gifts from home, had awesome cinnamon rolls, watched Elf, and set up/decorated for our late afternoon dinner. The staff worked hard to make a nice Christmas dinner for us all; turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cream corn, cranberries, salad, rolls, and pumpkin and apple pie. It was all delicious, it made it feel like a real Christmas dinner. I played Ticket to Ride with a few others, I won with 145 pts :) It was a good game. Throughout the day I was able to talk to my family which was very nice. I missed home a little bit, but am so glad of where God has asked me to be.
Friday I slept in and in the evening the students all went out for dinner in Christiansted. It was good. Then I worked on some homework and watched Lord of the Rings 1.
Today, Saturday, was an interesting day. A group of us staff and students went to Carambola, a nice resort on the Island. Most of the group stayed back by the beach while four of us hiked to the tide pools. The waves were very large and the current strong. My classmates plus one of their brothers who was here for Christmas went out in the water and were soon pulled by the current. Everyone is safe, but they struggled to get back to shore. Bob and his brother were thrown towards rocks and Bob has some deep gashes. Please pray for them all as this was a very traumatic experience. I was at the tide pools where we had about 6 foot waves. There was a barrier between us and the waves, it was a lot of fun. Slightly dangerous, but I made it out with just one scratch from the coral. I am very thankful for God’s protection. He woke me up about 3 am to tell me, “You shouldn’t go to the beach” At the time I thought it was a silly statement but I thought okay. This morning I forgot about it, but still decided to go to the tide pools instead of the beach. I believe God was saving me from major harm. Isn’t God awesome! Things could have gone a lot worse today, but He showed us all here that He is in Control.
I want to thank you all for your prayers and the many cards I’ve received. I appreciate them all. God is doing so much in me here and it is great to know that I have so many people supporting me in prayer :)
A few prayer requests:
* For Bob, that his wounds from today would heal
* For my DTS, both students and staff, as we prepare to go to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. We leave on January 14.
* For me, my jaw was locked for about 2 weeks and then last week went back to normal with a small amount of pain. On Christmas it began to hurt again and this evening it seems to be exceptionally bad when I open my mouth, even a little bit. A thanksgiving prayer would be that my eyes are doing exceptionally better :) I can’t wear my contacts yet, but I don’t have any gritty feeling to them anymore.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and stayed safe on the roads :)
Love, Grace, and Peace to all,
Kathy
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A week before Christmas!
Well it is a week before Christmas, time flies when your having fun...and being busy :) I apologize for the delay in this post, I had a classic case of procrastination. Okay, so I’m guessing you all want to know what has been going on since I got back from Haiti.
November 30-December 6
This week was about a couple different things: the life of Jesus and relinquishing our rights. Our speaker was Chet Ingram. I learned so much this week. First, I want to share with you about an experience I had that week. When I returned back from Haiti I was dealing with some spiritual warfare. I wanted to be filled with joy and be happy, but I was continually dealing with feeling sad and just not being in a good mood. On Wednesday morning the group prayed over me and for my attitude. After that I felt very free and at peace, it was amazing to see the power of prayer in my own life. That next day I woke up in a very good mood and even talking and making jokes at breakfast. This is a big surprise to even me who is in no way a morning person :)
During class I was learning about who I was putting on the throne in my life, who has control; God or me. I learned about what it means to be a Talmid (Disciple) of Jesus, and the cost that is involved (Defined in Luke 14). I also realized the difference between being transformed by Christ (being Christ-like) and just looking like Christ. Where is my heart attitude. Then we learned about relinquishing our rights. This means that we allow God to be in control. Things such as my “right” to stay in the U.S. the rest of my life, possibly going into missions, any anger or bitterness I think I deserve to keep, marriage/family, nice clothes, dreams, being near my family. These are all things I had to give to God, and if He chooses to allow me to be by my family or get married or any other thing then that will be awesome, but if He asks me to go into missions, then I need to be willing and ready to serve him wholeheartedly.
On Thursday Night, December 4, we had a night of giving. The purpose of the night was to ask God what he wanted us to give others on the base. This way we were able to bless people here and see first hand what it was like to receive things the God was putting on others hearts. I was asked to give away a pair of earrings which to some people would seem silly, but to me it was very difficult to remind myself that the things I have are not my own but Gods. Once I gave away the earrings I was able to go and give encouragement and just thank people for the encouragement they have given me and apologize for some words I had spoken to a few people. In return I was blessed with a couple of written notes of encouragement as well as verbal encouragement. Others in the group were asked to give away money, laptops, hugs, and more.
December 7-13
Our speaker cancelled this week and after much consideration the DTS staff decided we might get quite a lot out of a week on Relationships. So we watched videos created in the early 90’s with a speaker named Dean Sherman. He had a lot of good information that was still very relevant to today’s times. Crazy how something like this can not change much in about 15 years :) It was hilarious to see all the super awesome hair dos and choice in clothing. But seriously, the week was really good. I learned that almost every problem can be traced back to the root of relationships. I learned more about loving God as well as my neighbor (which includes everyone I come in contact will, everyone is my neighbor). The difference between being Prideful and being Humble. In this I learned about really being Honest and transparent with those that I am close to and that everyone, because they are made in the image of God has value.
Then Dean shared with us information about romantic relationships and the gift of attraction. He provided some terms from the bible that were immoral actions and that I had not really ever looked into; word like laciviousness, concupiscience, sensuality, defrauding, fornication, and adultery. These are words that most of us don’t go and try to define we just skim over and say, well it doesn’t sound like something I would do and then we just forget about it. We also spent part of one day learning about the relationships between parents and children and just families in general. All the information last week was good. It was difficult to watch videos but I survived it.
Outside of class we (the whole base) had a Christmas decorating night. We put up the Christmas tree, with my help the tree didn’t turn out too shabby :) We had hot coco and we decorated bags for our kids party on Saturday. On Saturday morning we had a Children’s Christmas festival. I was in charge of the Ping Pong Shoot Out. The kids had to try to get Ping Pong balls off of different bottles using a water gun. There were about four boys that kept coming back to play, trying to change the game up a little everytime :)
December 14-20
On Sunday we went to a Pentecostal type church called Speak the Word Ministries. They sang a song to welcome our group and we received a lot of hugs. They were very friendly. Definitely something different then the church we normally go to, St. Croix Christian Church. After church all but one of the students went into Christiansted to walk around the boardwalk and have lunch. It was a beautiful day, probably in the lower 80’s :) I hope all of you in the snow aren’t too jealous :) haha. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
This week we are learning about a Biblical Worldview. The week started off with our DTS director, Lori Rietema, teaching us about the Belief Tree. The roots are our belief system, the trunk is our values, the branches are our decisions (policies) and the fruit is our actions or behaviors. The rest of this week we have the base director, Mark Warner, teaching us on other religions/beliefs as well as the biblical worldview/beliefs. Next week we have just two days of class and then we have the rest of the week off, well except for base events. I’m excited though!
Many of you don’t know, but I have been having issues with my eyes since about the second week in Haiti. It has kind of been on and off, but for the most part, by eyes have felt like I have something consistently scrapping my eyeball or that there is something stuck in my eye lids. Well, today I finally allowed Lori to take me to the doctor to get it checked out. This meant going to the hospital to the ER. The doctor decided that I have Blepharitis, an infection of the eyelid. They prescribed some eye drops that are expensive and I’m not sure if my insurance will cover. So the pharmacist gave me some generic ones that only cost me $16 :) that in his opinion do the exact same thing. So hopefully, after I follow all the home care instructions my eyes should be healed in 2-4 weeks :) Until then, I can’t wear my contacts and I can’t wear makeup.
Wow, this is really long. Sorry, I just have a hard time summarizing :)
I hope everyone has an awesome Christmas and if you are traveling that you may stay safe.
Thank you all for your love and support!
Merry Christmas,
Kathy Beth Miersma
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Haiti 2008
I’m back from Haiti! Wow, what an experience I had there. I can hardly believe I was only there for about 9 days. We started off our trip with plane delays giving us one overnight stay in Miami, then onto Haiti. We arrived in the evening on Tuesday, November 17. Outside the airpot there was a mob of people trying to take our luggage for us, but we were told not to because they would expect a tip. Once we were on the bus we had a two hour trip from Port au Prince to St. Marc where the YWAM base was. We had some training on our disaster relief work and then we were off to sleep.
Wednesday the fun began. We set out to the 5th section of St. Marc in a little town called La Grange. We went through a lot of spiritual warfare that day. We all stood/sat in the back of the work truck while Terry Snow (the director of the YWAM base) attempted to get us through all the mud to the town. It was only by God’s protection and help that we were able to make it all the way there. The people were so excited to see us. We set up the equipment and began our process. A few people from our group went out and did investigating of the homes. They had to figure out, with the help of our Haitian translators, the names of the families, how many people lived in the house, telephone numbers (who would have thought they would have phones when they can hardly find food to eat), and then they had to evaluate the condition of the home and the families needs. Then the rest of us, myself included, entered this data into the computer and took pictures of the people to make ID cards. Amazingly the rain held off while we were there (it appeared the clouds separated and was raining in the mountains and the ocean but not in the section we were in. Isn’t our God Great!)
The next day we went to another town, Desfouneau, and did the same process while Terry went and handed out the Blue Cards to La Grange so that they could get food boxes. On Friday we went back to La Grange to hand out the food boxes. The drive is about 1-1.5 hours and we had to take about 4 trips to get all the food boxes to the town. We started with a group leaving at 6 am and the last group arriving at 3 pm. During this time we taught the school kids our names, played hop scotch, did some dramas, took photos, and just had fun with the kids. Then Alyssa and I gave our testimonies, Luke gave a little sermon, and then we started handing out the food boxes. There was some chaos, but everyone ended up getting their food box and we were able to head back to the base. It was an amazing day!
Over the weekend we went to the local market, ate out at a local restaurant, relaxed and performed our dramas, gave testimonies/sermons and worshiped at the bases Church service. Then another week began.
Monday we had some issues with Gervie (another town) lying to us, so we ended up packing up and leaving early. The town was filled with Greed, so we had a time of prayer for them that evening. Tuesday we headed back to Desfouneau, we performed our dramas, gave testimonies and a sermon and then handed out food boxes. The town was very appreciative and very cooperative about waiting in line. Some people even stopped in our prayer line to be prayed for longer. It was so awesome to see. Then we went to a small town called Ba-Lalle who were so excited to see us and hear what we had to say. We performed our dramas again along with testimonies and a sermon. Many people accepted Christ and we were able to have a time of prayer for the people there. Then after lunch we went to a town called Luben, which Terry had just recently gone to for the 1st time in his almost 20 years of ministry there. We handed out food cards. I had a following of kids the whole time I was there :)
Wednesday a group went back to Luben to hand out food, while the rest of us helped out with the Children’s Academy that they had on the base. We did some dramas, told a bible story and then headed to the different classrooms. I helped out the kindergardeners. They were so cute, we attempted to make 3D pumpkins and then we had snack break and watched part of WALL-E. In the afternoon we had a lesson from Terry Snow. In the evening the base was celebrating everyones birthdays for the month of November, we played TrainReck, threw the birthday people in the pool, and had cupcakes. It was a fun evening.
Thursday we made our way home to St. Croix. We had issues getting back though. Our flight out of Haiti was delayed so half of our group ended up staying in Miami because Immigration took so long and the other half of us barely made our flight to San Juan, PR. But we made it and we are all trying to rest up this weekend.
The outreach overall was life brought a lot of light towards missions for me. The people in these towns had such an amazing joy for how little they have. There was one man that was helping us control the lines, showing people where to go. He was so happy and he had lost his house in the Hurricanes (Hanna and Ike) and probably had hardly any food or possessions. He was such an example for all of us. God really helped me through my fear of public speaking and He helped me see that my words could bring someone to Christ. I am so excited to learn even more about God and about going to Nicaragua in January. I think I will truly come home a changed person. OUR GOD IS AMAZING, HIS LOVE IS STEADY AND UNCHANGING!
Thank you to everyone for your prayers while we were gone. God’s power was definitely proven while I was in Haiti. I know that it is through prayer that we were able to do the work we did there.
I hope to get pictures uploaded soon, but it takes a long time because our internet is so slow. Thanks again for your patience in this area :)
Love in Christ,
Kathy Beth Miersma
Wednesday the fun began. We set out to the 5th section of St. Marc in a little town called La Grange. We went through a lot of spiritual warfare that day. We all stood/sat in the back of the work truck while Terry Snow (the director of the YWAM base) attempted to get us through all the mud to the town. It was only by God’s protection and help that we were able to make it all the way there. The people were so excited to see us. We set up the equipment and began our process. A few people from our group went out and did investigating of the homes. They had to figure out, with the help of our Haitian translators, the names of the families, how many people lived in the house, telephone numbers (who would have thought they would have phones when they can hardly find food to eat), and then they had to evaluate the condition of the home and the families needs. Then the rest of us, myself included, entered this data into the computer and took pictures of the people to make ID cards. Amazingly the rain held off while we were there (it appeared the clouds separated and was raining in the mountains and the ocean but not in the section we were in. Isn’t our God Great!)
The next day we went to another town, Desfouneau, and did the same process while Terry went and handed out the Blue Cards to La Grange so that they could get food boxes. On Friday we went back to La Grange to hand out the food boxes. The drive is about 1-1.5 hours and we had to take about 4 trips to get all the food boxes to the town. We started with a group leaving at 6 am and the last group arriving at 3 pm. During this time we taught the school kids our names, played hop scotch, did some dramas, took photos, and just had fun with the kids. Then Alyssa and I gave our testimonies, Luke gave a little sermon, and then we started handing out the food boxes. There was some chaos, but everyone ended up getting their food box and we were able to head back to the base. It was an amazing day!
Over the weekend we went to the local market, ate out at a local restaurant, relaxed and performed our dramas, gave testimonies/sermons and worshiped at the bases Church service. Then another week began.
Monday we had some issues with Gervie (another town) lying to us, so we ended up packing up and leaving early. The town was filled with Greed, so we had a time of prayer for them that evening. Tuesday we headed back to Desfouneau, we performed our dramas, gave testimonies and a sermon and then handed out food boxes. The town was very appreciative and very cooperative about waiting in line. Some people even stopped in our prayer line to be prayed for longer. It was so awesome to see. Then we went to a small town called Ba-Lalle who were so excited to see us and hear what we had to say. We performed our dramas again along with testimonies and a sermon. Many people accepted Christ and we were able to have a time of prayer for the people there. Then after lunch we went to a town called Luben, which Terry had just recently gone to for the 1st time in his almost 20 years of ministry there. We handed out food cards. I had a following of kids the whole time I was there :)
Wednesday a group went back to Luben to hand out food, while the rest of us helped out with the Children’s Academy that they had on the base. We did some dramas, told a bible story and then headed to the different classrooms. I helped out the kindergardeners. They were so cute, we attempted to make 3D pumpkins and then we had snack break and watched part of WALL-E. In the afternoon we had a lesson from Terry Snow. In the evening the base was celebrating everyones birthdays for the month of November, we played TrainReck, threw the birthday people in the pool, and had cupcakes. It was a fun evening.
Thursday we made our way home to St. Croix. We had issues getting back though. Our flight out of Haiti was delayed so half of our group ended up staying in Miami because Immigration took so long and the other half of us barely made our flight to San Juan, PR. But we made it and we are all trying to rest up this weekend.
The outreach overall was life brought a lot of light towards missions for me. The people in these towns had such an amazing joy for how little they have. There was one man that was helping us control the lines, showing people where to go. He was so happy and he had lost his house in the Hurricanes (Hanna and Ike) and probably had hardly any food or possessions. He was such an example for all of us. God really helped me through my fear of public speaking and He helped me see that my words could bring someone to Christ. I am so excited to learn even more about God and about going to Nicaragua in January. I think I will truly come home a changed person. OUR GOD IS AMAZING, HIS LOVE IS STEADY AND UNCHANGING!
Thank you to everyone for your prayers while we were gone. God’s power was definitely proven while I was in Haiti. I know that it is through prayer that we were able to do the work we did there.
I hope to get pictures uploaded soon, but it takes a long time because our internet is so slow. Thanks again for your patience in this area :)
Love in Christ,
Kathy Beth Miersma
Friday, November 14, 2008
Haiti Info
Hello Everyone! Here is some information regarding my Haiti mini outreach.
I was asked to answer some questions, so here we go:
-where exactly is our group going? We are going to the YWAM base in St. Marc, Haiti
-what are the needs of the people there? Haiti was hit by 3 hurricanes within 3 weeks and has a lot of damage due to these. Most of the country is very poor.
-what are your needs as a group? For us students, we are preparing our testimonies and for the group as a whole just that we have a lot of preparations before we leave on Monday.
-what type of ministry will you be partaking in? VBS, Disaster Relief work
-what are you hoping to accomplish there? Anything specific? We want to share the Gospel with the people of Haiti, right now we feel that we are going to try to impact the children the most.
-what has God shown you all to be praying for so we can join with you...give us the specifics? We have been shown that we need to pray for the people and their willingness to be open to the gospel, for the children, and that we can be a light and sow seeds of love.
-what are the dates and times of your flights so we can cover you all in prayer? Flight to Puerto Rico leaves at 6:30 am on Monday (we did not go through daylight savings time) We return in the evening on Thanksgiving Day.
-will you be joining another organization/ministry while there? Who are they - names, ministry, needs? We will be working with YWAM Haiti
-how are the finances of your group...for the school, outreach, and the next one? Right now we all have our money up through our mini outreach, some people have all their money but there are some needs yet. The base as a whole is very tight on money and could use any extra funds.
-do/will you have an outreach itinerary/schedule that we can follow along with dates/activities so we know what to be praying for and when it's happening? We do not have any itinerary/schedule yet. We will most likely not have access to the internet while we are gone, so I'm not sure if I will be able to let everyone know either.
-how about you? How can we pray specifically for you!? I am really nervous about speaking in front of people and sharing my testimony. We will be utilizing a translator and I am worried about using words that will not translate well.
Thank you all for your prayer support!
I was asked to answer some questions, so here we go:
-where exactly is our group going? We are going to the YWAM base in St. Marc, Haiti
-what are the needs of the people there? Haiti was hit by 3 hurricanes within 3 weeks and has a lot of damage due to these. Most of the country is very poor.
-what are your needs as a group? For us students, we are preparing our testimonies and for the group as a whole just that we have a lot of preparations before we leave on Monday.
-what type of ministry will you be partaking in? VBS, Disaster Relief work
-what are you hoping to accomplish there? Anything specific? We want to share the Gospel with the people of Haiti, right now we feel that we are going to try to impact the children the most.
-what has God shown you all to be praying for so we can join with you...give us the specifics? We have been shown that we need to pray for the people and their willingness to be open to the gospel, for the children, and that we can be a light and sow seeds of love.
-what are the dates and times of your flights so we can cover you all in prayer? Flight to Puerto Rico leaves at 6:30 am on Monday (we did not go through daylight savings time) We return in the evening on Thanksgiving Day.
-will you be joining another organization/ministry while there? Who are they - names, ministry, needs? We will be working with YWAM Haiti
-how are the finances of your group...for the school, outreach, and the next one? Right now we all have our money up through our mini outreach, some people have all their money but there are some needs yet. The base as a whole is very tight on money and could use any extra funds.
-do/will you have an outreach itinerary/schedule that we can follow along with dates/activities so we know what to be praying for and when it's happening? We do not have any itinerary/schedule yet. We will most likely not have access to the internet while we are gone, so I'm not sure if I will be able to let everyone know either.
-how about you? How can we pray specifically for you!? I am really nervous about speaking in front of people and sharing my testimony. We will be utilizing a translator and I am worried about using words that will not translate well.
Thank you all for your prayer support!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Holy Spirit Week
Sorry for the late posting, we didn’t have internet from Thursday till today.
Just a recap of two weeks ago (Oct. 27-31). We talked about... the separation that happened due to the fall, who God is and who we are (why wouldn’t we want a relationship with God when we know how it can be), Implications of the Cross, our condition in life versus our position with God, why it can be hard to grasp God’s grace and acceptance for us, a loving response to God’s grace and love, spiritual disciplines and finally we learned about the difference between living by the flesh and living by the fruits (Galations 5:19-22). This was an awesome week of reassurance of what I believe, Thank you Jesus!
Last week we were learning about the holy spirit. Mike Phillips had been showing us how the holy spirit fits into the trinity. He shared with us how the holy spirit lives in us and therefore, God is in us. It is an awesome realization that I know I have known for years, but never took to heart that God is always here with me because he lives inside me through the holy spirit. And when I have a relationship with him then God can speak directly to me. Mike shared with us that in the Bible Pharaoh, Balem, and Belshazar all heard God, but because they did not share a relationship with Him like Adam, Noah, Moses... they heard Him through Physical means--other people, other things. This may be a hard thing for you to believe and I am still coming to an understanding of how and that He does speak to me/you.
Thursday we had an awesome lesson. One thing we learned was about the lies that satan likes to put in our heads. Lies about shame, fear, abandonment, we are not/cannot be loved, we can do it on our own (independence), powerless, tainted, hopeless. In all these things we can know the truth, but still believe in the lie. I’ve struggled a lot with the lie of not being accepted as I am, that people won’t love me or like me for who I am. Therefore, it is hard for me to believe people like me. I try to show them a person that I think they will like but isn’t really me and sometimes I feel I don’t know who the real me is. Last week Thursday God reminded me of two memories from my childhood, one time where I felt rejected by classmates and one time when a friend and I were both enjoying life on the swings at recess. The lie is something I still believed today, that because I felt rejected I am rejected/not accepted by others. God showed me that I had taken the situation in the wrong light and therefore making the lie seem like a truth up until now. God is working in me to find joy when others are having a good time and to not think that because I wasn’t the one that was funny or brought the joy that I am not a joy bringer. Wow! I feel so free, so happy, so at peace with who God made me to be.
I want to thank everyone for your prayers, I know that your prayers are allowing me to open up to God, to myself and let God work in me to be the person He wants me to be, His servant. I ask that you continue to pray for God to reveal himself to me and that I may be reminded of His grace and love and peace. That God will become Alive in me!
When we allow God into our lives, to have a relationship with us we will be forever changed!
God Bless all of you!
In Christ,
Kathy Beth Miersma
Random Information:
*On November 17 my DTS will be leaving for Haiti for almost two weeks for our mini outreach.
*On January 13th my DTS will leave for Nicaragua for about 6 weeks for our big outreach.
Please pray for our preparations.
Just a recap of two weeks ago (Oct. 27-31). We talked about... the separation that happened due to the fall, who God is and who we are (why wouldn’t we want a relationship with God when we know how it can be), Implications of the Cross, our condition in life versus our position with God, why it can be hard to grasp God’s grace and acceptance for us, a loving response to God’s grace and love, spiritual disciplines and finally we learned about the difference between living by the flesh and living by the fruits (Galations 5:19-22). This was an awesome week of reassurance of what I believe, Thank you Jesus!
Last week we were learning about the holy spirit. Mike Phillips had been showing us how the holy spirit fits into the trinity. He shared with us how the holy spirit lives in us and therefore, God is in us. It is an awesome realization that I know I have known for years, but never took to heart that God is always here with me because he lives inside me through the holy spirit. And when I have a relationship with him then God can speak directly to me. Mike shared with us that in the Bible Pharaoh, Balem, and Belshazar all heard God, but because they did not share a relationship with Him like Adam, Noah, Moses... they heard Him through Physical means--other people, other things. This may be a hard thing for you to believe and I am still coming to an understanding of how and that He does speak to me/you.
Thursday we had an awesome lesson. One thing we learned was about the lies that satan likes to put in our heads. Lies about shame, fear, abandonment, we are not/cannot be loved, we can do it on our own (independence), powerless, tainted, hopeless. In all these things we can know the truth, but still believe in the lie. I’ve struggled a lot with the lie of not being accepted as I am, that people won’t love me or like me for who I am. Therefore, it is hard for me to believe people like me. I try to show them a person that I think they will like but isn’t really me and sometimes I feel I don’t know who the real me is. Last week Thursday God reminded me of two memories from my childhood, one time where I felt rejected by classmates and one time when a friend and I were both enjoying life on the swings at recess. The lie is something I still believed today, that because I felt rejected I am rejected/not accepted by others. God showed me that I had taken the situation in the wrong light and therefore making the lie seem like a truth up until now. God is working in me to find joy when others are having a good time and to not think that because I wasn’t the one that was funny or brought the joy that I am not a joy bringer. Wow! I feel so free, so happy, so at peace with who God made me to be.
I want to thank everyone for your prayers, I know that your prayers are allowing me to open up to God, to myself and let God work in me to be the person He wants me to be, His servant. I ask that you continue to pray for God to reveal himself to me and that I may be reminded of His grace and love and peace. That God will become Alive in me!
When we allow God into our lives, to have a relationship with us we will be forever changed!
God Bless all of you!
In Christ,
Kathy Beth Miersma
Random Information:
*On November 17 my DTS will be leaving for Haiti for almost two weeks for our mini outreach.
*On January 13th my DTS will leave for Nicaragua for about 6 weeks for our big outreach.
Please pray for our preparations.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Week 3 complete, onto week 4
Another full week jammed packed with information. Last week was a very emotionally intense week. I learned about the father heart of God. God’s love for us is so big. However, knowing about God’s love is not the same as knowing (experiencing) His Love. God wants to share with all of us how much he loves us we just have to be willing to accept it. We also need to understand God’s love for us to truly know who we are (our Identity). We must deal with our past so that we can move onto the present and we need to remember that we will see God in the the future and that can be our reassurance when we have accepted Christ into our life. Last week we also talked about what hinders us from receiving God’s Love, Insecurity and finding confidence through understanding God, and we talked about forgiveness. Overall, it was a challenging week with a few tears, but good tears :)
The Weekend! Our excitement for Friday evening was going to Office Max and Kmart :) to get a few supplies and be in air conditioning and then going to Wendy’s for Frosty’s and Fries. On Saturday we went into Christiansted which is about 15 minutes from Suny Isle where the base is located. We did some perusing of the shops and looked around at some of the boats that were damaged from the Hurricane. Sunday we just relaxed at the base after Church.
Week 4 begins. This week we have Eileen Hartzler talking about Grace and Holiness a.k.a. Forgiveness and the Cross or Foundations of Christianity. This week, like all the weeks will be intense; new information mixed with review of previous knowledge. Our speaker is a little more of an introvert so not as in your face intense as the last two weeks, so this will be a little bit more relaxing than information overload :) I am excited as always to see what God is going to show me this week!
I hear the weather back home is a little cold and maybe sleetish/snowish. I will say that although I love the warmer weather, I did feel sad that I am missing out on beautiful leaves changing and white substances falling from the sky. I’m sure I will get over it quickly though :)
Love in Christ,
Kathy
Verses on God is Love! 1 John 4:7-12
Song: Majesty by Delirious
Here I am humbled by Your Majesty, Covered by Your grace oh friend. Here I am knowing I'm a sinful man, Covered by the blood of the Lamb. Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine, Since You laid down Your life, The greatest sacrifice.
Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am, Empty handed but alive in Your hands.
Here I am humbled by the love that You give, Forgiven so that I can forgive. So here I stand, Knowing that I am Your desire, Sanctified by glory and fire. And now I've found the greatest love of all is mine, Since You laid down Your life, The greatest sacrife.
Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am, Empty handed but alive in your hands. Singing Majesty, Majesty. Forever I am changed by Your love, In the presence of Your Majesty. Majesty.
We're singing Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am, And I'm nothing but alive in Your hands. We're singing Majesty, Majesty. Forever I am changed by Your love, In the beauty of Your Majesty. Majesty.
The Weekend! Our excitement for Friday evening was going to Office Max and Kmart :) to get a few supplies and be in air conditioning and then going to Wendy’s for Frosty’s and Fries. On Saturday we went into Christiansted which is about 15 minutes from Suny Isle where the base is located. We did some perusing of the shops and looked around at some of the boats that were damaged from the Hurricane. Sunday we just relaxed at the base after Church.
Week 4 begins. This week we have Eileen Hartzler talking about Grace and Holiness a.k.a. Forgiveness and the Cross or Foundations of Christianity. This week, like all the weeks will be intense; new information mixed with review of previous knowledge. Our speaker is a little more of an introvert so not as in your face intense as the last two weeks, so this will be a little bit more relaxing than information overload :) I am excited as always to see what God is going to show me this week!
I hear the weather back home is a little cold and maybe sleetish/snowish. I will say that although I love the warmer weather, I did feel sad that I am missing out on beautiful leaves changing and white substances falling from the sky. I’m sure I will get over it quickly though :)
Love in Christ,
Kathy
Verses on God is Love! 1 John 4:7-12
Song: Majesty by Delirious
Here I am humbled by Your Majesty, Covered by Your grace oh friend. Here I am knowing I'm a sinful man, Covered by the blood of the Lamb. Now I've found the greatest love of all is mine, Since You laid down Your life, The greatest sacrifice.
Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am, Empty handed but alive in Your hands.
Here I am humbled by the love that You give, Forgiven so that I can forgive. So here I stand, Knowing that I am Your desire, Sanctified by glory and fire. And now I've found the greatest love of all is mine, Since You laid down Your life, The greatest sacrife.
Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am, Empty handed but alive in your hands. Singing Majesty, Majesty. Forever I am changed by Your love, In the presence of Your Majesty. Majesty.
We're singing Majesty, Majesty. Your grace has found me just as I am, And I'm nothing but alive in Your hands. We're singing Majesty, Majesty. Forever I am changed by Your love, In the beauty of Your Majesty. Majesty.
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