Greater things are yet to come

Christ follower, Photographer, Writer, and Coffee drinker.

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Slavonski Brod Days 7-15

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Return

It feels really good to be back in France. Croatia was a really good experience despite it being hard work. I feel we blessed the church quite a lot.

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Croatia  day 6

Three days straight work, we started working the day after we got here! Jorit and I discussed about telling Darko we wanted a little rest and recuperation. He took it very well! He blessed his Soldiers a day off by the Sava. This Sabbath proved to be such a blessing to us. We had such a wonderful day and saw some of the most beautiful sights to be seen in Slavonski Brod.

 We chilled out, had some good Coffee and wrote about our time here. It also allowed us to contact loved ones and download the most recent episodes of Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. Sweet. 

There’s something strange about relaxing and finding such joy on the same spot where the fighting was so brutal all those years ago. We could see Bosnia, not only could we see it but if there was a foul smell there we could probably smell it too. It being only 100 or so meters away. The work we are doing at Slavonski Brod Baptist church is with an intention of bringing the glory of God to this place. 

This country feels as if it is always on the brink of another war. We are trying to contribute to a force that is attempting to end this vicious cycle.

Now, we rest. Tomorrow, we fight.

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Slavonski Brod Days 1-5

Croatia, a new adventure in my life. Am I having fun? At times yes! Has it been challenging? Yes, full of challenges. Since we’ve got here we’ve been put straight to work. Our vision when we got here was to bless Slavonski Brod Baptist church as much as we could. But sometimes you don’t really know what those words can cost you. We’ve been working super hard but the work hasn’t exactly been nice. Sanding drywall filler is not the most fun of jobs! 

 I am reminded of a sermon at soul survivor about becoming a person of influence. One of the main teachings was: 

“Be faithful and take joy in the menial tasks, then God will lead you to greater things.” 

 Jorit and I are growing in the Lord together, and also growing closer together as people. I have faith that when we get back to France we will be working better together as interns. 

The thing that amazes me about this project is not only that the building was not there a year ago, but the money to build the building was not there a year ago either. Darko and his church have had a vision of building a place with more facilities, beauty and space so they can have a larger capability of blessing the community they are in. God provided for that vision which puts my needs into perspective. As I question what I am to do with my future my heart ceases to panic as the potential scale of his provision is revealed to me. 

One of the things we have the pleasure of doing here, is being involved with the ministry of the Roma people. Some of the conditions these people are living in are absolutely shocking, yet they seem such a happy and joyful culture. A lot of them go to school from a young age and drop out at about 14-15. Many of them start smoking around that age too. At around 16-18 they get married, sometimes even younger. It’s scary that you can be talking to a married man or woman when they are actually younger than you. 

I am expectant about how God will continue to use us here in Slavonski Brod. We’re here for another 11 days. I believe we have already saved them a large amount of work, may we save them all the more work! Darko calls us soldiers every morning, and warriors. I believe these are true but the Lord brings one more word to mind. 

Builders. Kingdom builders. 

What a blessing and an honor the lord bestows upon us!

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The Roma people.

Abit of my photography, more on Croatia to follow.

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“If I open up my hands will you fill them again?”

I feel this phrase from the will Reagan song: ‘If I give it all to you’ Has been a large part of my life since I got to France. Now with Croatia on the horizon (Literally I’m on the plane there), I feel I’m in a good place.

When I came to France I had to surrender my plans of going to Croatia. Being a man who takes comfort in having a plan in front of him, I was really pushed out of my comfort zone. I had to open up my hands and release my initial plan of Croatia to him. I then replaced the plan with another that was pretty appealing to me: going to live in Caen.

 I also felt the call from God to release this plan into his hands. But now I look at it, I’m not releasing it into the hands of some feeble and selfish God who is going to send me somewhere I don’t want to go. No, I’m releasing it into the hands of a strong and wise God, who knows what is best for me and always does things for the good of those who love him. God put both of those things back into my hands, only the plans are now not the same as when I made them, they are now blessed. 

 I chose to sacrifice my ideas and passions to him, the plans he put back into my hands I could then accept with a more Godly maturity and spiritual excitement, and I could move into those plans with a larger spiritual excitement.

 God in his grace provided me with an amazing French former missionary for a roommate, who with his servant heart offered a room in his new apartment in Caen to me, with a small amount of money per month as a token of appreciation. 

 God has transformed my relationships, he’s encouraged me to evolve my relationships with other members of the student group in Caen, and with the addition of routine prayer into my life since January, I’ve made sure to pre arrange routinely prayer with other members of Gods kingdom in Caen. 

 So when I get back I will move in Caen, thank you Jesus for you steadfast provision. So where do I take this new found wisdom: “If I open up my hands will you fill them again” 

 I attempt to remove all preconceptions, as on this plane to Croatia, I challenge myself and Jorit to give absolute and full control to God. We have two and a half weeks and that is a large window for God to work in. 

 We will open up our hands, and God will take what we plan from us, and replace it with his sovereign will. We will do everything we can to follow him, draw near to the heart of God, and push the boat out that little bit further if we can.

[joritverkerk-blog]

DUTCH: ’s Ochtends vroeg, op 26 maart, stap ik op mijn krakkemikkige mountainbike van de Decathlon. Niet om de gebruikelijke vier kilometers naar Béthanie te fietsen, maar om 200 kilometer naar Parijs te fietsen. Heurtevent als beginpunt, l’Arc de Triomphe als eindpunt. Donderdag 26 maart...

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Love divine

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le abbaye du bec hellouin

My photography --Sam

[natureac]

Nature Blog ▲

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He was there...

Movement, growth, maturity; these are the words that describe my last few weeks at béthanie. It's a journey i'm still on but have made considerable progress in giving my life as a full consecration to God. Due to certain circumstances it was made known to me very early on that i probably wouldn't be going to Croatia, as was the original plan consequently I started making my own plans as to what to do when April came; the plans varied from skiing to going to live in Caen and now to where I'm finally at which is to have no plan at all.

This may seem counter-intuitive but let me now explain, i was on the phone with a friend not too long ago and we were talking, he was telling me how far he feels I've come and how he feels he can hear more maturity and wisdom in the way I speak, which really encouraged me to look upon the time I've spent here in France as a fruitful experience. At the time of this conversation I had plans of my own to move to Caen and see how i could serve Bless being in the city. After I got off of the phone I had this wonderful feeling in my heart and I felt God confirming that he had grown me and always been there through the hard times, the times where I've questioned whether I'd made a huge mistake coming to France, the times I'd questioned whether Bless was for me. 

The times I'd questioned whether God even existed. He was there.

He was there in the part of me that said; "I'm just going to keep going"

And in that moment I remembered this quote: "The world has yet to see what God can do with a man that is fully consecrated to him, by the help of God I aim to be that man."

I gave up my plans. God has placed me in the right place under the right leaders and he has confirmed that despite the differences we have if we pray God's will be done, and we live by that, then by God his will be done.

God has made this a season of change in me. A season of stripping away and a season of cleaning the canvas.

And artist has much more flexibility when he has a blank canvas to work with.

Lord Jesus do whatever it takes to mould me into the image of your son

Make me into your workmanship, your masterpiece

I give it all to you God, trusting that you will make something beautiful out of me

I thank you that you are there and you do care

I thank you that you are the part of us that makes us carry on

The part that awaits the greater things that are yet t come

The part that allows me to believe I am liberated, free from sin and failure

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline 

Amen.

[ashleycusick]

The beauty of my life came in and punched me in the face today. Maybe it is because I went to the most charming little French port town of Honfleur (top picture) and walked cobblestone streets and listened as a beautiful French woman tried earnestly to speak to me in English - but I am overcome with wonder for this life. My old life (my American life) was beautiful: friends who encouraged me at every turn, roommates with whom I constantly found myself doubled over in laughter, sunlight coffee shops on Saturday morning, spontaneous Atlanta road trips, indie concerts and football games. And this new life is so different: colorful buildings pushed up against each other, indie music drifting over sun-drenched hardwood floors, nights filled with good wine and Belgian beer, gardening in the snow, people who are teaching me how to love when it’s hard, different nationalities and languages clumsily colliding in small apartments in the most striking way. And it is occurring to me that this is it. That each season is beautiful when I choose to see the beauty in it. I am quick to long for the last season of my life where things could be neatly added up inside my head and, in retrospect, everything was rosy. But THIS season is, dare I say it, even more beautiful. I’ve been seeing only the hard parts. I’ve been upset that I can’t get my Instagram feed to reflect the perfect messy-ness of my life and that I can’t get my blog posts to adequately convey French life and what this place is doing to my heart. Maybe all I can offer is blurry iPhone photos that don’t mean anything to anyone but me and strings of words that don’t really make sense. Maybe some days here are full to the brim and other days are spent laying in bed with a mug of something warm glued to my hand and maybe the latter are not wasted days. But maybe I am already the person I am fighting so hard to become. Maybe it is enough and it is okay to feel simultaneously lost and found, frantic and calm, broken and beautiful. Maybe it doesn’t look like a typical almost 21-year old life, but I never liked typical anyway. And things that can be tied up with a pretty bow always bored me. I will love where I am. And I have got to be better about drinking gratitude like water. Because likes on Instagram will make me feel good but gratitude - seeing beauty and awe in all that is going on around and in me - will make me feel full. And we are called to abundance. We are called to six more water jars full of wine. 

I am grateful and  I am growing Free and frantic Merci, Seigneur

[liveforothers]

Morning at béthanie —Sam

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Blog post, Béthanie weeks 2, 3 and 4 MEGA BLOG

[liveforothers]

Introduce yourself
: Hi! I am Jorit, 18 years old. I quit my study in Amsterdam after 4 weeks because I found it boring. Now I’m here. I really love demolishing things with the crow bar, making fires and listening to music. I’ve always thought that I didn’t really have affinity with Holland,...

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Blog-post one- Arrival

  I’ve been at bethanie for two weeks now and I’m glad to say I’ve finally settled in. Life is good here; bethanie is a really great place for me to build my relationship with God through prayer and all kinds of worship. My fellow interns are really great, there’s Jorit an 18 year old Dutchboy from Holland, and Ashley a 20 ¾ (She insisted on the 3/4)

year old from Florida, we are all gifted in different areas giving us quite a large collective skillset in order to make an impact here we are very lucky to have each other.

God’s bringing me on a Journey unlike any other I’ve been on before, bless’ intern program focuses heavily upon solitary prayer and reflection. Deepening your personal relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in ways I haven’t practiced before. Different, but incredibly refreshing, and not contrary to what I believe.

I being very relational have had to adapt quite radically to not having people around me all the time, it’s not been an easy introduction to France, with Home, my family and my Christian brothers and sisters far away and very little internet to contact with them it’s been tough, however without question God has been here for me in this time, and I thank him for the experience to rely fully on him in this new situation.

 Normandy is breathtakingly beautiful with endless green hills and running rivers, with air so clear and crisp you feel leagues away from any major city, the golden sunlight penetrates every room with it’s beauty reminding you of God’s wonder and glory.

One of the ways in which bless bring us interns closer together, and improve running’s around bethanie is service, there are always several projects going on which recently has included repurposing spaces such as barns, for storage and clearing spaces so we can prepare for running kid’s clubs later on in the year. Also making things look better and function better around bethanie, like cutting down obstructive trees or fixing drains. We’re lucky to be given a lot of time to chill out and pray, or write, read and blog.

I look forward to spilling the pigments of my mind, on paper, for now enjoy this personal liturgy I wrote, Sam Telling out. Cleanse my mind lord and make it pure. Create something beautiful, something that is yours.

Allow my mind to be an instrument for your glory

Lord bring your spirit to reside in my thoughts

May I think in the fashion of your son Jesus Christ

May I have thoughts of love and thoughts of life

May I breathe your spirit in all I make contact

Make me a vessel of your living water lord and with me, flood the land.

[ashleycusick]

Basilique Saint-Thérèse - Lisieux, France

If light overcomes darkness// If clean makes unclean, clean once more// Then let joy flood the sadness// Let joy overwhelm fear the way darkness cannot help but succumb to light Let hopelessness flee - suddenly and permenantly - with a single...