On the Shore of What Will Be @sureoftheunseen-blog-blog - Tumblr Blog

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Well friends, it looks like I am retiring from Tumblr. I made another blog to post my updates on, so you can find me here if you wish to stay updated:

http://sureoftheunseen.wordpress.com/

Same name, different place.

Learning About Studying.

The blessing in teaching, on any scale, is truly found in what you learn. The process of getting to where you want to take them is how you find those sweet gems, the nuggets of wisdom and insight that you hold dearly.

Faith is trusting God in the most quiet of times. It is trusting God in the most chaotic of times. It is trusting God times of inaction. And it is trusting God when you are battling hard till you cannot imagine possibly taking another step. "This is the work of God that you believe in Him, the One the Father sent." - Bob Hoekstra

Like that, I like that a lot.

Perhaps you are reading this and you can identify with me when I say that studying is hard. It never has been easy. Not in grade school, not in bible college, not now as I prepare to teach a handful of young girls. Thankfully, what I am meant to study is what I am passionate about. My studies revolve around who God is, therefore, I can never ever run out of things to learn.

Again, if you are like me and it is a constant struggle to buckle down and focus your train of thought, well praise God. Why? Because His power is made perfect in my weakness and He holds storehouses and storehouses upon wisdom that He delights to share with those that seek wisdom.

Faith is the intimate partner with humility for both are necessary to the abounding life of grace God promises. Humility says, "I need help." Faith says, "I can trust God for that help." - Bob Hoekstra

& if you happen to be doing a study on living by grace, this study will be of great use to you.

Grace and peace and all things nice.

#blueletterbible #studying

Today, I ran.

I ran and I ran and I ran to find the end of myself.

I found myself on the end of a dock at the seemingly endless sea. There, in my physical weariness as I poured out my heart to God, the wind picked up slightly and the water splashed up on the rocks around me a little more forcefully. In the stillness of my heart, I remembered: I am not alone here in these open seas.

Oh, the peace.

Hebrews 12:1-3, do not lose heart, keep running.

Going and growing, learning and discerning.

Come tomorrow, it will have been a month since I arrived in Cyprus. What, seriously? Yes, seriously.

It feels like I have been here for much longer, yet it also feels like I have only just arrived. Maybe I just live a paradoxical life.

Outreaches via CCBCE A little over a week ago, we had an outreach team come from the last place I called home, Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe. It was so, so nice to have them here, a group of 10 very different individuals with no concrete plan, but a cumulative desire to watch God move. Oh, and move He did. As they were here we (about 15 of us in total) romped about the city of Paphos, meeting the people in our path and singing worship songs wherever we went.

At the harbour.

In the market place.

In an old Greek amphitheater, in a ballet studio, in parks...Yeah, you get the point. Basically wherever we found ourselves to be was an opportunity to praise God, praise Him!

One of the most consistent places we went was the high school right by the church flat. 4 out of 5 days we were there to make connections and to invite students to the concert extravaganza we were throwing at the end of the week. On Monday, we got to talk to and invite 6 people, but Tuesday looked like this:

and that, my friends, is a crowd. We sang and danced and talked to some people. One of the days, one of our guys got to share the gospel with everyone as one of the high school students translated into Greek.

Basically, seeds were planted amongst the city, the church people were encouraged and as for me, it was really great just to be with them all again. To laugh and pray and talk and sing and laugh some more.

There we are! Along with some random guys that were passing through.

Although I have found that it is somehow easier to leave than to be left, I must say that the joy of being reunited with these friends here, even for a short time, supersedes the sadness of farewells.

Oh and let me not forget this detail: in the 8 years that the Mattox family has been here, this was the first outreach team that made it to Paphos. The first! How blessed am I to have been a part of this milestone in ministry here? Very much so indeed.

ΣΙΓΑ ΣΙΓΑ. It means 'slowly, slowly' in English. I learned this Greek phrase when I went to Athens on a 10 day outreach, no knowing that I would be in another Greek speaking land 2 years later.

Island life is much different than city life.The pace is much slower and time is more of a point of reference than a guideline or restriction.

At first, this through me for a loop. It seems that I was accustomed to a mindset that what I do, or how much I do equates to how effective I can be, call it the mass-production mentality. Although it is a good thing to desire that the masses would come to know God (after all, God's desire that ALL might come to repentance), it is oh, so important to remember the individual. Jesus did not see the crowds that flocked to Him, but He saw each person. Quality, my friends. Not quantity.

Love the one in front of you. Being very family oriented, the culture is very relational, which I love. I remember hearing this as a principle for life and discipleship and by the grace of God, that is exactly what I am doing here, over coffee. Because Cypriots love having coffee, as do I.

More about my 'outs and abouts' next time loved ones. In the mean time, you can be praying.

Pray for... - wisdom. Abby (one of the Mattox daughters) has asked me to do a few sessions on purity with the girls that she does a bible study with. Also, I am going to start going through the book of Esther with Emma (the youngest of the Mattox daughters). This is why I need much wisdom and understanding as I study. - visa stuff

- Holy Spirit. I cannot do anything otherwise.

- fruitful coffee times

- more divine appointments

Support. Perhaps some of you are wondering how you might support me and the Spirit's moving in and through my life, or perhaps you are not, but here you go anyways: click here for my Pay Pal. There is a link to my PayPal account, where you can submit any amount of money. Also, for future reference, there is a 'Donate' button, in the description area of my blog. Any and every little bit helps, and never underestimate the power of prayer!

#CCBCE #learningandgrowing

This. Is. Paphos.

Here I am! What now?

Waiting and seeking to see what the Lord will have me do during my 3 months here. Living with the Mattox family, who have been so gracious to me. The church family has been equally as warm and kind.

Pray for divine appointments, for relationships to be built. Pray that I might be a blessing to those I come in contact with.

By the grace of God I am what I am.

&may I live accordingly.

#Cyprus #Paphos #purposefuladventures #calvarychapel

Intern Ladies//Heroes' Square - Budapest, Hungary

Sometimes the sun is very, very bright when you are being touristy.

#ccbce #Budapest #citiesilove

Sailing seas and knocking on doors with a map made of Holy words.

This blog post has definitely been a long time coming, but alas here I am determined to convey to you the reality that is my surreal life.

As some of you know, I have been so privileged to be a part of a 13 month internship at Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe in Vajta, Hungary. During this time I learned so much about leadership, theology, people and myself. More so than I even expected to. Most importantly, I grew in the understanding of who God created me to be and the fact that there is nothing more that I want to do in the world besides make friends out of strangers and introduce them to this same God that I have come to know and love.

My last few months in this village have consisted of much seeking direction for "the next step" of which I am writing.

After I came back from a 10 day outreach in Hamburg, Germany I looked into opportunities for ministry in Ireland. Why? Simply because of the land itself. After taking the tiniest step in that direction, I could tell that was not the open door that I was looking for. So, scratch that.

The next door that I knocked on was the door to Costa Rica. Now, going to Costa Rica to serve there was definitely a lingering idea for about a year and a half maybe. So I pursued that direction as much as I could. I made connections. I had more peace than I could comprehend. I had no doubt that the Lord was with me. In fact, for a majority of the summer, I believed that I was going to Costa Rica and I was stoked.

Suddenly all communication I had with people in Costa Rica came to a halt. Every other day I was learning of more amazing people that I knew who were moving there to serve.

Meanwhile...back in Vajta, I met a sweet girl who came for the last few weeks of Summer of Service. Abby. Her Dad pastors a Calvary Chapel in Paphos, Cyprus. One day as I made her latte, she told me a bit about the people there and it pricked my heart. So I started to pray.

A week or two later I came to a realization of "What if Costa Rica does not need me right now?" Not in the sense that I, Vanessa Lum would necessarily be "needed" anywhere but this was me recognizing that I might indeed be more useful somewhere else.

After some days of being an emotional girl and crying out to my Heavenly Father, questioning the strength of my faith and remembering how good the God I serve is, my eyes were opened to see the open door in front of me.

Abby's Dad came to Vajta, the three of us sat down and talked about the possibility of me coming to serve with them and...voila. That was that folks. That was the open door I tirelessly sought!

Soon and very soon (like, less than 2 weeks soon) I will be making my way to the island of Cyprus and learn more of God's heart for the people in Paphos.

I have no trouble calling this a step of faith and no doubt that something good will come of this.

A few things I learned along the way:

- You cannot steer a ship unless it is moving. (Seriously though, within a span of 3 or 4 months, my heart went from Germany to Hungary to Ireland to Costa Rica to Cyprus).

- Wait when you are meant to wait, go when you are meant to go.

- Keep searching until you find the door that is open. Once you find that door, keep going through it until it closes.

- Passion is not an emotion. Passion is the steely determination to do what God has set before you.

- Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding and in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.

- God knows exactly what he is doing.

More on Cyprus and life soon. Please be praying.

#ccbce #prayforCyprus

We spend so much time allowing our shortcomings to skew our view of what God wants to do with us as individuals and as a body of believers that we completely miss the foundational aspect of the Gospel that we strive to share: When we are at our weakest, God is at His strongest.

Mark Robert Kastner

#GodsaidGO

Reading up on all things eczema,

and not enjoying a single moment of it.

Dear friends and family,

My skin has been doing crazy things that seem to be some form of eczema and it is progressively becoming more and more severe.

Autoeczematization, dyshidrosis, atopic dermatitis, phototoxic dermatitis, contact dermatitis. As if I know what these words mean.

PRAY FOR ME PLEASE! I need wisdom to be responsible about taking care of these things and finding a solution. Pray that this would not hinder me from serving effectively.

Much thanks.

Today in front of the Iranian Embassy in Budapest.

Keep praying for the freedom of Saeed Abedini!

#savesaeed #prayforsaeed #saeed abedini

Protesting for Peace, Protesting for Salvation

Iran has detained American citizen Pastor Saeed Abedini, on 9/26/12 because it views his Christian activities as a threat to its international security.

Saeed's wife, Naghmeh, has organized tomorrow (June 13, 2013) to be the day of Peaceful Demonstration in front of Iranian Embassies around the world in order to speak out about Pastor Saeed Abedini's imprisonment and the imprisonment of other Christians in Iran.

A group of us from Vajta are headed out to Budapest tomorrow to join in a silent protest in front of the Iranian Embassy in Budapest.

Friends, pray.

Pray for this demonstration. That would it help, not hurt the cause.

Pray that God would work in this, He is bigger than this situation.

Pray for the Abedini family.

#savesaeed #prayforSaeed #saeedabedini

Budapest (via Index - Instant árvíz)

Floods in Budapest. Pray for Hungary.

#Budapest #flood #Hungary

Budapest (via Index - Instant árvíz)

This is Budapest, Hungary right now. The Danube is flooding like never before.

Pray for Hungary.

#Danube #flood #Hungary #Budapest

On fighting the good fight.

Consumed a long shot of espresso first thing this morning.

Read the Biblia.

I even went for an afternoon 'clear my head and seek the Lord' jog. Barefoot in the aftermath of rain.

Each of these brought about the expected highs of the day, only to crash and burn in due time.

Read some more Biblia and later realized: Every day is a fight, a war, an epic battle of opulent proportion.

Faced with reality, the determination sets in. I must fight, less I fall. Every. Day.

Failure to do so leads to apathy. Victory leads to Jesus.

Now, apathy is a place I have dwelt that I shall never return to. This is not a matter of want, this is a necessity for growth in life. So help me God, I shall not return to a place of apathy.

Victory means closeness to Jesus. In this sense, victory may not always feel like victory. This, of course, is why we are not lead by that which we feel. This is fact.

The struggle to be closer to Jesus, to find Him in the midst of the storm and fog is not a struggle struggled in vain. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Not only is this a fact, this is a promise.

Alas, we must fight and fight we shall.

#james #devotionalthoughts

circa - Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe Spring 2013 Graduation

Who are these lovely ladies? Oh you know, only some of my favorites to laugh and cry and praise the Lord with on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

#calvarychapelbiblecollegeEurope #CCBCE #Vajta

On a Ledge

Sometimes I wonder how God is going to use little 'ol me in His plan for the world and it sets me on a dangerous ledge of the unknown. Like, what do I have to offer? I am just...weird.

Friends, this is why I love the book of Judges. It is full of the uncomely, the weak and so on and so forth. These same uncomely, weak folk are those that God used for glory and victory.

Gideon went into battle with trumpets and empty pitchers. When I go, wherever I go, I am going with my shears, harmonica and a wardrobe of various assorts.

Here I find myself again precariously perched on this dangerous ledge of the unknown. Maybe you are perched alongside myself. Here, we have two options:

Jump off the ledge and free-fall into the all-too clear and familiar land of your own insufficiency.

Stand up. Enjoy the view. Sing praises to the One that hand crafted everything that you see.

See friends? It is all a manner of perspective.

I am standing on the ledge of the unknown. Taking it all in.

God is going to do something through my nothingness and I am pretty stoked about it.

#perspective #journey

Kicking off the summer, Vajta style.

That means baked goods, sunshine and coffee.

#calvarychapelbiblecollegeeurope #Hungary

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