This Is Mercy

Last night I went to visit my Irish girl friends before they flew out today to go home for the summer. I showed up late around 10 and stayed out till past 1. Shhh, dont tell. Thats not the point of the story. There were 5 girls and one guy living together in this condo by the beach. THey are so sweet and so fun to be around. I sat down to chat and the boy Rob started asking me why I was here. After explaining myself he said, are you like a Jehovah's witness? I asked him what the believed and he gave me this crazy image of a hellish purgatory that you spend time in after death and then go to some hypothetical heaven. Then he asked me what I believed. First words out of my mouth was Jesus. So we spent the next few hours, with another girl named Sinead, discussing so many aspects of the gospel. I got to share my story of faith and even my testimony. I would break out into random smiles as I considered my surroundings. Sitting on a couch in California, sharing my story of grace with these Irish kids. The Church in Ireland sounds so dead. Everything I told them was backwards from what they encounter, its irrelevant to their generation. Its old and boring!!! I told them about what it means to be saved, and have a relationship with Christ, and why I don't drink or have sex, and why I live my life the way I do. I explained to them the meaning of grace and freedom in Christ. It was the most beautiful picture. THey listened intentfully. Their minds are blocked by the need for physical evidence of the validity of Christ and the Bible. I asked them, I wonder if you tasted the way I have been raised for a day, would you be satisfied? I know that God is doing a great work in the lives of these people. I love them with the love of Christ and want so badly for them to not only believe but live a full and abundant life. I got their email addresses and look forward to keeping in contact with them.

Today Amanda, my deaf friend flew home. Its hard to believe and I can hardly comprehend it. She has been sick since weve been here. Everything from pink eye, to pneumonia, a bladder, kindey, yeast, and gall bladder infection. She needs surgery and thats why she went home. It happened in a matter of hours. I choose to believe again the good things I know to be true of GOd. I am continually considering the things that GOd taught me this summer through dealing with her. I Still dont know what she learned or what changed in her this summer. My heart breaks, I want so badly for her to be changed. I praise God for my time with her and trust in expectation of the good things He will do in her life. OUr God is a master planner and uses abrupt endings in His stories.

A God Who Sees Us

Hi friends. I only have 9 days left. Pretty crazy. Things have been pretty drastic and radical around here. Things at Sea World are going well, I feel like my attitude is progressively getting better. I had a wonderful birthday! I went surfing, ate blueberry muffins for breakfast, shared the gospel on campus, had a party at a local coffee shop, and got a free piece of Kahlua cheesecake. My birthday rocked. I got to spend two hours reflecting on what God is teaching me here in California and also on my last 20 years of life. I spent some time wondering about what adulthood looks like for me. Im really excited. I find alot of freedom in it. Its like I have the freedom to make my own decisions and trust God in them. I feel like my childhood closed and the doorway to living a Godly adult life was flung wide open.

I had an incredible experience at church the Sunday before my birthday. By the way, my friends form Texas came to surprise me for my birthday. Brian and Christy are so much fun! They used to live twenty minutes outside San Diego. We checked out some beaches, at Hawaian food, Starbucks, and they dropped me off at the Padres game. THey are so good to me and a true example of pursuit in friendship. So the Sunday they were in I had a chance to really sit before the Lord and express some of the true raw emotions I was feeling. Alot of the hard times Ive gone through this summer were just straight up not fair. And what I thought this summer was going to be like has been nothing like that. And inspite of all that God is good and has a wonderful plan for the things that He planned for me to learn this summer. So after many tears and honesty before the Lord, this thought came to mind and has stuck with me ever since. I have to "choose to believe the good things I know of God to be true." That brought so much ease to my pain. Thank God for church a Sunday morning to refresh me. I have also learned this summer that God is a God who sees. He sees HIs people, and what goes on amongst them. HE sees me and my hard times, my laughter, my tears, my thoughts, and what happens to me. I feel so often that I have to be heard, but when I believe that He sees me- all that goes away.

I spent an afternoon with my friend Danae, who I met through our biblestudy at the Deaf coffee night. She is learning ASL, is married, and has two kids. I went to the park with them and I asked her oldest son Nikeo (meaning conqueror- we are more than conquerors in Christ found in Romans). I asked him, age 5, what the thinks about Jesus. He says, and I quote, "Jesus- He is good. He died on the cross to save me from my sins, He raised from the dead, He walked on water, He does good and not bad, and He heart is sooo big." It was the sweetest thing Ive heard. Made me choke up, oh to have the faith of a child.

I see You in the shoreline breaking, Im stepping over my Maker's line

Here's a picture of what it looks like out my kitchen windown. Pretty awesome, I'd sure say so.

So I went and ate Vegan food last night with my friend Alexis and of course "my Vegan friend Tony." Its was great. I had a pad thai soy chicken wrap. It was delicious, seriously I'm not lying. After that we went to Trader Joe's an ever famous health food store and bought soy ice cream. Sounds crazy, but once again it was delicious!!! I really enjoyed my time with him. We continues to ask me these challenging controversial questions that come up in Christianity. My prayer is that my answers will be less of me and more of Christ. Im still praying for Tony. Im home that one of these days he might come to church with me. That would be great.

Sea World is still working me over. Im thankful cause I got today off. I spent some time with Amanda. My group around me has been the biggest support for me. My time with the Lord is of so much value to me. I literally retreat to the beach after a blow up with Amanda. I find so much rest at the beach, to me it is one of God's greatest inexplicable expressions of creation. I love it. And I love meeting Him there and reading His word. I dont know where I'd be this summer with out those times. God has used so much scripture from Psalms and Isaiah to speak to my heart. Its great! Things with Amanda are hard to explain. Her out bursts are less frequent but worse everytime. Its hard, I am learning so much about patience and in many ways parenting. Her reactions more often then not are that of a child. So I am thankful for that. The more I read this verse the more it becomes apparent to me what I am learning from dealing with Amanda. 2 Corinthians 3:8-12 "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So that death is at work in us, but life in you." That is the basis of my time with Amanda. I continually die to myself so that Christ will be made more apparent to her and others. More death in me, more life in Christ. Its hard, really hard, and Im not a champ at it. But I am thankful for the experiences to have the chance to say such things.

Other cool story showing God's specific purpose for me here this summer. I continue to meet more Irish people here and I learn something new everytime I do. There is so much prior understanding of Christ in these people. They know full well who He is, but they are lacking the understanding of experiencing Him in their life. Time and time again I hear, "I was raised in a Catholic family. My grandparents are really strict and religious. My parents not as much. But my generation has very little reguard for religion. Churches are full of old boring people. We drink, we party, we live our lives, and we sometimes go to church." But when they meet my friends and I from Crusade and see how we make Him first in our life and everything falls in line behind they are astounded. They say we have nothing like you in our country. They dont know what it means to live and experience God fully. They are totally missing it! Drinking is in their genes, which comes with the life of sex and parties. Its been so interesting to ask questions and pick their brains about dating, marriage, religion in Ireland, the church, the culture, drinking, etc. Last night I celebrated my friend Sean's birthday after vegan food with Tony. They all work at the bike shop together. Which is the same place I met my long lost cousin Decklan Lavelle. :) Who by the way, yelled "Hey Lavelle" from across the street two days ago. I smiled so big. It was grand! Its the little things that God does to bless us. So we celebrated his birthday at a resturant and then went back to their place for a little bit of substance abuse for lack of better words. Which I did not partake of. My point in being there (with my friend Alexis who is a boy and could have my back) was to show that I am not above them even though I dont drink. That I do not condone their lifestyle, but I dont judge them and that they are still my friends. There were three Irish girls there and I got the number of one of them. I love how God opens doors to those who are wise and look for opportunities to do what might not look right but trusting God at the same time. Sean, the birthday book, asked me if I thought less of him for what he was doing. And I explained my purpose in being there. And he looked me in the face and said, "well whatever you came here do to, you have done." Meaning, he got my point and did not feel condemned. What freedom in Christ we have to do that. I enjoyed myself and learned alot from going. And... I love Ireland so what a blessing.

Thank you for supporting me in my efforts to relate with workers from Sea World, Irish friends, and Vegan surfers. I know I may only be one encounter, but for some of these people I am one of the first they have met like me. Someone who loves Christ and puts him first in my life. I am so grateful for all of the people I have met and look forward to praying for them and relating with them in the next few weeks to come. Blessings!

Happy Forth of July Everyone

Hey all. Its been a while since I posted. Here are some great things the Lord has been doing.

-My relationships at Sea World are definitely growing. I pray for my co workers alot while Im working. Im learning what its like to be a witness by setting a good example. Alot of people are watching me constantly to see my attitude and how I react to things. So obviously its crucial for me to be Christlike in that way. I work alot... so that wears me out and Im not always super excited to be there, but it is a blessing either way.

- My vegan friend Tony and I have many more conversations about faith, food, and drinking. He is way into the party scene, but he is becoming more and more open to the truth. Which is exciting. And plus.... Im making new friends which is never a bad thing. The other day we were discussing animal sacrifices in the Bible and how a compassionate God could condone such a thing. So I explained the need for an atonement for peoples sins and how animal sacrifices fulfilled that need. Then Tony put two and two together and said (and I quote) "So that means that Christ is the atonement for our sins." BINGO! Sad part is, he gets it intellectually but not in his heart just yet. But, all in all I am excited about our friendship and the many more conversations to be had.

-My Deaf friend Amanda that is hear is continuing to struggle to be here. And to be really honest, its not becoming any easier for me. Every day is a constant stretch to die to myself. And to be even more honest, I run out of patience after so many days in a row. We have our good days, but everyday is something new to work through. Amanda gets frustrated rather easily, and it doesnt take much for her to get aggitated. She expects alot out of me and demands for people to cater to her needs. Sounds like a rough time, however she has lived a reallllly hard life and alot of her attitude results from these trials. This is no excuse, mostly an explaination as to why. So... I interpret for her and try to serve her while still drawing some personally boundaries. Its funny because more often than not, her attitude reminds me of how we are to Christ. When I try to serve her and she is being completely stubborn, I am reminded of the perfect patience Christ has for me in my sin. So, please pray for life change for Amanda, and patience for me as God uses me to sharpen her and myself at the same time.

-Cool thing, every Friday night after our large group meeting called Friday night live (worship and a speaker) we split into small groups for discussion. My group has the opportunity to go to a Deaf coffee chat so Amanda can interact with the people there. Myself and my friend Jenna serve as interpreters at the Deaf coffee chat. Every Friday Deaf people from the local Deaf community come and hang out at the coffee beanery. So we join towards the end and start our biblestudy, inviting anyone to join. There are usually 6-10 people that join us each time- most of them believers. Its a wonderful way to end the week, and a highlight of my role here on project. Best part is, they said they want to keep it going after my leave. Praise God.

-Last story, as some of you know my family is of Irish heritage and it has been my dream for many years to meet someone from Ireland with the same last name as me. As I have mentioned before there are thousands of Irish students here on Visa for the summer. The other day, at the same bike shop I met Tony (the vegan) I met this kid named Dacklyn from Ireland. So I tell him my story of how I'd love to meet someone with the same last name as me in Ireland. And he says whats your last name and I say Lavelle. And he looks at me like no way... thats his last name!!!!! We had a good laugh, I was so excited. I told him we are probably long lost cousins. So heres to God blessing me in an awesome silly way.

Love you all. Thanks for your prayers.

Everything Under the Sun

Hey yall. Im ending a very hard but good week. I am refreshed at the hard work that I put in and the rest that it is yet to come. Ive had lots of great conversations this week that I wanted to share with you.

The first was at a small community campus. My group of about 10 goes every Monday. We do surveys, pass out water, enter people in to Starbucks drawings, and just strike up conversation with students on campus. I had the opportunity to share the gospel with a girl named Christina. Her heart was really open to her some refreshing words that hadn't been explained to her in this way before. Surprisingly she has grown up in church and had never had it explained to her in that way. It reminded me of the necessity to preach the gospel to each other, not just to people who have not yet believed. We cant go to church and not hear the gospel, we'll miss the point and grow up never knowing. She hasn't chosen to give her life to the Lord just yet, but she is really open and has more questions for me. We exchanged numbers and are already in touch. Ill keep you updated on her.

Second, another girl named Christina that I met on the beach two nights ago (something about that name huh?). She was really upfront with me in that she is a believer but struggles with homosexuality. We spent some time talking about freedom in Christ, how is grace delivers us, and the potential that He has for her life. It was a great conversation, I really appreciated her authenticity with me.

Yesterday I spent some time at a local bicycle shop with my friend Andy. He is a hardcore vegan and so we both stand on our soap boxes (mine being Christ) and exchange words. Its alot of fun! My hope is that he will convert to Christianity and maybe Ill convert to being a vegetarian. Let me tell you, its gonna be just as hard to convince me to not eat meat as for him to accept the Lord (hope that makes sense). Im excited to chat with him. He makes me laugh and we enjoy our conversations. So yesterday I went in there and there was this other kid from Ireland named Killian, and another guy named Rob who is mostly likely the most stereotypical California man Ive ever met. Middle aged surfer, ridiculous blonde hair, alcoholic, tan leather skin, basically a beach bum. Nothing against him, we chum along just fine. He blows me away with the stuff he says though. Hes like something from a movie. So picture this. Me, Rob the surfer bum, Andy the Vegan, and Killian the hardcore agnostic = an hour and a half of incredible converstaion. We covered it all, surfing, drinking, Ireland's history, Catholicism, and the gospel. I will admit it was a reallllly hard conversation. Killian kept me on my toes. He is a philosophy and English major and he knows his stuff! His heart was so hardened it made me really sad. He was blown away by my beliefs in Creation, anti-abortion, Christ, you name it he was against my beliefs. But... I got a fresh look into the life of a kid raised in southern Ireland, as a catholic, who is a far cry from believing God, and his completely into the drinking scence. Hear me out, I dont judge him at all. I learned alot from him. I walked away from that two hours hair blown way back, heart broken for these lost "live for the moment" fellas, and a greater understanding of present day Ireland.

Praise God for these incredible encounters. All in one week! Thank you for being part in God's efforts to share the gospel. My heart is pleased to know that I am hear because God blessed me with you to have opportunities like these. Gods heart is for every people group: student, homosexual, vegan, drunkard, surfer, agnostic, and people like me- who struggle to rub shoulders with all of these. I LOVE IT!

Hi friends. This is what Im learning right now.
- God is my Father and fills all voids.
- I need Him in everything I do, including my rigourous job at Sea World (its HARD!)
- That He loves me reguardless of my accomplishments and inabilities.
- I cannot rely on my own strength for ANYTHING!
- That when I am not enough in one area, He is more than enough in every area of my life. When I feel like I can't, I am not a failure to Him as long as I work for His glory (mainly with Amanda my Deaf friend and at Sea World).

Please pray for my work week this week. Im struggling to get the job done and they gave me a ton of hours. I really want to connect with people on the job and I feel like my job is too fast pace to do that. Also pray for patience as I work with Amanda and try to strike a balance in living in a hearing and Deaf world. Im looking to connect the two and I am the mediator in my condo. What a place for God to put me. WOW!

Love you all.

Hey everybody! This is gonna be quick cause Im using the public library computer and I only have 6 minutes left. Some amazing things have been going on so far. Here are the things that I am most thankful for. My job at Sea World, my condo full of 12 other great s, lots of opportunities to share my faith, and the authenticity of the people here on project. My two biggest prayer requests for now is patience with my Deaf friend, its been a whole lot harder than I expected. She gets really frustrated sometimes and being the only person in the condo that can sign is very challenging. But Im learning alot dying to myself daily. Ok and last thing is that my bike got stolen and Im tring to figure out what to do. So pray that God would show me how to make a wise decision and spend money wisely. Loev you all!