week two!

Hi supporters!

Thank you so much for following me on this journey to North Carolina. We have just started our second week of ministry out here and it has been pretty rad. I’ve been learning a lot about the Lord, myself, and others through conversation and just quiet time with the Lord. Manual labor has been tiring on my body but I’ve found a lot of value in proper sabbath and the commandment to observe the sabbath. It’s crazy to think that God, the man in control over everything and who has the power to do whatever he pleases, still took a sabbath after creating the world. At home, I never observed sabbath in a Christ centered way and it left me exhausted still. Last year I briefly scratched the surface of what sabbath is, but here, with proper guidance and understanding, I really have learned to find value in it. It’s a habit I would like to continue when I return home.

Working at the thrift shop has been quite the adventure. I never was the type to enjoy thrifting, but working at a thrift shop has definitely increased my understanding and appreciation for it. From learning how to sort though clothes donations to cashiering, ive got to see the Lord move in a lot of the guests who come through. It’s awesome hearing their brief stories and helping to support a community God has anointed. It definitely took adjustment in the beginning to see this kind of work as ministry. I knew it was benefiting God’s kingdom by helping to fund the orphanage, but I didn’t see it directly impacting the children. Like in my last email, I’ve been learning to understand that I may never see the fruit of my labor yet the Lord is still using it for his good.

Something that I learned this past week was God’s character of Jehovah rapha- the Lord who heals. It’s been crazy. I always knew God as a healer and as one who could heal but I never was one to experience it per say for myself. I’ve heard stories of other’s miraculous healing but never directly encountered it. I knew God still performed miracles but always believed God’s miracles of today were so less significant and so different than those in the Bible. It sounds bad but I honestly doubted God in his power to perform mighty miracles for me and in my life. Late last week one evening, some of my teammates gathered around the campfire on campus to worship. A lot of you have heard and have been praying for my teammate with Pots syndrome. At the end of our worship session, our team’s mentor felt led to pray for healing over people who were hurting and in physical need of restoration. My teammate with pots sat in the chair and we prayed over her. To be quite honest, I was terrified. What if God heard our prayers but didn’t answer them? That would have been embarrassing. But low and behold, God knew the worries of my heart. We prayed, the amen was said, and my teammate was in tears, shocked at what the Lord had done for her. She felt a physical weight lifted off her shoulders and neck. The neck pain, headaches, dizziness, and nausea she had experienced everyday suddenly disappeared that night in Jesus’ name. The next morning, she was jumping around and doing work with us. The sickness that normally would have limited her ability to work around midday no longer existed. It was a miracle! One that I got to witness for myself. A true testimony of how the Lord moves in our lives still to this day. A week later, today, my teammate is still thriving, going strong and serving others with a huge heart. Our team continually thanks God for that experience we got to share together and the healing in our teammate. We head into week two in excitement for the things God will continue to do.

Thank you for continually keeping my team in your prayers. We head out to Kentucky this weekend for a tent revival. Pray that we will have safe travels to and from there. Pray that we won’t lose momentum in our ministry as we approach week two here. And please pray that we will continue to encounter God.

Thank you,
Allison