wow. well now i know why God had me go to st.louis. confirmation. that’s it. confirmation.
the summer is over, and what do i have to show for it? right now i’m not really sure, but i sure hope i find out…
-gabrielle
Y O U reign, you R E I G N, over everything L O R D you reign . . .
Filed under: trips on August 5th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
ok, so i really want to go to st.louis… and i just found out that i’m going! i’m super excited, but i felt really bad after they called everyone’s name that is going. the people that didn’t get to go looked super bummed, and then i felt super bummed. they chose seven guys and only three girls, it got me thinking about why i was chosen. there are older people that could’ve gone in my place. there are people who are stronger than me that could’ve gone in my place. there are people who lived in st.louis that could’ve gone in my place. but no, i’m going. i don’t know why, but i am…
-gabrielle
to K N O W your N A M E . . .
Filed under: trips on August 5th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
alright, week 6 of summer masters commission was bomb!!! i spent it in mexico working with the children at open arms ministry in La Mision and oh my gosh it was so awesome! open arms is a free day care for parents that can’t afford one, but they still need to work, so basically it’s a preventative orphanage because it enables the parents to work. plus they feed the kids breakfast lunch and a snack which saves money for the family. parents drop their kids off at whatever time they have to go to work and open arms will drive them to school and pick them up, and they have a Bible class every single day! they know so much about the Bible, it’s crazy. i love those kids!
anyway, i became pretty close with a little girl named Dolce. she is super smart, she understands the language barrier and uses her hands to get her point across. so me being who i am i taught her some words in sign language. simple stuff like thank you, please, mom, dad, brother, sister, girl, boy, God, and she already knew how to say Jesus! when i taught her the word friend, she pointed to both of us as if to ask if we were friends and my heart lit up, of course i responded si! she has an amazing voice and wants to be a singer when she grows up! she is so cute and i love her!
at the end of the week open arms talked to us about sponsoring children and i am going to be sponsoring Dolce! to be honest i don’t have the money to do this, but i also didn’t have the money when i started sponsoring Mourine Juma. so i’m trusting in God and my sister said that she would pay for 10 of the $25 so i’m so excited! i’m officially sponsoring two children! i really hope that i can sponsor more in the future, but i don’t have the finances right now, so i’m going to wait. maybe every couple of years i can sponsor a new child!!!
and i really want to know spanish . . .
-gabrielle
R I D me of myself i B E L O N G to Y O U . . .
Filed under: i hope that i can make a difference... on July 21st, 2008 | No Comments »
busy, that’s the only word to describe my life right now. busy . . .
-gabrielle
my F U T U R E is S E C U R E . . .
Filed under: random on July 21st, 2008 | No Comments »
ok, God has been working with me a lot lately on humility, being humble, fearing Him, and just plain getting over myself. it’s not easy.
i’m reading this book titled Humility: The Beauty of Holiness and it is bomb. written by Andrew Murray. basically, if you ever intend to do anything great for God, apart from reading your Bible, i recomend that you read this book. i could go on for quite a long time about how awesome this book is, but it would not do it justice. it’s so cool because it’s totally helping me understand Pursuit of God better; and trust me, i could use all the help in the world understanding that book.
books they’re great, but not as great as The Book.
oh, and God is the One who disciples me . . .
-gabrielle
S P E A K to me in the L I G H T of the D A W N . . .
Filed under: revelation on July 10th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Alrighty, this week we went to Vallejo, CA and it was super fun! On Saturday we worked at the Vallejo Outreach just working the kids section of the whole thing, which was pretty cool. Then on Sunday we did two children services at Church on the Hill, which is where we helped with Mega Sports Camp, pirate themed of course! Basically because we performed Jonah, which I’m proud to say that I played the part of Bratty Patty, although I screwed it up pretty badly, especially the second time. Oh well, you live and learn.
So during Mega Sports Camp I was entrusted with the 5 and 6-year-olds for soccer! The kids were so cute and on the last day a little boy named Adam made me a thank you card with a picture, which he drew, of me putting a gold medal around his neck, it was so cute! There were also two sisters that Gianna and I fell in love with. Their names were Ava, 5, and Analysse, 7. They were two of the cutest little girls that I have ever met. I’m not really sure what their story is, but every day their dad would pick them up with a baby. Then on the last day Analysse asked me if we would be at church and I had to tell her that we were going back home on Friday. So she asked where we live, and I told her in Arizona, she responded by saying that her mom goes to college in Arizona. I tried to figure out what city she was in, but Analysse didn’t know, I asked if she thought that she lived in Scottsdale and she asked me if there was a college in Scottsdale. I told her yes and she said that she was maybe there. She proceeded to tell me that her hair looked like hers; she wears glasses, and has a black backpack, just in case I saw her. My heart was going out to those two sweethearts. Ironically enough, on the last day Ava told me about four times that I looked like her mom. So at the end of the day we had to immediately get in the vans so we could get Esosa to the airport on time. I hugged Ava and then Analysse, not even realizing that Ava was crying! Analysse looked up at me and said, “My sister is crying because she doesn’t want to watch you go.” I looked at Ava, dropped all that I had, kneeled down and hugged her for as long as I could, until they told us to get in the vans. I simply can’t imagine what was going through her head if I looked like her mom, her mom was in Arizona, and now I was leaving to go to the exact same place that stole her mom from her. I wanted so badly to take those two sisters with us and go find their mom, but as you can imagine that simply wouldn’t have worked out. I guess that is just one way you can tell that we touched those precious children…
-gabrielle
now that i have H E L D you in my own A R M S , i C A N N O T let go . . .
Filed under: i hope that i can make a difference..., trips on June 29th, 2008 | No Comments »
ok, God isn’t happy with the Refuge. There is a purpose that each and every one of us is supposed to be fulfilling right now. Forget about your purpose for the future, you are supposed to be doing something right now. God made us young for a reason, each and every age of our lives we are to be breaking through and touching lives. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us. –Romans 8:18 stop worrying about the petty things that keep us from sharing His Word, they aren’t even worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed IN us. Not TO us, IN us. We’ve got to step it up so that this glory will be revealed. We have no more excuses; God has given us all that we need. When will we stop living for the minor things of this earth, swallow our pride, and put on the full armor of God? We’ve got to change…
-gabrielle
now that i have S E E N , i am R E S P O N S I B L E . F A I T H without D E E D S is D E A D . . .
Filed under: revelation, i hope that i can make a difference... on June 29th, 2008 | No Comments »
Ok, so this week we helped with VBS and it was a lot of fun and really stressful all at the same time. The kids were good, most of the time, and we tried our best to keep our spirits up. Although, by the end of the week we were all pretty frustrated and after a convicting talk with Brent I felt like we could’ve done better. Basically we are all squishy jelly doughnuts that suck air and roll in the dust collecting maggots. Oh, and he made a really good point, because people were complaining that it just felt like we were baby sitting, so Brent asked what the basic definition of baby sitting is and we all came to the conclusion that it was an older person watching after a younger person. So by that definition, all the leaders in the Refuge are baby-sitting the youth. So after that little pep talk I was pretty disappointed that we hadn’t tried harder, myself defiantly included.
Anyway, on Thursday there was a team that went to a lady’s house, named Laura, to clean it for her because she had just gotten out of the hospital where she had been for several months. Quite frankly this house was over run by cats and dogs. It took us a good 3 or 4 hours to clean three rooms and do her laundry and about 10 people went to help. It was a lot of work, but towards the end she stepped back and looked around and said, “It looks so beautiful in here,” as she was tearing up. I truly think that we made an impact in her life because while we were cleaning Nannette and Princess were singing worship songs and she asked them what they were singing and they responded by saying that they were songs that we sang at church. I thought it was pretty cool anyway.
So now that I’ve babbled for a decent amount of time I will leave you be…
-gabrielle
we C A N ‘ T expect to L I V E like this F O R E V E R . . .
Filed under: random on June 29th, 2008 | No Comments »
ok, so i want to go to the philippines, like a lot. i’ve prayed about it and i know that i am in God’s will, there are just two things standing in my way . . . $3,000 and my parents
the $3,000 is the very least of my concerns. i am willing to work hard for that money. my parents on the other hand are a very large concern. i understand their side, well kind of. i’m their “little baby”, i’m young, and it’s far away. now from my point of view, these are very weak arguments. i really don’t see a big difference weather i’m 15 or 17 years old. and for it being far away, i realize that it is far away, but why does it need to be close? it is a long journey, i know that, but what kind of difference does it make from mississippi? that was far away. i know not as far, but why would my parents need to come out? if i do get sick, and i’m not claiming that i would get sick, what would they be able to do? stare at me? i know that they would want to be there, but in reality they wouldn’t be able to help me. i know that sounds harsh, i’m pretty frustrated right now.
what if God has something magnificent planned? what if i miss out on it because my parents wont let me go? i can’t understand why God would tell me to go but wouldn’t speak to them. my mom said that the only way i can go is if she and my dad feel peace and joy in her hearts. my mom said that she prayed and still doesn’t feel peace or joy. i don’t understand what God is doing.
please pray for the situation, i severely need it . . .
-gabrielle
this life to D E C L A R E your P R O M I S E , my soul now to S T A N D . . .
Filed under: trips on May 23rd, 2008 | 1 Comment »
excitement is overwhelming my mind . . . summer masters is almost here! the last two years i really was excited to hang out and have fun, but this summer is different, i really want to buckle down and study the Word of God, i’m ready for change, and a lot of it. oh wow, i wish i could just fast forward the next four weeks of my life.
alrighty, so who is doing masters and who isn’t? please leave a comment with your answer and your thoughts, it is appreciated…
-gabrielle
i can’t I M A G I N E life without Y O U , cause it’s A L L for Y O U . . .
Filed under: random on April 29th, 2008 | 5 Comments »