The other side of the world.

This last week I have been working on sending out letters once again.

If you would like one please let me know in the comments. 

Yup! I'm going overseas this summer again.

I'm going to Southeast Asia.
(Due to security reasons I can't be more specific about this.)

I will be going with others from our church network. There were going to be many teams like ours there trying to share God and his love with those we meet. 

I'm excited about this. 

I'm lucky to work a job that would allow me to leave for the summer and return in the fall.

I will write more as time goes on.

I will use this place to post updates through the summer too.

Team 5 of 5

 The rest of the Interns and I are back home now.  We have been since Saturday. Our time went really fast there at the end. I will try to fill you in on how the Lord worked in our last few weeks in Italy. 

Here is Sydney's blog of our last team.  Check it out and how the Lord worked thru our last team. 

This team was a team full of faith.  They hit the ground in Italy knowing and hoping and praying for miracles.  They knew from the start the the Lord was going to do big things. They prayed to be used everyday.

From day one, prayer walking around the city, it was easier. There was a weight lifted off the city that had been there all summer.  Just like all the teams before they took what the last teams did and built on it.  Each night while teams were out on the street for ministry there was a team that interceded for them and the nation and the ETC movement. All summer we learned that prayer is powerful and needed. We decided to have a team praying while others were sharing on the streets.

The Lord worked through our short term team and our staff to bring many healings to those on the streets of the city. We were able to share His goodness and bring hope to many.  We met a group that came over on the boats and were able to give them bags, soccer balls and some food to make their first days and journey north a little easier.

I was able to attend a DBS and watch the word speak truth to three young men. I was also able to listen to a story that brought a young man to Italy and as a group we were able to speak truth and freedom to him and his heart. Two evenings that I will remember for a long time.

Jenga time.

Just this week we have been able to visit the home of Refugee Boys we discovered a few weeks ago.  On Tuesday we took games and spent the evening talking and laughing with the boys.  My teammate Nicole wrote the following after that evening. It is well said so I wanted to share it with you all.

Imagine being 15-17 years old and having to flee your country. Alone. Leaving behind your parents and siblings. Make an incredibly difficult journey across the Sahara desert at the mercy of traffickers. Be unjustly imprisoned, forced to work, beaten. See your friends get shot or drown in the Mediterranean Sea. You are sure you're going to die in the boat. But then, by the grace of God, you set your feet on European soil. You're placed in a home with other boys your age, but have nothing to do all day long. You're bored out of your mind, hot, often only being fed rice and water. You don't know the local language and your future seems to be at the mercy of the government who decides if you can be granted refugee status. Since you don't know the language, people sometimes assume you're dumb. But in reality you know 7 other languages and are quite brilliant. Dreaming doesn't seem like an option. You can't see past tomorrow, and your head has just never been right since that boat ride and seeing your best friend drown. And to top it all off, you miss your mom like crazy. You'd do anything for a hug from someone who loves you. You're only 15, far from home, and fending for yourself.

This story may seem drastic, but these are details we've heard over and over from African boys who have fled their homes for safety. Sadly, these stories are the norm. We've seen the scars and the tears. Tonight, we took a bag full of board games and card games to a house where 47 boys live. Despite language barriers, the boys all learned how to play the games and we had so much fun. The director of the home looked into the room and said with amazement, "Look, they're all laughing!" It was the simplest gesture, sitting down and playing games. We left the games at the house, simply having something to do during the days will help occupy their minds. These boys think we bless them, but truly our hearts were bursting with love when we left. They bless us so much. They always want to know how long until we go back to America, if they can come with us, and when we'll be at the house next. They are just regular boys who happened to be born in vastly different circumstances than you and me. They aren't bad, they don't have ill intentions, they aren't extremists. I wonder what the future looks like for these boys, and wish I could bring them all home. They've literally walked through hell and survived - I know God brought them through for a reason and has great plans for each one. We gave them all Bibles a few weeks ago. One boy told me tonight that he's been reading about Moses & James. In a few days we'll go back to start a Bible study in the house, for whichever boys want to come. God has opened the door to this home for such a time as this. These boys will likely end up in all parts of the world, and we are so thankful for this little window of time to pour into their lives and love them unconditionally. 

 We were back again last night in the home. The boys got out the games and brought them to us to play. Another few hours were spent playing games and talking with the boys.  One of them said as we left that it was so good for us to be there that we should come any free time we have because when we are there they don't have time to think about what they have been through or what they have left behind. Its a break. Its laughter. Its allowing them to be boys again.

This ministry looks so different than what we have been doing the rest of the trip. This is relational. This is just sitting and talking with the boys for hours. Its easy to get thinking that we aren't making a difference or an impact. But we are and maybe even greater than we do with those we chat with for 5 minutes on the side of the road. With these boys we are building relationships and showing them people do care about them.  They are worth it.

Its already Friday and our forth team leaves in three days.  It goes by so fast. Soon us staff will have to pack up and say goodbyes.  None of us are ready for that.  Please pray that us staff would take full advantage of these last few weeks we are here. That we would be bolder than ever and step out trusting the Lord will be there with us.  




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The third team.

I promised you more on our third team. Which is our second one from Waypoint. 

 Check out Sydney's blogs on our team page.  The first.  And the second.

This team came thinking about the big shoes they were to fill. This comes with following the Dschool and hearing all the stories and experiences from that. But we constantly reminded them that they weren't filling shoes but standing on shoulders.

We picked up trash at the Piazza that we do ministry at on a weekly basis.

Over the week the Lord was so kind and gracious to them. He called them to and laid before them just what they could handle and what they needed. For so many of them this was their first trip. (I personally love watching people on their first mission trips) Over the week we watched team members step out in bravery and share bits of their stories with strangers. We watched an 11 year old go up to people on the street and pray for them. We watched a team who was unsure step into what the Lord is calling them to be. There were moments of courage, of giant leaps of faith and of intense prayer that made this week unlike any of the others.

That has been the cool part. Watching the Lord work in each team and see how He uses each one to bring His kingdom here to Italy. This team was a little quieter and the Lord knew that so night after night he brought people to them to talk. They didn't have to go out and find them. He also opened huge doors for us to go into some of the housing for youth refugees. He brought relationships to them knowing it was going to be a bit harder for them to go searching for them.  Each team member was blessed and changed by their time here. 

My prayer, as with every team, is that that fire and that passion they experience here will go back home with them and ignite our church and city for Jesus. 

Over half way.

So our time here is over half way over. Not sure how I feel about that.  I am trying to stay in the here and now and not think about what it will be to go home.

We now have our third team here.  A bit about them later.

With the Sheffield team.

While Sheffield was here the Lord was hard at work in Sicily.  Check out our Intern blog about what the Lord did during their time here. 

In that short week He head many including a few on the team.  DBS/bible studies were started and we started to see people give their lives to the Lord.  This team stood on the shoulders of the Dschool team and took the Lords work further. 

It was wonderful how this group of strangers turned into family so quickly.  They were passionate about the Lord, powerful worshipers and prayers.  Since returning to Sheffield one team member has told me that "Sheffield is ignited at the moment from what we have brought back, lets hope we can keep fanning the flame." How generous of the Lord to continue what is happening here to go to Sheffield and begin to change that city.  

Thank you for your prayers.  This summer is amazing and the Lord is working in so many ways. This is in thanks in part to those of you at home praying for us that the Lord will use us. And he has.  So think you for your prayers and keep them coming.  We have started several DBS bible studies through out the city, pray that those attending will garb a hold of them and make them their own so that when we leave they will be able to continue.

Dschool was here.

We said goodbye to our first team on Monday.
That means only 4 more left. 
I'm not liking that. 

This fits so well. 

Check out our intern blog that Sydney writes. 

It was a great trip.  It was like a big family reunion too.  Because I helped with Dschool this year I felt like each member of that team was family. It didn’t matter who you got pair with for ministry because you wanted to be around them all, all the time.

One particular evening when we went out to the city to canvas for Unbound, I was paired with three others. Our goal was to talk to businesses and have them hang a poster up that says “Not in My City”. Unbound is a organization that works with raising awareness and stopping human trafficking. Check it out here and find out more about them.  Anyways, this evening came after a few evenings where I felt like a very small piece of the puzzle and not very instrumental in ministry.  (I am not a go up to a person and start talking to them type, so street ministry pushes and stretches me) So this night with a clear task laid before us I was feeling like I could be a part of this, I could succeed. Compared to how I felt other nights in ministry.  So with my team we finally found our section of town that we were to talk to the businesses about. All evening out joke was three Americans and a Mexican enter China town on an Italian holiday in Italy...   

All Jokes aside God showed up and make me feel so loved by him. It was our third or forth business. Clearly in Chinatown we were running into a communication difficulty with not knowing Chinese. So two of my team went into a Chinese Restaurant and I started praying like I had every other time. This time my prayer was along the lines of “Lord let them look at the poster and even if they don’t understand, let them point to a space on the wall and say this is empty you can hang it here.”  Not 5 seconds after I prayed that, an employee came out and pointed to a blank spot on the wall for our team to hang up the poster.  I just started to laugh and thank God for answering my prayer.  For days before I doubted so much if I was even making a difference. Doubted if my prayers made a difference. And here He was showing me that “Yes I do hear your prayers”. For the rest of the evening it happened almost just like that. I prayed for what I would like to see, and my Lord answered my prayers. By the time Dinner time came I felt so loved and so seen by God that no one could have convinced me otherwise. 


This is just one story of so many from this past week.  Each evening there were stories of healings of praying for and talking about Jesus with Muslims who normally wouldn’t. The Lord is moving here and he is using us interns and the Short-term teams to do it. 

It is such a privilege to be a part of what is happening here. Its going to be hard to go home in a few months.

Here are a few pictures of our week with Dschool.

Before ministry in the Piazza.

Connie (One of my Omaha Roommates and Friends) on top of one of Etna's craters

Picnic after hiking and praying on top of Etna.

A beautiful off day in a beautiful town full of tourists.

We made it!!

We are finally here. We have made it to Italy. 

Here is the blog that will be updated on a normal basis by Sydney, she is our Social Media Coordinator.  I will be blogging but this one will also have stories and updates and photos. 

Check the Blog out here.

Our first day was orientation, meetings on specific jobs we have and an evening at a "piazza" (city square) and had street food from a food truck for dinner.  It was a good intro day, tomorrow we will go into the city where we will be doing most of our ministry this summer.

becoming a team

Last night I had my team over. All of us interns, except one, in one place not for a meeting but for fun, to talk and get to know each other. 

Many of us know a few of each other really well.
Four of us went through Dschool last year together.
Two are in Dschool this year. But a few of them didn't know each other at all.

So over burgers at the picnic table we laughed and asked questions. We started to become a team. I can honestly say that I am more excited for this summer. I'm ready to spend the summer with these people. I'm ready to laugh all day. I'm ready to speak truth into their lives and have them speak truth into mine. 

We have three weeks till be get on a plane to Europe.

Please be praying for...

 continued unity for our team.

Josh and Rachel Ballard as they prepare for us and the short term teams to come over.

health and safety.

What's happening in Sicily.

Our church planter in Sicily sent us a video update last week. Follow the link below to check it out. It gives a good update on what our time there will be about. 

Link to Josh Ballard's update.

Also Antioch shared this photo and caption on Facebook this morning and wanted to share it with you all.

 

I am less than a month out from leaving. My support is coming in and I have all faith that I will be supported fully when I leave the country. The Lord has  been so good through the whole process. He is so good and I can't wait to see what He is going to do this summer in Sicily and I am so honored and thankful to be a part of it. 

Thank you for supporting me and following me on here. Please pray that our internship team will be unified this summer and that we are able to encourage and pour into Josh and Rachel and their kids. Prayers and all the logistics of a movement this big go smooth. Prayers for health and safe travels too. 

Thank you. Thank you.

a little over a month to go.

There is just over a month to go before stepping on a plane to Sicily.

From the moment I said yes to The Lord about this trip I have been excited and at peace.

I am not yet counting down the days because a little bit of me is sad to leave my friends and family here in Omaha behind for the summer. I will miss out on bonfires and bike rides, walks and concerts in the park, holidays and just spending time outside with friends. I will miss church on Sundays when it feels like I am surrounded by family. I will miss Outreach week with the refugees here at home and watching their soccer games, coached by my sister.

But there is so much I am excited about and looking forward to this summer.

Getting to know some of my teammates better. 

Spending days loving people.

Cooking with Italians in their kitchens. (I really hope this happens)

Leaving America and most things American behind. 

Traveling/flying

Exploring new places.

Watching the Lord work thru our team and the teams that come over. 

Being able to serve our church planters.

The sea.

Watching God change hearts and bring freedom and hope.

So in the next month and a little bit I will be packing and running errands (like the eye doctor and the car shop), possibly working some of my last days at my job. I will be saying see-you-laters. I will be deciding what journal to use and how many different colored pens I should take. I will be getting to know my teammates and how we will work together as a team.  I will continue to Trust God through it all and thank him for the peace he has given me. 

A little video clip.

Follow the link below to watch a clip of Pastor Silas explaining why we are going to Sicily and the heart behind it. 

See Interview here.

Peace

Many have been asking how my support is going.  And till last night I had no idea. But at the same time I was not worried at all.  I know that this is where I am suppose to be. I know that the Lord wants me in Sicily this summer.  

 Maybe you are asking why. 

The simple quick answer is peace. Now as I prepare for this trip, more that any of the other times before trips, I have peace. I don't even know how to explain it really. It is a sense that everything is going to be good. Perhaps this is because I have sound some freedom from fear, especially around mission trips.

But more than that I believe its because I have let go and am fully trusting Him with this.  There are so many questions and unknowns, which usually my planner self would want to know. But I am okay not knowing. I am okay just sitting back and letting others organize and figure out the questions. I am okay with each day giving it over the the Lord knowing that He knows way more that I do. And in His hands its safer. In His hands its a sure thing. In His hands is love and hope and freedom.

The support update I got last night has me at $1452 raised. I still don't know what the final cost of the trip will be. Its has been estimated at over $6000.  Which puts me just over a 6th of the way there.  I do know that in April they will be purchasing our plane tickets. I believe this cost is around $1200. Which means I have made that goal. THANK YOU!

If you are interested and haven't bought one yet my tshirts are only on sale till tomorrow (23 March) evening.  I have sold 26 and am hoping for at least 30 by the end of the sale. That is 4 more in the next day.  Please go HERE to purchase one.

A little check in

Hi everyone!  I am just over 2 months from leaving for Sicily.  As each day passes I get a little more excited and sure that this is where I am suppose to be. 

I went down to IHOP in Kansas City (the prayer house not the pancake place) for prophetic prayer with the Discipleship class. I got two words from people who don't know me at all and don't know my plans for Sicily, that spoke into Adventure and Going Places. How cool.  Thank you Jesus for confirmation.

I did get an update on how to give online through our church's givingfire page. Visit it here. There is now an “Engage the Crisis-Interns" option from the pull down tab. You can select that and still put my name in the additional comments section below at the bottom. As long as my name is attached to your support it will get to my account.   Thank you if you have already given and if you have not, please pray about being part of this with me.

I posted last week but I am still selling my T shirts and will be till the 23rd. I have sold 22 so far and have a goal of 50. So 28 more to go.  If you would like to buy one please go to Bonfirefunds to purchase one.

 

I don't think there is anymore updates to share. I continue to wake up each day and befoe I can start ot worry about things I tell the Lord "I trust you". What a great gift we have in Him that He can be trusted and that He is so good and so loving towards us.

Letter #2

I have sent out most of my second letters.  If you did not get one and would like one. Please let me know. It gives some specific prayer requests and goes into what I will be doing this summer just a bit more. 

 An up close view of the meat of the letter.

Shirt for Sicily.

Hi everyone!

 I posted on Facebook but also wanted to share here. I with a lot of help from a friend designed a shirt and am selling it to help fun my and others trips to Sicily this summer.   Check it out. Please buy a shirt and share with your friends. They even ship internationally. 

Check out my Shirt for Sicily here.

Lots of bagels and orange juice.

We had our first team meeting today. Really it was all information passed along to the team.  We got packets of paperwork.  I will share with you a few things that stood out to me.

1.  We don't have to wear skirts and we can wear tank tops.  A little blessing. I'm excited to be in warm weather and don't have to dress in long pants or skirts. Yay!

2.  Our day doesn't end till 12am. Yes you read that right MIDNIGHT. Now if you have been around me at all in the last 3-4 years you know that I like to go to bed early. Last night I was in bed (not asleep) by 8pm.  I wake before 5am so going to bed early is a must. So I'm not sure how I will stay awake till 12.  My team will have to keep me entertained or keep elbowing me to keep me awake. I usually hit a wall at 9:30.  Good luck to me.

3. Our trip cost, which has not been completely figured out has been estimated at $6300.  Yes that shocked us all on the team.  That is a large number. But I have to remind myself that this is Europe not Africa.  And that the Lord has called me to this, so He already knows that the money will come in.  Several key factors in the cost of the trip are still being figured out so the cost could be below that. Please pray that housing for my team and I (the Interns) are found.  This is just one more place for me to say "Yes, Lord I trust you". 

If you feel led to give and support me financially this summer I thank you. Please go HERE and choose Sicily and in the optional comments section put Rebecca Arnold. As long as my name is attached to the gift it will go towards my trip. 

My support letter.

A little business-- numbers

I sent out many letters and depending on what draft you got. The estimated amount of the trip will be either $3,300 or $4,500.  

Why the change? 

Its because it is all an estimation. I am hoping soon that we will get an actual number. We were told that it could be as high as $5400.  I'm trusting the Lord that it doesn't get that high.  As soon as I get a final number I will post on here and probable put together a PDF that I can email out to people.

If you haven't already please go back to my homepage, unless you are there already, and sign up to follow by email.  This will let you get all my updates on here in your email.

Our Neighbood Refugee Outreach

Last week I was past of a team headed by my sister to teach, love, mentor, and spend time with the refugees that live in the neighborhood surrounding our new church building. Since the very beginning, when this was known as the sight of our church building, my sister and a couple of others have spent time almost weekly playing with these kids. So two years or so later we are at home in our new building and thanks to my sister and her heart for the kids have an in with the neighbors. So outreach week was to further these relationships and to show this community that we care about them. 

If you ask anyone on our team, all would say it was a success. From the bounce house on monday to VBS daily under the big tree to the movie and popcorn to close out the week.

It was great to see my sister at work with her passion.
It was great to see Waypoint show up and volunteer and get to know our neighbors like some of us already do.
It was great to see the kids get excited about our church, always wanting to see the inside but having to wait till the movie on Friday.
It was great to see new relationships formed and old ones strengthened. 
It was great to hear the laughs and see the smiles on everyone's faces.
It was a great week.


Thank you Jesus for giving my sister this passion and for putting our team together in a perfect way.

Lord, I ask that you continue to help Waypoint become part of this neighborhood and community. Help us to help and care for our neighbors. Show us how to be you to those who know you and those who don't.