sammjane's Xanga

In Ecuador!

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:28:52 GMT

Hello Xanga family!

I am currently in Ecuador at an internet cafe on a spanish keyboard that I´m not quite sure how to type on. haha. The Lord has really been working here, from blessing my poor spanish skills to striking up worship on a car ride to the jungle. More updates soon to come!

The day has come

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:39:59 GMT

In 24 hours, I will be in Ecuador. There, I will spend the next 2 months of my life doing missionary work. :)

Thanks to everyone who helped me get there. I raised $100 this year, which went towards buying tents for groups, supplies for projects, and the furthering of God's kingdom. Thank you so much.

See you in 2 months! :)

Isaiah 6:8

Loved?

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:05:43 GMT

"Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance... Love lasts forever!"

That's 1 Corinthians 13:7-8. We read the "love chapter" (1 Corinthians 13) at youth group last night, and when reading this verse, I thought of an interesting question:

If this is the true definition of love, and love is supposed to never give up, never lose faith, endure through anything, and last forever, is there such a word as "loved"? Loved is love in the past tense, meaning at one point you did love something, but now you don't. You have lost your love for it. My thought was, if true love lasts forever, were you truly in love with something if you now say you "loved" it?

Now, I don't mean like, "Hey, how was dinner?" "I loved it". I mean "I loved so-and-so... but not anymore". I guess this applies to people rather than things. I see lots of people throwing the word "love" around too easily nowadays, especially when dating, for instance. People break up and then say "Yea, I loved them." Does the past tense form of the word love mean that you no longer love them? Did your love fail? Were you really in love? Was your love the true love the Bible talks about? It's an awkward situation to think about, and very hard to explain. When you think of the word "loved", what comes to mind?

Thoughts?

7 days

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:54:20 GMT

Until I leave for Ecuador.

All Women Should Move To Ecuador

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 04:40:32 GMT

As the "2 weeks until I leave for Ecuador" deadline quickly approaches, I'm trying to organize myself and make a list of everything I need to pack. Toothbrush, towel, shampoo, the works. Since my trip is 7 weeks long, I've got to pack quite a lot of stuff, but limit it to the 50lbs my airline will let me carry. With that packing list and 50lb limit, I hit a speed bump:

What do I wear???

As many women can tell you [especially us teenage girls], what you wear is important! Many women spend hours choosing outfits even before the occasion happens! We spend lots of money on clothes, and want them to represent who we are. We must look fashionable and attractive in them. We must match. Our clothes must be perfect! But then I realized, this will not apply to me in Ecuador. No one is going to care what I wear. I must look modest, but my fashion sense isn't going to define me down there; my works are. My awesome shirt I payed $20 for isn't going to spread the love of Jesus; my works are. How well that sexy pair of skinny jeans fits me isn't going to inspire someone through the love of Christ; my works are.

So when it came to packing for a 2 month journey, I will be bringing this:

A 5 pack of white V-necks, those kind that men buy from Hanes.
A few long sleeved shirts.
Some jeans.
A nice dress for church.

Simple, yes? Of course I'll pack pajamas and such, but I want you to get the idea that when doing something for the Kingdom [which is what your whole life should entail], please ladies, don't worry about how pretty your clothes are, how good they make you look, or any of that other crap that society tells us we need to worry about. Sure! We deserve to look good, but don't let clothes run your life. Don't let your clothes define you, let what you do define you!

Who's with me?

An old friend

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:38:14 GMT

So I was at work about 6 months ago, and I was talking to a coworker about only wanting to date someone Christian, so I said out loud, "Well, he has to love God." I'm ripping tickets for theaters and directing people where to go while having this conversation [great work ettiquite, right? haha] and the guy I rip the ticket for goes, "I love God!". This was an awkward attempt to hit on me, and he was obviously buzzing on something, so I didn't think much of it. Then a while later when I was about to leave to go on my lunch break, that same guy stops me and we spend the next 30 minutes talking about God. He was asking me questions about God, and what He does in people's lives, and how he was supposed to connect with Him. The guy mentioned that the only way he knew how to be with God was to draw, because he really wasn't a go-to-church kinda guy. I had to part ways with him, but I gave him my e-mail because it was safer than a phone number, and because he wanted to show me some of his artwork. I told him to stay faithful to God and everything would work out. He never did e-mail me. It was really weird, but very awesome too.

Then, yesterday, I'm at work ripping tickets again and I look up and see the same guy! I was like, "Hey! I remember you!" He remembered me too, and gave me a big smile. He said he was doing good, and wasn't buzzing tonight. I told him to keep it up, and he went on his way. Then later he comes back up to me with a piece of paper with a beautiful drawing on it of vines and such, and he signed it for me. His name was Ben. I told him, again, to stay close to God, and he replied with saying that God's got a path for him.

My manager mentioned that he comes in from time to time and is always buzzing on something, and she's had to ask him to leave, so I should be careful, but I felt God tugging on my heart for this man. He looked pretty young, mid-20's I'm assuming, so he's got a long life ahead of him. I pray that he keeps being faithful to God and that God blesses Him times ten. Please pray for Ben, because I think he needs it. :)

What do you need prayer for?

1 month

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 02:52:29 GMT

Until I leave for Ecuador!

Bible in 90 days?

Mon, 11 May 2009 21:26:09 GMT

Recently I started reading a daily bible. Every day you read a few pages that are marked out by day and in a year, you'll have read the entire bible. This is awesome because I'd like to read the entire bible, but since I started in the middle of the year, I'm having some trouble. Some of the stories are starting in the middle and I feel the need to go back to January 1st and start from the beginning, but then, of course, that's just screwy with days and numbers and such. Then I found a 90 day bible. It's the same concept, but you do it in 90 days. That's even better because I'm impatient and want to read more than one day at a time on some days. With the 90 day plan, you read 12 pages a day [which is a bigger commitment, but quicker] and in 90 days you'll be done. One the one hand, I've already got a daily bible, and it will work just fine. On the other hand, I really want the 90 day bible, but it costs $20. Should I just stick to my daily bible and start back in January?

I made a biblical fail.

Fri, 08 May 2009 12:47:58 GMT

One night at youth group we did this exercise that was kind of like speed dating to get us to mingle and know each other better. We sat in rows facing one other person and there was a sheet of paper that asked questions like: "What's your favorite food?" "Favorite childhood memory?" "Favorite worship song?" Etc. and once you had spent a minute or so with one person, the line would rotate and you'd now be sitting in front of a new person, who would tell you about themselves. It was really fun, and I actually met my new best friend through it, but... I totally made a biblical fail.

When it came to sit in front of my ex, Greg, who's like, Mr. Biblical Scholar, he decided asking the question on the page weren't good enough, and made some up. I don't remember the first question he asked, but I answered it unscathed, but then came the kicker: "If you could ask God for one thing, and one thing only, what would it be?" Of course, I had to answer first, so I quickly answered, "A long and happy life."

There it was. Biblical fail.

Mr. Biblical scholar of course whips out a glorious, straight from the Bible answer that was something to the effect of being able to give all of himself to God and use all his strengths to save the people of this world so that they might know the love of Jesus Christ.

Wow. I felt sooooooooo stupid after that. Of course I wanted what Greg wanted too, I just didn't think hard! I didn't know this was going to be deep! I thought this game would lead to my description of an embarrassing moment and my love for acting and cookies and cream ice cream! It's not that I don't want to be God's light and save people, I DO! But that wasn't the first thing I thought of. Is that wrong that my first answer was a selfish one? I was reading the story of Solomon asking God for wisdom this morning and I remembered my story.

Have you ever wished you could be like Solomon [or Greg] in every situation, knowing the right Godly answer?

What you've done for me.

Sat, 02 May 2009 22:47:04 GMT

Hello, Xanga readers!

Well, I'm glad to say that my meeting my brother was an amazing experience, and I'm very glad that we got along. We're both very similar, so we had a lot in common, from our love of God to simple things like the food we like. Thank you for the encouragement and kind words on the subject. It really was amazing. We've been in touch, and I might even go to Iowa in the winter, but being a California girl, I'm not sure I can handle the cold! We might have to do spring break next year when it's not a negative degree.

I also want to give an update on Ecuador! So far, through Xanga, I've raised $100! That's about $40 more than I raised last year! How awesome is that? Thank you all for your generosity. That's a lot of money, and it's going to help out Compassion Connection a lot. I got an e-mail from one of their directors, Amie, saying they were in need of 3-8 man tents, and that if possible, could we purchase one or two and donate them? I found out that they sell 3 man tents at Wal-mart for about $35, so with the $100 I've received so far, I'm going to buy 2 tents and donate them, and use the remaining $30 to see if I can buy any of the other supplies they need, such as Bibles and children's ministry stuff. Last year, the team I went with brought 2 huge bins filled with necessary supplies for the organization, such as bedding, construction paper, batteries, etc. that were much cheaper in America. Sandi, Amie, and Steve, the leaders down in Ecuador, were awe struck by what we had brought them! It was like Christmas for them! It really was God's blessing that led us to having the extra money to be able to give them supplies that they couldn't easily or cheaply buy, and I'm glad that this year I'm on the way to being able to help them out agian, and it's all thanks to you and your generosity! Thanks for letting the Lord touch your heart, and mine in the process, along with the people down ing Ecuador that you're helping.

I also found out that my friend, Jazmine, will be going on a 2 week stay with me, which is very exciting, because if you've read any of my other posts, it can get lonely being in a different country with people you don't know, and although I'm working on relying solely on God and my relationship with Him, it's comforting to know that I'll have another girl there because the gender divide is so big in South American countries. Please pray for her and her journey, because she's only a sophmore in high school, and although she's been to Ecuador before, this will be like nothing she's ever experienced. She'll fly down alone, which can be scary, and I knwo she's appreciate your prayers.

In conclusion, thanks for doing so much for me, Xanga readers. You're all so sweet, and if you feel led to help in any other way, please let me know. Donations can be directed towards the widget in this post:

http://sammjane.xanga.com/693909602/even-more-blessings/

or this link:

http://compassionconnection.net/?id_pag=12

And prayers can be directed towards God. Thanks, and God bless. :)