Saturday, December 29, 2007

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord - and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. he will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears will his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteouness will be his belt and faithfuness the sash around his waist." Isaiah 11:1-5

"Surely God is my Salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." Isaiah 12:2

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you." Isaiah 12:4-6

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

From June 2000 to August 2001, I served God in Mexico City with Latin America Mission as a short term missionary. For the past six years, I have been praying that God would allow me to return to Latin America. God has blessed me with being released from debt, therefore allowing me to apply with Latin America Mission (LAM) for full time missionary service.

One Sunday, my pastor challenged us to think about what our ideal situation in life would be. Some say to live comfortably, without debt or to have financial security, to be at the top of the company, or to have good health. My ideal life – working with horses to reach out to at risk kids and teens in Latin America. Yes, it’ll be difficult, strenuous and challenging. But it’ll also be rewarding when that one child sees that they are worth something and that God loves them and they can trust again.
LAM has invited me to attend their ten day orientation in Miami, Florida from January 21st through the 31st. At the orientation I will learn about LAM’s history, vision for the future, their approach to ministry and the nuts-and-bolts of service with LAM. If you are interested in learning more about LAM, check out their website: www.lam.org
I am asking my family and friends to partner and support me through prayer (I could NEVER do this without prayer) and financial contributions. The total cost is $2200.00. This amount includes my orientation fee, airfare, accommodation, and meal expenses. If you would like to contribute financially towards my trip, you can send a cheque to the Latin America Mission at the address below and receive a tax receipt for your donation. On a separate note (post-it notes work well) please write Clausen/LAM USA orientation.

Latin America Mission (Canada) Inc.
3075 Ridgeway Drive, Unit 14
Mississauga, ON L5L 5M6

Please pray for continued guidance and wisdom. As the busy retail Christmas season is here, pray for continued health and alertness. On January 17th I have an appointment for an MRI on my left knee. Pray that everything will go smoothly and the results positive. During the orientation in Miami, pray for health, safety and vision. Please also pray that I will benefit and learn from the orientation and all that unfolds.

If you have any questions, please post a message and I'll get back to you. Thanks so much in advance for your prayers and giving.

Blessings,

Julie

Monday, December 03, 2007

Trusting God

I haven't written recently because I don't know what to write.

I have booked my flight to Miami, but now I need a passport. I've printed out the online version, but it didn't work properly and now when I go to bring up the online version, there are technical difficulties and it doesn't load. I'm trying not to panic, but it takes three weeks to process a passport.

Hopefully I will hear today whether or not I can begin raising funds through LAM's Canadian office for orientation in Miami. I'm trying to be patient, but I'm wearing down.

But, around three weeks ago, I ask God to help me to be patient. God helps me to be patient by giving me reasons TO be patient. Too bad patience isn't a one time learning experience...it's something we ALL need to work on time and time again!

I'm also having trouble with Christmas. Since I work in retail it seems to come from all directions! I want to participate in the birth of Christ part, but the materialism surrounding it is too much to take. I want to bless people, but that's hard to do on a tight budget.

Please pray for sanity as I work in this crazy industry during Christmas. Also that I will be able to focus and just take one day at a time and not panic or look too far ahead. God will only give me as much as I can handle, pray that I will continue to trust Him.

Please pray that I can focus on Jesus this season. That when I sing Christmas carols, that I don't just sing them, but I relfect on what I'm singing and love God even more for bring Jesus into this crazy, mixed up world.

Blessings,

Julie