Well, we made it back to the marvelous mountains of North Carolina! We arrived Saturday night, and have been busy baking, watching Christmas movies, going to my parents' church, getting my hair cut in Greensboro...and best of all...we went on the Polar Express Train! (It is a real, hour long train ride in Bryson City, NC) It was such a nice treat...Ava had a blast! We drank Hot Chocolate, ate cookies, sang songs, and even Santa was there! (Ava still believes in him despite my attempts to convince her otherwise.)
So we are having a really nice mini vacation! I will head back up to TN this Sunday, and Ava will be staying here with my parents for a week. (By the way, the post office called the other day and said they FOUND Ava's PASSPORT! Haha! I really felt God saying to me that He would find it....I just didn't know when. All the worrying I did was pointless! (Does that sound familiar to you?) From now on I want to try hard not to worry when our circumstances seem hopeless...and just trust my papa that He will work it out for good. God has proven Himself trustworthy so many times to me, yet I still have a hard time trusting Him with every little area of my life.
This lost passport event really helped me see how much Jesus is taking care of me and Ava. So, I am going to choose to trust Him for the money we still need for Brazil as well. I know He wants us to go on this trip...so I know He is going to cause the money to come in for us! Please be praying about how our papa can use you to help bring His Kingdom to earth....and how he can use you in His marvelous plan for the people in Brazil....and everywhere! Jesus is so passionate about us! Even when we are so busy with this life that we think is so important....He is patiently waiting at your side for you to glance at Him, or whisper to Him, or say "I can't do this! You take over!"
I love you all so much...but Jesus is desperate for yo to spend time with Him! I encourage you to do that tomorrow morning....take a break from presents and just BE with him!
Okay....back to what I was talking about....Ava is staying with my parents while I go on our "Stateside" outreach. From December 27 to January 1 our Brazil team will be going to Kansas City to help at IHOP (International House of Prayer) with the "One Thing" conference they are hosting. Then my parents will bring Ava to TN and we will fly out for Brazil on January 6th!
I am so excited! Oh, I forgot to mention that I, along with my friend Dan, will be leading worship for our team and the churches we visit there! HA! Isn't that awesome! I have been practicing guitar diligently, and now God is going to use me in worship! I love it!
Please keep praying for us. We need about 3,000 dollars for the trip. I still need to pack ALL of our things in one tiny camping back pack. And we need Grace and Safety while we are there.
If God asks you to give to us, you can mail your tax deductible donation to:
Brooke Elliott
YWAM Nashville
PO Box 78219
Nashville TN 37207
Love and Blessings,
Brooke and Ava
Friday, December 24, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Dia setenta e nove (day 79)
Well friends...Ava and I only have 4 days left in our lecture phase here at YWAM! We will be coming home to NC for a week during Christmas...and then we will head back up to TN to begin our outreach phase. We actually will start off the outreach by going down to "IHOP" in Kansas City. We are going to help out there for a few days during their "One Thing" conference. I am SO VERY excited! Especially since we have a great friend who works there with IHOP (International House of Prayer).
Our plane for Brazil will leave on January 6th. Our team of 14 has been eagerly praying and searching God's heart for what He wills us to do in Brazil. So far, I know that we will be going to Sao Paulo and Bel Horizonte. We are hoping to go to Rio, but don't have a mission or church to help there yet. So please be praying for that. Also, please be praying for Ava and I. Ava's passport is actually lost in the mail. We have been trying to locate it now for a week, and have been unsuccessful. I KNOW that God is loving and faithful, and will find it. God has been so generous to me, and has had so much grace with me these past months. He is never changing, and loves us so much! I am using this experience to strengthen and build my faith in Jesus, and His great power and love.
Ava and I also still need $3,665 to get to Brazil. Please keep praying for us, and please keep praying about how you can support us financially. When we are generous to the body of Christ, God is generous to us. I have heard so many accounts of how God provides for His people...and I know that when God tells us to do something....He will provide the money. "It's never about money...it's about obeying God's will." -Paul Hawkins (our teacher this week). Paul has been in YWAM for 40 years, and is an unbelievably inspiring man. He also encourages me when he says "You do the possible...and God will do the impossible!"
I also want to give you all a heads up on something that God has laid on my heart to pray about. When I was in Florida for the YWAM anniversary, Darlene Cunningham spoke briefly about "The Learning Center" in Kona, Hawaii. She didn't say much about it, but I felt I should write down the email, and find out more about it. I did email the woman in Kona, and have been in contact with her over the past few weeks. "The Learning Center" is a new 1st through 12th grade school which will eventually be a model school to train teachers who will be going out to teach in other nations. They are a brand new ministry, that I am praying about joining this summer. I would be teaching the third grade in the school. It would be a full time missionary position, and I would be raising full time support. This project is exactly what has been on my heart since I began teaching. It is a way to influence the education system by creating a new teaching environment in America. The school wants to create new curriculum to promote, as well as launch ideas such as teaching missionary children via video conferencing. The YWAM base in Kona has been producing revolutionary ideas in all realms of society, and I think it would be a fantastic place to be able to influence the world of education.
Please be praying for me and Ava as God launches us out into His will for our lives. It is an exciting time to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ!
I love you all so much!
Brooke
Our plane for Brazil will leave on January 6th. Our team of 14 has been eagerly praying and searching God's heart for what He wills us to do in Brazil. So far, I know that we will be going to Sao Paulo and Bel Horizonte. We are hoping to go to Rio, but don't have a mission or church to help there yet. So please be praying for that. Also, please be praying for Ava and I. Ava's passport is actually lost in the mail. We have been trying to locate it now for a week, and have been unsuccessful. I KNOW that God is loving and faithful, and will find it. God has been so generous to me, and has had so much grace with me these past months. He is never changing, and loves us so much! I am using this experience to strengthen and build my faith in Jesus, and His great power and love.
Ava and I also still need $3,665 to get to Brazil. Please keep praying for us, and please keep praying about how you can support us financially. When we are generous to the body of Christ, God is generous to us. I have heard so many accounts of how God provides for His people...and I know that when God tells us to do something....He will provide the money. "It's never about money...it's about obeying God's will." -Paul Hawkins (our teacher this week). Paul has been in YWAM for 40 years, and is an unbelievably inspiring man. He also encourages me when he says "You do the possible...and God will do the impossible!"
I also want to give you all a heads up on something that God has laid on my heart to pray about. When I was in Florida for the YWAM anniversary, Darlene Cunningham spoke briefly about "The Learning Center" in Kona, Hawaii. She didn't say much about it, but I felt I should write down the email, and find out more about it. I did email the woman in Kona, and have been in contact with her over the past few weeks. "The Learning Center" is a new 1st through 12th grade school which will eventually be a model school to train teachers who will be going out to teach in other nations. They are a brand new ministry, that I am praying about joining this summer. I would be teaching the third grade in the school. It would be a full time missionary position, and I would be raising full time support. This project is exactly what has been on my heart since I began teaching. It is a way to influence the education system by creating a new teaching environment in America. The school wants to create new curriculum to promote, as well as launch ideas such as teaching missionary children via video conferencing. The YWAM base in Kona has been producing revolutionary ideas in all realms of society, and I think it would be a fantastic place to be able to influence the world of education.
Please be praying for me and Ava as God launches us out into His will for our lives. It is an exciting time to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ!
I love you all so much!
Brooke
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Day 69!
Oi! (That's Hello is Portuguese)
Okay, I know it has been 19 days since I last wrote to you...but I know you will forgive me!
This era in time has almost come to an end...can you believe it? We only have two weeks left in our lecture phase of DTS here at YWAM! It really seems like yesterday that Ava and I were packing up to come here! The past 3 weeks have been packed full of fun, learning, and a journey to know my Jesus like I never thought possible.
My beautiful sister came to visit the week before Thanksgiving, and we had a spectacular time soaking in each others' presence! :) I'm really going to miss her...we won't see her again until we get back from Brazil! I really wouldn't be here if it weren't for her persistence in pushing me towards the me she always knew I was.
I'm going to try to sum up the past 3 weeks in a few short paragraphs...
The week we got back from Florida, Ken Helser was our teacher. A lot of you know Ken, and his incredible family...so I don't have to tell you what an intense week this was. He taught on worship... well that was what he was assigned to, but we quickly learned that he really just teaches on whatever he wants to! He is the funniest, most generous, and wise people I will ever get the pleasure of meeting. I really hope to visit "The Farm" soon after I return to NC. This week God challenged me in my obedience and persistence in pursuing Him. How much do I REALLY want to see God's face? How far will I go in my obedience to His voice? I have found that there really is nothing greater than being near to Jesus....really near Him, to the point that whenever I want to see Him, I just ask, and He comes and whispers His radiant knowledge and secrets to me. This relationship I have found is like nothing I have ever experienced...and the best part is that you can have it too!
The next week we focused on how to let more people know about God's great romance He wants to share, and we went out on the town with Jimmy Turner and Ben Naider. They work in one of the local churches in Clarksville. I personally grew in my faith to talk to strangers, and tell them how God really feels about them. I absolutely LOVE meeting new people and giving them a personal message from Jesus. It is the best adrenaline rush! :)
This past week we dove deeper in to the idea of the Kingdom of God, and how to seek it out and reveal it here on earth. I had a major epiphany about what "seeking first the Kingdom of God" really means. There is a great video on youtube that gave me insight to what it is like. You will probably like it....here is the web address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrRtYzb-vwE
I hope that you all are doing so wonderful! I hope to see some of you soon, when we come back to NC for Christmas. I have so much more to share with you, and I promise I will log back on soon!
Love you friends,
Brooke
Okay, I know it has been 19 days since I last wrote to you...but I know you will forgive me!
This era in time has almost come to an end...can you believe it? We only have two weeks left in our lecture phase of DTS here at YWAM! It really seems like yesterday that Ava and I were packing up to come here! The past 3 weeks have been packed full of fun, learning, and a journey to know my Jesus like I never thought possible.
My beautiful sister came to visit the week before Thanksgiving, and we had a spectacular time soaking in each others' presence! :) I'm really going to miss her...we won't see her again until we get back from Brazil! I really wouldn't be here if it weren't for her persistence in pushing me towards the me she always knew I was.
I'm going to try to sum up the past 3 weeks in a few short paragraphs...
The week we got back from Florida, Ken Helser was our teacher. A lot of you know Ken, and his incredible family...so I don't have to tell you what an intense week this was. He taught on worship... well that was what he was assigned to, but we quickly learned that he really just teaches on whatever he wants to! He is the funniest, most generous, and wise people I will ever get the pleasure of meeting. I really hope to visit "The Farm" soon after I return to NC. This week God challenged me in my obedience and persistence in pursuing Him. How much do I REALLY want to see God's face? How far will I go in my obedience to His voice? I have found that there really is nothing greater than being near to Jesus....really near Him, to the point that whenever I want to see Him, I just ask, and He comes and whispers His radiant knowledge and secrets to me. This relationship I have found is like nothing I have ever experienced...and the best part is that you can have it too!
The next week we focused on how to let more people know about God's great romance He wants to share, and we went out on the town with Jimmy Turner and Ben Naider. They work in one of the local churches in Clarksville. I personally grew in my faith to talk to strangers, and tell them how God really feels about them. I absolutely LOVE meeting new people and giving them a personal message from Jesus. It is the best adrenaline rush! :)
This past week we dove deeper in to the idea of the Kingdom of God, and how to seek it out and reveal it here on earth. I had a major epiphany about what "seeking first the Kingdom of God" really means. There is a great video on youtube that gave me insight to what it is like. You will probably like it....here is the web address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrRtYzb-vwE
I hope that you all are doing so wonderful! I hope to see some of you soon, when we come back to NC for Christmas. I have so much more to share with you, and I promise I will log back on soon!
Love you friends,
Brooke
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